I get it. History can be boring. We all remember the textbooks from school that bored us to death with tepid, uninspired descriptions of events that were anything but lukewarm: wars, uprisings, inventions, assassinations, and more. Unfortunately, many people (adults and students alike) avoid learning about history at all costs because they find it stale. But what happens when you bring history to life? What happens when figures from the past speak to you? The study of history becomes the closest we’ll ever get to time travel.
For many, history speaks clearest through visuals. And when you breathe life into old photos and film, you pull the past closer and understand it better. That’s why colorized footage like the History Channel’s “WWII in HD” is so popular. How much quicker can you connect with people from the past when you realize they faced many of the same tasks we face today: fighting disease and illness, seeking out purpose, serving their community, remembering those who came before them, and grappling with their own mortality. Aside from different fashions and lifestyles, they were a lot like you and me.
To help bring history alive, I colorized some black and white photos from my alma mater, Upper Iowa University. I’d love to say I labored at my computer for hours and hours, carefully coloring every little pixel. But in reality, I found a simple website called ColouriseSG that colorizes a photo for you in under 10 seconds.
I culled these photos from the sources I had at hand, including the 1927, 1929, and 1962 Peacock yearbooks; Upper Iowa University: Doc Dorman’s Peacocks by Fred Breckner; the March 1965 issue of The Palimpsest, dedicated to UIU’s history; and last but not least, the phenomenal Pioneering Spirit: Upper Iowa University – Celebrating 150 Years, 1857-2007 by Stephen D. Regan and Jerome W. Wadian (also known as Professor Wadian, or “the guy who photographed my wedding”). Side note: I have a few extra copies of The Palimpsest if anyone’s interested in one.
It’s my hope that these colorized photos bring Upper Iowa to life and help you find common ground with the students who roamed campus before us. At one point or another, we were all 19-year-old kids, trying to figure out what life was all about (now we’re older and still trying to figure out what life is all about, but that’s a story for another day). Hope you enjoy this colorful journey through the university’s past.
The 1881 senior class. Future UIU president Chauncey P. Colgrove is pictured in the center row on the left.The 1890 sophomore class, pictured on the steps of the old chapel building.A women’s quartette, circa 1892.Guy Potter Benton, who served as Upper Iowa’s president from 1899 to 1902. He later served as president at three other universities and also was educational director of the Third Army that occupied Germany after World War I.A view of a Fourth of July celebration in Fayette around 1900. This is looking north on Main Street from the State Street intersection.1900 track team. The dude in white appears to be pretty accomplished, judging by the medals on his chest.1901 basketball team. John “Doc” Dorman and his unique hair are pictured lower right.The class of 1910.The cast of the 1910 senior class play, “The College Widow.” The hats alone make this a head-turner… and then you notice the gravity-defying beard in the back row.1911 student reception at UIU B.U.S.T.The 1913 university orchestra… classy.The cast of the 1915 play “Close to Nature,” put on by the Zeta Alpha and Zethegathean literary societies and their canine pal.The class of 1916. I’ve never heard any stories about Alexander Dickman’s door ever being red, but that’s how it came out in this photo.Legendary coach Doc Dorman in 1925 after his team tied for the conference football championship. According to Buck Turnbull’s The Iowa Conference Story, the 1925 Peacocks “awarded only 11 letters because no reserve saw the necessary half of action.”The 1926 baseball team in front of the old gymnasium, which is now the Edgar Fine Arts building. Coach Doc Dorman is in the back row. He’s flanked on the left by catcher Charles Sullivan and to the right by pitcher Fred “Zebe” Larson. The duo, both future UIU Hall of Famers from Clermont, led the team to some impressive victories that season. Larson had game-by-game strikeout tallies of 13, 14, 15, 13, and 16. He also ran up a streak of 27 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.The 1926 junior class homecoming stunt. Stunts were skit competitions between classes, intended to build bonds and create class spirit.The 1926 sophomore class homecoming stunt. That mask in the back row is juuuuuuuuuuust a little creepy.The 1926 senior class homecoming stunt.The 1926 football team in action. Football games were played on what is now the oval lawn. You can see the old gymnasium (now Edgar Fine Arts) in the background.The 1928 football team. Coach Doc Dorman is in the second row. For reasons unknown to me, he had a tendency to pose in profile for several of the team photos.The 1928 WAA (Women’s Athletic Association) hockey team. Yes, believe it or not, UIU had a women’s hockey team.The 1928 WAA (Women’s Athletic Association) state convention at Cornell College. UIU and 10 other schools attended the convention, which gave attendees ideas to take back to their campuses. One of the more interesting talks given at the event was titled “Archery and Horseback Riding,” but I don’t think UIU ever adopted that combo for Peacock women.The 1928 freshman class homecoming stunt.The 1929 baseball squad.The 1929 WAA (Women’s Athletic Association) board. The colorization doesn’t do this photo justice, but can you imagine how stunning those sweaters looked back in the day?A scene from the late 1940s showing Doc Dorman and his team ringing the bell