Historical Photo of the Month - 1936 WPA Projects

Back row: Betty June (Hanson) Runft, Margaret (Henryson) Hart, Betty Ann (Donhowe) Ramseth, Phyllis (Malmanger) Hermanson. Front row: Esther Kasberg, Marilyn (James) Anderson, Emily (Amlund) Towler.

L to R: Katherine's brother Philip Jacobson, Marie Staubitz, Katherine, unidentified girl.

​This year is the 80th anniversary of the 1936 Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects being completed in Story City's South Park. Our historic photos this month feature two of those projects, the swinging bridge and the shelter house.  These photos are from Katherine (Jacobson) Munsen's 15th birthday party in 1936. Katherine's mother had planned a brunch in the new shelter house that included cantaloupe with red raspberries, bacon and eggs, cinnamon rolls and fudge squares. Record temperatures were set that July with eleven consecutive days, from July 4- July 16, where the temperature reached 100 degrees F and above.  The Historical Society would like to thank Katherine Munsen for sharing these photos and her memories with us.