The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming local historians Bill Lindsay and Tom Meerdink as they present a talk on the history of the Peter Products Company and the Peter-Mar Toys. The program will take place Sunday, June 10 at 2:00 pm in the Muscatine Art Center's Music Room. Admission is free.

In 1941 Ralph Lohr and his partner C.C. Hakes opened the Peter Products Company in Muscatine and began manufacturing wooden household items for retailers like Sears Roebuck. Their venture was successful but World War II caused lumber to be in short supply, most of it going to government contracts or other manufacturing priorities related to the war effort.  The Peter Products company was faced with the choice of closing or starting other product lines.  Under the new name of Peter-Mar Toys, they began purchasing scrap lumber to manufacture toys of their own design. They first produced military style Jeeps and guns and over time expanded to include farm equipment such as tractors, hay racks and wagons. The company's assembly lines were later re-tooled and new designs including a Ferris wheel, Noah's Ark and a trolley made. Peter-Mar Toys closed at the end of the war.

A display of original Peter-Mar toys is currently on view in the Musser Museum, gifts of Jim Burr, Mary Gaeta, Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Paul, Jan Ransom, Jerry Schreurs and Ev & Howard Hammann, in memory of Francis & James Tomasson.

EVENT DETAILS:

Talk: "Muscatine's Toy Story"

Who: Bill Lindsay and Tom Meerdink

When: Sunday, June 10 2012

Time: 2:00 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at

563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from

10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.

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JUNE 23RD

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CALL 309-787-8510 (PAM)

There is bad news for boys in North America:they are being blown out of the water by girls in academic achievement, and psychologists say young men are becoming more socially awkward, making relationships with young women difficult.

Sidney Gale, a medical doctor and author of Unto the Breach (www.sidneygale.com), an outdoor adventures book for boys, is concerned about the following statistics:

• Boys are 30 percent more likely than girls to drop out or flunk out of school. In Canada, five boys drop out for every three girls.

• Boys are underperforming girls at every level, from elementary to grad school.

• Boys are less likely than girls to get bachelor's of arts (44% vs. 56%) and graduate degrees, (45% vs. 55%).

In addition, young men in college are increasingly socially inexperienced, which means they're less likely go to on dates or otherwise step out of their comfort zone,says Stanford University psychology professor Philip Zimbardo. In general, maleswere never as sophisticated as females in verbal and bodily communication, but it's gotten worse.

Excessive hours of solitary video-game play and internet use likely account for atrophied social skills, Zimbardo says.

"We need to get boys out of their solitary bedrooms and into the sun," Gale says. "It's also a good idea to get them reading something other than tweets, texts and the like. They have intellect, and we should encourage them to use it."

Gale offers ideas to help boys even the achievement and social gap:

• Camp: Summer is a perfect opportunity to consider varied activity for young boys. Gale, an avid seaman, says sailing camps encourage teamwork, physical activity and navigation skills.

• Read novels: Physical isolation has significant effects on one's mental state and will stymie social skills. While reading is an activity pursued alone, reading novels can be very therapeutic, he says. They take readers beyond their daily lives, illustrate the workings of human relationships and increase language skills. They can also teach social- and problem-solving skills.

• Get social - both boys and parents: Children pick up on parental behaviors. If Mom and Dad do nothing but work and vegetate at home, chances are good that boys are just doing the same. Leave the house, together, when you can. Recreational activities are ideal; however, simply shopping together is an easy way to get boys out. "Talk to them on the way to the store," Gale says. "It sounds simple, but we are so inundated with technology in every part of our daily lives that an in-person conversation should not be taken for granted."

Like anything worthwhile, a boy's development takes time and effort, he notes.

"The old idea of a boy was one who longed for adventure, like Tom Sawyer or the Hardy Boys," he says. "As with any of today's issues concerning children, parents need to be vigilant so they can lead their sons to a successful and socially active life."

About Sidney Gale

Sidney Gale is the penname for Ian Blumer, a physician who has published a number of non-fiction books. He has been a specialty doctor in the Toronto area since 1985. "Unto the Breach" is his first work of fiction.

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - June 4, 2012 - Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) members have lost a valued member of the family, as they mark the passing of longtime WHO Radio farm news announcer Mark Pearson.  Pearson, long appreciated by Iowa farmers as a tireless advocate of agriculture, was appreciated for his intelligence, his humor and his passion for farming and Iowa.

"Mark was so well-versed on the issues and people of Iowa and was so proud to be a Farm Bureau member, that it was like he was a member of the family," said IFBF President Craig Hill, a Milo crop and livestock farmer.  "Doing an interview with Mark was always like talking to an old friend and he had such quick wit that you never knew what we was going to say, but either way, he was going to make you smile," said Hill.

Pearson, 54, passed away early Sunday after suffering an apparent heart attack at his Madison County farm home.  "Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark's family.  He left this world too soon and there truly will be no one else like him.  He will be greatly missed," said Hill.

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About Iowa Farm Bureau

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is a grassroots, statewide organization dedicated to enhancing the People, Progress and Pride of Iowa.  More than 153,000 families in Iowa are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve farm and rural prosperity.  For more information about Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit the online media room at www.iowafarmbureau.com.