Rural Life in Iowa: An Iowa Women's Archives Resource Guide: A - F

A guide of collections held in the Iowa Women's Archives from and about rural life, farming, and agricultural labor, organized alphabetically.

Collections

A

ANDERSON, CHRISTINE (1912 - ), Papers, 1945, 1 linear inch. Appanoose County 4-H leader, farmer, and teacher.

AUDUBON SOCIETY OF MANCHESTER, IA.. Records, 1903-2001, 9 linear inches. Eastern Iowa women’s study and social club.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1998-1999. 0.5 linear inches. Brief memoirs of Iowa Farm Bureau women written and donated to the Rural Women’s Project.

BECKER, VIRGINIA (1918- ), Papers, 1976-1993. 1 linear foot. Scrapbooks of Bremer County, Iowa, Farm Bureau woman.

BEST EVER CLUB. Records, 1929-1994. 10 linear inches. Percival, Iowa, women’s study club founded in 1922.

BIRKBY COLLECTION OF RADIO HOMEMAKER MATERIALS. Records, 1924-1999. 3 linear feet. Cookbooks, newsletters, and other publications of the Radio Homemakers who broadcast over KMA and KFNF in southwest Iowa.

BISHOP, NELLIE (1904- ). Oral history and associated papers, 1996-1998. 1 item and audiovisual material. Buchanan County, Iowa, native who farmed with her husband.

BLOCK, MARJORIE JEAN (1923- ). Memoir, 1990s. 1 linear inch. My Story, by Marjorie Jean Block, describes her training as a nurse, her experiences raising a family, her employment off and on the farm, and her activities in Benton County, Iowa .

BLOM, NANCY. (1907-1993). Papers, 1984-1986. 1 linear inch. My Story, by Nancy Blom, is a biography of a Danish immigrant detailing childhood in Denmark and farm town life in Western Iowa.

BLUNDALL, JOAN. (1945- ). Papers and oral history, 1986-1998. 3 linear inches. Social worker who developed support services for rural families during the 1980s farm crisis in Iowa.

BOEDEKER, MARGARET TALCOTT (1919-2000). Papers, 1937-1998. 4 linear inches. Teacher with Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1941-1963; vocational counselor; and tourism advocate.

BOYD, JUNE LUNDY (1922- ) Papers, 2002. 0.25 linear inches. Memoir describes growing up and teaching in southwestern Iowa, her wartime wedding in 1942 and subsequent life in Knoxville , Iowa .

“BRIDGING THE GENERATIONS: THE LIVES AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF RURAL FARM WOMEN.” Records, 1992-1999. 1 linear inch.

BRIGGS, LELA POWERS (1896-1953). Papers, 1892-1992. 5.5 linear feet and artifacts. Artist who farmed with her husband near La Porte, Iowa .

BRINTON, ADA MAE BROWN (1891-1988). “Sunshine and Rain in Iowa: Reminiscing through 86 Years,” 1977, 70 pages. Essay reflecting on rural Iowa, hard work, church traditions, and the love of family and community.

BROWNING LITERARY CLUB ( Atlantic, Iowa). Address, c. 1901. 1 linear inch. Speech delivered at the 9th District Convention of the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs.

CARNEY, VELMA (1907-2004). Papers, 1908-2004. 5 linear inches. Adair County, Iowa, farm woman. Papers include household account ledgers.

CEDAR VALLEY COMMUNITY CLUB (MUSCATINE COUNTY). Records, 1922-2009, 1.2 linear feet. A social club formed near West Liberty, Iowa, in 1920 so area women could meet and discuss aspects of rural and family life.

CHRIST, RUTH MOE (1943- ). Papers, 1946-1961. 8.5 linear inches. 4-H participant from Winnebago, Iowa.

CHRISTEN, INEZ (1906-1999). Diaries, 1922-1965, 3 linear inches. Transcribed diaries of a Northeast Iowa hired girl, farmwoman and mother.

CHRISTENSEN, ESTHER (1895-1987). Papers, 1908-1987. 0.5 linear inches. 65-page memoir of Fayette County, Iowa farmwoman.

CLEONA TOWNSHIP WOMEN’S CLUB (SCOTT COUNTY). Records, 1960-1989, 4 linear inches. Farm Bureau women’s club.

CLOVERLEAF CLUB (CASS COUNTY, IOWA). Records, 1918-2002, 5 linear inches. A social and benevolent women’s club near Atlantic, Iowa .

COLLISON, MARGARET DAVIS. (1921- ). Papers, 1937-1990 (bulk 1970-1985). 3.5 linear feet and audiovisual material. Contains oral history interviews with “Three Women of the Heartland.”

