A Town Full of History
A Brief Early History of Clear Lake from our founding to the 1920'sThanks to the local Historical Society, Clear Lake finally has its own history museum backed up by a history archives room at the public library (developed by H. Milton Duesenberg). These two resources...
African Americans in Clear Lake
This week for Throwback Thursday is an excellent opportunity to explore the roles of African Americans in Clear Lake during our community in the 19th century in honor of Black History Month. Several African Americans lived and worked in Clear Lake in the late 19th and...
Arts Council
This weekend the popular Art in the Park will fill our park with beautiful, creative works of art waiting to be discovered by shoppers. This event has been a mainstay of the summer for many years. In early 1977, the Arts Council was organized. One of their first...
Back To School
It’s the most wonderful time of the year ” How did that happen? Summer has moved with astonishing speed! It’s here again. Another year of school is upon us with all kinds of possibilities. Kids sporting new clothes will be posing for the first day of school photos,...
Barrel Drive In
As we continue to enjoy warm days and football, who can forget fun at the Barrel Drive-In on Highway 18 West? Whether it was car-hops delivering food to your car or dining inside this was a great place to hang out and listen to the tunes from 1490 – KRIB radio...
Big Muskie
Clear Lake has been prized for its bountiful fishing even long before the settlers came along. She still draws fishing enthusiasts. May 10th and 11th there will be many fishermen competing in the Walleye Classic. Each person will be hoping to hook the big one. But...
Burning of the Green
Let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit some cherished moments from our community's history! Each week, on Thursday, we are going to "throw it back" and share a piece of our community history with you. This week for Throwback Thursday we reflect on the end of...
Camping at Clear Lake
These parks were just twinkles in Clear Lake’s eyes when our first campgrounds were booming. Perched on Mars Hill Drive in today’s DNR Park, the campgrounds were a popular destination. From the mid 1870’s through around 1915, the campgrounds established Clear Lake’s...
Carp in Clear Lake
Carp are not native to North America. In fact, they have a long history in Europe and Asia, as described in the “History of Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) in North America” posted on the America Carp Society website (https://americancarpsociety.com/us-carp-history). Carp...
Carrie Nation
Clear Lake’s Chautauqua drew many prominent speakers over the years when it was at its zenith. One was a fireball of a woman, Carrie Nation. She’s shown in this photo getting off the train in our current Mars Hill neighborhood. This fierce little woman wielded her axe...
Classic Cars
Old cars capture our imagination. We harken back to a simpler more refined era. But was it? The first cars required the owner to crank hard to get them to start. Many an arm fell victim to the crank. Without a windshield the riders shared their journey with insects...
Clear Lake Dairy
This week our series on Clear Lake dairies continues. Clear Lake Dairy was one of the five dairies to serve Clear Lake. This small operation was started by John Dawson (photo attached), a self-made man who lived on Section 8 of Lake Township.Mr. Dawson was born in...
Clear Lake Newspaper History
This history of Clear Lake newspapers is based on articles written by John Perkins for the Globe Gazette and Clear Lake Mirror-Reporter. John Perkins (1912-2011) was a lifelong Clear Lake resident and the city’s ‘unofficial historian”. John spoke to many groups about...
Earth Day 2025
Earth Day began on April 22 1970. It was the largest worldwide day of protest and awareness ever organized. It remains so to this day. The diverse groups of people who support this cause range from Republicans to Democrats; rich and poor; urban and rural; business and...
Easter Egg Hunt
The Earth is turning her face to the sun as spring arrives. Sometimes she gets a gentle kiss on the cheek, other days she gets a slap in the face while the iffy weather changes. Easter egg hunts have long been a tradition in Clear Lake. Early on they are mentioned in...
Eldon Vine- Remember When
I’m Eldon Vine I'm also a Marine I have been one since January 22, 1952. Within six months, I had waded the final 100 yards from a landing craft to shore at Inchon, Korea. Hip deep in the fetid mixture of seawater and sewage, I struggled ashore with my 75 pound pack...
