tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1546827910355367892024-03-14T15:02:03.502-07:00Grinnell StoriesDan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-31884617458507968092024-02-19T17:02:00.000-08:002024-02-19T17:02:10.040-08:00Living the Social Gospel in Early Twentieth-Century America<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Beginning with the presidency of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Augustus_Gates" target="_blank">George Gates (1851-1912),</a> Grinnell College became identified with the "social gospel," an activist view of Christianity that rejected economic, social, and racial inequality. </span>Students of the "social gospel" have made much of its emphasis upon economic and social inequality, but Grinnell proponents like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_D._Herron#:~:text=Herron%20is%20best%20remembered%20as,A%20self%2Dimposed%20exile%20followed." target="_blank">George D. Herron (1862-1925)</a> and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S2/SteinerEdwardA.pdf" target="_blank">Edward A. Steiner (1866-1956</a>) did not neglect to attack the racism that post-Reconstruction America imposed upon Black men and women. Herron, for example, excoriated a world which "a race turned into freedom almost worse than slavery because of the shameful irresponsibility of the nation enslaving it." </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hAQ5h9hTkidEfzjtWDxBv1V5Njim2OnIHIWffIU4p6P0oUtV9jYPJ0d8aap-Uxgkmxvht3gbVeMZs5vzffpbSIa5sxGAVSpVsB9QcvJpNOhTelbHJPBCSREeYDqkITBgdaSYwCW4-gOQItqRJhYZVllemx7fx90-0rrI8eTiJTP3fvdJyzIheXXyPKX9/s986/GeorgeHerron1890s.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="606" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hAQ5h9hTkidEfzjtWDxBv1V5Njim2OnIHIWffIU4p6P0oUtV9jYPJ0d8aap-Uxgkmxvht3gbVeMZs5vzffpbSIa5sxGAVSpVsB9QcvJpNOhTelbHJPBCSREeYDqkITBgdaSYwCW4-gOQItqRJhYZVllemx7fx90-0rrI8eTiJTP3fvdJyzIheXXyPKX9/s320/GeorgeHerron1890s.png" width="197" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1890s Portrait of George D. Herron<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18334)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>After leaving Grinnell, Herron aligned himself with the Social Democratic Party of Eugene Debs whose platform called wage earners to organize "without distinction of color, race, or sex" (Ralph E. Luker, </span><i>The Social Gospel in Black and White: American Racial Reform, 1885-1912 </i><span>[Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991], 83, 201). Steiner, who succeeded Herron in the Chair of Applied Christianity at Grinnell, also rejected racial distinctions. "I teach one religious doctrine," Steiner said, "...that underneath all the differences in races and classes, humanity is essentially one" (ibid., 253).</span></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInQVIDd4i2CPSoU-qiPUxn2zLXqXMYMkhr0akEk1oaXJGS7uLbnpCIWuFbQ7YgVzsZT1JtK9r6jc0TFXOeF29mpTznsM5EdOFtM-gaP2Cgq317hAmJKAhXHvU-BPF0W5pv00c5BAtb6s2g49s3p1Y85280D59jINqLNHbhry1zhW8xVbFTYoMuDi6XU_a/s1280/Steiner1920s.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1019" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInQVIDd4i2CPSoU-qiPUxn2zLXqXMYMkhr0akEk1oaXJGS7uLbnpCIWuFbQ7YgVzsZT1JtK9r6jc0TFXOeF29mpTznsM5EdOFtM-gaP2Cgq317hAmJKAhXHvU-BPF0W5pv00c5BAtb6s2g49s3p1Y85280D59jINqLNHbhry1zhW8xVbFTYoMuDi6XU_a/s320/Steiner1920s.jpeg" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1920s Portrait of Edward Steiner<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18367)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>But what impact did these activists have upon students at Grinnell College where an all-white faculty and administration welcomed almost no Black students to campus? The College graduated in these years numerous well-known activists like Harry Hopkins (1912), Hallie Flanagan Davis (1911), Chester Davis (1911), and Forence Stewart Kerr (1912), all influenced by Grinnell's commitment to the Social Gospel.</span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>None of these alums, as accomplished as they might have been, devoted their careers to undoing American racial injustice. </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33847240/bessie-meacham" target="_blank">Bessie K. Meacham (1883-1975)</a>, however, <span>having integrated </span></span><span>the lessons of the Social Gospel </span></span><span>into her Christianity</span><span>, devoted her life to Black men and women across the U.S. South. Beginning immediately after her 1911 commencement at Grinnell, Meacham accepted appointment to "Negro" schools supported and staffed by the </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20051029190025/http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/1998/edu/charleston/ama.htm" target="_blank">American Missionary Association</a> (hereafter AMA)<span>. If it was sometimes hard on her and her health—in addition to occasional spells of sickness, she spent the academic year 1914-15 in Grinnell, trying to recover her health (<i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican</i> 9/8/1914)—Meacham nevertheless committed herself to the education of poor Blacks who had to live with Jim Crow and the often violent consequences of racial hatred in the American South. Today's post reports on how Bessie Meacham used her life to contribute to the education of Black youth in the US South.</span></span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33847348/dudley-a-meacham" target="_blank">Dudley A. Meacham (1855-1914)</a> was a Washington County farmer who, with his wife <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33847428/harriett-e-meacham" target="_blank">Harriett (1860-1948)</a>, raised three children: Bessie Katherine, the subject of today's post; <a href="https://www.rhodesianstudycircle.org.uk/frank-t-meacham/" target="_blank">Frank (1890-1960)</a>, who pursued a theological education and eventually served many years as a missionary in what was then Rhodesia; and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/152010595/floy-tatem" target="_blank">Floy (1895-1989)</a>. After having farmed for several decades, sometime around 1905 Dudley Meacham brought his family to Grinnell, purchasing a home at 1006 Chatterton. In Grinnell Dudley abandoned farming, p</span><span>erhaps because of the illness that brought him an early death: Meacham told </span><span>the 1910 census-taker that he was then a janitor in a public building. Whatever the move meant for Dudley Meacham's health, the move to Grinnell certainly proved important to his children, since both Bessie and Frank attended and graduated from Grinnell College where they came under the influence of the Social Gospel.</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdGMjaD_PufGeQWEAQ5CNZPnzWHMG2vITwBvY4E__c86B3co9ns6-huVr2ANfDYEzcyJuTaIF3BjO5oOaZ0lnT16qE6hLkK-Q4XQ_1REG5jsgy3YjA_Cg2N1vZMpQ7dCQyEU6S5rU-7i1TAtw453tFkDZH6t2v5rHQ1f-uj-iCOcsznUytMbi7zVSmp43/s648/1006%20Chatterton.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="648" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdGMjaD_PufGeQWEAQ5CNZPnzWHMG2vITwBvY4E__c86B3co9ns6-huVr2ANfDYEzcyJuTaIF3BjO5oOaZ0lnT16qE6hLkK-Q4XQ_1REG5jsgy3YjA_Cg2N1vZMpQ7dCQyEU6S5rU-7i1TAtw453tFkDZH6t2v5rHQ1f-uj-iCOcsznUytMbi7zVSmp43/s320/1006%20Chatterton.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2023 Photo of 1006 Chatterton, Grinnell, IA<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Bessie Meacham, the couple's oldest child, was the first to follow this path. Having previously attended Washington Academy (<i>Washington Evening Journal</i> 3/17/1904), Bessie enrolled at the Iowa College Academy shortly after the Meacham family moved to Grinnell. She graduated from the Academy in 1907 (<i>GH </i>6/4/1907) and immediately thereafter matriculated at the college. </span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Considerably older than most of her classmates, Bessie Meacham brought to Grinnell College a deep commitment to Christianity and long experience with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_People%27s_Society_of_Christian_Endeavour" target="_blank">Christian Endeavor (C. E.),</a><span> a late-nineteenth-century ministry that attempted to engage Christian youth with an evangelizing mission.</span></span></span><span> </span><span>Like others in the organization, Meacham will have recited <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_People%27s_Society_of_Christian_Endeavour" target="_blank">C.E.'s pledge</a> that obliged members to practice daily devotions and encouraged them to pursue a career that Christ would have them follow. Like her fellow C. E. enthusiasts, </span><span>Meacham </span><span>promised "throughout my whole life...to lead a Christian life." At the 1915 convention of the district C. E. organization convened in Grinnell, Meacham was one of two youth to offer ten-minute talks on the pledge. Esther Bliss spoke to how the pledge "helps our inner life" while Meacham, leaning on her Grinnell College education and its commitment to the Social Gospel, explained how the pledge "helps our society" (<i>GH </i>5/14/1915).</span></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Exactly how did Meacham think that her C.E. pledge would help society? Meacham's college yearbook portrait indicates that she foresaw a career in missions that would fulfill her Christian ambitions. Alongside the graduate's photograph is a pencil drawing of a shield, with a bold "CE" occupying the very center, confirming Meacham's membership in the organization. It was not, however, the only organization to which she belonged. Also inscribed on the shield is the name Student Volunteer Band, "an organization of those who have formed the purpose of spending their future in Foreign Missions and are now engaged in furthering missionary interest among students" (<i>1911 Cyclone</i>). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO4gAl9GmtUELTNeSFq8SUVNInm53_Sly5k1E1CXDxZj-fKLCUdFcYKup5X2YbqqRwp85c1B_nQ92mtQnCEUtzNaV936_6lgKPCdnbyRZtHREGkZy0phcEBoN_Vao0HaYRBnHLFx1urM4it5OMW_KvhQUR2zXA1Jr7RMKZ39Mpb7jA1XdudoNfsxIrJcl/s1194/StudentVolunteerBand1911Cyclone.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1194" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO4gAl9GmtUELTNeSFq8SUVNInm53_Sly5k1E1CXDxZj-fKLCUdFcYKup5X2YbqqRwp85c1B_nQ92mtQnCEUtzNaV936_6lgKPCdnbyRZtHREGkZy0phcEBoN_Vao0HaYRBnHLFx1urM4it5OMW_KvhQUR2zXA1Jr7RMKZ39Mpb7jA1XdudoNfsxIrJcl/s320/StudentVolunteerBand1911Cyclone.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinnell College Student Volunteer Band; Meacham, 2nd row, far right<br />(<i>1911 Cyclone</i>)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">More than personal redemption, however, Meacham's Christianity importantly embraced racial justice. During Meacham's four years at Grinnell there was on campus only one Black student, <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/03/grinnells-colfax-orator.html" target="_blank">James Owen Redmon</a> GC 1913, who had been brought to the college through the personal intervention of Edward Steiner. Despite the rarity of Blacks on the Grinnell campus, Meacham developed a vision for young Black men and women, and Redmon had a part in developing that vision. </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVYkVhDMNhJZoAa3p1q7eedgmMRccAMJEu50XGcG47itfIjQQ9CiPGzRgSbZIdFDPMwj_GQUNPbmn7pPdYCSXrR1Ap8IH2kE_QIxkUna91fkuyuZlwfOOrVDH0YVKi_ozGYfTwg4AwndqaMVV-2uWmtA3L0F1Cxy2xH_vp4qZ3eAjrcVt8M2VmQdJDtK6/s1280/ColonialTheater1910%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="1280" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVYkVhDMNhJZoAa3p1q7eedgmMRccAMJEu50XGcG47itfIjQQ9CiPGzRgSbZIdFDPMwj_GQUNPbmn7pPdYCSXrR1Ap8IH2kE_QIxkUna91fkuyuZlwfOOrVDH0YVKi_ozGYfTwg4AwndqaMVV-2uWmtA3L0F1Cxy2xH_vp4qZ3eAjrcVt8M2VmQdJDtK6/s320/ColonialTheater1910%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1910 (?) Photograph of Colonial Theater<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6258)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Although Redmon was two years behind her at Grinnell, Meacham surely knew him, since Redmon was one of the 1911 organizers of Quill and Gavel, a small public speaking group on campus to which Meacham's brother, Frank (class of 1913), also belonged. Moreover, Redmon gained the attention of the entire campus with his skilled orations, including his spring 1911 competition for the Spaulding Prize. Just weeks before Meacham's graduation, Redmon took the stage of the </span><a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6258" target="_blank">Colonial Theater</a><span> to address "The African in America." According to the newspaper,</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>Redmon...took up the always present, the ever perplexing theme of race prejudice, as it applied to his own race. After the first few sentences, he had the entire sympathy of his audience as he told of the wrongs and injustice, the barriers against advancement in all lines, which the Afro-American had to face. It was a seething indictment against prevailing ideas in the United States, and, what was worse, it was hard to find a flaw in the propositions which he advanced (<i>GR </i>5/8/1911).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Meacham could not have missed this talk, and not only because of her brother's closeness to Redmon; the Spaulding competition was always spirited and, convened in the spacious downtown auditorium of the Colonial, attracted a large audience. Moreover, as the immediate future indicated, Meacham proved herself increasingly attentive to questions of race. Two months after her graduation from Grinnell Meacham was one of three speakers at the Woman's Home Missionary Union meeting at the Grinnell Congregational Church where the theme was "The Negro" (<i>GH </i>8/22/1911). No report of her speech survives, but it bears emphasizing that by this time Meacham had already accepted appointment to teach at Beach Institute, an all-Black school in Savannah, Georgia, deep in the heart of the old Confederacy (<i>GR </i>8/28/1911; <i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican</i> 9/25/1911; <i>GR </i>9/28/1911).</span></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Beach Institute, </span><a href="https://www.beachinstitute.org/timeline" target="_blank">founded in 1865</a><span>, </span><span>was one of many schools in the US South intended to educate African Americans who were prevented from public education by Jim Crow and southern racism. </span><span>Several crises, including two serious fires, plagued the school which in 1914 had seven teachers for 168 students, the great majority of whom pursued "industrial" education (W. T. B. Williams, "Duplication of Schools for Negro Youth," </span><i>Occasional Papers of John F. Slater Fund</i><span>, no.15[1914],15).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz67LERgt5dn0yiisjciNARQmZtT0Qn1nM0DmSWr1KYKDjeOotZdsasCw04z2lUKlmmBDCA0AooDJ1W9NWgi0_MS9aO9zz7x_jSeLmKWzuNAIlVoQGtZ4Ya8nj-UdIUEiPkm5v6p5hubsjKda5xDsWcOYucOmMv2HjzQlz9wAInbNF7ZOiXZ4ewVDRUWJ/s1480/BeachStaff1911-12.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="1480" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQz67LERgt5dn0yiisjciNARQmZtT0Qn1nM0DmSWr1KYKDjeOotZdsasCw04z2lUKlmmBDCA0AooDJ1W9NWgi0_MS9aO9zz7x_jSeLmKWzuNAIlVoQGtZ4Ya8nj-UdIUEiPkm5v6p5hubsjKda5xDsWcOYucOmMv2HjzQlz9wAInbNF7ZOiXZ4ewVDRUWJ/s320/BeachStaff1911-12.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>AMA Staff at Beach Institute 1911-12<br />(<i>List of Missionaries Under the Auspices of American Missionary Association 1911-1912</i> [NY: American Missionary Association, 1911], 10)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Meacham was not the first Grinnellian to serve at Beach: her fellow Grinnell alumna, Helen R. Field, had joined the staff at Beach immediately after her 1910 graduation (<i>Grinnell Review </i>10/1910, p. 14</span><span>)</span><span>, and no doubt provided helpful advice for the newcomer. Unfortunately, soon after Meacham arrived in Georgia, Field fell ill with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue#:~:text=Dengue%20(break%2Dbone%20fever),body%20aches%2C%20nausea%20and%20rash." target="_blank">"breakbone fever"—dengue fever</a>—which probably limited the help she could provide the new recruit (</span><i>GR </i><span>10/</span><span>30/1912; </span><i>GH </i><span>10/15/1912). As a slim diary for 1913 confirms, Meacham found teaching Beach high schoolers a challenge, but she worked hard, in the process having become a much-valued staff member. </span></span></span><span><span>In her third year at Beach </span></span><span>Meacham herself fell seriously ill and was obliged to return to Grinnell to recuperate. Instead of teaching at an AMA school the next year, Meacham taught at a Grinnell area rural school while she recovered her health (</span><i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican </i><span>6/10/1915; </span><i>Clarinda Journal </i><span>6/8/1916).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With World War I as background, Meacham took up her second AMA post in 1916, this time at Brewer Normal School in Greenwood, South Carolina (<i>Clarinda Journal </i>6/8/1916). Founded as a Negro boarding school in 1870 by the AMA, Brewer Institute, as it was originally known, "furnished the majority of the best educated of the colored race" (<i>Greenwood Daily Journal</i> 5/13/1897).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZ5-pFoUcaaofr1xR4Cg5VJWCxZkUYwl_fle0VplKQbs5YY0DimD5uzw1L_3SnCxwPdPwJwuH180yvlXI0Qw5PEv_Nw4eXhLMivB5x86VODj1kcBKMfUhlCou4g4ms4Uyvi03pOQ57M7AnBfJOjJbcde5VDNaoT3_-9wPELbwzqcHBQPmKBOkU96j56R6/s1258/BrewerInst1897.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1258" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZ5-pFoUcaaofr1xR4Cg5VJWCxZkUYwl_fle0VplKQbs5YY0DimD5uzw1L_3SnCxwPdPwJwuH180yvlXI0Qw5PEv_Nw4eXhLMivB5x86VODj1kcBKMfUhlCou4g4ms4Uyvi03pOQ57M7AnBfJOjJbcde5VDNaoT3_-9wPELbwzqcHBQPmKBOkU96j56R6/s320/BrewerInst1897.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>Brewer Normal Institute, College Building<br />(<i>Greenwood Daily Journal</i> 5/13/1897)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>At Brewer as at Beach, most of the staff were women. Bessie Meacham was one of three who taught high school students; two taught elementary students, two taught "industrial" subjects, one taught music, and a Connecticut man was in charge of agriculture. </span><span>Another unspecified illness interrupted Meacham's work in South Carolina, sending her back to Iowa in March 1918 to recuperate (</span><i>Clarinda Journal </i><span>3/21/1918; </span><i>Grinnell Review </i><span>4-5/1918, p. 332).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>That autumn Meacham followed a somewhat different course in her work, perhaps because of the illness she had endured in South Carolina. Instead of heading south, she went west to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she spent a year at the Rio Grande Industrial School (<i>Grinnell Review</i> 12/1918, p. 34). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFi3T55D1RZKyJA2n8w7tgWsqp5p0Q68pAOtBx40kyO1BOIplJFYSRwhYWtkUrPtGZHMTQmor2hPuBQJ86569Jv-Qp1HzFTerYsbreIKA6fawLhCclTgAlR8IpOM_gA0uzt-SUUAKyt7FslMe2owiMm_OH5dk9215FLjrCBH3VL42Op-uY6jDUmzKbllr/s830/HealdHall1909.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="830" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuFi3T55D1RZKyJA2n8w7tgWsqp5p0Q68pAOtBx40kyO1BOIplJFYSRwhYWtkUrPtGZHMTQmor2hPuBQJ86569Jv-Qp1HzFTerYsbreIKA6fawLhCclTgAlR8IpOM_gA0uzt-SUUAKyt7FslMe2owiMm_OH5dk9215FLjrCBH3VL42Op-uY6jDUmzKbllr/s320/HealdHall1909.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ca. 1909 Photograph of Heald Hall, Rio Grande Industrial School<br />(Rev. J. H. Heald, <i>The Rio Grande Industrial School </i>[Boston: Congregational Education Society, 1909]<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>Another AMA-sponsored institution, the Rio Grande school had a very different student body. Here, instead of African Americans, Meacham taught Mexicans in a school organized around practical education. Founded in 1908 on 160 acres that included stock and farm implements, the Rio Grande school began with twenty pupils and a curriculum dominated by agriculture. Most of the instruction took place in English, as part of the ambition of the school was to teach Mexicans English. However, since moral and religious ideas "are best imparted in one's native tongue," religious instruction came in Spanish (Heald, <i>Rio Grande Industrial School, </i>5-7). </span><span>As before at Beach Institute, Bessie Meacham was not the only Grinnellian on the Rio Grande faculty. In 1917 Mary Frisbie, a 1915 graduate of Grinnell, began teaching in Albuquerque and was still on the faculty when Meacham, returning to her earlier commitment to Black schools in the US South, left to take up a new appointment in Marion, Alabama (</span><i>Grinnell Review </i><span>10/1917, p. 211; </span><i>GH </i><span>8/23/1918; </span><i>GH </i><span>8/26/1919). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Begun in 1867, Lincoln Normal prospered until the end of Reconstruction when local antipathy encouraged an arsonist to burn it down. Opposition within the state legislature resulted in a measure that prohibited the return of the institution to Marion, leading the AMA to abandon the project temporarily. Marion Blacks, however, had a different idea and, on the basis of their own subscriptions, raised money to reopen the school. This initiative persuaded the AMA to reconsider, sending teachers to Marion and purchasing a home for the principal. Although enthusiasm was high, resources remained skimpy, persuading the AMA in 1897 once again to withdraw from Marion. As before, however, Black families resisted, supplying funds to acquire some necessities and promising teachers that, if they remained at the school, parents of the school's students would feed them. Impressed by the commitment of Black parents in Marion, the AMA relented and resumed support. A burst of growth followed: by 1904 Lincoln Normal had 400 students (Robert G. Sherer, </span><i>Black Education in Alabama, 1865-1901 </i><span>[Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1997], 131-33).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizrCUIaL2qZIxovthf0wHIFLC3gbcRgCHDk15L-658RLWzGm0US31JknGNn3SFoaQAm7W1aU42py_zUoTXpRVOziazE0p2c9YWFI-Z-eY7jRApN9VJoy629l1ajgydayyGf0qObpnyKwlQaLmFmJ3knXNIhAuT25-sxKK-za5fULAG_Z16ye3jdVMitsR/s1642/Faculty1921-22LincolnNormal.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1642" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgizrCUIaL2qZIxovthf0wHIFLC3gbcRgCHDk15L-658RLWzGm0US31JknGNn3SFoaQAm7W1aU42py_zUoTXpRVOziazE0p2c9YWFI-Z-eY7jRApN9VJoy629l1ajgydayyGf0qObpnyKwlQaLmFmJ3knXNIhAuT25-sxKK-za5fULAG_Z16ye3jdVMitsR/s320/Faculty1921-22LincolnNormal.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1922 Photo of Teachers at Lincoln Normal School; Meacham: first row, 3rd from left<br />(https://digitalcollections.libraries.ua.edu/digital/collection/p17336coll22/id/270/rec/1, Plate 35 )<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Autumn 1919 Bessie Meacham left Grinnell for Marion, Alabama where for the next fifteen years she taught English and History at Lincoln Normal (<i>GH </i>10/3/1919; <i>Putnam Patriot </i>5/31/1934). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKcLR21BAnErD_ed1ROEd3pXXrR4vCFF9HIFzAPimIUtkPGm4kNnfDS8I90sNS56a1DyxkDSSFRB3D1VY6r1k61hXWAeXFqI3zFKm6R6dPjVu2N_GOoXg_da35LVqJ0JlltBazUSyotXw26uDJ0A7Jm4UaPfwrEzyEJfqVf4fzjJdPpc9IWkmvcEwFf0-/s666/view.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqKcLR21BAnErD_ed1ROEd3pXXrR4vCFF9HIFzAPimIUtkPGm4kNnfDS8I90sNS56a1DyxkDSSFRB3D1VY6r1k61hXWAeXFqI3zFKm6R6dPjVu2N_GOoXg_da35LVqJ0JlltBazUSyotXw26uDJ0A7Jm4UaPfwrEzyEJfqVf4fzjJdPpc9IWkmvcEwFf0-/s320/view.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Students at Lincoln Normal School<br />(American Missionary Association Photographs, 1887-1952, Tulane University Digital Library: https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A3179)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During her last several years at Lincoln Normal Meacham prepared herself to move from the classroom to the library. Every summer, beginning in 1930, she attended Chautauqua Library School in New York. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgmiQjXlH2HhBXzDepmmY0COy3oln0bDPfRw58pjXYSwGc78F7UDUCvPTzyjOoZmHPaZ-Q3nqHQJlXB0nkKapKDbi2EZ_QbuBfpQsgy1HtqmLRCJcgtU-Vq8yHRvwDVsf-LgFyJw-V17taYE_o3WWltsNVm_QauP1cvi9LFznIZ_a9S6Tc7MJvdqrQKIK/s1412/bessiemeacham_grinnell_1934%20copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="1298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWgmiQjXlH2HhBXzDepmmY0COy3oln0bDPfRw58pjXYSwGc78F7UDUCvPTzyjOoZmHPaZ-Q3nqHQJlXB0nkKapKDbi2EZ_QbuBfpQsgy1HtqmLRCJcgtU-Vq8yHRvwDVsf-LgFyJw-V17taYE_o3WWltsNVm_QauP1cvi9LFznIZ_a9S6Tc7MJvdqrQKIK/s320/bessiemeacham_grinnell_1934%20copy.png" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 8, 1934 Letter of Bessie K. Meacham to LeMoyne College President Frank Sweeney (1929-40)<br />(Archives, Hollis F. Price Library, LeMoyne-Owen College; thanks to Jameka Townsend for sharing this document with me)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Consequently, when in 1934 she accepted a position in the library of all-Black <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeMoyne%E2%80%93Owen_College" target="_blank">LeMoyne (now LeMoyne-Owen) College </a>in Memphis, Tennessee, Meacham had the equivalent of a master's degree in library science. Beginning as an assistant librarian, Meacham became head of the library in 1944 and remained in that position until she retired in 1952, having spent almost forty years working in Black schools in the U.S. South (<i>Richland Clarion</i> 7/31/1952). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZs3XXld50ZVMtscsyx2zsZJHay3d_IH3sL3UsZmqzK1uzRqyEBMoWzezanUkIxIoPd427if1bWT9WsnE-PHveb9U36-ggPmJr9KhQ6BR_dGC7FmZmKsXvpaaNiDawl2t95Yvp7FlpbR7DtdL7OYg4gyG78g3qH2Pk-JylAqcKROigck2IehoAVu6Xo3e/s592/1950LeMoyneOwenYrbk%20copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZs3XXld50ZVMtscsyx2zsZJHay3d_IH3sL3UsZmqzK1uzRqyEBMoWzezanUkIxIoPd427if1bWT9WsnE-PHveb9U36-ggPmJr9KhQ6BR_dGC7FmZmKsXvpaaNiDawl2t95Yvp7FlpbR7DtdL7OYg4gyG78g3qH2Pk-JylAqcKROigck2IehoAVu6Xo3e/s320/1950LeMoyneOwenYrbk%20copy.png" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Bessie K. Meacham, Head Librarian, LeMoyne College<br />(1950 LeMoyne College Yearbook; thanks to Jameka Townsend for sharing this photo with me)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>###</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span>Although the places where Bessie Meacham worked in the years after her 1911 graduation from Grinnell demonstrate powerfully her commitment to changing the racist social order of twentieth-century America, it would be helpful to have her own words to help us understand what she felt about this work. Thanks to a 1912 Christmas gift from her sister, Floy, Bessie Meacham kept a diary for the calendar year 1913 and here she resolved to use the small booklet </span></span></span></span><span><span><span>"to put down not only the facts and events, but [also] my thots [sic] on the same." Nevertheless, terse reports on the quotidian dominate the diary entries, only occasionally interrupted with insights into Meacham's life at Beach Institute. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3BwOY6trPX6_7bRU9bi87G6MLwjTq301GCVJN34qo8J_w-8WCAO0pNN__q1ND50wPKGhoBvF-XCRFx6O5xH4rUc7jhIIjO03AndjDTnZg5Kls0At39Qj0Sf8-7MsrC6P3ZcPT83sxtbADeVmeuldXsro8mYmgdagSMPPyIecjxxGHnwaycMHLKODiKEw/s1280/260299005%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="769" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3BwOY6trPX6_7bRU9bi87G6MLwjTq301GCVJN34qo8J_w-8WCAO0pNN__q1ND50wPKGhoBvF-XCRFx6O5xH4rUc7jhIIjO03AndjDTnZg5Kls0At39Qj0Sf8-7MsrC6P3ZcPT83sxtbADeVmeuldXsro8mYmgdagSMPPyIecjxxGHnwaycMHLKODiKEw/s320/260299005%20copy.jpeg" width="192" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title Page of Bessie Meacham's 1913 Diary<br />(David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University, "Townsend Family Papers," Box 4)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></span></div><div><span>As the diary confirms, Meacham saw all around her the hatred of white Americans toward Blacks. For example, the diary reports that in late January she visited a Black woman who had been enslaved to a white woman in whose household she now served as a free laborer. Her white mistress had not managed to accept the transition in the maid's situation, telling "her [that she would] kill her if [she were] not such a good worker." The white mistress went on to say that heaven did not appeal to her "if a nigger or Yankee goes" there too (January 30). Dr. Reid, a local white physician to whom Meacham went several times in 1913 for relief from illness, maintained that "the black man is only rarely capable of being a leader" (April 9). Not even the staff at Beach was immune to racism. According to Meacham's diary, the wife of the school's principal acknowledged that she "would rather have the white friend than a hundred colored" (March 17).</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>In addition to these real life experiences of racism, Meacham continued to be influenced by her reading, the choices of which seem to stem from her experience with the Social Gospel at Grinnell. </span><span>Early in the 1913 diary, for example, she reported (January 2) that she was reading the latest issue of W. E. B. Du Bois's <i>The Crisis</i>. The December 1912 issue that Meacham read in early January in Georgia included a report on efforts of the Alabama legislature to "oppose any bill that would compel Negroes to educate their children... " (<i>The Crisis, </i>Dec. 1912, p. 61). A speech from Georgia's <a href="https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=S000551" target="_blank">Senator Hoke Smith (1855-1931)</a> quoted on the pages of <i>The Crisis </i>(ibid., p. 70) asserted that "The uneducated Negro is a good Negro; he is contented to occupy the natural status of his race, the position of inferiority...." A few pages earlier <i>The Crisis </i>informed readers about the arrest of a Black Georgia man who had "accidentally or intentionally touched a white woman with one of his hands." A hurried trial had found him guilty, the judge sentencing the defendant to twenty years in the penitentiary. After an appeals court granted the man a new trial, the same judge repeated the sentence, obliging the appeals court to reverse him again (p. 64). The journal also cataloged a series of the most recent lynchings and other murders of Black men (p. 65). </span><span>With this literature in mind Meacham asked her diary (January 2), "Will nobody ever solve this 'eternal problem' of the black man's position in America?"</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChWyd46Vy88nwAaWfLRkFPlg_mcxumte6vo5equo3FXY4Sc3qv5shnSqT6iJAXvJUQXWlZeoNHcOvnVchx5DQ9C6u-XVKuh8mh2JQT_99rQdV15loEZh7FgcS2kr2GXJPyuoKHy66kkjwfg1YePu__YPuzRcT6VuEjKgQV793UL3bYQl9O8C5GFXyylAX/s318/AmerBaptistHistSoc.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="318" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhChWyd46Vy88nwAaWfLRkFPlg_mcxumte6vo5equo3FXY4Sc3qv5shnSqT6iJAXvJUQXWlZeoNHcOvnVchx5DQ9C6u-XVKuh8mh2JQT_99rQdV15loEZh7FgcS2kr2GXJPyuoKHy66kkjwfg1YePu__YPuzRcT6VuEjKgQV793UL3bYQl9O8C5GFXyylAX/s1600/AmerBaptistHistSoc.webp" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Rev. Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918)<br />(https://abhsarchives.org/father-social-gospel-born/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>I suppose that Meacham learned of <i>The Crisis</i> from her Grinnell education, although I was unable to learn whether the college library had begun its subscription before Meacham's 1911 graduation. Other titles in her reading indicate Meacham's continued association with Grinnell College. Her diary several times reports that she was reading issues of the <i>Scarlet and Black</i> that her brother had sent from Grinnell. And when she returned to Grinnell in late May 1913 for summer vacation, she immersed herself in college happenings. May 30th, for instance, she attended Friday chapel to hear Dr. Steiner's brother speak, and the following day she and her brother, Frank, were present for the Hyde Prize orations. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On June 11th she took in her brother's college graduation ceremony at which <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Rauschenbusch" target="_blank">Rev. Walter Rauschenbusch</a>, a prominent advocate of the Social Gospel, addressed "The Call of Social Problems to the College Man and Woman." So far as the newspaper account can confirm (<i>Grinnell Register </i>6/12/1913), Rauschenbusch did not mention race in his address. Nevertheless, elsewhere Rauschenbusch had argued that </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><blockquote>...no man shares his life with God, whose religion does not flow out, naturally and without effort, into all relations of his life and reconstructs everything that it touches. Whoever uncouples the religious and the social life has not understood Jesus. Whoever sets any bounds for the reconstructive power of the religious life over the social relations and institutions of men, to that extent denies the faith of the Master (<i>Christianity and the Social Crisis</i> [New York: The Macmillan Co., 1907], 48-49).</blockquote><p>Despite the absence of a direct reference to racial injustice, Bessie Meacham could hardly have wished for a more full-throated commendation of the career path she had chosen, helping reconstruct education and social relations for Black Americans in the U.S. South. </p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26Y0wb5Yxfg2a-TkEuoKaTVLar3kt-R-RpmgdyimEuMb7-K5WjAGk_QEkjyNF4PYgs4jD-2xQ1fMUUri5DbfMJMhofqYFHm3axLBEABtP91W_rfWr7h50xo8ay3NsnBFzmOvYdMYZC6pa3hkq2bTs99HW2ITZUlNSrDrj-Bx3B3zk680Mt51J822wrGU-/s1288/1966AlumniAwardWinners%20copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="1288" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26Y0wb5Yxfg2a-TkEuoKaTVLar3kt-R-RpmgdyimEuMb7-K5WjAGk_QEkjyNF4PYgs4jD-2xQ1fMUUri5DbfMJMhofqYFHm3axLBEABtP91W_rfWr7h50xo8ay3NsnBFzmOvYdMYZC6pa3hkq2bTs99HW2ITZUlNSrDrj-Bx3B3zk680Mt51J822wrGU-/s320/1966AlumniAwardWinners%20copy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of 1966 Grinnell College Alumni Award Winners; Bessie Meacham front row, middle<br />(<i>Alumni Scarlet and Black </i>July-August 1966)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">When contacted in spring 1966 by the college alumni office with news that she had been nominated for an alumni award, Bessie Meacham responded humbly: "I shall try to tell you of my life's work, although it may not sound very glamorous," she wrote. Summarizing her forty years at Black schools in the South, Meacham declined to characterize her "contribution to the education of the present generation of Negro youth," as the alumni office had evidently requested. "I have not been the kind of person who turns the world upside down," she concluded modestly (April 6, 1966 letter from Bessie K. Meacham to Mrs. Mullins, Alumni Award records, Grinnell College Office of Development and Alumni Relations). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The citation that accompanied her award at reunion in 1966, however, was more assertive, recognizing that Meacham had gone south "to help give negroes opportunity for education." "The benefits from her years of teaching," the citation continued, "are spread through many communities," including those at <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2023/01/when-grinnell-college-collaborated-with.html" target="_blank">LeMoyne College with which Grinnell was then exchanging students</a> ("Bessie K. Meacham, 1911," 1966 alumni citation, ibid.).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Neither George Herron nor Edward Steiner were around in 1966 to congratulate Meacham. But if they had been, these two giants of the Social Gospel would surely have praised her for taking her Christian faith deep into the heart of some of America's worst social ills. Her Christianity, although deeply pious, was also socially committed and intended to overturn the bias built into American racism.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-84789369304719241192023-10-10T05:46:00.033-07:002023-10-13T06:02:15.704-07:00Photography in Early Grinnell: A. L. Child's Studio and Art Rooms<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although early Grinnell, like much of the rest of the country, welcomed the industries that were remaking twentieth-century America, the local economy depended upon a handful of professionals and the small shops of salesmen and artisans. Among the most important of these were the photographers who, riding the wave of photographic innovation in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, introduced Grinnell residents to the expanding world of photographic representation. If today every owner of a smart phone can make a record of experience and image, in an earlier time a small cohort of photographers controlled and merchandised photography and its associated products, especially in America's small towns. Today's post examines the local history of photography in early Grinnell, concentrating upon the most successful and long-lived of those enterprises, the Child Studio and Art Rooms.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w0j5nrb6Xj6sl5W6Ur1U9P99a4zpkHfpEowGz5S4N4hn21qvW-D04Y3O8fvJDjdnWUTdcveGRVKeBg0Hxeyy4Oaut4lH2HwpTMQUMElk0tZH5faG8Sc27665CbHoYKSVV1izM9yUfpz7LgbuTOTXxGY7gNK_jkyLikcZE1VLBqSZ9BMqMTFT9piRuI0C/s902/ChildStudio.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="902" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w0j5nrb6Xj6sl5W6Ur1U9P99a4zpkHfpEowGz5S4N4hn21qvW-D04Y3O8fvJDjdnWUTdcveGRVKeBg0Hxeyy4Oaut4lH2HwpTMQUMElk0tZH5faG8Sc27665CbHoYKSVV1izM9yUfpz7LgbuTOTXxGY7gNK_jkyLikcZE1VLBqSZ9BMqMTFT9piRuI0C/s320/ChildStudio.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Glass Window From Child Art Studio, 909 Broad Street<br />(Rescued when the building was razed in 1974)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the small settlement of Grinnell was founded in the 1850s, commercial photographers were unusual in Iowa, only recently established as a state in the union. But with the quickening expansion of photography, especially on the heels of the Civil War, numbers rose across the Iowa prairie. According to one recent study, Iowa could claim 185 photographers in 1865, 223 in 1880, and more than 580 by 1900 (Mary Bennett, <i>An Iowa Album: A photographic history, 1860-1920 </i>[Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1990], 312).</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yiqsaZotx7dDFlehB4OSezX_yQT7LLP2dvml_1YjSCMtKREvxs2z88Tj2AgaQ5hvbj_YmUN7gFnByrVIr01uSXiJhU4tMzGmluUbGWxmkfHRIKDDARIzwm3qTD4R5uSkwNMNOhLzy5GujFo6i0dXtrkbrjjOgiQDfZyRFtIUq1w6oMBMt8yzkbTeJFxT/s592/GH18Oct1871Walker.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="592" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yiqsaZotx7dDFlehB4OSezX_yQT7LLP2dvml_1YjSCMtKREvxs2z88Tj2AgaQ5hvbj_YmUN7gFnByrVIr01uSXiJhU4tMzGmluUbGWxmkfHRIKDDARIzwm3qTD4R5uSkwNMNOhLzy5GujFo6i0dXtrkbrjjOgiQDfZyRFtIUq1w6oMBMt8yzkbTeJFxT/s320/GH18Oct1871Walker.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>Advertisement in <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>October 18, 1871<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Grinnell gained its first photographer when <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27664604/charles-leonard-walker" target="_blank">Charles L. Walker (1835-1900)</a> came to town. Born and raised in rural New Hampshire, Walker abandoned his home turf for New York and later Connecticut where he took up photography, doing some of his work during the Civil War. After a brief spell in Wisconsin, Walker arrived in Grinnell no later than August 1870 when he appeared in that year's census, describing himself as a "Photo Artist." Very soon Walker opened on Broad Street what seems to have been the town's first photography studio and "art gallery" (<i>GH </i>2/1/1871).</span></p><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgyqvXRmtKdsFF2h8U3has9_MglRrl-qLnZfZfrRrOqR8PPoDI2UR9sanuw8iO1NLK6DR8FWd4o6X7Lf7AYGI91IxuAvnpQCOgk4_ZndvSSYgtnlTy9aE5w7XSd9xnlrRfSr7nZjuL6jAhRQK8DXyvJ05J9NFfjn_u9wmWAXB-Hi_I5fcDuMsyiBd51Fo/s1280/HatchBldg.