Rural Life in Iowa: An Iowa Women's Archives Resource Guide: S - Z
From the Shirley Sandage papers
"Shame of Iowa: Migrant Workers' Plight," Des Moines Sunday Register, October 23, 1966.
"Iowa Improves the Lot of Migratory Workers," Des Moines Sunday Register, August 18, 1968.
From the Jessie Field Shambaugh papers
Farm camp staff Mrs. Farrier, Mrs. Griggs. and Glen King, Page County, Iowa, early 1910s.
"4-H and Iowa," The goldfinch: Iowa history for young people, vol. 9, no. 3, February 1988.
From the Thimble Club records
Thimble Club members, Fall 1948.
Thimble Club program book, Riceville, Iowa, 1947-1948.
From the Iola Vander Wilt papers
Flying Farmers of Iowa newsletter, 1970.
Lady's Land-it program at Perry, Iowa, undated.
From the Voices from the Land project
Vivian Schelker in front of her garden, Tama County, Iowa, 2001.
From the Dorothy Fox Wurster papers
Dorothy Fox and Phil Wake of JH Wake feed company sponsor with Dorothy's winning cow.
Statement of Dorothy Wurster to the US Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing on the farm crisis in Underwood, Iowa, 1987.
Collections
S
SANDAGE, SHIRLEY M. Papers, 1927-2007. 7.25 linear feet. Mason City, Iowa-born civil rights activist, United States field representative for the Christian Children's Fund and director of program development for the National Organization on Disability. The collection holds significant materials for research in the civil rights movements of migrant workers, women and children, older Americans, and the disabled.
SAVALA, OTILIA GOMEZ. Papers, 1919-2012. Iowa Digital Library. Davenport woman raised in the Cook's Point neighborhood, whose parents emigrated from Mexico in the early twentieth century.
SCHEETZ, HELEN SHEDIWY. (1921-). Papers, 1988, 54 pages. “By the Still Waters,” remembrances of the youngest daughter of immigrants growing up in Iowa towns during the Depression.
SCHIEFFER, LORI. Papers, 1997-2000. 1 linear inch. Girl scout and 4-H club member near Columbus Junction.
SCHMUECKER, HAZELLE. (1907- ). Papers, 1983-1995. 2 linear inches. Autobiographical essays and family history of six generations by rural schoolteacher, homemaker, and artist.
SCHNEIDER, SYLVIA. Papers, 1930s-1967. 1 linear inch. Farm woman and Master Farm Homemaker who donated a collection of how-to pamphlets from various manufacturers and producers.
SCHUTTE, LOIS McINTYRE. Memoirs, 1991 and 1993. Fayette County newspaper columnist whose memoirs, “Hearts” and “Times Change” describe growing up on the farm during the Depression and her later years as a farm wife.
SCHOBERT, JEAN (1920-2002) Papers, ca.1840-2201. 1 linear foot. Farm woman and club woman from Percival, Iowa.
SHALE AND WOLF FAMILIES. Letters, 1878-1999. 1 linear inch. Correspondence between families recording important events in farm life in northern Iowa and the Dakota territory, primarily from a farm woman’s perspective.
SHAMBAUGH, JESSIE FIELD. (1881-1971). Scrapbook, 1901-1996. 4.5 linear inches (1 volume) and audiovisual materials. Shenandoah, Iowa teacher and school principal who became school superintendent for Page County, Iowa . Because of her active role in the development of activities for rural youth she is referred to as the “Mother of 4-H.”
SHARON TOWNSHIP FARM BUREAU WOMEN’S CLUB (JOHNSON COUNTY). Records, 1953-1985, 5 linear inches. Johnson County, Iowa Farm Bureau women’s club that provided education and services organized around farm issues.
SHIVVERS, VERA (1897-1989). Papers, 1960-1988. 2 linear feet. Farm woman near Knoxville, Iowa and the third woman elected to the Iowa Senate.
SIMONSEN, VIRGINIA TANNER. (1923- ). Letters, 1941-1943. 1 linear inch. Cherokee, Iowa-born woman who enrolled at Iowa State College in home economics and later moved to Quimby, Iowa .
