There are over 150 collections in the Iowa Women’s Archives that chronicle the lives and experiences of Iowa’s rural women.
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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.
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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.
BJURSTROM RURAL MUSIC COLLECTION. This collection has been transferred to Iowa State University, Parks Library, Special Collections Department.
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.
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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.
COX, LOUISE S. Biographical sketch, from 1973, of Cox’s mother, Ida Louise Grilllet Slemmons, a high school science teacher, mother, and farm wife who was active in the Republican Party.
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.
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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 .
DETERS, CAROL. Audiocassette, 1999. Brief reminiscence about the author’s grandmother, Lena Josephine Nelson, early suffragette, temperance activist, and Cornelle College graduate. [Unprocessed]
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.
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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.
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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 .
FOX, MILDRED. Papers, 1905-1908. 4 items. Ft. Pierre, Iowa native who taught school in South Dakota before returning to Iowa where she lived on a farm and raised her five children.
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.
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GANGESTAD, ROSA KNUTSON. (1867-1943). Papers, undated. 1 linear inch. Born to Norwegian immigrants who came to Humboldt County, Iowa in 1872, Gangestad’s handwritten stories and letters for her grandchildren provide insight into pioneer life at the turn of the century.
GIDDINGS, MARIE. Family history, 1980. 1 linear inch. Detailed account of farm and rural community life as Marie knew it growing up in Kossuth County during the early 20th century.
GIRARD, MADGE. (1904-2000). Reminiscence, 1972-1991. Farm woman and mother from Blackhawk County, Iowa recounts her childhood and growing up in rural Iowa. [Unprocessed]
GREENE TOWNSHIP WOMEN’S CLUB (IOWA COUNTY). Records, 1959-1996, 3 linear inches. Social club of Iowa County farmwomen that began as a Farm Bureau club but later dropped that affiliation.
GREINER, VIOLET (1915-1991). Papers, 1960-1999, 3 linear inches. Farmwoman, columnist, community volunteer from Blairsburg , Iowa who wrote a monthly column for the Rural Electric Cooperative News.
GROW, ESTHER MAE CHRISTENSEN (1891-1993). Memoir, undated. 1 item. Memoir describing childhood in western Iowa and Nebraska , and experiences in country school, in college and as a teacher.
GRUHN, JOSEPHINE (1924- ). Papers, 1982-1992. 5 linear inches. Britt, Iowa-born member of the Iowa House of Representatives and vice chair of the Committee on Agriculture during the farm crisis of the 1980s.
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HAGEN, MARY DOEBEL (1922- ) Papers, 1996. 0.25 linear inches. Memoir describing daily life on a family farm in Manly, Iowa during the 1920s and 1930s.
HALL, ARLENE GARDNER (1908-1999). Papers, ca. 1912-1999. 10 linear inches. Rural Mt. Ayr , Iowa woman who worked in local homes as a washerwoman and housekeeper.
HARRINGTON, HELEN. Scrapbooks, 1962-1992. Poet and farm woman from Lamoni, Iowa.
HARRISON COUNTY FARM BUREAU WOMEN’S COMMITTEE. Scrapbook, 1974-1976. 2 linear inches.
HARSHBARGER, MAY BENNETT (1880-1966). Papers, 1898-1993. 1 linear foot. Schoolteacher from eastern Carroll County , Iowa who managed the family farm after her husband’s death in 1926.
HARTUPEE SOCIAL CLUB (WEST LIBERTY, IOWA). Records, 1930-1995, 8 linear inches. Social club organized in 1930 by rural women living near West Liberty , Iowa .
HEIN, GWENDOLYN JOHNSON (1911-). Papers, 1892-1997, 1.5 linear inches. Farmwoman, basketball player on Newhall High School girl’s state championship team in 1927.
HER OWN STORY: TEN BENTON COUNTY WOMEN. Oral histories, 1983-1992. 10 linear inches. Women’s oral history project of the Vinton, Iowa , American Association of University Women. Transcripts edited by Bettie McKenzie of Red Oak, Iowa .
HERR, CATHERINE KING (1885-1978). Diary excerpts, 1991. 2 items. Farm wife who kept a diary for thirty-three years, from 1945 until her death in 1978.
HIDLEBAUGH, EDNA (1892-1995). Papers, 1871-1987, 9 linear inches. Prominent Bayard , Iowa clubwoman who helped found the local library.