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1280" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgyqvXRmtKdsFF2h8U3has9_MglRrl-qLnZfZfrRrOqR8PPoDI2UR9sanuw8iO1NLK6DR8FWd4o6X7Lf7AYGI91IxuAvnpQCOgk4_ZndvSSYgtnlTy9aE5w7XSd9xnlrRfSr7nZjuL6jAhRQK8DXyvJ05J9NFfjn_u9wmWAXB-Hi_I5fcDuMsyiBd51Fo/s320/HatchBldg.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1890s photo of Hatch Building, SW corner of Main and 4th Ave.<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A11255)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">If Walker was Grinnell's first photographer, he soon had company and commercial competition. No later that 1887 W. F. Stallings (1854-1940) had set up shop in the Hatch Building at 4th and Main. By 1895 Stallings had disappeared, relocating to Des Moines, but <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/K/KesterJohnW.pdf" target="_blank">J. W. Kester (1868-1953)</a> established his photography studio at Park and 3rd, opposite <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6377" target="_blank">Chapin House</a>. At about the same time <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149495369/john-milton-stonestreet" target="_blank">J. M. Stonestreet (1862-1942)</a> was running his photography business from 802 4th Avenue, announcing himself as the successor to Stallings. </span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmf4oIiP9ARaygqE39FWoZ_vzhDvbg1kSWqDHHnToVtfX0f7Eh6GHUv7676wJwKp-TqVWEVV1s0eJjZghMHk4Lh6PJve_dD3O5FlYkZgpUuVppclA4AHz9CiziA--_3u2ECQtxwuDyINPO_kS_hsEOcHrZ3hxsZ_Q-neQ-b0Wt_oA2Qr8n79R6D9YO8QWL/s1236/StallingStonestreetAdUndated.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="1236" height="74" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmf4oIiP9ARaygqE39FWoZ_vzhDvbg1kSWqDHHnToVtfX0f7Eh6GHUv7676wJwKp-TqVWEVV1s0eJjZghMHk4Lh6PJve_dD3O5FlYkZgpUuVppclA4AHz9CiziA--_3u2ECQtxwuDyINPO_kS_hsEOcHrZ3hxsZ_Q-neQ-b0Wt_oA2Qr8n79R6D9YO8QWL/s320/StallingStonestreetAdUndated.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Advertisement taken from an undated (1890s?) Stonestreet Photograph<br />(https://www.etsy.com/listing/959110732/victorian-albumen-portrait-photograph)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Evidently Grinnell business was not sufficient to keep Stonestreet in Grinnell, so that sometime before 1900 he transferred his business to Marshalltown (<i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican, </i>March 20, 1900). For a time W. B. Brooks took over the Stonestreet Studio but the 1905 city directory has John Kester working from this address, so Brooks must have moved on.</span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqJq6HnAFQf725o10p8KFGk6XfM2-G8FbjBO_xFGGEj3aH2EPt0AsMFGrxFLagVtvrWAYFt9-u1YlOe84NMbzj3fnXg9RoTlgjdszR0Ed9P-6nrNrtePwON04ePo_vLOGcXjwBJWiIMI1MYaHue1tCyCXueon4xjWY1E99V9ZfVlq-obJLQr-UwrE6GmM/s760/Stonestreet,%201895.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="648" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqJq6HnAFQf725o10p8KFGk6XfM2-G8FbjBO_xFGGEj3aH2EPt0AsMFGrxFLagVtvrWAYFt9-u1YlOe84NMbzj3fnXg9RoTlgjdszR0Ed9P-6nrNrtePwON04ePo_vLOGcXjwBJWiIMI1MYaHue1tCyCXueon4xjWY1E99V9ZfVlq-obJLQr-UwrE6GmM/s320/Stonestreet,%201895.png" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1895 Photograph of J. M. Stonestreet (1862-1942)<br />(Bennett, <i>An Iowa Album, </i>p. 313)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">All these photographers played a part in memorializing the people and places of early Grinnell. But none was so influential or long-lasting as Arthur Child and his studio on Broad Street.</span></div></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: left;">.</span>###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arthur Child began his apprenticeship in photography by fulfilling minor errands for Walker, but by the time he acquired his uncle's business (probably sometime in early 1880 as Child advertisements begin to appear in the <i>Grinnell Herald</i> then; L. F. Parker contends that Child bought the business in 1881 [<i>History of Poweshiek County Iowa</i>, 2 vols. (Chicago, 1911), 2:696) he had developed an expansive appreciation for the enterprise. Not long after having taken over Walker's studio, Child made plans to erect a new building to replace Walker's premises. Constructed of brick with a stone front, the new block—on which Child's name was carved near the peak—rose three stories and measured twenty-two feet wide and seventy feet deep. Complimenting Child on his plans, the <i>Herald </i>anticipated "the finest gallery in the county" (8/1/1884).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOxknhuCzYcEmaRnz6goeiZUFiWN65jbpDOvvCKVQ6oyYTxs-WLtgp0QIq3ARBZUZpt9HCtxzJyOWPPlSg6LIom2Z5k9Fb7L5sCX953gRLLVpfh64DxvtPBOV5ZsyH3zTs1HhcZ1g-IicHZTlQB3fBHzRC2T9VQYgii7mZVS69yvzhENKYHWZvHNkJJB4/s924/ChildArtRoomsBroadStPic1974.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuOxknhuCzYcEmaRnz6goeiZUFiWN65jbpDOvvCKVQ6oyYTxs-WLtgp0QIq3ARBZUZpt9HCtxzJyOWPPlSg6LIom2Z5k9Fb7L5sCX953gRLLVpfh64DxvtPBOV5ZsyH3zTs1HhcZ1g-IicHZTlQB3fBHzRC2T9VQYgii7mZVS69yvzhENKYHWZvHNkJJB4/s320/ChildArtRoomsBroadStPic1974.png" width="186" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of 1974 William Oelke Photograph of 909 Broad, Taken Just Before the Child Building Was Razed<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A11242)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">From the start Child, like his uncle before him, viewed his enterprise as more than a photography studio, as the words "Art Rooms" decorating the building's second-story face implied. Initially occupying the second and third floors, Child established a richly-appointed gallery on the 2nd floor. The room facing the street was "finished in hard wood—cherry, red oak, and ash, with an open fireplace, cherry mantel, and a mantel top mirror." Changing rooms stood adjacent, just west, separated by colored and ground glass. Behind them lay a skylight room, sixteen by thirty-two, "nicely fitted up"; it was here that Child did most of his studio photography (<i>GH </i>11<i>/</i>11/1884). Later newspaper reports indicated that Child periodically acquired thematic scenes against which to position the subjects of his camera.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Darkrooms featured "a complete system of water works, and everything is conveniently arranged," the newspaper hummed. Child devoted the third floor—later to be converted to apartments—to printing (ibid.). Reports describe the gallery as "cheery," not least because Child kept the fire burning constantly in the fireplace. A selection of Child's photographs decorated the walls, showing off "the skill of the artist" (<i>GH </i>12/19/1884). As soon as Grinnell embarked upon a system of city water and sewer, Child added "an elaborate marble lavatory in the ladies' dressing room," giving the business a "decidedly metropolitan" flavor (<i>GH </i>10/23/94). Probably the most noticed addition to the building came from the photographer's father who in December 1898 anticipated Christmas by giving his son a "beveled plate-glass front door for his new art rooms with his trade mark autograph ground on the glass" (<i>GH </i>12/13/98; see illustration at head of this post).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The impressively outfitted studio attracted attention well beyond Broad Street, Grinnell. An 1899 issue of </span><i>Wilson's Photography Magazine, </i><span>for instance, offered detailed congratulations to the Grinnell photographer. </span></span></div><div><span><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The exhibition room is 22 x 35 feet, and has a large plate-glass window for outside display. The walls are hung with Egyptian burlap, surmounted by a deep cornice in Flemish oak, giving the room a sombre but rich appearance. The reception room, 25 x 16 feet, is separated from the foregoing by continuing the cornice across the ceiling, supported by four Ionic columns, pedestals at each side of the entrance displaying statues of the Winged Victory and Venus di Milo. The reception room walls are furnished with trophies of ancient armor...,The dressing rooms are draped with red and white stuffs...The operating room is 22 x 35 feet, giving a good range for all classes of work. The skylight is a single slant light of unusual size, glazed with ground glass. The walls are hung with striped olive and cream draperies, and the woodwork is of mahogany. The dark rooms, printing and finishing departments are conveniently arranged with full equipments for good work. The place is lighted by electric light, and all the departments are united by speaking tubes and bells (v. 36[1899]:46).</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><div><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHT5L_81a1ldRUrRha2vKNx1ji4GHRrYITEhIMac-k_jH6_ysU4rsemuM4vPKgX7aV730EjKl9IuWK4dTqxfmJxKQEdmDTr1qvYg1hQEWv78mrAEREUBDoubDN2zhp-BKOMD1dKXE9hZFnFGloY_Ex_XL7_vEI8B-vOUgQJ7h0I5lXCR-2Kq0QHyjyTDs_/s800/ChildArtRoom.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="800" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHT5L_81a1ldRUrRha2vKNx1ji4GHRrYITEhIMac-k_jH6_ysU4rsemuM4vPKgX7aV730EjKl9IuWK4dTqxfmJxKQEdmDTr1qvYg1hQEWv78mrAEREUBDoubDN2zhp-BKOMD1dKXE9hZFnFGloY_Ex_XL7_vEI8B-vOUgQJ7h0I5lXCR-2Kq0QHyjyTDs_/s320/ChildArtRoom.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Child Art Rooms Before 1907 Fire<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>April 26, 1907)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Reading this description of Victorian overkill today gives rise to fears of fire, and fire did indeed break out on April 25th, 1907</span>. According to next day's newspaper, the late-night fire turned the once elegant, richly-appointed studio into a "smoke-begrimed and water soaked ruin." Although some of the oldest photographic plates stored on the third floor survived, "cameras and all the fine stock of art goods were practically ruined, the plate glass windows cracked and the entire interior blackened and damaged so as to require rebuilding" (<i>GH </i>4/26/1907). It is easy to believe, as reportage in the Marshalltown <i>Evening Times-Republican </i>claimed, that the highly flammable materials on the walls—burlap, photographic backgrounds, pictures—contributed to the rapid spread of the flames (4/26/1907).</div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span>In attempts to calm fears of long-time customers, Child reported that, although there were losses among his photographic negatives, he still had some 35,000 negatives that were spared by the fire and therefore he would be able to make prints for most of his clients (<i>GH </i>5/28/1907). Even while rebuilding after the fire, Child worked ever more energetically at succeeding in business. As before, he enthusiastically urged sales of Kodak and Brownie cameras (<i>GH </i>3/31/1916), extending to amateurs the possibility of producing their own photographs. To draw the public into his studio, Child occasionally invited guest artists for special exhibitions, as when he had <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/27/ParksJohnNewton.pdf" target="_blank">John Newton Parks (1848-1925)</a> exhibit portraits of a half-dozen Grinnell worthies (including J. B. Grinnell, Grinnell College presidents Magoun, <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/faulconer-art%3A2555" target="_blank">Bradley</a>, and <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/faulconer-art%3A2560" target="_blank">Main</a>, and <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/faulconer-art%3A2557" target="_blank">Rev. T. O. Douglass</a>) (<i>GH </i>2/1/1918). Another window exhibit featured photographs of "Grinnell soldiers in many styles and sizes," a display that the newspaper judged "worth going some distance to see" (<i>GH </i>10/4/1918). In a 1921 report Child told of having discovered among his archive of negatives a photograph of some thirty-two Grinnell pioneers which he displayed in the windows of the first floor where he now headquartered his business (<i>GH </i>8/12/1921). A couple of years later the <i>Grinnell Herald </i>told of Child's recovery of negatives depicting the consequences of the 1882 cyclone (9/7/1923). In short, the Child Studio had become the photographic archive of early Grinnell.</span></div></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxakqjQav0FoyGcjyhvBj0tmOXZE-WzGmEOQBMl2HSVtGqEKvgSVcnFu05fwshkVg2o5Dzj_LMhBnCUMjjx50hDrDtZtpdQ3uTnSGoEujaQaxJrzzOhTR1mhXhPQNImRVMNRVC9gBaYnEX_WHBQDFoBXrnEfyU0uqqaPR-blEEF2s5D8-xLggP9GRt8-DE/s584/3HGH21Dec1897ChildStudioAd.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="584" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxakqjQav0FoyGcjyhvBj0tmOXZE-WzGmEOQBMl2HSVtGqEKvgSVcnFu05fwshkVg2o5Dzj_LMhBnCUMjjx50hDrDtZtpdQ3uTnSGoEujaQaxJrzzOhTR1mhXhPQNImRVMNRVC9gBaYnEX_WHBQDFoBXrnEfyU0uqqaPR-blEEF2s5D8-xLggP9GRt8-DE/s320/3HGH21Dec1897ChildStudioAd.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement in <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>December 21, 1897<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite the lettering upon the face of his building and the array of art supplies, picture frames, cameras and other goods (including, bizarrely, "golf goods" [<i>GH </i>4/16/1915]), in the years before 1900 advertisements for the business routinely described it as "The Child Studio." At about the same time, Child began advertising in the college newspaper (<i>S&B </i>10/16/1897). More than that, he seems to have cornered the market on all photographs placed in the college yearbook, the beginning of that collection of negatives that came to encompass almost everyone who attended the college before 1935. A notice in the April 21, 1900 issue of the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>asked all seniors to "call at once at the Child Studio for sittings in order that orders for albums may be filled." Brief notes in the campus newspaper in 1905 asked members of the Chrestomathian Society (2/18) and the basketball team (3/1) to convene at Child's studio for photographs. Similar notes appeared periodically later, but only in 1922 did the campus newspaper announce that "a contract has been made with the Child studios for all the pictures for the Cyclone," asking that the entire Junior class appear at the studio (in alphabetic order as organized by the <i>Cyclone</i> editors [10/11/1922]). Schedules arranging sittings for all campus groups also appeared in the <i>Scarlet and Black.</i></span></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-size: medium;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgMS2M6hm5IXHBdVUCJreJPcnteKt6zvjOA6KQ3pC5qxPtnUw6qVr-S6xMbl0DY-hcMXqK5PAGdB51J8kRdwxo0Ts6ojhGDqlEpleZdPnUtWLb1P5KlwuGYmOjs4okrYYE071c_PkEPPF979rPspDin2vyVinWzF03FezySYsI3vOVf_SEJ25oA3WNCvo/s516/21S&B9Dec1922YrbkPix.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="438" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmgMS2M6hm5IXHBdVUCJreJPcnteKt6zvjOA6KQ3pC5qxPtnUw6qVr-S6xMbl0DY-hcMXqK5PAGdB51J8kRdwxo0Ts6ojhGDqlEpleZdPnUtWLb1P5KlwuGYmOjs4okrYYE071c_PkEPPF979rPspDin2vyVinWzF03FezySYsI3vOVf_SEJ25oA3WNCvo/s320/21S&B9Dec1922YrbkPix.png" width="272" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice in <i>Scarlet and Black, </i>December 9, 1922<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div></span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>No later than 1890 Child also managed to acquire at least some of the photographic business at Grinnell High School. A notice from June 3rd of that year told newspaper readers that Child had taken the picture of the high school graduates (<i>GH </i>6/3/1890). Over and above all this, of course, Child Studio hosted photography sittings for the distinguished men and women of town.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3BT410kt2iPaRPZNhuGKtuRVtuJimXl_vOnkPSao5zcswANV_feLIYeKYC01bdFNNccGfVKMrUdcSlOOPPwhJdx2lB-LMxkueJaRWLqHBs5kcti0pFbrYccGAR53drwfbNN9N4qUNgdVqLAtQZaveU9yPc4zqZ3WYLdKjcL9-Hy55Xv3V9Qj_DESfal_/s1280/EarlySettlers.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="837" data-original-width="1280" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3BT410kt2iPaRPZNhuGKtuRVtuJimXl_vOnkPSao5zcswANV_feLIYeKYC01bdFNNccGfVKMrUdcSlOOPPwhJdx2lB-LMxkueJaRWLqHBs5kcti0pFbrYccGAR53drwfbNN9N4qUNgdVqLAtQZaveU9yPc4zqZ3WYLdKjcL9-Hy55Xv3V9Qj_DESfal_/s320/EarlySettlers.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1880s (?) Photograph of Early Grinnell Settlers<br />Front row: Ed Wright; Caerlis Fisher, R. M. Kellogg, Levi Grinnell; Back row: Henderson Herrick, W. M. Sargent, and Ezra Grinnell<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A12830)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>###</span></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Despite all this success, Child's operation of studio and art rooms did not proceed without interruption. As newspaper reports indicate, Child's health occasionally compromised the attention he could devote to the business. Soon after having purchased his uncle's enterprise, Child fell so ill that he felt obliged to spend time in Colorado, from which he returned in September 1883, "much improved in health" (<i>Signal </i>9/22/1883). About eighteen months later another newspaper article announced that Child "was able to come out Saturday for the first time in several weeks." Without identifying the illness, the report told readers that the "swelling just beneath his jaw has not yet entirely disappeared, but we are glad to note his improved condition" (<i>GH </i>3/17/1885). The following winter brought more health concerns; this time the newspaper identified the illness as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532247/" target="_blank">erysipelas</a>, a skin infection that often affects the lower extremities and face. According to the newspaper, Child had "a serious time of it with this disease" (<i>GH </i>2/16/1886). Apparently things got so bad that Child withdrew from the business for a year or more, calling his uncle back to duty before resuming work himself </span>(<i>GH</i> 1/24/1890).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The health crises may explain why in spring 1891 Child announced that he had "associated himself" with Mr. E. S. Gardner, who took over most of the photographic work (with the assistance of John Kester) while Child would have "more time to devote to copying, pastel work and crayon drawing for which he is justly famous" (<i>GH</i> 4/17/1891). I could find no record of how long this arrangement lasted, but apparently Child soon reassumed full control.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijk9znopGlo9fYgXGcA_LDFBHOh417G7WMPTCMCNJqZSsEnXHKqevK_E667GB5CMBP20tcAKc9wxxHrZsphduxCXhaXezin31iNNSpUvuSl7EO1n-B0g0bwL0M2XCLnpjPtNkjAHA_mO3VNqoLrgIDIQm-COoYbcoiU63jEiry7W2cCCkuOwAvRt1G2wZf/s1280/Mrs.%20A.%20L.%20Child.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="887" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijk9znopGlo9fYgXGcA_LDFBHOh417G7WMPTCMCNJqZSsEnXHKqevK_E667GB5CMBP20tcAKc9wxxHrZsphduxCXhaXezin31iNNSpUvuSl7EO1n-B0g0bwL0M2XCLnpjPtNkjAHA_mO3VNqoLrgIDIQm-COoYbcoiU63jEiry7W2cCCkuOwAvRt1G2wZf/s320/Mrs.%20A.%20L.%20Child.jpeg" width="222" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Ella Worsham Child (1859-1928)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A13080)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>As his business prospered, Child also succeeded in his private life. In 1885 he married <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/ChildEllaS.pdf" target="_blank">Ella Worsham (1859-1928)</a> who, having studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, was then working in Child's studio as a retoucher. To this union were born two children: <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/M/MathewsMaudeC.pdf" target="_blank">Maude (1887-1974) </a>and Arthur L., Jr. (1899-1979). </span></span><span>For this growing family in 1890 Child built a lovely new home. Described as a Victorian cottage, the Child home at 1226 Broad Street earned much local praise, but also gained unsolicited compliments from a visitor who wrote for the </span><i>Chicago Herald. </i><span>During a brief Grinnell sojourn in 1891 <a href="https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/graphic-part-iii-graphic-designers" target="_blank">Samuel T. Clover (1859-1934)</a>, who later gained fame as a graphic artist, described the Child Broad Street home as "the most beautiful cottage in Grinnell" (</span><i>GH </i><span>7/10/1891), praise that resonated with the photographer's local reputation.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-9yCuh-hGebnnPOzIR78UX_6S0L2VDCTSxybGTHm6P-WU-_HEsFpk3OaMOLvA-Zi03GfiJKUsdyVfg2L2JnKvlZ8PNjI61PCLyk4Mqp8LLCZzvTByvFdCWAM9PTbhmYCNW2IQ0XcL_evTjYI1Y7qP_xrkvOQv1GsZRLFxx3fHMcdPgtwxeYIHVZAqxAx/s1380/1226Broad.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1380" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-9yCuh-hGebnnPOzIR78UX_6S0L2VDCTSxybGTHm6P-WU-_HEsFpk3OaMOLvA-Zi03GfiJKUsdyVfg2L2JnKvlZ8PNjI61PCLyk4Mqp8LLCZzvTByvFdCWAM9PTbhmYCNW2IQ0XcL_evTjYI1Y7qP_xrkvOQv1GsZRLFxx3fHMcdPgtwxeYIHVZAqxAx/s320/1226Broad.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Undated photo of 1226 Broad Street, Grinnell<br />(https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/HistoricDistrictDigitalPhotos2013.pdf)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As Child approached his eightieth birthday, he decided to give up the business that he had kept alive in Grinnell for almost sixty years. In late spring 1935, local newspapers reported that Child had sold the photography business to <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73020617/ora-e-niffenegger" target="_blank">O. E. Niffenegger (1905-1992)</a>, who for some years had taught business courses at Grinnell High School (<i>1934 Grinnellian, </i>p. 7). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH-gSPbAS3JeI8yH6_0MsI6yhTilKfilVHM3TFHXOHj28APOdlxDJqSLb3CT7fhByH65OGIFl-qI7_U9F-mBky3OdYqwEXbfmP_9uC6Nrr3Ns2A1Q-JvSO0v16EJeUEpMmzEOszEnCstVcoHUdfJ6_jwURCpE4O5ucPv6G8lHYifQvq6ONfDDf3RjsqLa/s1594/IMG_0365.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="1149" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH-gSPbAS3JeI8yH6_0MsI6yhTilKfilVHM3TFHXOHj28APOdlxDJqSLb3CT7fhByH65OGIFl-qI7_U9F-mBky3OdYqwEXbfmP_9uC6Nrr3Ns2A1Q-JvSO0v16EJeUEpMmzEOszEnCstVcoHUdfJ6_jwURCpE4O5ucPv6G8lHYifQvq6ONfDDf3RjsqLa/s320/IMG_0365.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O. E. Niffeneger<br />(<i>1934 Grinnellian</i>, p. 7)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Child maintained ownership of the building, but Niffenegger took over the studio, retaining the name and taking possession of the entire stock of photographic negatives, said to number over 100,000 (</span><i>GH </i><span>May 28, 1935). Newspaper commentary alleged that Child had "taken pictures of virtually every resident of Grinnell" and "practically every student who graduated from Grinnell College." Since all these negatives would remain at the studio, anyone who wished to have a print of a portrait taken by Arthur Child could do so at the business on Broad Street, despite Child's retirement (ibid.; Drake Community Library Local History Archive [Collection #145] preserves more than 300 of Child's glass negatives ).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkclFjLPbaYnETrZTIPgzKD-Is74Xc4ruEGI523qfblpVDfiuW_NWtm1AOgjRabZEihM1Bp8QHoLDmiBBln8tuvcj4epxOY4IfdldhfaxMvb-fvDrzKtFBqrhFkXCQKlHo49qJF8rjRFh1Dy63Fl8ND6v9zy1SHuFMGBLn69P4vWOQyQUWoGLnav8ROMW/s600/NiffenIllust.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="600" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDkclFjLPbaYnETrZTIPgzKD-Is74Xc4ruEGI523qfblpVDfiuW_NWtm1AOgjRabZEihM1Bp8QHoLDmiBBln8tuvcj4epxOY4IfdldhfaxMvb-fvDrzKtFBqrhFkXCQKlHo49qJF8rjRFh1Dy63Fl8ND6v9zy1SHuFMGBLn69P4vWOQyQUWoGLnav8ROMW/s320/NiffenIllust.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>May 28, 1935<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Unfortunately, Niffenegger was not able to make a smooth transition from schoolyard to photography studio. Ten weeks after he gained possession of Child's business Niffenegger became the object of a restraining order filed by his wife, Virginia, a Grinnell school teacher who charged her husband with cruelty and threats (</span><i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i><span>August 14, 1935). The following January, the couple divorced, Niffenegger having chosen not to contest the action (Iowa Divorce Records 1906-1937). Six months later Niffenegger remarried, taking as his bride <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/84924038/helen-irene-niffenegger" target="_blank">Helen West (1908-1997)</a>, a school teacher in Perry, Iowa (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>June 7, 1936).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmyidaGcpxr1PNQbjLHNxeBiiq_wN9gn3cs9m73qB4z7eKXqJbFo0VN1SHJ6Oc9FjTIqh6Rs5LOwz_m8uq_Qj9_LaEscwVIKcTdakbTAP_hHcN8giv8YWOzzqlJfz1UFMXSPA1tsNGod_7dHTTJvLkaYL0Am6zNkQM2T36ZfAFXjRsLzA1cWJG5p4PJQh/s842/48S&B8May1937NewOwners.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="704" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmyidaGcpxr1PNQbjLHNxeBiiq_wN9gn3cs9m73qB4z7eKXqJbFo0VN1SHJ6Oc9FjTIqh6Rs5LOwz_m8uq_Qj9_LaEscwVIKcTdakbTAP_hHcN8giv8YWOzzqlJfz1UFMXSPA1tsNGod_7dHTTJvLkaYL0Am6zNkQM2T36ZfAFXjRsLzA1cWJG5p4PJQh/s320/48S&B8May1937NewOwners.png" width="268" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Scarlet and Black, </i>May 8, 1937<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The twelve months that followed purchase of the Child business, filled as they were with marital conflict, cannot have helped Niffenegger gain control of his new enterprise, which may explain why in May 1937 he sold the business he had acquired less than two years earlier. As newspapers reported, Roger Lee Preston (1898-1961), a 1918 graduate of Grinnell High School and a 1922 graduate of Grinnell College, acquired title to Child Art Rooms. Unlike Niffenegger, Preston almost immediately changed the name of the business to "Roger Preston Studio (Formerly Child Art Rooms)" (</span><i>Scarlet and Black, </i><span>November 3, 1937), although he seems to have conducted the studio very much like his esteemed predecessor. An older brother, James Randall Preston, who himself had briefly operated a photo studio in Grinnell in the early 1920s but by 1937 was headquartered in Hollywood, assisted in organizing the new enterprise (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>May 6, 1937). By the time that 1950 census officials came to Grinnell, however, Preston had abandoned the studio, having taken a position instead in the "plastics dept" of a washing machine company. Roger Preston died in Grinnell in 1961 at age 62, and is <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69429807/roger-lee-preston" target="_blank">buried in Hazelwood Cemetery</a>.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Nno7fGI1NrZqSAVDZuN_4cgh-Lmy1F_9R5U4kNaA0Gu0Myk10_mr4wbEef3Mg9PHW-sp8uDIStrEMD7eq8I0iF1PVAVr1Y7K1bK-4sbNCowD0yWDCvqksp3Gd7S304i1e3O1CChr7nyozF206TeFgiVoNOJD383lhOKDso0CZZaR-d7H1RLUzjIMYz2o/s1199/PrestonRogerFindaGrave.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="937" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Nno7fGI1NrZqSAVDZuN_4cgh-Lmy1F_9R5U4kNaA0Gu0Myk10_mr4wbEef3Mg9PHW-sp8uDIStrEMD7eq8I0iF1PVAVr1Y7K1bK-4sbNCowD0yWDCvqksp3Gd7S304i1e3O1CChr7nyozF206TeFgiVoNOJD383lhOKDso0CZZaR-d7H1RLUzjIMYz2o/s320/PrestonRogerFindaGrave.jpg" width="250" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Undated Photograph of Roger Lee Preston (1898-1961)<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69429807/roger-lee-preston)<br /><br />###<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Before departing Grinnell for California in late 1935, Arthur Child was the center of an appreciative reception hosted by the new owner of Child Studio and Art Rooms. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2w6fWoKe25yyN83cZJKg2mYEkJue1rFLFpWMvu5z4okX3wECzRv9jRTr0F0hIdOw6fmfiCJYISUtsXxAXursQ3YJZdV1WNfIauWIDQ1ApTseyzSwV1q9jDIx-AQBB6n6ct734Eqmv2sWRfOV6R1pxUHob2fkDjLw2dsLbV7S5IZ4rPE3Qd2ELwaRCbrnf/s1280/IMG_0348%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="777" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2w6fWoKe25yyN83cZJKg2mYEkJue1rFLFpWMvu5z4okX3wECzRv9jRTr0F0hIdOw6fmfiCJYISUtsXxAXursQ3YJZdV1WNfIauWIDQ1ApTseyzSwV1q9jDIx-AQBB6n6ct734Eqmv2sWRfOV6R1pxUHob2fkDjLw2dsLbV7S5IZ4rPE3Qd2ELwaRCbrnf/s320/IMG_0348%202.jpeg" width="194" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspaper photograph of A. L. Child<br />(<i>GH</i> 10/15/1935)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Using the premises where for so many years Child had practiced his art and operated his business, Ora Niffenegger invited friends to share memories and to bestow upon the 80-year-old gentleman their best wishes. One of his business neighbors, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90058309/george-homer-hamlin" target="_blank">George H. Hamlin (1855-1945)</a>, offered the valedictory, lauding Child's history in Grinnell and describing his long-time friend as "An artist by profession...[and] a gentleman by nature." Hamlin then unveiled for the audience an enlargement of a favorite photograph of the photographer, intended to "hang in the Child Art Rooms" long after the subject left Grinnell (<i>GH </i>10/8/1935).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQMOTO8nRQeA3ak8XlHeoSpJf7A42CwI5ryyolCCss-6B0yhJsYJH4aBYHwCb6DWh8nuRPTZ1EvATr7ClmV1GUb-UKsxTjLhBMxD7OmZOlML0oZTOx7J8XF_Tu4dPtNtT0AWx23HRjX3VuFQg-Q6j5VDZxPtC7qpJdez71jvVm7nN4FAqQ-2Vt3auWy99/s800/27574281_121356911867.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXQMOTO8nRQeA3ak8XlHeoSpJf7A42CwI5ryyolCCss-6B0yhJsYJH4aBYHwCb6DWh8nuRPTZ1EvATr7ClmV1GUb-UKsxTjLhBMxD7OmZOlML0oZTOx7J8XF_Tu4dPtNtT0AWx23HRjX3VuFQg-Q6j5VDZxPtC7qpJdez71jvVm7nN4FAqQ-2Vt3auWy99/s320/27574281_121356911867.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone for Arthur Child Family, Hazelwood Cemetery<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27574281/arthur-leon-child)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Arthur Child did not long outlive this celebratory moment. In his winter residence in California Arthur Leon Child died in early January 1938. The Grinnell newspaper mourned the departure of "one of Grinnell's old guard" who "for a great many years...interpreted the life of Grinnell through the lens of his camera" (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>1/13/38). A memorial service in North Hollywood brought together "children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, cousins and many old Grinnell friends." As the newspaper remarked, "It was extraordinary that such a reunion was possible in California of a family whose roots had been so deeply sunk in Grinnell" (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register</i> 3/14/1938). Child's body was returned to Grinnell in March for burial in Hazelwood where a remarkable, multi-colored stone now marks the grave of Grinnell's longest-serving photographer whose photographs—beginning with glass plates and then in every new stage of photography—documented the people and places of early Grinnell.</div><span><br /></span></span><p></p></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-6030647251618408792023-08-20T07:05:00.038-07:002023-08-26T06:53:36.060-07:00When Grinnell College Pursued Affirmative Action....<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The recent <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf" target="_blank">Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action</a> has understandably generated much comment. An <a href="https://www.grinnell.edu/messages/response-supreme-court-decision-affirmative-action" target="_blank">official statement from Grinnell College</a> took issue with the decision, and pledged to continue to value "diversity, equity and inclusion" as the college moves forward.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbzfNdwjNWRuNCfM_uKbAUbjbFbz6lL-GUDeudiX-jvbEwMWTUcb6VMdUStwGm9_nQ-_U7Sjr7KuBxOlS8UtavB_GI2_lK2Lkp2D5SMMLeJ0Tzbd5144m8gswuEslbko0DUI7Z84_gc5OTZHtGETG14R0aR2Na9A-AjXZrMwFEMMJfZQbC17B5ob95Nwy/s1044/GraphBlacksByYear.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1044" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBbzfNdwjNWRuNCfM_uKbAUbjbFbz6lL-GUDeudiX-jvbEwMWTUcb6VMdUStwGm9_nQ-_U7Sjr7KuBxOlS8UtavB_GI2_lK2Lkp2D5SMMLeJ0Tzbd5144m8gswuEslbko0DUI7Z84_gc5OTZHtGETG14R0aR2Na9A-AjXZrMwFEMMJfZQbC17B5ob95Nwy/s320/GraphBlacksByYear.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Source: Unofficial Tally by the Author, using Yearbooks, Herd Books, and Other Records<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">What may surprise commentators is how far back in the college's history affirmative action goes. No later than immediately after World War I Grinnell College sought <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-sears-roebuck-helped-bring-black.html" target="_blank">funding from the Rosenwald Foundation to enroll and finance Black students</a>, a project that ran out of steam (and money) by 1925. <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2021/08/when-grinnell-college-had-black.html" target="_blank">Afterwards only a few Black students enrolled at the College</a>. Then again in 1964, thanks to funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, Grinnell College, along with a handful of other liberal arts institutions, received $275,000 each to help recruit and finance minority students. This initiative, renewed in 1967, led to the first significant increase in Black enrollment at Grinnell College. Today's post examines how this second attempt at affirmative action changed the face of Grinnell College's student population and contributed to a generation of influential Black leaders.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1964 the Rockefeller Foundation selected seven liberal arts colleges "to discover talented Negro and other minority group students," providing $275,000 each "to improve the quality of [minority students'] undergraduate education." Grinnell was one of the colleges to receive this funding on a three-year trial. "Enduring gains in equality of opportunity for American Negroes and other minority groups in our society depend on improved education at all grade levels and in all parts of the country," the grant announcement said (<a href="https://rockarch.org/" target="_blank">Rockefeller Archive Center</a>, RF RG.1.7 Series 200, Box 789). A specific ambition was the "improvement of education for those Negroes and other minority group members who are more likely to be...outstanding leaders among their own groups and in the nation. For this purpose special efforts are required to provide enlarged opportunities and increased encouragement for Negro and other students of high potential to benefit from the best that our system of higher education has to offer" (ibid.).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Foundation announcement observed that the grantee institutions (Antioch, Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, Occidental, Reed, and Swarthmore) </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">have been admitting and assisting Negro students over varying periods of time. All have undertaken in recent years more active programs to identify and enroll talented minority group students. All are allocating increased funds from their own budgets to intensify efforts and to provide the extra level of financial assistance which Negro and other minority group students require to a greater extent than the other students in these colleges. Each of the colleges has approached the Foundation for assistance to enable it to enlarge and intensify its efforts to visit Negro high schools in its area, identify talented students and provide such assistance as is required to assure their full and successful participation in the college. Special emphasis in the program would be devoted to Negroes, but other needy minority group students would not be excluded....The aim of the program at each college would be to increase the flow of Negro and other minority group students through these colleges at outstanding levels of performance and to develop the procedures necessary to attain this objective (ibid.).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The bulk of each Rockefeller Foundation grant ($240,000) went toward student financial assistance at an average level of $2000 a year throughout the four undergraduate years for a total of 30 students recruited during the three years of the trial program. The grants awarded another $35,000 toward increased "efforts to locate and recruit qualified Negro and other minority group students" along with whatever additional programming and counseling might be necessary to guarantee success of the recruited students (ibid.).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A 1967 renewal sent another $275,000 to each of the seven liberal arts colleges. The renewal depended upon the Foundation's finding that the select colleges "have widened their contacts with high schools enrolling many minority-group students," resulting in a "significant" increase in applications from and rising enrollment of "Negro and other minority students. At Grinnell this enrollment has increased since 1964 from seven to fifty-three" (ibid.). The Foundation reported that, despite numerous economic and social disadvantages, the minority recruits, "with very few exceptions,...are succeeding in college, some with excellent records," beginning what officials hoped would be a "growing and permanent flow of minority-group graduates from these colleges" (ibid.).</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIs7Ud06U_BXQ3WGbSxy6NSUVsqutfRGTlOcIAXlctzSxmmi9drn2L3l_cEpFLyqyVLydZsR7rj35-Ii46z4jyunyh45YuAyYoioKxblPgf101upIxAAF8rRpOYnrBMtBLRB9LBxkHrYu34wdUkVz63nb6lElIOfSV9iPOF73VqyNmCbH2CVfrywHmBxy/s540/Tocus1950Cyclone.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="378" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIs7Ud06U_BXQ3WGbSxy6NSUVsqutfRGTlOcIAXlctzSxmmi9drn2L3l_cEpFLyqyVLydZsR7rj35-Ii46z4jyunyh45YuAyYoioKxblPgf101upIxAAF8rRpOYnrBMtBLRB9LBxkHrYu34wdUkVz63nb6lElIOfSV9iPOF73VqyNmCbH2CVfrywHmBxy/s320/Tocus1950Cyclone.png" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edward Tocus (1950 Grinnell College <i>Cyclone</i>)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span>Even before Grinnell accepted the Rockefeller Foundation grant and while the numbers of Black students at Grinnell were trifling, the college enrolled Blacks whose careers made them into models of excellence that the Foundation grant hoped to multiply. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ivntHEqxlJUC&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=problems+of+drug+dependence,++j.+michael+morrison+award&source=bl&ots=k37gyWaiBS&sig=ACfU3U1xdR6xzi0_bltOSw6ddnjSVfHU0w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwib_PmxobuAAxWeg4QIHW72DcUQ6AF6BAgeEAM#v=onepage&q=problems%20of%20drug%20dependence%2C%20%20j.%20michael%20morrison%20award&f=false" target="_blank">Edward C. Tocus '50 (1925- )</a>, for example, began college at Iowa State in 1942, but two years later enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. After the war, he transferred to Grinnell and later obtained graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and fashioned a distinguished career with the Food and Drug Administration. </span><span><a href="https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/andrew-billingsley" target="_blank">Andrew Billingsley '51 (1926- )</a>, who transferred into Grinnell from the Hampton Institute, became a prolific and respected sociologist who later served as provost of Howard University and then president of Morgan State College. <a href="https://www.grinnell.edu/user/austin" target="_blank">Robert F. Austin '54 </a>was one of the country's leading experts in pediatric hematology.</span><span> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/12/obituaries/donald-stewart-dead.html" target="_blank">Donald M. Stewart '59</a> took degrees in political science and public administration at Yale and Harvard before serving as President of Spelman College for ten years, later heading the College Board for twelve years. </span><span><a href="https://www.herbiehancock.com/biography-full-page/" target="_blank">Herbie Hancock</a> graduated from Grinnell in 1960 and embarked upon an outstanding career in music performance and composition.