Special to the Times Vedette

Beginning July 1, visitors to Whiterock Conservancy can experience “Markers and Deep Roots,” a site-specific installation of collaborative ceramic sculptures by artists Sue and Jim Heemstra. Located along the Steve Garst Trail, the installation features brightly colored sculptural forms that engage the prairie landscape and invite reflection on the connections between people, place and history. Through walking, observation and encounter, visitors are encouraged to consider how landscapes hold stories, histories and traces of those who have passed through them.

“Whiterock Conservancy itself is a mark of dedication to the celebration and observance of agricultural and natural history,” Sue Heemstra said.

“Markers and Deep Roots” is part of a larger public art initiative, “Declarations,” bringing immersive installations to communities across central and southwest Iowa throughout 2026. Created in recognition of the United States’ semiquincentennial, or 250^th anniversary, “Declarations” celebrates Iowa’s landscapes, labor and cultural identity through site-responsive artworks placed in unexpected locales. The project invites Iowans to engage more deeply with place, memory and shared human experience while fostering dialogue between rural and urban communities, past and future, and the Midwest and the wider world.

“Markers and Deep Roots” will be available for viewing beginning July 1 through Sept. 30. Whiterock Conservancy is open year-round, and visitors are welcome to explore the installation through self-guided visits at any time.

About Sue and Jim Heemstra

Lifelong artists, Sue and Jim Heemstra met in the early 1970s while attending college, where Sue studied painting and Jim explored printmaking. In the years that followed, careers and family life shaped their paths while continuing to inform their creative practices. Avid travelers and self-described “museum nerds,” they share a deep appreciation for art history and lifelong learning. Though they rarely collaborate directly, they work side by side in a shared ceramic studio, each pursuing a distinct artistic language and creative practice. Find them on Instagram and Facebook @H2Clay.

Jim Heemstra

Jim Heemstra is a photographer turned ceramic artist. He studied printmaking in college and began a 50-year career as a photographer while working as a photojournalist. He later studied with Ansel Adams in Yosemite, taught photography at Drake University, and published work in numerous national and international magazines. Today, he brings that visual sensibility to clay, finding inspiration in carving and painting ceramic surfaces.

Sue Heemstra

Sue Heemstra began her artistic practice in drawing and painting before expanding into fiber arts and eventually ceramics. After studying at the Des Moines Art Center, Drake University, and RDG Dahlquist Studios, she discovered the creative possibilities of clay. Today, her work combines hand-building, carving, glaze, and underglaze techniques, with drawing continuing to serve as the foundation of her creative process.

About “Declarations”

“Declarations” is a site-specific public art exhibition taking place July through September 2026 throughout central and southwest Iowa. Using art, storytelling and public participation, “Declarations” turns public space into a living conversation about who we are and what we are building together for the next 250 years. Find exhibition details along with maps, events, suggested itineraries and artist interviews at declarations.art and on Instagram at the username declarations.art. The public is invited to contribute to a time capsule that will be concealed until the year 2276 at Union Park’s Heritage Carousel in Des Moines. Learn more at declarations.art/time.

“Declarations” is a collaborative initiative of Group Creative Services and Whiterock Conservancy in partnership with art installation site hosts, community partners and sponsors.

Call the Whiterock Conservancy office at 712-790-8221 or email executivedirector@whiterockconservancy.org with any questions.

By Susan Thompson | Times Vedette

This was the house Hugh “Pop” Teale Sr. and his wife, Minnie, owned in Panora. An attempt to wire the house for electricity led to the discovery of a log cabin behind the siding on the front half of the house.

The history of the small log cabin at the Guthrie County Historical Village on the south edge of Panora goes back 175 years. A fundraising event during the upcoming Panorama Days celebration will help ensure it continues to be available for future generations to enjoy.

In 2000, the cabin received a new wood shake roof, but those shingles have met their life expectancy, which is reportedly 15-20 years in humid climates like Iowa. A campaign to raise $10,000 for the cabin’s new roof is underway.

On Friday, July 31, the Village will host an open house at the log cabin. The Village normally closes at 4:30 p.m. but will remain open until 6:30 that day, offering free admission and free root beer floats. A brief program will begin at 5 p.m. at the log cabin.

Hayrides will run between the Panora Town Square and the Village from 4:30-6:30 p.m. A tractor pulling a wagon will make the short round trip every 10 minutes.

Freewill donations will be accepted to help cover the cost of the cabin’s new roof. 

In 1851, an early settler to the area named Michael Leinart used his team of oxen to move some cottonwood logs from an old cabin located near Panora.

This log cabin has been at the Guthrie County Historical Village in Panora since 1978. A fundraising campaign to replace the cabin’s deteriorating wood shake roof is underway with a special event planned for July 31 at the Village.

In 1852, Abraham Hirsch, a 37-year-old Frenchman and merchant, purchased the logs from Leinart and built the log cabin.

The following year, Hirsch partnered with fellow merchant Thomas Turner to open Panora’s first general store in the cabin.

By 1936, the property had changed hands nine times. Hugh “Pop” Teale Sr. and his wife, Minnie, purchased the property in 1941.

Frank Teale of Lake Panorama is the grandson of Hugh Sr. and Minnie Teale.

“My dad, Hugh Teale Jr., was helping Grandpa wire the house for electricity,” Frank says. “They couldn’t get wire threaded behind the interior walls to put in outlets. After several attempts, they discovered the front half of the house was actually a log cabin behind the siding.”

After researching the property’s history, the Teale family determined the log cabin was the first permanent structure in Panora.

In October 1977, the cabin was donated to the Turn of the Century Museum, now known as the Guthrie County Historical Village.

