Author: Andrew Offenburger

Congratulations to Nathaniel Hieber on the publication of his op-ed last Friday in the Storm Lake Times!

Download the PDF version of the article.

Congratulations to Joey Puckett on the publication of his op-ed in last Friday’s Storm Lake Times!

Download the article in PDF format.

Dr. Offenburger has summarized the Storm Lake history class in the following editorial, which ran in today’s Storm Lake Times. In it, he also prefaces four student-written op-eds to appear in the Times in the coming weeks. (Congratulations to Nathaniel Hieber, Katie Johnston, Rachel Rinehart, and Joey Puckett!)

Download the article in PDF format.

Please be sure to see the excellent recent article, written by Shavon Anderson of University Communications, about our class on Storm Lake history:

https://bit.ly/3fCPKMg

by Logan Kelleher

More diversity in the workforce. Daycare options at Tyson. Increased housing in Storm Lake. Injuries on the job being swept under the rug. Topics like these arose in discussions with Fred Moore, former BVU president, and four board members from SALUD!, the Multicultural Health Coalition of Storm Lake.

While speaking to our guests took up the majority of our class time this week, we also discussed two materials to aid in our research: Any Way You Cut It: Meat Processing and Small-Town America, an edited collection of academic articles on the meatpacking industry in a national context, by Donald D. Stull, Michael J. Broadway and David Griffith; and a CNN Special Report, “The Hidden Workforce: Undocumented in America.”

Within the articles, the authors discuss the “dangerous nature of meat-processing work and call into question the packers’ commitment to safety” (67). One article in particular highlights the minimal change that has happened over time in the meatpacking industry: “reading and rereading The Jungle over the last six years, while studying beef packing and beef packing workers,” the authors write, “we have been struck with how little has really changed” (62).

Students agreed that these problems arise frequently, yet little is done to remedy them. While many of us believe that the meatpacking industry should be under pressure to solve these issues, we also recognize a lack of factors motivating change. The best thing going for the industry is that people need jobs, and will continue to work at various meatpacking plants as long as they can receive an income and are able to put food on the table.

We also focused on the inspections of plants throughout the region. “Industries have not been sufficiently vigorous in enforcing standards,” the authors write (64). According to them, meatpacking plants do not see their inspections completed at a high level. “For logical reasons, then, most American consumers choose not to be reminded of the ‘facts’ of the meat and poultry industry,” readers are reminded, “though their reasons are not necessarily in consumers’ best interests” (44). Although people know the problems associated with the meatpacking industry, the door tends to be kept closed on revealing issues to the public.

The risks are perilous, too. Many workers can get injured on the job, because the work can be tiresome and accompanied by movements with sharp objects. When workers do get injured, they receive little compensation for that injury. Hospital visits are rare. The companies would rather have first aid administered in the plant, putting a bandaid on a cut that otherwise needs stitches. Sometimes, workers are even cut by others’ knives nearby, due to the confined space and nature of the job. Immigrant workers not only risk daily injury, they also face not making enough money to live with financial comfort.

Our other material we discussed, the CNN investigation “The Hidden Workforce: Undocumented in America,” looked at immigrant workers in the agriculture industry. This video showed us how prevalent undocumented immigrants are in agriculture. An immigrant worker interviewed, who remains unnamed, talks about his experience, saying “I asked the person, ‘you need to pay us,’ and he told us ‘I know you are illegal’…’if you do something’…’you will be deported.’” Such farmers, and their employers, know that their jobs are among the few available without requiring proper documentation, so it is easier for the farmers to get away with paying them lower wages. But for these workers, even the smaller pay is worth it to eke out a living.

Wages and finances are in large part taboo to discuss, e.g., how much money people make or pay. This particular farmer in the CNN investigation resisted disclosing how much he was paying his immigrant workers. “Because when we say that we’re in dire need of more people to help us do the work and we talk about them being immigrants,” he said, “not a lot of people want to hear that.” The farmer could be either paying them close to what the workers in the Tyson meatpacking plant make, which is closer to $16 an hour, or they could be making well under the federal minimum wage. 

Why doesn’t a union simply take over? If a union were to try to come into Storm Lake, for example, Tyson could stop any of the efforts in its tracks. It would be easy to replace the workers because the turnover rate is already high. If a company like Tyson had to deal with unionization in its plant, it would be an inconvenience only so long as it takes to hire more willing workers with fewer options. This is a “white” or “American privilege” that we discussed, where the advantaged population often assumes it can get better jobs than ones at Tyson or other businesses in the agriculture industry. Much of the immigrant population, on the other hand, sees these meatpacking plants as their best and sometimes only option.