</span><span> </span><span><a href="https://alumni.grinnell.edu/file/1961-memoriam/1961_obit_henry_mccollough.pdf" target="_blank">Henry "Hank" G. L. McCullough '61</a> was among the first Blacks to work in nuclear science and engineering for NASA, later serving as nuclear energy advisor to President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George W. Bush. <a href="https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/james-h-lowry" target="_blank">James H. Lowry '61</a> took a Master's in Public International Affairs and became the first African American recruit for McKinsey Consulting, later founding his own consulting firm.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0n1gSx-b9BQuMFcpQehya4MxoRh72HJgnqkwDhcxwPUOQq15j2AD6uFr4jpKjMfFYtcWzXtm8gGEbMB-OkDnUR60tfRMMoem3uMousSZvkZvi8Emm_RbksfKWk5nIlToFjW8Op_aTJZvCfsc3AuE0OhTg_bg0p67hR1gy4BPPbM5uGIQPmmNYefFUBl1/s1198/Dr.%20Morgan%202020%20Headshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="736" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0n1gSx-b9BQuMFcpQehya4MxoRh72HJgnqkwDhcxwPUOQq15j2AD6uFr4jpKjMfFYtcWzXtm8gGEbMB-OkDnUR60tfRMMoem3uMousSZvkZvi8Emm_RbksfKWk5nIlToFjW8Op_aTJZvCfsc3AuE0OhTg_bg0p67hR1gy4BPPbM5uGIQPmmNYefFUBl1/s320/Dr.%20Morgan%202020%20Headshot.jpg" width="197" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Randall Morgan, Jr. '65<br />(https://www.thecobbinstitute.org/randall-c-morgan-jr-m-d-m-b-a)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><a href="https://www.thecobbinstitute.org/randall-c-morgan-jr-m-d-m-b-a" target="_blank">Randall Morgan, Jr. '65</a> MD, MBA, is President and CEO of W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute in DC. An orthopedic surgeon for decades in Evanston, Illinois and Gary, Indiana, Morgan is President and Founder of University Park Orthopedics in Sarasota, Florida. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Moose" target="_blank">George Moose '66</a> pursued a career in diplomacy within the U.S. Department of State, serving as U.S. Ambassador to Benin and Senegal, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the European Office of the United Nations in Geneva, and Alternate Representative to the UN Security Council before being named Career Ambassador in 2002. </div><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><div>Numerous other Grinnell Black alums from the period before the Rockefeller grant fashioned sterling careers, often as the first Blacks in their professions. After receipt of the Rockefeller Foundation grant, Grinnell College not only enrolled more Blacks, but also continued to graduate Blacks who crafted careers that made them "outstanding in their own groups and in the nation," just as the Rockefeller grant had hoped.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJGjkaVVDKF7GCCO7ez_swA1AHpsW_doaSdR3sneuL9pa2CvVs8Dl1VVi6egtIOd-fS0xaeWYT5F9lgiVsPZFsEXAabmilFujYJW6Midbv3t0d1JMv56XrXZXaG84vJo-xV-8WMgt7u6vHI96-57nouc1jPzQaHzKnysbe2hEE2OdH7kJHyi0TfQQydxD/s280/Wingate,HenryT_0.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="280" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJGjkaVVDKF7GCCO7ez_swA1AHpsW_doaSdR3sneuL9pa2CvVs8Dl1VVi6egtIOd-fS0xaeWYT5F9lgiVsPZFsEXAabmilFujYJW6Midbv3t0d1JMv56XrXZXaG84vJo-xV-8WMgt7u6vHI96-57nouc1jPzQaHzKnysbe2hEE2OdH7kJHyi0TfQQydxD/s1600/Wingate,HenryT_0.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Judge Henry T. Wingate '69<br />(https://www.grinnell.edu/user/wingate)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><a href="https://www.vumc.org/radiology/sites/default/files/2021%20DEI%20Week%20Speaker%20Bio%20Bates.pdf" target="_blank">Sandra Bates '68</a>, for instance, was part of the first class financed by Rockefeller Foundation money. After Grinnell she studied medicine, and became the first Black woman to practice radiology in the state of Tennessee. In that same class, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeste-durant-212a99a4" target="_blank">Celeste Durant '68</a> took a journalism degree at Columbia University, and later became Director of Communications and Media Relations at Loyola University, Los Angeles. <a href="https://allsaintsascension.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/messenger-broadcast-apr-2018.pdf" target="_blank">Adrienne Lemmons '68</a> took an MBA from Boston University and held numerous leadership positions in business before deciding to pursue a vocation in the Episcopal Church. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Travillion_Wingate" target="_blank">Henry T. Wingate '69</a> enrolled in Yale Law School after Grinnell, then practiced law in Mississippi and in the U.S. Navy, later serving as Assistant District Attorney for the Seventh District Circuit Court of Mississippi and as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. In 1985 he was appointed to the bench of the Southern District Court of Mississippi, a position he continues to hold. <a href="https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/637750580/nationally-renowned-attorney-hubert-a-farbes-jr-joins-garnett-powell-maximon-barlow-as-partner" target="_blank">Hubert Farbes '69</a> also enrolled at Yale Law School and embarked upon a career in environmental law. He is now a partner in the Denver firm of Garnett Powell Maximom Barlow.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://milwaukeecourieronline.com/index.php/2010/05/28/milwaukees-own-gregory-milton-coggs-passes-away-at-the-age-of-61/" target="_blank">Gregory M. Coggs '70</a> won a Watson Fellowship after Grinnell, then entered the University of Michigan School of Law, but later changed course, enrolling in Midwestern Theological Seminary. <a href="https://m.facebook.com/people/Deborah-Green/100029081565368/" target="_blank">Deborah Green '70</a> left Grinnell for the University of Colorado Medical School, the beginning of a long and distinguished career in medicine. <a href="https://alumni.grinnell.edu/awards/2021-alumni-award-recipient-citations" target="_blank">Frances Gray '71</a> had an outstanding career as a pediatrician in Indianapolis, and also had a position on the faculty of the Indiana University School of Medicine. Beverly Oliver '71 who found Grinnell from Pennsylvania went on to become Regional Manager of the Department of Human Services' Bureau of Equal Opportunity for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5v-AwY0yP1-iC1NTbl7NzjnZqHX142Eih1CrQn1PuTi3lr0Zl_VNWRqz5HyCiWM2uV5mJc6VPrl3tt1lKOVrE0xgDVJ_iT9LRubBgjjpEvNO4qzx8qW8XguqmvnuTH7Lg1v_dmLpB-eE-pkOpivIRFRegek59QMTbGxekjcCm7liVcrzjNg0XCPhW5o3/s1198/Rep._Alan_Wheat.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="930" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5v-AwY0yP1-iC1NTbl7NzjnZqHX142Eih1CrQn1PuTi3lr0Zl_VNWRqz5HyCiWM2uV5mJc6VPrl3tt1lKOVrE0xgDVJ_iT9LRubBgjjpEvNO4qzx8qW8XguqmvnuTH7Lg1v_dmLpB-eE-pkOpivIRFRegek59QMTbGxekjcCm7liVcrzjNg0XCPhW5o3/s320/Rep._Alan_Wheat.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Congressman Alan Wheat (U.S. Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)<br />(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wheat)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Wheat" target="_blank">Alan Wheat '72</a> was elected to the Missouri General Assembly in 1975 and remained there until 1982 when he was elected to the U.S. Congress from Missouri. After twelve years in the House, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, but went on to hold leadership positions in CARE and in the 1996 reelection campaign of President Clinton. In 2021 he helped found Wheat Shroyer Government Relations, a public-service oriented lobbying firm in DC. <a href="https://law.scu.edu/bbic/" target="_blank">Allen Hammond '72 </a>was the first African American tenured at New York Law School, and went on to become professor of law at Santa Clara University School of Law. <a href="https://prabook.com/web/yvor_e.stoakley/2642593" target="_blank">Yvor Stoakley '72</a> took his JD from Northwestern University School of Law and has long practiced law in Illinois.</div></span></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4_1-IU8ty_wROxPGiA--WISBK4G_r1WcsvBQECdJHFBRIlfmiMwZNw8K3WvGpzMvhoE5wE6NN66zBzEjA_pokQmAU5XDtPJGSU6-WAod-QvRj1dPO5ekLTbnxe3EIclxMh82QJlQIiahUjuUNi-yctxdl9XjMyaMWaWkByDRQWUppbN-reaHKukuWjy_/s970/IMG_9475-768x970.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4_1-IU8ty_wROxPGiA--WISBK4G_r1WcsvBQECdJHFBRIlfmiMwZNw8K3WvGpzMvhoE5wE6NN66zBzEjA_pokQmAU5XDtPJGSU6-WAod-QvRj1dPO5ekLTbnxe3EIclxMh82QJlQIiahUjuUNi-yctxdl9XjMyaMWaWkByDRQWUppbN-reaHKukuWjy_/s320/IMG_9475-768x970.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Dr. Irma McClaurin <br />(https://irmamcclaurin.com/about/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://irmamcclaurin.com/about/" target="_blank">Irma McClaurin '73 </a> took graduate degrees in<span> anthropology, a subject she taught and in which she published; she also served as President of Shaw University and as Chief Diversity Officer for Teach for America. She later founded </span></span><span>the <a href="https://www.umass.edu/magazine/summer-2021/bfa" target="_blank">Black Femininist Archive</a> and the firm she continues to head, </span><span>Irma McClaurin Solutions. <a href="https://www.shb.com/professionals/g/gray-jon%20https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-jon-r-gray" target="_blank">Jon R. Gray '73</a> is a partner at Shook Hardy and Bacon in Kansas City, but previously served sixteen years as circuit judge in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of Missouri. <a href="https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/0000290339/" target="_blank">G. Barry Huff '73 </a>was president of Glory Foods, Inc. and held many other executive positions in business. <a href="https://www.newcomerdenver.com/obituary/47624/russell-n-mcgregor/denver-co" target="_blank">Russ McGregor '73</a> was the first African American to head Student Government at Grinnell, after which he held senior management positions in several telecommunications firms before founding his own company in 1992.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcri5X_YazoS3SvFtT-xoKpDHdOajcOU7sY4YUMDeXfYfbgBYLv5U3Fy3651hp0QpCBzNSGY-9_LzV2aIGasHyD3bw_ycb90gd73-dnurPoh8N5Y5cw1EyOcwCZ0vTpz-v3-fDQyw_Y_PHIYdSpCyP552NusHCyJ8XH91T7npSgUIpdzYGWJ0Rm2qvt591/s214/Pat-Swansey-copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="214" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcri5X_YazoS3SvFtT-xoKpDHdOajcOU7sY4YUMDeXfYfbgBYLv5U3Fy3651hp0QpCBzNSGY-9_LzV2aIGasHyD3bw_ycb90gd73-dnurPoh8N5Y5cw1EyOcwCZ0vTpz-v3-fDQyw_Y_PHIYdSpCyP552NusHCyJ8XH91T7npSgUIpdzYGWJ0Rm2qvt591/s1600/Pat-Swansey-copy.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photography of Patricia Swansey '74<br />(https://mlac.org/staff/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://mlac.org/staff/" target="_blank">Patricia Swansey '74</a> took a master's degree in nonprofit management from Brandeis University, later holding positions in Massachusetts state government, most recently heading the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation. <a href="https://www.miamidade.gov/chambergazette/fall2020/district-9-dennis-moss.page" target="_blank">Dennis Moss '74 </a>became involved in local government, becoming Miami-Dade County Commissioner. <a href="https://celestinebloomfield.wordpress.com/about-the-storytelle/" target="_blank">Celestine Bloomfield '74,</a> now retired, received an M.S. in library science from Case Western Reserve University, then held positions in libraries in Cleveland and Indiana, later becoming a consultant to the Indiana Department of Public Instruction and an instructor at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href=". https://www.linkedin.com/in/constance-tuck-jd-77544915" target="_blank">Constance Tuck '75</a> earned a law degree from Cleveland State University, then held several positions with the state of Minnesota, including Chief Equity and Development officer before her 2016 retirement. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B002VRSGJC/about" target="_blank">J. C. Woods '75</a> is an author and Episcopal priest. <a href="https://www.lib.niu.edu/1996/iht3196bc.html" target="_blank">Careda Rolland Taylor '76,</a> who received an MA in inner city studies at Northeastern Illinois University, is director of social studies and fine arts at Niles West High School in Skokie. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-stokes-phr-ipma-scp-shrm-cp-7b51a72b" target="_blank">Richard Stokes '76</a> took a masters in guidance and personnel services from the University of Memphis, then held human resources positions at the University of Tennessee, the Memphis Public Library, and</span> the city of Spring Hill, Tennessee. After a successful career as an executive for BP, <a href="https://fun4thedisabled.com/about/">Vanessa A. Harris PE '76</a> became Board Chairman as well as President of Strategy for Access Foundation.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmPGdmBC7A3EBqaFmnFOU5hF37jhBlEkTKUHSCVwXncohCfFnpdTVSj7byA2hbbtV6TZybGW149Js0nKizOG3JP1S4c0k2j52WZqow5oL7I9NHcpxur-FzJykH4qfsqhmBMkznnyYa1KSwLkWegClwHEjKi3MghXfTBJXiWkL0X_V8Wp7LwRnBAPFZAnH/s960/HarrisVanessa.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="794" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmPGdmBC7A3EBqaFmnFOU5hF37jhBlEkTKUHSCVwXncohCfFnpdTVSj7byA2hbbtV6TZybGW149Js0nKizOG3JP1S4c0k2j52WZqow5oL7I9NHcpxur-FzJykH4qfsqhmBMkznnyYa1KSwLkWegClwHEjKi3MghXfTBJXiWkL0X_V8Wp7LwRnBAPFZAnH/s320/HarrisVanessa.png" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Vanessa A. Harris '76<br />(https://fun4thedisabled.com/about/)<br /><br />###</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It would be easy to enlarge this list, which I compiled on the basis of a very unsystematic series of Google searches. But what this random selection of alumni careers demonstrates powerfully is that the Black men and women who came to Grinnell through the doors opened and financed by the Rockefeller Foundation initiative—clearly "affirmative action" before this term entered general discourse—have made a difference in their communities and in our world. All of us—white, Black, and brown—are the beneficiaries of the talent and labor that these Black Grinnell graduates brought to the world. Of course, had there been no Rockefeller Foundation initiative, talented Black men and women would have continued to enroll and graduate from Grinnell and from the other institutions involved in the Rockefeller Foundation grant. But the intentional commitment to recruit and finance Black students in the 1960s and 1970s greatly enlarged the number of such graduates and correspondingly expanded their impact in society, benefitting us all.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-89985833065123853152023-07-01T10:52:00.000-07:002023-07-01T10:52:55.934-07:00Black and White: 1940s Grinnell<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">1940s Grinnell was about as white as it had ever been. Several African American families still had homes in town, but as children left Grinnell and older family members passed away, the population of Blacks shrank. Altogether only about a dozen African Americans resided in 1940s Grinnell whose total population the 1940 US Census put at 5219.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Similarly, Grinnell College was almost entirely white in these years: the <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-first-black-appointed-to-grinnell.html" target="_blank">college did not appoint its first Black to the faculty until 1964</a>, and when <a href="https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/renfrow-story/#1667933794473-9e069148-14ec" target="_blank">Edith Renfrow graduated in 1937</a>, she was the lone Black in the student body. As a result, in the 1940s Black men and women were rare on the campus where the Depression and World War II had driven student enrollment down to 321 by 1943.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCyfHax538XMsxCfpula9IuGzWhil-6a-jl7jkEpQW1Z-7jBXCJfs_67-b25RAAutRy6sUvNagCC_JXKlP89PCQDus2b-GmNQnXgMpfFvfkkSlFTUiE1JOwVGoLKZeuw-RV_JR-J-ivaS2cfmyxe_plMkGWIk8ZGz5kZicfo5ZklFGcmphKWFjXCrHg/s1200/Cal_TerritorySound_1200px_Qr5S.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCyfHax538XMsxCfpula9IuGzWhil-6a-jl7jkEpQW1Z-7jBXCJfs_67-b25RAAutRy6sUvNagCC_JXKlP89PCQDus2b-GmNQnXgMpfFvfkkSlFTUiE1JOwVGoLKZeuw-RV_JR-J-ivaS2cfmyxe_plMkGWIk8ZGz5kZicfo5ZklFGcmphKWFjXCrHg/s320/Cal_TerritorySound_1200px_Qr5S.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nate Towles Orchestra and Its Sleeper Bus (September 1940)<br />(https://events.timely.fun/zgbi8ufc/event/68170404)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And yet into this very white small-town world came a series of Black musicians, artists, and performers. Newspapers reported that Grinnell's white audiences enthusiastically received these Black men and women, frequently demanding encores and additional contact with the visitors. Today's post examines the intersection of Black and white in 1940s Grinnell with an eye to understanding what racial difference meant to a very white community some eighty years ago.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1940s Grinnell welcomed numerous musicians and special speakers, mostly at the invitation of the college which each year arranged a concert series that included a half-dozen performers. The overwhelming majority of these visiting artists and speakers were white, just like Grinnell itself. But almost every year at least one Black artist appeared to perform either at the college's Herrick Chapel or in the auditorium of the High School downtown. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The most frequent Black musician to visit Grinnell in these years was Nat Towles who brought his orchestra to the college where it provided the music for several college dances. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEn3WzFnnmcxtLZPW5J8gesJOBs-CA-LrkJLEItdxoQfPz_BmHusSXGj-4jYEtPcRBpfhcf51kw-yzameJmfLfZmEn0DH0z3sySbAMrZuNZQBrsjH4C3GTU-LXEM1K1EKAaeSdpmSjY6782X0QUYrtHw5_3i6lGwm0Dpbqvt79k8_THI4O_xOh2ycemw/s870/S&B4Mar1939Towles.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="772" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEn3WzFnnmcxtLZPW5J8gesJOBs-CA-LrkJLEItdxoQfPz_BmHusSXGj-4jYEtPcRBpfhcf51kw-yzameJmfLfZmEn0DH0z3sySbAMrZuNZQBrsjH4C3GTU-LXEM1K1EKAaeSdpmSjY6782X0QUYrtHw5_3i6lGwm0Dpbqvt79k8_THI4O_xOh2ycemw/s320/S&B4Mar1939Towles.png" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scarlet and Black </i>March 4, 1939<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Although born in New Orleans, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Towles" target="_blank">Nat Towles (1905-1963</a>) spent much of his adult life in the Midwest where, beginning in the 1930s, he headquartered his dance orchestra. From its base in Omaha, the Nat Towles fifteen-piece orchestra played at dances all over the north central states. According to the college newspaper, Grinnell students danced to the music of "Lots of Poppa" Towles at least four times between 1939 and 1949. In March 1939 the class of 1940 had Towles play for the junior prom (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>3/8/1939). Six weeks later, college women in James, Haines, and Read hosted the Black orchestra for a "southern colonial" dance in Quad dining hall (ibid., 4/22/39). Just after the war ended, the college Gadabouts hired the orchestra for its dance (ibid., 11/8/1946), and had the "all-Negro" orchestra return three years later for a dance in the women's gym (ibid., 1/21/1949). </span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiO3e5E0thxupoDzduFe1MrFqWO1_Cf-0RSofd0nP_dkrAcd9QicvctJNv375HPicB37_wi7_c_lMGUU2_V28-SfFCsBfdqESWDAAoWiqx4GifrlggOxYCbhlcaOkpuuGv9AXWHCHYey1eAV4JvyF-AzBibv45wUb0IeQPYpOqXFZoxKw-7jd6rKxqc79/s638/TowlesS&B21Jan1949.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="412" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiO3e5E0thxupoDzduFe1MrFqWO1_Cf-0RSofd0nP_dkrAcd9QicvctJNv375HPicB37_wi7_c_lMGUU2_V28-SfFCsBfdqESWDAAoWiqx4GifrlggOxYCbhlcaOkpuuGv9AXWHCHYey1eAV4JvyF-AzBibv45wUb0IeQPYpOqXFZoxKw-7jd6rKxqc79/s320/TowlesS&B21Jan1949.png" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Nat Towles<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black </i>January 21, 1949)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>One might imagine that the arrival of sixteen Black musicians in 1940s Grinnell would have caused a stir, bringing into Grinnell more Blacks than resided in town at that time. But because the band played only for college events, townsfolk seem to have taken little notice. I found only one reference in the <i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>to the orchestra's appearance in Grinnell, the newspaper omitting mention of the orchestra's all-Black membership (GHR 3/13/1939); subsequent visits earned no notice in the </span><i>Herald-Register, </i>since, after all, the dances were strictly college events. </span><span>The college newspaper, of course, paid attention to all the band's visits, regularly pointing out the racial identity of the musicians. A brief S&B story that preceded the orchestra's 1939 visit called the group a "negro band" and a 1946 story welcomed "the all-Negro band" (</span><i>Scarlet and Black </i><span>3/8/1939; ibid., 11/8/1946). </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Despite the low visibility of the band in town, townsfolk may well have learned about the visitors. For one thing, chaperones for college dances always included, along with the president and his wife, several deans and a half-dozen faculty and spouses. Indeed, for its 1949 dance the Gadabouts invited "the entire faculty," so that townsfolk who lived in homes near college faculty will have heard about the visit of the all-Black orchestra. </span><span>Nevertheless, since Towles had his group travel in a specially-designed sleeper bus, the musicians did not have to seek rooms in local hotels as most other college visitors had to do. Therefore, except perhaps for having seen the unusual vehicle enter or leave town or having heard from college administrators or faculty about the orchestra, Grinnell residents had no reason to know that sixteen Blacks had been to town.</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAk6ln4AxG2UbeAlHu5gsIaY4XnM-zlW7mS4vf6izEoNRS82XTTpDx0AGr7f9b4UZgYsUhw3d8bcmUiiRS3525KhZLhY88fOxpCBcn0lOr0oSRrAhxZK_3FsOazCf6bbN55tGJO9lxFkCNRNcoNSsNzS6N0qMsXb4VJTnB5N9SnjHlFoYR-1T43lMAsS_/s766/Globetrotters%2047%20Road%20Team.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="766" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAk6ln4AxG2UbeAlHu5gsIaY4XnM-zlW7mS4vf6izEoNRS82XTTpDx0AGr7f9b4UZgYsUhw3d8bcmUiiRS3525KhZLhY88fOxpCBcn0lOr0oSRrAhxZK_3FsOazCf6bbN55tGJO9lxFkCNRNcoNSsNzS6N0qMsXb4VJTnB5N9SnjHlFoYR-1T43lMAsS_/s320/Globetrotters%2047%20Road%20Team.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 1947 Harlem Globetrotters<br />(https://www.nasljerseys.com/EBA/Rosters/Globetrotters_EBA_Rosters.htm)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In March 1941 another group of Black men came to town. Thanks to an invitation from Grinnell's Jaycees, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Globetrotters" target="_blank">Harlem Globetrotters</a>, an all-Black basketball team, arrived to play against a group of Grinnell "All Stars." Founded in Chicago in 1926 and renamed several times afterward, the Globetrotters toured the country—and later, the world—to compete and entertain, usually playing against all-white opponents. On the first of March 1941 the five or so Black men ("colored flashes," said the </span><i>Herald-Register </i><span>[2/27/1941]) and their white owner/coach, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Saperstein" target="_blank">Abe Saperstein</a>, took on a group of white Grinnell basketball stars at the college gym before some 350 sports fans. The </span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i><span>told readers that the "clowning Negroes had little trouble in winning the game," their comedy routine keeping "onlookers in an uproar a good share of the time." The Globetrotters ("colored boys," said the </span><i>Scarlet and Black </i><span>[3/1/1941]) especially impressed the audience with their ball handling and passing when, toward the game's end, all ten Grinnell players came onto the court trying—in vain—to outplay their five Globetrotter opponents (3/3/1941).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The appearance of the Globetrotters in Grinnell seems not to have occasioned much mention. But one wonders: where did the men eat and spend the night before heading on to their next engagement? Did a Grinnell restaurant and a Grinnell hotel offer accommodations, despite the rarity of Black guests—not to mention five or six Black guests at once? On the heels of the 1929 Stock Market Crash, Saperstein had purchased a used Model T into which he crammed the five men of the "travelling team" (Ben Green, <i>Spinning the Globe: The Rise, Fall, and Return to Greatness of the Harlem Globetrotters </i>[NY: Amistad, 2005], 51). So long as the Globetrotters were performing in the Midwest, the Model T was sufficient, although, of course, it provided no beds. Consequently, in each town where the Globetrotters played, Saperstein had to find a place that would accept Black guests. Racial bias emerged often as the Globetrotters criss-crossed the country, but if Grinnell's hotels and restaurants resisted the Globetrotters, the newspapers said nothing about it. </span></div><div><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBI1B9b_CxY-DSvU56k0SYJDoLhfm4gBBN1w2a48_-B1BhA-_ua3OnqZStc2alTN7G2o4BlweSR7goe3euD_jSdHOHZPjlUwA3TFYi-GzFWQpyMS_PIc8bU_NJt-7gMntQPr9hx1RziZOvPzN2d1zlgt1zjhJJbtpo2NDTH2S04OYn2IzdIeg40Q2EvGH1/s958/MaynorPic1936.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBI1B9b_CxY-DSvU56k0SYJDoLhfm4gBBN1w2a48_-B1BhA-_ua3OnqZStc2alTN7G2o4BlweSR7goe3euD_jSdHOHZPjlUwA3TFYi-GzFWQpyMS_PIc8bU_NJt-7gMntQPr9hx1RziZOvPzN2d1zlgt1zjhJJbtpo2NDTH2S04OYn2IzdIeg40Q2EvGH1/s320/MaynorPic1936.png" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1936 Photo of Dorothy Maynor<br />(https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/maynor-dorothy-leigh-1910-1996/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>The following year Grinnell welcomed to the concert stage <a href="https://afrovoices.com/dorothy-maynor-biography/" target="_blank">Dorothy Maynor (1910-1996)</a>, contralto soloist. Born into a churchman's family i</span></span><span>n Norfolk, Virginia</span><span>, Maynor gained most of her early music training in church. She later enrolled at Hampton where she majored in Home Economics but sang in the choir. Graduating in 1933, Maynor won a scholarship to Westminster Choir School where she studied conducting and received a degree in 1935. After a brief stint teaching at Hampton, Maynor moved to New York where she studied voice. After performing to much acclaim with the Boston Symphony, Maynor made her Town Hall recital debut in New York in November 1939. Reviews were very complimentary, </span><span>encouraging Maynor to book concert tours here and abroad. When she first sang at Grinnell, therefore, her career and fame were still young (Patricia Turner, </span><i>Dictionary of Afro-American Performers </i><span>[NY: Garland Publishing, 1990]</span><i>, </i><span>262-63; Randye Jones, "</span><a href="https://afrovoices.com/dorothy-maynor-biography/" target="_blank">Dorothy Maynor</a><span>").</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The <i>Herald-Register </i>made no secret of Maynor's racial identity, headlining its story "Famous Negro Contralto to Sing Here" (10/12/1942). The Grinnell newspaper's review, published two weeks later (10/26/1942), was admiring and congratulatory, indicating at one point that Maynor's voice was "able to perform miracles." There was also praise for Maynor's rendition of art songs of Schubert and Debussy, all of which greatly pleased the audience which demanded several encores (GHR 10/26/1942).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But the Grinnell reviewer, like others who heard Maynor in Boston and New York, could not resist stereotyping the soloist.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The great contribution which Miss Maynor, as a Negro singer, can give and is giving is in the interpretation of the Negro spirituals, a type of folk music native to her race...The spirituals, assembled during the days of Negro bondage, constitute a body of music of unique charm which can be sung effectively only by Negroes (GHR 10/26/1942).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Black commentators took exception to racial stereotyping like this. For example, <a href="https://fultoncountyhistorian.wordpress.com/2021/02/03/pastors-son-veteran-social-justice-activist-elmer-anderson-carter/" target="_blank">Elmer Carter (1889-1973)</a>, </span><span>writing in </span><i>Opportunity, </i><span>a publication of the National Urban League, </span><span>joined in the praise of Miss Maynor's explosive success, likening her to the better-known </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson" target="_blank">Marian Anderson</a> (1897-1993)<span>. But Carter rejected reviewers' racialization, observing that </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">the art of neither Miss Anderson nor Miss Maynor is particularly Negroid. They have proved that there are no racial limitations to musical interpretation...they have attained not only technical mastery of, but understanding and feeling for, the music of the Italian and the German, the French, the Spanish—no less than the music of their own race and country ("Dorothy Maynor," <i>Opportunity </i>28, no. 2 [February 1940]:34).</span></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3MRFfGT6GW_Q2iK7F2rCwRon37QCEE2iA4nsIpJ4w0HCiYQVKtQtTGCvXKFVKiWwmVvFGMsAdm_7w2ZjAGufs-TM0oPW7-y7BQHvrm5NY6bFQKGb3RCcAvN0ZatRF6sGD0mMu9eXQcRoT-vvFjLES7C9SahuVZHvXfRwe8L5DY-qPdXbQp5GWZIqR99u/s588/AnneBrownPic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF3MRFfGT6GW_Q2iK7F2rCwRon37QCEE2iA4nsIpJ4w0HCiYQVKtQtTGCvXKFVKiWwmVvFGMsAdm_7w2ZjAGufs-TM0oPW7-y7BQHvrm5NY6bFQKGb3RCcAvN0ZatRF6sGD0mMu9eXQcRoT-vvFjLES7C9SahuVZHvXfRwe8L5DY-qPdXbQp5GWZIqR99u/s320/AnneBrownPic.png" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Anne Wiggins Brown<br />(https://www.operabaltimore.org/annebrown)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The entire town seems to have taken notice when <a href="https://afrovoices.com/anne-wiggins-brown-biography/" target="_blank">Anne Wiggins Brown (1912-2009)</a>, "better known as Bess of Gershwin's <i>Porgy and Bess," </i>visited Grinnell. Born in Baltimore to parents whose ancestry was African, Cherokee, and Scots-Irish, the future soloist attended Morgan State and Columbia University's Teachers' College, all with the aim of becoming a teacher. Brown also continued to study voice, earning certificates in 1932 and 1934 from what became the Juilliard School (Darryl Glenn Nettles, <i>African American Concert Singers Before 1950 </i>[Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co.,]<i>, </i>30-31). Then she met <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gershwin" target="_blank">George Gershwin (1898-1937)</a> who, after having heard her sing the spiritual, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P7FOZn33e8" target="_blank">"City Called Heaven</a>," rewrote and renamed his opera to feature Bess, the role that Brown would famously play. <i>Porgy and Bess</i>, which premiered in 1935, catapulted Brown to instant fame. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Consequently, Brown's visit to Grinnell generated much excitement. The campus newspaper announced that Brown would open the 1943-44 college concert series, hard on the heels of having played herself in the new film based upon Gershwin's life, <i>Rhapsody in Blue</i> (S&B 10/1/1943; 10/15/1943)). The <i>Herald-Register </i>reported that the "sensational original star of George Gershwin's negro opera <i>Porgy and Bess</i>" was coming to town (GHR 10/21/1943). Post-concert reviews were even more expansive. The <i>Herald-Register </i>did not employ the racial stereotype with which it had described Dorothy Maynor; instead the newspaper called Brown a "lieder singer of fine attainments," possessing "a well-trained soprano voice of concert calibre." Lauding the soloist's ability to vitalize the songs she sang, the Grinnell reviewer barely mentioned "two superbly rendered spirituals," concentrating instead upon the European art songs of the program. Emphasizing the appreciation of the many soldiers in the audience, the newspaper judged that Brown had brought down the house </span><span>(ibid., 10/25/1943).</span></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Brown returned to Grinnell the following autumn, as college president Samuel Stevens told the <i>Scarlet and Black, </i>which described the soloist as a "negro lyric soprano"<i> </i>(9/29/1944). Likewise, the town's newspaper in 1944 welcomed the return of the "famous Negro soprano who scored an immediate success when she appeared in recital here last year." The <i>Herald-Register </i>told readers that Brown had "displayed a beautiful voice combined with a gift for dramatic interpretation which made her concert one of the most popular of the series" (11/16/1944). A few days later the <i>Herald-Register </i>lavished compliments upon the "talented Negro artist" who endowed songs with such drama as to draw the audience into their spirit. The large and "rapturous" audience "loved it all and was insistent with its evidences of appreciation" (ibid., 11/20/1944).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The relatively light attention paid to Brown's race, especially at her first visit in 1943, might have depended in part upon her appearance. <a href="https://afrovoices.com/anne-wiggins-brown-biography/" target="_blank">Because of her mixed ancestry</a>, Brown was not always identified as Black and sometimes "passed" as white. "I've lived a strange kind of life," she told Barry Singer many years later: </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>half black, half white, half isolated, half in the spotlight. Many things that I wanted as a young person for my career were denied to me because of my color. On the other hand, many black folks have said, 'Well, she's not really black.'..Onstage, though, if they couldn't take me as I was—the hell with them" (<a href="https://www.chartwellbooksellers.com/author/nyt/ANNE%20BROWN%20%283-29-1998%29.pdf" target="_blank">Barry Singer, "On Hearing Her Sing, Gershwin made 'Porgy' 'Porgy and Bess," </a><i>New York Times </i>3/29/1998). </span></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>###</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>In between Brown's two Grinnell concerts </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes" target="_blank">Langston Hughes (1902-67)</a><span><span> came to town. </span></span><span>Of all the Black artists who appeared in 1940s Grinnell, Hughes </span><span>was probably the best known. Born to well-educated parents in Joplin, Missouri, Hughes grew up mostly in the company of his mother, as his parents had separated when the future poet was just a boy. His single-parent mother, therefore, found it necessary to move often throughout the Midwest, with stops in Lawrence and Topeka, Kansas; Lincoln, Illinois; and Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from a Cleveland high school, Hughes moved to Mexico City to live briefly with his father. Soon he was back in the US to study at Columbia University, but withdrew to begin extensive travels abroad, visiting numerous ports in Africa and spending time in Paris. When the money ran out, he returned to the United States and to his mother, who by then was living in the District of Columbia. In 1925 Hughes won a poetry contest in </span><i>Opportunity </i><span>magazine and obtained his first book contract that resulted in </span><i>The Weary Blues </i><span>(1926). A second volume of poetry, </span><i>Fine Clothes to the Jew</i><span>, appeared in 1927. Meantime, Hughes enrolled at Lincoln University from which he graduated in 1929 </span></span><span>(</span><i>Notable Black Men, </i><span>ed. Jessie Carney Smith [Detroit: Gale, 1999], 580-84).</span></span></p></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkd3BLWXNaFZXEuLyiFhznZWsbT2Scss5hxhBO_jNEG8jJnP1ZQynze7PpzF37A1GRxCiXjOe0ievKKWim4L3yqgXd4W74Nvn5fpgAGlvyBC1DAH_rZrVSw1M4rVC1lThDKCDIW7YjtMyhyG-mIZcSzuYFZemelCNsf9XKDybZa3-Q084JAPlH2m10oHx/s1600/Langston-Hughes-photograph-Jack-Delano-1942.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1231" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkd3BLWXNaFZXEuLyiFhznZWsbT2Scss5hxhBO_jNEG8jJnP1ZQynze7PpzF37A1GRxCiXjOe0ievKKWim4L3yqgXd4W74Nvn5fpgAGlvyBC1DAH_rZrVSw1M4rVC1lThDKCDIW7YjtMyhyG-mIZcSzuYFZemelCNsf9XKDybZa3-Q084JAPlH2m10oHx/s320/Langston-Hughes-photograph-Jack-Delano-1942.webp" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1942 Photo of Langston Hughes (Jack Delano, 1942; Library of Congress)<br />(https://www.britannica.com/biography/Langston-Hughes)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Invited to Grinnell College in 1944 by the "social budget committee," Hughes brought to town a legacy of poetry, essays, plays, and autobiography. As the <i>Scarlet and Black</i> observed in announcing the visit, Hughes had been "largely concerned with depicting Negro life in America," and much of that work has appeared in "Negro publications" (4/21/1944). A second article that advertised his visit pointed out that the college library, to mark their guest's appearance, was featuring an exhibit of Hughes's publications, including <i>The Ways of White Folks </i>(1934), <i>The Big Sea </i>(1940), <i>Shakespeare in Harlem </i>(1942), <i>Not without Laughter </i>(1930), "Freedom's Plow" (1943), and <i>Popo and Fifina </i>(1932), which he had written with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arna_Bontemps" target="_blank">Arna Bontemps (1902-73)</a><span> (4/28/1944). Whether the student journalist was familiar with these works may be doubted as the newspaper mangled several of the titles. All the same, it is clear that Hughes's visit was a big moment on campus.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The town's newspaper also touted the arrival of Hughes, although the text seems to have depended rather heavily upon the original announcement in the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>(4/24/1944). Calling Hughes a "Noted Negro poet," the <i>Herald-Register </i>recognized the great variety of Hughes's works, and told readers that Hughes would "give readings from his poetry Sunday evening" in Herrick Chapel. In fact, however, Hughes used the chapel platform to deliver what the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>called an "informal autobiographical talk" which "bore obvious traces of social propaganda." Although Hughes concluded the talk by reading several unpublished poems, his presentation seems to have emphasized the "economic suppression of his race" in the United States and elsewhere in the world (including Africa). The student journalist complained that Hughes "made no tangible suggestions for alleviating the situation," reinforcing the journalist's suspicion that he was a "propaganda poet" (5/5/1944).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0_Qm-FFVCO_-ELuanFL_uJrBLNd7dxg4zuMr78WV_R30X9rqzvKvF8a2DyrhrlPVDMCxaxBTxF0cbe6j_I5yMhHd4oX-XQKC3wlwp6axfHZz_eU9qquRlKV7-yOjUbqWiYf8N1ee7t_qMAOj7NJEDFv0JylojMEtiB6Cv_GoteP65VeVML1uMa7Ti9yS/s1593/HughesPostcard_001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1593" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0_Qm-FFVCO_-ELuanFL_uJrBLNd7dxg4zuMr78WV_R30X9rqzvKvF8a2DyrhrlPVDMCxaxBTxF0cbe6j_I5yMhHd4oX-XQKC3wlwp6axfHZz_eU9qquRlKV7-yOjUbqWiYf8N1ee7t_qMAOj7NJEDFv0JylojMEtiB6Cv_GoteP65VeVML1uMa7Ti9yS/s320/HughesPostcard_001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3E-6flbSIVbxOb0sIo_l9MCxaLXef-13bRMw3Yty_e9DwBahk2VXxzaN9gts_zEnnZVT_EPV7Xx2XEcPnJ1uOPokZiiraEPEtrYH4makJ_Goy01v-T8_BaxXFU0kd4sYh6COu5KKqcsKBuumt5SfUDGeUigw-z8UmiggnRSlrduR26NIa680-PBQMl5K/s1593/HughesPostcard_002.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1593" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3E-6flbSIVbxOb0sIo_l9MCxaLXef-13bRMw3Yty_e9DwBahk2VXxzaN9gts_zEnnZVT_EPV7Xx2XEcPnJ1uOPokZiiraEPEtrYH4makJ_Goy01v-T8_BaxXFU0kd4sYh6COu5KKqcsKBuumt5SfUDGeUigw-z8UmiggnRSlrduR26NIa680-PBQMl5K/s320/HughesPostcard_002.