MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) - The story of the pearl button industry in Muscatine is much like a button itself, its circular and when properly polished, will shine. “If you polish this history like a pearl, ...

Fabulous tales of fortunes in 1924, freshwater pearls taken from Mississippi River mussels are still told along the shores of Lake Pepin and in the declining pearl button cities like Muscatine, Iowa.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, clammers would drag 12-foot crowfoot bars along the bottom of the St. Croix River. Mussels, sensitive to disturbance, would clamp tightly onto the hooks. Their ...

MUSCATINE, Iowa — In an old warehouse in Muscatine, Iowa, there's a treasure trove of buttons with a storied history along the Mississippi River. The warehouse was part of a button factory that dates ...

Collection documents the manufacture of both freshwater pearl and plastic buttons in Muscatine, Iowa, including at least 12 different companies from primarily 1925 to the 1960s. Collection documents ...

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