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Woolstock, IA Honors George Reeves with New Events
by Neil Cole
The small town of Woolstock, Iowa is the birthplace of the late George Reeves who starred as the Man of Steel in the classic 1950's television series, "The Adventures of Superman".
Over the years, Reeves has been honored by the town with various events including a festival in 2014 called "George Reeves Super Family Day" which celebrated the actor's 100th birthday and the unveiling of a new welcome sign in 2015 featuring a photo of Reeves.
Recently, several new events honoring George Reeves' legacy have been taking place in and around the Woolstock area including the installation of a retro phone booth next door to Woolstock City Hall complete with a George Reeves mannequin dressed as Clark Kent changing into Superman.
The lawn art was created by local resident Jason Kaufman and generated quite a stir drawing in many visitors each week, old and young, for photo opportunities. The phone booth has since been relocated to the home of Bart Green, located on the corners of Percival and Herman Streets in Woolstock.
A large group of baby boomers from the Des Moines, IA area also recently visited the Woolstock area as part of a new self-guided tour called "George Reeves - The Iowa Tour" which showcases various points of interest in the Woolstock area associated with Reeves.
The group was introduced to the theme of the tour at a light breakfast at the Heartland Museum in Clarion, while snippets of "The Adventures of Superman" were shown on the big screen in their Opera House convention hall. A compilation of archival books and items about George Reeves donated by Superman fans Lou Koza, Jim Nolt, Mary Spooner, and Carmine Romeo were also on hand and perused by the visitors.
In transit to Woolstock, the visitors watched a short 20 minute film on George Reeves life and career. Photo ops in Woolstock included the town sign with George's face, the Clark Kent phone booth, and a Superman cut out. Visitors also had a chance to buy Woolstock and GRM souvenirs in the City Hall, as well as shopping a Woolstock Equipment. Tony Bolton's 2014 Digital Art Media Photograph Gallery was also on display in the City Hall and received many comments.
Veronica Guyader, portraying Helen Lescher Brewer, gave a 20 minute walking tour of Woolstock to two groups of 25 people, telling Helen's side of the story, and about the early history of Woolstock. The last stop in Woolstock was a visit to the property where George Reeves was born, hosted by Vern and Viola Ratcliff who provided stories and a Q & A.
The group then headed for lunch in Webster City, followed by a presentation and tour at Wilson Brewer Park where they learned about the $5,000.00 raised by the the Friends of the George Reeves Memorial to help restore George Reeves' Brewer family's settlers cabin built by Wilson Brewer his great great grandfather and city founder. Portraying Wilson's daughter, Sarah Brewer, Veronica Guyader gave a 20 minute presentation about the Brewer family history. The group then enjoyed a tour of Wilson Brewer Park's museums and, before heading home, enjoyed Superman themed treats.
Many compliments were given on this first ever guided tour which was deemed a success as around $1,300.00 tourism dollars were made with several businesses and local county organizations participating. GRM gathered $106.00 in souvenir sales & presentation fees and, as of this month, became an official charitable organization.
Several other events and activities are planned to honor Reeves in the near future around the Woolstock area which will offer fans the opportunity to learn more about the late actor and his everlasting legacy.
