Coming to Iowa

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn about the trip from the East Coast to Iowa by the pioneers.
   
2. Children will learn about what the conditions were like for the pioneers on the trail.
   
3. Children will learn about packing a wagon and what types of supplies you needed to bring.
   
4. Children will learn about setting up a home in a new place
   

Artifacts:

• Isaac Kramer’s memoir of traveling to Linn County from Pennsylvania in 1839 at age 7 with his large family, especially chapters 1-4.
  

Images:

Covered Wagon

Flat Boat

Ferry

Map of trip to Linn County from Pennsylvania *(in memoir)

Activities:

1. First read the chapters of Isaac Kramer’s Memoir that pertain to travelling to Iowa (1-2)
   
2. Read the chapters about setting up a home in Iowa (3)
   
3. Pack Your Covered Wagon Activity
   

Craft:

Make your own covered wagon

Packing Your Covered Wagon

Pioneers traveling by covered wagon had to be very careful of their wagon’s weight. Even a few pounds heavier could mean the trip would be much more difficult for the oxen or horses. This is why the men and women would walk beside the wagon instead of inside it.

The typical journey by covered wagon was five months long, and they would need to pack enough supplies and equipment for the entire five months.

Below are the supplies that a typical Pioneer family traveling west across the United States might take on their covered wagon journey.  Pretend you are a pioneer planning your long journey to the frontier. Make a list of what you would take in your covered wagon, keeping in mind that the wagon will carry only 2,000 pounds before the weight becomes too much. When you are done, compare your list with friends.

Be sure to pack enough food for each person in your family. Look below to see the recommendations of food for each person, and then see how much weight you have left for everything else!

This is the amount of food that was recommended for each person travelling West in a covered wagon.

200 pounds of flour

30 pounds of pilot bread (hardtack)

75 pounds of bacon

10 pounds of rice

5 pounds of coffee

2 pounds of tea

25 pounds of sugar

½ bushel of dried beans

1 bushel of dried fruit

2 pounds of saleratus (baking soda)

10 pounds of salt

½ bushel of corn meal

½ bushel of corn, parched and ground

1 small keg of vinegar

Make Your Own Covered Wagon Craft

Materials Needed:

• Pint Size Milk or Juice Carton
  
• Construction Paper brown
  
• White Cardstock
  
• Markers and/or Stickers
  
• 4 Bottle Caps or Lids from Milk Jugs
  
• Glue and/or Tape
  

Instructions:

Cut the milk carton in half as shown by the dotted, red lines below. Keep the half with the top point, and cover the sides with brown construction paper.

Paint the 4 bottle or milk caps black or brown to make the wheels for the wagon. You can also cut small circles from black or brown construction paper and glue them to the outside of the caps. If you don’t have bottle or milk caps, try to find some big buttons, or anything else that is small and round; even small circles cut out of construction paper will work.

Cut a piece of white cardstock about 8 inches x 5 inches. Let the children decorate it with markers or stickers. Glue staple, or tape it over the hole you cut in the milk carton to make the cover for your wagon.

Here is the tricky part… Glue the wheels into place! If you are using the bottle or milk caps they will be heavy and you will have to work to find a good position to lay your wagon until the wheels dry. You will want most of each wheel attached to the wagon body with very little hanging over the bottom edge. If you want, glue on the wheels for one side at a time and let it dry laying on the side.

Memory Makers- Map Making

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn what a surveyor was and about the tools that they used
   
2. Children will learn how the early explorers of the United States mapped out the land
   
3. Children will learn how settlers chose their plots of land from the maps
   
4. Children will learn the basic concepts of map making

Artifact/Images:

Gunter’s Chain: chain consisting of 100 links, 66 feet long. Eighty chain lengths equaled one mile, and 10 lengths squared was an acre.

Surveyor’s Compass: discovered the directions

Transit: Measured horizontal and vertical angles

George Washington: Two images of GW when he was a land surveyor show the use of the equipment and an early map that he made of his home, Mount Vernon

Craft Project:

Using construction paper, have the students create various landmarks that can be added to the map grids for the surveying activity. Ideas include: mountains, bodies of water, rocks, forests, swamps, grasslands, and anything else you can think of.

Learn to Survey Activity

The entire United States was mapped out using simple surveying equipment and a compass. In this activity your student will create a simple map using the grid system.

1. Create a grid of 3 x 3 using masking tape. The size of each square is dependent upon the room available to you, but should be large enough that the students must walk across and around it.

2.  Inside various squares place the provided landmarks, such as the river, mountains, rocks, etc.

3.  Students receive the worksheet with the same grid on in. It is their job to create a map on the worksheet based on what they see on the floor.

4.  Feel free to create more landmarks or a larger grid to challenge the students.

Memory Makers- Toys

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn how games and toys have changed from the past through today.
   
2. Children will learn about their families’ members’ lives when they were younger.
   

Activity 1:

Toys Background:

• Ask students to describe their favorite toys or games
  
• Ask what toys or games they think children played 50-100 years ago
  
• Demonstrate Toys
  
  • What materials are they made of? (usually wood)
    
  • Where did they get their toys? (usually handmade)
    
  • What toys do you have that are similar?
    
  • Which one is you favorite
    
• Give children time to share the toys on the cart and when time is up stress the importance of cleaning up
  

History of the Toys

Cup and Ball-

The origin of the toy can be traced back to Ancient Greece and early India. By the late 16^th century it had become very fashionable among children and adults alike to become skilled with this toy. When Captain Cook visited the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) in the 18^th century, he found the natives playing a simple version of the game. By the 19^th century, the toy had become popular through much of the world, particularly in the United States and Canada. The fame of cup and ball tests the hand-eye coordination of the players. The object is to swing the wooden ball into the cup.

