Paula Countryman, a middle school teacher in Douds, Iowa is responsible for teaching her students Iowa state history. Paula felt it was also important for students to learn about their local history and develop their "sense of place". She achieved this through oral histories from long time residents of the area, discussions with the county engineer, and community members. She also located documents regarding development in the area to share with her class. Both teacher and students learned about the history of the area. The students demonstrated what they learned through a poem they wrote documenting the story of Douds and Leando, Iowa. The music teacher then helped them add music to their poem, thus writing their own song. They shared this with the other students in the school at a school assembly.
The class also created models of two villages in the area using historical and current maps and information they collected to compare the way they looked in the 1840s and today. The artifacts that follow are their poem and the models of the villages in the 1840s.
Douds-Leando--the places you should go
That lived long ago.
Fertile is the land
It is very grand.
Not too small
Land for all
The Douds and the Holcombs were the first people here
Buildings were burnt and then fire was a-fear.
There were fires, and there were tears
But the towns had no fears.
Holcomb Creek had a small dam
And fell making a big bam.
.The fertile fields we walk on
The grassy prairies at dawn.
Douds and Leando--for some are so near
So come and see everyone who's here.
In the river, the steamboats wound
Causing the earth to hear a loud sound.
The Des Moines River is nice
So, in the winter, it will ice.
The button factory was on its way
But nobody wanted to pay.
The button factory had a chance
No one would pay the $1000 finance.
A feud then started like prairie fire
Each town said the other was a liar.
Competition had won its place
Across the river was a disgrace.
Farmers worked the land with a hoe.
They took seed and started to sow.
People came, in hope to build a town
With schools and mills, but many burned down.
Skunks farms caused an alarm
But in the end, there was no harm.
There were skunk farms
That had many skunks in the barn.
Douds and Leando made some skunk coats
And then they were shipped in big boats.
There are not many races
But lots of different faces
Douds and Leando are very beautiful
but the people who lived there think it is suitable.
Douds and Leando where I live
I want to make it clear
If I could live anywhere
It would be right here.
Douds and Leando--the places you should go
With sandbags to stop the water's overflow.
Farms with beans and corn
Schools to help kids learn.
Douds and Leando are not big towns
but they are known for miles around
A quarry's there with fine limestone,
Some stores, a school, and a funeral home.
Leando was named Portland--Douds-Douds Station
They crossed the river on a ferry
With parcels folks had to carry
The people--boy! They skated
On the ferry while they waited.
Leando goes back a long, long ways
Douds goes back a few lesser days
But life moves slow
And the river does flow
In Douds and Leando!
Written by Douds 5th Graders
1995
Model of Douds in the 1840s.
Model of Leando in the 1840s.