Donna Reed From Iowa Farm Girl To Movie Star

 

Donna Reed was born Donna Belle Mullenger in Denison, Iowa, in 1921.

 

She had brains. Looks, too. After high school, she headed to Los Angeles City College. That’s where things tilted. A Hollywood scout spotted her and thought, yeah, that one.

 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed her, gave her a new name, and just like that Donna Mullenger became Donna Reed.

 

The early years were a grind. Small parts. Background smiles. The roles where you’re basically furniture with dialogue. She showed up. Hit her marks. Paid attention.

 

In 1946, she took a role in It’s a Wonderful Life.

 

She played Mary Hatch. Started off as the girl next door. Ended up the backbone of the story. The movie belonged to Jimmy Stewart if you were going by billing, but Reed was the one holding the emotional line.

Bernhard & Turner Auto Company Advertisement

 This advertisement for the Rauch & Lang Worm Drive Automobile was published in the Des Moines Register, circa 1912-1915. Bernhard & Turner Auto Company ws located at 508-10-12 Seventh Street in Des Moines.

Iowa Sculptor Nellie Walker

Nellie Verne Walker’s early art education took place in her father’s monument shop.

He carved tombstones for a living. Nellie grew up around that work—stone, tools, long hours—and before long she was carving too.

At seventeen, she made a limestone bust of Abraham Lincoln. The piece was good enough to be shown at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, labeled simply as “the work of an Iowa girl.”

That got attention, but it didn’t solve the bigger problem.

She wanted training and couldn’t afford it. So she worked—six years as a legal secretary—saving until she could go to the Art Institute of Chicago. When she got there, she knew exactly what she was after.

That’s where Lorado Taft comes in. Taft was one of the leading sculptors in the country, known for large public monuments and a classical style. He also made a point of supporting women artists. He saw something in Nellie and pulled her into his studio circle.

L. F. Walker Drumcorps Waterloo

The Waterloo Courier published this picture of the L. F. Walker Drumcorps on September 30, 1915.

Left to right - standing: (unknown first name) Smith, Roscoe Frisbie, Lou Frossele, Frank Snyder, and E. M. Wyant.

Left to right - sitting: John P. von Lackum, Geo. Crownover, Arthur Slade Frank Worcester, and Oscar Slade.

Waterloo Fire Equipment in 1879 & 1915

The Courier did a full page write up of the Waterloo Fire Department on Septemper 30, 1915. It included several great photos of the department's horse drawn Water Lily fire engine used in 1879, and the new fire truck in use in 1915.

They said, "The Hope Boys, a company of juvenile boys was organized in 1879." C. E. Hollister built a small hand pump known as the Water Lily (pictured above). The firefighters pictured left to right are: Charles Newton, Bert Hitt, Elmer Cobb, Henry Williams, E. Newton, Dell Chapin, William Ewald, Lew Johnson, George Beck, Jr., Frank Miller, and Dan Cobb.

The Seagrave fire truck pictured below was one of the motorized vehicles that replaced the horse drawn vehicle.

New Court House Clock Des Moines 1912

 The Des Moines Tribune printed this picture of the new court house clock on November 29, 1912. The clock was expected to be fully operational within a few days.

First Automobile in Des Moines W. W. Sears

 

(Des Moines Register. July 15, 1906)

The first automobile in Des Moines landed in W. W. Sears’ lap, almost by mistake.

Debeltrand Grocery meant to raffle it off. Then they went broke.

Sears grabbed the car and drove it to the fairgrounds. Bad idea—if he wanted to stay unnoticed. Every stop turned into a crowd. People swarmed it. Stared. Asked questions. Couldn’t believe it moved without horses.

He cruised the streets daily, drawing bigger crowds each time.

Not long after that, J.O. Wells, W.E. Hamilton, Webster Bishop, and a handful of others jumped in and formed the Des Moines Automobile Club. Thirteen members. Most didn’t own a car yet—but they planned on getting one.

The club didn’t last a year, but that didn’t matter. The automobile wasn’t going anywhere.

(Unfortunately, the paper didn’t give a date on  when Sears acquired the automobile. My best guess would be 1900. The paper noted several claims against the company for unpaid debts)