Jacob’s Ladder-

There is no confirmed origin of this toy. Some claim that it dates back to ancient Egypt and King Tut, but no actual evidence of this has ever been found. Other sources claim it started with the Puritans as a Sunday toy for Puritan children because of its biblical reference (Genesis 28:12). Jacob was on a journey and had a dream about angels moving up and down a ladder between heaven and earth. Wherever it began how it works has fascinated people for generations. Jacobs’s ladder seems to be universal, and they are found all over the world. But how does this forces educational toy work? An engineer would say that the apparent falling of the blocks has to do with a double acting hinge. To operate the toy, simply hold the top block by its edges and let the rest of the identical blocks swing downward until the ladder is fully open. Then by holding the top block by its edges turn it 180° in a left rotation until the top and second blocks are parallel and touching. When the held block hits the hanging block, a series of blocks begin to cascade down. Then repeat the 180° motion to the right.

Spinning Tops-

Although logically inspired by nature, all tops appear to result in a use related to pleasure and in some cases, sport. Tops have been used throughout history as a distraction, a pastime, a skill, as votive gifts to honor gods and an item to use in the afterlife. Concurrent development of all forms of tops is the most likely theory, however, to identify strong cultural influences for them in history, one would think of Egypt, Greece and China for the whip top and certainly Japan for the string-powered throwing top. While European travelers impacted their dispersion through Europe and eventually to North America, China and Japan continue to maintain top spinning as true skilled art forms. It is most likely that play brought about the tops existence, and play most certainly has secured and maintained its existence.

Jumping Jack-

The jumping-jack is a toy whose origins date back thousands of years. The jointed jumping-jack figure is a cross between a puppet and a paper doll. The figures are generally made from wood and their limbs are jointed and tied to a pull string. When the string is pulled and released, the arms and legs move up and down.

Although the jumping-jack is popularly thought of as a European toy, ivory dancer figures made to spin by pulling their strings, which were found at the archaeological site El Lisht and date back to ancient Egyptian times, are considered to be among the earliest forms of this family of mechanical toys.

Dolls-

For centuries, rag dolls were made by mothers for their children. Rag dolls refer generically to dolls made of any fabric. Cloth dolls refer to a subset of rag dolls made of linen or cotton. Commercially produced rag dolls were first introduced in the 1850s by English and American manufacturers. Although not as sophisticated as dolls made from other materials, rag dolls were well-loved, often as a child’s first toy.-

Push Button Toys-

Push puppets were first made in Switzerland by a wooden toy maker, Walter Kourt Walss in 1932. These articulated,wobbling toys were known as WAKOUWAS; taken from the first few letters of each of Walter’s names! The dancing, wiggling toys are now known by many different names around the world. The term ‘Push Button Puppets’ was first adopted by an American toy making company in America, Kohner Brothers in 1947, buying the patent from the Swiss inventor Marty Meinard.

Cat’s Cradle-

String games such as Cat’s Cradle have been played around the world for thousands (if not millions) of years. It does not appear that this game has a particular origin; rather, it was developed independently by many cultures around the same time. It seems that string figures were familiar to most native inhabitants of East Asia, Australia, Africa, the Arctic, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands. Some string games might even be from the Stone Age! Since actual “string” was not available in most of these regions, people used native sources like sinew or leather, twine made from bark, Hibiscus tree fiber, or even braided human hair.

Pick Up Sticks-

This game has spread from China to Korea and Japan. This game appears to have spread to the Haida Indians of British Columbia as well as the Lenape Native American tribe in California via the Bering Strait or by ship across the Pacific Ocean. Native Americans played this game with straws of wheat and taught it to the early English settlers in the American colonies. This became a popular parlor game for young people during the Colonial and Victorian eras and is still enjoyed by children today.

Dominoes-

The game appeared first in China in in the 14th Century. Although domino tiles are clearly of Chinese inheritance, there is debate over whether the game played by Europeans was brought by the Chinese to Europe in the eighteenth century or, in fact, was invented independently. The game arrived in Britain in the late 18th Century from France (possibly via French prisoners of war) and quickly seems to have become popular in inns and taverns at the time. The word “Domino” is French for a black and white hood worn by Christian priests in winter which is probably where the name of the game derives from.Dominoes or variants of it are played in almost all countries of the world but it is most popular in Latin America.

Motion Picture Flip Books-

Flip books are essentially a primitive form of animation. The first flip book appeared in September, 1868, under the name kineograph (“moving picture”). They were the first form of animation to employ a linear sequence of images rather than circular. In 1894, Herman Casler invented a mechanized form of flip book called the Mutoscope, which mounted the pages on a central rotating cylinder rather than binding them in a book. The mutoscope remained a popular attraction through the mid-20th century, appearing as coin-operated machines in penny arcades and amusement parks.

Flip books are now largely considered a toy or novelty for children, and were once a common “prize” in cereal and Cracker Jack boxes.

Jacks-

Jacks, in its original form, was played in ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. This game was also known as Jackstones, Five Stones, Knucklebones, and other names. Knucklebones eventually led to the game of dice (which was mostly played by boys) and to the game of jacks (which was mostly played by girls). Jacks is a game of skill, as are earlier games that involve throwing the jacks into the air and catching them, or bouncing a ball and picking up a certain number of jacks from a surface. Children all over the world have played some form of jacks for centuries.

Marbles-

Marble games date from antiquity, and ancient games were played with sea-rounded pebbles, nuts, or fruit pits. Roman children played games with nut marbles, and engraved marbles have been dug up from the earthen mounds built by some early North American Indian tribes. Jewish children use filberts as marbles at Passover. In the 20th century, marbles have been made of a variety of materials: baked clay, glass, steel, plastic, onyx, agate. Marbles are definitely a part of America’s heritage. They have been a popular American game from Colonial times to the present. The object of marble games is to roll, throw, drop, or knuckle marbles against an opponent’s marbles, often to knock them out of a prescribed area and so win them.

