Hoovervilles The Ultimate Dig At Herbert Hoover

(colorized image of a photo published in The World's Work in 1920)

They called them Hoovervilles, and the name stuck. Not funny. Not clever. Just mean and dead-on. The country was broke, jobs gone, banks shuttered, and people were out there hammering together shacks from junk like it might hold the world together one more night.

They spread like a bad rumor on riverbanks, rail yards, and empty lots on the edge of town. No water. No heat. Breadlines curling around the block like a slow funeral. People standing there with hollow eyes, waiting for a handout that might run out three bodies ahead of them.

Dick Bros. All-Star Bowling Team Des Moines

 

Des Moines Register. September 15, 1912.

P. W. Hedlund was the manager of the Dick Bros All-Star Bowling team named after the company that financed them. 

Team members: 

Upper row: (left to right) M. J. Locker, William Coffin, and H. G. Stiles.

Bottom row: (left to right) Walter Balkema, P. W. Hedlund, and O. J. Bartos.

Clement T. Wilson Member of American Olympic Track Team 1912

Des Moines Register. July 7, 1912.

Clement T. Wilson, head of the Coe College track team qualified for the 1912 Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden. He won a place on the American Olympic Team by equaling the world's record in the 100-yard dash in the tryouts held at the Northwestern University field in Evanston, Illinois.

He was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100-meter competition, and the Americanrelay  team was disqualified because of a fault while passing the first baton.

Albert Baird Cummins Iowa Governor and Senator

 

(Watercolor drawing after photo in The Worlds Work. January 1909)

Albert Baird Cummins was born in 1850 in Pennsylvania. He studied law on his own and built a career in Des Moines.

He entered politics as a reformer, and fought railroad power and political control. He was elected governor in 1901 and served three terms.

As governor, he pushed fair railroad rates and cleaner government. He supported laws that gave voters more control. He faced strong opposition and didn’t back down.

Cummins later served in the U.S. Senate for nearly twenty years. He died in 1926.

Martin "Farmer" Burns Iowa Wrestler

 

Des Moines Register. June 3, 1906.

Martin "Farmer" Burns was born in Cedar County, Iowa, in 1861, and grew into one of the toughest wrestlers of his time. He studied the sport, figuring out holds and techniques that gave him an edge. By the late 1800s, he’d worked his way up to the American Heavyweight Championship.

Burns helped turn Frank Gotch into a world champion. His workouts were brutal—neck bridges, long runs, endless drills—but they worked. He turned wrestling into something smarter, tougher, and a lot more dangerous.

Iowa Wrestler Frank Gotch Demonstrating Toe Hold

Des Moines Register. July 16, 1905.

The Des Moines Register printed this photo of Iowa wrestling champion Frank Gotch applying his famous toe hold. The pain was such that opponents surrendered within seconds of his applying it.
 

Lulu Glaser As Dainty Dolly Varden At The Burtis Opera House 1903

 

Colorized image of Lulu Glaser
(from the Daily Times. October 24, 1903)

Comic opera star Lulu Glaser starred in Dainty Dolly Varden at the Burtis Opera House in Davenport on October 28, 1903. 

Contemporary reviews said Glaser’s strength wasn’t power—it was personality. She had a way of connecting with the audience through small gestures, expressive phrasing, and a gentle humor that suited the operetta style. The songs were delivered with clarity and elegance, not be show-stopping, but they lingerd pleasantly.