Etzel Families
Etzel Brothers John Etzel and his brother George were prominent businessmen during the development of Clear Lake from 1875 to 1935. John Etzel was born on December 23, 1857, in Newark, New York. His parents, Leonhart and Anna Etzel, emigrated to the United...
F M Roger’s House
Our focus this week centers on one of the beautiful landmark homes built on N. 3 rd St. and N. 4 th St. The majority of these homes were built in the last quarter of the 19 th century and a few in the early 20 th century. These houses were homes for many of Clear...
Farmer’s Co-op Dairy
This week our series on Clear Lake dairies continues. Farmer Co-op Dairy was one of the five dairies to serve Clear Lake. First a little background on the concept of cooperatives in Iowa. Co-ops in Iowa began as early as the late 19th century, Farmer’s Cooperative of...
Fireworks on the 4th
Clear Lake knows how to celebrate the 4th of July with style! Our fireworks displays are top notch. They get bigger and better every year. One year in particular, a spectacular show was planned. In 1976, the county’s bicentennial of declaring our independence from...
Folkmann Dairy
As promised, this week for Throwback Thursday we will learn a bit about one of Clear Lake's Dairies and the Clear Lake "Milkman" who operated it. Enter August "Gus" Folkmann, born August 11, 1902 in Iowa County, Iowa. Mr. Folkmann grew up working on his father's farm....
Fourth of July
1Clear Lake’s long traditional 4th of July celebration began in 1856 and gets better every year. In 1913 J.H. Miller drove his miniature pony powered car down Main Street. The fire department’s first motorized truck made her debut in the 1917 parade. A car decked out...
Harper Joslyn
In one week, on Dec. 7, 2016, we will mark the 75th anniversary of the premeditated attack by Japanese forces on the American fleet in Pearl Harbor. It was an attack that plunged the United States into a war that snuffed out the lives of many of our young. On that...
Hemp Manufacturing in WW 2
This week we are going to investigate the growing of hemp around Clear Lake. I'll first share a quick memory from my teaching days at Clear Lake High School when I mentioned that hemp was grown and processed around Clear Lake for its use during WW II. One of my...
Ice Fishing
Here’s a fun fact; ice fishing was illegal in Iowa from 1898-1950. Yup- really. Scott Grummer, DNR Fisheries Management Biologist, confirms this surprising fact. In addition, ice shacks were outlawed two years earlier in 1896. Several reasons initiated the ban. Many...
Ice Harvest
Holiday parties are filled with joyful sounds. The effervescence of carbonated drinks hitting the ice signals refreshment. We push the lever in the fridge door, and magically the glass is full of ice. Some hosts go to the effort of making ice cubes frozen around herbs...
Infrastructure Building
The rapid growth of Clear Lake in the late 19th century was supported by significant investments in infrastructure, transforming Clear Lake from a modest settlement to a thriving hub for tourism and commerce. These investments laid the foundation for the city's...
KKK in the 1920’s
History is a combination of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ugly was raising its head in the early to mid 1920’s in North Iowa. The Ku Klux Klan was gaining prominence in the USA. For a time they had a foothold in Clear Lake and Mason City. The Clear Lake Reporter...
Louise Allen
An Interview with Louise Allen Iowa is a wonderful place to live usually but, sometimes, along in January, even the most loyal Iowan does entertain daydreams of places where temperatures are warm and flowers are blooming; of cruising on blue waters and playing on warm...
M.W. Bud Hughes
Interview with M. W. "Bud" HughesEvery person listening to this program today is the sum total not only of his own experiences, but of his ancestor’s experiences and where and when those events happened. It’s always fun to be able to visit with someone who not only...
MC + CL Railroad
Today for our Throwback Thursday journey, let's take a ride on the trolley of the MC and CL Railroad. Attached you will find a photo taken by local photographer, Phil Mench, about 1905 on Main looking east. The location is at the 1300 block of Main between S 13th St...