SIOUX COUNTY WOMEN’S CHORUS. Records, 1938-1955. 1 linear inch. Choral group which, in 1939, was invited to represent Iowa at the New York World’s Fair.
SKOTT, CLARA. (1888-1994). Papers, 1897-1994. 2.75 linear feet. Free-lance writer, home economics teacher and civic leader who wrote articles and diaries concerning life in Iowa , <>China , and Wisconsin .
SMITH, LAURA GIBSON. (1890?-1973?). Papers, 1917-1971, 1983. 10 linear inches. Casey , Iowa native who taught country school before marrying and homesteading in Wyoming in 1913. She taught school in the Philippines in the 1910s and 1920s.
SMITH, MARCELLA HENLEY (1909- ). Papers, 1938-1999. 5 linear inches. Memoir, “Confetti,” of her life in Albia, Iowa, and journals of the books she has read since 1959.
SPENCER, LONABELLE KAPLAN. Papers, 1931-2007. 29.7 linear feet. The Hog odor efforts series (1968-2004) includes materials related to Spencer's support of state odor and air quality regulations. The series begins with the conflict between the Girl Scouts and the Ogden Sow Corporation over the proximity of a hog lot to the Girl Scout camp in Boone, Iowa. The series includes Spencer's letters of protest to the company and the state when she discovered there were no odor regulations, newspaper clippings, and records of her lobbying efforts and testimony to commissions. Materials from the state Odor Advisory Committee, which Spencer helped form, and the Air Quality Commission are also included as well as scientific studies on hog lots and air quality.
SPENCER, VERNA MOULTON. (1887-1982). Papers, 1899-1994. 2 linear inches. Maquoketa , Iowa , native who owned and operated Spencer’s Harmony Hall with her husband from 1912 to 1962.
SPROUT, EDITH. (1895-1979). “Memories,” 1978. 1 linear inch. Farm woman raised in western Iowa and North Dakota who wrote her reminiscences about her childhood.
STONER, JEAN. Papers, 1950s-1990s. 1 linear inch. Mt. Vernon farm woman active in historic preservation.
STONER, MAVIS (1928- ). Papers, 1918-1998. 1 linear inch. Newspaper articles.
STRUVE, LUCILLE SCHLOTTERBACK. (1910-1938). Basketball jersey, 1927. Newhall farm girl, basketball player, and mother, who was a member of the Newhall 1927 girls’ championship basketball team.
SWANSON, ALMA ERICKSON. (1889-1985). Papers, 1897-2000, 12.5 linear inches. Swedish farm woman whose three children became academics during the 1930s and 1940s.
SWANSON, AUGUSTA GUSTAFSON. (1862?-19?) Correspondence, 1884-1938, 1993. 5 linear inches. Swedish immigrant who moved to Iowa in 1889. (Swedish with English translations.)
SWOPE AND DELAND FAMILIES. Papers, 1905-1998, 5 linear inches. Family papers and subject files concerning women artists, women writers, and peace activism in Northwest Iowa.
T
TALCOTT, CARRIE V. (1890-1981). Papers, 1913-1981. 1.25 linear feet. Active clubwoman, Methodist, writer and farmer from Fayette County , who lived last nineteen years in retirement home in Fort Dodge
TEEPLE, VELMA SCOTT. (1913-). Reminiscence, “Buckhorn: A Memoir”, 70pp. Childhood memories of an Eastern Iowa teacher, writer, and farmwoman.
THIMBLE CLUB (RICEVILLE, IOWA). Records, 1912-1957. 1 linear inch. Reading club organized in 1901.
TRIMBLE FAMILY. (1883-1999). Papers, 1879-1999. 1 linear inch. Reminiscences of Gladys Trimble Leith and Marie Jeffers about their mother, Mary Pyle Trimble as well as their own childhood experience.
V
VANDERVELDE, MARJORIE. (1908-). Papers, 1837-2002, 5.7 linear feet. Photojournalist, writer, and traveler who lived among people to learn their culture and traditions. Wrote for journals, children’s magazines and newspapers.
