This post was written by Christina Jensen, Student Assistant in the Iowa Women’s Archives and graduate student in the UI School of Library and Information Science. October is LGBT history month! To celebrate, we’re taking a look at some of the eye-catching cover art of Better Homes and Dykes, from the Jo Rabenold papers. Continue reading “Celebrating LGBT History Month”
Category Archives: From the collections
Ivory Winston, Iowa’s Own First Lady of Song
This post was written by Christina Jensen, Student Assistant in the Iowa Women’s Archives and graduate student in the UI School of Library and Information Science. Known as ‘Iowa’s own first lady of song’, Ivory Winston was born in 1911 in Ottumwa, Iowa. The daughter of a Baptist pastor, she grew up in a strictContinue reading “Ivory Winston, Iowa’s Own First Lady of Song”
Louise Liers, World War I nurse
This post, by Christina Jensen, appeared on the Iowa Women’s Archives Tumblr this summer, and has since been featured on NBC news. On June 28th, 1914, Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip. One month later, war broke out across Europe between two alliance systems. Britain, France, Russia, andContinue reading “Louise Liers, World War I nurse”
Remembering Emma’s early days
This post was written by Jessica Lawson, Graduate Research Assistant in the Iowa Women’s Archives. The Iowa Women’s Archives had an exciting visit at the end of July! Five women who were active in the feminist community in Iowa City in the 1970s and were early supporters of the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women visited theContinue reading “Remembering Emma’s early days”
Women on the Chautauqua Circuit: Winsome Lasses and Ardent Advocates
This post by Kären Mason, Curator of the Iowa Women’s Archives, was originally written for Akashic Books. Chautauqua was an eagerly anticipated event in towns across the United States in the early 20th century. Huge tents were erected and a variety of speakers, performances, and children’s activities took place over the week the Chautauqua wasContinue reading “Women on the Chautauqua Circuit: Winsome Lasses and Ardent Advocates”
LULAC Christmas party, early 1960’s
Women’s History Wednesday: As part of its project to document the history of Iowa Latinas and their families, the Iowa Women’s Archives preserves and makes accessible the records of the LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) Council 10 of Davenport, Iowa. Mexicans arrived in Iowa as early as the 1880s, and by theContinue reading “LULAC Christmas party, early 1960’s”
Shirley Rich, casting director and UI alum
I watched “The Sound of Music Live!” last night, and with musicals on the brain, I hoped we had something theatrical in the archives. And what do you know, here is Shirley Rich in her office at Rodgers & Hammerstein! She worked there as an assistant casting director from 1948 to 1951. Rich grew upContinue reading “Shirley Rich, casting director and UI alum”
Resourceful students skiing at the Pentacrest
Women’s History Wednesday: Iowa City isn’t exactly prime skiing country, but these resourceful UI students circa 1930s-1940s made do by repurposing the Pentacrest’s west hill in the heart of campus for their winter sports. (Not recommended these days, unless you don’t mind crash-landing into four lanes of traffic.) Female students at the University ofContinue reading “Resourceful students skiing at the Pentacrest”
LULAC News, JFK Memorial Edition
This JFK Memorial Edition of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National Newsletter is preserved in the records of LULAC Council 10 in the Iowa Women’s Archives. It commemorates President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy’s attendance at the LULAC banquet in Houston on November 21, 1963. Jacqueline Kennedy addressed the audience in Spanish on this first visit of anyContinue reading “LULAC News, JFK Memorial Edition”
Iowa’s Mesquakie tribe
“Soon, moreover, I was told, ‘This is your little ax,’ when a little ax was brought. I was glad. ‘This is your wood-strap,’ I was told. My mother and I would go out to cut wood; and I carried the little wood that I had cut on my back. She would strap them forContinue reading “Iowa’s Mesquakie tribe”