Miller Dairy
Let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit some cherished moments from our community's history! Each week, on Thursday, we are going to "throw it back" and share a piece of our community history with you. This week our series on Clear Lake dairies continues....
New Year’s Resolutions
The New Year brings us a time to reflect over the year just passed. One thing for sure- it passed in a rush! The Steve Miller Band sang in Fly Like an Eagle that “Time keeps on slipping into the future.” As we contemplate a whole new year ahead of us, some people like...
Outing Club
As our seasonal Clear Lakers return to our charming lake town, one place will fill again with the sights and sounds of summer for the 130th year. The Outing Club, established in 1895, is thought to be Iowa’s first cooperative housing structure. Community based but...
Perkins Dairy
This week our series on well-known Clear Lake dairies concludes. As we wrap up this topic there are a complete of interesting facts. In the early 20th century edition of The History of Cerro Gordo County, it was recorded that by 1905, there were 13,846 dairy cows...
Polio
In the early 1950’s summer fun for kids could be hard to find. Swimming pools, movie theaters, and county fairs closed. Organized team sports were often non existent. Why? Polio. Polio epidemics raged every few years, peaking in Iowa in 1952 with 3,564 cases. Most...
Return of the Trumpeter Swans
Have you ever had the quiet of a remote wetland or calm lake interrupted by what sounds like a brass band? You might have heard Trumpeter Swans. When European settlers arrived in Iowa, Trumpeters were plentiful. The handsome bird was prized for its beautiful white...
Ridiculous Days
This weekend Clear Lake is holding another round of city wide garage sales. There will no doubt be some fantastic bargains to be found. In the late 1950’s and 1960’s Clear Lake merchants sponsored Ridiculous Days. And they were!! Competitions to be the most ridiculous...
Robert Replogle
Clear Lake recognized Robert Replogle as Distinguished Citizen. A distinguished cardio-thoracic surgeon and teacher based in the Chicago area, Dr. Robert Replogle is noted for his work in both adult and pediatric surgery and the leadership he has provided in his...
Sail Boat Races
On days when sailboats race, our lake wears one her most picturesque faces. The first sailboat is believed to have launched before 1870. A craft named “Water Witch”, was built before the civil war for Mr Crowell. Many followed in a fleet operated by Oscar Stevens. H....
Small Town Slogans
In 1871 Joseph Hewitt’s Clear Lake City, south of the outlet, and James Dickirson’s Clear Lake Village, where our downtown of today stands, were joined and incorporated as Clear Lake Iowa. That same year the railroad and the telegraph arrived in town. These events set...
Snowy Outhouse
Ah, the good old days. Full of romance. People lived simpler lives. Things weren’t as complicated. Perhaps. This photo is from around 1910. It gives us something to consider. When you walk into your warm indoor bathroom, be happy you don’t have to shovel a path to it...
The Last Prairie Fire
My grandfather, Roscoe Miller (1908-1991) told me the story of the last prairie fire in the area. He lived several miles north of Clear Lake (see 1875 map). His grandparents were named Dawson and they were one of the first settlers in this area. It was early spring in...
The Magic of Theater
Through the magic of movies we can sit in one place and be transported to another place and time. Our imagination is captured by the massive screen and that sound that commands attention. A good story seeps inside our brains and stays with us as we step back into...
Twixmas
Twixmas- the unofficial term for the relaxed period between Christmas and New Year. Time to shift from high gear to glorious neutral. The possibilities are endless and Clear Lake holds them all. Get creative with holiday leftovers. Then walk them off in one of our...
Wilcox Furniture
Clear Lake’s Main Street has changed over the years as businesses come and go. Some of those business changes have been the result of changing times and/or changing needs. As you may know, the first permanent settlers in Clear Lake were Joseph Hewitt and James...
Zeeman Mcgoon-Carp King
Zeaman Magoon- American Carp King Zeaman Magoon was the face of the decades long effort from 1910 to 1930 to significantly reduce the carp population in Clear Lake. The following transcribed Associated Press Article that appeared in numerous publications in July 1923...