The public is invited to the Marchant Memorial Library in Scranton to learn about the Barn Quilts of Iowa and the “Underground Railroad Movement.” on Monday, July 15, at 4 p.m.
This program is part of this year’s adult summer reading, which is sponsored by Scranton Manufacturing/New Way Trucks.
What started out as a barn quilt picture-taking trip to 291 farms in Grundy, Bremer, Butler, Black Hawk, and Wright counties as well as the city of Kalona for Danny Steiber of Waverly and Anna Kendall of Waterloo turned into a one hour PowerPoint slideshow and talk program.
As the 350 images appear on-screen, Steiber explains the history of the Underground Railroad Movement and the development of Barn Quilts, 15 of which carried a special message to slaves traveling through Iowa in the 1800s on their quest to freedom.
The four-page handout, given to all attendees, shows the slaves travel routes in the United States and through Iowa at that time, a list of books and DVDs about this history, and a duplication of a historical sign in Cedar County relative to the Underground Railroad.
This program has been widely viewed by 5,450-plus attendees at 140 sites in Iowa in the last 36 months. The program is free and open to the public. Persons who want more information can call the H.F. & Maude E. Marchant Memorial Library at 712-652-3453 for more information.
