West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA
Notizen:
Wikipedia 2018:
West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 56,609. West Des Moines is the second-largest city in the Des Moines metropolitan area and the tenth-largest city in Iowa. It ranked 94th in Money magazine's list of the "100 Best Places to Live and Launch" in 2008, 77th and 57th on the 100 Best Places to Live in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and 18th on the Hipster Cities of 2015.
History:
The West Des Moines area used to be home to the Sac and Fox tribes. Near the stroke of midnight on October 11, 1845 a gunshot was fired by a cattle farmer, James Cunningham Jordan (1813–1893) and the tribes left. His residence, the Jordan House, has been restored and is now home to the West Des Moines Historical Society. In West Des Moines' early years, the town was a trading and shipping junction. West Des Moines incorporated as the city of Valley Junction on October 9, 1893.
In its early days Valley Junction was home to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad's switching facilities and repair shops due to its location at the junction of several railroad lines. The Rock Island's facilities moved out of Valley Junction and back into Des Moines in 1936.
The speed limit of ten miles (16 km) an hour had existed in Valley Junction since 1911 for all automobiles. But in 1915 an Englishman named Jack Prince built a one-mile (1.6 km) oval race track, designed to let race cars break that speed limit ten times over. The wooden track was made of 980,000 feet (300,000 m) of 2x4's laid on edge. It was one of 24 such tracks nationwide; with seating for over 10,000 people. On August 7, 1915, the eyes of the auto world were on Valley Junction in anticipation of the fastest 300-mile (480 km) auto race in history. Ralph DePalma, winner of the Indianapolis 500 that year, was one of at least a dozen drivers vying for the $10,000 purse. Before a crowd of 7,000 people, a tire blew, lunging Joe Cooper's car over the rail. Cooper was killed and his mechanic was injured. Later while rounding a curb, a wheel of Billy Chandler's Duesenberg failed, cartwheeling the car into the infield and fatally injuring his mechanic, Maurice Keeler. Chandler was seriously injured. Smiling Ralph Mulford won the race with DePalma a close 2nd. This baptism by blood left a bad taste in the mouth of the locals, and the track was closed two years later. The wood was salvaged and then used to construct buildings in Valley Junction.
The serious dilemma of school overcrowding was partially addressed in 1916. The bond issue to build a new high school for $50,000 was approved by a 2 to 1 vote. The similar new grade school issue was defeated soundly. Building commenced and by September of the following year, the doors of the new Valley High School were opened at 8th and Hillside. As a part of schoolboard policy, only first class college-educated teachers were hired. By 1919, the rooms of the new high school were filled. A new junior high school was proposed, approved, and completed by the fall of 1923.
The new school was the only bright spot in the otherwise uncertain dreary years of 1922 and 1923. The very foundations of the city were shaken by a 22-month-machinist strike at the Rock Island shops. Starting 1922-07-01, 600 workers were idled. The railroad company reacted by bringing replacement workers into town to break the strike. The replacements were mostly Mexican and African-American laborers brought up from Oklahoma by R. C. Hyde, the master mechanic at the shops. For their own protection they lived in boxcars and tiny houses in an area located south of Railroad Avenue and west of the main rail yards. The area was dubbed "Hyde Park" by the strikers. The resulting hardships suffered by the idled workers eventually led the most desperate to choose between breaking the strike or letting their family starve. It was a time which pitted neighbor against neighbor, tearing at the very fabric of the community. Two men shot themselves in desperation before the strike finally ended.
Although the 1920s was the era of prohibition for the rest of the country, Valley Junction had officially become a dry town in 1915. The '20s were not all doom and gloom for Valley Junction. The businessmen of the community dress in drag for a play called "The Womenless Wedding". Simple joys of small town life were reflected in the faces of the children: having a part in the school play, flying the first kite, dressing up for the May Day pageant, or riding in the Fourth of July Parade. The older kids enjoyed the chance to take the trolley to Des Moines for an afternoon of shopping and maybe lunch along the river. The notion of the mobile society was embraced by the youth. A joy ride in a fast jalopy to Greenwood Park for a game of tennis, or off to the country for a picnic mirrored the infatuation that America had for the car. The wealthier, older, and more established were not left out either. By purchasing land from the Ashworth family farm, the Des Moines Golf and Country Club left Des Moines in 1923 for a more picturesque setting along the White Pole Road auto trail at 8th Street allowing the High Society of Des Moines a relaxing and rather pleasant drive away from the hussle and bussle of the city for a day of golf in the Valley. By the close of the decade, however, the picnic was over. The Depression was especially hard for the workers of Valley Junction because the railroads had finished pulling out by 1936, and the Keystone Coal Factory had to close because of flooding in the tunnels.
By 1937, only two trains stopped daily; the sagging business climate needed a boost. Members of the commercial club believed that the only way to attract new industry would be to change the name of the city. They thought the name "Valley Junction" conveyed the image of an old-fashioned and backwards town to prospective employers and residents. The name of "West Des Moines" would give it the respectibility and prestige that the town desperately needed. There was a precedent by way of an editorial in the Valley Junction Express in 1905 that suggested dropping "Junction" from the name, but nothing came of it. The opposition feared that the change to West Des Moines would cause property owners to be taxed the same as Des Moines. It was also declared as a step toward annexation by Des Moines. A third and final election was held on December 7, 1937.
On January 1, 1938, the name "Valley Junction" was relegated to the past, and the new city of West Des Moines took the first steps to a new identity. Helping to establish this new identity, the most identifiable trait was the suspension of all property taxes between 1936 and 1938. This was due to the profits of the water department. Today the original business district of West Des Moines has been preserved as Historic Valley Junction. It features many locally owned specialty shops and restaurants as well as a weekly farmers' market.
Though the name was changed, the community's commitment to education was bolstered by funds from the Public Works Administration. Despite the Depression, a new elementary school and the Old Valley Football Stadium were built and dedicated on May 24, 1939, at 8th and Hillside. The venerable Lincoln School was razed in 1938 to make way for the new building. Longfellow was retired in 1939 and then sold in 1940 for $1000. In 1955, West Des Moines Elementary School at Walnut and 6th was renamed "Nellie Phenix Elementary" in honor of the former principal.[11] The late 1930s were very good years in the school's athletic teams, producing memorable names: True, Gavin, Swink, and Sherbo. Charles Swink was a multi-record holder in track and field. His record at the Drake Relays stood for twenty years.
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Nachname, Taufnamen  |
Tod  |
Personen-Kennung | ||
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| 1 |  Heirigs, Mark A. | 4 Jul 2007 | West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA | I183107 |
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| Nachname, Taufnamen |
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Personen-Kennung | ||
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| 1 | Kout, Vera Alvina | West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA | I147666 | |
| 2 | Nelson, Alexander | West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, USA | I147667 | |