Darcy Dougherty Maulsby of Lake City published her new book, “The Lincoln Highway in Iowa – A History” in October. Maulsby, who is known as “Iowa’s Storyteller”, will present stories from her new book during a fun, interactive program, “Adventures Along Iowa’s Historic Lincoln Highway—the Ultimate Iowa Road Trip,” at the Grand Junction Community Center on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 pm. The program is sponsored by the Greene County Librarians Association and the Greene County Lincoln Highway Association. It is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing, as well as a drawing for a copy of the book.
Everyone is also invited to visit the Greene County Lincoln Highway across the street from the community center. “We’ll have the museum open before and after Darcy’s program,” said Joyce Ausberger, member of the Greene County Lincoln Highway Association. Admission to the museum is free.
Nothing says freedom like the great American road trip, especially when you cruise the historic Lincoln Highway in Iowa. Better known today as Highway 30, the Lincoln Highway revolutionized Iowa and America when the historic route was developed more than a century ago. In 1913, the Lincoln Highway became the first coast-to-coast highway, connecting New York City to San Francisco. It passed right through Iowa, from Clinton to Council Bluffs.
“There are countless pieces of the past just waiting to be re-discovered along the Lincoln Highway in Iowa,” Maulsby said. “Along the way, you can still find inspiring stories of dynamic entrepreneurs, people who care about their community, and rural revitalization, mixed with historic preservation, along the Lincoln Highway. This is the ultimate Iowa road trip, especially if you want to experience the real America.”
Maulsby points out landmarks and their historical significance, and includes many stories of the people of Iowa. Calling herself a “foodie”, she also points out many good restaurants all across Iowa like the one where John Dillinger and Al Capone ate that you can still eat at today.
“Darcy is a talented author and speaker and we are excited to bring her to Greene County. Her new book spotlights every county in Iowa that the Lincoln Highway runs through including Greene County,” said Jane Millard, director of the Jefferson public library. “Darcy visited so many interesting places in Iowa as she did research for writing this book. I want to keep a copy of her book in my car so I can visit all the places she tells about!”
“If you come to the program on Sunday afternoon, you will have a chance to win a copy of Darcy’s new Lincoln Highway book,” encourages Diane Kafer, director of the Grand Junction public library.
The Greene County libraries recently hosted a book discussion of a novel called “The Lincoln Highway” by Amor Towles. “We would describe those discussions as very ‘lively’! Now we have an opportunity to learn about some of the places Emmet and Billy could have visited in Iowa if they had headed west on the Lincoln Highway,” adds Kimberly Bohnet, director of the Paton public library.
Each library in Greene County has added a copy of of Maulsby’s book to its collection. Signed copies of the 208-page, illustrated book “The Lincoln Highway in Iowa—a History” will be available during the event, along with Maulsby’s other non-fiction, illustrated Iowa history books (including A Culinary History of Iowa; Iowa Agriculture: A History of Farming, Family and Food; Calhoun County; Dallas County; Classic Restaurants of Des Moines; and Madison County).
For more details, contact any Greene County library or Maulsby by email yettergirl@yahoo.com or visit her online at www.darcymaulsby.com.
