Voices of Iowa

The Voices of Iowa Oral History Project is an innovative approach to the collection, display and preservation of our history. The compilation of personal stories in a digital format provides material that is relevant to a modern generation of users. In addition to the historical chronology, the process captures the personal emotion and interpretation of an event, giving it meaning beyond the printed word or image. We have been collecting oral histories from Iowa veterans since 2003 for use in exhibits, educational programming and promotional activities. Currently we have over 1600 interviews from 70 counties that are available to the public in our library. It is one of the largest veteran collections of interviews conducted by a single institution in the nation.

In 2012, the district expanded the Voices of Iowa project to include stories from farm families. The Grout Museum District has developed a collaboration with Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area in “Sharing the Farm Story”, an ongoing oral history project created to capture personal memories and knowledge of farmers and others involved in Iowa’s agricultural industry. The goal is to preserve the farm story during a period of tremendous technological, economic and social change.

Use the search engine below to navigate clips from a sampling of our expanding collection of interviews. The complete collection of full-length interviews is available for viewing at the museum library upon request.

Download the Veteran Registration Form

Purchase a DVD of an interview

Search the Iowa Veterans Remembrance Project

Request to be Interviewed