As our discussions came to a close, we moved on to a first guest speaker for the class last week, a man whose job changed rapidly in his years in Storm Lake. Fred Moore, former president of Buena Vista University, served from 1995 to 2017, and therefore was a useful contributor to our class research. When he first moved to Storm Lake, Moore noticed quickly that it was not what he was used to. Growing up in the South, Moore noted that the diverse population he experienced had included African-Americans, but when he moved to Storm Lake he saw a larger mix of ethnicities and nationalities, a “global melting pot,” as he put it. 

One of the things Moore spoke most highly of was that a student organization, Student MOVE (Mobilizing Outreach & Volunteer Efforts), continues to contribute greatly to the local community. He said that as a student body, BVU tallies in over 10,000 hours of community service in a year, a tremendous number for a school with a student body of around 1,546 students (2018-19).

An effort that Moore made with his time in the presidency was to see more diversity in new hires at the university. “A place where we started to do better was what we called the physical plant,” he said. “That would be facilities, housekeepers, maintenance.” 

BVU does recruit from Storm Lake High School. It makes recruiting efforts at the school, and sees many first generation students, from both the recent immigrant population as well as Storm Lakers with deeper local roots. Regardless, many local students are going to college for the first time in their family. One of our classmates asked if the school sees the Presbyterian religious affiliation as a contributor to the students admitted, but Moore informed us that Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist affiliated students have higher percentages of entry. “In that part of Iowa, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church are very prominent,” he said.

From a former professor to a former president of BVU, to former and current police chiefs, to the Storm Lake Local School District superintendent, our class has talked to many important members of the Storm Lake community. This past Wednesday, for the first time, we spoke with residents working on the ground to improve the lives and health of all Storm Lakers. Four board members of SALUD!, which “believes in collaboration rather than competition” and “serves the community by building community,” shared their stories with us, including Joanne Alvorez, Di Daniels, Emilia Marroquín, and María Ramos.

Each had a different journey to Storm Lake and to SALUD!, but all shared a common goal of working with the organization to create a better community. Daniels explained how the organization aspires to meet the needs of the population when they arise, on an ad hoc basis. In a light-hearted but insightful moment, Alvorez brought up that she was very hesitant at first to join the organization. “I actually avoided joining SALUD! for a few months because I was kind of assigned to it,” she said, “because it was the multicultural committee, and I was the only brown person at the place I was working.” However, Alvorez would be convinced to stay. “I knew [the organizers] from the community and just knowing that the people that were included in the coalition were people in my community, and people that I trusted, was super important to me and the reason I stayed.”

Ramos, born in Mexico and on the City Council of Storm Lake, brought up the number of health screenings that the organization has facilitated at places like Tyson. This leads to patient/worker peace-of-mind, to be aware of any potential health problems.

Marroquín spoke of how she moved to Storm Lake with her family after a friend told them about Tyson hiring, and how she has been active in the community since then. On the organization and its ability to address challenges, Marroquín said, “I don’t know all of [the needs in Storm Lake] because we discover those as we go. Sometimes we don’t know these things are happening. Right now needs are pretty obvious. Child care is a big need in the community. Housing is another big need.”

One student, Anna Rottenborn, mentioned that all of the board members of SALUD! are women, and asked if that is the primary target for the organization. Daniels told us that they do welcome men, but they want to create a safe space for women first and foremost. “I am very cautious about bringing immigrant women…alongside with men because there seemed to be this automatic submission to the male,” she said. “I want to make sure every woman feels safe saying what they want to say.”

Marroquín mentioned that the people who come to the meetings need to be committed to the organization, and the majority of the time that is the women in the community. There are men that do come to meetings with reasonable frequency, but the women tend to be the most committed.

Another question, raised by Dr. Offenburger, was one that was helpful to our research. He noted that some of the more important things that the organization has done were aimed at Tyson workers, and he asked if they believed that there were shortcomings in what Tyson was doing for its employees. The answer was a resounding yes. Alvorez believed that Tyson should be more focused on child care and housing, the former being a problem for hesitant parents who do not want to, or cannot afford to, leave their children at home or at other area daycares. She felt Tyson should take the initiative to help its employees in that way. And when Ramos was talking about the various things SALUD! has done for Tyson, the list was long. “We have done a bunch of different types of screenings at Tyson: hypertension, BMI, diabetes…We had done a healthy activity that was called ‘Sunday Funday’ and invited local health centers to come in and do blood pressure and diabetes checks.”

