Al bell iowa biography

If you attended school in Poweshiek County – heck maybe even in Iowa – in the 1950s, 60s or 70s, more than likely you’ve heard of Al Bell.

“He was cool,” said Vicky Hilpipre, a former Brooklyn student.

“You didn’t go to sleep during his program.”

For 30 years (1949-1979) Al Bell, a celebrated world traveler, visited more than 400 rural Iowa Schools with an assembly program which just might be called entertaining.

According to Bell’s second daughter, Becky Bell-Greenstreet, Bell’s program featured fascinating information, costumes, artifacts, curios and sometimes an odd animal, from a number of foreign countries, including Spain, Kenya, Greece, Morocco, Romania and Egypt.

“Al Bell’s films capped the curiosity of the young minds, who in those days lacked the easy access of the internet,” she said.

“My father was one of those extraordinary persons who could be described as ‘larger than life.’ When he roared into a school gymnasium, he was the Orient Express.”