Main Street Iowa recognizes local leader

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

Christopher Anthony’s passion for history has a way of tying all his interests together. Since Anthony moved to Charles City in January 2005, that excitement has drawn him to volunteer throughout the community on culture and preservation initiatives.

Main Street Iowa will recognize Anthony’s passion on Friday as he will be presented the annual Leadership Award by Main Street Iowa Director Debi Durham, Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The particulars of the award will be announced during the reception.

“I’ve loved history since I was 10 years old,” Anthony said. “It seems like no matter which way I go … somehow I seem to pull history into it.”

Anthony is a member of Community Revitalization’s board of directors and serves on the organization’s Design Board, the Charles City Arts Council, the Historic Preservation Society Board and is secretary of C.A.R. (Custom, Antique and Rod) Association.

“I don’t know how I really got involved in the (Charles City) Arts Center, I just started hanging out and I did a few floral shows. I wanted to help keep the history of the Arts Center alive and make it grow,” Anthony said. “We have such a great facility that most towns our size don’t have.”

Anthony has been a guiding force behind the annual Holiday Home Tour and last year’s first pipe organ tour through Charles City churches. This year, Anthony is planning an art tour to see the collections people have on display in their homes.

“Going around to different houses for a few minutes to visit people who have unusual or a large capacity of artwork,” Anthony said of the tour. “It’s a little easier than Christmas — you don’t have to do any decorating.”

Anthony spearheaded the Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary community tribute in December, which invited survivor Francis Riley of Cedar Rapids, seaman 1st class, to be present during the memorial.

Coming up, the Historic Preservation Society will try to start identifying local homes built from the 1900-1950s from the Sears Roebuck Catalog Homes series, parts of which were manufactured in Iowa.

“I love Charles City, so it’s just been a nice, humbling feeling that people have come to me and asked me to help in organizations. I try to do as much as I can,” Anthony said.