NEWS
2019 Calendars are now available for purchase. They are available at Timbergate Garden Flower Shop on Mainstreet or at the Museum gift Shop. You can also order by mail $10 plus $3 shipping.
New Railroad display is being worked on. Some new artifacts and a new layout telling the history of the railroad in Belle Plaine. We will be open in March.
July 25th, 2017 GOT A TRACTOR? Come join us for the annual Tractorcade sponsored by the Belle Plaine Historical Society. This year we are headed to Clutier and lunch at Czech Point restaurant. It is a beautiful trip. We go through Elberon, stop in Vining, and on the way back go through Chelsea. $30 a tractor and $10 a rider. Breakfast, lunch and Raffle prizes are included. Come join us !!
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The Belle Plaine Historical Society is very happy to have on display a Dr. Joshua Worley's civil war officer's coat. It is on loan from Mary Kautzky, a great niece of Dr. Worley. He was the first doctor in Belle Plaine.
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The Belle Plaine Historical Society is excited to host the Don McKinney art exhibit on November 26th from 4pm until 8pm. Don's pottery was his love and it has not been on display as an exhibit before. Many thanks to Steve Beck for organizing this. Don taught in Belle Plaine for over 40 years. Here is what Steve Beck wrote about him.
"Don "Chuck" McKinney's career is difficult to label in any traditional sense. He served as an educator for 5 decades, touching the lives of countless students. McKinney taught art, computer design, and industrial arts. He coached wresting, track, swimming, he even coached rodeo and cheerleading briefly. His impact in the local community is profound. We invite you to join us in honoring Don McKinney and his life's work.
The Art exhibit is titled: Beauty in the Flaws Pottery and People : a Don McKinney retrospective. This will take place at the museum on November 26th from 4pm until 8pm. So get your shopping done early and come to the museum. There will be holiday treats and good cheer.
THis is an open even and everyone is welcome. Please share this even and feel free to invite anyone.
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November 5th: The Pumpkin Pancake Breakfast was a big hit. Don Villers was making some of the best pancakes and Many thanks to Deb Drahos and the rest of the museum board for putting it altogether. We had some old Belle Plaine photographs on the tables and that brought forth a lot of discussion and "remember whens" ! This is an annual event and we appreciate everyone coming out and supporting the Belle Plaine Historical Society. The proceeds of the breakfast will go toward new display costs. Thank you !
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July 1st Kids Art Party Event
Mosaic from the Kids Art Party with John Schlue that was held on July 1st. We had 82 kids join in on the art fun. Each kid was given a piece that was based off of the Jackson Pollack mural and were asked to paint what they saw from that sheet. After they were done, the pieces were allowed to dry and the art work was put together in three separate mosaics. They are hanging in the Belle Plaine Area Museum. On this page, we put them altogether as one piece. The kids had fun (parents too). Many thanks to all the volunteers that helped make this happen. Thank you to Casey's General Stores and to Frontier Co-op for their generout donations that helped make this happen.
July 1st Kids Art Party with John Schlue We had over 80 kids register and paint a piece of abstract art. All the pieces will be put together to make a large mosaic and be displayed at the Belle Plaine Museum. What a great way to give back to your home town. Thanks John.
May 7 2016
A visit by Henry and Pat Tippie and the the Tippie Annex display manager Bob Bodnar.
A Homecoming of the Stettler Daughters. Charlene, Beth and Ellen will be returning home in Belle Plaine and talk about the history of their father. Herm Stettler moved to Iowa in the 1920s. Come and listen to some wonderful stories of the Lincoln Highway and Herm's life.
Our opening weekend for 2016. Linda McCann will visit the Belle Plaine Area Museum and give a talk on Prohibition in Iowa. There will also be some discussion after her talk about prohibtion in Belle Plaine and some of the stories that have been shared over the years. Sunday, April 3rd at 2pm.
The latest news and happenings at the Belle Plaine Area Museum
Our schedule for 2015 will be published in April. We are excited to have some great programs and we look forward to have people come and visit the museum.
Train Days is May 9th this year. We look forward to having you come and visit the museum and experience the history of the railroad in Belle Plaine.
TRACTORCADE 2013
August 11th was a beautiful day to have a Tractorcade. The weather was in the 70s and there were over 40 tractors that joined us for a beautiful ride. This year the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway was the Co Sponsor. This year's ride went through Luzerne, Blairstown, Norway and we lunched at the Amana RV Park. We then continued on our ride through the Amanas to Marengo, past Kostza and back to Belle Plaine. We thank everyone who participated and donated raffle prizes...Thanks to Belle Plaine Carquest, Phillips Pharmacy and Midwestone Bank, John Deer and Roger Johnson with Voice of Belle Plaine radio.
Bob and Mark Upah Tractorcade 2013 Lyle Hamilton Tractorcade 2013
The Lincoln Highway Tours came through Belle Plaine in the last couple of weeks. The Lincoln Highway National Tour came through Belle Plaine on June 28th and we had a lot of visitors in town. The Museum was a scheduled stop for them to visit exhibits and then they were off to see Sankot's Garage, Herring Hotel, Lincoln Cafe, Main Street and Preston's Station.
July 4th Celebration and Parade
It was a beautiful day in Belle Plaine. A big crowd was on hand and a lot of visitors came in the museum after the parade was over.
American Car Club of Norway sponsored a Lincoln Highway Centennial Year Tour. over 80 American cars were shipped from Europe to the US for the tour. They are doing the entire route from New York City to San Francisco. We had over 40 cars stop in Belle Plaine on July 11th. We really enjoyed seeing their cars and saying hello. The majority of the cars were from Norway, but there were also participants from Germany, Denmark, Sweden and England.
