Annotated Bibliography Sample 2

Lo Miller

Andrews, Clarence A., ed. Growing Up in Iowa: Reminiscences of 14 Iowa Authors. Ames: Iowa State UP, 1978. 3-154.

This book details memories from Iowans who lived in small towns, largely during the Great Depression. These people lived on farms and did not have much money. Many of them dealt with having to live in poverty and growing into successful adults. I use this source to identify with the experiences that my grandparents and parents went through and told me about. Though these writings are about different people who are not related to me, but their experience are similar. The words that these authors use to describe their lives help me to imagine what it was like for my relatives to live on farms in Iowa. The imagery used by these authors is very significant. Because I can see the experiences of my parents and grandparents more clearly by reading these passages, I can better relate to them and understand the world that they came from. This leads to a better understanding of why they raised me the way that they did and why I am who I am.

The Cedar Rapids Chamber. Guide to Cedar Rapids and Northeast Iowa. Cedar Rapids: Laurance P, 1937. 13-79.

This book is a comprehensive history of Cedar Rapids put together by the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce from 1937. It includes a history of the city as well as several attractions located in Cedar Rapids and the surrounding areas. It also contains pictures of the city and passages about the people who live there. There are also poems about Cedar Rapids that are written by the natives. I use this source to help me to define what Cedar Rapids meant to people back then and what I can define it as today. I look at this source from a person of a different era and connect it to my experiences. The history included in this source is useful for understanding the importance of Cedar Rapids and how it has evolved into the Cedar Rapids that I experienced decades later.

"City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa." May 2007. 6 May 2007

This web site is the official web site of the city of Cedar Rapids. It was put together by people who work for the city. It has a lot of current information about Cedar Rapids, Iowa on it, and is updated frequently. There is census information as well as an event calendar. Statistics and demographics located on this web site draw a clear picture of the facts of Cedar Rapids. I use this site to compare my experience living in Cedar Rapids with the factual evidence of how Cedar Rapids functions. The events posted on the web site also spark memories for me from when I attended the annual events in my childhood, which help me to look at what I experienced from a disconnected source. Finally, the website contains history of Cedar Rapids from the recent past. Attractions, such as Ushers Ferry and Theater Cedar Rapids advertise their events on this page.
Figa, Morgan, ed. The Blue Years. 2006. 7-243.

The Blue Years is the yearbook from my senior year of high school. This book was put together by Jefferson High School students with a faculty advisor. It contains the photographs of each student as well as stories covering major events from the 2005-2006 school year. Among the major events, pages devoted to what every day life was like for students during that school year presents an inside look at what fashion was and why people felt that way. Many students contributed quotations detailing their opinions about issues that were important in Iowa and globally during that year. I use these experiences to recall what my life was like before I went to college, and what life continues to be like for high school students in Cedar Rapids. I examine how students feel about their life in Cedar Rapids and what they expect of their futures.

"Gazette Online." May 2007. Cedar Rapids Gazette. 6 May 2007

The Cedar Rapids Gazette is the official newspaper of Cedar Rapids and the surrounding areas. The Gazette is a publication that has been running for several decades. I am using the online version of the Gazette, which is updated daily, in order to retrieve the most current news about Cedar Rapids. The newspaper writes articles about breaking news stories in Iowa as well as around the world. There are also opinion columns written by Iowans and feature stories about unique events to Iowa. I examine the stories and relate them to my life and experiences in Iowa. I look at the current events of Iowa as a person outside of Iowa who used to be in.

Karen, Buelow. Grummer Global Reunion. 1997.

This book was put together as a genealogy that was presented to family members at a large family reunion. The book details each branch of one side of my family from the sixteenth century until 1997. The book includes a family tree, historical documents about the passage of my ancestors to America and the land that they owned when they got there, and short biographies about all of the family members from the most recent generations. This book takes an extensive look into how my family developed, which is also a story about how Iowa developed since my family members have lived in Iowa for the past five generations. I use this book to see the development of how small town culture molded my life. I also use this source to learn about the direct upbringing and values of my family, which can be connected to my experiences as an Iowan. This book looks at a family of Iowans from the point of view of Iowans, but also several other family members. A branch of the family came to Iowa from Germany, where the family is originally from. Those people had a very different perspective of the development of our family than the Iowans did.

