WQPT PBS is partnering with former Quad Cities resident Jared Howe to launch a new original local history series, “Snapshots Presents: Forgotten Quad Cities.”
The 30-minute series explores the people, places, and events that helped shape the Quad Cities and its unique history.
“The series came about after watching some of Jared's short form films on social media,” said WQPT general manager Dawn Schmitt. “I reached out to Jared and WQPT's former producer, Lora Adams, to see if they would be interested in partnering on a 30-minute series about the people, places, and history of the Quad Cities. It's exactly the kind of local storytelling that connects our community with its rich heritage.”
As public media continues to adapt with no federal funding, WQPT is expanding partnerships with local producers to maximize resources while continuing to provide the trusted, educational, and essential programming viewers rely on, both over the air and through streaming.
“I came across Jared and Forgotten Quad Cities when I was on Facebook one day, and I was really intrigued with his idea because it was very similar to what Lora Adams did with our ‘Snapshots’ of telling local stories and local history, forgotten people in the Quad Cities, in a very short, entertaining package,” Schmitt said Thursday.
“So I reached out to him and found out that he actually grew up in the Quad Cities and has a love for the Quad Cities and WQPT PBS, which he grew up on.”
Howe and Adams connected, and came up with the idea of creating a Forgotten Quad Cities series, expanding his short videos (5-10 minutes) into half-hour episodes.
“And as they were talking, they discovered a love for telling longer stories. And he said that the ones he had already done, there were stories he wanted to do more on,” Schmitt said.
“I have a passion for telling stories, and this opportunity to work with WQPT has been a fantastic experience,” said Howe, who has lived in Seattle since 2011, with his wife Whitney. “Working together has allowed me to bring these important local stories to a wider audience, and I hope viewers discover something new about the place they call home.”
With “Forgotten Quad Cities” and its documentary-style videos, Howe aims to bring forgotten local stories to life, connecting them to the larger history of America. His work explores everything from the region's role in the founding of the NFL and the Civil War to its industrial heritage and remarkable individuals whose contributions have often been overlooked. A Rock Island native, Howe is passionate about preserving the history of the Quad Cities and sharing it with new generations.
Recognizing QC beauty and history
Howe, a 53-year-old Rock Island native (Rocky class of 1991), recalled visiting the QC in recent years and realizing, “This is a beautiful place. And I think I just had the eyes finally to see that. And also, I think I had heard a lot of stories, all these stories that I write about, like I'd heard about them, but I didn't really know much about them,” he said, noting he started Forgotten Quad Cities about 10 months ago.
“I know about Bix. We all know about Bix. But I was like, but who was Bix? You know, what was his story? I know he died. I know he was an early jazz guy, but I didn't know the whole story.”
“I just find it to be fascinating to kind of peel the layers back of what were the forces at play that shaped the Quad Cities.” Howe said. “We had the first bridge across the Mississippi. I did not know that. We were never taught that. That was the first bridge that really changed everything. Lincoln's biggest case was held there. All these things that I did not really know much about. And they're fascinating stories.
“So you have these big names of people who came through there. You have all these fascinating forces at play that crisscross there. And it feels like once I started digging through the stories, I was like, these are interesting stories,” he said.
“And it makes me see that the Quad Cities played a much larger role in things, major things, than I ever knew about. And I think people would want to know about these.”
Howe, who works full-time as a technical writer, taught himself software needed to compile his videos, and uses ChatGPT to create his first cover images.
“I just had a lot of fun. It was more like, this is interesting and fun,” he said. “I've never really had a creative side that I've done a whole lot with. I've been a technical writer for 25 years. And also I'm just a busy guy with a kid. And I have a full life, but I've never really been able to kind of do something creative. And I think that was one of the things that I just found like, this is cool. I get to scratch that itch.
"And so it was, it was all like very fun. It was all like, this is not work. This is just fun stuff. And I think I wanted to dig into these stories a little bit more.”
Howe grew up near the Hauberg Estate (1300 24th St.), which inspired him to do an episode on the marriage between John Hauberg and Suzanne Denkmann. He and his wife Whitney got to stay at the carriage house (now an Airbnb) a couple weeks ago.
