Eight Over 80: Robert Neymeyer – A life spent preserving Iowa's history

“I like to chat with people,” he said. “I like to know where they’re from and why they came.”

That seems apt for Neymeyer, who has spent the better part of his 83 years collecting, preserving and sharing the extraordinary stories of everyday people.

His own story – he grew up on a farm near Parkersburg – mirrors his subjects’ lives. He has painstakingly pieced together a body of work that will leave its mark for generations to come.

Whether in his role as an educator or a historian, Neymeyer has touched countless lives.

His own educational journey, earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa between 1965 and 1990, led to stints teaching at Iowa and the University of Northen Iowa. That part of his career ended just last year.

In 2002, Neymeyer joined the Grout Museum District as project coordinator/historian for the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum responsible for historical research and script narrative for the museum’s exhibits.

At the Grout, Neymeyer built the museum’s “Voices of Iowa” oral history collection into a renowned resource for first-person veteran interviews. It is one of the largest such collections gathered by a single source in the country.

“I had the honor of working with Bob at the Grout Museum District in Waterloo for over 20 years,” said Billie Bailey, the district’s former executive director. “In his various capacities at the Grout, Bob established a lasting legacy for Iowans. Thanks to his dedication, the ‘Voices of Iowa’ archive … houses around 3,000 video oral history interviews that document the stories of Iowans, told in their own words. Originally created in the late 1990s to capture the stories of the WWII generation, Bob’s work expanded to include interviews with farmers, workers in Iowa’s agricultural industries and other stories of local, statewide and national significance.”

Neymeyer conducted at least 80% of those interviews himself, Bailey said.

Often, Neymeyer conducts interviews in his office at the Grout amongst mountains of books, piles of photocopied newspaper articles and historical photographs.

He does not hesitate to name the interview that impacted him the most.

“Richard Clark,” he said. “That’s the best one we have.”

Neymeyer traveled to the town of Letts to interview Clark, who was aboard the USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“I set up the camera in his kitchen, and he disappeared into his memory bank,” Neymeyer said.

Neymeyer himself can tell stories on topics ranging from local juke joints to encounters with gypsies at Black’s Department Store in Waterloo.

In his long career, Neymeyer has served in several capacities and has earned accolades throughout.

Among other things, he and his family spent years in the Caribbean country of St. Lucia where he worked for the national archives. He owned his own publishing company, Mid-Prairie Books, and a bookstore, Bought Again Books on College Hill. He is a published author – “R.J. McElroy: A Biography”; “In the Full Light of Day: The Klu Klux Klan in 1920’s Iowa”; “May Harmony Prevail: The Early History of Black Waterloo” – and produced and contributed to the documentary series “Waterloo: A History of Place” featuring the Sons of Jacob Synagogue.

He was the main contributor for “Prairie Pathways,” a series of historical and cultural panels that have graced the area trail system for years.

He has served in positions for organizations ranging from the Parkersburg Community School District to the State Historical Society of Iowa.

He is the recipient of the William J. Peterson & Edgar R. Harlan Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa State Historical Society for his work on “Voices of Iowa.”

Along the way, he raised three children – Sara, Joseph and Derek – with his wife, Nancy. That family has grown to include 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In fact, Neymeyer’s wife and daughter were two who nominated him for Eight Over 80 honors.

“His love for Waterloo has been highlighted in many ways,” Nancy Neymeyer said in her nomination. “He worked with Mayor (Tim) Hurley of Waterloo on the application to the National Park Service to have Waterloo designated as a World War II American Heritage City. Waterloo is the only World War II American Heritage City in Iowa. He’s worked with the Jewish community of Waterloo and helped to share the stories of the African American community’s migration north to Iowa and, finally, to Waterloo. His proudest achievement is his involvement in the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum. I have traveled far and wide with him, watching him interview veterans and others. Sharing those stories with the community of Waterloo has been a joy for him. Had he not gone, so many stories would have been lost forever.”

“My father is very cerebral,” Sara Eisenberg said. “He always has a pencil, legal notepad or computation book within reach. … He was always thinking, whether about his next semester of teaching, his next project, or the next interview with a veteran – someone who may be telling his or her story for the first time.”

Neymeyer explains it more succinctly.

“My paternal grandfather loved to talk and explore things,” he said. “I inherited the inquisitive gene.”