The beginning of the 20th century was an age filled with new technologies, the hustle and bustle of urban life, and factories and industries lining city streets. The town of Waterloo was not very different from many other Midwestern communities. Businesses were thriving, transportation was expanding, and new technologies, such as the electric light, were still novel. Sports like minor league baseball were becoming popular. Entertainment offered an escape from the monotony of daily life. Traveling to vacation areas was not an option for many people. Transportation was good, but not as good as it would become as the century progressed. Radio and the movies were still in an experimental stage. Local communities provided most of the diversions enjoyed by their residents. Fourth of July parades occurred every year, along with an occasional street carnival. Vaudeville theaters appeared in the area.

    One phenomenon of the era that combined entertainment with education was the Chautauqua Movement. Waterloo was among the many towns and cities around the nation that established Chautauqua parks in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These facilities offered a vacation-like setting close to home and provided those who attended both a measure of intellectual stimulation and recreational opportunities.