Iowa History Journal
Bill’s and Bob’s Field of Dreams
Saturday, July 10th, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal | 1 Comment
Publisher’s Perspective – Volume 2, Issue 4 of Iowa History Journal
Iowa is well known in some circles as the home of “Field of Dreams” because the hit movie of that name was filmed on a picturesque farm near Dyersville. The 1989 film starred Kevin Costner as an Iowa farmer who saw ghost players come out of a cornfield to play on a baseball diamond he carved out of a pasture.
But in reality, there are two fields of dream in our great state. The first one was developed in the mid 1930s near Van Meter, on a farm owned by Bill Feller.
Through the years, I’ve been to both fields of dreams several times. Shoeless Joe Jackson was the star player of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox team that the Costner film focused on, and I created a Shoeless Joe Jackson poster in 1992 that has sold very well at the gift shop at the Dyersville movie site.
On May 26, I once again visited the “original” field of dreams, the one near Van Meter. I drove there with Scott Havick, the energetic and passionate director of the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter.
Iowa History Journal Volume 2, Issue 4 Now Available
Friday, July 9th, 2010 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments
Iowa is known for the “Field of Dreams” movie starring Kevin Costner in which the ghosts of major league baseball players emerge from an Iowa cornfield near Dyersville. But the original “field of dreams” was built near Van Meter, in central Iowa, by Bill Feller and his son, Bob – who went on to become the greatest baseball player ever produced in this state!
This issue has a long feature article – written by Buck Turnbull, retired award-winning sportswriter of the Des Moines Register – on Bob Feller’s amazing career with the Cleveland Indians. Also, publisher Mike Chapman writes about the Fellers’ field of dreams and the beautiful Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter.
There is also Part Two of the John Wayne story, based in Winterset, Iowa.
The magazine has other outstanding articles on a wide range of topics – including Glenn Miller, king of the Big Band era; a magician from Marshalltown who was so famous that even Harry Houdini listened to him, and a forgotten Utopian society named the Icarians.
All of this plus columns by John McNeer and Arvid Huisman and a book review, Iowa History Quiz and What’s In a Name, telling about the historic past of Iowa’s third largest city, Davenport.
Iowa History Journal Volume 2, Issue 3 Now Available
Monday, May 3rd, 2010 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments
John Wayne is the focus of the May/June, 2010, issue of Iowa History Journal. The cover features a seldom seen full-color oil painting of The Duke at the peak of his movie career, playing “Hondo” in 1953. We contacted the artist for permission to use this very powerful image on the cover because we wanted to give the readers a portrait that is not only powerful (note the eyes) but rare.
John Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa, and publisher Mike Chapman devotes his column to the Winterset birthplace. There is also a rare photo of John Wayne posing with Brian Downes in 1977. Downes is now the enthusiastic and energetic executive director of the birthplace site in Winterset.
Another feature you won’t want to miss is how HyVee grew from one store in Iowa to one of the finest companies in the United States.
And Don Doxsie, long-time sports editor of the Quad City Times in Davenport, offers an absorbing story about a little-known baseball legend named “Ironman” Joe McGinnity and his days as an Iowa manager.
Iowa History Journal Volume 2, Issue 2 Now Available
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments
The March/April, 2010, issue features fascinating articles on an Iowa school teacher named Jane Elliott who in the 1960s shook up the national educational network with her thought provoking “brown eyes/blue eyes” studies on racial discrimination. Also in this issue, a look at the time traveling caveman named Alley Oop and his “birth” in Perry, Iowa. This issue contains a look at the highly successful Pella Corporation, the Iowa legacy of George Washington Carver and the emergence of the Iowa State University wrestling program in the 1960s. And finally, a look at the Blue Hall of Fame and the day the Civil War almost came to Iowa!
Also columns by regulars Mike Chapman, Arvid Huisman and John McNeer; Iowa History Quiz, and a book review on “Head-On Joe: The Man who Wrecked 146 Locomotives”.
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