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By julia, February 8, 2010 7:35 pm

Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs

600 E. Locust Street

Des Moines, Iowa 50319

IALBC marks Lincoln ’s birthday; explores questions about assassination

Cedar Rapids doctor discusses Lincoln myths and mysteries; “blood relics” on display

The Iowa Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission will mark President Lincoln’s 201st birthday and explore myths and mysteries surrounding his assassination during an event next week in Des Moines .

“Fun to be 201” will be 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, at the State Historical Building , 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines . The event is free and open to the public. Call 515-281-5111 for more information.

“President Lincoln had numerous ties to Iowa , and I continue to be inspired by his life and legacy,” said Cyndi Pederson, director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and acting chair of IALBC. “I encourage anybody with an interest in Abraham Lincoln to come and honor his birthday and learn more about the issues that surrounded his death.”

“Fun to be 201” will feature:

• Live music
• Civil War re-enactors
• Tours of the “Lincoln and Iowa ” History on the Move mobile exhibit
• Lincoln impersonator Stan DeHaan
• Lincoln assassination-related artifacts on display (one day only)
• “Myths and Mysteries of the Lincoln Assassination” presentation by Blaine Houmes, M.D., of Cedar Rapids
• Display of a Civil War-era red palmetto flag
• Light refreshments, or bring a brown bag lunch or order from Café Baratta’s

Ever since President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, questions, rumors and speculation have surrounded the medical aspects of his death and those connected with it.

If the president had been rushed to a modern-day emergency room, would he have survived? Why wasn’t he returned to the White House to die in his own bed? Did John Wilkes Booth actually escape and live on for many years?

In “Myths and Mysteries of the Lincoln Assassination,” Houmes draws upon his background in emergency medicine and his studies of the Lincoln assassination from a medical point of view.

“My interest in Lincoln ’s assassination is largely by default,” Houmes said. “The medical aspects of Lincoln ’s life and health have always intrigued me, as he had typical backwoods pioneer origins and life risks. The assassination interest evolved from frequent requests for information and opinions.”

Fueling his interest in the topic is his collection of Lincoln assassination artifacts, some of which will be on display for one day only. Visitors will see Lincoln “blood relics,” such as a blood-stained shirt cuff worn by Lincoln to Ford’s Theatre where he was shot, part of the farmhouse porch on which John Wilkes Booth lay dying, the veil Mary Todd Lincoln wore to the theatre that evening and more.

“Like most collectors, these items were obtained from a variety of sources: dealers, auctions, eBay, family collections and ‘finds’ in antique shops,” Houmes said. “They pop up in some really strange places.”

In addition, the State Historical Museum will have on display a “red palmetto” flag believed to be used by Citadel cadets who fired on a U.S. supply ship headed to Fort Sumter on Jan. 9, 1861 – three months before Confederate forces bombarded the fort in the Charleston Harbor .

The flag was donated to the State Historical Museum in 1919 by a Civil War veteran from Iowa who obtained it as the war ended in 1865. The Citadel Alumni Association and the State Historical Society of Iowa are discussing a loan agreement that would send the flag to The Citadel for display.

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The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the state’s interest in the areas of the arts, history and other cultural matters with the advice and assistance from its two divisions: the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. DCA preserves, researches, interprets and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state and regional history and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts and public interest and participation in them. It implements tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the General Assembly and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa . More information about DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.

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By julia, February 8, 2010 2:14 pm

Homeschool students learn about nature

Patrice with the Polk County Conservation Board (PCCB) gave an information-filled program for us this morning. Her theme was Animal Winter Survival. We learned all about torpor, hibernation, migration, as well as strategies for animals not using torpor, hibernation, or migration.

Patrice was very much into being with the group and not  “at the front of the room,” asking the kids for answers, and moving around so everyone could see the mounts. She also passed around furs of a few of the animals she was discussing.

Participants have a flickr photo pool for picture viewing and sharing.

Other resources mentioned include the Junior Naturalist Program and Family Nature Programs. Information for both can be found at www.leadingyououtdoors.com (POCCB).

The last note is that Three Sisters uses TellBlast for program cancellations. Recent program descriptions listed since Jan. 1, 2010 have not included this fact on the registration pages. The phone number included with your PayPal confirmation will be the number used in the TellBlast.

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By julia, February 8, 2010 12:35 pm

First off, I want to remind you all that you’re invited to our 3rd Annual HSAP Day at the Capitol on Tuesday, March 9th from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.

This year we’re doing things a bit differently. Instead of setting up displays, we’ll be hosting an ice cream and cookie social for legislators in the basement. (These are very popular!) The Iowa HSAP Professionals will buy the ice cream, bowls, cups, spoons, napkins, and coffee, but we need YOU to do two things for that day:

1. Show up! Legislators need to meet you and see what fantastic professionals we have in our organization.
2. We need to have HSAP students from all over the state bake cookies and/or brownies, package them individually in baggies, and attach an original piece of artwork or a letter telling about how great HSAPs are. (This can be 4 year olds thru high school seniors – or even parents!)

I’ll try to provide more information as we get closer (for example, if there is a specific bill that is still pending then, we might ask families to include that in the letter they write). However, the important part for now is to have you mark your calendars, and start getting families involved in making the goodies and the artwork!

Please RSVP and let me know how many teachers will be coming, and how many goodies you will be bringing.

On Monday, KCRG TV 9 News did a story about HSAPs. You can see the story here. There were quite a few online comments about it. Unfortunately, their moderator did NOT allow all of the comments to get posted, so the discussion was limited and a bit slanted.

On Wednesday I received a draft of the bill that Rep Jodi Tymeson submitted on our behalf, which would put into Iowa Code how HSAP dollars must be spent, and leave it out of the hands of the Iowa Department of Education and their administrative rules.

Andrea K. Farrier
Home Schooling Wife and Mom
Supervising Teacher, MPHSAP
Lobbyist, Ia. HSAP Professionals
(319) 461-4346 (cell)

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By julia, February 6, 2010 8:26 pm

If you have a kids ages 12 and up who wants to do a BIG project, Venture  seems like a program for kids to complete an “Eagle Scout” type project without needing to be a Boy Scout, perhaps more training on grant writing. Julia has known about it since summer when her oldest daughter heard a speaker from Venture. A condensed and edited version of the original message:

Youth Venture Challengebrings together youth who have a clear idea of what they would like to impact in their community and how. Through the Challenge, one team has the opportunity to earn $2,000 in seed funding while all of the eight teams have the opportunity to earn up to $1,000 to carry out their plans. The registration form for the Challenge is available through the contact info below.

If you know of youth who you think would be interested, but aren’t sure they know what they would impact, let us know. Our Dream It. Do It. workshop can help them decide their passions and what they may like to impact. This 60 minute facilitated workshop is fast-paced and heavily driven by the youth and their ideas. It will help them formulate their idea that they can then clarify during the Challenge. We are scheduling Dream It. Do It. Workshops now.

Need more information? Check out the brochure and descriptions of other projects on our website first and then give us a call.

My best,
Amy

Amy Ostrander Croll LMSW
Community!Youth Concepts
3826 1/2 Douglas Ave (as of February 1, 2010)
PO Box 31102
Des Moines, Iowa 50310
515-243-4292 (office)
515-371-9278 (cell)
amy@cyconcepts.org
www.cyconcepts.org