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard that Langston Hughes Wrote in Grinnell, April 30, 1944<br />(Courtesy of Grinnell College Library Special Collections and Archives)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>How Grinnell's townsfolk responded to Hughes is hard to gauge; the </span><i>Herald-Register </i><span>did not review his talk, which may tell us all we need to know on that score. But unlike the other African American visitors of the 1940s, Hughes did leave slight traces of his visit. A postcard that Hughes sent from Grinnell on the same day as his college talk survives in the college archives; alas, the poet had no comment upon the college or town. Hughes also used his Grinnell visit to send a letter to his friend and occasional collaborator, Arna Bontemps</span><span>. Like the postcard, the letter is dated April 29, 1944, and begins by reporting that Hughes had found a room in a Grinnell hotel (Arnold Rampersad identifies the hotel as the Monroe [<i>The Life of Langston Hughes, </i>2 vols.<i> </i>(NY: Oxford University Press, 1986-88], 2:85) that had "refused to house Marian Anderson a year or so ago—but here it is housing me!" (</span><i>Arna Bontemps-Langston Hughes Letters, 1925-1967, </i><span>ed. Charles Howard Nichols [NY: Dodd Mead, 1980], 164). So far as I could learn, however, Anderson never visited Grinnell, let alone been shut out of a room here, so Hughes must have had in mind another African American—perhaps Dorothy Maynor or Anne Wiggins Brown, although so far I have found no evidence that either was refused a room in Grinnell.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicanAcFq9b4Gyh316cRhj1UsGZyTS0snZ-0cgLHGKjhU5lM1tz2li1boPaYc_q-HsbNKdqlCfEfQQlleS5SCSVX8fKTwQaJrsRYzGUAAJdDwbk7wey2XDkt24Rc5sMMNKSOtbX3PJIyk79jf8UQ8sn6pHfSFgksVNeq1tzYcLAZnwamcAifoztnWQdW-Nz/s1600/roland-hayes_001.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1188" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicanAcFq9b4Gyh316cRhj1UsGZyTS0snZ-0cgLHGKjhU5lM1tz2li1boPaYc_q-HsbNKdqlCfEfQQlleS5SCSVX8fKTwQaJrsRYzGUAAJdDwbk7wey2XDkt24Rc5sMMNKSOtbX3PJIyk79jf8UQ8sn6pHfSFgksVNeq1tzYcLAZnwamcAifoztnWQdW-Nz/s320/roland-hayes_001.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Roland Hayes<br />(https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/roland-hayes-1887-1977/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Hayes" target="_blank">Roland Hayes (1887-1977)</a>, a well-known tenor soloist, opened the 1945-46 Grinnell concert series. Born to freed slaves in Georgia, Hayes was living in Chattanooga, Tennessee when an Oberlin Conservatory student heard him sing, and encouraged him to pursue more musical training. Intending to enroll at Oberlin, Hayes ended up at Fisk where he studied several years without taking his degree. But he continued to sing, and his career received a boost after a 1917 concert that he himself arranged at Boston's Symphony Hall. Past thirty and not yet enjoying enough attention to live off his concerts, Hayes decided in 1920 to leave America. Studying and concertizing in Europe (where he performed before King George V and Queen Mary), Hayes developed a reputation that "disillusioned the curiosity-seekers and chastened the gossip-mongers." Alain Locke, quoting a critic about a concert in Vienna, told readers of the newly-founded journal <i>Opportunity </i>that Hayes had become a "sensation," "not as a Negro, but as a great artist." "Indefatigable work [during his European sojourn]...has made a seasoned artist of a gifted, natural-born singer" (1[1923]:356). Success in Europe gave new impetus to Hayes's career, energizing concert tours across the United States in the 1930s and 1940s (Turner, </span><i>Dictionary</i><span>, 198-208; </span><i>Notable Black American Men, </i><span>526-528).</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The <i>Grinnell</i> <i>Herald-Register </i>welcomed the "celebrated Negro tenor," advertising a "varied program" scheduled for Herrick Chapel on October 15, 1945. As usual, the bulk of Hayes's program depended upon classical European composers—Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, Saint Saens, and others. But the program ended with the emphasis upon African American music, including Hayes's own arrangements of three spirituals (GHR 10/11/1945). One week later the newspaper review observed that Hayes had sung "many perfect songs," the highlight of which the reviewer judged the unaccompanied rendition of "the familiar spiritual, 'Was [sic] you there when they crucified my Lord?'"</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>While he was singing it was as though the audience was holding its breath. One could have heard a pin drop and when he was through it seemed that applause might well be dispensed with. All the suppressed love and yearning and aspirating of an enslaved race had been expressed through that simple melody (ibid., 10/18/1945).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently Hayes sang to a full house, as the newspaper claimed that "every seat in the chapel was taken and chairs on the platform did not accommodate the overflow." Delegates to the Congregational Christian conference helped swell attendance, but the review took pains to report that college students and townspeople alike were in attendance (ibid.).</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Frequently denied stays in hotels because of his race, and beaten and jailed by whites at least once in the 1940s, Hayes nevertheless thought that post-war America had demonstrated progress in race relations. He hoped that he had helped lessen the division between peoples. "When I began my career," he wrote, "I realized that if I would speak to all men, I must learn the language and the way of thought of all men...So I learned to sing the songs of all people. The song I sing is nothing. But what I give through the song is everything" (</span><span>Elizabeth Nash, </span><i>Autobiographical Reminiscences of African-American Classical Singers 1853-Present</i><span> [Lewiston, ME: Edwin Mellen Press, 2007],</span><span> 135). </span></span></div><div><p style="text-align: center;">###</p></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilla_Williams" target="_blank">Camilla Williams (1919-2012)</a> reached Grinnell in late November 1947. Born in Virginia in 1919, Williams, like some other Black musicians of that era, received her earliest musical training in church. She took a degree in music education from Virginia State College in 1941, after which she taught for a time in a hometown elementary school. Soon she was living in Philadelphia where she studied languages at the University of Pennsylvania and voice with Marian Szekeley-Freschi. Her big break came with winning the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson_Award" target="_blank">Marian Anderson Award</a> in 1943 and again in 1944. After having impressed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geraldine_Farrar" target="_blank">Geraldine Farrar</a>, the well-known opera soprano, at a 1945 concert, Williams earned an audition with the New York City Opera with whom she soon signed a contract (the first steady contract of a Black woman with a major opera company) and with whom she debuted as Cio-Cio-San in <i>Madama Butterfly</i> in 1946. There followed a series of very successful concert and opera appearances (Turner, </span><i>Dictionary of Afro-American Performers</i><span>, 391-92; Southern, </span><i>Biographical Dictionary, </i><span>403; </span><i>Notable Black American Women</i><span>, 2:712-13). </span></span><i>Newsweek </i><span>(5/27/1946) featured a story about her operatic debut, and the National Urban League put her photo (as Cio-Cio-San in <i>Madama Butterfly</i>) on the cover of its winter 1947 issue. </span><span>Consequently, when Williams appeared in Grinnell in 1947, although still only 27 years old, she was wildly popular, having been named the "First Lady of American Opera" by the Newspaper Guild (<i>Notable Black American Women, </i>2:713). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa3rGEjBfsmkXADqC5zYRJcWmGWuqr7bxuXsvsl3-7Jrx1xGUo3svmxrsZm-4Oe9Gl4fYo_dFvdtJ30uoMLcUcL8rmnU7DnnT64yN1rVx0rqE9Zja07sO_q4uiR-l3V5PozwJAjA51XHX6Xuoz8JC8fAGWRMftQpVQe5tcioC48yYI1ZMj5MBtZENj6tY/s722/WilliamsPic1960s.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="722" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIa3rGEjBfsmkXADqC5zYRJcWmGWuqr7bxuXsvsl3-7Jrx1xGUo3svmxrsZm-4Oe9Gl4fYo_dFvdtJ30uoMLcUcL8rmnU7DnnT64yN1rVx0rqE9Zja07sO_q4uiR-l3V5PozwJAjA51XHX6Xuoz8JC8fAGWRMftQpVQe5tcioC48yYI1ZMj5MBtZENj6tY/s320/WilliamsPic1960s.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1960s Publicity Photo of Camilla Williams<br />(Elizabeth Nash, "A Day with Camilla Williams," <i>The Opera Quarterly </i>18, no. 2 [spring 2002]:227)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">The college newspaper welcomed "the talented young negress" to Grinnell, advising readers of the various achievements in Williams's then still-young career (<i>Scarlet and Black </i>11/7/1947). Much the same prose appeared in an article published on the eve of her November 21st concert, but the newspaper added the complete program, which noted that Williams began the last section by singing "Summertime" from <i>Porgy and Bess</i> as well as three spirituals. The student review was brief and focused upon the "lovely pianissimo on high tones" and the "color and brilliance of her voice," but did point out that Williams, responding to the crowd's applause, sang several encores (ibid., 12/5/1947).</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The <i>Herald-Register </i>acknowledged the fame surrounding the visitor, calling her a "high ranking Negro soprano." Judging her program "exacting," the reviewer praised her "ample vocal equipment [that] qualified [her] to sing everything from grand opera to Negro spirituals." Saying little about the spirituals included in the last part of the concert, the newspaper praised her rendition of songs of Mozart, Schubert, and Brahms as well as several opera arias (11/24/1947).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Other than the polite—sometimes even boisterous—applause with which Grinnell audiences favored the performers, what, one wonders, did white Grinnell make of its Black visitors? For instance, when college students danced to the music of "Lots of Poppa" Towles and his orchestra, did they wonder why no Black men or women were dancing with them and the only Black people in the room were in the band? And when Grinnellians gathered to listen to Anne Wiggins Brown or Roland Hayes sing, did they wonder at the rarity of Blacks in the audience...or in their town? Did they think that the amazing Globetrotters were exceptions to a presumed inferiority of Blacks? We have scant evidence with which to answer questions like these. </span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Certainly 1940s America remained acutely aware of race. Not only did Jim Crow thrive in the South, but occasionally episodes of racial hatred blazed brightly in the news. Take, for example, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court-martial_of_William_T._Colman" target="_blank">May 1943 story out of Selfridge Army Air Base</a> near Mount Clemens, Michigan where the base commander, Col. William T. Colman, used his .45 pistol to shoot Pvt. William R. McRae, a Black man who was behind the wheel of Colman's vehicle. It turns out that Colman had issued a standing order "never to be sent a Negro chauffeur," so the furious commander fired two shots into the belly of McRae. The segregated U.S. Army also was responsible for the <a href="https://anothercenturyblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/29/the-shenango-depot-massacre/" target="_blank">1943 "race riot" at Shenango Depot </a>in Western Pennsylvania, the consequences of which minimized the shots directed at Black U.S. soldiers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkW2SlnNZeRHINPdLpg5LrYCViCBTIE8aFjxMs3Z8dBj7x6HM_da26_KESqeCTs4JDH-RqSiqzoV442NzMChD0hxtmE30H4tPMyed1VkPiwFlene7m--HnBJ525uBhbCO9Wv44uIytf3BKpfXFeRSwuNSpEZi49eN6w669keWpcqoZrNYSS-56oIPhwzdq/s752/S&B13Dec1939Blackface.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkW2SlnNZeRHINPdLpg5LrYCViCBTIE8aFjxMs3Z8dBj7x6HM_da26_KESqeCTs4JDH-RqSiqzoV442NzMChD0hxtmE30H4tPMyed1VkPiwFlene7m--HnBJ525uBhbCO9Wv44uIytf3BKpfXFeRSwuNSpEZi49eN6w669keWpcqoZrNYSS-56oIPhwzdq/s320/S&B13Dec1939Blackface.png" width="281" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scarlet and Black </i>12/13/1939<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Some Grinnell college students—like <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/napavalleyregister/name/virginia-anderson-obituary?id=7206823" target="_blank">Virginia Foote '45</a>—were aware of horrors like this, and attempted to rouse students to protest ("Letter to the editor" in S&B 10/22/1943). But the campus itself was hardly overflowing with racial tolerance. The college's 1939 Honor G club initiation, for instance, had as its theme "negro 'jimdandies' and 'mammies,'" and obliged initiates to "act the part of man and wife, appearing in public with blackened faces and carrying laundry or buckets of water" (</span><i>Scarlet and Black </i><span>11/25/1939). A 1945 survey by students in a race relations class found that of some one hundred Grinnell women who were asked if they had race prejudice, seventy denied it. Yet almost a quarter of those inventoried were unwilling to have Blacks admitted to the college and half did not want to have "Negro blood plasma" administered to them. Many respondents admitted that they did not even want to sit next to a Black in class (ibid., 5/4/1945).</span><span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet during these same years the campus gave evidence of changing attitudes to race. The college's post-war seminar that began in 1942 examined race prejudice, and in February 1943 announced its support for admitting Blacks to the college:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>One way to combat the rising tide of race prejudice is through active association. One contribution which we could make, one gesture of amity, and one expression of good will is to get two or three negro students for this college (<i>Scarlet and Black </i>2/26/1943).</blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This rather modest recommendation seems to have gained force over time. A 1945 editorial in the campus newspaper acknowledged that "Admittance of colored persons [to Grinnell] would automatically mean the withdrawal of a number of white students." In other words, the editorial acknowledged that racism flourished on campus, even if it was not universal. However, the newspaper argued that justice demanded that the college admit Blacks. <br /><blockquote>Can we keep our tongues in our cheeks as we bewail the conditions that Negroes in America endure?And if we decide that segregation is the best policy, that we can learn all we need to know about the Negro in a semester course in race relations, that we are incapable of seeing a man's worth regardless of his color, then let's quit all this hypocritical bellowing by students and administration about the Grinnell spirit of democracy and equality (ibid., 12/14/1945).</blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The number of Black students on campus rose slightly over the next several years, and the <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/11/when-grinnell-college-and-hampton.html" target="_blank">exchange program with Hampton brought a small number of additional Black students to Grinnell </a>so long as the program survived. Even with these changes, however, 1950s Grinnell College, like the town which was its home, remained a bastion of whiteness.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>PS. My thanks to Harley McIlrath who, some time ago alerted me to the visit of Langston Hughes and his comment about Marian Anderson. His heads-up got me thinking about Blacks who visited Grinnell and the reception they received. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-76034795932558560892023-05-02T09:17:00.023-07:002023-05-04T17:03:46.399-07:00The First Black Appointed to the Grinnell College Faculty<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Despite the abolitionist background of Grinnell, until the late twentieth century Grinnell College graduated few Black men and women and had no Blacks on its faculty. Even when the college arranged to exchange students with Black colleges, as it did with Hampton Institute in the 1940s and with LeMoyne College in the 1960s, the Grinnell campus remained very white. The apparent contradiction between the abolitionist history and contemporary reality led Cynthia Armbrust '49, who took part in the Hampton Exchange, to observe in the campus newspaper in 1949 that Grinnell has "no Negroes on our faculty and very few in our student body. This indicates that the administration, alumni, and student body have a race attitude that is not satisfactory" (<i>S&B </i>2/11/1949).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Gri</span><span>nnell was not alone in this respect. As the </span><i>Journal of Blacks in Higher Education </i><span>pointed out in 2004, many of the nation's most highly-respected liberal arts colleges were slow to admit Black students and even slower to appoint Blacks to their faculties. Grinnell did have an early Black graduate—Hannibal Kershaw who graduated in 1879—but the college does not appear in the list of first Blacks appointed to the faculty because, like Bowdoin, Claremont McKenna, Macalester, and Middlebury, "archivists...could not determine the identity of those college's first black faculty member" ("The First Black Faculty Members at the Highest-Ranked Liberal Arts Colleges," 45[October 2004]:108).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlwyCx0hHTmQoIjzgNlcaO9Ald054TIIhOIbnbVLtKPmzPnXBY20fSf_dOVrpYmqzi0iPT3C-M7MysXz-WrrTNk-55HcKUNyWEQceLYjL3HADZmjRpw0sVQhzEalNWbrKkqEkreZjuM0GJmxklVn6LHfiql4Rj5jZYK9hObiOGmCMbnhK0fOHlHrLog/s862/SFballet.org:take-a-bow.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="862" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlwyCx0hHTmQoIjzgNlcaO9Ald054TIIhOIbnbVLtKPmzPnXBY20fSf_dOVrpYmqzi0iPT3C-M7MysXz-WrrTNk-55HcKUNyWEQceLYjL3HADZmjRpw0sVQhzEalNWbrKkqEkreZjuM0GJmxklVn6LHfiql4Rj5jZYK9hObiOGmCMbnhK0fOHlHrLog/s320/SFballet.org:take-a-bow.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Undated Photograph of Denis de Coteau<br />(https://www.sfballet.org/take-a-bow-celebrating-denis-de-coteaus-legacy-at-sf-ballet/)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Today's post supplies the Grinnell data to this survey. College records report that Denis de Coteau (1929-1999) was appointed to the Grinnell College faculty in 1964, making him the very first Black to teach at Grinnell. For his first three years at Grinnell, de Coteau was the only Black on the faculty, pioneering racial integration on the faculty and joining a small group of Black students. </span>As a result, in addition to his work with music and musicians, de Coteau (and his family) also had to deal with racial bias. Happily, de Coteau's encounter with race in mid-America did not keep him from making the music he loved, and over the course of his Grinnell stay he established an enviable reputation that helped propel him to outstanding achievement. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Norbert de Coteau (1899- ) and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87590179/deanis-de_coteau" target="_blank">Deanis Gittens (1901-1988)</a> were both born in Grenada in the British West Indies, but migrated to the United States separately in 1923. The two met and joined their lives in late 1928, marrying in New York City. The following June they welcomed twin boys—</span><span>Norbert, Jr. (1929-2005) and Denis—to their family; their sister Shirley (1931- ) arrived two years later. </span></span><span>According to the 1930 US Census, Norbert, Sr. at the time had a humble occupation, working as a laborer in a dress-making factory; Deanis, who had listed her occupation as seamstress, remained at home with the children. In 1930 Mr. and Mrs. de Coteau were living on one floor of a three-story home at 367 Putnam Avenue in Brooklyn, a mixed but predominantly Black neighborhood.</span><span> Ten years later, as the children grew and made their way through school, the family was renting in the 2300 block of Brooklyn's Pitkin Avenue, a primarily white, working-class neighborhood. Norbert, Sr. told census-takers in 1940 that he was a </span></span><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>"musician" who earned a living as a "tutor."</span><span> </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The fact that their father was a musician had an early and decisive influence on the twins, both of whom began playing the piano at age three, taking lessons at the Portnoy Music School in downtown Brooklyn. Denis told interviewers many years later that he had tired of his twin brother's greater success at piano, and therefore had taken up the viola when he was six. According to a 1978 article, Denis played his viola at grade school commencement from PS 154, and later attended Junior High School 64. Both brothers then attended the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_of_Music_%26_Art" target="_blank">High School of Music and Art</a> in Manhattan, continuing their musical education (Eliot Cohen, "Ballet brings San Francisco music man back to Brooklyn," </span><i>The Brooklyn Paper</i><span> 10/78). According to Denis's recollections, when the boys were still young, their father often took them to concerts "at the Brooklyn Museum, Carnegie Hall, and the NBC Studio 8H, where Toscanini used to conduct" (Anne Lundy, "Conversations with Three Symphonic Conductors," </span><i>The Black Perspective in Music </i><span>16, no. 2[Autumn 1988]:213-14). One of these concerts featured <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Dixon" target="_blank">Dean Dixon (1915-76)</a> conducting the New York Philharmonic. Seeing a Black man with the conductor's baton "...just overwhelmed me," Denis later recalled. "At that point I decided [that] that's what I wanted to do..." (ibid., 214).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As the careers of numerous Black musicians confirm, gaining the conductor's rostrum in America is not easy for a Black, and Denis de Coteau's route to the baton was no easier than others'. After completing public school in New York, de Coteau did his undergraduate study at New York University, taking his B.S. in 1954 (interrupted by two years of military service) and an M.A. in 1957. That year he took his first college post at Morgan State College (now University). Later he taught at high schools in Florida, New York, and California, and embarked on study for his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at Stanford University (<i>S&B </i>9/18/64).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsm867qtuUcZn43EQ-M7qAPb9JpszDSYFu9nEzd5rFKT67k1gRNdoSPEWbOLR9_R2mtK1jWVGlwpzRqIFPiAWxOGqDAmNs0gzHmVlCJUoFUkgGdcu1vrL5hVoY4zUl07Exri6fxJyw34FSdLm5CsrFDnCrlhxnpKkLZ6lSQxWGFSydLiYYv_xFkdyBeQ/s1044/1964PhotoS&B9Oct1974.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsm867qtuUcZn43EQ-M7qAPb9JpszDSYFu9nEzd5rFKT67k1gRNdoSPEWbOLR9_R2mtK1jWVGlwpzRqIFPiAWxOGqDAmNs0gzHmVlCJUoFUkgGdcu1vrL5hVoY4zUl07Exri6fxJyw34FSdLm5CsrFDnCrlhxnpKkLZ6lSQxWGFSydLiYYv_xFkdyBeQ/s320/1964PhotoS&B9Oct1974.png" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1964 Photo of Denis de Coteau directing Grinnell College Orchestra Rehearsal<br />(<i>Scarlet & Black </i>10/9/64)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Denis de Coteau accepted appointment to Grinnell's faculty in June 1964; directing the college orchestra was his primary duty (<i>S&B </i>6/5/64). </span></span></span><span>From the start de Coteau's enthusiasm and musical knowledge attracted musicians to the orchestra, which had nearly gone defunct prior to his arrival. In de Coteau's first year more than half the 58 players were freshmen, but gradually the ensemble attracted more musicians so that by the time he resigned in 1968 the college orchestra had 100 members. His first orchestra performance (November 1964) had Beethoven's "Egmont" overture at its center, and included Schubert's Symphony No. 3 in D Major and Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Opus 3, No. 11 (</span><i>S&B </i><span>11/25/64). The following spring de Coteau programmed an all-Mozart concert, featuring the Requiem Mass in D Minor with four professional soloists (</span><i>S&B</i><span> 4/30/65). That fall the orchestra, now expanded to 71 musicians, performed Mozart's "Magic Flute" overture; Haydn's Concerto in D Op. 101 (with guest cellist, Donald McCall); Handel's A-minor Concerto grosso, Op. 6/4; and more modern works by </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sacco" target="_blank">Peter Sacco (1928-2000</a><span>) and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Creston" target="_blank">Paul Creston (1906-1985)</a><span> (</span><i>Des Moines Register </i><span>11/7/65).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>In April 1966 the college officially inaugurated <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/leggett-glenn-1918-2003" target="_blank">Glenn Leggett (1918-2003)</a> as President, and de Coteau helped celebrate the occasion with an orchestral program that featured Hungarian pianist <a href="https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Nadas-Istvan.htm" target="_blank">Istvan Nadas (?-2000)</a> in Beethoven's Concerto No. 3, Op. 37. In addition, de Coteau directed the orchestra in Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony No. 8 and the Symphony in E flat of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Friedrich_Abel" target="_blank">Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-87),</a> a violist like de Coteau (<i>Des Moines Register </i>4/10/66). </span></span><span>Autumn 1966 de Coteau directed a 20-member string ensemble in Handel's Concerto Grosso in G Major, Opus 3, No. 3 (</span><i>S&B </i><span>10/21/66). Later that autumn he directed the full orchestra in three works: Carl Maria von Weber's "Der Freischutz"; Mozart's Concerto in A Major, k. 622; and Beethoven's Symphony in C Major, Opus 21 (</span><i>S&B </i><span>11/25/66). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>One of the highlights of de Coteau's time at Grinnell was the performance of Verdi's Requiem, featuring three soloists from the Metropolitan Opera and a fourth from the New York City Opera. Performed on two successive nights by the 100-person orchestra and 125-voice Grinnell Choral society, the concert drew attention well beyond Grinnell's boundaries (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette </i>10/22/67; <i>Des Moines Register </i>10/22/67), a clear compliment to the musicianship that the director brought to the college orchestra. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzxtLhKH1pMDwK0B_NsaHayPMtFQGIiFHuaZnijvwGefRtfzDG-VcMzEjoNKCQorQqsYOPhwaZjxamdhf1xyyGK0oEx9g5cPyARLPy31pUEbAaC0NcuGG-ryayXxRfR0q7jpkYb_7DHI0bL-o7grKoqjtHhKIX6BI2I7B1vHC-bZt6ZjiabZgQg6VKQ/s400/DeborahFeir1968CyclonePt1P50.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="302" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzxtLhKH1pMDwK0B_NsaHayPMtFQGIiFHuaZnijvwGefRtfzDG-VcMzEjoNKCQorQqsYOPhwaZjxamdhf1xyyGK0oEx9g5cPyARLPy31pUEbAaC0NcuGG-ryayXxRfR0q7jpkYb_7DHI0bL-o7grKoqjtHhKIX6BI2I7B1vHC-bZt6ZjiabZgQg6VKQ/s320/DeborahFeir1968CyclonePt1P50.png" width="242" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Deborah Feir '68<br />(<i>1968 Cyclone, </i>p. 50)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">The repertoire that de Coteau programmed over these few years speaks powerfully to his success both as a teacher and as a conductor. As several college alumni told me, de Coteau related well to orchestra members who, in turn, responded well to his baton. Deborah Feir '68, for example, remembers his sense of humor which came with a demand for the best from everyone: "we wanted to exceed his expectations because we loved him and couldn't bear the thought of disappointing him" (personal email 4/30/23). Apparently the maestro held similar regard for his musicians, remembering them long after their Grinnell collaboration. Kathy Schaff Broadwell '70, who had been concertmaster of the college orchestra under de Coteau, tells of a time in the 1980s when she attended an orchestral concert in New York which de Coteau directed. Afterwards, she visited backstage; as she walked into the room, de Coteau immediately recognized her: "well if it isn't my first concertmaster!" he said (personal email 4/29/23).</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvTVT7O7WUQIAAivbVt7MCHVYOAlizH5epUU3IMr3BJFPQFTbH1Jf1QVTiWl2xVsXywls38JmyGR2KVFfPz50W_ZyTFr3F7enuRAXbGiEioOyj-f-LOQqGh-97cjkiLO6-dpj7rjYVp-ssmc1756b3_OyLXo_SzAWhO6HJNBY_UudRt2OpWieTeVDxQ/s500/Power1969CycloneP94.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="352" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvTVT7O7WUQIAAivbVt7MCHVYOAlizH5epUU3IMr3BJFPQFTbH1Jf1QVTiWl2xVsXywls38JmyGR2KVFfPz50W_ZyTFr3F7enuRAXbGiEioOyj-f-LOQqGh-97cjkiLO6-dpj7rjYVp-ssmc1756b3_OyLXo_SzAWhO6HJNBY_UudRt2OpWieTeVDxQ/s320/Power1969CycloneP94.png" width="225" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Betsy Power '69<br />(<i>1969 Cyclone, </i>p. 94)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Less happy was the burden that local racism brought to his time in Grinnell. Married and a father (Michele, his oldest was born in November 1965, and Nadine, their second child, was born in October 1967), de Coteau had to negotiate the boundaries of race not only in a very white college but also in a town in which race relations remained contentious. Betsy Power Moore '69 remembers encountering de Coteau at a Twin Cities performance by the San Francisco Ballet years after he left Grinnell. During intermission she visited her college orchestra director who remembered her, and also remembered how difficult life in Grinnell had been for him and his family because they had felt so isolated (personal email 4/30/23). </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All across America the 1960s saw conflict between white and Black Americans, a struggle that grew more heated as the decade wore on. Grinnell College made some attempts to address the issue on campus, for instance <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2023/01/when-grinnell-college-collaborated-with.html" target="_blank">initiating a student exchange with LeMoyne College of Memphis in 1964</a>. The plan intended to increase Black enrollment at Grinnell, and two grants from the Rockefeller Foundation helped significantly add to the Black proportion of the student body (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette </i>10/8/67). If in 1949 there were only two or three Black students on campus, the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>reported in 1968 that there were "approximately 56 Negro students on campus" (2/2/68). The appointment of de Coteau to the faculty signaled the beginning of integration of the college's teaching staff. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bL_IeQ0XFerjj3Tg2IOv8CP-isi1sm_Ste1TtrugKaB13BjT1vsvUL4P0q2zQ4gBLg6ojRtb51bJaefXjvD5o59ldvQgjIuqMN8DFG-Rd1DrhOki42CrnfpAdGHSMJrGK38vVtDEI8hAWUVugECgf4osyAdt5r5L0dn7pWRYmHmMtEkMlQkxSq-uAg/s678/8S&B2Feb1968DeCoteauPic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bL_IeQ0XFerjj3Tg2IOv8CP-isi1sm_Ste1TtrugKaB13BjT1vsvUL4P0q2zQ4gBLg6ojRtb51bJaefXjvD5o59ldvQgjIuqMN8DFG-Rd1DrhOki42CrnfpAdGHSMJrGK38vVtDEI8hAWUVugECgf4osyAdt5r5L0dn7pWRYmHmMtEkMlQkxSq-uAg/s320/8S&B2Feb1968DeCoteauPic.png" width="204" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Scarlet and Black </i>2/2/68<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Elsewhere in America, racial conflict was accelerating and Grinnell College was not immune to these winds. Things came to a head in February 1968 when the </span><i>S&B </i><span>interviewed Black students and faculty about their experiences in town. Those interviewed reported numerous instances of verbal abuse as well as cases of physical threat and assault. A campus poster alleged that "There have been many instances of derogatory name-calling ('Nigger,' 'Jigaboo,' etc.) from high school kids..." (<i>S&B </i>2/2/68). Howard Ward '69 told the <i>S&B</i> that "Whenever you're downtown you get sneered at, "mostly from high school students" (ibid.). Zelte Crawford, at the time a Black resident advisor on campus, told the college newspaper that "he did not know of a single Negro student here who has not been subjected to some harassment" (ibid.).</span></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV0Miz1j-sTIhtyO42vnLbhf0jGmTPBj_15Q2EzaR65C6RD0xAtqo1RmLns3lSM2P2MAd6WKXDSSgQnfVqhuGX2uHmotQTUyCjgLSrqmauSR2yjmoEAWmkUhj9V1Foraa26cgTiviWtm-P3cJ-skAGKRsHHQmhuYMZFZDDuVxlnR2N3v0AooJFejaeQ/s640/GHR15Nov1965.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="640" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV0Miz1j-sTIhtyO42vnLbhf0jGmTPBj_15Q2EzaR65C6RD0xAtqo1RmLns3lSM2P2MAd6WKXDSSgQnfVqhuGX2uHmotQTUyCjgLSrqmauSR2yjmoEAWmkUhj9V1Foraa26cgTiviWtm-P3cJ-skAGKRsHHQmhuYMZFZDDuVxlnR2N3v0AooJFejaeQ/s320/GHR15Nov1965.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>11/15/65<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Although the newspaper claimed that "other Negro members of the faculty have also reported being threatened," Denis de Coteau was the only Black faculty member identified in the story by name. "Professor Denis de Coteau," the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>said, "while with his two-year-old daughter, has on several occasions been challenged to fight by a town resident...[Moreover,] de Coteau has been nearly run down by townspeople in cars" (2/2/1968). De Coteau himself recalled for the newspaper a conversation he had had with the owner of McNally's who had imagined that Grinnell had no problems of racial antagonism. De Coteau undertook to straighten him out: "I told him an hour and a half of incidents that I had heard about, and by the time I was done he was nearly crying" (ibid.).</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vXBfJ3D4VL7jrOHJpnaaY1i1Z6gXU9z3QY20eA2JmwYwKHXQgOnO11Bgboh2IGNn177-yYCF3Plw8EGxb0pxmtyiNHztK3GAWFqZpr2si9ANvYOh12kQpUDVxmtTJLrAbx7zpMGOpwhg8DUUC1r9Gs0H7PXbX77mr3F4qjsqGrza4iD--hEobw2ipw/s734/1312-14Main_2013.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="734" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8vXBfJ3D4VL7jrOHJpnaaY1i1Z6gXU9z3QY20eA2JmwYwKHXQgOnO11Bgboh2IGNn177-yYCF3Plw8EGxb0pxmtyiNHztK3GAWFqZpr2si9ANvYOh12kQpUDVxmtTJLrAbx7zpMGOpwhg8DUUC1r9Gs0H7PXbX77mr3F4qjsqGrza4iD--hEobw2ipw/s320/1312-14Main_2013.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2013 Photo of 1312 Main (right side), de Coteau Home 1964-68<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Black students took their complaints to the City Council, one person telling councilmen that, "Unless something is done now by the City Council and the Police Department, things are going to get a lot worse around here and somebody is going to get hurt" (<i>S&B </i>2/10/68). More than 25 Black students attended, and several offered testimony about their encounters with townsfolk. Lucy Pollard '70, for example, "told of being propositioned [by whites she did not know] while [she was] walking downtown" and Greg Coggs '70 told council members that he had been called the n-word by a three-year-old girl. Grady Murdock '70 said that a white townsman had threatened him with a baseball bat. Others reported similar encounters with Grinnell racism.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15hAbl_DkzY_O7RDrTrXguU2OIBuUtIHF-QnjlANDo2oK6zOM7JUUp6WPeyXwYOY4FoObi_tuNYC7NDAZtinYX5nLxZX0lLssQwure6SgKPWIB9reEukvtHaXSvJ_1wc3vjie-EmHL-c0LX_sJOHa_McnuTKuYVuj60EeFTN5e3DBxeoqmWUrc9ZOgQ/s378/Johnson's1972GrinnellCityDirP12.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15hAbl_DkzY_O7RDrTrXguU2OIBuUtIHF-QnjlANDo2oK6zOM7JUUp6WPeyXwYOY4FoObi_tuNYC7NDAZtinYX5nLxZX0lLssQwure6SgKPWIB9reEukvtHaXSvJ_1wc3vjie-EmHL-c0LX_sJOHa_McnuTKuYVuj60EeFTN5e3DBxeoqmWUrc9ZOgQ/s320/Johnson's1972GrinnellCityDirP12.png" width="229" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Clarence "Bill" Peters, Crinnell Chief of Police 1964-83<br />(<i>Johnson's 1972 Grinnell City Directory, </i>p. 12)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>City officials responded with sympathy and incredulity. </span><a href="https://iagenweb.org/boards/poweshiek/obituaries/index.cgi?read=474445" target="_blank">Police Chief Bill Peters (1921-1996)</a><span> "admitted that he 'didn't believe it was as bad as it was,'" and Mayor <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BeaverFloydE.pdf" target="_blank">Floyd Beaver (1920-90)</a> claimed that this "is the first time in the 115-year history of the city of Grinnell that anything of this nature has arisen." Professor <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/6/JonesAlanR.pdf" target="_blank">Alan Jones (1927-2007)</a>, who at the time was also a member of the City Council, noted that, because the college now had many more Black students than ever, "until now the people of Grinnell have been sheltered from the problems of Negro students" (</span><i>S&B </i><span>2/10/68).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYY9hwTGRjfvUxs1vDAbMVGmuUgR7egCQQhlFZOMj3y0eRpCF0CsYMuZAXkUOVqFL9w-bKdNrw2XOct64OvPywe4ge6mcgZp5MDLjrkCOjRCbNHUrOJpIDLEUWfDE6lIYC15biLWFcsLTdGDmKe2e0rfnOm2XMjQDVG7jso6f5-HIszaWxGAZR4H25A/s882/DrFloydBeaverJohnson's1972GrinDirP3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="662" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYY9hwTGRjfvUxs1vDAbMVGmuUgR7egCQQhlFZOMj3y0eRpCF0CsYMuZAXkUOVqFL9w-bKdNrw2XOct64OvPywe4ge6mcgZp5MDLjrkCOjRCbNHUrOJpIDLEUWfDE6lIYC15biLWFcsLTdGDmKe2e0rfnOm2XMjQDVG7jso6f5-HIszaWxGAZR4H25A/s320/DrFloydBeaverJohnson's1972GrinDirP3.png" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dr. Floyd Beaver, Grinnell Mayor 1964-84<br />(<i>Johnson's 1972 Grinnell City Directory, </i>p. 3)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">And then <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-Martin-Luther-King-Jr" target="_blank">Martin Luther King was murdered</a>. In a textbook case of bad timing and poor decision-making, when King fell dead college president Glenn Leggett was meeting with officials of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest at a former plantation converted into a resort in Pascagoula, Mississippi. According to the <i>S&B</i>, Leggett's visit "provoked...furious controversy on campus." When Leggett returned to Grinnell a smirking editorial welcomed "Colonel Leggett back from the Plantation." De Coteau and visiting Baptist Chaplain at Harvard, Ed Wright, met with Leggett, telling him that "they didn't think his trip to Pascagoula 'was a very good idea at all.'" Citing student concerns, de Coteau said that "it's one thing...for him to vacation on the Gulf Coast. But it is quite another for him—as the official representative of the College—to attend a meeting all the way down in a state noted for what Mississippi is noted for" (4/12/68). Observing that "Mississippi is still part of the U.S.," Leggett could not undo the trip to a state made infamous by the murders of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till" target="_blank">Emmett Till</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medgar_Evers" target="_blank">Medgar Evers</a>.</span><p></p></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Another tripwire went off when campus Blacks organized a rally, collecting money to be sent to the striking garbage workers whose cause had brought King to Memphis. Those attending the rally contributed $200, but Grinnell churches proved unresponsive to students' request to allow "a team of one black girl and one white girl" to attend Sunday services to collect money for the memorial. According to organizers, eight of the twelve Grinnell churches contacted "... gave a flat 'NO' and hung up the phone." Three churches combined to contribute $50 and a Gilman church donated another $40. Although various individuals and groups in town added money to the fund, the churches' refusal added to the sense of separation between white Grinnell and campus Blacks </span><span>(</span><i>S&B </i><span>4/12/68).