Riverside plans history booklet to commemorate sesquicentennial

By Molly Roberts
Posted 1/18/22

The City of Riverside turns 150 years old in 2022, and to commemorate this milestone, the Riverside Sesquicentennial Committee and the Riverside History Center-Voyage Home Museum volunteers are …

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Riverside plans history booklet to commemorate sesquicentennial

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The City of Riverside turns 150 years old in 2022, and to commemorate this milestone, the Riverside Sesquicentennial Committee and the Riverside History Center-Voyage Home Museum volunteers are assembling a history booklet highlighting the past 50 years in Riverside.

“In 1972, the whole town did a huge celebration when it was the 100th anniversary of Riverside. So, what we’re attempting to do is pick up at 1972 and cover the 50 years following,” said Chris Kirkwood. “There’s a lot of stuff there; there have been a lot of changes and a lot of things have been built and improved.”

“We also started working on some events, which will happen at Trekfest,” Kirkwood continued. “The City has already indicated that they would like to have all that happen at one time, and so we’re cooperating with the Riverside Area Community Club and trying to figure out what we can do.”

The committee has already sent a letter out to Riverside businesses offering them the opportunity to place an advertisement or submit a story about their businesses, but Kirkwood and Mary Jane Stumpf know there are more stories floating around town that deserve to be told.

“We’ve already sent a letter out to the businesses, but I think there are more people out there who have stories that they would like to contribute. We want to encourage them to write in,” Kirkwood said. “While the businesses are going pay for ads, part of the booklet will also be devoted to the historical part.”

The Riverside History Center and Voyage Home Museum draws visitors from far and wide.

“Within the first three months of the tourism season, we’d have a pin on the map from every state and then at the end of the year, we’d have a pin from all of the continents and about 75% of the countries within those continents,” said Stumpf.

About 4,000-5,000 visitors sign the Captain’s Log (guestbook) in the museum every year.

“Last fall and summer, we had a lot of people who came from the Midwest on day trips,” Stumpf said. “They were going out to see two or three things then going home. That was unique to find out that we had a lot of those types of visitors.”

The most popular displays at the Riverside History Center include information about the railroad, which is how Riverside was founded, and the displays featuring Boy Scouts and veterans.

Kirkwood and Stumpf hope the history booklet they will put together will help highlight some of this rich history of the Riverside area and add to the celebration of Riverside’s 150th birthday.

“I know that a lot of young people don’t consider historical things to be important, but I really think the day will come when that will change,” Kirkwood said. “I think that there needs to be a few people, at least, in every generation to carry it forward. If you don’t know where you’ve been, it can be hard to know where you want to go in the future.”

Anyone interested in contributing to the history booklet should contact Kirkwood at 319-648-2959 (leave a message if there is no answer) or by email at voyagehomemuseum@mediacombb.net.