HIGHLAND DO-BETTER CLUB (O’BRIEN COUNTY). Records, 1958-1983, 2 linear inches. Farm Bureau-sponsored women’s club in O’Brien County, Iowa.
HILL, CATHERINE SNEDEKER (ca. 1843-1890). Papers, 1854-1871. 6 linear inches. Illinois student who moved to Mt. Pleasant , Iowa .
HISTORIES OF RURAL IOWA WOMEN’S CLUBS (1936- ). Records, 1996-1998. 1 linear inch.
HODNE, CAROL (1953- ) Papers, 1921-2005. 1.5 linear feet. Iowa farm activist who served as the first executive director of the North American Farm Alliance during the farm crisis of the 1980s.
HOMAN, GLADYS (1899-1996). Papers, 1907-1995, 17.3 linear feet. Farm wife and club woman in Corning , Iowa , who corresponded almost daily for five decades with her son, Delmar Homan, who became a professor of English at Bethany College , Lindsborg , Kansas .
HOOVER, IRENE (1907-). Papers, 1923-2000, 10 linear inches. Farmwoman, 4-H leader, and a volunteer in Mahaska County, Iowa, who was active in the Farm Bureau and the Master Farm Homemakers Guild.
HOUSTON, ELVIRA (1901-1981). Papers, 1928-1984. 1.25 linear feet. Account books of a Tama County, Iowa farm woman who ran for city council on the Women’s Progressive Ticket in 1942.
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INGELS, CAROLINE (1914- ). Papers, 1937-1999. 1 linear inch.
IOWA PORKETTES (1964-1994). Records, 19.2 linear feet. Women’s auxiliary of the Iowa Pork Producer’s Association, founded in 1964. Merged with the men’s organization in 1992.
IOWA RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE NEWS. Records, 1960-1978, 1.1 linear feet. News Magazine of rural electric cooperatives serving Iowa and surrounding states.
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JOHNSON FAMILY LETTERS (CRESCO, IOWA). Letters, 1903-1925. 1 linear inch.
JOHNSON, MARGARET (1915- ). Papers, 1929-2001. Farmwife and homemaker who ran the family farm in Davis County, Iowa after her husband was killed in a bulldozer accident in 1964.
KAISER, ELSIE BAKER. Reminiscence, 1980. Farm woman, poet and artist from Black Hawk County who wrote, “Things I remember.” [Unprocessed]
KEPPY, MYRTLE (1924-2009). Papers, 1926-2001, 2 linear feet. Champion hog breeder, farm woman, 4-H leader, and president of the Iowa Porkettes.
KNIEVEL, HELEN. (1923-). Papers, 1973-2000, 7.5 linear inches. Rural Iowa librarian who held a variety of positions throughout her life in libraries in Iowa , Minnesota , South Dakota , Oregon and California .
KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOR CLUB (Williams, Iowa) Records, 1926-1996. 5 linear inches. Farm women’s club organized in 1926.
KOPPENHAVER, DELLA MARIE. (1904- ). Papers, 1958-1981. 1 linear inch. Two reminiscences of Alice Tenley Hora, an Iowa farm woman, detailing farm life in the 1920s.
KROHN, EMMYLOU. (1920-). Papers, 1940-1998, 1.3 linear feet. Teacher, columnist, and textbook author from Council Bluffs area.
KROMMINGA, MARIA MARGARETHA (1874-1937). Papers, 1897-1921. 6 linear inches. Monticello , Iowa , native who never married but had one son whom she raised alone, living with her parents on their farm.
LACY AND ROBINSON FAMILIES. Papers, 1852-2001.10 linear inches.
LAGE, GLADYS (1912- ). Reminiscence, 1992. 1 linear inch. “I Remember,” memories of an eastern Iowa farm woman. [Unprocessed]
LINDAHL, CARRIE. (1887-1977). Papers, 1875-2001, 1.25 linear feet. Rural Linn County banker who worked outside of the home from 1910s to 1960s.
LYNCH, ELIZABETH FAGAN. (1908 -). Memoir, “A Trunk and its Chips,” 1991, 166 pp. Teacher, farmer, and writer of Irish descent from Dubuque County , Iowa.
MAHASKA COUNTY FARM BUREAU WOMEN’S COMMITTEE. History, 1971-1998. 2 linear inches. Begun in the 1920s as part of the Iowa State University Cooperative Extension, this committee splintered from the extension service in 1955 and became the largest political and corporate organization representing farmer interests in Iowa .
