Cowles Library

Any exciting summer plans? 🌞 In the summer of 1934, a spirited group of Drake University students and alumni packed their bags for Lake Okoboji with a bold idea — a summer stock theatre company. They rented a stage inside city hall and pulled off six productions in a single summer. 🎭 Among them was Jane Alexander, Drake Class of 1933, who stepped away from her graduate studies at Yale to join the troupe. Alexander went on to teach drama at Stephens College in Missouri — and the Okoboji spark traveled with her. In 1958, Stephens College brought summer theatre back to the lake, launching an immersive summer program for their students. That tradition, rooted in the creativity and ambition of those original Drake performers, continues to this day!

On this day in 1850, Aaron Ward Harlan, an Iowa pioneer, adventurer, merchant, soldier, and farmer, set out for California, hoping to strike it rich in the Gold Rush. The Harlan Family papers in the Drake University Archives includes Harlan's journal, letters he wrote to his wife during the Civil War, and many pages of family history. His fascinating Gold Rush journal, which begins on May 1, 1850 and ends on September 17 when he reached Sacramento, has been digitized and can be read here: https://issuu.com/drakeuniversity/docs/harlan_gold_combined

Ready to give your books some SPARKLE? 💎

Join us TOMORROW for our Cowles Crafternoons Book Bedazzling Event! Bring your own book, notebook, or any item you want to transform into something FABULOUS.

📍 Cowles Library
⏰ Friday, May 1, 3:00-5:00 pm
✂️ Supplies provided
📚 Your creativity required