Tic Tac Toe-

Tic Tac Toe was originally known as Noughts and Crosses and has been played in the United Kingdom for centuries. The same playing grid used for this game was also found etched into surfaces throughout the ancient Roman Empire, proving its popularity. Even though no playing pieces have been found that confirm this was the same game, the Roman game Terri Lapilli is thought to be an identical game.

Tic Tac Toe is played with two players that take turns placing their chosen piece (a Naught “o” or a Cross “x”) on the game board, which is a 3-inch by 3-inch grid. The first player to complete a row either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally is the winner.

Activity 2:

Make a toy: jumping jack, Jacob ‘s ladder, chromotrope, thaumatrope, yarn doll, or corn husk doll.

See attached directions and supply lists for each.

Activity 3:

Interview a parent or grandparent about what toys they had when they were young. Look those toys up together on the internet and share stories.

Memory Makers- Iowa State Symbols

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn why states have symbols.
   
2. Children will learn what the Iowa State Symbols are and why.
   

Artifacts/Images:

Wild Rose- state flower

Eastern Goldfinch- state bird

White Oak- state tree

Geode-state rock

Iowa State Flag

Iowa State Seal

Craft Activity: About Me Banner

Supplies:

Scissors

Glue

Felt or magazines and paper

Have the children create an “about me” banner that includes images that represent them, including likes/dislikes, activities, etc.

Old Fashioned Medicine

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn the common ailments that plagued and endangered the lives of pioneers.
   
2. Children will learn what it was like to be a doctor of the frontier.
   
3. Children will learn about home remedies, both herbal and store bought.
   
4. Children will learn about quacks and why today medicine is much better and safer.
   

Artifacts/Exhibits:

Kelsey exhibit and talk about death of Louise under the age of one

Ely exhibit shows Civil War surgical equipment

Mercy Hospital exhibit

Snack:

Old Fashioned Medicine like Coca Cola, Root beer or 7-up

Craft:

Make a Doctor’s Bag

Supplies- *Black, Red, White Construction Paper, *Glue, *Scissors, *Medical Supplies (We used cotton balls, Q-tips, Gauze, Tylenol Box, Band Aids, Tongue depressor, etc.)

1. Fold a black piece of construction paper in half to create your card.

2. Cut out two matching handles for your bag. (Pictured below)

3. Glue the handles onto the top of each side of the bag.

4. Cut out a large piece of white paper to create the frond of the bag. (Pic. below)

5. Cut out or color a red cross to add to the front of the bag.

6. Write a message on the front of the card… we wrote “Good Luck Grandpa”

7. Open up the bag & begin gluing in the medical supplies all over the bag. The band aids will obviously just stick in!

8. Because we used ours as a card, we added a little personal message inside.

9. Lay flat & allow an hour or so to dry.

OR

Make out of flannel

Background Information:

Common Illnesses

Cholera – An acute infectious disease of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, severe dehydration, and depletion of electrolytes. First vaccine in 1917

Dysentery- An inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus. Treated with antibiotics since early 20^th

Small Pox – An acute, highly infectious, often fatal disease characterized by high fever and aches with subsequent widespread eruption of pimples that blister, produce pus, and form pockmarks. The patient begins to develop fevers, which could be as high as 104 or 105 degrees, body aches, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. This is associated with a decrease in appetite, sensitivity to light, and, in many cases, dehydration. First vaccine in 1798

Diphtheria – An acute infectious disease characterized by the production of a systemic toxin and the formation of a false membrane on the lining of the mucous membrane of the throat and other respiratory passages, causing difficulty in breathing, high fever, and weakness. The toxin is particularly harmful to the tissues of the heart and central nervous system. Diphtheria causes a characteristic swollen neck, sometimes referred to as “bull neck”. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and a pseudomembrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity. First vaccine in 1923

Influenza – An acute contagious viral infection characterized by inflammation of the respiratory tract and by fever, chills, muscular pain, and prostration. Also called grippe. The most common complication of influenza is pneumonia. First vaccine in 1945

Typhoid Fever – An acute, highly infectious disease caused by a bacillus (Salmonella typhi) transmitted chiefly by contaminated food or water and characterized by high fever, headache, coughing, intestinal hemorrhaging, and rose-colored spots on the skin. First vaccine in 1917

Rabies- A viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain in warm-blooded animals. It is transmissible from animals to humans, most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. First vaccine in 1885

Tetanus- An infection generally occurs through wound contamination and often involves a cut or deep puncture wound. Initial symptoms of muscle stiffness and spasms typically affect the jaw and neck before affecting the entire body. High fever, convulsions, difficulty swallowing, chills and extreme pain eventually follow as the disease progresses. Death from tetanus is due to spasm of the vocal cords and spasm of the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory failure. Tetnus was not always fatal; keeping puncture wound clean prevented death. First vaccine in 1927

Pioneer Medicine:

Seeing a doctor when you were sick was difficult during pioneer times. In most areas of the frontier, there were very few doctors available and many of those who were available had very little education or training, when compared to today’s doctors. For example, Dr. Richard Carter, who wrote a book about cures for common diseases in 1825, studied for a few months with two Native American herbalists and then read through his father’s small collection of medical books (probably no more than half a dozen). Within less than one year, he considered himself qualified to be a doctor and began practicing.

Many pioneer women were both nurse and doctor to their families. And when widespread sickness came to a town or rural area, neighbors who were well would often help out families whose members were ill.

Pioneers knew nothing of bacteria or viruses and, compared to today, had a very primitive understanding of the workings of the human body. They could observe facts, but their conclusions were often incorrect. Pioneers noticed, for example, that malaria was most common in low-lying areas near sources of water (particularly stagnant water), but they believed that mists (sometimes called a “miasma”) that rose up from the water somehow caused the disease. They did not know that the mosquitoes which bred in the water actually carried the disease.

