O
OTTUMWA
TUMW
An Ottumwa Courier Publication
Volume 2 | 2020
Index
FEATURES
4 Preparing for a
second act
10 The Quack is Back
16 The Saga of St. Joe’s
21 The long goodbye
Publisher
Ron Gutierrez
Editor
Tracy Goldizen
Photographs
Ottumwa Courier
photo archives
Advertising Sales
Shelby Den Hartog
Jodi German
Tyler Goodell
Liz Techel
Graphic Design
Stephen Peters
Shanelle Yahn
We Are Ottumwa is a publication
of the Ottumwa Courier, 213
E. Second St., Ottumwa, Iowa
52501; 641-684-4611, news@
ottumwacourier.com
Cover photo:
This photo from the Courier
archives shows the front entrance
of St. Joseph Hospital in 1975.
Additional archived photos from
these features can be found at
photos.ottumwacourier.com.
Bringing history to life
Ottumwa is full of history. That is evidenced by the many historic districts as well as buildings on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Many of those locations loom large in the memories of Ottumwans, and in this year’s We Are Ottumwa
we delve into the history of both the former St. Joseph Hospital and the downtown theaters. One has
moved past its life, being torn down in dramatic fashion, and the other is quietly undergoing renovations
for a possible future.
Both have a tremendous story, and they are detailed with local architectural historian Molly Myers
Naumann, who also shared documents of her research on St. Jospeh Hospital to help with this project.
Of course, the property has been in the spotlight over the last several years as demolition saw one
hurdle after the other. The timeline of the demolition is highlighted by going through archived Courier
articles.
The theaters have much more hope for life. In addition to Myers Naumann’s description of the features
and history of the buildings, we also went through Courier archives to examine the restoration process.
Though no certain future has been announced, it has been nice to see the facade returned to its former
glory the last several years.
Then there’s a favorite family event returning to Ottumwa after a more than 20-year hiatus. Rubber
ducks will once again float down the Des Moines River in Ottumwa as Greater Ottumwa Partners in
Progress brings back the Duck Races.
Take a look at what went into planning the September event and why officials at GOPIP thought it was
time to bring them back.
Each feature is also bolstered by an array of photos from the Courier archives, most of which were
recently digitized from the film vault. Ottumwa’s history will literally be on display as you flip through
these pages, and we hope you enjoy taking a look back.
Tracy Goldizen
Editor, We Are Ottumwa
We Are OTTUMWA
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