VANDER WILT, IOLA. (1930-) Papers, 1963-1973, 4 linear inches. Farmwoman, pilot, past Queen of Flying Farmers of Iowa and owner of Leighton area bed and breakfast. Encouraged farm wives and teens to learn to fly.
VAN HAAFTEN, MABEL KORVER. (1901-1989). Reminiscence, 1986. 1 linear inch. Manuscript reminiscence of Dutch-American farmwoman in early nineteenth century Iowa .
VAN HORN, ERNELLA. (1932-). Papers, 1993-2001, 0.25 linear inches. The second of four generations of women in her family to play basketball in Iowa.
VAN KLEY, JEANNE. (1916- ). Papers, 1987-1998. 1 linear inch. Memoir.
VAN ZANTE AND DE COOK FAMILIES. Papers, 1888-1960s. 1 linear inch. Diary of adolescent Dutch-American farm girl Mary Van Zante in the late nineteenth century and the 1932 farm diary of her daughter-in-law, Besse DeCook.
VER MEER, ESTHER. (19?- ). Papers, 1991-1998. 1 linear inch. Farmwoman, mother, and active member of the Porkettes, the women’s auxiliary of the Iowa Pork Producers Council.
VOICES FROM THE LAND: AN ORAL HISTORY PROJECT IN IOWA. Oral histories, 2000-2001. Interviews with women farmers in Iowa concerning their activism during the farm crises of the 1960s and 1980s, their changing roles on and off the farm, and other aspects of rural life.
W
WALLACE WOMEN HISTORY PROJECT. Oral histories, 1974-1994. Transcripts of 13 oral history interviews describe the experiences of the Henry Wallace family in Iowa .
WELCH AND ANGRICK COLLECTION. Collection, 1880-1995. 3.75 linear feet. Material relating to the Heart of Hawkeye Council of Campfire Girls, The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and the Iowa Department of the Woman’s Relief Corps.
WHERRY, ELIZABETH. (1893-1956). Papers, 1904-1960. 5 linear feet. Farm magazine writer.
WHITE, LUCY VAN VOORHIS (1869-1935). Papers, 1866-1932. 1.35 linear feet. School teacher and farm wife of Dallas County , Iowa .
WHITE, SARAH DYKSTRA (1905-1979). Papers, 1941-1979. 7.5 linear inches. Correspondence and circle letters of a northwestern Iowa farmwoman.
WHITLEY, CORA CALL. (1862-1937). Papers, 1917-1937. 1.1 linear feet. Clubwoman and conservationist who was involved in the Council of National Defense Women’s Committee during World War I.
WIEDERRECHT, BEULAH. Papers, 1946-1950. 4 linear inches. Correspondence between Wapello farm woman and two Polish families after World War II.
WILLING WORKERS CLUB (FAYETTE COUNTY). Records, 1918-1987, 10 linear inches. A social and benevolent women’s club initially formed as a Red Cross sewing club during World War I.
WOLFE, ZELDA BABCOCK. (1901-1995). Memoirs, undated. 1 volume. Riceville , Iowa , mother, homemaker, and teacher.
WOOKEY, FAYE (1916- ). Papers, 2000. 0.25 linear inches. A native of Red Oak, Iowa whose memoir describes family life on a farm in Montgomery County, Iowa.
WURSTER, DOROTHY. (1931-). Papers, 1942-1987, 2 linear inches. Mahaska County farm girl who won a blue ribbon as the best member in the Mahaska County ’s Boy’s 4-H. She went on to become a farmer, a kindergarten school teacher for thirty years, and she led a support group during the farm crisis of the 1980s, speaking effectively at the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing in Underwood, Iowa in 1987.
Y
YOST, LELA A. (1890-1977). Eight Decades of Lela Yost, 1995. .5 linear inch. Schoolteacher and farm wife near Mason City and Kesley , Iowa .
Z
ZIMMERMAN, DORIS. Papers, 1920s-1980s. 1 linear inch. Programs, newspaper clippings and memoir of her participation in civic activities in northwest Iowa .
ZINDEL, IRENE. Papers, 1930s-1990s. 0.5 linear inches. Farm woman and former 4-H participant and leader.