Founded in 1855, the Amana Colonies in southeast Iowa were dedicated to religious faith and communal living. Baseball was originally deemed to be too worldly for the community, and was banned until 1928. Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe talks with historian Monys Hagan about how the Amana youth eventually earned the elders' tolerance of baseball and it became the community's pastime until its decline in popularity in the 1980. The story is chronicled in her book The Worldly Game: The Story of Baseball in the Amana Colonies.
Later in the episode, the Iowa Watercolor Society was founded in 1977 by a small group of watercolor artists. Today it boasts a community of over 150 members both in and outside the state. IWS President Jean Weiner shares how a once-forgotten love of watercolor painting in her youth was reignited by a life-saving surgery.
Guests:
- Monys Hagan, author and emerita professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver
- Jean Weiner, president, Iowa Watercolor Society
