Women’s History Wednesday! Around this date in 1910, Iowa women were tying on their driving scarves, preparing to motor off to the women’s suffrage state convention in Corydon. While their efforts to pass statewide legislation ultimately failed, Iowa women kept rallying, and eventually received the right to vote in 1920 through the passage of theContinue reading “Iowa women’s suffrage”
Category Archives: From the collections
Myrtle Aydelotte in the Army Nurse Corps
Myrtle Kitchell Aydelotte entered the Army Nurse Corps as an assistant chief nurse at the 26th General Hospital in North Africa in 1942, and in 1945 became chief nurse at the 52nd Station Hospital in Italy. At the University of Iowa, she held many positions from 1949 through 1976, including professor of nursing, Director and Dean of theContinue reading “Myrtle Aydelotte in the Army Nurse Corps”
Code for Coeds
The “Code for Coeds” is a guide to campus life that was given to incoming women students at the University of Iowa from 1937 to 1968. This 1944-45 edition is included in the Louise Goldman Papers, and Goldman edited the handbook for the University Women’s Association. Sounds like parties at the Union were very classy, withContinue reading “Code for Coeds”
“The Newhall Girls of 1927”
Welcome to Women’s History Wednesday! In 1924, the Iowa High School Athletic Association decided that organized basketball was “unhealthy” for girls and announced their decision to eliminate the girls’ state championship tournament. In response, female athletes statewide took action; that included members of the Newhall team, pictured here, who rode on horseback from farm toContinue reading ““The Newhall Girls of 1927””
Gladys Conn’s five-year diary
A five-year diary belonging to Gladys Conn, social worker and graduate of the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa). The first entry in the diary is dated January 1, 1932, at which time she would have been in school. It’s hard to tell what year this entry is from, but here isContinue reading “Gladys Conn’s five-year diary”
Mildred Wirt Benson, Iowa’s most successful “ghost”
Welcome to Women’s History Wednesday, now in our fancy new home at the Iowa Women’s Archives tumblr! Despite our recent Mildred Wirt Benson gif-a-thon, we couldn’t resist one more post on Iowa’s most successful “ghost” for Halloween. In a 1973 essay for our Books at Iowa journal, Benson described getting her start as a ghost writer.Continue reading “Mildred Wirt Benson, Iowa’s most successful “ghost””
eras of emma: the emma goldman clinic through four decades
eras of emma: the emma goldman clinic through four decades Join us for a panel discussion featuring women who have been active in Iowa City’s feminist health clinic founded in 1973. The clinic had its origins in an abortion referral service started by Iowa City’s Women’s Liberation Front in 1971. The Emma Goldman Clinic for Women opened September 1,Continue reading “eras of emma: the emma goldman clinic through four decades”
“Life is not all sunshine”
Viola Nesfield Owen papers by Audrey Altman Preserving the history of poor and rural women is a mission of the Iowa Women’s Archives, but it can be challenging because these women rarely leave detailed records of their lives. That’s why we were so excited to receive the papers of Viola Nesfield Owen, donated by GaryContinue reading ““Life is not all sunshine””
Cards from Christmases Past
By Christine Vivian, SLIS student and IWA student assistant One of the lovely surprises of The Iowa Women’s Archives is the number of collections which contain holiday cards, such as the Shirley Briggs Papers. Briggs, an artist and naturalist, created a new hand-drawn card every year for over 50 years. Receiving one of theseContinue reading “Cards from Christmases Past”
Thanksgiving in Osage, 1950s-style
In 1950, Joyce Horton was a junior at the University of Iowa studying speech pathology. She was active in the Foreign Students Association, a group she really enjoyed. A few weeks before Thanksgiving she wrote a letter to the newspaper in her hometown of Osage, Iowa, suggesting that residents invite these students to spend ThanksgivingContinue reading “Thanksgiving in Osage, 1950s-style”