MARTINSON, KATE. (1858-1941). Papers, 1872-1944 (bulk 1872-1917). 1 linear inch. Yearly journal entries by this northern Iowa woman chronicle her marriage, childrearing, management of the family farm, divorce, and remarriage.
MASTER FARM HOMEMAKERS GUILD. Records, photogrpahs and video, 1992-1999. 1 linear inch. Statewdie honorific association that produced the video, “Celebrating Farm Homemaking,” and the exhibit, “Bridging the Generations, the Lives and Contributions of Rural Iowa Women.”
McHENRY, MARY. (1834-1912). Diary, 1864 (photocopied transcript). This early settler and acting county recorder in Denison, Iowa kept a journal of a trip she made to her alma mater, Rockford Female Seminary, in Illinois to visit her husband who was on leave during the Civil War. [Unprocessed]
McNEILL, AMELIA. (1890-1973). Papers, 1929-1971. 2.5 linear inches. Farmwoman who helped organize the Interstate Conference of Farm Women, promoted expansion education, and served as secretary of Monona Co. Rural Electrification Association for more than 20 years.
MEADE, MAGDALEN. (1913-). Papers, 1891-1992, 7 linear inches. An Iowa farm woman and political organizer who kept detailed records of life on a farm and helped with Roxanne Conlin’s gubernatorial campaign in 1982.
MERICLE, PHOEBE KELLUM. (1820-1893). Obituary, 1893. 1 item. Early settler in Webster County, Iowa.
MESSENGER, RUTH PERKINS (1899-2000). Memoir, 2000. Reflections of family life in rural Iowa include World War I and the flu epidemic of 1918.
MILLER, ELLEN MOWRER. (1848-1922). Papers, 1856-1994. 8 linear inches. Correspondence of 19th century Iowa woman includes letters from brother in medical school and Civil War and from sister who raised a family and maintained a farm.
MISBACH FAMILY. Papers, 1920s-1990s. Farm family from Johnson County whose children specialized in teaching the blind and disabled. Emelia Misbach kept a diary from 1922 to 1960. [Unprocessed]
MITCHELL, RUBY CRUMLEY. (1880-?). Diaries, 1904, 1930-1966. 5 linear inches. Daily diaries of this Rhodes , Iowa , native.
MONTANGE, JULIA. Sheet music for Farm Bureau song, “Let Us Farmers Stand United for our Rights,” written by Julia Montange of Woodbury County, Iowa, in 1926. Sheet music, “We Won’t Have to Sell the Farm,” lyrics by Al Bryan, 1933.
MORE, FLORINDA WAKEFIELD. (1839-1890). Papers, 1853-1891. 1.5 linear inches. Letters to Florinda More from friends and family in New England and Iowa and from her husband, the itinerant minister Thomas More.
NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL CLUB (DELAWARE COUNTY). Records, 1931-1999, 5 linear inches. A social club formed in 1915 near Manchester , Iowa so woman could unite and discuss aspects of rural, farm and family life.
NELSON, JACQUELINE PERSON. Papers and website, 1999 and 2001. 1 linear inch. Co-owner of Greencastle airfield in Johnson County who wrote, “Greencastle Airport and How It Came Into Being” for the airport website.
NEWCOMER, BESS PAULINE SHORT. (1893-1990). Papers, 1936-1978, 1 linear inch. Appanoose County farmwoman, columnist, and Farm Bureau officer.
NISSEN FAMILY. Papers, 1936-1996. 10 linear inches. Photocopied scrapbooks of Walnut, Iowa , clubwoman Wilma Parker Nissen (1898-1957) and biographical sketches of her daughters.
NORTH MADISON HAPPY PALS 4-H CLUB. Scrapbooks, 1952-1979. 1.25 linear feet (7 volumes). Local 4-H chapter.
NYE, MIRIAM BAKER (1918- ). Papers, 1938-1997 and undated. 5 linear inches. Moville , Iowa , farm wife and columnist for the Sioux City Farm Journal Weekly from 1953 to 1981.
O’BRIEN COUNTY FARM BUREAU WOMEN. Records, 1989-1996, 1 linear inch. Organization to promote the interests of farmwomen.
O’BRIEN, DENISE. (1949- ). Papers, 1964-1997. 4.3 linear feet. Organic farmer and political activist who helped organize the first Iowa meeting of the Farm Unity Coalition and served as president of National Family Farm Coalition.