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Having already resigned his Grinnell post for an appointment at the <a href="https://collegeofsanmateo.edu/" target="_blank">College of San Mateo</a>, De Coteau had only two months to remain in Grinnell, and the situation remained tense. He might have chosen to concentrate upon packing and his future. Instead, he tried to help. </span><span>He and Professor of History, </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/124186.Raymond_F_Betts" target="_blank">Raymond Betts (1925-2007)</a><span>, separately proposed a new program in African and Afro-American Studies (S. Eugene Thompson, "Black Programs at Grinnell," </span><i>Grinnell Magazine </i><span>2, no. 1[Sep-Oct1969]:5). With the sanction of the college's Executive Council, a committee of faculty, students and administrators planned a program for 1968-69 that would include on-campus performances by the Malian Dancers and the Cecil Taylor Quintet, films on the Harlem ghetto and racism in South Africa, and other special events (ibid.). Later this proposal developed an accompanying curriculum and faculty appointments in history and English.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But for Denis de Coteau, the difficult days of being Black in an overwhelmingly white Midwestern world were over. The family moved to South San Francisco where de Coteau's musical career blossomed. After San Mateo, he accepted appointment to <a href="https://www.csueastbay.edu/" target="_blank">California State University at Hayward (now East Bay</a>) where he directed the orchestra. By 1970 he was directing the <a href="https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/community-education/oakland-symphony-youth-orchestra/" target="_blank">Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra</a>, developing a core of outstanding musicians, many of whom followed him to the <a href="https://www.sanfranciscoballetorchestra.org/" target="_blank">San Francisco Ballet Orchestra</a> where de Coteau was named Assistant Conductor in 1968; six years later he was made Conductor and Music Director, a position he held until 1998, when he was named Music Director Emeritus. He gained a similar title at the <a href="https://sfcm.edu/" target="_blank">San Francisco Conservatory of Music</a> after having served on the faculty there for years.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Along the way, de Coteau accumulated numerous honors for his conducting, including the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/02/archives/pierre-monteux-is-dead-at-89-dean-of-symphony-conductors.html" target="_blank">Pierre Monteux</a> Conducting Prize in 1969, the year after he left Grinnell. In 1976 he won the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) award for adventurous programming and in 1992 won the Prix de Martell award. Between 1977 and 1983 he held the post of Music Director of the <a href="https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Flagstaff+Festival+of+the+Arts" target="_blank">Flagstaff Festival of the Arts</a> and throughout his career he guest conducted orchestras all over the world, including the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Tokyo City Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony, and the Seattle Symphony. As these accomplishments indicate, Denis de Coteau achieved great success as a musician.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>For a Black man, that success was especially difficult to reach. As his brief Grinnell sojourn suggests, Denis de Coteau proved adept in navigating a world of racial antagonism. In 1978 he told an interviewer that as a youth in Brooklyn he had "learned to live with all kinds of people. There was a marvelous mix of people in East New York—Italians, West Indians, Germans, Jews. Everyone was an immigrant" (Cohen, "Ballet brings San Francisco music man"). His years in Grinnell certainly challenged his experience with other people, but he did not let that experience defeat him. "For me," de Coteau continued, "the only way to deal with discrimination has been to be excellent. I have to be better than anyone else musically to have my job and I have to continue to work hard to be better to keep the job" (ibid.). </span></span></span>Although we might regret the truth of that statement, little in de Coteau's years in Grinnell contravenes the thought. </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIywsm-Z7NhmzBpQMAJQOXROs3UOaNJ-GO12Qyl1WKklvvO4lQVY4A-aygxYCL4jLntNimAOzOtVCWOEtCgiSF_a6wduB-fwOrzGxWPfdXAIJDvbVgkHi_xEr3k7HPhPrP5LshXzvjJ6iqaeDNY67bwp1jH-48kCwbMfMd4cy55JO3i0phYT1mLmFUQ/s516/rawImage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="516" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIywsm-Z7NhmzBpQMAJQOXROs3UOaNJ-GO12Qyl1WKklvvO4lQVY4A-aygxYCL4jLntNimAOzOtVCWOEtCgiSF_a6wduB-fwOrzGxWPfdXAIJDvbVgkHi_xEr3k7HPhPrP5LshXzvjJ6iqaeDNY67bwp1jH-48kCwbMfMd4cy55JO3i0phYT1mLmFUQ/s320/rawImage.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Robin Weiner photo for <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i><br />(https://www.ctinsider.com/entertainment/article/Knowing-the-Score-Ballet-orchestra-conductor-3005851.php)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Illness sabotaged all this excellence. Diagnosed in 1995 with a benign brain tumor that obstructed vision in one eye and soon thereafter afflicted with cancer in his liver, colon, and right leg, Denis de Coteau kept wielding the baton, seasoning rehearsals of the ballet orchestra with humor, just as he had done with the Grinnell College orchestra thirty years earlier (Laura Evenson, "Knowing the Score: Ballet Orchestra Conductor Denis de Coteau's sense of humor helps him face down racism, cancer," <i>San Francisco Chronicle </i>5/12/98). But the battle with cancer was not winnable. In 1998 he retired, no longer able to provide the energy that conducting required and in July 1999 he passed away. He was <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/87590180/denis-montague-de_coteau" target="_blank">buried in Colma, California</a>, a continent away from his New York birthplace. <a href="https://www.sfballet.org/take-a-bow-celebrating-denis-de-coteaus-legacy-at-sf-ballet/" target="_blank">Tributes poured in</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/28/arts/denis-de-coteau-70-ballet-s-music-director.html" target="_blank">admiring obituaries</a> remembered de Coteau, in whose name the San Francisco Conservatory and San Francisco Ballet established a <a href="https://sfcm.edu/newsroom/san-francisco-conservatory-music-and-san-francisco-ballet-partner-new-fellowship-advance" target="_blank">fellowship "to advance opportunities for Black musicians</a>." </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Grinnell was an early and relatively brief stop on this Black man's life of achievement. But Denis de Coteau, pioneering a Black presence on the Grinnell College faculty in an era shot through with racial hatred, helped brighten the path for Blacks who followed him onto the college campus. More than that, de Coteau taught all those around him about that beauty that inhabits persons just as it inhabits music.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>I was the beneficiary of comment from numerous college alums who played in the orchestra or had other contact with the events considered here. Special thanks to Merryll Penson '70 who solicited memories from a network of alumni of that era. Since I myself never met de Coteau, I learned an immense amount from those who studied under him and knew him.</span></div><div><br /></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-64994776430824221622023-04-19T06:49:00.002-07:002023-04-19T07:09:34.312-07:00Grinnell's "Worthy Poor" and Their Benefactor<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Conservative commentators often blame poverty on the poor themselves, describing them as unwilling to work, always in search of a handout. This view of poverty has an ancient pedigree that spans the globe</span></span><span>. More than three hundred years ago, for example, the famous Russian sovereign, Peter the Great, channelling European predecessors, tried to stamp out begging, accusing the poor of self-mutilation in order to avoid work and receive alms instead. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Early Grinnell also had its poor and seems to have viewed the poor with no more sympathy than had Peter the Great. In this Christian citadel on the plains, officials exerted considerable effort to prevent individual charity, installing instead a system that required the able-bodied poor to work in exchange for assistance.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-3BwNfU0lCED6-NiZVESqf9TCI4u2hgFJ3a5sHL17nttLWd8p5V3T1WoX2hdE1kxCU4DUFZfVZw1VPzFcMfoZrApuyK8mDDeHBdvVSqj4h3II3gk1KV3fYb2iRXe1Kk0lJ8xw46PNEEYo0OR2EY8kbUKwguHlilZvWO2jnhCC7w_g1nKtBYylPF3xQ/s678/JohnMCampbell1846-1933.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-3BwNfU0lCED6-NiZVESqf9TCI4u2hgFJ3a5sHL17nttLWd8p5V3T1WoX2hdE1kxCU4DUFZfVZw1VPzFcMfoZrApuyK8mDDeHBdvVSqj4h3II3gk1KV3fYb2iRXe1Kk0lJ8xw46PNEEYo0OR2EY8kbUKwguHlilZvWO2jnhCC7w_g1nKtBYylPF3xQ/s320/JohnMCampbell1846-1933.png" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1922 Photograph of John Marquis Campbell (1846-1933)<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>August 4, 2014)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Today's post tells the story of poor relief in early Grinnell and how one man, John M. Campbell, bequeathed a sizable legacy to the city of Grinnell in aid of the "worthy poor."</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The pioneers who settled Grinnell in the nineteenth century were a hardy, hard-working lot whose experiences proved to them that people who work hard succeed. They expected, therefore, that everyone would work hard and live disciplined lives, and they took a dim view of those who did not. These values had a direct impact upon their understanding of charity.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1891, the <i>Grinnell Herald </i>[GH] reported on the creation in Grinnell of a local "Charity Organization Society" whose aim was to "diminish poverty and eradicate pauperism by fostering in all the spirit of industry, thrift and self control...." Its motto was "not alms but a friend." Condemning conventional charities for encouraging "indolence and fraud and bold-faced imposture," the writer bemoaned the fate of the "worthy poor [who] suffer in silence, unhelped by the boundless charity lavished all around them." Not unlike some critics of government aid today, the <i>Herald </i>worried that late nineteenth-century Grinnell had "children growing up with the debasing knowledge that money, food and clothing may be secured from charity or the public purse more easily than they can be earned." At the same time, the newspaper observed, "we have side by side with them families of the industrious, self-respecting poor, earning by hard and patient toil their living and scorning alms" (<i>GH </i>11/24/1891).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A similar perspective emerges in a 1901 newspaper article reprinted from the <i>Malcom Leader</i> whose opinions the Grinnell paper heartily endorsed. "We believe," the paper asserted, "that all worthy people who are not able to support themselves should be furnished such plain substantial assistance as their condition requires, but such assistance should be limited to the necessities of life only, and only to those who are willing to, but unable to take care of themselves...We believe that the method of the board of supervisors has been in the past too lenient and indulgent and it has had the tendency to encourage pauperism, rather than to provide only for the worthy poor" (<i>GH </i>9/17/1901).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQolv1Cg3GiBplemp6bF1ZVpfHImJCVrF0fQ1M1nqG1GPHBfmtbpJH7nBJfhxSs8wH8K_cLQABBRwpJ9LdMVAzQ968e-gcyGmtjXikqiCpBiWSUxQucUCLZMJzUqXHIRc99Xd88CwPJ6myn_D4BAwpamtixpSvcljUHXw0b5uHJAOEZ6SVxQzF_qOvQ/s715/Adah%20May%20Hopkins.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="558" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQolv1Cg3GiBplemp6bF1ZVpfHImJCVrF0fQ1M1nqG1GPHBfmtbpJH7nBJfhxSs8wH8K_cLQABBRwpJ9LdMVAzQ968e-gcyGmtjXikqiCpBiWSUxQucUCLZMJzUqXHIRc99Xd88CwPJ6myn_D4BAwpamtixpSvcljUHXw0b5uHJAOEZ6SVxQzF_qOvQ/s320/Adah%20May%20Hopkins.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Adah May Hopkins<br />(ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/person/tree/159871606/person/122090233733/gallery)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>These same ideas informed the Grinnell Social Service League which was founded in Grinnell in 1912. Initially under the leadership of <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/232450107/adah-aime" target="_blank">Adah Hopkins (1882-1967)</a> and with the cooperation of the mayor, school superintendent, county supervisors, and numerous other prominent locals, the League intended to coordinate and regulate poor relief. Almost from the first day the League warned against individual alms-giving: "Do not give assistance of any kind at the back door," Hopkins urged, directing townsfolk instead to send beggars to the League's office <span>(</span><i>GH </i>12/13/<span>1912)</span><span>. That winter Grinnell felt "overrun with beggars and tramps," including two who pretended to be deaf and dumb in order to collect alms from passersby. Reminding townsfolk not to give money directly to beggars, the newspaper asserted that "Grinnell will never be rid of beggars and tramps until citizens make up their minds to refuse every request from strangers for money" (<i>GH </i>2/4/1913). A later warning advised that "f</span></span><span>ew men who come to your door begging for food or clothing are not impostors or 'professionals.'" If the beggar "is physically fit, work will be provided," the newspaper continued. "If he is in need and worthy, he will be glad to have the assistance of the office" (<i>GH </i>9/20/1918)</span><span>. Both Grinnell newspapers delighted in retailing stories of beggars who turned out to be able-bodied but lazy. The League's secretary in 1923, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/L/LincolnJohn.pdf" target="_blank">Rev. John Lincoln (1873-1961)</a>, told newspaper readers that, despite the agricultural depression then rolling through the Midwest, fewer "transient visitors of the hobo type" had reached Grinnell. "Very few of these transients are worthy of help," Lincoln added, "and when they are given an opportunity to work on the woodpile they generally disappear" (<i>GH </i>2/6/1923).</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In her 1913 summary report Hopkins proudly announced that the number of persons receiving aid had decreased by 27 percent from the previous year, and that in March of that year only twelve families had received permanent relief: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>These consisted of old persons living alone, widows with children, and sick or disabled bread-winners of families. An effort is being made to withhold all aid from families where there are able-bodied children capable of supporting themselves and parents, where offers of work have been refused, and where there is well-founded suspicion of immoral conditions in the home" (<i>Grinnell Register [GR] </i>4/21/1913).</span></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>With the support of the city council in 1914 the League collaborated with the Streets Commissioner to hire the unemployed in exchange for room and board, a proposal which its authors thought would prove how large a per cent of the men coming in from the outside really wanted to work and how many were simply imposing upon the public (<i>GH </i>2/6/1914). Reporting two weeks later on the results, the <i>Herald </i>told readers that "out of the thirty-three men who were offered the opportunity to work for their lodging, about one-third accepted..." (2/27/1914). As officials regularly repeated, the League intended "to develope [sic] dormant powers with the aim that every applicant for aid may become self-respecting, self-supporting, healthy in body and in mind..." (<i>GR </i>10/22/1914).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This understanding of poverty and the poor prevailed in early twentieth-century Grinnell. Local churches, clubs, and civic organizations contributed to and cooperated with the Social Service League to police charity in Grinnell. The Commercial Club, the city council, and numerous individuals threw their support behind this effort to reform the poor. City-wide campaigns brought cash and donated clothing into the League's coffers, involving hundreds of townsfolk in the effort to unmask the undeserving and encourage the worthy poor. This view of the poor and charity informed the view of one Grinnell resident whose financial legacy continues to flow in today's Grinnell.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Like most inhabitants of early Grinnell, </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/27/CampbellJohnM.pdf" target="_blank">John Marquis Campbell (1846-1933)</a><span> was born elsewhere. The 1850 US Census found him, a four-year-old, in Hancock County, Virginia where he lived with his widowed mother and one-year-old brother, Thomas. His mother soon remarried, but what consequence that had for the boys is unclear. John's boyhood left no marks in the record until the Civil War broke out. West Virginia was recognized as a state of the Union in 1863 and Campbell was then living in New Cumberland, West Virginia. It was there that at age eighteen (March 1, 1864) he enlisted in the Union Army. As a private in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_D,_1st_West_Virginia_Light_Artillery_Regiment" target="_blank">Battery D of the 1st West Virginia Light Artillery</a><span>, Campbell took part in several engagements in the Shenandoah Valley that spring. Only months after enlisting, he was captured June 21st </span></span><span>by the Confederates </span><span>at Mason's Corner and marched to Lynchburg, Virginia and then on to Andersonville Prison in Georgia where the young soldier spent five very difficult months.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSsDmfUVJeBP8-qzRKOeLmBwwbZ8pDmT_fhzaB6eeGH-6gpL985dlmZaYc1baNfSsAgq4Aev5YuDxwJ5evhA6qNFonSGLqz2r2LbphNlByDyrtig-pNUW04r2ftE_v09ZC1GMHZMJNZDfQQLZ3kRGESu6bBBSkEodgetI7zYcQBJ597RuQrKD-8r3wg/s1920/1920px-Andersonville_Prison.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1562" data-original-width="1920" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSsDmfUVJeBP8-qzRKOeLmBwwbZ8pDmT_fhzaB6eeGH-6gpL985dlmZaYc1baNfSsAgq4Aev5YuDxwJ5evhA6qNFonSGLqz2r2LbphNlByDyrtig-pNUW04r2ftE_v09ZC1GMHZMJNZDfQQLZ3kRGESu6bBBSkEodgetI7zYcQBJ597RuQrKD-8r3wg/s320/1920px-Andersonville_Prison.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Ransom's Drawing of Andersonville Prison<br />(https://loc.gov/pictures/resource/pga.02585/)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Interviewed fifty years later about his experiences in Andersonville, Campbell proved reluctant to reveal details of his imprisonment, but did say that "when he first saw the interior of the [Andersonville] stockade, he did not see how any more [prisoners] could possibly be accommodated, it was so crowded" (<i>GH </i>9/30/1930). Campbell arrived at Andersonville July 12, 1864, the day after the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/ande/learn/the_raiders.htm" target="_blank">hanging of six "raiders"</a> in the prison, so he missed that particular chapter in the gruesome history of Andersonville. But, like the rest of the 30,000 or so Andersonville captives, Campbell had to endure the horrors of living in the open with no shelter, little water, skimpy rations, and among disease and staggering levels of mortality.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">John Lynch, a New Yorker who was captured and interned at Andersonville in early July 1864, almost the same time as Campbell, left behind a record of his experience.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">On entering [Andersonville]..., the sights of misery, agony and torture we beheld filled us with horror; the forms that were once vigorous and active we now beheld living skeletons, lying on the hot sand, fully exposed to a scorching sun, and writhing in agony from the effects of burning fever, crying in their delirium, for relief...fully 80 percent of the prisoners had no protection whatever from sun or storm...all the time suffering keenly from the pangs of hunger, and compelled to drink...that which was not fit for washing purposes...I have seen hundreds..., suffering beyond description from fever, scurvy, diarrhoea, etc., crying feebly in God's name for some relief...From fifteen to sixty dead bodies were laid daily at the gate, awaiting the dead wagon into which they were thrown...then hauled out and tossed into a trench, two feet deep... (<i>The Horrors of Andersonville Prison Pen. The Personal Experience of Henry Hernbaker, Jr. and John Lynch </i>[Philadelphia: Merrihew and Sons, 1876], 8-9, 11).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of the 45,000 men imprisoned at Andersonville roughly 13,000 died, among them about 175 Iowans (according to a <a href="https://archive.org/details/listofunionsoldi00atwa" target="_blank">list of the deceased published in 1866</a>). Campbell was fortunate to have survived, but nothing in the record explains how Campbell escaped the dire fate of so many, nor does the record identify what illness or deprivation he may have endured. Extant documents recall only that on November 11, 1864 he was sent to Miller, Georgia and that two weeks later—November 24—he was "paroled" at Savannah, Georgia. By December 1 he had reported to hospital at Camp Parole, Maryland (<i>Memorandum From Prisoner of War Records</i>). A December 1, 1864 Muster Roll for his unit confirms that Campbell was paid for September and October and that Campbell was "exchanged at Savannah, Georgia or Charleston, S. C. (Nov or Dec 1864)" for Confederate prisoners (<i>Muster Roll for Virginia </i>[sic] <i>First Regiment Light Artillery</i>). The details of how he spent the last months of the war and how he made his way home remain unknown. Records of the Grand Army of the Republic, to which Campbell belonged, indicate that on June 24, 1865 he was mustered out at Wheeling, West Virginia after sixteen months of service (five of which he had passed in Andersonville). Campbell later filed for and received a pension for service in the Civil War, but apparently spoke little about his experiences after that.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What Campbell did immediately after the war remains a mystery. We know only that the 1870 US Census found him in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercer_County,_Illinois" target="_blank">Mercer County</a>, Illinois, living with and working for his mother's younger brother, Daniel Mayhew. Exactly when Campbell arrived in Illinois is unknown, but he had to have been there no later than 1868 when he purchased 160 acres of land in Jasper County, Iowa from John Travis and his wife. It may be that at the time of the purchase Campbell had only just arrived in Illinois, because the document, which was composed in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Illinois" target="_blank">Montgomery County,</a> Illinois, omits to identify Campbell's place of residence ("John M. Campbell of the County of ________") (Jasper County, Iowa, Recorder, Book 43, Pages 542-543). How Campbell met Travis and why he decided to purchase land in Iowa rather than in Illinois where his uncle lived no record explains. Also unclear is where Campbell acquired the $1000 he paid Travis. He told the 1870 census official that he owned no land and had personal property worth only $450. His uncle, on the other hand, told the census-taker that his farmland was worth $9000 and his movables were worth another $2550, so we may wonder if Mayhew had perhaps staked Campbell to his first land purchase.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In late December 1870 Campbell married, taking as his wife </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/CampbellSarahJ.pdf" target="_blank">Sarah Castor (1849-1929)</a><span>, who had been born in western Pennsylvania but had grown up in Mercer County, Illinois, just south of Muscatine, Iowa. Sarah was one of eight children born to Lewis and Ellen Castor. The 1860 US Census found the family in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegheny_County,_Pennsylvania" target="_blank">Allegheny County</a>, Pennsylvania where Lewis made cabinets. Ten years later, however, Lewis was farming in Illinois and doing quite well. In 1860 he reported that his farm was worth $6300, movables adding another $1800 to the estate; in 1870 he told the census-taker that his property was worth almost $15,000. Consequently, by 1870 John Campbell had had at least a few years' experience farming in Illinois, and presumably had the backing of his well-off uncle and prosperous father-in-law. Moreover, the bridegroom himself now owned 160 acres of land in central Iowa. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Soon after the wedding, therefore, the young couple traveled to Iowa, settling on a farm in Mariposa Township, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_County,_Iowa" target="_blank">Jasper County</a>, due west of Newburg. </span></span><span>Life on the farm in the 1870s seems to have been good. The newlyweds worked hard and their farm prospered. Their family also grew, Sarah Campbell giving birth to three children in these years. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/23/CampbellDavidL.pdf" target="_blank">David Lewis Campbell (1871-1948</a>) <span>was born soon after the family reached Iowa and his sister, </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/CampbellBessieR.pdf" target="_blank">Bessie Rebecca (1875-1951)</a><span>, was born on the farm four years later. A third child, Frank, died in infancy, although when he was born and died I did not discover. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As his family grew, so, too, did the size of the Campbell farm, as John continued to acquire farmland. In 1875 he paid $1125 to <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128966973/george-hiskey" target="_blank">George Hiskey (1803-1883)</a> and his wife to purchase eighty acres on the border with Hickory Grove township, due east of the original Campbell farmstead (</span><span>Jasper County, Iowa, Recorder, Book 85, Page 613)</span><span>. In 1882 he bought another 160 acres, again on the township border, but north of the Hiskey farm. The price was quite a bit higher—$4250—but included a $1000 mortgage which Campbell was able to pay off within two years (ibid., Book 125, Page 598). Consequently, by the early 1880s Campbell owned 400 acres in Jasper County, land that he farmed profitably, to judge by the money he spent to purchase more land.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOSLR9WiyUGO5zi5FfUzckKZklFGTNiQ76YOWYXSzTii3dTU7N6xwb5OLIogaQaBBw0H_u7LLdBoACInKqE6-slPy0v2S5rXDbkvjcNHJWt7ufB2IKqdWQ9aOZvpsDCu0ZPZ-o1oUZHeFjw0JwQqKWS07UP1dUK6a-hfo31of2KgqLUkTyGWSTomi2g/s1932/GrovesPlatMap.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1062" data-original-width="1932" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOSLR9WiyUGO5zi5FfUzckKZklFGTNiQ76YOWYXSzTii3dTU7N6xwb5OLIogaQaBBw0H_u7LLdBoACInKqE6-slPy0v2S5rXDbkvjcNHJWt7ufB2IKqdWQ9aOZvpsDCu0ZPZ-o1oUZHeFjw0JwQqKWS07UP1dUK6a-hfo31of2KgqLUkTyGWSTomi2g/s320/GrovesPlatMap.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen Groves's Plat Map Showing Farms in John Campbell Trust<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet Campbell grew dissatisfied with farming. In 1891 when he was only 45 years old, he and his family moved into Grinnell, purchasing the house at 1802 Sixth Avenue (which still stands, just west of Dari Barn) where he lived the rest of his life. Apparently the Grinnell house did not constitute a total remove from farm life; Campbell told the official conducting the 1915 Iowa census that his occupation was "farmer" and other records indicate that he had a barn just west of his home (<i>GH </i>3/8/1895) and a pasture from which, at least once, one of his cows strayed (<i>GH </i>6/12/1923). </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0D6qNLFpwslwnPg55rTwp0P5jaU98FXo4TF2K3v6DnNti0o4-SnLeVTih6VuSUwRcya43Iu6QXTybFIcOyIInxF_wSEzvu5hJhhETb_8zMJUPUqGRH6_KXk51UC3F1e0rrcYTw44-1R5-us_CLBW7LMIBZX2_uuqs90RRqbJvRHEBaB2LfreZBGeew/s480/Thomas%20%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0D6qNLFpwslwnPg55rTwp0P5jaU98FXo4TF2K3v6DnNti0o4-SnLeVTih6VuSUwRcya43Iu6QXTybFIcOyIInxF_wSEzvu5hJhhETb_8zMJUPUqGRH6_KXk51UC3F1e0rrcYTw44-1R5-us_CLBW7LMIBZX2_uuqs90RRqbJvRHEBaB2LfreZBGeew/s320/Thomas%20%20(1).jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photo of Thomas M. and Lunyett Campbell<br />(ancestrylibrary.com/family-tree/172690427/person/172244165414/facts)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>But acquisition of farm land did not stop with the move into Grinnell. In 1894 Campbell bought 169.87 acres in Hickory Grove Township from <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BonsallErastusP.pdf" target="_blank">E. P. Bonsall (1853-1922)</a> and wife, paying $2500, $1000 of which Campbell paid via mortgage (</span><span>Jasper County, Iowa, Recorder, Book 192, Page 214)</span><span>. Five years later he bought another parcel just inside the Hickory Grove township boundary and adjacent to land he already owned. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/F/FordAmos.pdf" target="_blank">Amos Ford (1841-1915</a><span>) and wife collected the princely sum of $7500 for these 170 or so acres (ibid., Book 219, Page 75). That same year (1899) John Campbell acquired another parcel, this one in Rock Creek Township, transferred by quit claim from his brother </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57909467/thomas-moore-campbell" target="_blank">Thomas Campbell (1848-1931</a><span>) and his sister-in-law </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57909490/lunyett-campbell" target="_blank">Lunyett Elliott Campbell (1853-1934)</a><span> (ibid., Book 219, Page 35; John sold this parcel in 1915: ibid., Book 315, Page 588)</span><span>. What circumstances drove this intra-familial transaction remain unclear (see Craig Campbell, "A Gift That Keeps On Giving," <i>Journal of the Clan Campbell Society (North America), </i>42, no. 1[winter 2015]:23), but land purchases continued. In 1903 Campbell bought another eighty acres in Hickory Grove Township, this property also immediately adjacent to one of his farms. Improving slightly upon the official valuation in a refereed sale, John Campbell paid $5200 for this farm (ibid., Book 242, Page 268). In 1909 Campbell acquired another eighty acres by referee sale, paying $5750 (ibid., Book 261, Page 575). And in 1925 Campbell bought from Grinnell Savings Bank (on whose board he served) 160 acres in Poweshiek County. The agreement allowed him to make the purchase for only $10 down with a $10,000 mortgage (Poweshiek County Recorder, Book 164, Page 71). What was evidently his last purchase took place in 1928 when he gained an additional eighty acres (Poweshiek County District Court, Docket 36, Page 189, Case No. 12300, Box No. 979). All told, John Campbell had accumulated more than 1000 acres of farmland in central Iowa. </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijaIL01rb4LJbO7BWVifSyZkxeZ8V_ooJVQhvqY1rSEZlWbFyH0Cjs0esQDdyZRVuVJKIwb6qaLXDHSVpu5VQFoJ7tMrWWgbW8QQzgsU7dXWaCz5GMJ2n2BHRTvJ7QF2_msAsuhkalxluHsRjMb6SIM1IWM4xy_UanIQNT74uBoKmWvztZU9Nkox1Tw/s640/GrinnSvngsBank.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="464" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijaIL01rb4LJbO7BWVifSyZkxeZ8V_ooJVQhvqY1rSEZlWbFyH0Cjs0esQDdyZRVuVJKIwb6qaLXDHSVpu5VQFoJ7tMrWWgbW8QQzgsU7dXWaCz5GMJ2n2BHRTvJ7QF2_msAsuhkalxluHsRjMb6SIM1IWM4xy_UanIQNT74uBoKmWvztZU9Nkox1Tw/s320/GrinnSvngsBank.jpeg" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1908 Photo of Grinnell Savings Bank, 825 Fourth Ave., Grinnell<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A12974)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>But agricultural land was not his only occupation. </span><span>Beginning no later than 1903 Campbell served as a director of Grinnell Savings Bank (</span><i>GH </i>1/20/<span>1903), a position he held until the Savings Bank itself went under in 1925 (</span><i>GR </i>11/3/<span>1924). </span><span>When local enthusiasm for automobiles surged in 1910, Campbell joined with <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/H/HinkCharles.pdf" target="_blank">Charlie Hink</a>, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/F/FrankforthJohnN.pdf" target="_blank">John Frankforth</a>, and P. A. Dayton to form the Central Garage Co. to sell <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Motor_Company" target="_blank">Maxwell</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Motor_Car_Company" target="_blank">Oakland </a>automobiles from headquarters on Fourth Avenue (</span><i>GH </i>2/15/<span>1910). Before the year was out Campbell and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/52/HarrisEdwin.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. E. E. Harris</a> bought out the others and became sole proprietors (<i>GH </i>9/27/1910), only to sell the business eighteen months later (<i>GH </i>2/9/1912). A 1905 newspaper advertisement indicated that he collaborated with another man to rent out pasture south of Ewart (<i>GH </i>4/28/1905), and in 1902 Campbell joined the board of the Newburg Telephone Company </span></span><span>(</span><i>GH </i>1/10/<span>1902). He also held a spot on the board of the Farmers Elevator Company of which he presumably owned a share (<i>GH </i>1/20/1925). Consequently, although he told the 1915 Iowa census-taker that his farm income in 1914 had totaled only $150, John Campbell was in fact a wealthy man.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Most Grinnell townsfolk of that era belonged to a church, but the Campbells seem not to have been especially ardent Christians. The 1895 Iowa census, which included a question inquiring about "Religious Belief," reported that John Campbell was "Indif[ferent]" to religion, and Campbell's 1915 Iowa Census card left blank the line that asked for church affiliation. I could not find John's name among the membership lists of any Grinnell church nor did I find any newspaper mentions of his association with a Grinnell church, all of which indicates that religion did not have much impact upon him. His 1933 funeral did take place in Grinnell's Methodist Church, but that seems to have happened without any earlier ties. Sarah Campbell reported in the 1895 census that she was a Baptist, and her obituary makes the same claim. But it was the Methodist minister, </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137851116/george-blagg" target="_blank">Rev. George Blagg,</a><span> who presided at her 1929 funeral that took place at their Sixth Avenue home (rather than at church) and I could not find Sarah's name in the surviving Baptist church directories. Consequently, one must conclude that religion played little part in the Campbells' life in Grinnell.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>By contrast, both John and Sarah Campbell actively participated in organizations that connected them to the Civil War. John was a long-time and faithful member of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Army_of_the_Republic" target="_blank">Grand Army of the Republic</a><span> (G.A.R.), and Sarah was active in its sister organization, the </span></span><a href="https://guides.loc.gov/grand-army-of-the-republic/auxiliary-allied-organizations/womans-relief-corps" target="_blank">Woman's Relief Corps</a><span> (W.R.C.)</span><span>. Grinnell newspapers regularly told readers of Campbell's attendance at G.A.R. encampments, and John sometimes served as officer in the Gordon Granger chapter of the G.A.R.: in 1902, for instance, he was junior vice commander (<i>GH </i>12/12/1902) and he marched as G.A.R. post commander in the city's 1909 Memorial Day parade (<i>GH </i>5/28/1909). When in 1922 <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33753613/nina-wayne-forney" target="_blank">Nina Wayne Grau (1884-1974)</a> took photographs of Grinnell's surviving Civil War veterans, John Campbell was one of twenty-eight whose likeness she preserved and exhibited at Merchants National Bank (<i>GH </i>3/28/1922). </span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5aJyLi79y7qAdHXcJf3WbJWobgtpiaLl4e07WU_aC2Get7ckVqU1b1dF5tmZOzOGlRheQ3Wzg6aJtUFFoavpqFmERSBbY33WM_nMs2TXEokO4CM2shuenlBUWVwYighK_qbnJ-vgFA81gDnMil5DA-vg7_9Luk4_K_viTiXTolM3tQNKJrRv03A9iEw/s918/HeadlineGH28Mar1922.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="918" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5aJyLi79y7qAdHXcJf3WbJWobgtpiaLl4e07WU_aC2Get7ckVqU1b1dF5tmZOzOGlRheQ3Wzg6aJtUFFoavpqFmERSBbY33WM_nMs2TXEokO4CM2shuenlBUWVwYighK_qbnJ-vgFA81gDnMil5DA-vg7_9Luk4_K_viTiXTolM3tQNKJrRv03A9iEw/s320/HeadlineGH28Mar1922.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headline of Story in <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>March 28, 1922<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Sarah Campbell was no less fervent in her support for the W. R. C., and is first recalled in the local news in 1898-99 as vice-president of the Grinnell branch (<i>Iowa Times Republican </i>12/6/1898; <i>GH </i>1/10/1899); a 1903 notice identified her as the group's treasurer (<i>GH </i>1/6/1903), and when the organization's president left town for California in 1908 Sarah was named to replace her (<i>GH </i>6/23/1908). At her 1929 burial in Hazelwood, "the W. R. C. gave the ritual service," bidding farewell to their long-time member (<i>GH </i>12/6/1929).</span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zYUSeSatqJWNtfpLuTHWnmH_KsJMfYqmP8PWco2G1HsxUsnDzOPoodGtOCRJtXkwDlRN6NAB7zBhckYDESB4y5E3BHoe9QQyqOEkQXo75_3i4r2c6MWOFZqc4mOP-lGP5VhKPCh9gTAO6A74jlKCUNlafbM1t8Yos-hmWJW1gF3kiqU-b8nTXYNe4g/s1850/MitchellMotorAd.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="1850" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zYUSeSatqJWNtfpLuTHWnmH_KsJMfYqmP8PWco2G1HsxUsnDzOPoodGtOCRJtXkwDlRN6NAB7zBhckYDESB4y5E3BHoe9QQyqOEkQXo75_3i4r2c6MWOFZqc4mOP-lGP5VhKPCh9gTAO6A74jlKCUNlafbM1t8Yos-hmWJW1gF3kiqU-b8nTXYNe4g/s320/MitchellMotorAd.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Life </i>vol. 48 (Jul-Dec 1906):242<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Although the Campbells arrived in Iowa in 1871 in a covered wagon, John Campbell enthusiastically embraced the automobile. Newspapers reported in 1908, when Grinnell could boast only a few cars, that Campbell had acquired a new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_(automobile)" target="_blank">Mitchell automobile;</a> as the newspaper observed, his was the first Mitchell purchased in Grinnell (</span><i>GH </i>3/13/<span>1908)</span><span>. How many other automobiles Campbell may have owned I do not know, but records prove that he purchased at least one more: The <i>Grinnell Register </i>noted that in 1916 he acquired a </span><span>Hudson Super 6 (10/12/1916), a new model introduced only months before. A widely-advertised "performance car" that passed through Grinnell on its 1916 record-breaking cross-country race (<i>GH </i>9/19/1916), the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Super_Six#Indie" target="_blank">Super Six employed six cylinders</a> and generated considerably more horsepower than most of its competitors. Consequently, the Hudson Super Six commanded higher prices. The Knight agency, which sold Hudsons in Grinnell, advertised the Super Six for between $1650 and $3025, depending upon the model (<i>GR </i>7/12/1917). Clearly the Campbells were enjoying a good income, one sufficient to allow them to spend winters in California, as they did at least once </span></span><span>(<i>GH </i>12/3/1912).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbr5YlnALL0QpNKR2LX6ry7gBZqkyGPjxM4Asiar2guYGILTgB7ssmX8QdywB5ZsGWGeqXxBoi1rWVN9CjbduPVJO0DJD2v5Iz7oiS_hv7SHgyShapBkiPzghn44KOJgA-v-m-f9g9m5LCavfr_8koCqeAriEHYkp0w9-yR0FdJTy_tRfm0XJULzNKfA/s960/HudsonSuperSix.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="960" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbr5YlnALL0QpNKR2LX6ry7gBZqkyGPjxM4Asiar2guYGILTgB7ssmX8QdywB5ZsGWGeqXxBoi1rWVN9CjbduPVJO0DJD2v5Iz7oiS_hv7SHgyShapBkiPzghn44KOJgA-v-m-f9g9m5LCavfr_8koCqeAriEHYkp0w9-yR0FdJTy_tRfm0XJULzNKfA/s320/HudsonSuperSix.