March 28, 2024

A Joy to Newton

Joy, the Capitol II Theatre’s remarkable and accomplished mini-pig, is certainly deserving of the accolades bestowed upon her these days. She (and her owner, Dawn Bleeker) made time in her busy day to greet and do her tricks for 29 attendees of the 2019 Preserve Iowa Summit, which the city hosted June 6-8, during one of my tours of Newton’s Historic Downtown District.

Of all of the statewide historic preservation conferences I’ve attended at least, I’ve never seen another porcine presenter in one of the breakout sessions. Maybe Joy’s fame should be extended as Newton’s city mascot. She certainly did her part that day in helping out-of-town visitors to Get to Know Newton!

Larry Hurto

Newton Historic

Preservation Commission