WEBSTER CITY, Iowa — A Webster City man spent much of 2021 documenting how the city has developed over the last 100 years.
It shouldn't be a surprise that a lot has changed since Kent Bailey was younger. He grew up in Webster City and still lives there today. He's always had an interest in his hometown's history.
Earlier this year, a local historian had an idea. They presented Bailey with a postcard from 1910 and thought it would be neat for him to recreate it using his drone. Of course, he said yes.
"We put the drone up and took a picture of that intersection. And then when you compare them side by side, it's very interesting to see how things have changed in 100 plus years," Bailey said.
Those images are now part of the Old Postcard Project, which is helping to revive some old stories and characters.
One of those images shows a drummer boy named Shiloh who had been in the Battle of Shiloh from the Civil War. Bailey recounted that Shiloh built a cabin on an island along the Boone River.
Looking at images from now, residents can see just how much the landscape has changed or stayed the same in the last century.
"To just realize how many unbelievable things have happened over the years. How many wonderful structures we've had and still have," Bailey said.
Just as those structures have stood through time, Bailey hopes his project will too.
"I hope that this project is something that in 50 years or some amount of time, someone will look back and say, 'Oh, hey, look what they did back in 2021. Now let's see how things have changed again in 50 or 75 or 100 years,'" Bailey said.
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