“It is remarkable how nice it is. Like, it is beautiful, and the mansion is gorgeous. I had no idea,” he said. “I had last been inside the mansion when I was like 5. So I'd never done a tour. And if you've never seen the house and walked through it, it is a remarkable, remarkable place. I had no idea. It looks kind of drab on the outside.”
“It is amazing. The amount of work that they did on that place, it is gorgeous,” Howe said. “So I loved it.” And he learned the story of the original owners, and how influential they were in Rock Island.
“It's fascinating stuff, like this stuff is so interesting. And I think I'm just pulled into stories,” he said. “I'm just pulled into old pictures of old places. You know, the streets that I knew did not look like that back 100 years ago. And the city was so different back then too. It was a wild, wild, wild place. And there's so much to sink your teeth into. So I love it.”
Favorite QC episode to kick off series
The first WQPT episode was posted on Facebook July 20, and Howe posted that it’s his favorite so far.
“I love this story because the streetcar era was such a remarkable time. It completely changed the way people traveled, shaped the neighborhoods we still know today, and even gave rise to one of the most beloved amusement parks in the Midwest: Black Hawk's Watch Tower,” he wrote then.
“For more than 30 years, Watch Tower Amusement Park was where people went to escape the noise of city life. For just a nickel, you could ride the streetcar to the end of the line and arrive on the bluffs overlooking the Rock River, where a world of excitement awaited,” the post says. “There was a roller coaster, a merry-go-round, the famous Shoot-the-Chutes, dancing, concerts, picnics, and so much more.
“Come along and discover what made this era so unforgettable, and why generations of Quad Citians remembered a trip to Watch Tower as one of life's great adventures,” Howe wrote.
That episode – “A Nickel to the Bluff: The Rise and Fall of Watchtower Amusement Park" – will premiere Thursday, August 13, at 8 p.m., at The Last Picture House (325 E. 2nd St., Davenport) as part of Alternating Currents.
New episodes will premiere bi-weekly on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. (starting Aug. 18) on 24.1 and wqpt.org.
Howe was pleasantly surprised to hear from Schmitt for WQPT.
“I was like, is this a dream? Are you kidding me? I would love to do that,” he recalled Aug. 6. “She's actually married to a friend of mine. So I knew of her, so that was great to hear from her. But then it was like, I would love that. This is sort of like my dream, even though it's not paid. This is sort of my dream job is to create some content for public television.”
“She has been so great to work with. Really appreciate the time I've spent with her,” Howe said of Schmitt. “She's made this so easy. She's such a great partner. I look forward to this, but I look forward to other— doing other stuff with them as well. I couldn't think of a better person to work with and a better person who makes it as easy as she does.”
Working with Lora Adams (retired from a long career at WQPT, as director of local content and marketing) also has been a dream to create the longer videos.
“Lora is the real star of this. She's been helping me so much,” he said. “Without her, all these 9 films that I'm doing would not be anywhere as great as they are. She has been the real magic touch to this. She's really helped. She's spent about as much time as I have on these. She has been outstanding. She has taught me so much, and she's super nice. She's great. She gives me— she sent me all the stuff I need to put into all these. She has been a huge, huge help.”
“It's been so much fun and kind of allowed me to flex my muscles a little bit more around telling the longer form stuff,” Howe said. “I've had to learn a lot about how to layer these things, how to put in sound, how to put in like different types -- my reels basically just have some pictures in them, and these are much more layered with different types of audio, video, music.”
Offering work for free
WQPT was thrilled that Howe offered to produce these episodes at no cost.
“I was incredibly touched,” Schmitt said. “It was last fall when I got in touch with him, so it was right after we lost all of our funding. And so it really was a low point for us, and trying to figure out what the future of local productions would be for WQPT. And talking with him and connecting with him, and when he said it's a passion project, and he would do it for us for free. It just— it was really touching.”
They plan to produce two new episodes per month, and the Tuesdays in between WQPT will re-air past episodes, she said.