Most doctors and patients relied on homemade remedies. Two favorite remedies for many illnesses were bleeding and purging. Sometimes these “cures” made the ill person so weak, they died. Most people also used herbs and other plants to make poultices, teas, and syrups.

Examples of Herbal Remedies:

(1)”For curing the Ague and fever [malaria]. . . Take one third Rhubarb and two thirds best Barks [bark from a tree or bush—sassafras was widely used in Indiana], mix them with Brandy or old whisky until they are about as thin as rich cream – take a wineglass full, 4 or 5 times a day. If it gripes too severely [causes stomach cramps], dilute it with water.” [Written on an 1822 storekeeper’s ledger. From Jones and Stockwell’s General Store, Princeton, Indiana.]

(2)”For cancer, . . . a salve to be made from pennyroyal, camomile flowers, mullein, and one-half gallon of apple vinegar. After this mixture has been boiled twenty-four hours, we must add salt and a gill [5 fluid ounces] of honey; then we are to simmer to mixture down to a salve – which is to be applied to the cancer with a feather.” [from Richard Carter’s A Valuable Vegetable, Medical Prescription… (1825) ]

(3)”For Gout, Rheumatism, Cramps, and Weak Nerves. . . Kill the fattest young dog that you can get, in the month of March or April; clean him as you would a pig; gut him; and stuff his body with a pint of red fishing worms, a pint of red pepper, a considerable portion of the bark of the root of sassafras, and water frogs; then sew up the incision, roast the dog well, and save the oil to annoint sores, gouts, weak nerves, etc.” [from Richard Carter]

(4)”For bilious, nervous, and putrid fevers [putrid fever is usually typhoid; bilious fever can be jaundice, yellow fever, or typhoid]. . . Get a double handful of the bark of the roots of dogwood, a handful of ground ivy, a handful of mullein roots, and a handful of the bark of the roots of sassafras; boil them all well together in water, strain the syrup and put it in a vessel to itself. Then get a quart of good clean cow dung and put it in a tight little linen bag and boil it well in water; then strain it with the other syrup, boil it down to a quart and bottle it.” [from Richard Carter]

Becoming a Doctor:

In the mid-19th century, almost anyone who saw fit to call himself a doctor could do so. The field of medicine was wide open and free of governmental regulation, and malpractice suits were rare. Pioneer Iowans could choose from a wide array of medical systems.

Many pioneer doctors earned their credentials through apprenticeship. Under this system, the student lived with a practicing physician for two to three years, studying his books and going with him on calls. In exchange, the apprentice paid a yearly fee and did chores around the house.

Some physicians had no formal training of any kind. “Doctors” like Ottumwa’s Paul Caster, a “corpulent, course [sic] and uncouth” man who claimed to heal by rubbing his hands over affected parts, were scorned by “regular” practitioners. However, the “cures” available to the regulars had many drawbacks. The purging, puking and bloodletting cures could leave patients dehydrated, scarred and worse off than before.

Doctors on Horseback

The widely-spaced settlements of the Great Plains and poor-to-nonexistent roads posed challenges to doctors whose patients were scattered over many miles of rough terrain. Early Dubuque physician Frederick Andros served a large area by traveling on horseback with his stethoscope and cigars stashed in his high silk hat. Dr. James Robertson established a practice “extending from Cedar Rapids to Keokuk, mostly by horseback.” Part-time physician Isaac Galland, whose family settled near Keokuk around 1830, cut down on travel by distributing to his patients home medicine boxes containing commonly used remedies.

Frontier physicians sometimes fell prey to the epidemics they helped treat. Typhoid and cholera claimed several medics, and measles killed young New York native Dr. John Morse two years after he arrived in Iowa City. Delia Irish, one of the few female doctors of her era, is said to have worked during bouts of ill health because she did not want her “frail physical condition” to confirm the popular image of “woman’s physical unfitness for the practice of medicine.” Irish practiced for almost ten years in Davenport and New York before dying of consumption in 1878. J.M. Witherwax died, not from a disease, but from a “cure”: his daily use of a hair restorer containing lead acetate resulted in lead poisoning.

Patent Medicines:

With little understanding of the causes and mechanisms of illnesses, widely marketed “cures” (as opposed to locally produced and locally used remedies), often referred to as patent medicines, first came to prominence during the 17th and 18th centuries in Britain and the British colonies, including those in North America. Daffy’s Elixir and Turlington’s Balsam were among the first products that used branding (e.g., using highly distinctive containers) and mass marketing to create and maintain markets. Patent medicines often contained alcohol or opium, which were highly addictive.

In the United States, false medicines in this era were often denoted by the slang term snake oil, a reference to sales pitches for the false medicines that claimed exotic ingredients provided the supposed benefits. Those who sold them were called “snake oil salesmen,” and usually sold their medicines with a fervent pitch similar to a fire and brimstone religious sermon. They often accompanied other theatrical and entertainment productions that traveled as a road show from town to town, leaving quickly before the falseness of their medicine was discovered. Not all quacks were restricted to such small-time businesses however, and a number, especially in the United States, became enormously wealthy through national and international sales of their products.

One among many examples is that of William Radam, a German immigrant to the USA who, in the 1880s, started to sell his “Microbe Killer” throughout the United States and, soon afterwards, in Britain and throughout the British colonies. His concoction was widely advertised as being able to “Cure All Diseases” (W. Radam, 1890) and this phrase was even embossed on the glass bottles the medicine was sold in. In fact, Radam’s medicine was a therapeutically useless (and in large quantities actively poisonous) dilute solution of sulfuric acid, coloured with a little red wine. Radam’s publicity material, particularly his books (see for example Radam, 1890), provide an insight into the role that pseudo-science played in the development and marketing of “quack” medicines towards the end of the 19th century.

