Our candlesticks, known as “push ups” (i.e., there is an ingenious lever inside the candlestick) are made of brass. The lever is cleverly hidden inside the stems. The lever allowed the user to push the candle up out of the candlestick, which allowed it to burn longer.
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Out of the Attic: Bison bone found near Cascade Landing between 150 and 12,000 years old
Julie Martineau
Des Moines County Historical Society
This object is a new acquisition for our collection, and we are unsure of exactly how old it really is.
According to the Iowa paleontologist’s office, the object is thought to be somewhere between 150 and 12,000 years old, and as found by a rather generous patron who brought it to us after she found it near Cascade Landing.
Iowa was very a very different place, as late as 150 years ago. In fact, 12,000 years ago (during the last ice age), Iowa looked more like Canada than the more familiar landscape that we know today. It was much colder, and was covered with forests dotted with pockets of prairie.
Out of the Attic: Mississippi clam shells were basis for pearl button industry
Julie Martineau
Des Moines County Historical Society
Catalog number 73.82 is described as a clam shell from the Mississippi River, given to us by a Mrs. Carl Myers of Mediapolis.
The object its self is unassuming, and indeed, common enough in this area. In fact, they are so common they were the basis for an entire industry.
The remnants of the Mississippi Pearl Button industry still can be found in old concrete and along the river front fairly regularly. Shells with holes punched in them were used to reinforce and fill concrete aggregate and were thrown in the river for many a year.
Egg gatherers would regularly raid nests, with one wealthy collector amassing more than 300,000 specimens from all over the world. It must be said that at the height of the craze, the collectors made invaluable contributions to science. However, they also decimated populations.