Thunder From the Prairie: The Life of Harold E. Hughes

Friday, November 1

11:45 am - 1:00 pm
in-person and virtual event
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
1340 3rd Ave SE, CEDAR RAPIDS

Presenter: Jerry Harrington, Author and Public Relations Manager (retired)

Harold Hughes of Ida Grove, Iowa, was an activist governor of Iowa in the 1960s and an influential U.S. senator from 1969 to 1974. A born-again Christian who was a charismatic political liberal, Hughes oversaw a dramatic transformation of Iowa government to meet mid-20th century needs, often boldly acting on issues others feared to touch. As a senator, he opposed the Vietnam War and, as a recovered alcoholic, established the first national effort to aid alcoholics. Author Jerry Harrington will review Hughes' life based on his book, Thunder From the Prairie: The Life of Harold E. Hughes.

There are three ways to attend Crossroads. Registration is required for all three:

• Attend in person (with lunch) by clicking here. Three boxed lunch options are available: turkey, ham, and vegetarian; boxed lunches are $15 each (new cost). You must pre-order and pay for your lunch by 12:00 PM on Tuesday, October 29. Late orders or walk-in requests for lunch will not be available.
• Attend in person (no lunch) by clicking here. There is no cost for this option, but we do need your RSVP to ensure we have enough seating.
• Watch via YouTube by clicking here. This virtual presentation will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel.

ABOUT OUR PRESENTER | Jerry Harrington of Iowa City retired several years ago as marketing public relations manager for DuPont Pioneer (Johnston, Iowa) following a career at several Iowa newspapers and three public relations agencies in Cedar Rapids; Rochester, NY; and Milwaukee, WI. He received a B.S.S. from Cornell College in English and political science and an M.A. in history from the University of Iowa.

Since retiring, Jerry’s been writing Iowa history. He has twice won the George Mills/Louise Noun Award from the Iowa State Historical Society for his series “Governors of Influence” and “Carrie Chapman Catt” as the most significant articles on Iowa history in a popular history journal. Both series were published in Iowa History Journal. In 2018, he won honorable mention in the academic article category for “Iowa’s Last Liquor Battle: Governor Harold E. Hughes and the Liquor-by-the-Drink Conflict,” published in the Annals of Iowa.

Jerry has also written two books, Crusading Iowa Journalist Verne Marshall: Exposing Graft and the 1936 Pulitzer Prize, and Thunder From the Prairie: The Life of Harold E. Hughes. The latter has recently been published by the University Press of Kansas and was awarded the Benhamin F. Shambaugh certificate of recognition by the State Historical Society of Iowa.

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Intersections is a monthly gathering of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa in Cedar Rapids.‍