in Alexander Dickman.The 1941 Iowa Conference baseball champs. The squad included Dale Alderson, who went on to pitch in 16 games for the Chicago Cubs.The last known photo of famous UIU alumna and actress Zinita B. Graf. She’s pictured here in 1950 with her mother Nora before they took off on their return trip from Fayette to Hollywood. She died on November 25 of that year, but her spirit continues to be a presence on campus almost 70 years later. It’s practically a rite of passage to experience Zinita’s presence during your time in Fayette.The 1956 Iowa Conference baseball champs. Although Doc Dorman is mostly known for his football coaching, he was also closely associated with baseball. After graduating from UIU, he continued to play baseball for Georgetown while earning his DDS and received interest from multiple leagues. Thankfully for Upper Iowa, he returned to Fayette to join his father’s dental office and the rest is history.1961 football cheerleaders: Kathy Scheaffer, Pam Whitmore, Peg Eischeid, Clare Baker, Peg Schmidt, and JoAnn (Lyles) Hill. Again, this is another photo where the colorization does not do justice to some phenomenal sweaters.Art Kossack, a member of the 1961 football team. A 1963 Collegian profile listed Kossack as a defensive end from Chicago who majored in business and history.Eb Eischeid and Doc Dorman are flanked by two unidentified guys during a 1961 football practice.Gene Klinge of the 1961 football team. Klinge went on to win 1009 games as girls basketball coach at West Central and Waukon, making him the state’s career leader and 10th overall nationally.This photo from the 1962 yearbook was simply captioned “Their day will come.”An action shot from the 1961-62 basketball season.Don Dutton goes in for a layup during the 1961-62 season. Dutton is a member of UIU’s Hall of Fame and 1,000 point club, and went on to become a coach, teacher, and principal, including a stop at Clarence High School, which is near my old stomping grounds.Larry Albers went airborne over an opponent in a game from 1961-62. Albers was named all-conference three years and is also a member of UIU’s Hall of Fame and 1,000 point club.Bowling and smoking, 1962.Dr. Ernst Naylor and his Science Club students search for plants in 1962. Naylor earned the nickname “Tex” from UIU President Eugene Garbee, who originally thought Naylor was from Texas (he was actually from Missouri).UIU athletic director and football coach Everett “Eb” Eischeid in 1962. A native of nearby Oelwein, Eischeid graduated from UIU in 1938, coached in the high school ranks, then returned to the university in 1955, initially as Doc Dorman’s assistant football coach. His son, Mike, also starred for UIU and punted for nine years in the NFL with the Raiders and Vikings.Tina Minard and Vic Solomon were named king and queen at the 1962 Newman Club Mardi Gras.In this photo from the 1962 yearbook, an unidentified student takes a whack at a car covered in professors’ names during the APO Ugly Man Contest.A tradition still recognizable to this day: in 1962, the senior class president handed off the graduation gown to the junior class president.President Eugene Garbee pictured at his desk in 1962. Along with weaving his own suits, Garbee was known for his wild game dinners, which included such delicacies as English Sparrow pot pie, Iowa jugged muskrat, and baked Fayette County corn-fed coon. You can find his cookbook on Amazon (including a few copies that are signed).A giant ball-pushing contest between classes (unknown year).Stan Jack, Al Seabrooke, Eb Eischeid, and Doc Dorman check out Upper Iowa’s first pitching machine in the mid-1950s. Jack and Seabrooke excelled in baseball and basketball at UIU, then both went on to successful coaching careers and placement in UIU’s Hall of Fame. Jack returned to Upper Iowa to lead the Peacocks to a conference title in baseball and four straight conference championships in basketball.Doc Dorman examines the teeth of former UIU QB Cal Harms in the late 1940s/early 1950s. Despite a successful coaching tenure that spanned over five decades, Dorman still kept his dental practice going throughout his coaching career. Harms’s impressive list of accomplishments included 32 years as a basketball official and membership in several halls of fame.One of the most iconic photos of Doc Dorman.Coach and player: an early photo of Eb Eischeid with Doc Dorman. Eischeid went on to succeed Dorman as athletic director and football coach.A later photo of Dorman and Eischeid with the old gymnasium in the background. Just as Dorman handed off coaching duties to Eischeid, we hand off our UIU traditions to new generations of Peacocks who flock to campus. They’re in good hands.
I took most of those pictures from 1960-61-62 and still have the original negatives for some of them. I love what you did colorizing the old photos. Scott Lebin
You’re welcome, Scott – glad you enjoy the colorized versions. I happened to have a 1962 yearbook that I bought somewhere for $5. I thoroughly enjoyed picking out some great photos for this blog, so thank you for taking them in the first place!
coughingbison.com 
Great deal of history. I’m a UIU from 1985 and love your work . Awesome.
Thanks for the kind words, Bill!
Great photos! Thank you, Boris.
Thanks, Doc! I thoroughly enjoyed searching through photos for this piece.
Nice job Boris! Great story and photos!
Thanks Wes!
I took most of those pictures from 1960-61-62 and still have the original negatives for some of them. I love what you did colorizing the old photos. Scott Lebin
You’re welcome, Scott – glad you enjoy the colorized versions. I happened to have a 1962 yearbook that I bought somewhere for $5. I thoroughly enjoyed picking out some great photos for this blog, so thank you for taking them in the first place!