Memories from Iowa City, 1968-1971, by TJ Riggins
Submitted March 2026
| In 1968, after attending Bahá’í firesides and parties for about 18 months, I became a Bahá’í in Iowa City where I was a student and also working part-time. For a 2-3 year period I had the bounty to often travel to various Bahá’í communities in Iowa. Waterloo, during the 1960s, had a lot of teaching activities. Davenport was one of the leading Bahá’í communities in the U.S. It was number two in the number of Bahá’í books purchased from the publishing trust. I visited the Ames Bahá’í community, Muscatine Bahá’ís, and various isolated Bahá’ís. I attended a summer school in Minnesota and another in Colorado. We elected our first LSA in Iowa City in 1970. Stephen Haman was the secretary and I was the treasurer. I don’t remember the other officers. Of the nine members of the first LSA, all of them moved to other locations. Steve got his PH.D. in Public Health, moved to Thailand and worked for over 30 years in the Thai government Public Health department. He married a Thai lady. Kathleen Mahoney married TJ Riggins [me]. [We] moved to Japan. Dr. Peter Morgan moved to Toronto, Canada. Dr. Morgan was a neurologist but got a Ph.D in public health in Canada. He became the first Secretary of the Canadian Association for Baha’i studies. Because of his high ability, that Association was established at a high level. Dr. David Smith and his wife, Mame, were on the LSA. They were from Canada. After about two years they returned to Canada. Their home is near where the new House of Worship will be built. Dr. Smith was one of the foremost children eye surgeons in the world. Dr. Smith was appointed as a Continental Counselor. He served in that position for many years (30?). After he retired as a Councillor he was elected to the NSA of Canada. Erma Pedoo was a member of the Iowa City LSA. She was from Bolivia. At that time her husband was not a Bahá’í Later he became a Bahá’í. Erma and her husband served in Haifa for five years. Now they live in Canada. He is Swedish but is a Canadian citizen. John Patton was a member of the LSA. He went pioneering. I don’t know where he is now. Kathleen Mahoney, a member of the LSA, married TJ Riggins at the Bahá’í House of Worship. [We] went pioneering to Sapporo Japan. Kathleen worked as the school librarian for the Hokkaido International School. [We] have lived in Sapporo for 54 years. David Springer, an LSA member, went pioneering to Africa. He now lives in South Carolina(?). Ruth Moffett often joined youth activities. I often saw her. She help to deepen the new, young Bahá’ís. My daughter, Kay, 49 years old, is the secretary of an LSA in Canada. Her Husband and children are Canadian citizens. I have had the opportunity to go to Bahá’í activities and Conferences in China, New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea and Mongolia and Hawaii. |