COROTHERS, MARGARET STRANG (1871-1934?). Family History of the McDowall-Wilson, Strang-McDowall, and Corothers-Strang Families, 1934 Mar. 22. 0.4 linear inches.

CRAWFORD, ANITA (1909-1988), Papers, 1939-1998. 2.3 linear feet. Buchanan County farmwoman active in Farm Bureau and county historical society.

CRONKHITE, VERA SHEPARD (1906-). Papers, 1927-2001. 0.25 linear inches. Southwest Iowa rural schoolteacher during the 1920s and 1930s. Taught in town schools an additional 20 years.

DALLNER-PETERSON FAMILY. Papers, 1907-2001. 2.5 linear inches. The photocopied journals of Peterson describe daily life in rural Iowa from 1907 to 1910, while the writings of her niece, Pauline Dallner, include an account of two mysterious deaths that occurred in 1925.

DAUGHTERS OF CERES. Records, 1898-1988 (bulk 1898-1973). 5 linear inches. Walnut and Webster chapter records of this statewide social and benevolent club comprised of farmwomen. Minutes, correspondence, photographs.

“DAYS GONE BY: REMINISCENCES OF NORTHWEST IOWA.” Oral history, 1992, 138 pp. Typescript of an oral history project by Sibley-Ocheyedan High School interviewing six residents of Osceola County .

DIX, DOROTHY PEARL UNMACK (1908-1997). Papers, 1982-1999. 1 linear inch. Harrison County, Iowa-born schoolteacher.

DRIFTMIER, LEANNA (1886-1976). Papers, 1954, 1976, 1991. 2 linear inches. Radio homemaker who broadcast the “Kitchen Klatter” program from the 1920s to the mid-70s.

DUCOMMUN, MINNIE (1906-1988). Papers, 1936-1939 and 1988. 2 items. Diary and obituary of a rural Iowa housewife.

ETTLEMAN, MARGARET BOBBITT (1877-1988). Papers, 1951-1988. 0.25 linear inches. The 1951 memoir describes rural life in nineteenth century Iowa and Indiana.

EVANS, ALPHA (1918 -). Papers, 1977-2001, 3.5 linear inches. Rural middle-school teacher who chaired the Iowa committee to revise teacher standards in the 1970s and chaired the Strawberry Point, Iowa, sesquicentennial committee.

EVERETT, BEVERLY GEORGE (1926- ). Papers, 1935-1994. 10 linear feet and audiovisual material. Family farmer, professional volunteer, and community activist. Served on U.S. National Commission for UNESCO and the International Women’s Year Commission.

EVERETT, MILDRED FOX. Papers, 1905-1908. 4 items. Iowa native who became a homesteader in South Dakota, then returned to Iowa to raise her five children on a farm.

FARM SAFETY 4 JUST KIDS. Book, papers, 1991-1998. 1 linear inch. Rhythm of the Seasons, A Journey Beyond Loss, by Marilyn Adams and Mary Kay. Adams organized Farm Safety 4 Just Kids after the death of her son in a farm accident.

FARNHAM, ALMIRA AMES (1800-1896). Biographical sketch, undated. 1 item. Essay describing the life of Almira Ames Farnham, a pioneer woman from New England who settled near Morley, Iowa in 1859.

FASSBINDER, BARBARA. Papers, 1950s-1998. 2 linear inches. Rural nurse who contracted AIDS on the job and became a national spokeswoman for occupational safety.

FAXON, CHARLOTTE. Diary, 1864-1867. 67 pages. Teacher who traveled widely during the Civil War period.

FERNS, GRACE (1909- ). Papers, 1987-2002. 0.5 linear inches. Memoir and oral history transcript of a rural Iowa school teacher.

FORD, CASSIE THOMPSON (1889-1966). Papers, 1937-1996. 8 items. Homemaker who farmed with her husband near Central City, Iowa.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP FARM BUREAU WOMEN (O’BRIEN COUNTY). Records, 1956-1993, 5 linear inches. Farmwomen’s club organized in 1956 in O’Brien County, Iowa.

FREEDOM TOWNSHIP WOMEN’S CLUB. Records, 1923-1998. 1.65 linear feet. Social club founded in 1923 where women heard presentations on food preservation, nutrition, sewing, and tailoring.

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS CLUB (Deep River, Iowa)
Records, 1952-1992. 3 linear inches. The club was organized in 1952 as a social and philanthropic forum for local women.

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS CLUB (Percival, Iowa). Records, 1935-1995. 7 linear inches. Social club organized in April 1935 by farm wives living southeast of Percival, Iowa.

FUHRMEISTER, EMELINE (18xx– circa 1912). Four letters, undated. Widowed farmwoman who lived at the homes of various children.