This plaque is displayed on the front of the log cabin, which was discovered hidden behind the siding of a small house owned by Hugh Teale Sr. Research by the Teale family showed the cabin likely was the first permanent structure in Panora.

“Mom and Dad were both very active in the museum and knew the cabin needed to be saved,” Teale says. “When Grandpa died, they moved the front part of the house, with the cabin inside, to its current location. They were not sure of its condition and didn’t want it to fall apart on the two-block trip.”

In 1978, the cabin was placed where it currently sits and was restored by volunteers.

Donations for the log cabin’s new wood shake roof will be processed by the Guthrie County Historical Village Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that funds restoration projects at the Village.

Online donations via PayPal can be made at www.thegchv.com. Cash donations can be mailed to GCHV Foundation, 206 W. South St., Panora, Iowa, 50216.

Donations also may be dropped off at the Village, which is open May 1 to Oct. 15. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 pm., and 1-4:30 p.m. Saturdays and holidays.

Jewell Pringle and Payton Pringle of Munchkey Stitches.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

A wide variety of vendors were set up on June 27 at the Guthrie Center Farmers Market. Through the summer and fall, the market runs every other Saturday from 9-11 a.m. on North Fourth Street.

Main Street Guthrie Center honors local veterans.

Mallory Hansen offers eggs and more at the Nomad Grove stand.

Mason Miller works on a painting.

Members of the YJB Chapter of Camping4Girls National TTT Society posed for a photo before the annual omelet breakfast at the Yale Fourth of July. They are, from the left: Luann Waldo, Pat Young, Lana Laabs, Kelly Mleynek, Deb Louk, Amber Lopez, the late Barb Kastner, Rita Meinecke, Carla Hilgenberg, Heather Beaudet, Rose Kastner, Amy Stepanek and LeeAnn Pittman. Additional members include Betty Cooper, Laurie Carnahan, Kaitlin Dahl, Kyla Nicholas and Amanda Waltz.

Special to the Times Vedette

Members of the YJB Chapter GF of the National TTT Society (now Camping4Girls) will send two Panorama Elementary fourth-grade girls to the Des Moines Y-camp in Boone in August. The camp’s core values include care, responsibility, respect and honesty while building onto the life goal “Do all the Good You Can.”

The YJB chapter has been sponsoring girls for camp since 1984. Members raise funds to provide everything the campers need to experience a week in the outdoors. In addition to camp fees and transportation, the organization provides clothes, shoes, camping gear, toiletries and more.

The chapter’s commitment doesn’t end there. The ladies follow the campers through their school years until their high school graduation. Each camper who graduates from Panorama High School is eligible to receive an educational gift to assist them in furthering their education.

An overview of the camp’s functioning and the various activities the girls participate in during the week include archery, horseback riding, ziplining, canoeing, rock wall climbing, talent shows, crafting and team building activities that all contribute to the girls’ positive experiences. A week of camp activities and new friendships help the girls build leadership skills, positive decision-making skills and expand their experiences with new friends and positive life skills.

Last year, the National TTT Society revealed an updated brand identity and alias: Camping4Girls. The organization has been a volunteer-led 501(c)3 membership group, offering life-changing summer camp experiences for fourth grade girls nationwide. The updated name and visual identity are part of a strategic effort to increase awareness and understanding of the organization’s mission to empower girls through positive camping experiences and mentorship.

The YJB Chapter has been in existence since 1983. To date, the club has sent 74 girls from the YJB area to camp for a week during the summer with two more selected for 2026. It typically costs the club about $1,500 per girl. Their camping experiences have made a major impact on the lives of the girls who are now grown women, some with their own daughters.

Heather Copeland recalled her experiences as a TTT camper sponsored by an Ankeny TTT chapter in 1992.

“Although life was different back then, I am grateful for those memories and am so lucky my girls get to share them with me. I’m proud we have two generations of girls learning how to be free, strong and independent ladies.

“Camp helped me find my voice. I was always too shy and didn’t want a fight, having a lot of brothers and sisters. It was just easier to stay out of the way,” explained Copeland. “I was a great swimmer, but I was missing out because I was letting my fear get in the way. I needed to swim out to the ropes. That’s where my friends were. But the movie‘Jaws’ was all I could think of. It took me four days but I made it to the ropes.

“Even to this day when I get into a situation, I still remember the ropes. It was a struggle, but I made it. I was so happy –– and my friends were, too,” shared Copeland. “I have had to tell that story to my own children. We get in our heads and unfortunately, we hinder ourselves. We have to decide, ‘Do we want to be with our friends at that rope in the deep end, or in the shallows watching everyone else have fun?’ I’d rather have fun.

“Now, I am a mother of three. I’m blessed enough that my daughters get to have a childhood memory like I do,” Copeland explained. “It may not be the same camp, but the girls are able to share a core memory.

“I manage a store and make jewelry as well. To all future campers: enjoy it,” advises Copeland. “Make memories. The world moves so very fast. Make the most of it. These memories will last a lifetime.”

To provide the funds to purchase the supplies for the campers, the ladies make and serve omelets. Their big fundraiser is held the morning of the Yale Fourth of July celebration when they serve made-to-order omelets with muffins and drinks from 8-10 a.m. in the Yale Community Building. The ladies are also available to make omelets as fundraisers for other organizations or for the public at birthday or graduation parties.

By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette

According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 17-year-old died following a Saturday single-vehicle accident on Brown Avenue, near the city of Anita, in Adair County. The accident occurred about 11:30 p.m. on June 27 when the 2014 Chevrolet Equinox left to road and struck a culvert before the vehicle rolled and came to rest on its driver side.

The five minor occupants of the vehicle were transported to Cass County Memorial Hospital. One later died from injuries sustained in the accident. No names of the minors have been released. The deceased was from Lewis, Iowa. The accident remains under investigation.