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hudson Super Six<br />(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Super_Six#Indie)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Like most Grinnell men at the time, John Campbell belonged to the Republican Party. Reporting on Republicans who gathered for the 1908 county convention in Montezuma, the <i>Grinnell Herald </i>named John Campbell with other of the town's notable first ward Republicans (6/16/1908). Campbell also twice ran for city council, in 1907 winning the seat to represent the first ward and two years later entering the primary against H. G. Lyman (<i>GH </i>4/2/1907; <i>GH </i>2/12/1909). Among Campbell's business associates in Grinnell was <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/Sept04/StewartJoel.pdf" target="_blank">Joel Stewart (1833-1918)</a>, who, like Campbell accumulated considerable real estate and served on the board of Grinnell Savings Bank alongside Campbell. Evidence of their friendship is the fact that, when Stewart's first wife, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S2/StewartAnnaMarieB.pdf" target="_blank">Anna Marie Stewart (1826-1908)</a>, died in 1908, it was John Campbell who served as executor for her will (<i>GH </i>10/9/1908).</span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So far as the printed record can prove, the Campbells enjoyed a good life in Grinnell. Despite Grinnell's bank failures in the mid-1920s and the country's limp toward the Great Depression, John and Sarah Campbell had little of which to complain. <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/CampbellSarahJ.pdf" target="_blank">Sarah's obituary</a> described her as "loved and respected by those who knew her and she in turn was a good neighbor and friend." <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/CampbellSarahJ.pdf" target="_blank">John's obituarist</a> claimed that "everyone liked John Campbell" and described him as "a good citizen and a friendly, pleasant companion." Nevertheless, illness and mortality found them as the 1920s expired. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Autumn 1929 Sarah Campbell experienced a health crisis which brought gradual decline as autumn ceded its place to winter. When Sarah died at home in early December, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BrookerRalphE.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. Ralph Brooker (d. 1936)</a> attributed death to "apoplexy," a term with a confusing and vague history. Since no autopsy was done on Sarah, it seems unlikely that Dr. Brooker found evidence of organ hemorrhage, the narrow meaning of apoplexy; more likely Sarah suffered a stroke in September when Brooker first saw her, and her condition deteriorated over the next few months until her early December death. John Campbell survived her, sharing their Sixth Avenue home with daughter Bessie. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysbPvenMMgSs5H8bkihg4MTYTMzBR89eC-gfISPo4RxGA7rC6uUCCLyY5DaDnWhibXyJgprlUwALcv9ECswF80AvMOywS17gZveyKJxhJ3_W1x4cIbrP99useckYzRTyawgFlMhtMUvyUK4DHRCO5n4Xu4qm2zl1XadpnnmLELy8UCi73StGyLPbzLg/s640/StFrancisReg22Mar1933P122AJPEG%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="80" data-original-width="640" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysbPvenMMgSs5H8bkihg4MTYTMzBR89eC-gfISPo4RxGA7rC6uUCCLyY5DaDnWhibXyJgprlUwALcv9ECswF80AvMOywS17gZveyKJxhJ3_W1x4cIbrP99useckYzRTyawgFlMhtMUvyUK4DHRCO5n4Xu4qm2zl1XadpnnmLELy8UCi73StGyLPbzLg/s320/StFrancisReg22Mar1933P122AJPEG%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii83eGIEwuUOAZI2U9-zuw0UYTSqCkRuZQGTt2rkGKWmG7oqxUdQQv5GfcrHx2M_N0FDXULrDrDqMIhdppIpOzMaY385HJ2FXgC3AYRoA-Adv7r6GEKjSXqxtdINnr4ktNdfRgD8QNz1CnzcKUwEbsXlkRF7awVV5FdUp7hvKgvGqXT8oyMRUh8gKs4Q/s640/StFrancisReg22Mar1933P122BJPEG%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="70" data-original-width="640" height="35" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii83eGIEwuUOAZI2U9-zuw0UYTSqCkRuZQGTt2rkGKWmG7oqxUdQQv5GfcrHx2M_N0FDXULrDrDqMIhdppIpOzMaY385HJ2FXgC3AYRoA-Adv7r6GEKjSXqxtdINnr4ktNdfRgD8QNz1CnzcKUwEbsXlkRF7awVV5FdUp7hvKgvGqXT8oyMRUh8gKs4Q/s320/StFrancisReg22Mar1933P122BJPEG%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;">March 22, 1933 entry in St. Francis Hospital Register</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Grinnell Historical Museum; my thanks to Ann Igoe for providing me with these scans)</div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">But John Campbell's health also was approaching its limit. As the St. Francis Hospital Register shows, on March 22, 1933 John entered St. Francis hospital where his doctor, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/P/PadghamJohnT.pdf">John Padgham (1876-1948),</a> ordered x-rays. By April 4th, Campbell was dead, Padgham reporting the cause of death to be carcinoma of the stomach, an illness that Padgham said had lasted for about a year. Surviving John Campbell were his two children: Bessie, who would have been about 58 when her father died, had never married and had no children; David Lewis Campbell was four years older, had married Mabel Knight in 1899, but also had no children.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>John Campbell composed his last will and testament in late January 1931, a little over a year after Sarah's death and about two years before his own demise. The spare document established the John M. and Sarah J. Campbell Trust, the income of which was to be paid to Bessie and David, "share and share alike," "so long as they both shall live, and thereafter to the survivor." Campbell named the Grinnell State Bank as trustee, empowered "to manage, control, sell and convey any real estate belonging to such Trust, and to invest and reinvest the funds belonging thereto." </span><span>The two Campbell children received regular payouts from the fund—<a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91946650/david-lewis-campbell" target="_blank">David until his death in 1948</a> and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91946634/bessie-rebecca-campbell" target="_blank">Bessie until her death in October 1951</a>.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO0wRa7CzWH43kLZo-_IsMpZmu6x5U-svS00-IX4QnziPnnM1sB07OVA9zGuMzvv9ybPhwyYn638p5LL7V8G9qOETYgxoi5tIlddXHoFstOdMKoi40CNDHO0PQPtKAa7YQh3g6qbpHs3vLbFq4PuPi1wvGvYXSXuDoG6EVZEF1UokxvAFw8qDeJYggQ/s1204/CampbellWill.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1192" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO0wRa7CzWH43kLZo-_IsMpZmu6x5U-svS00-IX4QnziPnnM1sB07OVA9zGuMzvv9ybPhwyYn638p5LL7V8G9qOETYgxoi5tIlddXHoFstOdMKoi40CNDHO0PQPtKAa7YQh3g6qbpHs3vLbFq4PuPi1wvGvYXSXuDoG6EVZEF1UokxvAFw8qDeJYggQ/s320/CampbellWill.png" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last Will & Testament of John M. Campbell<br />(Poweshiek County District Court Record 1909-1936, Vol. E, P. 499)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Campbell's will provided that, once both his children were deceased, the income from the Trust should be paid to the "worthy poor." </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">After the death of my children, I direct that the net income from said Trust shall be used for the relief of the worthy poor in the City of Grinnell; and I direct that the Trustee of said Trust shall pay said net income to such persons at such times and in such amounts as shall be determined by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Grinnell...the Mayor and City Council shall give preference to those who may be in need of hospital care or medical attendance...no continuing pension shall be established in favor of anyone and...the funds shall be so applied and paid as to afford relief to those most in need...The names of those receiving assistance under this Trust shall never under any circumstances be published (Poweshiek County District Court Record, 1909-1936, Vol. E, p. 499).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Over the years since the death of Bessie Campbell, the John M. and Sarah J. Campbell Trust has distributed millions. </span><span>Writing in 2014, Mary Schuchmann reported that in the preceding twenty-five years alone the trust had paid out almost $2.3 million (</span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i><span>6/30/2014); the total payout since the 1950s is probably in excess of $4 million. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Those in Grinnell who had been involved with the Social Service League must have been surprised at John Campbell's plan. </span></span><span>The man's financial success gave little reason to think that he identified with or cared about the poor, worthy or otherwise. It is possible that he was the anonymous "benevolent citizen" who in 1919 gave $2500 over five years to pay medical bills of the "worthy poor" (</span><i>GH </i><span>7/15/1919), but nothing else—religious or otherwise—survives to confirm his charitable impulse.</span><span> </span><span>Indeed, like other of Grinnell's pioneers, John Campbell braved a great deal to succeed on the Iowa plains and, so far as we know, he had no help in fashioning a large estate that generated a good income. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps in his last years John Campbell turned his mind's eye back to those dreadful months he spent in Andersonville prison in 1864. If any moment from his eighty-seven years etched in consciousness the wretched condition of those unable to help themselves, the gruesome existence of Union soldiers within Andersonville did. But if the shadows of his teenage encounter with mortality and dreadful want in Andersonville circulated within his adult brain, John Campbell told no one about it.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, official Grinnell set about policing charity so that only the helpless—widows, the disabled, the penurious—earned public compassion. Bruited about in the public square and on the pages of local newspapers, Grinnell's "worthy poor" occupied a prominent place in the consciousness of John Campbell's Grinnell. Here, where the well-off were plagued by deceptive impostors and able-bodied men unwilling to work, John Campbell could absorb a particular vision of charity that could be reliably extended only to the "worthy poor."</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;">NOTE: I owe special thanks to Phil Palmer, Sharon Mealey, Cheryl Neubert, Barb Lease and Ann Igoe. I am also indebted to Mary Schuchmann, Dorrie Lalonde, Barb Lease, and the late Karen Groves for having done the original research on John Campbell that appeared in several articles in the <i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>some years ago.</p></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-15457639897648705422023-02-28T12:45:00.039-08:002023-03-12T05:34:23.756-07:00Born Black in Grinnell: Overlooked No More<p><span style="font-size: medium;">A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/02/12/upshot/child-maternal-mortality-rich-poor.html" target="_blank">recent study of childbirth in California </a>revealed that Black mothers—even "rich" Black mothers—and their babies fare much worse in childbirth than do white mothers—even worse than poor white mothers. In this study 350 babies out of 100,000 children born to poor white mothers died before their first birthday, whereas 437 babies per 100,000 born to the <i>richest</i> Black mothers perished before their first birthday. The numbers are even worse for the poorest Black mothers, confirming that, although income powerfully affects the outcome of childbirth in the United States, race has an even more potent effect.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfDKPlEXfxyy7qrSg__8UbtU_cFHSafUPH0yV2oYmbMYc-ntNrETohSYCPKvv70z2snW7KB1304n4BHBitf2H8zuX4veTLCIzdCq1UcHDoz8Zoh_0DHSG7eXikTZTfsx_AMvsapYMgxIE9eoFX9mvhbld834l1qJlWRvKrMjDVbyfwIYQ9ftt3mdXlg/s1326/NYT12Feb2023.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="934" data-original-width="1326" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfDKPlEXfxyy7qrSg__8UbtU_cFHSafUPH0yV2oYmbMYc-ntNrETohSYCPKvv70z2snW7KB1304n4BHBitf2H8zuX4veTLCIzdCq1UcHDoz8Zoh_0DHSG7eXikTZTfsx_AMvsapYMgxIE9eoFX9mvhbld834l1qJlWRvKrMjDVbyfwIYQ9ftt3mdXlg/s320/NYT12Feb2023.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New York Times, </i>February 12, 2023<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Grinnell's small population and its even smaller population of African Americans make it difficult to see how this dynamic of childbirth played out in central Iowa. Of course, African American babies had been born in Grinnell almost from the very founding of the town. The great majority of all local births, however, had happened at home and had not automatically entered the record books. After </span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/03/when-grinnell-got-hospital.html" target="_blank">the establishment of hospitals in Grinnell early in the twentieth century</a> and the gradual transition of delivery to hospitals, <span>record-keeping became more regular. But few Black children have been born here since then, making it difficult to know if in Grinnell there was any significant difference between African American births and all other births.</span></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWarKwcuV0CbNAKvPI_GJWfYakSxXB2AdKVg6jwIf560BJcurdZeyZOxAi1HVYIHsX0FDEkYR8peZq87ZOOINun_21B4VsD5_dIps6CYLs0plIhe9Zx8IlOKyjwKoG8iVU70Tes9EDs5Cssv2UPGfd81_s-wV5eQP56Tjf9suFr4HtDbgPuxu0-BuIdg/s1058/GHR29Dec1955Thomas.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1058" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWarKwcuV0CbNAKvPI_GJWfYakSxXB2AdKVg6jwIf560BJcurdZeyZOxAi1HVYIHsX0FDEkYR8peZq87ZOOINun_21B4VsD5_dIps6CYLs0plIhe9Zx8IlOKyjwKoG8iVU70Tes9EDs5Cssv2UPGfd81_s-wV5eQP56Tjf9suFr4HtDbgPuxu0-BuIdg/s320/GHR29Dec1955Thomas.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>December 29, 1955<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I was thinking about this problem recently while skimming the December 29, 1955 issue of the <i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>where<i> </i>I found a surprise: a photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Thomas—both African Americans—holding their newborn twins, Anthony and Andrea, born December 26, 1955 at Grinnell's St. Francis hospital.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As I came to learn, both Anthony and <a href="https://www.northwestfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Andrea-Thomas-3/#!/Obituary" target="_blank">Andrea (1955-2016)</a> survived their first year, distinguishing themselves from the large numbers of Black babies in the California study who died before reaching their first birthday. But who were the Thomases? <a href="https://www.thegazette.com/art/book-explores-rarely-told-african-american-history-rooted-in-grinnell/" target="_blank">I had studied Grinnell's African Americans</a> but I had never heard of Carl or Anna Mae Thomas. Today's post aims to recover the slimly-documented history of this Black American family that spent a half-dozen years in Grinnell in the 1950s.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our story begins not in Grinnell, but rather in Monroe County, some sixty miles south of Grinnell. It was there in 1923 that <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101675559/pearl-thomas" target="_blank">Pearl Thomas (1882-1960)</a>, a 40-year-old African American man, took as his second wife 19-year-old <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101675671/hazel-thomas" target="_blank">Hazel Hollingsworth (1904-1973)</a> (<i>Albia Union-Republican, </i>March 29, 1923). This union generated twelve children, one of whom, Carl Eugene, became father to the twins whose photo I discovered in the 1955 newspaper.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdkg10BdC-SVZA2ZZdzbr6kJ0Vr2O6OBacg9mhfARpq-knhqXGzlTqvi7w9QoZOZUt0IarVXKpR3ET_ialgycKwPcOwzr05XPWXdF0ZHc-pL16xV5mVHN68wrm6zkadlj-GBi8TDNFyF9Wf-vuBdvc-tuX-HgL6lheYf-wmq8xFQa3oA33qoL9z0O4g/s452/2AlbiaUnionRepublican29Mar1923.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="452" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdkg10BdC-SVZA2ZZdzbr6kJ0Vr2O6OBacg9mhfARpq-knhqXGzlTqvi7w9QoZOZUt0IarVXKpR3ET_ialgycKwPcOwzr05XPWXdF0ZHc-pL16xV5mVHN68wrm6zkadlj-GBi8TDNFyF9Wf-vuBdvc-tuX-HgL6lheYf-wmq8xFQa3oA33qoL9z0O4g/s320/2AlbiaUnionRepublican29Mar1923.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Albia Union Republican, </i>March 29, 1923<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Although Blacks were not uncommon in the early twentieth century in this part of Monroe County where coal-mining had given rise to communities like <a href="https://iowaculture.gov/history/education/educator-resources/primary-source-sets/buxton-lost-utopia" target="_blank">Buxton where Blacks were numerous</a>, in Albia Pearl's family lived on the margins. Their home in the 500 block of B Avenue West quite literally placed them at Albia's geographic edge, a metaphor for their economic vulnerability. The precariousness of the family economy appears in Pearl's work history that shows him to have moved through a series of low-paying jobs. When Pearl first married in 1912, he worked as a "fireman" for a local firm ("Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," FamilySearch); the 1920 US census remembers him as a "porter" in a bakery, and 1930 census described him as a "laborer" in an auto shop, a position that may explain how later that year Pearl advertised his business of washing and cleaning cars (</span><i>Albia Union Republican, </i><span>June 5, 1930). </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MJR6GeRctdUztaICkMm1jBOvG6FCqTz6SSYOMjSBDT0MUiQlqJqyAMMaP30aabwgTJvQq6q-uoYn43_HL1GSQFzRwYHHE_yn9l9ygSQIeICkDxVpknLRkPNH4IEt4-LBB2QbwTL2QCbJoToelkyVK1mdIa_THE4gVukWZ7UGLVPSxNMiDi6GumslIQ/s596/5AlbiaUnionRepublican5Jun1930.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="596" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MJR6GeRctdUztaICkMm1jBOvG6FCqTz6SSYOMjSBDT0MUiQlqJqyAMMaP30aabwgTJvQq6q-uoYn43_HL1GSQFzRwYHHE_yn9l9ygSQIeICkDxVpknLRkPNH4IEt4-LBB2QbwTL2QCbJoToelkyVK1mdIa_THE4gVukWZ7UGLVPSxNMiDi6GumslIQ/s320/5AlbiaUnionRepublican5Jun1930.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Albia Union Republican, </i>June 5, 1930<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>After the Depression settled onto Monroe County, Pearl cast about for work; by 1940 he was employed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration" target="_blank">Works Progress Administration</a> in road construction. The 1950 US census left blank the space where Pearl's work might have been listed, but evidently he organized a new business, hauling trash and garbage (see, for example, </span><i>Albia Union Republican, </i><span>December 29, 1955). </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133098265/carl-eugene-thomas" target="_blank">Carl Eugene Thomas (1928-1995)</a>, who with his own family is the focus of our story, was the fourth child born to Hazel and Pearl. In 1940 Carl was still too young to be working, but when he registered for the military draft in 1946, Carl told the registrar that he was employed at a "malleable foundry" in Fairfield, Iowa. The 1950 US census has both Carl and his brother, <a href="https://www.schrodermortuary.com/obituaries/kenneth-thomas" target="_blank">Kenneth (1932-2014)</a>, "trucking fertilizer" for a feed store. Although the census does not identify Carl's employer, he likely worked for Goode Feed & Seed Co., an Albia business that sold fertilizer along with seed.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4FoWwt5LcbrCJBpGjFTFYy4qeOX59pN7ibKoGouxEs-KKdmDOne8d9d1_m-RlyM-DeHlmHbeWv198Ij020LoUiXNo0WuWmzYLC_bpQ3DHcOZ4r2Sh5Kaidtvkvj_lwcqRGhOi8aRf26HVBaypIdc_9BUOa5OmQqG0CG3qOuscIc13O4x3m39JKicpA/s1076/LoviliaPress6Apr1950.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="606" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe4FoWwt5LcbrCJBpGjFTFYy4qeOX59pN7ibKoGouxEs-KKdmDOne8d9d1_m-RlyM-DeHlmHbeWv198Ij020LoUiXNo0WuWmzYLC_bpQ3DHcOZ4r2Sh5Kaidtvkvj_lwcqRGhOi8aRf26HVBaypIdc_9BUOa5OmQqG0CG3qOuscIc13O4x3m39JKicpA/s320/LoviliaPress6Apr1950.png" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Lovilia Press, </i>April 6, 1950<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Soon after the census-takers left Albia, Carl married Anna Mae Brooks (1933- ) in nearby Pershing. </span><span>Anna Mae was the child of </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133133845/leonard-curtis-brooks" target="_blank">Leonard Brooks (1903-1933)</a><span> and Mary Tessel Washington (1910-1981). Leonard and Mary both had been born in Buxton, the mainly Black coal-mining town near Albia. Leonard's father had been a blacksmith (and minister), but from an early age Leonard had worked in the coal mines, an occupation that may have contributed to his early death (at age 30) from </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobar_pneumonia" target="_blank">lobar pneumonia</a><span> (Standard Certificate of Death, Monroe County, Rexfield Village, Registered No. 68-6). When Leonard married in Buxton in December 1928, he was 26 and his bride not yet 19 (Iowa State Board of Health, Return of Marriage to Clerk of District Court, 77-13647). At least one brother, William (1929- ) had preceded her into the family, but Anna Mae followed in May 1933, just a few months before Leonard's death in September. Consequently, Anna Mae grew up without knowing her father. Her mother remarried in December 1935, taking the Thomas's recently-widowed neighbor on Albia's B Avenue West, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119030298/lewis-dudley" target="_blank">Lewis Dudley (1897-1961),</a> as her second husband ("Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934," Family Search). The 1940 US Census shows Anna and her brother, William, living with their mom in the newly-blended Dudley family in Pershing, Iowa.</span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Carl was 22 in June 1950 when he married Brooks, who was then just 17. How the two met I do not know; Pershing is about 25 miles north of Albia, and in 1940 Anna would have attended elementary school there, and probably attended high school later in Knoxville. It seems likely, therefore, that the couple did not meet at school. However they got together, the match resulted in the birth of eight children. Their first child, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133131739/shelia-ann-noblin" target="_blank">Shelia Ann (1950-2013)</a>, was born September 1950 in the Albia home of Anna Mae's grandmother, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133134317/sallie-bell-brooks" target="_blank">Sallie (Harrelson) Brooks (1878-1952)</a>. In a telephone conversation with me (February 20, 2023), Anna remembered that at birth Shelia weighed more than 8 pounds and arrived in good health. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirphVHaz3OONN9jta8gOJs6KtTayyzL0E9ds2MmoutbfxOVsm5w2QvTCI7mV8-cyoZzPbjyhURWarlaZ6oZi-cuZbMk5FZfWxtmZbjrF2TJS1Ife06rrnvu1K1exhqnPyPtZmw7SB2ps2g90kvDcjm318SVkOjhHJjKBe_YBdtusQb4xKyp3AQbleZWw/s414/AnnaMaeThomas.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="414" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirphVHaz3OONN9jta8gOJs6KtTayyzL0E9ds2MmoutbfxOVsm5w2QvTCI7mV8-cyoZzPbjyhURWarlaZ6oZi-cuZbMk5FZfWxtmZbjrF2TJS1Ife06rrnvu1K1exhqnPyPtZmw7SB2ps2g90kvDcjm318SVkOjhHJjKBe_YBdtusQb4xKyp3AQbleZWw/s320/AnnaMaeThomas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Anna Mae (Brooks) Thomas Juarez<br />(Facebook account of Anna Juarez)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Until the birth of Shelia Ann, the lives of Carl and his bride had centered on Monroe County, especially on Albia where the 1950 US census found about 4800 people. But at just this moment Carl and Anna Mae decided to take their little girl and move, first briefly to Des Moines, and then to Grinnell whose population the 1950 census counted at 6800. Because of this move, Carl and Anna were already resident in Grinnell when on February 3, 1952 Anna gave birth at Grinnell's St. Francis Hospital to her second child, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133098430/gregory-eugene-thomas" target="_blank">Gregory Eugene (1952-1995)</a>, who weighed a healthy 8 pounds and 1/2 ounce (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>February 4, 1952). Anna's doctor for this and subsequent deliveries in Grinnell was <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BrobynThomasE.pdf">Thomas Brobyn (1908-1966)</a>, who in post-war Grinnell practiced with <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/43/KorfmacherEdwinS.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. Edwin Korfmacher (1904-1960)</a>; both physicians were on staff at St. Francis hospital. But it is <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/H2/HornPauline.pdf" target="_blank">Sister Pauline (1897-1991</a>), who helped welcome generations of babies into the world at St. Francis hospital, whom Anna remembers now. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamW8KLyzLcWYPzCDC2RD-UA8XNq_eLqAhuAIrBcHGeFhbXZbC9qQK-kDHzGH24gbVdSJbToId6m7i-hfSVcAQtXc3gNSEGJGuNNOKHhSb4OHiY54moCgbsZGodG6PAmBpPPNCb5Qw_hlMGITVPuZQ2Pzg6JO8E2IQaNuoilAId4fgW2x2cf8_hz6-qQ/s640/SisterPauline1949.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="640" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamW8KLyzLcWYPzCDC2RD-UA8XNq_eLqAhuAIrBcHGeFhbXZbC9qQK-kDHzGH24gbVdSJbToId6m7i-hfSVcAQtXc3gNSEGJGuNNOKHhSb4OHiY54moCgbsZGodG6PAmBpPPNCb5Qw_hlMGITVPuZQ2Pzg6JO8E2IQaNuoilAId4fgW2x2cf8_hz6-qQ/s320/SisterPauline1949.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister Pauline with Dorothy Tarleton Palmer and Baby Cynthia (1949)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A12073)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">One may imagine that it was the attraction of a job that brought Carl to Grinnell. Several of his siblings left Albia for Moline, Illinois and jobs at the <a href="https://blog.machinefinder.com/27470/john-deere-harvester-works" target="_blank">John Deere Harvester Works</a>, but Grinnell had no factory so large as that. If Carl continued the kind of work he had done in Albia, he might have driven a truck for one of Grinnell's two seed companies, <a href="https://www.dekalbasgrowdeltapine.com/en-us/dekalb.html" target="_blank">DeKalb </a>or Sumner Brothers. DeKalb was the bigger operation, and in Grinnell was headquartered in the former home of <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell:13988" target="_blank">Grinnell Washing Machine Company</a> at 733 Main (where today the Elks' Lodge stands). Sumner Brothers Seed Company's home at 4th and Spring was closer to the Thomas's first Grinnell home on Prairie Street (<i>Polk's Grinnell City Directory 1940, </i>p. 182).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDZFB7hlQ97EkO2rSV3zSwqUO91LIc8G5r77-nXdH8wfejGBi7PnB9axigeFsWfBDl_SIM35WQt4RdMzwujEj5q1if7mhEC_xZdMvGN2WKJ6FEUlCyyYgAFG9b_IOYpysWhd0Ydfalkw5PhnHDx4LKaLGh_YycQrM8zk-YKMYIGgKsW8IrGhVEWzBpg/s886/1940GrinDirSeed.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="886" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDZFB7hlQ97EkO2rSV3zSwqUO91LIc8G5r77-nXdH8wfejGBi7PnB9axigeFsWfBDl_SIM35WQt4RdMzwujEj5q1if7mhEC_xZdMvGN2WKJ6FEUlCyyYgAFG9b_IOYpysWhd0Ydfalkw5PhnHDx4LKaLGh_YycQrM8zk-YKMYIGgKsW8IrGhVEWzBpg/s320/1940GrinDirSeed.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Polk's Grinnell City Directory 1940 </i>(Omaha: R. L. Polk & Co., 1940), p. 14<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In fact, however, Carl worked at neither of these firms. Anna remembered that instead Carl worked for a Grinnell automobile dealer's service department. All these years later she could not recall the name of the dealership, but did remember that Carl often washed and polished newly-delivered automobiles, following in the footsteps of his father who had done similar work in Albia in the 1930s.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVHp87JTloalQTtY8WrtjgiIhAMnUBWOfC13bo_4EpkEkMR97zMCKTmklJA6bOrVGbObK1xi48AXVRZyYu17Bm29MTXSWCl9UBKYYvRTAkkGeiU7SKqNbNIWHOkiEl9Tco0xRxCZJh0ApSIrCWpWl1qG0gK5YS3k02Va2S8sIHQtn5x89YqxWB7Dq_Q/s1770/Sanborn1932-1943P7.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1770" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVHp87JTloalQTtY8WrtjgiIhAMnUBWOfC13bo_4EpkEkMR97zMCKTmklJA6bOrVGbObK1xi48AXVRZyYu17Bm29MTXSWCl9UBKYYvRTAkkGeiU7SKqNbNIWHOkiEl9Tco0xRxCZJh0ApSIrCWpWl1qG0gK5YS3k02Va2S8sIHQtn5x89YqxWB7Dq_Q/s320/Sanborn1932-1943P7.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1932-1943 Sanborn Map of Western Grinnell<br />(https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4154gm.g026731943/?sp=8&st=single&r=-0.14,-0.025,1.281,0.59,0)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>When Gregory, the family's second child, was born the Grinnell newspaper reported that the Thomases were living at 1003 Prairie Street, at the intersection of Prairie and Fifth Avenue, which at the time constituted the western-most edge of Grinnell (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>February 4, 1952). Although today a solid ranch house stands on that lot, nothing survives to describe the building in which the Thomases settled in 1952. When I spoke with Anna by telephone, she remembered the house as having had only one bedroom, and, like the Pearl Thomas home in Albia, the Thomas's first residence in Grinnell stood on what was then the outskirts of town.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Almost exactly one year after having delivered Gregory, Anna gave birth to the couple's third child, Leonard Macey; he, too, was born at St. Francis Hospital, weighing 7 pounds, 6 1/4 ounces (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>February 23, 1953). Telephone directories indicate (if the initial in the listing ["Thomas Carl W"] is an error) that by the time Leonard came home with his mother, the Thomases and their three children were living at 1031 Elm, a two-story house with three bedrooms, apparently a significant upgrade over the Prairie Street address.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMb0A6ckCXSLL6N2g53MH_qI7GhxB2iILQzA2Yt1D8TK-TcyGRWl4fOCmxv8blfeCXeal1agSrWIgsHTxE_R98YVg3muymxskCzo0DmTOtGNRC5bwuupw_UOQoLy4a1w_LJ1m3pmYv3-nzanlOGUJkoAL7m-JoNI7_0l7g0lNnKG0FEUVuf-lPQqu2Q/s670/1031%20Elm.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="638" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMb0A6ckCXSLL6N2g53MH_qI7GhxB2iILQzA2Yt1D8TK-TcyGRWl4fOCmxv8blfeCXeal1agSrWIgsHTxE_R98YVg3muymxskCzo0DmTOtGNRC5bwuupw_UOQoLy4a1w_LJ1m3pmYv3-nzanlOGUJkoAL7m-JoNI7_0l7g0lNnKG0FEUVuf-lPQqu2Q/s320/1031%20Elm.png" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1031 Elm Street (2013 photo)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The 1954 telephone directory found the Thomases at 714 Center Street, an address that brought them close to other African Americans. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/R/RedrickCarrie.pdf" target="_blank">Carrie Redrick (1886-1969)</a><span> was then living at 729 Center, just across the street a ways, and </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/R/RenfrowEva.pdf" target="_blank">Eva Renfrow (1875-1962)</a><span> was about two blocks away in the family home at 411 First Avenue. One may imagine, given the few Blacks then resident in Grinnell, that the proximity of African Americans brought Carl and Anna Thomas some satisfaction. However, Carrie and Eva, both widows and considerably older than Carl and Anna (Carrie was almost 70 and Eva was in her late 70s), may not have provided as much support as the Thomases hoped for. Moreover, the house on Center Street seems to have been much smaller than their Elm Street residence; a one-story structure, 714 Center could boast only two bedrooms and total living area of less than 1000 square feet.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08LF1iTcbq3kZcdC_asFntPo54BqUNcNIeqU7yR9pEgCTeRy4F2ZZpptfaNQ8IhPmzi0exSOMi9zVf0M_IQkVgX-aMVPK_vX3NQ6gMSKN83-YlsokDrG5zuKLEGuuoQN5kpaQoWM8BQ87_jDwX-weMI42NJjLkWtvh4iNEkwOzWwza8Qa7EP-_cdh8g/s4134/NewbornStFrancis1949.tiff" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2865" data-original-width="4134" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08LF1iTcbq3kZcdC_asFntPo54BqUNcNIeqU7yR9pEgCTeRy4F2ZZpptfaNQ8IhPmzi0exSOMi9zVf0M_IQkVgX-aMVPK_vX3NQ6gMSKN83-YlsokDrG5zuKLEGuuoQN5kpaQoWM8BQ87_jDwX-weMI42NJjLkWtvh4iNEkwOzWwza8Qa7EP-_cdh8g/s320/NewbornStFrancis1949.tiff" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Unidentified Newborn at St. Francis Hospital (1949)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A12074)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>It was Anna's next delivery, again at St. Francis hospital, that brought into the world their twins, Anthony and Andrea. The newborns did not weigh quite as much as their older sister and brothers—Anthony weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces and Andrea weighed 5 pounds 10 1/2 ounces (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>December 26, 1955)—but they were not seriously underweight, and both survived well beyond their first year. When Anna left the hospital, she brought the twins to their next Grinnell home at 723 Summer Street. At this point Carl and Anna had five children under the age of six, but their home had only two bedrooms and a living space of 636 square feet, less than either of their two previous homes. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqturUty50hykJThWeth7Wb8k7L7mGFoNDFgqVDVxDW-nm87zyl8fJX79zjS-Mn-uo4ylMIiLB7FEzNQSrXPc59JqaF8woifxt7xhYgz-VWTraYjtVT21PjVKN6nCSte4wOiyNgNADvdrKTCoEHZjyDKBHSyhrZUu-HnElbGGSkO9jIy6Df6u613kXg/s263/723Summer.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="263" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqturUty50hykJThWeth7Wb8k7L7mGFoNDFgqVDVxDW-nm87zyl8fJX79zjS-Mn-uo4ylMIiLB7FEzNQSrXPc59JqaF8woifxt7xhYgz-VWTraYjtVT21PjVKN6nCSte4wOiyNgNADvdrKTCoEHZjyDKBHSyhrZUu-HnElbGGSkO9jIy6Df6u613kXg/s1600/723Summer.jpeg" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">723 Summer Street (2013 photo)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>As with the house on Center Street, the Summer Street address brought the Thomases close to African Americans: another widow, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/T/TibbsMamie.pdf" target="_blank">Mamie Tibbs (1892-1973)</a>, at that time resided at 712 Elm which was just across the back yard from the Thomas home, and Mamie's second son, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73055619/albert-sylvester-tibbs" target="_blank">Albert Tibbs (1922-1997)</a>, and his family lived down the block from the Thomases at 707 Summer (since razed and replaced). Mamie, who would have been in her early 60s when the Thomases moved to Summer Street, was not in a position to help much, either financially or physically, as she had plenty of challenges to keep her own household operating ("The Hard Life of Widow Tibbs," in Daniel H. Kaiser, <i>Grinnell Stories: African Americans of Early Grinnell </i>[Grinnell: Grinnell Historical Museum, 2020], 157-166). Albert and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82406355/virginia-rachel-tibbs" target="_blank">Virginia Tibbs (1924-2014),</a> on the other hand, although about ten years older than Carl and Anna, were closer in age and also had young children: If Albert, Jr. (1943- ), <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141175694/larry-russell-tibbs" target="_blank">Larry (1944-2014)</a>, and Robert (Danny) Tibbs were older than the Thomas children, Barbara Tibbs (1948- ) was almost the same age as Shelia Thomas and a neighborhood playmate.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXrPHHhsvSAEKBY0mzckPm2Vks0YmAaCfPMpViQKZWFJjME3yeYs5RIluunI9593ffYDFPmD7UWf_Y4ZfIR-70wHcZ2jIXdiQj8OlEBhH2lbpDSgmZkm_tkmadOGINPaxTHxb71A3M0VCCQWC0XLgLoKGpUa7sz4N4KbUcOj-U2aimUr3tOSxaMhWiQ/s640/GHR31Mar1955Tibbs%20copy%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="232" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQXrPHHhsvSAEKBY0mzckPm2Vks0YmAaCfPMpViQKZWFJjME3yeYs5RIluunI9593ffYDFPmD7UWf_Y4ZfIR-70wHcZ2jIXdiQj8OlEBhH2lbpDSgmZkm_tkmadOGINPaxTHxb71A3M0VCCQWC0XLgLoKGpUa7sz4N4KbUcOj-U2aimUr3tOSxaMhWiQ/s320/GHR31Mar1955Tibbs%20copy%202.jpeg" width="116" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Albert S. Tibbs (1922-1997)<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>March 3, 1955)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Like the Renfrow children of an earlier time, Shelia began school in Grinnell, the only African American in her class. I could not find a record to confirm my guess, but I assume that Shelia began school at Davis, entering kindergarten probably the same year her mother gave birth to the twins. If the Thomases left Grinnell in 1957, Shelia would then have also done first grade at Davis Elementary, which at that time served most of south Grinnell. She probably made her way to school in the company of her slightly older neighbor, Barbara Tibbs, who was almost certainly the only Black in her class, a grade or two ahead of Shelia. Before the Thomases moved to Wisconsin, Greg might have started school too, but I found no record to confirm that possibility.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZObbw0iKB3ZuNKaGUWA35Y8jOsIlNcEjZIcQhHMN9AJoI5Bz3pd60C9TCHItbDYPkYeHW4UoRmwvHI0hSXFihZDif1Lq0AzYP_jvvE-hBKQ_GzZX0lumbVlLvCQza3-l9QldeGfSnmRgxF7wQQpkbPuSTuE7gfqjCuyPAXEsAOT7fm2oshzCJbiGLQ/s3677/GHR3Sep1955Pic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3677" data-original-width="2514" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZObbw0iKB3ZuNKaGUWA35Y8jOsIlNcEjZIcQhHMN9AJoI5Bz3pd60C9TCHItbDYPkYeHW4UoRmwvHI0hSXFihZDif1Lq0AzYP_jvvE-hBKQ_GzZX0lumbVlLvCQza3-l9QldeGfSnmRgxF7wQQpkbPuSTuE7gfqjCuyPAXEsAOT7fm2oshzCJbiGLQ/s320/GHR3Sep1955Pic.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelia, Greg, and Leonard Thomas, <i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>September 3, 1955<br />(Thanks to Monique Shore for taking this photograph from the library's bound copy of the newspaper)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>On the telephone and again in a subsequent email, Anna made a point of the fact that her family had encountered no racial discrimination in Grinnell. Some support for that reading comes from a surprising source—a series of advertisements for the local dairy. Every ten days or two weeks Lang's Dairy published a photograph of young children, accompanied by an image of a Lang's milk carton and a ditty affirming the quality of the milk. Of the 100 or so Lang's ads I found in the pages of the </span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register</i><span> in the mid-1950s, only one advertisement included a photograph of Black children: Shelia, Greg, and Lennie Thomas (September 3, 1955). Of course, there were few non-white children in 1950s Grinnell so we can hardly be surprised that the children of only one Black family gained a place in the ads.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The details of the Thomas family's subsequent days in Grinnell remain unknown. Sometime before June 3, 1957, when Anna gave birth to Jeffrey C. Thomas—the couple's sixth child—, the Thomases left Grinnell for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to live close to Anna's relatives. In addition to Jeffrey, in Milwaukee Anna delivered another two sons to the family—Steven in December 1959 and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133098540/ricardo-brooks-thomas" target="_blank">Ricardo Brooks Thomas (1962-2000)</a> in 1962. All eight of the Thomas children, including the four born in Grinnell, successfully lived into adulthood, although four (including Andrea, the twin) died relatively early. Ricardo, the last-born, was only 37 when he died in 2000; Gregory, the first child born to the Thomases in Grinnell, was 43 when he died in 1995; Andrea, who struggled with both diabetes and asthma (</span><i>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, </i><span>August 7, 2005), was 61 at the time of her 2016 death; and Shelia, Anna's first-born, was just 62 when she died in 2013 (<i>Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, </i>February 8, 2013).