Some films are from the television series "Landmarks in Iowa History" have been digitized and are now available online in UNI ScholarWorks, thanks to generous donations by UNI alum. This series aired on WOI-TV and was directed and hosted by Herbert Hake as an educational tool for school children in the state. Hake was a professor at the Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) and a pioneer in radio and television. He began his career here in the summer of 1936 with the Theater Department. From 1938 to 1942 he served as technical director, scenic designer, and instructor of speech courses. He became the first radio program director in 1942 and the first director of radio and television in 1947. Hake was known for his "chalk talks" in which he drew as he told stories or taught lessons about various Iowa towns, landmarks, and history, which you are now able to see and hear online in these digitized films.
For more information about the entire collection of films and other works by Hake, see the finding aids for "Landmarks in Iowa History" and the Herb V. Hake Papers in University Archives.