Daniels also spoke about previous times when SALUD! has called out Tyson for these shortcomings, but because it is such a large employer, it is hard to make change on a grand scale. Housing availability may be one discrete issue that needs to be addressed in Storm Lake, yet larger, more general challenges, like racism, remain. Little by little, meeting by meeting, SALUD! leaders and others in town are working to find–to create–a sense of community.

Logan Kelleher is a junior history major and enjoys learning about Native American history. After graduating from Miami, Logan plans to attend law school and concentrate in environmental law. On campus, he is involved with the Amicus Curiae Pre-Law Society, where he serves as the Vice President of Programming, and is a member of the Miami University Men’s Glee Club.

On the front page of the May 30, 2017, New York Times, a headline summarized contemporary Storm Lake: “In Rural Iowa, A Future Rests On Immigrants.”

It’s a story known to many in Buena Vista County, an impressive and concise summary of the strengths and weaknesses of Storm Lake’s economy and community. We read this piece this week, which led to a conversation on the paradox of the town’s history. When Hygrade closed in 1981, and union jobs vanished, the city found itself all the more vulnerable to the vagaries of industrial forces. Enter IBP, which hired non-union workers and recruited heavily among Latino populations for less pay.

Looking at this moment now, decades later, it was perhaps the pivotal moment for the community in the twentieth century. But was it the apex or the nadir of Storm Lake’s story? Can one lament a deteriorating labor environment while simultaneously feeling inspired by the community?

We were fortunate to have the article’s author join us for a conversation by Zoom. Patricia Cohen covers the national economy for the Times, and her article prompted a wide-ranging conversation on immigration, the forces of capitalism, and generational change.

Students heard of her time in Storm Lake, and they also learned how a consummate professional (yet outsider) managed to capture, in relatively few words, the heart of the Storm Lake story. Her secret? “What I did for Storm Lake is what I would say any good reporter does for anything: … I come really prepared, and I do all the research that I can possibly do.” Yes!

It’s a good reminder as students embark upon their own research this semester. Students Anna Rottenborn, Adam Kimble, Michel Reising, and Nathaniel Hieber put various questions to Cohen: why were younger white generations more likely to move out of town, and children of recent immigrants more likely to return? Did she encounter any episodes of explicit racism? What were her impressions of Storm Lake?

Cohen explained how her experience writing the piece demonstrated that journalists, like historians, can’t always anticipate the results. That’s why she went to Iowa: to listen. She met with church and police leaders, and with locals of Latin American and Southeast Asian origins. She struck up conversations in markets. She chit-chatted over sips of joe at the Grand Central Coffee Station.

She had gone to town anticipating writing a profile on Storm Lake’s embrace of multiculturalism. But she was astonished by the economic past that had led to such a present. “I thought that was a really fascinating part of the story,” she said, “which was, in the popular belief, that immigrants came and undercut the jobs. But, in fact, it was the reverse that happened. The companies had essentially busted the unions and cut pay, and then nobody wanted those jobs, and so immigrants were willing to take them at a lower wage.”

Her published article’s first featured interviewee, Dan Smith, appeared on her radar during a conversation with Art Cullen. She recalled Cullen saying, “You know, you should call this guy because he’s been [at Tyson/IBP/Hygrade] for 40 years now, and I think he’s retiring next week.” Cohen then continued, “And so, you know, my journalistic spidey-sense just went like, ‘bing bing bing bing bing,’ like, that’s the perfect guy, the magic notebook you hope to have someone come across.”

A detail provided by Mr. Smith, in fact, stood out in students’ minds and represents much of Storm Lake’s economic history: he worked as a forklift driver for most of his career, and made the same wage ($16 per hour) the entire time. Were this adjusted for inflation, it would have been triple the amount in 2017.

It’s emblematic of economic changes—for the worse, one could say—that are responsible for Storm Lake’s development in the last 40 years. And yet, without this, the city wouldn’t be thriving, albeit imperfectly, with a growing multicultural community. The other stories that Cohen found wouldn’t have been possible: the example of Silvino Morelos’s “Valentina’s Meat Market,” or the success of Abel Saengchanpheng.

