The excitement began when the state of Illinois blocked a rock festival in Galena. The promoters crossed the Mississippi and scoured northeast Iowa for a suitable site, finally buying a farm near the tiny town of Wadena. Meanwhile, attorneys took up the cause in the courtrooms when Iowa tried to stop the festival. Tension built as some 40,000 members of the long-haired generation descended on the farm. Would the festival go on as scheduled? That became the million dollar question.

First Congregational United Church of Christ of Dubuque, Iowa, boasts a long and rich history. The Church traces its foundation back to 1839 when 19 bold pioneers banded together in a tiny Mississippi River frontier town known for lead mining and bad manners. The Church alternately flourished and struggled through the decades through booms and depressions and wars. Forward Through the Ages traces the church's history in the anniversary recollections penned by church historians from 1889-2014.

The combined diaries of Alfred Pearson, U.S. minister to Poland and Finland, and his daughter Thea Elaine, who served as her father's diplomatic hostess abroad, put a personal spin on the relationship between Poland, Finland and the U.S. in the exciting years between the two world wars.