Come Visit Mike at State Fair & Cattle Congress

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010 | Iowa History Journal, Speaking | No Comments

Mike Chapman is a public speaker who has appeared at dozens of events the past several years, to talk about Iowa History Journal magazine in particular and Iowa history in general.

In the past year, he has given speeches in Des Moines, Marshalltown, Newton, Osage, Waterloo, Ankeny and Stanton, drawing rave reviews every where.

In the coming months, Mike will be appearing at the Iowa State Fair on August 12-22 and at the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, September 16-19. You are invited to come meet Mike and his wife, Bev, and browse over the numerous books he has written (21 to date) and see the ten issues of Iowa History Journal that have been published so far. If you buy any of the books or magazines, Mike will be happy to sign them for you.

Both the books and the magazines make tremendous gifts for Iowans who live anywhere!

Click here to read dates and times…

Tags: Iowa State Fair, National Cattle Congress

Bill’s and Bob’s Field of Dreams

Saturday, July 10th, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal | No Comments

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.

Continue reading…

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.

Read more to see what’s inside this issue…

Tags: Bob Feller, Field of Dreams, Glenn Miller, John Wayne

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.

Read more to see what’s inside this issue…

Tags: "Ironman” Joe McGinnity, HyVee, John Wayne

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”.

Read more to see what’s inside this issue…

Tags: Alley Oop, George Washington Carver, Jane Elliot, Pella Corporation

The Day Tarzan Came Home to Iowa

Thursday, January 14th, 2010 | Columns, Iowa History Journal, Wrestling | No Comments

This is the Publisher’s Perspective column from Volume 2, Issue 1 of Iowa History Journal:

During my long career in journalism I’ve had the opportunity to meet many interesting personalities … from President Ronald Reagan to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, from actors like Robert Redford and Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk” of TV fame) to super athletes like Dick Butkus and Bob Mathias.

But one of the most memorable moments came when Tarzan visited Iowa City.

I was editor of the Voice of the Hawkeyes newspaper in 1985 when Dan Gable, Iowa’s wrestling coach at the time, called me and asked if I had any ideas on who he could get to be an “honorary coach” at the upcoming wrestling match between the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. The meet was already a very big deal back then, but he was trying to put a little extra excitement into the event and thought it would be fun to have someone special with his team on the bench.

I said, “How about a former movie Tarzan?”

“That sounds interesting,” he replied, “but what’s the connection with Iowa?”

Continue reading…

Tags: Dan Gable, Jock Mahoney, Tarzan

Iowa History Journal Volume 2, Issue 1 Now Available

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments

The January, 2010, issue features articles on the great career of Iowa basketball legend Murray Wier, former movie Tarzan Jock Mahoney of Davenport, the Younkers store dynasty, the Iowa Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Spirit Lake Massacre of 1857!

Also columns by regulars Mike Chapman, Arvid Huisman and John McNeer; Iowa History Quiz, and a book review on the best-selling book “The Girls of Ames.”

The feature article in the issue is about the great Corn Palaces of Iowa.

Inside the Issue:

• The Day Tarzan came to Iowa
• Natural Royalty, Iowa’s Palaces – by Bill Sherman
• Murray Wier, the Magic Man – by Buck Turnbull
• Iowa Country Roads – Memories live on in farmhouses – by Arvid Huisman
• Rock ‘n Roll Museum … Here to stay – by Michael Swanger
• Jock Mahoney, King of the Jungle – by Mike Chapman
• Iowa Book Review on “Girls from Ames” – by Jessica Lowe
• The Way We Were – Phones once shared by everyone – by John McNeer
• Memory of the Spirit Lake Massacre – by Pete Hussmann
• Younkers’ 150-Year Heritage – by Staff Writers
• When Sleighs took over Council Bluffs – by Frank Heath
• What’s in a Name: Waverly & Bremer County
• Iowa History Quiz
• Nile Kinnick Quotes: The Power of the Bible
• Letters to the Editor

Visit IowaHistoryJournal.com to subscribe!

Tags: Corn Palaces of Iowa, Jock Mahoney, Murray Wier, Tarzan, Younkers

Iowa History Journal Issue 6 Now Available

Monday, December 7th, 2009 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments

Issue number 6, December 2009, of the Iowa History Journal is now available.

Inside the issue:

• USS Iowa Firepower Still Felt Today
• The Borlaug Legacy
• Bump Elliot: Hawkeye Leader
• Historic Blacksmith Shop
• The Day the Pope Came
• Heisman Trophy Contenders
• Honoring Columbus in Iowa
• Columns by Iowans

Visit IowaHistoryJournal.com to subscribe!

Tags: Bump Elliot, Norman Borlaug, USS Iowa

Iowa History Journal Issue 5 Now Available

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 | Iowa History Journal | No Comments

Issue number 5, October 2009, of the Iowa History Journal is now available.

Inside the issue:

• Saga of the USS Iowa
• Old Chapel Resurrected
• Rocky Marciano’s Fatal Trip
• Three Baseball Books
• Recalling the Big Peach
• Iowa History Quiz
• Columns by Iowans

Visit IowaHistoryJournal.com to subscribe!

Tags: Fred Becker, Rocky Marciano, USS Iowa

IHJ Featured in Tuesday’s Des Moines Register

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 | Iowa History Journal, Newspaper | No Comments

The Des Moines Register did a short piece on the Iowa History Journal in its Biz Buzz section on Tuesday. The blurb reads:

Iowa writer and promoter Mike Chapman has a new venture, Iowa History Journal, which he began publishing with a soft launch last winter and which is now promoting its fifth issue.

The inaugural issue in January featured University of Iowa football legend Nile Kinnick. Subsequent covers featured former Iowans Herbert Hoover, Donna Reed and actor George “Superman” Reeves.

The October issue features Fred Becker, the first U of I football player to win All-American status. He died on a World War I battlefield.

Chapman is a former publisher of the Newton Daily News and founder of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum.

The Iowa History Journal is distributed to high schools and libraries. The October issue will be available soon in some bookstores, said publicist Donna Johnson. For subscription information, call (641) 792-0920 or go to IowaHistoryJournal.com.

(Source: www.desmoinesregister.com)