Nationwide test of Emergency Alert System to be conducted November 9

The members of Main Street Matters in Lansing and the Allamakee County Historic Preservation Commission want to build a record of the history of Lansing’s Main Street to share with all. To that end, they received a CLG grant from the State Historical Society of Iowa and hired a consultant, Molly Meyer Naumann, an architectural historian, and with her help are pulling together photos, newspaper items and personal reminiscences reaching back as far as possible.
November 2, the two groups will be hosting a History Day at the Kerndt Brothers Savings Bank Community Center on Main Street in Lansing. They are asking everyone in the area to pull out their family photo albums and scrapbooks and search for items that could help.
Bruce Palmborg, Board President for Main Street Matters, says, “Anything could be valuable - photos and old postcards, of course, but also things like old newspapers and/or clippings, church directories, letters, diaries (we’ll keep the secrets secret), playbills from the Opera House and theatres, maps. Really anything having to do with Lansing’s past - especially the business community and the people who made it run.”
Members of Main Street Matters and volunteers will be at the Community Center from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day with digital scanners and cameras. Any and all items brought in will be scanned or photographed and information noted as to what they are and who brought them. Also, all items will be returned as soon as possible (service while waiting may be possible) and the owners will be provided with a DVD of the scans and/or photographs. Naumann will also be available for a portion of the day to help with the process and to talk with anyone interested in history and architecture.
In addition to historical items, the group hopes that people will be willing to come and share stories of life on Lansing’s Main Street. These stories will be recorded and transcribed between 1 and 6 p.m. The printed stories will be made available to the tellers without charge.
Palmborg also noted that the names of those bringing in items will be entered in a 7:30 p.m. drawing for a signed art print donated by Fred Easker and framed by Eagle’s Nest Gallery. The framed print is available for viewing at Eagle’s Nest Gallery in Lansing.