OLSON, MELBA GARDEMANN. (1909-2000). Papers, 1916-1993, 5 linear inches. Farm girl, teacher, and newspaper editor from Benton County . Played forward on Newhall’s 1927 Girls’ high school basketball championship team.
OMEGA TOWNSHIP WOMEN’S CLUB (O’BRIEN COUNTY). Records, 1976-1991, 2 linear inches. Farm Bureau women’s club organized in 1976.
PERKINS, JESSIE VIRGINIA ANTRIM. Papers, 1905-1937. 1 linear inch. Farm wife who reminisced about her childhood on a farm in western Iowa. [Unprocessed]
PETERSEN, PAULINE C. (1884-1988). Journals [photocopies], 1907-1910. 2 linear inches. Elkhorn, Iowa student and rural schoolteacher.
PETERSON-DANA, ERICKA. Papers, 2000, 2 linear inches. Organic farmer and activist in Poweshiek County , Iowa .
PHILLIPS AND TARBELL FAMILIES. Papers, 1998-1999. 1 linear inch. Five generations of central Iowa women who won thousands of blue ribbons and culinary awards at local and state fairs. [Unprocessed]
“PICKING UP THE PIECES.” Records, 1962-1983, 0.25 linear inches. A women’s history project at the Spencer, Iowa Public Library. [Unprocessed]
PIEPER, DORA ANN WALKER. Papers, 1978-1990s. 1 linear inch. Rural woman raised in a small northeastern Iowa town in the early nineteenth century. [Unprocessed]
PIERCE-STUART FAMILY. Papers, 1927-1989. 7.5 linear inches. Diaries documenting day-to-day household activities and community events in Harlan, Iowa from 1927 to 1947. The family ran a dry goods store in Harlan and the daughters moved to Omaha in the 1930s.
PLACE, DOROTHY SPROUT. (1921-). Memoir, 1993. 1 linear inch. Reminiscence of Dorothy’s life as a farmwoman and young mother during World War II.
A POLITICAL DIALOGUE: IOWA’S WOMEN LEGISLATORS. Oral history transcripts, 1988-1993. 1.7 linear feet. Interviews with women who served or were serving in the Iowa General Assembly conducted by Suzanne O’Dea Schenken between 1988 and 1992. Includes interview with A. June Franklin, who served in the Iowa General Assembly from 1966 to 1972.
POLLOCK, CORA BELLE (1906-1998). Elementary school teacher from Rolfe, Iowa who later worked as a lab technician in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
PRAIRIE VIEW CLUB (HARDIN COUNTY). Records, 1932-1995, 5 linear inches. Rural women’s club dating from the early twentieth century.
PUTTMANN, SALLY. (1936-). Papers and oral history, 1994-1998. 2 linear inches. Farmer, speaker, and first woman on the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors.
RIFE, GLADYS TALCOTT. (1914-2000). Papers, 1920-2002. 1.25 linear feet. Mt.Vernon, Iowa high school teacher who later owned and directed The Depot Museum in Fayette County , Iowa .
RONK, LILLIAN
Papers, 1966-2000. 2.5 linear inches. West Central Iowa farmwoman known locally as “the flower lady.”
RUTLEDGE, ALMIRA SAFELY. (1869-1950). Diaries, 1885-1950. 1 linear foot. Early, Iowa , wife and mother.
RUMBLE, MARIE. (1894-1974). Papers, 1890-2002. A divorced woman who left Iowa to homestead in Wyoming in 1917.
RYAN-BUSCH, JANETTE. Papers, 1980s-1990s. 1 linear foot. Organic farmer, and member of the committee to create state regulations for organic certification. [Unprocessed]
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. [Unprocessed]
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. [Unprocessed]
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, 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. [Unprocessed]
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.
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.
VANDERVELDE, MARJORIE. (1908-). Papers, 1837-2002, 5.7 linear feet. Photojournalist, writer, and traveler who lived among primitive peoples 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.
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
Unprocessed 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.
YOST, LELA A. (1890-1977). Eight Decades of Lela Yost, 1995. .5 linear inch. Schoolteacher and farm wife near Mason City and Kesley , Iowa .
ZIMMERMAN, DORIS. Papers, 1920s-1980s. 1 linear inch. Programs, newspaper clippings and memoir of her participation in civic activities in northwest Iowa . [Unprocessed.]
ZINDEL, IRENE. Papers, 1930s-1990s. 0.5 linear inches. Farm woman and former 4-H participant and leader. [Unprocessed]