Iowa Public Radio and the Our Iowa Magazine
The last few weeks have seen some great coverage of the Renfrow book to a wider Iowa audience via two of my favorite outlets.
The October/November 2024 edition of Our Iowa, a very popular magazine around the state, included a nice write up by Megan Veldboom, another longtime Grinnell resident. It’s one page and includes one of my favorite photos of Edith and I, taken in 2019 when she received her honorary degree from Grinnell College.
Then on October 31, the Renfrow story was featured on Iowa Public Radio’s Talk of Iowa. I’ve been a huge IPR fan for many years, so it was a real treat to be a part of one of the programs I love. I started talking with the program’s producer in July. They really wanted to find a way to include a conversation with Edith as a part of the program and it took a while to coordinate that, but the pieces finally came together!
A few days before the broadcast, the producer was able to visit Edith and her daughter, Alice, in Chicago. There are several minutes from their conversation at the beginning of the program. She talks about the closeness of living in a small town, as well as the challenges. She also speaks of how important the support she received from Grinnell College was in securing her a job in Chicago after graduation in 1937. Then there is about 15 minutes with me sharing about her family history in central Iowa, and then Professor Tamara Beauboeuf chimes in with more details on the research done by Team Renfrow. You can stream the program to listen on demand here. It’s about the first 40 minutes of the program.
The other good news I want to share is I’ll be doing an author visit to The Book Vault in Oskaloosa on November 21st. I’m hoping to focus more energy in the coming months on connecting with independent bookstores around the state and this is an exciting start. It’s especially great because the Renfrow family has ties to Oskaloosa. George and Eliza Craig, Edith’s grandparents, lived there while raising their three daughters from about 1865 until their move to Grinnell around 1890.
If you know of any small bookstores or other organizations in central Iowa that might be interested in having a presentation on the Renfrow story, share the Talk of Iowa link with them. Word of mouth is the best marketing so help spread the word.
The Renfrow Story 
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