In recognition of March’s National Read Across America Day, this spotlight features a title from the Captain William D. Bowell, Sr. Library collection. Located in the National River Center, the Bowell Library holds over 4,000 books on topics ranging from navigation, river history and travel narratives, to cookbooks and novels.

One of the best parts about working with historic collections is working with cool artifacts. We currently have 22,700 artifacts in our collection and a regular part of our job as a collections technicians is taking a closer look at them. Sometimes the most interesting finds are what’s underneath the artifact we were originally looking for. For example, this 19-foot leather snakeskin quickly caught our attention while looking at a nearby flag. Our museum is very familiar with snakes and other animals, but they are usually alive, making this an especially surprising find.

Reinvention and looking toward the future are the watchwords for welcoming a new year. One of our newest additions to the collection – this Dubuque Regional Airport decal - stood out as an opportunity to celebrate taking off into 2023. It is a time capsule of history (from a 1992 funding campaign) that uses a promotional message of growth still relevant today, “Fly Dubuque”. Coming a long way from a single sod runway, airport service in Dubuque has a storied past of ups and downs.

Signs are everywhere. They are out there in our daily lives pulling us in, telling stories, directing us places, and can sometimes transcend their function to be an icon of local culture. Recently out for a glamorous night at the Captain’s Ball, the Busy Bee Café neon sign grabbed the spotlight. One of the largest and most technical objects in the collection, the sign’s style and connection to a longtime and beloved restaurant makes it an artifact of what it means to be “Dubuque.”

A testament to a horrific aspect of a horrific war, this artifact also speaks to the human desire for remembrance.

This month’s featured artifact comes to us from Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. For thousands of years, the shells of the windowpane oyster have been processed there into an affordable and durable substitute for glass. The windowpane oyster, known by its scientific name of Placuna placenta, is a mollusk and is edible, although it is sought mostly for its shell for use in windows, jewelry, and artwork. Unlike the transparency of glass, capiz is translucent, allowing light in while also affording privacy.

Although it may resemble a trampoline, this is a fire safety net designed to catch those leaping from burning buildings. Patented in 1887 by Thomas F. Browder and manufactured by the Atlas Safety Equipment Company, the Atlas Life Saving Machine was an important fire response tool for close to a century until it was phased out for new technology. The net was designed to fold for easy storage, and to easily snap open for quick deployment.

Cane Swords, also known as swordsticks, are a type of concealable weapon. Designed to resemble a common walking stick, they secretly contain a blade inside. Often, the blade released by pressing a button near the handle, which detached the sheath and freed the handle and blade. Cane swords were typically intended to be self-defense weapons.

Before the convenience of electric irons, smoothing one’s clothing and other textiles could come at great peril. Solid metal irons with metal handles, called sad irons, were placed directly in fire or on a stove.  After heating, they were retrieved with a thick cloth and used to iron until they cooled and the process repeated. Unsurprisingly, picking up and wielding heavy, heated metal often resulted in serious burns.

This blue felt boxing robe was worn by Edwin “Red” Sabers of Dubuque. Born in 1920, Sabers was an exceptional athlete and a renowned boxer with the Catholic Youth Organization in the welterweight class. In 1939, when he was 18, he was one of 16 boxers invited to fight in preliminary matches before the Chicago CYO-Ireland international bouts. He defeated Red McCuskor of Chicago at Soldier Field, Chicago, in front of more than 35,000 people.