Not all patent medicines were without merit. Turlingtons Balsam of Life, first marketed in the mid-18th century, did have genuinely beneficial properties. This medicine continued to be sold under the original name into the early 20th century, and can still be found in the British and American Pharmacopoeias as “Compound tincture of benzoin”.

The end of the road for the quack medicines now considered grossly fraudulent in the nations of North America and Europe came in the early 20th century. February 21, 1906 saw the passage into law of the Pure Food and Drug Act in the United States. This was the result of decades of campaigning by both government departments and the medical establishment.

Today’s Products that started Out as Patent Medicines:

Coca Cola

7-up

Vicks Vapor Rub

Bayer Aspirin

Dr Pepper

Hires Root Beer

Tonic Water

http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/medicine-ads

Memory Makers- Letters and Mail

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn about how people communicated before email, texting, and telephone.
   
2. Children will learn about the difficulty of receiving mail before planes, trains, and autos.
   
3. Children will look at letters from the past.
   
4. Children will learn about the importance of the letters and why they were saved.
   
5. Children will learn how to address and mail a letter
   

Artifacts/Images:

Jane Kelsey Letters- 1850s Linn County Pioneer women writing to family in New York

Samuel Spaulding- Civil War soldier writing home to wife, Annie

Pony Express Map- Pony Express flyers

Background Information:

In the days before the invention of the railroad, the plane or the automobile letters had to be hand carried from place to place by wagon or on horseback. Mailing a letter was expensive and could take a long time to get where it was going and to receive a reply-sometimes months! There was no other way to communicate with people far away from home because the telephone and email had not been invented yet either.

Paper was also a scarce item on the prairie, so when people wrote letters, they often used ever free inch of space. In some cases the return letter would be written in between the lines of the original letter; this is where the phrase “reading between the lines” comes from.

In 1860 a group of riders called “The Pony Express” was founded to cut down on the time mail took. They averaged the remarkable rate of a letter from New York to San Francisco in 10 days. The cost to send a letter this way was $5 ($133 today), but later dropped to $1 ($24 today). The mail was sent by train or telegraph wire from New York to Missouri where a series of riders carried the mail on horseback across the plains only stopping to switch horses. It was a long, tiring, and dangerous job. Unfortunately, for the Pony Express in late 1861 the telegraph wires were completed to California and the riders were no longer needed. Buffalo Bill Cody, born in Iowa, was the most famous of the Pony Express riders.

In 1861, the Civil War broke out creating new challenges for the mail. Mail to the south from the north was cut off, dividing families. Soldiers were constantly on the move so mail was often difficult to deliver. Sending mail home was often a lot easier- in one instance a young Iowa route three letters home before he received a reply to the first. Soldiers longed for news of home and also wrote home detailed accounts of battles that were fought. Families kept the letters they received, but few soldiers were able to keep the replies that they got. Thousands of letters were sent during this time period every month.

In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed, and telegraph wires also helped to cut down the time to send a letter. In the late 1890s the automobile and telephone further closed the gap for close neighbors, but letters were still the best way to communicate long distance. During later wars, including WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, the United States had to censor mail to keep some things secret, but letters were still welcomed, read and reread, and saved.

It wasn’t until the 1990s that letter began to disappear. By the new millennium free, quick and easy emails and texts took over what used to be the highlight of a person’s day, receiving a letter.

Craft Activity: Paper making without a screen

Supplies:

Kleenex

Glue

Water

Bowls

Craft Brushes

Fabric

1. Mix glue into the bowl with water to make an easily spreadable goo
   
2. Set the fabric on the table (I used felt squares)
   
3. Lay a layer of Kleenex on the fabric
   
4. Cover the tissue with a layer of the glue concoction
   
5. Add another layer of Kleenex on top the other
   
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you reach the desired thickness (I usually use about 5-6 layers)
   
7. Lay out to dry-a fan helps speed up the process (usually takes overnight or two)
   
8. Once the paper is dry use markers or ink pens to write a letter on your paper
   

Variations: You can layer dried flowers in between the layers to make it fancier

Try pressing the wet paper between two pieces of fabric and ironing to dry quicker (untested by author, suggested by a co-workerJ).

Send a Letter to Yourself Activity:

1. Have students write a letter to themselves about what they did that week or that month.
   
2. Have the students self-address the envelopes.
   
3. Send the letters to the students at a prescribed time in the future (a week, month, end of semester, etc.)
   

Write a Letter to A Soldier Activity:

Tips for Writing a Letter to a Soldier

1. Tell your name, age and grade, and where you go to school.

2. Tell more about yourself –

Names of the people in your family. Your pets’ names. Where you live.

Your favorites: (subject in school, sport, food, book, song, or movie, etc.)

3. Tell what you did yesterday and what you’re planning to do today.

Explain a little about what you’re doing in school.

4. Ask the soldier about his life and family –

Who’s in your family? What do you do each day? Is it hot or cold where you are?

What does the country look like? What do you do when you’re not on duty?

5. Thank him or her for serving in the military.

6. Don’t forget to sign your name.

Here’s a sample letter

Dear American Soldier,

My name is Evan. I’m 9 years old and in the 4th grade at Hartfield Elementary School. My

teacher’s name is Miss Rice. I have a brother named Joseph. We play football after school now, but basketball is my favorite sport. Isabel is my sister. She’s only 3, but she loves to draw. I’m

sending you one of her pictures. Yesterday we went to the store to shop for groceries for

Thanksgiving and I can’t wait for the turkey and mashed potatoes. But my favorite food is pizza. I’ll get to have pizza for my birthday party next week.

It’s very cold here now. Is it cold where you are? What kind of uniform do you wear? Can you tell me about where you work or what you do all day? I’m going to write a report for my class.

Thank you for doing the job of an American soldier. I hope you stay safe.

