My late bride and I used to make one or two trips a year to Iowa. Jacqueline was a born and raised, corn-fed Hawkeye and always enjoyed showing me around the state. One highlight was the small town of Riverside, a few miles south of Iowa City, population a tad over one thousand folks. Its claim to fame: Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise will be born there in about 200 years.
RODDENBERRY PLANTED THE SEED
Gene Roddenberry, who created Star Trek, mentioned in his book, The Making of Star Trek, that Kirk had been born in Iowa. During a council meeting in the 1980s a Riverside councilman suggested that the town proclaim itself the birthplace of James Tiberius Kirk. The vote was unanimous, and Roddenberry was asked if they could make it so. The father of Star Trek thought it was a great idea and gave it his blessing.
In 2008, years after Jacqueline and I visited the town, the Voyage Home Riverside History Center—mostly referred to as the Star Trek Museum—opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov, did the honors. Many other Star Trek luminaries, including William Shatner, have visited Riverside over the years.
Riverside holds an annual TrekFest.
I doubt if any of us will be around on March 22nd, 2228 to celebrate the arrival of James Tiberius Kirk. But it is heartwarming to know that the United Federation of Planets will be in good hands. 😊
Captain Kirk is honored with this statue.
Thank you, Mike. I’d forgotten about this. My wife is from Iowa, too, and I always thought that was a happy coincidence that so was my boyhood hero. We need a Kirk at the moment, and a Roddenberry, who believed that humankind could mature, could get beyond petty nationalistic differences, differences in skin color, and belief systems. I’m so old I saw Star Trek’s first run on NBC. It inspired the idealist in me then, and it still does. Thank you for reminding me of that optimism.
Well said, Mark. I’ll second everything.