Making Matchstick Marvels
by Melody Warnick
From its tiny mullioned windows to its gargoyle-festooned towers, woodworker Patrick Acton's model of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the boarding-house home of Hollywood's favorite teenage wizard, Harry Potter, is an amazingly detailed replic
first appeared: 11/11/2007
A Passion for Planting Trees
by Andy Leheny
Several thousand trees in and around Davenport, Iowa, wouldn’t be shading and beautifying the city if not for the efforts of Michael Giudici, 54, an arborist with a mission.
first appeared: 10/21/2007
Honoring Baseball's Famous "Feller"
by Lisa Lavia Ryan
When Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Feller, 88, looks back over his life and career, he knows where to give credit. "It was my upbringing," he says.
first appeared: 10/14/2007
Remembering John Wayne
by Lisa Lavia Ryan
Years before Marion Robert Morrison became actor John Wayne, he already had a claim to fame in his hometown of Winterset, Iowa.
first appeared: 5/20/2007
Furniture the Old-Fashioned Way
by Melody Warnick
His leather boots planted firmly in a drift of wood chips, Robby Pedersen chisels the dovetailed joints of a flat-top trunk exactly as he does everything else: by hand.
first appeared: 3/18/2007
Living Small
by j. poet
Jay Shafer appears larger than life, standing on the front porch of his 100-square-foot home in Sebastopol, Calif. (pop. 7,774), welcoming a visitor with an outstretched hand and a big smile.
first appeared: 3/4/2007
Will You Marry Me?
by Marta W. Aldrich
Marriage is proposed in every way—and place—imaginable. Some proposals are sweet and subtle, while others are elaborate and extravagant.
first appeared: 2/11/2007
Spreading Barn Quilts
by Melody Warnick
After nearly 100 years of sheltering hay and hogs, the whitewashed barn near Conrad, Iowa, had reached the end of its practical life.
first appeared: 11/5/2006
Cornfield Craze
by Marti Attoun
Farm mazes grow into family fun
first appeared: 8/20/2006
Keeping the Faeth
by Lori Erickson
In a typical year, the Faeths harvest about 15,000 bushels of more than 50 different varieties of apples grown on 20 acres.
first appeared: 7/23/2006
Father & Son Look-alikes
Just as we featured look-alike mothers and daughters in our Mother's Day edition, American Profile celebrates Father's Day with photos sent in from fathers and sons with uncanny resemblances.
first appeared: 6/18/2006
Leading By Example
by Doug Goodnough
Grassroots leaders like teenage mayor Michael Sessions are making their communities better
first appeared: 4/16/2006
Whatta Water Tower!
by Marti Attoun
Hometown landmarks inspire community pride
first appeared: 1/22/2006
Acts of Kindness
by Marta W. Aldrich
Our 5th annual account of ordinary Americans doing good deeds for one another
first appeared: 12/25/2005
Harvest for All
by Marti Attoun
Iowa farmer Steve Anderegg has never met Dallas Clark, a spunky 4-year-old in Missouri who loves grape juice and chicken. But they are linked at America’s dinner table through a national network of sharing.
first appeared: 6/5/2005
We Proceeded On
by Vicki Brown
ln May 1804, Capts. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off from winter camp near St. Louis with their party of men—dubbed the Corps of Discovery by President Thomas Jefferson—on an epic journey to the Pacific Ocean.
first appeared: 4/11/2004
Library Cats
by Marti Attoun
The shelves at the Spencer Public Library are filled with happy-ending stories, but they can’t hold a whisker to the one that began on a freezing January morning 16 years ago.
first appeared: 3/14/2004
Not Just Clowning Around
by Marti Attoun
Although Ben and Andy share in the shenanigans, their job as bullfighters is serious—to protect the bull rider.
first appeared: 7/6/2003
Pure Game
by Steve Lange
Baseball the way it was meant to be played
first appeared: 6/23/2002
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