Take care,

Evan

*If you have the soldier’s name, address the letter to him or her. If you don’t have a name, you

can write to “An American Soldier.”

Note: The address on the envelope must be to a specific soldier by name. If you have a specific

name and address, you can address the envelope then stamp and mail it. If not, it will be easy

for an adult to help you find a name and place to send your letter. Or, mail your letter to The

Wrightslaw Team, PO Box 1008, Deltaville, VA 23043.

Remember –

• Your letter can be short, it doesn’t need to be very long.

• Soldiers miss their own families- so tell what you and your family are doing.

• Say “thanks” or say you’re proud of the job they do as a soldier.

• Wish them a safe return.

• Draw or send a picture of something – it will likely become part of the soldier’s home

away from home.

Memory Makers- Log Cabins

Learning Objectives:

1. Children will learn how log cabins were built and why they were a convenient choice for pioneers.
   
2. Children will learn how large log cabins were and what kind of things they had inside.
   
3. Children will learn why log cabins are commonly associated with Abraham Lincoln.
   
4. Children will learn what it was like to live in a log cabin.
   

Artifacts/Images:

Images of log cabins- slide show

Lincoln Log cabin and Lincoln Log Cabin penny

Tools used to build log cabins- slide show

Lincoln Logs- images or actual Lincoln Logs if you have them or would like to borrow them from the History Center.

Craft Project: Edible Log Cabins

Size of a Log Cabin Visual:

I started the lesson by making and area the size of a typical log cabin (10×20) out of masking tape on the floor and having the children all sit inside. This really seemed to call home to them how small a cabin was. I also pointed out that this is the space that would have been used for every room in the house and that they would share this space with everyone in their family.

What is a pioneer?

• “Pioneer” now usually refers to people from the Eastern United States who migrate west of the Appalachian mountains from about 1830-1880. As more people came to America the pioneers pushed further and further westward until the United States went all the way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
  

   

• What things come to your minds when you hear the word pioneer?
  

   

Why do people think of log cabins when they think of pioneers?

• American log cabins were usually the first permanent homes that pioneers built when the picked a place to settle. While traveling pioneers camped out-sometimes for many, many months. When they arrived at their destinations, a log cabin was a quick and easy home to make.
  

   

• Even President Abraham Lincoln- who is on the penny- lived in a log cabin!
  

How big were the cabins typically?

• The typical log cabin was ten by twenty feet, regardless of the number of inhabitants. Settlers maximized their space by building lofts across the cabin roof, or lean-tos across the rear of the cabin. Typically, frontier cabins featured only one room, which served as kitchen, dining room, living room, workroom, and bedroom. It was not uncommon for a family of six to ten people to live in a single log cabin.
  

   

• This is excerpted from great article about log cabins from the PBS show “Frontier House” http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/frontierlife/essay4.html
  

   

How were log cabins made?

• Homesteaders could often build a log cabin in a matter of days, using only an axe and auger. No nails were required for the task. The first step in construction was to build a stone or rock foundation, to keep the logs off of the ground and prevent rot. Once the foundation was laid, settlers would cut down trees and square off the logs. These logs were then “notched” in the top and bottom of each end, then stacked to form walls. The notched logs were fitted snugly together at the corners of the cabin, and this “interlocking” held the walls in place. After the logs were stacked, gaps remained in the walls, and settlers had to “chink” their cabins. “Chinking” consisted of jamming sticks and wood chips into the gaps, and then filling in the remaining space with a homemade cement of earth, sand, and water. Fireplaces were built of stone, and frequently featured stick-and-mud chimneys. Because of a scarcity of smooth board, most cabins had dirt or gravel floors, which had to be raked daily to preserve their evenness.
  

   

• Also from great article about log cabins from the PBS show “Frontier House” http://www.pbs.org/wnet/frontierhouse/frontierlife/essay4.html
  

Edible Log Cabin

Materials:

• Small empty milk carton
  
• Pretzel sticks
  
• frosting or peanut butter
  
• 1 Rolo or other tubular shaped candy
  
• 1 square cracker
  
• Scissors
  
• Hot glue or tape
  

1. Cut the top flap of the milk carton off and tape or hot glue it closed to form the roof.
   

    

2. Spread chocolate frosting or peanut butter on one side of milk carton then cover with pretzels. Repeat this step all over the milk carton until log cabin is complete. You may need to break the tips off of some of the pretzels to make then fit up the sides.
   

1. Break a square cracker in half, then break one of the halves in half. Spread some frosting or peanut butter on the back of the first half. “Glue” it to the front of the cabin as the door. Repeat this step with a smaller broken piece for the window.
   

1. Spread some frosting or peanut butter to the bottom of Rolo and stick to the roof.
   

Hint: I had the kids put the cartons on a plate then they could spin the plate and not have to hold the milk carton.

Memory Makers- The Civil War

1. Children will learn that 150 years ago many young Iowa men left home (many for the first time) to fight in a war between the North and the South
   
2. Children will learn that a group called a regiment was comprised of men from the same area in the state they came from. For example the 24^th Iowa Regiment was made up of men from Linn County.
   
3. Children will learn what a soldier carried with him to war.
   
4. Children will learn that each regiment had a flag that was used to give signals in a battle.
   
5. Carrying the flag was a dangerous, but important job.

Artifact Images:

Civil War Uniform– A northern soldier was issues a uniform made from wool. It was a dark blue in color. Depending on the rank and job of the soldier the color of trimming and insignia was different. Officers had nicer more decorated uniforms than enlisted men. The most common cap was called a kepi and braiding and insignia differed based on rank and position. For example, the bugler/musicians had different color braiding and insignia than the infantry.

Weapons– The most common weapon for an enlisted man was a muzzle loading rifle. These rifles had to be reloaded after every shot. A good rifleman could fire 3 shots in a minute. It took nine distinct steps to load a typical civil war weapon. They could also attach a bayonet for hand to hand fighting. These weapons also weighed about nine pounds.

