You're My Waterloo: Iowa Time Machine January 24, 1982

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 24, 1982, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier profiled a new soft-rock anthem called “You’re My Waterloo.” The song arrived at a moment of profound economic crisis when the Cedar Valley seemed to be hemorrhaging jobs, people, and hope.

The early 1980s farm crisis devastated agricultural communities across the Midwest, and manufacturing cities like Waterloo bore the brunt of the pain. Waterloo lost 14 percent of its population in the early 1980s, and scores of homes were left abandoned. John Deere, the city's largest employer, had staffed more than 16,000 workers at its peak in 1979. Between 1980 and 1983, Deere & Company laid off 40 percent of its hourly wage United States employees. The Rath Packing Company, once one of the nation's largest meat packers and the other pillar of Waterloo's economy, teetered toward bankruptcy.

In 1982, the inaugural My Waterloo Days Festival was held as a celebration of the start of summer, replete with a parade, laser light shows, and hot air balloons, seeking to foster community bonding amid economic strife. In collaboration with the festival, the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce commissioned a song and music video dubbed "You're My Waterloo." Bob Jenkins, Joe Pundzak, and Des Moines musician Susan Oatts wrote the song, with Oatts providing vocals.

The music video captured quintessential Waterloo scenes: children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, workers assembling tractors at John Deere, dancers at local discos, kids tossing morning papers, and families gathering in parks. The Chamber pressed 1,000 vinyl 45s that sold for two dollars each. Sheet music appeared in stores, and the song played regularly in the JCPenney featured in the video. The soft-rock melody and earnest lyrics offered comfort: "You're my Waterloo / And you know I'm always gonna need you." #Iowa #OTD #History #Waterloo #Music