Is Storm Lake the realization of the American dream, born from economic vulnerabilities? A student, Joey Puckett, put this question to Cohen. What did she think? Was this a tale of disappointment or of hope?

“The first thing I would say to you is,” she said, ever the journalist, “what you guys think is actually more important. It’s what are you taking away from the story. But I would have to kind of say both [hope and disappointment]. It’s one of the reasons I like that story, and I think that it got the attention that it did because it captured so many things that were going on in terms what had happened to union jobs in this country, not only meatpacking plants but in manufacturing plants and elsewhere, all over. As globalization occurred and jobs were exported abroad and unions were broken.”

“On the other hand,” Cohen continued, “if you look at kind of what we generally call ‘the crisis of rural America,’ which is that demographic trend of communities getting smaller and smaller, and aging, and people not wanting to move there, and no industries, then Storm Lake is a success story in that it has managed, however fitfully and however bumpy and lumpy along the way, to create this thriving community which, unlike a lot of others, is growing.”

When I graduated from Buena Vista University in 1998, I knew Storm Lake only pragmatically – where certain professors lived, the fastest walk to Lake Avenue, and where the Pantry Café was (RIP, dear friend). Such is life on a campus quad, sheltered from the Real World, ensconced in books by one-named greats. I labored to learn of the wider world, to think beyond the boundaries of Iowa. So few of us realized, though, how businesses with global ties were transforming our own back yard. To see beyond the region, as you Storm Lakers well know, all we had to do was set down Milton and Flaubert and take a stroll along Milwaukee or Flindt.

Later, the more I learned of the world—driving around America, living in Argentina for two years, in South Africa for one, and through graduate training in frontier history at Yale University—the more I could appreciate the forces shaping life in Storm Lake. At Yale, conversations about capitalism, and its challenges, often took place in classes on Africa or Latin America, but in those moments my mind often returned to the small town I once hardly knew.

During those years outside the Midwest, my wife María and I started a family. She is from Argentina, but we now live in Oxford, Ohio, where I am a professor of history at Miami University. As a result of our bilingual household, we have three girls who think, like many Storm Lakers must, that empanadas (meat pies) and milanesa (chicken cutlet) are as American as apple pie, that merienda (afternoon snack time) is sacrosanct. They might be right.

Only two years ago, María completed the odyssey of applying for U.S. citizenship. As she recited the Oath of Allegiance in that Cincinnati courtroom, our girls waved American flags. What an experience! By now you can understand why I, an Iowan who has witnessed immigration first-hand, have been drawn to Storm Lake more and more. Though 700 miles away, I feel vested in the community. All Americans should.

Funny. The town feels closer now than it did when I lived near the lakeshore on West 4th.

That’s why, when Miami U announced a new program to connect humanities classes with communities (or businesses), to build students’ credentials, I thought immediately of Storm Lake. What better case study could there be to understand the global America my students will enter upon graduation?

Starting next month, we will swallow whole-hog the fascinating history of Storm Lake and Buena Vista County. The class, “Researching Midwestern History,” will focus on the past and present of the City Beautiful. Now is a critical time to document its history as thoroughly as possible.

We invite you to join us.

My 15 students and I will approach this in two ways.

First, we will analyze news from the Pilot-Tribune and the Times over several decades. Among our questions: how have changes in the town been represented in its newspapers? How have the experiences of newcomers and long-established families redefined a sense of community? What are the connections between labor, migration, and identity? Has Storm Lake found a way to reconcile the real world with the American dream?

If you enjoy history, or scanning the news from bygone days, we welcome your help cataloging these news articles. This will be done using a free online platform developed here at Miami U, and we can train volunteers. All you’ll need is a computer, some curiosity about the past, and a cup of coffee.

Second, we will conduct oral history interviews with all Storm Lakers who wish to participate. Due to the current pandemic, we will do this primarily on the internet (using FaceTime or Zoom) or by telephone, though I’m hoping for some in-person interviews in late spring, if at all possible.

If you have witnessed the town change over decades, or if you came recently with a hope for a better tomorrow, we encourage you to talk with us.

Once finished, my class will deposit this research with the Buena Vista County Historical Society, and it will be publicly available there and online. Our class will also create blog posts and videos with updates on our progress, available at https://sites.miamioh.edu/stormlake. Please interact with us. Offer your ideas. Critique our work.

At the end of the semester in May, I’d like to visit the town with my students, to report on our project, to share any conclusions, and, most importantly, to introduce them to a special place with global ties in the middle of America.