Officers carried pistols which could fire six shots in quick succession. They also carried swords, but these were more for looks and signaling orders than for combat.

Travel gear– A typical Civil War Soldier had to carry everything with him that he may need. Most troops were transported by marching on their own two feet, so soldiers quickly learned what was really needed and what wasn’t. Soldiers’ packs could weigh 50 pounds. Essentials included a bedroll or blanket, a change of socks underwear and shirt, a tin plate that could also be used to cook in, a small sewing kit, toothbrush, pocket knife, tin cup, paper and pencil, matches, and half of a tent.

Regimental flag images- Each regiment carried a specific flag. In some cases it was simply the American Flag but with the regimental number sewed on. Others had different images and sometime included names of battles that the regiment had participated in. Some regiments even had mascots- such as Old Abe the Eagle of the 8^th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.

Craft Project:

Make your own regimental flag

The Civil War

• Children will learn that 150 years ago many young Iowa men left home (many for the first time) to fight in a war between the North and the South. Show map of US during Civil War
  

• In 1861- that is 150 years ago this/last year there was a war fought between the states in the north and in the south.
  
• The states were fighting over the right of the south to own another person-called a slave.
  
• The southern states tried to form a new country called the Confederate States of America.
  
• The war lasted for four years. Millions of people fought on both sides. Iowa sent a higher percentage of its population to fight than any other state.
  
• Boys as young as 10-who didn’t fight, but served as musicians-left their homes in Iowa to fight for the United States.
  
• Since we are still one country that means that the north won the war.

• Children will learn that a group called a regiment was comprised of men from the same area in the state they came from. Show the images of Civil War Uniforms
  
  • A regiment is made up of approximately 1,000 men. Men from the same towns and areas would enlist-join the military-together. Regiments would be made up of men from the same area.
    
  • For example the 24^th Iowa regiment was made up of men from Linn, Jones, Cedar, Tama, Johnson and Jackson Counties. The 31^st Iowa also had men from Linn County.
    

   

• Children will learn what a soldier carried with him to war. Show the images of Civil War equipment and packs
  
  • A typical Civil War Soldier had to carry everything with him that he may need. Most troops were transported by marching on their own two feet, so soldiers quickly learned what was really needed and what wasn’t. Soldiers’ packs could weigh 50 pounds. Essentials included a bedroll or blanket, a change of socks underwear and shirt, a tin plate that could also be used to cook in, a small sewing kit, toothbrush, pocket knife, tin cup, paper and pencil, matches, and half of a tent.
    
  • They also carried their 9 lbs. weapons
    
  • This is an excellent place to gross your kids out by talking about Civil War Era hygiene.
    
    • People did not bath as often as we do today. Can you imagine wearing your winter coat, marching for 20 miles carrying your backpack with 50 lbs of school books, on the hottest day you can think of with thousands of other people. Then not taking a bath. What do you think it would smell like?
      
    • They would not have had the opportunity to wash their clothes as often as we do today, nor had many changes. They probably carried one change of socks and underwear and wore their clothes for days on end.
      
    • The did not know about germs yet, so they wouldn’t wash their hands.
      
    • They went to the bathroom, bathed, washed clothes, and drank from the same rivers and creeks. A lot of people got really sick in the Civil War from bad hygiene conditions.
      
    • Doctors didn’t know how diseases were transferred from person to person, so Civil War Era medicine was pretty bad in comparison to today. *More people died from disease than in battle.

• Children will learn that each regiment had a flag that was used to give signals in a battle. Show the images of Regimental Flags
  
  • See regimental flag information

• Carrying the flag was a dangerous, but important job.
  
  • See excerpts from color bearers journals
    

Teacher Information: Regimental Flags

Military units were represented by their own flags. They meant more to the soldiers than simple guides. Since the establishment of the United States Army in 1785, the US regular infantry regiments carried their own colors or flags. They did not carry the national flag since it was felt that no one unit should carry the national honor into battle. The colors gave them a group identity. The soldiers felt the flags represented their honor and pride. They were often made by home towns and women in the community and given with great ceremony as gifts to the units, so they also symbolized home and family. During the Civil War, a soldier was honored for saving his unit’s colors or for capturing enemy colors. If a flag was lost in battle, so were the regiment’s position, identity and honor.

By the 1840s, the national flag was carried by the infantry with the regimental number or title printed on one of the white stripes. If the flag was lost, only the regiment’s honor was lost and not the national honor. When a regiment fought with great bravery and distinction at a battle, they were allowed to have the name of the battle painted directly on their flag. Battle honors made the flags even more important.

During the Civil War, flags were more than simple pieces of cloth or symbols – they were essential members of the regiments on the battle field. Amid noise, smoke, confusion and fear, the flags directed the movements of soldiers and identified the regiment to leaders in the distance. If the flag was lost, so were the regiment’s position, identity and honor. Accounts of battles and wounded men reiterate the importance of the flag and its bearer.

Excerpts from Iowa Soldiers’ Letters and Journals about color bearers

“My color-bearer, Mortimer W. Nelson, as brave a man as ever bore a flag, was shot in the shoulder and fell. Out of four, two color guards, Corporals Davis and Bare, fell severely wounded, and I regret to say Davis was left on the field….” — John A. Garrett, Colonel, 40th Iowa Infantry, Little Rock, Ark., May 6, 1864.

