The Iowa history section of the Rippey Library includes some interesting and entertaining discoveries. One of these is Babe: An Iowa Legend by Chuck Offenburger about Alfonso “Babe” Bisignano, legendary restaurant owner and colorful character in Des Moines. Chuck was a young columnist for the Des Moines Register when he wrote the book after a series of interviews with Bisignano.. They first met when Chuck was 11 or 12 in Shenandoah when he served as an altar boy and Bisignano attended mass with Monsignor Paul Marasco officiating. “Based on months of interviews with Babe and those who knew him, the book portrays this colorful man in all his glory and with all his warts, a revealing look at one of Iowa’s big shots.”
-Nancy Hanaman