"Looking for Opinion." City-Data.Com. 2007. 6 May 2007

This web site was set up for people who want to move into a new area to discuss the pros and cons of different parts of the United States. People interested in moving post their interests and what they are looking for in a new home. Natives from each place express an opinion about where the interested person should live and indicate why. The post that I looked at was by a person from Chicago who wanted to move to a smaller town in Iowa, but still wanted to enjoy certain things like cultural events and musical events. Iowans posted suggestions about which towns offered the best selection of cultural and music events. They also warned her about the weather in Iowa and discussed the alienation that newcomers sometimes experience when moving into a small town. The woman wanting to move responded to some of the posts, which makes for an interesting conversation about what Iowa natives and larger city natives would consider to be the good and bad things about living in Iowa. I use this source to better understand how people outside of Iowa and Cedar Rapids perceive small town life. I look at this web site as a networking device to consider how people look at me and what they might be conditioned to see in me when they know that I am from Iowa.

"The Mary and Karl Koehler History Center." 26 Apr. 2007. 6 May 2007

Because I am reviewing the history of Cedar Rapids, this web site gives me information about the history of Cedar Rapids before I was born. I can better understand the evolution of how my hometown came to be through examining the information given to me by this web site, and then look more closely into the changes to Cedar Rapids in the past twenty years. This web site provides more recent information than the Guide to Cedar Rapids because it was built in the past ten years while the Guide was written in 1937. I examine the evolution of Cedar Rapids and consider how the formation of the city affects the way that I was brought up and how that makes me who I am today. I use it to define what growing up in Cedar Rapids means to people who are native to the city.

"Today's Headlines." DesMoinesRegister.Com. 6 May 2007. 6 May 2007

The Des Moines Register is the largest newspaper for the state of Iowa, and covers stories focusing on several small towns in Iowa. I used the internet version of the newspaper that is updated daily with news content and cultural events. The Des Moines Register wrote stories about two families that lived in Iowa and moved away in search of better jobs. Both families returned to their hometowns after only a few years because they missed the small town atmosphere that many places in Iowa can boast of. The newspaper also covers a large variety of national politics, because Iowa is an important state during the preliminary decision of presidential candidates. The Des Moines Register offers a comprehensive investigation into each political candidate when the visit anywhere in Iowa and comments on how affect each candidate is in presenting their arguments. Because I am receiving this information from the internet, there are places for people to leave comments on the web site. Many Iowans and others comment on news stories and articles, which gives me an insight into what people generally think about events that take place in Iowa. I use this source to examine Iowa through the political scope as well as look at how Iowa is perceived by its natives and otherwise.

Wegner, Michael, Lyle Boone, and Tim Cochran, eds. Iowa's Lost Summer: the Flood of 1993. Des Moines: Des Moines Register and Tribune Company, 1993. 3-108.

This book was written as a compilation of the events of the summer of 1993, when Iowa was plagued by floods. There are many articles from the Des Moines Register as well as pictures to illustrate what happened during those floods. People in Iowa during this time dealt with the tragedy by communing together and working in order to distract the damage. Many people in both cities and farms were greatly affected by the floods. I lived through these floods and remember how they personally affected my family. I use this source to understand and relate to a common event to Iowans. Anyone who lived through them remembers the floods of '93 because they significantly changed many people's lives. They also alerted small towns to the tragedies that can ensue in Iowa, and many towns became more high-tech in their defense mechanisms afterwards.

"Weight on the Wife Swap Debate." Topix. 20 Feb. 2007. 6 May 2007

In 2007 there was an episode of the reality television show “Wife Swap” that featured a family from Iowa. Many Iowans were offended by how the family was portrayed in the media, and thought that the family was not a good representation of what living in Iowa was really like. This web site provided a forum for people to express their outrage about how the family from Iowa lived. Several people from big cities all around the United States expressed a sour opinion of Iowa and wrote about their concern for people who grow up their. Iowans defended their state and tried to convince people from other places that the family on “Wife Swap” was not a normal Iowan family, but neither side denied that the family did portray common Iowan stereotypes. I use this source to examine how people outside of the Midwest view people from Iowa and consider how their views are formulated and perpetuated. This source also provides a good place for the opinions of Iowans from the bigger cities and the smaller towns. Some are proud and others are cautious.