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CATALOG
For Special People
For Special Reasons
CATEGORIES
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Page 2
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Iowa Connections -- Facts and Trivia
| Iowa's prairies and marshes provide nesting
grounds for ducks. Iowa's wetlands are also along the Central
flyway and provide rest stops for migrating waterfowls. Mallards,
wood ducks and blue-winged teal are common ducks nesting in Iowa.
Pintails, ruddy ducks, green-winged teal, shovelers, lesser scaup, and
redheads are among those that migrate over Iowa. |
Read to Your Ducklings! |
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| Several
species of violets (Viola species) are native to Iowa. Violets usually
grow in colonies and can be found in a wide variety of habitats ranging
from dry, rocky prairies to moist woodlands. Two of the most
common violets native to Iowa are the "blue violet" and the "dog
violet." |
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- Iowa's ranks third in the nation
in terms of number of farms in the state. In 2003, Iowa had
90,000 farms (with 32,000,000 acres) within its borders. Iowa is
in the heartland of the midwest -- the heart of the United States of
America.
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Cedar Rapids was founded along
the banks of the Cedar River in the 1830's. The Algonquin, Fox, Sac,
and Sioux tribes lived in the Cedar River Valley prior to the first
settlers. German, Czech, and Slovak settlers started moving in and by
1847, Cedar Rapids saw its first school and post office. Two years
later in 1849, Cedar Rapids was officially incorporated. The
railroad arrived in 1859. The Cedar River rapids provided a natural
source of power and the railroad added new markets. New industry
developed and Cedar Rapids grew. In 1873, Robert Stuart moved his oat
milling company to Cedar Rapids. His company, Quaker Oats, is still in Cedar Rapids and
is the largest cereal plant in the world. Other food companies in Cedar Rapids
include Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Cargill, General Mills, and Ralston Foods.
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- Robert
Stuart and his father John moved their oat milling company to Cedar
Rapids in 1873. Oatmeal was becoming a popular food and the Cedar
Rapids area was the source of some of the finest oats in the
country. The Stuarts chose Cedar Rapids as the site of the North
Star Oatmeal Mill. Eventually the North Star company became known
as the Quaker Oats Company. The figure of a man dressed in
typical Quaker fashion became an icon recognized around the world today
as Quaker
Oats.
The Quaker Oats cereal plant of today is the world's largest cereal
manufacturing plant. The Quaker Oats brand is now part of
Pepsico with headquarters in Chicago, Illinois but the LARGEST CEREAL
MILL is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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Tall luxuriant prairie
grasses covered most of the Iowa Territory before the 20th
century. The prairie grasses were intermingled with a variety of
colorful wildflowers, including wild roses, pasque flowers, asters,
phlox, wild indigo brooms, goldenrods, lilies, and gentians.
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