Many residents and former residents have come to the Society with fascinating stories about life in Ames. Some were short anecdotes verbalized over the phone, others were typed on several pages and mailed from out-of-state. We’ve decided there would be value in sharing these recollections on our website. If you have stories from any time period you think others might enjoy, please contact us.
- Rita Bappe Holmes remembers Van's neighborhood store.
- Louis M. Thompson, Jr. recalls 1961 riots on City Hall.
- Morris Mericle recalls Christmas 1936.
- Stephen Wells remembers operating the lights at the Bandshell.
- Roger Goetz remembers Kenneth Zea.
- Carol Cummings recalls working at the Ames Public Library under Letha Davidson.
- Harold Hoppins relates a story about a Skunk River canoe trip.
- Mary Metzger tells a Carr's Pool story.
- Roger Goetz writes Looking Back, an account of his years in Ames from 1948 to 1955.
- Jack Morris stories from his childhood.
- John Midgorden relates his family history and experiences in Ames.
- Ginny Jackson recalls living with her grandparents, the Coles, in north Ames.
- Mary Martin Carr remembers Whetstone Food Store.
- Gary Hall shares his memories of Roosevelt School.
- Betty Gulliver Johnson remembers WWII while growing up in Ames.
- Bob Covey reports his memories growing up in Ames.
- Lew Andrus remembers Brookside Zoo and trapping with buddies.
- Jan Judisch recalls Moore's Dairy and reveals the reason for her family's double garage.
- Bill_LaGrange remembers making ice cream at Moore's Dairy.
- Margaret Mae Gross recalls Clearview School.
- Terry Adams tells a story about Verna Schmidt.
- Bob Singer's employment at Moore Bros. Dairy began at age 13.
- Gary Moore remembers snakes, dry ice, Charlie Sorenson, Power Plant
- Lynn Jenison recalls her memories of Central Junior High.
- Barb Egemo reminisces about her memories of Ames in the 1930s and 1940s.
- Steve Grooms shares a story about the importance of bicycles when he grew up in Ames in the 1950s.
- Joseph Lawlor relates his high school experiences working for Joe Gerbracht's theaters.
- Tom Richards relates his family's career operating restaurants in Ames from 1955 to 1972.
- Paul L. Nichols recalls growing up in Ames in the 1920s and 1930s.
- Nancy Ross accompanied her husband on a corporate site visit to the pretty little city of Ames, Iowa. Her observations and information culled from this visit in July of 1957 are contained in a letter.
- Jay Cole Simser reminisces about Nick Nolte, the Hollywood film actor, who lived in Ames from 1945-1950 and attended Beardshear School.
- Bill Haglund recalls his trip to Ames to take the ACT test and seeing Iowa State beat Oklahoma at Football in 1960
- Ed Seifert describes growing up as a professor's son in the 1950s and 1960s
Pioneer Stories
- Uncle Charlie Taylor remembers coming to Ames in 1868.
- Fred Tilden arrived in Ames in 1870.
- A reporter from the Manchester Press reports on his visit to Ames in 1887.
- Dr. A. Richmond's description of early Ames was printed in the 1902 Atlas of Story County, Iowa.