This month’s cover features a 1939 image of a women holding a baby alligator in the University of Northern Iowa’s (UNI) greenhouse. UNI’s greenhouse was once home to several alligators, one of which is seen here as a baby. The first alligator, affectionately named Allie, arrived in the early 1900s. Accounts of Allie’s origins vary, with one student newspaper article claiming he arrived on campus stuck in a bunch of bananas, and others stating he was gifted to the campus gardener by way of a Florida beach. Allie Junior, featured in the cover image, was a popular fixture among students. He received many nominations for student government positions over the years, and students successfully fundraised for larger living quarters for Allie Junior. Today, the campus greenhouse features tropical birds and fish, and the McCollum Science Hall is home to two alligators.

This image is part of the photograph collection at the UNI Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, which collects, preserves, and provides access to rare, valuable, and delicate collections of books, manuscripts, and institutional records. Learn more at https://scua.library.uni.edu/.