Monthly Archives: January 2023

It’s winter again which means it’s time for our annual February Winter Reading Month! Reading every day will give you the opportunity to indulge in a delicious personal pizza from Herb & Lou’s while indulging in all the benefits of reading.

Sign up at the library and read every day in February to get your very own one topping personal pizza.  The Winter Reading Program is available for all ages.

*You must sign up by February 1st in order to earn your pizza, but everyone who registers will be entered into a drawing for a cozy winter reading gift pack!

Have you checked out 3rd Thursday at Hoover’s yet? These monthly virtual programs are brought to you by the West Branch Public Library in partnership with the Hoover Presidential Foundation. We just posted the information and registration for the January program!

Iowa and the Great Depression

January 19, 2023 6pm

Please register here to receive a link to the webinar

Sometimes called “the worst hard time,” the Great Depression touched every American community and citizen. This talk focuses on how Iowans experienced the 1930s. The presentation will discuss the ways that Iowans survived hard times, and how some residents turned to radical action in response to the ordeal.

The role of government programs, such as the Works Progress Administration the Civilian Conservation Corps, Rural Electric Association, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act, in combatting the Depression in Iowa will also be evaluated. Other aspects of Iowa’s cultural life during this period, such as the flowering of the regionalist school of art, will also be highlighted.  

About the Speaker: Park Ranger Peter Hoehnle is a National Park Service guide at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and holds a doctorate in history. He enjoys doing historical research and has been widely published on American communal societies, including volumes on Amana and the Shakers.