“WQPT has had a longstanding focus on telling local stories, and we've done this for years through our collaboration and partnerships with local filmmakers like the Rundles and Fourth Wall Films,” Schmitt said of Moline filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle.
“And that's a relationship, especially with the loss of funding, that we are really trying to cultivate with other filmmakers as well, people we've worked with in the past, that we can continue to offer our viewers programs that are local and they're interesting, but it's also fresh content for us in a situation where we no longer have the budget to purchase programming," she said. "So, these partnerships with our local producers is just invaluable for WQPT.”
After the 2025 loss of federal funding, the PBS station has received an outpouring of support for the fiscal year that ended June 30, she noted.
“We are so incredibly grateful for the community for the way that they have stepped up and showed us our love in words of encouragement as well as financial support. And we cannot be more grateful for that,” Schmitt said. “So, we were able to weather our first year without federal funding, but it's a new year and we start from scratch and we're facing a significant deficit for this new fiscal year. So, we are reaching out to the community to let them know there is still a need.”
Why did Howe offer all these videos for free to WQPT?
“They have no funding now, so their funding has been drastically cut,” he said. “And part of the reason is that they reached out to people like me because it's like, look, we can't pay you anything because we don't have any funds, but we're looking for ways to create new content where we don't have to spend any money. And I was more than happy to do this. I think it's such a blessing and such a fun thing, but you could say it's a great way for us to help WQPT in a time of need.
“They definitely need a lot of help,” he said. “So this is just a way for us to help them. So this may lead to other things that actually where I do get paid, but I'm not— I have a full-time job, so I don't really need to get paid.”
Upcoming episodes of Snapshots Presents: Forgotten Quad Cities will feature stories about legendary jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke, notorious crime boss John Looney, the historic Rock Island Line, and other fascinating people and places from the region's past.
“And it's just aligns perfectly with what WQPT's mission is of telling the local histories of the region,” Schmitt said. “And especially now with funding cuts and the loss of the budget for us to produce things, it's a perfect combination. It's a perfect relationship, collaboration of us being able to tell these stories. By someone who has a passion and a love for it, and it's just incredibly generous of him to do this for us.”
Cutting Imagination Station tradition
Because of the loss of federal funding, WQPT announced this week that it will not hold its annual Imagination Station event in 2026 due to significant budget reductions.
For many years (starting in the '90s at the Davenport RiverCenter), Imagination Station has provided a free educational experience for QC families, featuring PBS KIDS characters, hands-on learning activities, games, music, art and community partners. The event (later at WQPT's home on the Western Illinois University Moline campus) became a beloved tradition for thousands of local children and parents.
The cancellation (requiring cutting staff through attrition) comes after WQPT lost federal funding that represented 53% of the station’s annual operating budget. The loss of this funding has required the station to make difficult decisions regarding services and community programs.
“Canceling Imagination Station was not a decision we made lightly,” Schmitt said. “Our staff and Community Advisory Board carefully evaluated every option. Unfortunately, the loss of federal funding has forced us to reduce some of the services and events we have traditionally provided. While this is disappointing, we remain committed to serving our community and finding new ways to connect families with educational resources.”
Although Imagination Station will not take place this year, WQPT remains dedicated to its educational mission. The station plans to offer four smaller community events throughout the year that will continue to provide learning opportunities and family engagement across the region.
"Though Imagination Station wasn't directly funded by CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) funds, it did pay salaries," Schmitt said Thursday. "We have to be fiscally responsible. As much as we'd love to host Imagination Station, we can't hold an event of that scale.
"We know the importance of educational outreach in the community, and we've come up with the idea of smaller quarterly events," she added.
Additional information about upcoming events and community programs will be shared through WQPT’s website, social media channels and on-air announcements.
Schmitt said the station is facing a $150,000 deficit for 2026-27, and WQPT continues to seek more individual donations.
“We thank them for their past support and hope they will continue to see the value in WQPT and the outreach that we do, the educational and entertaining programs that we air each week,” she said Thursday. “And hope that they will continue to step up and show the support and keep us around for as long as they want us in the community, because we want to be here for years to come.”
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