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4hkE2NrVq7tGhoVFTVo0laRiYhEUnaDlNhZ94f-AO0kAQbsGyhiZYy36E3P8t41iFj0de_h06_bBvYxNnw7u0HC0TG13_VuHbERtl5AiRsjxM8PiG0qGnMAJ9ghWf177hEsaAuH_Uc_d90ap4tkK8-kf8l9BPv72AaW1b50CyAJzWm4xYPnuiJWJvg/s1396/MilwaukeeJournal28Jan1995.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1396" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4hkE2NrVq7tGhoVFTVo0laRiYhEUnaDlNhZ94f-AO0kAQbsGyhiZYy36E3P8t41iFj0de_h06_bBvYxNnw7u0HC0TG13_VuHbERtl5AiRsjxM8PiG0qGnMAJ9ghWf177hEsaAuH_Uc_d90ap4tkK8-kf8l9BPv72AaW1b50CyAJzWm4xYPnuiJWJvg/s320/MilwaukeeJournal28Jan1995.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Milwaukee Journal, </i>January 28, 1995<br />(Thanks to Melissa Shriver of the Milwaukee Public Library who found and scanned this notice for me)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Carl, the focus of our story and father of the Thomas family, also died early; in January 1995 when still only 66 years of age, </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133098265/carl-eugene-thomas" target="_blank">Carl died in Milwaukee and was buried in Graceland Cemetery there</a><span>. At the time all eight of his children were still alive, but he and Anna had evidently parted ways: Carl's death notice makes no mention of Anna, but does remember his long-time companion, Evelyn Jean Davis</span><span>. Anna remarried, taking as her second husband Roberto Juarez. A series of notes she posted in 2014 on the Findagrave websites of her deceased children indicates that she has retained a strong bond with her original family, including those children born to her in Grinnell, two of whom remain alive.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The <i>New York Times </i>periodically publishes biographies of people long gone but unnoticed at the time of their deaths. Entitled <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/overlooked" target="_blank">"Overlooked No More,"</a> the series tries to restore to the record obituaries of "remarkable people whose deaths...went unreported in the <i>New York Times."</i> With the little information presently available it is hard to argue that Carl Thomas or anyone else in that family was "remarkable," even for a small town in central Iowa. But plenty of Grinnell people had their ordinary lives regularly documented in the newspaper and in other records—from their church, their business, their club, their sports team, etc. The newspaper even found space to report on visitors or dinner guests. Not the Thomases, however; I could find no one who remembered them and the </span><span>slim published record that survives does little more than confirm the presence in Grinnell of Carl and Anna Mae Thomas and their children. Born Black in Grinnell, these babies survived their infancy, like most other children born in Grinnell's hospitals in those years. All the rest disappears in the mist.</span></span></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div></span></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-40169854284060029842023-01-27T05:12:00.017-08:002023-02-11T03:08:35.839-08:00When Grinnell College Collaborated With A Black College...<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps nothing was so evil in America's ugly history of racial hatred as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till" target="_blank">1955 murder of Emmett Till</a> and the <a href="https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america" target="_blank">long history of lynching</a>, but the 1960s witnessed its own explosive series of high-profile crimes based on race. Among the most well-known moments of this grim history are the 1963 <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/16thstreetbaptist.htm" target="_blank">bombing of the Sixteenth-Street Baptist Church in Birmingham</a>, Alabama; the 1963 <a href="https://www.mec.cuny.edu/history/murder-of-medgar-evers/" target="_blank">murder of Medgar Evers</a>, an NAACP field worker in Jackson, Mississippi; and the 1968 Memphis <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Martin_Luther_King_Jr." target="_blank">murder of Dr. Martin Luther King</a>, Jr. The 1965 <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march" target="_blank">Selma to Montgomery March</a>, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pettus_Bridge" target="_blank">bloody confrontation at the Edmund Pettus Bridge</a>, along with riots in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_riots" target="_blank">Watts</a> that same year and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Detroit-Riot-of-1967" target="_blank">1967 Detroit riot</a>, highlighted the violent divide between America's Black and white communities.</span></p><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5V8dN7AtAhr-_i-Ylt0xJXpd_MrmFGcjg1yXXgdJZcDKNg5wIzPL0KgPWgdxWNBJ0kyI6iRbfdkmBEIGJl7jNxUjOl4lOzDRFlUj28EYxccEDze9ZzB973wfbkfF4hY6sKgNiGKptPNBLSXOfqbQsLS-v3AhSLVBhSN7PxZif14-6P8nrCdDUIIcHA/s1816/1966Participants.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="1816" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5V8dN7AtAhr-_i-Ylt0xJXpd_MrmFGcjg1yXXgdJZcDKNg5wIzPL0KgPWgdxWNBJ0kyI6iRbfdkmBEIGJl7jNxUjOl4lOzDRFlUj28EYxccEDze9ZzB973wfbkfF4hY6sKgNiGKptPNBLSXOfqbQsLS-v3AhSLVBhSN7PxZif14-6P8nrCdDUIIcHA/s320/1966Participants.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1966 Participants of Grinnell-LeMoyne College Student Exchange<br />(Grinnell College Libraries Special Collections, RG-R, Ser. 6, Box 25; printed in <i>Des Moines Tribune</i>, March 9, 1966).<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>Written into this history in a small font was a Grinnell College plan which, like </span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/11/when-grinnell-college-and-hampton.html" target="_blank">its predecessor with Hampton Institute</a><span>, aimed to collaborate with a Black college. The scale and aims of the program were modest, particularly when seen against the persistent racism of Jim Crow and the growing public demands among African Americans for Black Power. Indeed, so far as the documents can prove, Grinnell's interest in the program did not concentrate upon improving inter-racial relations; initially, at least, the college seems to have conceived of the arrangement as a means to attract Black students to Grinnell and perhaps increase the attraction of the college to Black faculty. However, for the Grinnell students who took part in the exchange that was a part of the collaboration, concerns about racism—their own and their country's—were primary. Today's post examines the Grinnell arrangement with <a href="https://www.loc.edu/" target="_blank">LeMoyne (later, LeMoyne-Owen) College</a> and how the plan played out in a tumultuous era of American history.</span></span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In October 1963, <a href="https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/gallery/ui-president/howard-rothmann-bowen-1964-1969/" target="_blank">Howard Bowen (1908-1989)</a>, then approaching the end of his Grinnell College presidency (1955-1964), circulated to college trustees some comments headlined in trustee minutes as being devoted to "Negro education." In order to "give greater attention to the place of Negroes in our student body," Bowen proposed that Grinnell consider two strategies: </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">(1) to establish a relationship with a Negro college involving various exchanges and mutual assistance; and (2) to join with several liberal arts colleges...in a joint program involving Negro student recruitment, financial aid, and special educational assistance (Minutes of Executive Committee, Grinnell College Board of Trustees, October 16, 1963, Grinnell College Libraries, Special Collections, US US-IaGG Archives/RG-TR).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGT6de9WWFGZ5v1A3GuFH_gnhXdalwT0TLc7yeCltQJdEFi23a36jTZviT9OVKF7SQGj32jv4gVgKG-G5WCwqH34CWsa_6xDoFDbocV7VUkW6D_H7gUZohbiG_vnT4u41HwmvADUJWcYD76LcLessOTO4MVMcuqj8oHRapYje9lF9csm4CiA9CoUGVA/s429/Howard%20R.%20Bowen.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGT6de9WWFGZ5v1A3GuFH_gnhXdalwT0TLc7yeCltQJdEFi23a36jTZviT9OVKF7SQGj32jv4gVgKG-G5WCwqH34CWsa_6xDoFDbocV7VUkW6D_H7gUZohbiG_vnT4u41HwmvADUJWcYD76LcLessOTO4MVMcuqj8oHRapYje9lF9csm4CiA9CoUGVA/w140-h200/Howard%20R.%20Bowen.jpg" width="140" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Howard R. Bowen <br />(https://economics.Illinois.edu/spotlight/historical-faculty/bowen-howard-r)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When the full board of trustees gathered two weeks later Bowen rehearsed the options, again entered in trustee minutes beneath the heading "Negro Education." But now Bowen proved to be more specific about a Negro college with which Grinnell might work: "Among the possibilities the President mentioned," trustee minutes report,</span><span> "would be an arrangement between Grinnell and </span><a href="https://www.loc.edu/" target="_blank">LeMoyne College</a><span>, a Negro liberal arts institution located in Memphis, Tennessee" (ibid., October 30, 1963).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rBN487lGmVTDSyPTpy29gjaJKcMT9hwNHclTxDRZG_kLXxs4JB3Zy3fANRpQTCYHobeSAh0EL4fPjA3LY1p7Zplm9Z-Sy4n1u8ScDg8TF2DieM0wTsX7NwMlBEDgYP-VcTMyEzx_Us7sJvjGdtZV92_SGtyt97VxSRET9BSzVAC2HKAjj2tRz4p11g/s700/lemoyne-college-vintage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="700" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rBN487lGmVTDSyPTpy29gjaJKcMT9hwNHclTxDRZG_kLXxs4JB3Zy3fANRpQTCYHobeSAh0EL4fPjA3LY1p7Zplm9Z-Sy4n1u8ScDg8TF2DieM0wTsX7NwMlBEDgYP-VcTMyEzx_Us7sJvjGdtZV92_SGtyt97VxSRET9BSzVAC2HKAjj2tRz4p11g/s320/lemoyne-college-vintage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard Photograph of LeMoyne College (before 1968)<br />(https://www.historic-memphis.com/memphis-historic/lemoyne/lemoyne.html)<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Exactly how LeMoyne had emerged so quickly as the focus of Grinnell's attention the surviving records do not say. It seems likely, however, that Bowen, who assumed the presidency of the University of Iowa in 1965, was central to the decision, because soon after Bowen arrived in Iowa City the University of Iowa also <a href="https://diyhistory.lib.uiowa.edu/transcribe/4463/137920" target="_blank">established a formal connection with LeMoyne</a> (and nearby <a href="https://www.rustcollege.edu/" target="_blank">Rust College</a>). Moreover, Bowen's published resume identifies (without specifying dates) LeMoyne College among the organizations for which Bowen served either as a director or trustee (Howard Bowen, </span><i>Academic Recollections </i><span>[Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education and American Council on Education, 1988], pp. 97, 152). These coincidences suggest that Bowen himself was behind the original Grinnell plan to partner with LeMoyne. Bowen had trained as an economist, and economics was also the specialty of </span><a href="https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/hollis-freeman-price/" target="_blank">Hollis F. Price (1904-1982)</a><span>, the first African American president of LeMoyne (1943-1970) who headed LeMoyne when Bowen proposed collaboration. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore, that Bowen approached Price with the idea, and the two men together worked out the plan between their respective institutions.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RqNmQrc6aGMyW2Dwb_ZzNxW2RS6J3XZg4DOa-yHJgtUIIhKyOSe28m_9zktSbMXRjF4Raiw6jb6G1tqkMcRkcUsl0WdL1C2hzhrAgvqm8UqL8m3gWo1uQgOXxpWeuYh_yQP60QNxlLml_B2zGp5bbwDLpWG9v0ptDlP9ZFNTBGUGWRNWS18BNPwgNg/s365/hollis-f-price-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="277" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8RqNmQrc6aGMyW2Dwb_ZzNxW2RS6J3XZg4DOa-yHJgtUIIhKyOSe28m_9zktSbMXRjF4Raiw6jb6G1tqkMcRkcUsl0WdL1C2hzhrAgvqm8UqL8m3gWo1uQgOXxpWeuYh_yQP60QNxlLml_B2zGp5bbwDLpWG9v0ptDlP9ZFNTBGUGWRNWS18BNPwgNg/w152-h200/hollis-f-price-2.jpg" width="152" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Hollis F. Price (1904-1982)<br />(https://www.historic-memphis.com/memphis-historic/lemoyne/lemoyne.html)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>LeMoyne-Owen College, as it is known today, grew out of the ashes of America's Civil War. Founded as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeMoyne_Normal_Institute" target="_blank">LeMoyne Normal and Commercial</a> School by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Missionary_Association" target="_blank">American Missionary Association</a> when Federal troops occupied Memphis in 1862, the new institution suffered several tragedies, including being burned to the ground by whites immediately after the Civil War.</span><span> The 1870 cash gift of the Pennsylvania abolitionist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Julius_LeMoyne" target="_blank">Francis Julius LeMoyne</a> gave the school a name, and, like other Historically Black Colleges and Universities, for many years white men ran the institution</span><span>. Having occupied several sites around Memphis in its early history, in 1914 LeMoyne moved to its present location on Walker Avenue in south Memphis. Ten years later it became a junior college, and in 1930 a four-year college which, without dormitories, served mostly local Memphis Blacks. In 1968 LeMoyne merged with <a href="https://www.loc.edu/about-us/our-history/" target="_blank">Owen Junior College (founded by Baptists in 1947</a>) to create LeMoyne-Owen College on the Walker Street site on which LeMoyne had stood since 1914.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An anonymous Grinnell memo dated October 30, 1963, the same day that college trustees embraced Bowen's plan, reported that LeMoyne and Grinnell "have agreed to associate in various activities for the mutual benefit of the two institutions." "Our purpose," the memo continued,</span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">is to extend educational opportunity, to strengthen both institutions, to broaden the experiences and horizons of our students and faculty, and to achieve better understanding between two sections of the country and two racial groups ("Proposed Association of LeMoyne College and Grinnell College," Grinnell College Libraries, Special Collections, US-IaGG Archives/RG-D-2-2, Box 1963-1973).</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>This list of goals barely mentions inter-racial understanding, emphasizing instead vague expressions of regional understanding along with institutional and personal betterment. Even the May 29, 1964 letter that Bowen distributed to students to announce the program could offer nothing more encouraging than to applaud the "significant educational opportunity" which would "<i>enable a student to express his concern for racial integration and equality</i>" [emphasis mine—DK] (Grinnell College Libraries, Special Collections and Archives, RG-A2-RG-A Misc-3-7. Box 1955-1972). </span><span>LeMoyne's own description of the arrangement's attractions to students is equally general, making no mention at all of race.</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtswLDOZiRZ9aR7ieWht3I9qggJl_tqla-S5cpL3XMUWqC1b_ZoA5c0tRaI1h0AoE9lez6Z7MwoL_wRnXuOqXoGF_5CLlAAByHrxGdsHwyLsbkCyIukiaRA7eCpumjxE4oFDN6hsJgLKEmRO2KEUnRkIK2D1nDtrF7RWFKjRKoUypar0uNTQph0x-zyw/s940/TheLeMoyniteV48N3May1967ProgramDesc.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtswLDOZiRZ9aR7ieWht3I9qggJl_tqla-S5cpL3XMUWqC1b_ZoA5c0tRaI1h0AoE9lez6Z7MwoL_wRnXuOqXoGF_5CLlAAByHrxGdsHwyLsbkCyIukiaRA7eCpumjxE4oFDN6hsJgLKEmRO2KEUnRkIK2D1nDtrF7RWFKjRKoUypar0uNTQph0x-zyw/s320/TheLeMoyniteV48N3May1967ProgramDesc.png" width="203" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The LeMoynite </i>(May 1967)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As later parts of Grinnell's October 30 memo confirm, however, Grinnell's ambitions for the program definitely included recruitment of Black students, a point made clear in Bowen's presentation to college trustees. </span><span>Articulating programs for which it sought funding—an exchange of students; exchange of faculty members; joint conferences; joint research, etc.—the memo solicited support for the "preparation and <b>recruitment </b>[emphasis mine—DK] of gifted Negro high school students." Allotting about one-third of the proposed budget to this goal, the document imagined a series of special Saturday classes at LeMoyne for gifted Black high school sophomores in Memphis.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Those who showed promise in their Saturday work...would be chosen to attend without cost a special summer academy of 6 weeks to be offered on the LeMoyne campus and to be staffed by LeMoyne and Grinnell faculty members...Those who succeeded in this summer program would be selected for a second special summer academy of 6 weeks at Grinnell to be given in the summer following their junior year...Those students who completed the second summer with a satisfactory record would be assisted in gaining entrance to the colleges of their choice...Those who were admitted to college would then attend a third summer academy of 6 weeks at Grinnell at the end of the senior year. After this, they would enter college...well-prepared and highly-motivated (ibid.).</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although the memo specified that "Those completing the program would not be limited to LeMoyne or Grinnell [in their choice of college]," the repeated experience on the two campuses—including two summers at Grinnell—clearly intended to influence the academy students to choose one of the host institutions.</span></p><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;">The multi-year project of special education for Memphis teenagers laid out in the 1963 memo seems not to have materialized. Whether this failure was the result of unsuccessful fundraising or derived from some other issue I do not know. Nevertheless, in the summer of 1964 Grinnell and LeMoyne established an initial humanities academy <span>on the LeMoyne campus for Memphis high school juniors. Rather than college faculty (as the funding proposal had imagined), two rising Grinnell seniors, Dodi Holcher and </span><a href="https://www.lclark.edu/live/news/20088-passages-kristi-williams-celebration-of-life" target="_blank">Kristi Williams (1944-2013)</a> <span>along with three Yale graduate students spent five weeks at LeMoyne teaching history, speech and philosophy to about eighty Black high school juniors. </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTfqCUe4URwfq2AGIjx1KbuQuYRJ1nHgP7ymTGiuPqpNo2sUNqSE7Mz1jhW6119-4GinSIHtlJKn_YvFQIWInLtoz079_rQDq30AuUtN0ee8iJJpYX9UxQdK7kVbJlHICwISN0lDSwYUSemKetLc7oFAgird94wCYQpBbiVOkZfxcEICb9bOIg8A8wg/s974/HolcherWilliams.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="974" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTfqCUe4URwfq2AGIjx1KbuQuYRJ1nHgP7ymTGiuPqpNo2sUNqSE7Mz1jhW6119-4GinSIHtlJKn_YvFQIWInLtoz079_rQDq30AuUtN0ee8iJJpYX9UxQdK7kVbJlHICwISN0lDSwYUSemKetLc7oFAgird94wCYQpBbiVOkZfxcEICb9bOIg8A8wg/w200-h158/HolcherWilliams.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dodi Holcher '65 and Kristi Williams '65<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 23, 1964)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Holcher and Williams reported that the students whom they taught worked hard and enthusiastically ("Practice Teacher for Negro Youths," <i>Hennepin County Review: Hopkins Edition </i>[1965?]<i>; </i>thanks to Dorothy Swanberg for providing me with this article); the leadership of LeMoyne's Professor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_H._Johnson" target="_blank">Clifton H. Johnson (1921-2008</a>), who went on to establish the African American archive at the <a href="https://www.amistadresearchcenter.org/" target="_blank">Amistad Research Center</a>, helped the summer academy succeed (<i>The LeMoynite</i>, September 1964). Nevertheless, so far as Grinnell records can confirm, there was never any follow-up summer study at LeMoyne or at Grinnell as the 1963 memo had imagined. As a result, Grinnell's hope that the program might increase Black enrollment evaporated. Similarly, the proposal's plan for faculty exchanges and conferences also foundered. What remained and prospered over the next several years was the exchange of undergraduates between LeMoyne and Grinnell.</span></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Between 1964 and 1972 a total of 26 Grinnell students and 24 LeMoyne students (an undated, typed list from the Grinnell Registrar's office mistakenly identifies only 19 LeMoyne participants) took part in the exchange, each spending one semester at the partner institution. As had been true of <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/11/when-grinnell-college-and-hampton.html" target="_blank">the Hampton exchange</a>, women predominated: about two-thirds of the Grinnell students who studied at LeMoyne were women and a similar ratio prevailed among the LeMoyne students at Grinnell. M</span><span>ost of the LeMoyne participants hailed from Memphis, but a few had grown up elsewhere and had come to Memphis to attend LeMoyne. </span><a href="https://www.memphisdowntowner.com/my2cents-pages/Myron-Lowery.html" target="_blank">Myron Lowery,</a><span> for instance, had grown up in public housing in Columbus, Ohio, but upon graduation from high school had moved to Memphis in order to enroll at LeMoyne. Something similar could be said about <a href="https://memphislibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/voices-901/id/27/rec/1" target="_blank">Clarence Christian,</a> who was born in Horn Lake, Mississippi, but who moved to Memphis to attend LeMoyne.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4g1Oop312YlOBT_WKobIw30OFavd_BFfTRKTBsUPd8Z1T-4kVlINhsnKFxackxNYvPTUibkyRCtgXll494I9aDHXSDIaDaUpxToipOpM-2XIRPPeWAxNJCtje98Lsl5LpBLZBh_qMVQcf6Xt2TLcFfKGc-wjdPXcOCMG4mcFJ98UB3REvAS15z1kNQ/s1096/AfroAmerican27Mar1965.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1096" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4g1Oop312YlOBT_WKobIw30OFavd_BFfTRKTBsUPd8Z1T-4kVlINhsnKFxackxNYvPTUibkyRCtgXll494I9aDHXSDIaDaUpxToipOpM-2XIRPPeWAxNJCtje98Lsl5LpBLZBh_qMVQcf6Xt2TLcFfKGc-wjdPXcOCMG4mcFJ98UB3REvAS15z1kNQ/w200-h172/AfroAmerican27Mar1965.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exchange Participants, Spring 1965 (<i>Afro-American, </i>March 27, 1965)<br />L-R, Front Row: Margaret Bluhm (Grinnell), Dorothy Harris (LeMoyne); 2nd row: Lois McGowan (LeMoyne), Cynthia Brust (Grinnell); standing: Michael Fort (Grinnell), Lou Harvey (LeMoyne), James Stephens (Grinnell), and Frank Patterson III (LeMoyne)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">The exchange started with a burst of enthusiasm, with eight LeMoyne students at Grinnell during the first year (1964-65), four in the fall and four in the spring. Subsequently LeMoyne sent four students to Grinnell each spring semester until 1969, when only two students studied at Grinnell. No one from either school took part in 1970, and when the exchange resumed in 1971 only one LeMoyne woman came to Grinnell; again in 1972, the last year of the program, just one LeMoyne student studied at Grinnell.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAhzTPb16AmTqJcX6XQzgM1Pnz9b4-Wnrj8mJtjmJi3aW0KNRXb1RvAkqXsFRT-EebrhTKn3i7uU00Dls3hGiVQbJiG7TlLtF2TqwkIYIUhuidFtI6ibgJcdZzCHIkvdDWs0gQLrwPInUm2IEGV9mX1vdjD-MgPuRX14JYtd1aEueMv4Kmza52YLIJA/s1528/BishopLoweryWilsonCurryTheLeMoyniteV45N2Apr1966.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1528" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAhzTPb16AmTqJcX6XQzgM1Pnz9b4-Wnrj8mJtjmJi3aW0KNRXb1RvAkqXsFRT-EebrhTKn3i7uU00Dls3hGiVQbJiG7TlLtF2TqwkIYIUhuidFtI6ibgJcdZzCHIkvdDWs0gQLrwPInUm2IEGV9mX1vdjD-MgPuRX14JYtd1aEueMv4Kmza52YLIJA/w200-h93/BishopLoweryWilsonCurryTheLeMoyniteV45N2Apr1966.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LeMoyne Students En Route to Grinnell College (January 1966)<br />(<i>The LeMoynite</i>, April 1966)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Grinnell's participation followed a similar curve. The first Grinnell exchangees—two men and two women—</span><span>arrived in Memphis in January 1965</span><span>. The following year saw Grinnell send five students to study at LeMoyne; in addition, that autumn six students took their spring semester play, "<a href="https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/slow-dance-on-the-killing-ground-hearts-times/" target="_blank">Slow Dance on the Killing Ground,"</a> to LeMoyne where they put on three performances to large and enthusiastic audiences. </span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSt32ryzGkjX8BTgJo0BjSA8ehqHayA96K133NYBPD8DbKgm7bRDpDII9f8tuGPqrkMsdSwsAYdrzlFEsYupH1PXtn6otaJ3BFSXdV-v-ZHAtEvjo4GVMPtBD1zY2cxFUtIZI8Po7DODGEk9RIrdGsENoP5WLw6IFslCReD0ocCwagBoUeiX-ssmIRPQ/s1366/LoweryDuganDreyfussS&B9Nov1966.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1366" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSt32ryzGkjX8BTgJo0BjSA8ehqHayA96K133NYBPD8DbKgm7bRDpDII9f8tuGPqrkMsdSwsAYdrzlFEsYupH1PXtn6otaJ3BFSXdV-v-ZHAtEvjo4GVMPtBD1zY2cxFUtIZI8Po7DODGEk9RIrdGsENoP5WLw6IFslCReD0ocCwagBoUeiX-ssmIRPQ/w200-h156/LoweryDuganDreyfussS&B9Nov1966.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph from "Slow Dance on the Killing Ground" at LeMoyne College<br /><i>(Scarlet and Black, </i>November 9, 1966)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1967 another five Grinnell students traveled to LeMoyne, but only two took advantage of the opportunity the following year, perhaps a reflection of the growing public rage around race. In 1969 Grinnell sent six students to Memphis, but this seems to have marked the high-water point. With the Vietnam war agitating the country, Grinnell College closed abruptly in 1970 and no Grinnell student studied at LeMoyne that year. In 1971, only three Grinnell women enrolled at LeMoyne, and in 1972 Shirley Johnson became the last Grinnell student to spend a semester at LeMoyne.</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Why did Grinnell students apply to the program?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Letters explaining the applicants' reasons for wanting to study at LeMoyne survive only for about half the Grinnell students who spent a semester in Memphis (Grinnell College Libraries, Special Collections and Archives, Dean's Office Records, Box 1963-1973); additional insight into the exchange experience comes from press reports about participants. Although applicants identified a wide range of motives for applying, almost all of them—coming of age in an America riven by racial antagonism—expressed the hope that their LeMoyne semester would enable them to contribute to a better understanding between Black and white America. In this way, the ambitions of Grinnell student participants deviated from the inflated diction of institutional benefit that had characterized the original proposal. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDaTixdZ9SGH57EzLGbX1QRrqQg0MuF1RYLM7PT7j9BQwMZY1mFBoLiZAm5gcxju83wPtr88ATh63N__FB1fq4jowD4fPonO6gRXF5nHHkp7Vh8Wyk8Ehh_8OS7IGq7XrzyIbBW8k6QV6bF7zgKAH3xJgK6iWJivI3D1h0GXVOJJHK3qqUu-1mxFbMg/s564/BrownHeadshot1967Ottumwa.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="478" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVDaTixdZ9SGH57EzLGbX1QRrqQg0MuF1RYLM7PT7j9BQwMZY1mFBoLiZAm5gcxju83wPtr88ATh63N__FB1fq4jowD4fPonO6gRXF5nHHkp7Vh8Wyk8Ehh_8OS7IGq7XrzyIbBW8k6QV6bF7zgKAH3xJgK6iWJivI3D1h0GXVOJJHK3qqUu-1mxFbMg/w169-h200/BrownHeadshot1967Ottumwa.png" width="169" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheena Brown, 1967 Ottumwa High School Yearbook<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Sheena Brown '71, for instance, who came to Grinnell from nearby Ottumwa, hoped that by living in a minority community she could improve her understanding of Black and white cultures. "If mutual understanding cannot be reached to a large extent in this experience," she wrote, "can we ever hope to reach an understanding and tolerance among peoples of the world?" </span><span>Tish Lower '73, who grew up in tiny, all-white Parnell, Iowa, used her application to confess to holding unconscious racism, although "to no greater extent than the average white American." Hoping to exorcise the racist assumptions she acknowledged, Lower argued that "only...if I can understand [Blacks] personally will I be able to understand how they feel...about things that concern all of us." In a similar vein, Terry Poland '69 told the application committee that he had never experienced "severe segregation comparable to that in Memphis," and that he hoped that experiencing that world would "have a pronounced effect on my attitudes and [would] enable me to better combat racism...." </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWz1HxS9Ek8YyqGIrgKck7K6wbe8BGTSlUllky2FAgzlCS5EjT-2nxkWi9MvLrar5jY4mOC8m1aRC8UW7oEJwxPgqT3Neo950S-AZU2c3SozhbQPsQv7hkY7cQqV1G0Dq2wJU3zkbNhG-WyRtpZR81ik210D2stS2E-cE5Kd9fLpTjozK5ZObuM5SZg/s832/LowerHeadShot1970WilliamsburgHSYrbk.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="640" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWz1HxS9Ek8YyqGIrgKck7K6wbe8BGTSlUllky2FAgzlCS5EjT-2nxkWi9MvLrar5jY4mOC8m1aRC8UW7oEJwxPgqT3Neo950S-AZU2c3SozhbQPsQv7hkY7cQqV1G0Dq2wJU3zkbNhG-WyRtpZR81ik210D2stS2E-cE5Kd9fLpTjozK5ZObuM5SZg/w154-h200/LowerHeadShot1970WilliamsburgHSYrbk.png" width="154" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary (Tish) Lower, 1970 Williamsburg High School Yearbook<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Mary Gleysteen '69 began her application by emphasizing the virtues of living off campus in a large city in the South, circumstances bound to contrast with her Grinnell experience. Moreover, she continued, instead of the limited connections she had previously had with Blacks, "At LeMoyne I would not only be spending class hours with my contemporaries, but I would also be able to share their experiences, thoughts, ambitions, and burdens" out of class. </span><span>Carol Moulder '73 (1951-1980), who came from the Chicago suburb of Park Forest, imagined that "living in Memphis and...getting to know people who are not white, middle-class students...will broaden my ability to communicate with different peoples...[and] give me...insight into the theme of race." </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In her 1968 application, Diane Alters '71 remarked upon the transition she had perceived between efforts of the early 1960s aimed at integration and the more strident ambitions of the late 1960s. "White America," she wrote, "must exert itself to...understand the jump from 'integration' to Black Power...." </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEZjbwnG8K2NUx2zcUYgAugBwi7dE3fehLM-yfauZGE_WxIGWLrtolELpg7T6Hgd-AP5bsIyma5kpTf9nu05RAogD6ngWaPjLOOrBIZ_Emjeg6jOlr4F8lhKJEZguFcdMFItaM6jvtDEOEXweXeAGUHUUTbRmMiZZ63BDmUnZTfqJd_hdUPRb14MHUw/s532/Sophar1969PotomacHSYrbk.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="356" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEZjbwnG8K2NUx2zcUYgAugBwi7dE3fehLM-yfauZGE_WxIGWLrtolELpg7T6Hgd-AP5bsIyma5kpTf9nu05RAogD6ngWaPjLOOrBIZ_Emjeg6jOlr4F8lhKJEZguFcdMFItaM6jvtDEOEXweXeAGUHUUTbRmMiZZ63BDmUnZTfqJd_hdUPRb14MHUw/w134-h200/Sophar1969PotomacHSYrbk.png" width="134" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kay Sophar, 1969 Potomoc, Maryland High School Yearbook<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Like many other applicants, Kay Sophar '73 admitted to "a White, middle or upper-middle class life and White upper-middle class attitudes." Noting that integration and assimilation had lost their appeal to Black activists who emphasized instead the embrace of Blacks' own culture, Sophar confessed to an "appalling" ignorance of that culture. A semester at LeMoyne, she wrote, was essential to understanding the Black community and to making her a "mature, responsive member of the human race." </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYq7lEmKOxrX9EYdfpWE4Y8y34D2l3iSoIw5wVHl2sSM2EgWiJdXIEXQ295vzMRXasypFeDl_5LyyjOeKFmOl5elUth9Q7Y7mD1IeVmO1m_cy-U0ZvqqSHg178gWlWMlDDpILYadtci8S9V2NNB2-l1jopBdbmcKWZ85Akft5HLw5ncDgHEjfSpaT4vA/s640/JohnsonShirley.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="640" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYq7lEmKOxrX9EYdfpWE4Y8y34D2l3iSoIw5wVHl2sSM2EgWiJdXIEXQ295vzMRXasypFeDl_5LyyjOeKFmOl5elUth9Q7Y7mD1IeVmO1m_cy-U0ZvqqSHg178gWlWMlDDpILYadtci8S9V2NNB2-l1jopBdbmcKWZ85Akft5HLw5ncDgHEjfSpaT4vA/s320/JohnsonShirley.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1971 Photograph of Shirley M. Johnson '73 in Grinnell College Mail Room<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A3465)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Shirley Johnson '73 (1951-2012), the sole Grinnell College Black to participate in the program, offered a different perspective, pointing out how poorly Grinnell served its Black students. "Grinnell [College] does not offer a Black student much of a representation or a reading library of Blacks," Johnson wrote. "I find it almost impossible to attempt research [on Blacks] here in Grinnell...." "If I am accepted to go on the LeMoyne-Owen exchange program," she continued, "I would be able to take courses...[that are] Black oriented [and] geared toward culturing young Blacks."</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Application files indicate that most of the Grinnell participants intended to enroll in courses that would focus upon Black history and the Black experience in America. Mary Gleysteen, for instance, told Grinnell administrators that she planned to enroll in "The Negro in American Life," "Race Relations," and "20th-Century English and American Literature." Grant Crandall '68 proposed to take "The Negro in American Life" and "Race Relations" as well as "Social Problems" and "Contemporary History." Terry Poland also planned to enroll in the first two of these courses along with "Introduction to Sociology" and "Social Problems." Mary Brooner thought she would enroll in "Civil War and Reconstruction" along with "Social Problems."</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>What Did Participants Take Away from the Exchange Experience?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Like many other Grinnell students who went to LeMoyne, James Stephens '67 embarked upon the semester's study in hopes of improving race relations.</span><span> Stephens told a reporter for the </span><i>Des Moines Tribune </i><span>that "I went to LeMoyne...because I wanted to get acquainted with the racial problem, but when I got there and started attending classes the problem seemed to vanish" (</span><i>Des Moines Tribune, </i><span>March 9, 1966). Something similar emerged in the recollections of Meg (Bluhm) Carey '67. Having come to Grinnell from New Haven where she had attended independent schools, she looked forward to an opportunity to expand her experience with Blacks. Dancing at LeMoyne to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eepLY8J4E6c" target="_blank">"My Girl"</a> and other Motown hits, she assembled a group of Black friends with whom she would hang out. "At some point I looked down and was shocked to see my white hands among the brown ones...I had lost an awareness of color for the first time" (email communication, January 3, 2023). <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/09/05/cynt-s05.html" target="_blank">Cynthia Brust '66 (1944-2017)</a>, who grew up in a Trotskyist family in St. Paul, told a reporter that "at LeMoyne we discussed such things as religion, politics and race, and there was a real desire on the part of both groups to get to know each other" (<i>Des Moines Tribune, </i>March 9, 1966). Amy Rossman '68 told readers on campus, "I'd never been anywhere where Black people lived." After being challenged to define her identity, Rossman admitted that she had not previously given her race much thought. "White doesn't figure in when you're in the majority"(<i>Scarlet and Black</i>, February 22, 2002). At the same time, Rossman, like several other Grinnell women at LeMoyne, had a Black boyfriend, and she "took great pleasure in walking around town hand in hand, trying to shock people" (personal email, January 5, 2023).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-ou3o9ALbM6JNjxL_C3zVJGIDzrju6L3mTYP1tqlko-szjpnMqkfUfjwkWychfiBzLR2eBbObcih1pN0B9m9wFiMmyW8FzDmVAtFAsV_gO-tlg37wn-7lJR6aS_5LUeC82QMogjABwtvleZ3Uqbc7u3HooO7lguRG-EiYsXnRR8E3hE_2gB4DlHkaw/s558/Rossman1964PortlandYrbk.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="410" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-ou3o9ALbM6JNjxL_C3zVJGIDzrju6L3mTYP1tqlko-szjpnMqkfUfjwkWychfiBzLR2eBbObcih1pN0B9m9wFiMmyW8FzDmVAtFAsV_gO-tlg37wn-7lJR6aS_5LUeC82QMogjABwtvleZ3Uqbc7u3HooO7lguRG-EiYsXnRR8E3hE_2gB4DlHkaw/w147-h200/Rossman1964PortlandYrbk.png" width="147" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amy Rossman '68<br />(1964 Portland, OR High School Yearbook)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>But white </span><span>Grinnell students recognized that the differences between them and their LeMoyne parallels were not only racial. Commenting upon the audience she saw at LeMoyne's 1966 commencement, Janet Poland noticed that "a large number of the parents were wearing uniforms...These were not military uniforms. They were maids' uniforms [and] janitors' uniforms," reflecting the occupational and class differences intimately connected to racial difference (<i>Scarlet and Black</i>, February 22, 2002). </span></span><span>Another participant wrote, "[At LeMoyne] My eyes were opened to the many differences between being black in the South and white in the Midwest. I learned firsthand that the levels of fear, violence, and opportunity were in stark contrast..." (email communication, January 17, 2023). Students reported being refused service at restaurants when they were in the company of Black friends; mixed-race couples endured the jeers of white passers-by; and students who joined in Black protests found themselves in jail. In 1960s Memphis, like elsewhere in America, race mattered.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8iAUkwS_amhSBlf9yJdyhscrV-oSqJT7zMelW6j3hXcBhS3fZPh0PU0E0fUFZiGyHM-700WepFa9sXHeFjtE_d6WwDX4Gm7qR4EFUMisLO-lXGNRvI37mS8dLrX4oVIAyLgJkmLeQNLNaOJekx0pCfCK0ZJEL0ajAR8ewirgP0PmTbCJg5tmwble8g/s536/Brooner2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="420" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs8iAUkwS_amhSBlf9yJdyhscrV-oSqJT7zMelW6j3hXcBhS3fZPh0PU0E0fUFZiGyHM-700WepFa9sXHeFjtE_d6WwDX4Gm7qR4EFUMisLO-lXGNRvI37mS8dLrX4oVIAyLgJkmLeQNLNaOJekx0pCfCK0ZJEL0ajAR8ewirgP0PmTbCJg5tmwble8g/w157-h200/Brooner2.png" width="157" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Brooner '71<br />(1967 Summit, New Jersey High School Yearbook)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Indeed, because of the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., Memphis put a microscope on race. In a <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A23385" target="_blank">2015 interview</a> Mary Brooner '71 remembered 1969 Memphis as "a town that was raw, having gone through the Garbage Strike and then the assassination of Dr. King." </span><span>Valerie Budig '70, who was studying at LeMoyne when King was shot, told S&B readers of having heard King speak at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/tennessee-mason-temple-memphis.htm" target="_blank">Mason Temple</a> the day before his death. In his sermon King had acknowledged that his life had been threatened. "Well, I don't know what will happen now," King said.</span></span><p></p></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now...I'm not fearing any man (<a href="https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781847243690/page/154/mode/2up" target="_blank">Simon Seabag Montefiore, <i>Speeches that Changed the World </i>[London: Quercus, 2007], p. 155)</a>.