Top Ten Cartoons Every Iowa Kid Watched In The 1960s

If you were a kid in Iowa in the 1960s, cartoons weren’t this magical all-day buffet. There were no choices. No DVR or VCR. You got what you got. Couple channels. Maybe three if things were going your way.

The weather could mess it up. So could wind. Half the time you were standing there messing with rabbit ears like you were cracking a safe. Especially if you were trying to pull in that one UHF channel from Rockford. Or Minneapolis.

 

And when something finally came in—maybe a little fuzzy. You watched it. Didn’t matter what it was.

15 Iowa Restaurants You Loved… That Are Gone Forever

 

There was a time Iowa had its own flavor.

 

Not chains or copy-paste menus. Actual places where the carpet smelled like grease, the coffee never stopped, and somebody knew your name—or at least your order.

 

Most of them are gone now.

 

Not because they were bad. Because time moved on, highways shifted, big chains rolled in, and little by little… they disappeared.

 

If you grew up here, you probably remember a few of these.

Chuck Grassley. The Iowa Senator Who Refused To Fade Away

 

Chuck Grassley

If you’ve followed Iowa politics for any length of time, you’ve heard of Chuck Grassley.

He’s not just part of the system—he’s part of the backdrop. Like a courthouse clock that’s always been there, ticking whether or not you notice it. You go to a town hall, a fair, some random meeting in a school gym…there’s a decent chance he’s been there or is about to walk in.

But he didn’t start out powerful.

Grassley grew up on a farm in Butler County, where he milked cows and hauled hay. Did the same chores over and over until they were just part of the day. You can see that in him now. Same rhythm. Get up early. Keep moving. Don’t complain. Don’t slow down.

He didn’t come from a political family. No connections. No uncle who knew a governor. No shortcut.

He worked his way through school, landed at the University of Northern Iowa, and paid his way however he could. Factory shifts. Teaching. Farm work. Nothing about how an early life screamed future power broker.

When he got into politics, it was small stuff.

Top Ten Toys Iowa Boys Played With In The 1960s

 

You won’t believe how much fun kids had with this stuff—and none of it plugged in or connected to the internet.

 

Iowa kids didn’t sit still long in the 1960s. If you weren’t outside, you were in the basement making your own action.

 

These toys got dirty. They got dropped, smashed, and dragged across gravel.

 

No rules. No instructions. Just imagination and whatever you had on hand.

 

These were the must-haves. The ones every kid either owned—or wished he did.

Iowa Five-and-Dime Stores Kids Loved

 

Before Walmart swallowed up everything in a 30-mile radius, you had the dime store.

Not that you called it that. You just said you were “going to town.”

 

Mom needed thread. Dad needed something he couldn’t quite describe. You needed a couple dollars and about an hour to wander.

 

Every Iowa kid knew the layout without thinking. Toys somewhere near the front. School supplies off to the side. Candy close enough to beg for. And if you were lucky… a lunch counter in the back.

 

You didn’t run in and out. You drifted. Picked things up. Put them back. Checked your money again like it might’ve magically increased.

 

These weren’t big stores. That’s why they worked.

When They Lit Up Des Moines' Western League Ball Park

 

The Des Moines Register. May 2, 1930.

The Des Moines Register printed this picture showing readers what to expect at the first night time ballgame at the Western League Ball Park. The Des Moines Demons were playing the Wichita ball club in what the paper called a "night baseball experiment."

Pictured at the far right is L.E. Keyser, president. Club members shown (left to right) include: Cy Lingle, catcher; Bud Tinning, pitcher; Jim Oglesby, firstbase; Leo Norris, secondbase; Hughie Nielsen, shortstop; Breezie Windham, thirdbase; Fred berger, leftfield; and Francis Keyes, rightfield.

Waterloo Laundry Company and Apartments 1919

 

The Courier. December 31, 1919

The Courier printed this picture of the Waterloo Laundry Company and apartments that was scheduled to open on February 1, 1920. The building at Jefferson Street and Park Avenue was three stories high. The Waterloo Laundry Company was on the bottom floor. The top two floors housed 34 apartments - 10 two room units, and 24 one room units. Each unit included a kitchenette, bath, dressing room, and closet.