D. W. Reed of the 12th Iowa Infantry wrote on December 16, 1864 from Nashville, Tennessee: “At Nashville, the regiment charged across an open field, upon the enemy entrenched behind a stone wall. When about half way across the field, a rebel shell exploded exactly in the folds of the flag, tearing it to shreds. The colors, color bearer, and color guard were so enveloped in smoke, that it appeared that all were down: but without a moment’s halt the battered flag came out of the smoke and Grannis, still unhurt, carried it forward with a rush, over the wall and up the high hill, in pursuit of the fleeing enemy…”

J.M. Tuttle of the 2nd Iowa Infantry who wrote on February 18, 1862 from Ft. Donelson, Tennessee: “I cannot omit in this report an account of the color-guard. Color-Sergeant Doolittle fell early in the engagement, pierced by four balls and dangerously wounded. The colors were then taken by Corporal Page, Company B, who soon fell dead. They were again raised by Corporal Churcher, Company I, who had his arm broken just as he entered the entrenchment’s, when they were taken by Corporal Twombly, Company F, who was almost instantly knocked down by a spent ball, immediately rose, and bore them gallantly to the end of the fight. Not a single man of the color-guard but himself was on his feet at the close of the engagement.”

Make your own regimental flag

Materials:

Rectangles of felt- I used dark blue

Other felt colors- you can by packs with various colors

Scissors-child scissors usually cut through felt

Glue- plain white glue works fine

Paint pens-optional

Using the dark blue background allow the children to make their own regimental flag using any design that they want. I did also print out an eagle stencil and some of the children decided to use that design, but many liked to add their own colors and shapes. Many of the children got really creative with their flags. Some even took the paper eagles, colored that in and glued the paper to the flag; others cut the eagle out onto felt. I have included some photo examples.

• 1/2 lb. bacon or beef–daily.
  
• 1 1/2 lbs. flour or corn meal–daily, or 1 lb. hard bread.
  

For one hundred men:

• 8 qts. of pease or 10 lbs. of rice.
  
• 4 qts. of vinegar.
  
• 1 1/2 lbs. tallow candles.
  
• 4 lbs. soap.
  
• 2 qts. salt.
  
• 6 lbs. sugar.
  

 Each Union enlisted soldier:

• 12 oz of pork or bacon
  
• 1 lb. 4oz of fresh or salt beef
  
• 1 lb. 6 oz of soft bread or flour
  
• 1 lb. of hard bread or 1ib. 4 oz cornmeal.
  

For every one hundred men:

• 1 peck of beans or peas
  
• 10 lb. of rice or hominy
  
• 10 lb. of green coffee
  
• 8 lb. of roasted and ground coffee, or 1 lb. 8 oz of tea
  
• 15 lb. of sugar
  
• 1 lb. 4 oz of candles
  
• 4 lb. of soap
  
• 1 qt. of molasses
  

Army Hardtack Recipe

• 4 cups flour (preferably whole wheat)
  
• 4 teaspoons salt
  
• Water (about 2 cups)
  
• Pre-heat oven to 375° F
  
• Makes about 10 pieces
  

After cutting the squares, press a pattern of four rows of four holes into each square, using a nail or other such object. Do not punch through the dough.  In addition to or as substitutes for other items, desiccated vegetables, dried fruit, pickles or pickled cabbage might be issued

Marching ration:

• 1 lb. of hard bread
  
• ¾ lb. of salt pork or 1 ¼ lb. of fresh meat
  
• Plus sugar, coffee, and salt
  

Each soldier was to carry is rations in his haversack. The three haversacks on the left from top to bottom: A Confederate haversack that has been treated with linseed oil, a type of waterproofing used in the Civil War. The second haversack is a painted cotton duck haversack known today as the Bayley Haversack. The bottom haversack is a standard issued Federal haversack made of canvas as used by Union troops and included a removable inner bag made of duct cloth.

The middle row of the picture is the tin plates used by soldier to eat their meals from as well as a tin boiler, copper dipping cup, a bone spoon, and a fork, knife and spoon combination set.

The right hand row is two style of canteens and are by no means the standard as several styles were issued. The tan-brown colored canteen is a Federal smooth-side canteen while the lower canteen is made from tin and is a style that men of the Confederate army were issued. Tin was cheap and easily accessible material that tinsmiths fashioned into canteens. 

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Nov. 25, 2014—Families are invited to take a break from holiday shopping this Saturday, Nov. 29, to visit the Carl & Mary Koehler History Center on the final day the museum will be open to the public at its current location. The History Center has sold its property at 615 First Avenue SE and on Dec. 1 will begin the process of packing and moving its collection of 50,000 artifacts. In September the History Center purchased the historic Douglas Mansion at 800 Second Ave. SE. “We’re excited to take this step toward making the Douglas Mansion our permanent home,” says Caitlin Treece, director of the History Center. As part of the move, the History Center’s collections will be  stored offsite in a warehouse near Coe College. Staff will also have temporary offices at that location beginning Jan. 5. The museum’s archives, photo collection and revolving pieces of the collection will eventually move to the Douglas Mansion. According to Treece, the museum’s board of directors will soon be selecting an architect for renovation of the Douglas Mansion with the goal of a proposed architectural plan in hand within the next months. A local moving company with expertise in handling detailed and fragile cargo will begin shrink wrapping items next week under the supervision of Mike Crist, the History Center’s manager of facilities and exhibits. “We have a very precise method for inventorying and accessing artifacts in the storage area at our current location,” says Crist. The museum’s thousands of items are stored in a database that provides the coordinates for finding each piece. “Each artifact has a row, rack and shelf number,” explains Crist. “Once everything is moved, the inventory system at our new storage facility will mirror the system we have now. The sheer number of items makes this a very detail-intense job.” “Although the History Center will temporarily be without a home base, we will fulfill our mission of sharing and interpreting local history by bringing programs to the public,” says Treece. The museum will continue to offer bus tours, school programs, public forums and the museum’s popular walking tours with historian Mark Stoffer Hunter. “We’re also exploring the possibility of turning our presidential exhibit into a local touring exhibit,” says Treece. The History Center will continue to provide up-to-date program information at historycenter.org.