</blockquote></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A few days later, when Memphis and much of the United States erupted on the heels of King's murder, Budig joined some 42,000 people—the great majority of them Black—in a march to Memphis City Hall, carrying banners that read: "Honor King: End Racism Now!" (</span><i>Scarlet and Black, </i><span>April 12, 1968). Budig's experience was powerful and rare, connected to an iconic moment in American history. But other Grinnell students who studied at LeMoyne, both before Budig and afterward, took home the same message, even if they were not in Memphis to march in King's wake. </span></span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although Howard Bowen had initiated Grinnell's participation in the exchange with LeMoyne College, he was gone by the time students from the two institutions took up residence at their opposite college. Bowen's successor, <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/leggett-glenn-1918-2003" target="_blank">Glenn Leggett (1918-2003)</a>, had the unenviable job of presiding over the campus in the late 1960s when racial tension was most acute. As the title of his academic memoir indicates (<i>Years of Turmoil, Years of Change</i>), he found the duties challenging. Nevertheless, whether because of initiatives all his own or because of other forces that were driving social change, Leggett did see increased numbers both of Black faculty and Black students at Grinnell. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUA0c6uJqYSNk4X4WvleSvNgjzb-_RyulZHrNHJG49QdcDC854JquqmaK9ph7MLWvHlVp9L_o_1LsQzLXTqLVBJCzxThb-7y_qnRT3jRPi7Lr8I8370YsMmgaOyAERu41efLXuKDeCaUyDUIi22jP1osavA8S3T4e3dxYYlpq3JspJwHSTop_5TjrKw/s480/Leggett.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="384" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUA0c6uJqYSNk4X4WvleSvNgjzb-_RyulZHrNHJG49QdcDC854JquqmaK9ph7MLWvHlVp9L_o_1LsQzLXTqLVBJCzxThb-7y_qnRT3jRPi7Lr8I8370YsMmgaOyAERu41efLXuKDeCaUyDUIi22jP1osavA8S3T4e3dxYYlpq3JspJwHSTop_5TjrKw/w160-h200/Leggett.jpg" width="160" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photograph of Glenn Leggett, Grinnell College President 1965-1975<br />(https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/45128)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">These modest gains did not blind Leggett to the fact that much remained to be done, as he admitted in a 1971 report:</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">We have not...had much success with a faculty or student exchange with black colleges; our admissions and counseling efforts for more black students have not been so successful as we would like; and the energies we have put into the recruitment of more black faculty and staff have not been sufficient to the task... (Glenn Leggett, <i>Years of Turmoil, Years of Change: Selected Papers of a College President 1965-1975 </i>[Danville, IL: The Interstate Printers and Publishers, 1978], 170-71).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Viewed primarily as an attempt to increase Black enrollment at Grinnell, the arrangement with LeMoyne might be thought a failure, which may explain why the LeMoyne exchange ended soon after Leggett made these remarks. </span></span><span>Like Bowen before him, however, Leggett overlooked the reasons that impelled Grinnell students to participate in the program.</span><span> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Most Grinnell applicants looked to their time at LeMoyne not as a lever by which to increase Black enrollment at Grinnell, but rather as a means to help them personally understand and improve race relations in America. M</span><span>ost thought that their experience at LeMoyne had been successful in this respect and had deeply altered their views on race in America. More than that, the semester at LeMoyne had cemented their intention to root out their own racism and to work hard to erase it in the communities they inhabited.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And that was no small achievement.</span></p></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-55862730674781156812022-12-20T06:08:00.000-08:002022-12-20T06:08:33.570-08:00Grinnell's Other Lake: Nyanza<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Have you ever wondered why Grinnell's "other lake"—Nyanza—bears such an unusual name? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winam_Gulf" target="_blank">Nyanza Gulf (also known as Winam or Kavirondo Gulf)</a> is a shallow body of water in the northeastern corner of Lake Victoria on the western border of Kenya. How did that name cross the ocean and the equator to reach Grinnell? Unfortunate</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>ly, no one knows for sure.</span><span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">However it gained its name, Grinnell's Lake Nyanza has been part of the Grinnell story for a long time—certainly longer than Arbor Lake. Today's post takes Lake Nyanza as its subject, and examines the numerous ways in which this body of water affected life in the growing town of Grinnell.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>I could find no record that established firmly when Nyanza appeared in Grinnell. </span><span><span>A look backward in a 1916 </span><i>Grinnell Herald </i><span>article proposes that "it was about 1880...that the Iowa Central excavated Lake Nyanza" (January 28, 1916), and </span><span>Dorothy Pinder accepts that date, reporting that Iowa Central Railroad probably dug the lake in 1880 or 1881 to provide water for the railroad's steam engines (</span><i>In Old Grinnell, </i><span>[Grinnell: Herald-Register Publishing, 1995]. p. 34).</span><span> If we take this evidence for the lake's founding, then Nyanza is about twenty years older than its neighbor, </span></span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2021/01/arbor-lake-has-it-always-been-with-us.html" target="_blank">Arbor Lake, which only came into existence in 1903</a><span>. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9h2n88frpmtL36vNJ-AINR-N_elcW8APnJPod27U_Pjr9VHY0qV5a0IAVaYezak71KSb6lmFVjNEaCrB22wS8d1LKmJ3Pbnb5lMAa8BVW9Pufrgad_mRPCO2CtjT0PeWthEtw-_PU8-iYhKVmG5aZpCYl15bOETGPzKKGzMuFgsRdz5_vsQwwtLEmw/s1400/1911SanbornNyanza.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1400" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9h2n88frpmtL36vNJ-AINR-N_elcW8APnJPod27U_Pjr9VHY0qV5a0IAVaYezak71KSb6lmFVjNEaCrB22wS8d1LKmJ3Pbnb5lMAa8BVW9Pufrgad_mRPCO2CtjT0PeWthEtw-_PU8-iYhKVmG5aZpCYl15bOETGPzKKGzMuFgsRdz5_vsQwwtLEmw/s320/1911SanbornNyanza.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1911 Sanborn Map of Grinnell, Iowa<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>From the beginning, Nyanza stood on the southeastern fringe of town, and therefore does not appear in early maps. As the </span><i>Grinnell Herald</i><span> pointed out in 1888, even then one could reach Nyanza only by walking down the railroad tracks; there was no road to the lake. As Nyanza became an increasingly popular site for recreation, the newspaper urged the city to open a street that would reach the lake (August 31, 1888), and gradually the town stretched into the lake's neighborhood.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Despite the difficulty of reaching Nyanza in the early years, Grinnell citizens certainly knew the lake as newspapers of the day frequently referenced it. </span><span>When boasting of the many attractions that Grinnell offered to prospective businesses or residents, the newspaper did not fail to mention Nyanza, along with Iowa College, excellent public schools, and "cultured society" (ibid., June 8, 1888). In fact, Nyanza gave residents of Grinnell numerous avenues by which to enjoy themselves.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">No later than 1888 the lake was already home to "a fleet of fine boats," and was fast "becoming quite a popular place of amusement," the <i>Grinnell Herald</i> observed (August 31, 1888; ibid., July 17, 1891). When the <i>Herald</i>'s reporter left town on the railroad in 1891, he waxed poetic: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">lovely lake Nyanza with its cool and placid waters..., the sailboat resting upon its bosom, numerous small boats that line the shore tell the pleasure and enjoyment that the lake may give (ibid., September 25, 1891).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In winter Nyanza, like Arbor Lake later, attracted ice-skaters (ibid., November 20, 1888; <i>Scarlet and Black, </i>November 14, 1896). In January 1889 the <i>Grinnell Herald </i>observed that "skating on Lake Nyanza...was excellent...and the lake was continually crowded during the glassy period" when it was frozen (January 25, 1889). The following winter, too, Nyanza proved an ideal skating site: "the surface is smooth, the evenings brilliant, and the air just bracing enough so that furs can be left at home. Every night the lake is covered with gay crowds of skaters" (ibid., January 10, 1890). Apparently a local man also made Nyanza part of his toboggan slide when winter weather accommodated (ibid., December 14, 1888).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGohlFLTi2HmYKvt8Rh2t1YysCw1E3yQzC4-apcPLEa6Qpxgn-lMHztvAaYKQNroY8yNcFe00S57aVELCXIDuj5UeNzqQfW94VDrWqLiYKqHYgqINgfFUnCQuLZfg5frlYfs0RPe4i8_aLZSoFAOom8H5DtrIUMkhN_EQp5GuXKQ49ArU36NsuY1jEg/s640/https-::digital.grinnell.edu:islandora:object:grinnell%253A5929.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="640" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGohlFLTi2HmYKvt8Rh2t1YysCw1E3yQzC4-apcPLEa6Qpxgn-lMHztvAaYKQNroY8yNcFe00S57aVELCXIDuj5UeNzqQfW94VDrWqLiYKqHYgqINgfFUnCQuLZfg5frlYfs0RPe4i8_aLZSoFAOom8H5DtrIUMkhN_EQp5GuXKQ49ArU36NsuY1jEg/s320/https-::digital.grinnell.edu:islandora:object:grinnell%253A5929.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1972 (?) Roger McMullin photograph of sailboats on Lake Nyanza<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell:5929)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"></p><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">In summer Nyanza attracted anglers, some of whom managed to catch sizable fish. I don't know when it began, but no later than 1902 authorities sponsored the addition of fish to the lake. That autumn, for example, the newspaper reported that "200 large mouthed black bass and 200 Mississippi catfish" fingerlings were added to Nyanza (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>October 17, 1902). With the founding of the town's Outing Club, local fishermen found additional support for stocking Nyanza. In November 1917, for instance, the club sponsored the addition to the lake of "several thousand" pike, pickerel, bass, and croppies (ibid., November 6, 1917). Five years later the Iowa Fish and Game department dumped a half million [sic!] baby pike into Nyanza (ibid., May 15, 1922). In 1925 the state hatchery contributed "twenty cans" [?] of blue gills, bass, and croppies to both Nyanza and Arbor Lake (ibid., October 13, 1925).</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2Lqdhf51J4Huq829AZWBQGNaaxeGjL1DqzoagyTzQarRccT4q9AyUtPB4UJjRnPErkzKA0K38_ea906xtGUnicdK9rdCJ3UwXLGGNwCM3j5J6b3LjTOAHwM_5Pi2k98xap4kYPWWwkMeOfOPnPhlN9i2GzWBwMzJ9blcdOWMy-WQdiPTx9qlgL3JHg/s1140/34GH25Jun1895GoodFishing.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1140" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2Lqdhf51J4Huq829AZWBQGNaaxeGjL1DqzoagyTzQarRccT4q9AyUtPB4UJjRnPErkzKA0K38_ea906xtGUnicdK9rdCJ3UwXLGGNwCM3j5J6b3LjTOAHwM_5Pi2k98xap4kYPWWwkMeOfOPnPhlN9i2GzWBwMzJ9blcdOWMy-WQdiPTx9qlgL3JHg/s320/34GH25Jun1895GoodFishing.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>June 25, 1895<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Periodically the newspaper told readers of exceptional catches. For example, in July 1917 Ed Dwyer, in Grinnell to work on the college dormitories then under construction, hooked a twenty-one inch pickerel that weighed five pounds (ibid., July 13, 1917). </span><span> In 1921 </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/W/WellsFrank.pdf" target="_blank">Frank Wells (1895-1982)</a><span> landed a thirty-eight inch pickerel that weighed ten-and-a-half pounds—a fish so big that it broke Wells's bamboo pole, obliging the man to wade in after the fish and catch it with his hands (ibid., August 19, 1921). In mid-August 1922 </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/A/ApplebyAndrewD.pdf" target="_blank">Andrew Appleby (1868-1956)</a><span> took a four-pound walleye at Nyanza (ibid., August 14, 1922).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5VXOi-tgi80O9S4_66oCvf67phtIkAimtWko9W_AW-WD9Zcfcne8PAMweFu1xrWQDu4uJxP6AiePcsIYa9VoPGYlSw6D1LiSq9CEHL-uqFaXis84ZkHJh-LBqH9Xe-dOvRd_oXY3sDNQayLGq-cir6yO-SiTxmUjiebFhiLJH13c4CcKJgK41Qfppg/s818/43GH12May1921RitterFishingEquip.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="616" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX5VXOi-tgi80O9S4_66oCvf67phtIkAimtWko9W_AW-WD9Zcfcne8PAMweFu1xrWQDu4uJxP6AiePcsIYa9VoPGYlSw6D1LiSq9CEHL-uqFaXis84ZkHJh-LBqH9Xe-dOvRd_oXY3sDNQayLGq-cir6yO-SiTxmUjiebFhiLJH13c4CcKJgK41Qfppg/s320/43GH12May1921RitterFishingEquip.png" width="241" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement in <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>May 12, 1921<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Stories like these encouraged local merchants like </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/R/RitterHarryRSr.pdf" target="_blank">Harry Ritter (1872-1952)</a><span> to sponsor competitions intended to assist sales. A 1921 advertisement, for example, promised a free Winchester Steel fishing rod to the person who caught the largest fish between May 15 and June 15 at either of Grinnell's lakes (ibid., May 12, 1921). </span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9y3lK3vFxHUlC2evacn6COGx6mb8R9iSg_je-6NKQGT_55bUsj7b6SqFP3hKQD22vSQlKRmShbYYl-9peaqlItF0MX9xydmntk8eE4y-beocNzde2n54E068gZVB9n9YJFn7jqSaJK8cd9zhWzrocz1V0ggQfMEAKYNLGc6iXRHlg2A9h9LR5bi-cQ/s480/304534481-480px.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9y3lK3vFxHUlC2evacn6COGx6mb8R9iSg_je-6NKQGT_55bUsj7b6SqFP3hKQD22vSQlKRmShbYYl-9peaqlItF0MX9xydmntk8eE4y-beocNzde2n54E068gZVB9n9YJFn7jqSaJK8cd9zhWzrocz1V0ggQfMEAKYNLGc6iXRHlg2A9h9LR5bi-cQ/s320/304534481-480px.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of a Horned Grebe<br />(https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Horned_Grebe/id#)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>From its earliest days Nyanza attracted birds, a fact we know mainly because the engineer whom the railroad assigned to manage the lake's pumping station was a birder. <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BerryWilliamW.pdf" target="_blank">Mr. Will Berry (1860-1954)</a> not only paid attention to the lake's avian guests, some of which gained mention in the newspaper, but he also made a hobby of preserving those birds he captured, like the horned grebe he found during its migration in spring 1888 (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>May 1, 1888). Berry collected so many birds that he showed a case full of his taxidermy art at the fairgrounds, the newspaper reporting that "the birds were all captured within gun shot of the lake" (September 18, 1888). </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As would later also be true of Arbor Lake, the water level in Nyanza sometimes fell drastically, endangering the lake's usefulness to the railroad as well as to those looking for fun. In late 1890 workers of the Iowa Central Railroad dug a well, intending to use the water to refresh the lake, which had gone quite dry; 80 feet down there was still no water to share with Nyanza (<i>Grinnell Herald</i>, October 28, 1890; ibid., November 18, 1890; ibid., December 2, 1890). Soon, however, the newspaper was reporting that there was too much water in the lake. The <i>Herald</i> told readers in 1892 that recent heavy rains had pushed the lake north as far as Washington Avenue and east as far as East Street (May 20, 1892). By late June observers declared that "Lake Nyanza has never been so full as now," the water threatening the railroad tracks that ran along the lake's western shore (ibid., June 28, 1892).</span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">City streets were also under threat because of the lake's expansion to the north. A writer for the <i>Herald </i>wondered if the city ought not plan a bridge at Washington Avenue and also at the south end of High Street (ibid., August 12, 1892). Town fathers responded promptly to this suggestion; within a few days the newspaper told readers that grading was already underway on Washington Street, although the railroad expressed no interest in a bridge over the north arm of Nyanza (ibid., August 16, 1892). Whether because of this publicity or because officers of the railroad proved civic-minded, within a month the railroad agreed to construct a bridge over the northern branch of Nyanza (ibid., September 27, 1892), but progress was slow. In late June of the following year the "unsightly appearance of the half-finished bridge across the north end of Nyanza" generated criticism in the local press (ibid., June 27, 1893). Evidently the bridge then was more than half-finished, because by August 1st the <i>Herald </i>reported that "the new bridge...has been brought into good play all ready" (ibid., August 1, 1893).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">An absence or superabundance of water was not, however, the most serious offense against the city's good will. Probably because the trains had to stop at Nyanza in order to take on water for the steam engines, hoboes began to use the area around Lake Nyanza as a temporary home. According to a report in the <i>Herald, </i>citizens who lived near Nyanza were "greatly annoyed" by the visiting tramps who, the newspaper maintained,</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>congregate in the little grove south of Lake Nyanza until the scene resembles a democratic convention. The grove...makes delightful snoozing quarters for these professional tourists (ibid., May 18, 1891).</blockquote><p>On this occasion a policeman, aided by railroad workers, raided the "snoozing quarters" and managed to capture thirteen vagrants. From their cell, the newspaper continued, the arrested men </p><p></p><blockquote>claimed [that] they had been looking over the town with a view to a permanent location. They had found the moist breezes from Lake Nyanza very beneficial and after becoming more accustomed to water they fully intended to take a bath [!] (ibid). </blockquote><p></p><p>Freed on condition that they abandon town, the thirteen were put on a night train leaving Grinnell, thereby temporarily relieving the city of some of its unwanted visitors. However, as <a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A23298" target="_blank">Everett Armstrong's recollections</a> confirm, thirty years later when Armstrong was a boy the city was still doing battle with hoboes who set up camp around Nyanza.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPxkmYtDsrK-rEhfzhHz7kYpw8QThwCpauc5sty1wj5T3eHgOUs0LSagnP6ILhO-9RM_oJttsIHqBJ1CXOzXtZTFs6TMFf4l1FpgQt-XUb9A-qi3DThPqoEoxlzeBbByxBF82RFr_z8yrU5ny1H8OgeZJlhmHlOrJ4ryTe5m75RpGC-utj_BmpIqaHg/s1054/Mammoth.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1054" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPxkmYtDsrK-rEhfzhHz7kYpw8QThwCpauc5sty1wj5T3eHgOUs0LSagnP6ILhO-9RM_oJttsIHqBJ1CXOzXtZTFs6TMFf4l1FpgQt-XUb9A-qi3DThPqoEoxlzeBbByxBF82RFr_z8yrU5ny1H8OgeZJlhmHlOrJ4ryTe5m75RpGC-utj_BmpIqaHg/s320/Mammoth.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Netta C. Anderson and Johan August Udden, <i>A Preliminary List of Fossil Mastodon and Mammoth Remains in Illinois and Iowa </i>(Rock Island, IL: Augustana College, 1905), p. 34.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A different Nyanza visitor surfaced in autumn 1890 when workmen who were excavating a water tank at the lake "unearthed portions of the skeleton of a prehistoric monster imbedded in the sandy clay...." Exposed to the air, most of the bones immediately crumbled, "a knee joint and thigh bone alone remaining whole...." A "large tooth was [also] uncovered, about 8 by 3 inches on the crown, with roots four or five inches in length" (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>October 13, 1890). The Nyanza find did not amaze townsfolk who only a few years earlier had learned of the discovery of a mammoth skeleton when workers were excavating for H. C. Spencer's building at the corner of 4th and Main (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>June 27, 1884). There investigators rescued a seven-foot tusk, along with some teeth and a few other bones, all of which apparently resided for some years in the Iowa College Museum of Natural History (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>March 20, 1909; ibid., May 27, 1916; ibid., September 30, 1931). Nevertheless, the 1890 discovery at Nyanza of the remains of a second mammoth generated lots of conversation (Erwin H. Barbour, "Remains of the Primitive Elephant Found in Grinnell Iowa," <i>Science </i>16, no. 4 [November 7, 1890]:263; my thanks to John Whittaker for sharing this article with me).</p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3qga0kkF-JmBz72McQS0q11y5rRe0co803tGdFy3Z94vBwtbqxkacKx6x7872NvcoStWlNZsM-k0MFDIrFpngkXLb4KnHCShy2TROmfbCJaq-VXlihSdYAFRfHAfIPEP1koBSIjQdNQlmdbN5dL0R2i_bBEAvfKojhyy1Bxokqg-4BKDobuwH8UpvQ/s516/1935WaterTower.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="390" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3qga0kkF-JmBz72McQS0q11y5rRe0co803tGdFy3Z94vBwtbqxkacKx6x7872NvcoStWlNZsM-k0MFDIrFpngkXLb4KnHCShy2TROmfbCJaq-VXlihSdYAFRfHAfIPEP1koBSIjQdNQlmdbN5dL0R2i_bBEAvfKojhyy1Bxokqg-4BKDobuwH8UpvQ/s320/1935WaterTower.png" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter 1935 Photograph of Water Tower near Lake Nyanza <br />that Served Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>March 12, 1999)<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Grinnell seems to have paid little attention to the lake in the years that followed. So long as steam engines continued to stop in town and refuel, the lake served an important function for the railroad—the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad having succeeded the Iowa Central. But with the advent of the so-called "diesel" engines after World War II, Lake Nyanza lost its commercial purpose. From this point onward, the lake served only the aims of recreation.</p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHzDGQiDzPzI29iYWwWFdQTgPu6Mtij2Xzuq7xItqU9rfGXyemKsRKDFzy2IgsmMmWz19G_zIsZYvYv_7CWscmBP3PEPZpNR1aN-QatMj3-CedokNaKlRvuKyq19KUeEXjjNrml5pVZkp-qEr1OTVEEcQUnMm8L4NnG7NeotisLk1gIXDjyEsS6wYUw/s640/GHRHeadline27Sep1954.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="640" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigHzDGQiDzPzI29iYWwWFdQTgPu6Mtij2Xzuq7xItqU9rfGXyemKsRKDFzy2IgsmMmWz19G_zIsZYvYv_7CWscmBP3PEPZpNR1aN-QatMj3-CedokNaKlRvuKyq19KUeEXjjNrml5pVZkp-qEr1OTVEEcQUnMm8L4NnG7NeotisLk1gIXDjyEsS6wYUw/s320/GHRHeadline27Sep1954.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headline of <i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>September 27, 1954<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1954 the <i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>initiated discussions with the railroad to purchase the seventeen acres that included the lake, and also got the city to agree to take possession once the park was developed. That autumn the Grinnell Jaycees enthusiastically adopted the project as their own, and, assisted by a donation and planning advice from local businessman, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/A/AhrensClaudeW.pdf" target="_blank">Claude Ahrens (1912-2000)</a>, </span><span>imagined a project that would stretch over several years. Among the facilities proposed was a playground area and docks to extend out into the lake to encourage fishing (</span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i><span>September 27, 1954).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_bjQKco50e1KzZ4JSFn7RQE-5VPl7zD4xxDFkf49OiUuxE7ulppJxuFNipTC4PsWqgkUSxu1a5ZfciKm4OOgV7-2O6MN3w4qrPf6Hg6QSVw87HYzgklkaske4s_03H5XrBjuH-hLgbUheMSuoSIZJ5jxJQQYJDxDEHKcyqzg2EzDes35mReL_1tTOg/s1202/NyanzaGHR21Apr1955Pic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1202" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_bjQKco50e1KzZ4JSFn7RQE-5VPl7zD4xxDFkf49OiUuxE7ulppJxuFNipTC4PsWqgkUSxu1a5ZfciKm4OOgV7-2O6MN3w4qrPf6Hg6QSVw87HYzgklkaske4s_03H5XrBjuH-hLgbUheMSuoSIZJ5jxJQQYJDxDEHKcyqzg2EzDes35mReL_1tTOg/s320/NyanzaGHR21Apr1955Pic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial View of Nyanza (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>April 21, 1955)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Fishing docks attracted one of the first donations—$500 from the <i>Herald-Register</i> (ibid., January 6, 1955)—but the docks were not the first evidence of the coming park. Fittingly, the Jaycees chose Arbor Day 1955 (April 22) to initiate park development by planting the first tree (ibid., April 18, 1955), a birch placed near the point that separated the two arms of the lake (ibid., April 25, 1955). At the same time some 1500 shrubs–mostly multiflora roses–went in around the perimeter and another dozen trees found new homes on the grounds. Members of the Chester Royal Grange joined the Jaycees, who also had help from local businessmen, park board members, and other volunteers (ibid., April 21, 1955).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0dB2fPRqUI73RWcjJW-PQg9UzDZYGLFhUM14tNZNS-XG_RWAGbKRhJsHM31G9voZP15_eW9030dHeuO0wbFqDZi3hYGwDQQyFzBnETCaY-Oq39N1xtw_ZWscSqPC3ZWVh4VgYs7-zD35W8S7myJkkIwz7FmlGZd834s6j_j2McxGmFXw5SP0YL7suw/s984/9GHR13Jul1955Nyanza.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="984" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0dB2fPRqUI73RWcjJW-PQg9UzDZYGLFhUM14tNZNS-XG_RWAGbKRhJsHM31G9voZP15_eW9030dHeuO0wbFqDZi3hYGwDQQyFzBnETCaY-Oq39N1xtw_ZWscSqPC3ZWVh4VgYs7-zD35W8S7myJkkIwz7FmlGZd834s6j_j2McxGmFXw5SP0YL7suw/s320/9GHR13Jul1955Nyanza.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Almost Completed Nyanza Dock (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>July 13, 1955)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Work on a "T-shaped" dock began around Memorial Day. Planned to stretch 48 feet out into the lake to give anglers deeper water to fish, the tip of the "T" would be 24 feet across, providing plenty of space for numerous fishermen. In the absence of life guards, those who chose to fish from the dock were advised to do so at their own risk; swimming was forbidden. At the time the park had no entrance as such, and a storm sewer to direct East Street runoff into the lake remained on the "to do" list (ibid., May 26, 1955).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The Jaycees did not abandon their efforts in winter. With the support of the city Youth Council and assistance from the Goodyear Shoe Repair who offered to exchange or repair skates, the Jaycees set up a skating rink at the northern end of Nyanza where the lake was only 18 inches deep; a fence to the south kept skaters from venturing onto ice over greater lake depths. Volunteers flooded the skating surface to make it smooth and DeKalb Agricultural Association provided flood lights to make possible night-time skating—until 9:30 PM weeknights and 10:30 PM on weekends. Jaycees also brought in logs for seating and firewood to help warm skaters (ibid., December 22, 1955).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_HmQYfTVch1KyA0BDfJsVpcAvEnMnOaLDpMcJo5ZMfOe1c6FY-U1KIizQyHVbzVHfpYK1DePzrseUiVUNBplDYlsanmqkPVm3VkHxuPPheM8c7D3DhaqhtQKT7NEqg0cmLG5a4RqEakWklWhIx5k_FG_TMSbpjaxlsYZVyTC5eDUfiTwi0xz_eTvDw/s556/GHR22Dec1955SkatingB.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="556" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd_HmQYfTVch1KyA0BDfJsVpcAvEnMnOaLDpMcJo5ZMfOe1c6FY-U1KIizQyHVbzVHfpYK1DePzrseUiVUNBplDYlsanmqkPVm3VkHxuPPheM8c7D3DhaqhtQKT7NEqg0cmLG5a4RqEakWklWhIx5k_FG_TMSbpjaxlsYZVyTC5eDUfiTwi0xz_eTvDw/s320/GHR22Dec1955SkatingB.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/L/LaGrangeFrankA.pdf" target="_blank">Frank Lagrange (1911-1979)</a> and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/13/MullinsSamuel.pdf" target="_blank">Sam Mullins (1939-1969</a>) warm up at Nyanza Skating Rink<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>December 22, 1955)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>After this burst of activity, the Jaycees turned the park over to the city, and directed their attention to other projects, with the result that progress on the park at Nyanza stalled. Newspaper articles confirmed that the Jaycees regularly committed to numerous worthy projects. </span><span>Meanwhile, Nyanza and its adjacent territory, now part of the city's park system, languished.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1961, thanks largely to the initiative of city councilman </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/17/MillerJamesH.pdf" target="_blank">James Miller (1918-2012)</a>, the city revived the idea of developing the park that the Jaycees had imagined years earlier (ibid., September 4, 1961). </span><span style="font-size: medium;">An editorial in the local newspaper commended this plan and all those involved in creating a new park that would serve residents of the southern part of Grinnell (ibid., September 7, 1961). With the support of numerous businesses and volunteers, <span>a baseball diamond was laid out as well as picnic facilities that would eventually include a concrete block shelter house fitted with rest rooms. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWdoIR2sQ6htPY8hIJhQzxtJng2CZuhSBIwR45qpONgFZs4FAteQ22XzGOQc1k2W7OUwM0xDfq3k89xKmOaXsBpjwGLGIzClxoisTR15QRE7QkbmMjvvEK-TzNlrs_hTB0MXNTZIt-ruLBX6Hp09V94ic3LW12vPVH25Ds9D5vPdIhN9V-l8kUw85EA/s640/IMG_0044%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="640" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWdoIR2sQ6htPY8hIJhQzxtJng2CZuhSBIwR45qpONgFZs4FAteQ22XzGOQc1k2W7OUwM0xDfq3k89xKmOaXsBpjwGLGIzClxoisTR15QRE7QkbmMjvvEK-TzNlrs_hTB0MXNTZIt-ruLBX6Hp09V94ic3LW12vPVH25Ds9D5vPdIhN9V-l8kUw85EA/s320/IMG_0044%202.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1968 Photograph of the Nyanza Park Shelter<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>April 22, 1968)<br /> </td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Playground equipment came mainly from local entrepreneur <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/A/AhrensClaudeW.pdf" target="_blank">Claude Ahrens (1912-2000)</a>, who agreed to donate $1000 worth of equipment if the city purchased an additional $1400 worth of playground products. Local banks, supermarkets and merchants kicked in to permit acquisition of four rocky rodeo ponies, three swing sets, a mustang whirl, a merry flyer, a slide, a teeter-totter and similar diversions (ibid., April 30, 1962; ibid., June 7, 1962). As a consequence of these improvements, in 1986 </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>the Grinnell City Council voted to name the park at Lake Nyanza the James H. Miller Park (</span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i><span>May 2, 1986).</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc6-ahGZff-W5EsnpwSEoKDGiSNs3vaziy8lGpXTavR2STiRZWzCIew4rnYAiQfxu56NHDT0oUTVwpMEUGSgSSaYc_AT536uICrx2PUtvB_8Z3MCm_manAgHFjj8J1M_UxgyADX4hK-4w_JIHE8D4iieqcJQFaIzC2BTplIjF7mgAY5EdWnjh0PuITg/s640/GHR3Nov2014.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="502" data-original-width="640" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzc6-ahGZff-W5EsnpwSEoKDGiSNs3vaziy8lGpXTavR2STiRZWzCIew4rnYAiQfxu56NHDT0oUTVwpMEUGSgSSaYc_AT536uICrx2PUtvB_8Z3MCm_manAgHFjj8J1M_UxgyADX4hK-4w_JIHE8D4iieqcJQFaIzC2BTplIjF7mgAY5EdWnjh0PuITg/s320/GHR3Nov2014.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Miller Relatives Pose with Mayor Gordon Canfield With Stone Marking Park Entrance<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>November 3, 2014)</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>###</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Despite the spurts of activity in the 1950s and 1960s, Nyanza and the park that surrounded it suffered from inattention again in the 1970s. Critics began to describe Nyanza as having "</span></span><span>more pollutants than any industrial factory could ever hope to produce" (</span><i>Scarlet and Black, </i><span>October 1, 1971). A 1975 article in the </span><i>Des Moines Register </i><span>described an oil slick on the lake, the result of a leak at a nearby bulk fuel oil storage tank (May 10, 1975). </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vfvqaMRQUAnyzV5XupRNvTg8kx2UyfYR-YRHFUikXUDVgpgXNu6zOp4VJ1GwVHFoLGmeynTN2Y4XQjwFhpdjnRkod0WCgTJkMc-Qq7upewG-zjCTGo_i9VG7yR9CiWnAYysSbwCbxTE-9NkhrqJCL55tDhEb8uAUtnhBxLbwIJrVjfZ7PWOA9oTf-Q/s640/GHR18Jan1961.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="640" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5vfvqaMRQUAnyzV5XupRNvTg8kx2UyfYR-YRHFUikXUDVgpgXNu6zOp4VJ1GwVHFoLGmeynTN2Y4XQjwFhpdjnRkod0WCgTJkMc-Qq7upewG-zjCTGo_i9VG7yR9CiWnAYysSbwCbxTE-9NkhrqJCL55tDhEb8uAUtnhBxLbwIJrVjfZ7PWOA9oTf-Q/s320/GHR18Jan1961.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Fertilizer Factory Near Lake Nyanza<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>January 18, 1961)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">I did not find an official explanation for the environmental problems at Nyanza, but nearby industries—including a fertilizer factory, a cement mix company and a bulk fuel oil outfit—stood quite close to the lake's western shore, adjacent to the railroad tracks. In an era of minimal environmental regulation, these industries almost certainly contributed to the deterioration of the lake's water quality. A college student writing in the campus newspaper in the 1970s cast doubt upon claims in a new book about good fishing and picnicking at Nyanza; "This must undoubtedly have been taken from Grinnell promotional literature because the sole fish surviving in Lake Nyanza was last seen spitting up mud," the review contended (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 18, 1972).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Local organizations, like the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/poweshiekcounty/" target="_blank">Poweshiek County chapter of the Izaak Walton League</a>, from time to time attempted to improve the lake's water quality and multiply fishing prospects. In early summer 1993, for example, League representatives announced a plan to restock Nyanza and develop a management program to improve fish habitats (</span><i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i><span>June 18, 1993). </span></span><span>In 2010, thanks to the initiative of several citizens, the park gained a "Disc Golf Course," an 18-hole course of more than 5000 feet that stretched all around the park (</span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i><span>April 5, 2010). But after an early buzz of activity, the Disc Golf Course, like the fishing dock and baseball diamond before it, fell into disuse. Improvements of the recent past—like the shelter and playground equipment—showed their age and discouraged visitors.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Grinnell Tourism, Grinnell College, and other funders have also contributed to recent efforts to revive and improve Miller Park. In 2014, for instance, the city planted thirty trees in the park, including twenty crabapples to bring springtime color to Nyanza (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>November 3, 2014). In 2015 the Park Board replaced most of the play equipment, installing a new tire swing, a Jackpack climbing apparatus, and several other items (ibid.<i>, </i>October 5, 2015).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>###</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzbI2hOd9ZwtS6us3Ay-4nGfhagKqnIW9wpUK7YvYDj_ZgjV8mUgl2nF6Cacjoz-alGfqBoIMvgsIcSTVlb9ZWiW5WI-di45v7wHC1K8ls3tugliTPWxuTk4f28zZXowaLqhKde4hk_IWDV97MPVyAtU-eJx9SMK0NJ1HrcCyLPqGEJN5M8qqFyr0Bg/s1086/ShelterHse2022.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1086" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzbI2hOd9ZwtS6us3Ay-4nGfhagKqnIW9wpUK7YvYDj_ZgjV8mUgl2nF6Cacjoz-alGfqBoIMvgsIcSTVlb9ZWiW5WI-di45v7wHC1K8ls3tugliTPWxuTk4f28zZXowaLqhKde4hk_IWDV97MPVyAtU-eJx9SMK0NJ1HrcCyLPqGEJN5M8qqFyr0Bg/s320/ShelterHse2022.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Shelter at Lake Nyanza (2022 Photo)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Despite these efforts the joy that attended the early days of Lake Nyanza has not returned. Although the large rock inscribed with the name of James Miller, after whom the park is named, remains at the entrance, elsewhere the park and lake betray Miller's hopes. The boarded-up restrooms on the shelter house and the sun-bleached play equipment hardly invite visits, and the silted lake has made fishing and all forms of lake recreation unappetizing. No boats ply Nyanza's waters anymore, and no winter ice-skating invites poetic notice in the local newspaper.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A few trains continue to pass Nyanza each day, but they no longer require the lake's water, and no rail passengers rhapsodize over Grinnell's good fortune to possess such a lake. Instead, as I write these words, several hundred Canada geese inhabit the lake. If rare migratory birds pass through, as horned grebes once did, the geese pay them no mind, nor do they wonder at the lake's name, borrowed from a much larger body of water half a world away.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><br /></p></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span><br /></span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-47899135533367259692022-11-14T12:56:00.007-08:002022-12-02T12:18:00.521-08:00When Grinnell College and the Hampton Institute Exchanged Students<p><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1947 Grinnell College, then 100% white, embarked upon an exchange program with Hampton Institute, whose student body was 100% Black. Each school aimed to send each year two of its students to the other school for one semester. Those students would study, eat, socialize, and live with students of the host institution. Inasmuch as post-World War II America had not yet contended with all the implications of racial segregation that prevailed by law in the South and by habit in many other parts of the country, the exchange attracted attention, raising eyebrows in some quarters and raising hopes elsewhere that America could find a way to integrate peacefully and honorably. Today's post looks at the brief history of the Hampton exchange and tries to assess what it meant for the participants and for Grinnell College.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWddsOk-kWzNFkqR17T7ZWocHa63fd0jECrR6vorvSrYGPWctnELcBpL8Dk5WQ1WSgMv11CBqd2BMrK9sd3wI3bH-gAMpsRbDTTlCHo73MrPOY-c8x-BBVcpQChb0P3Hza2GNCAHB2aWH79MQjPZIdE0wGx_cyhXX2EFPJGNGVgFv4u2Ch3Kd2aahMw/s2870/don%20hampton%201949.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2001" data-original-width="2870" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpWddsOk-kWzNFkqR17T7ZWocHa63fd0jECrR6vorvSrYGPWctnELcBpL8Dk5WQ1WSgMv11CBqd2BMrK9sd3wI3bH-gAMpsRbDTTlCHo73MrPOY-c8x-BBVcpQChb0P3Hza2GNCAHB2aWH79MQjPZIdE0wGx_cyhXX2EFPJGNGVgFv4u2Ch3Kd2aahMw/s320/don%20hampton%201949.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the 1949 Hampton Institute Wrestling Team, Including Grinnell College Student, Don McInnes '51 (McInnes is kneeling, first row, 3rd from right) (Courtesy of Don McInnes)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Since I could find no administrative records of the program at Grinnell, determining the origins of the student exchange between Grinnell College and what was then called Hampton Institute is difficult. Nevertheless, someone had to have proposed the idea. In a 2004 article Grinnell College archivist Catherine Rod attributed the beginnings of the Grinnell program to a friendship between Grinnell's John Scott Everton (1908-2003), then dean of the chapel, and Hampton's Edward Miller, chair of the Department of Applied Religion at Hampton (<i>Grinnell Magazine, </i>winter 2004, p. 6). Stuart Yeager's 1982 study of <i>Blacks at Grinnell </i>says the same, pointing out that Everton and Miller were long-time friends (p. 115). I have not so far located a document to confirm this idea, but an informal arrangement negotiated between two friends may well explain the lack of an official record. A <i>Washington Post </i>article maintained that Hampton began the Grinnell exchange alongside a similar exchange with Hiram College, both of which were said to be "an experiment...for this semester only" (January 27, 1947), but other sources allege that the Hiram program preceded Grinnell's (<i>Des Moines Tribune, </i>January 24, 1947). </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsY7AcWt2lLDyrmAVwmW_U68J8SWeW0LKtBjYRMb1Sob5NHXVH-EPtz42mza-mD-kYgeKqIiNEq_t_AeWc23ssOk7fqQ9izWI0TWkmaHYNe-ReZHU73wNGu1GZ_yIGMSAV7arjhP_qbxEo_vsi5lHwr2Gjz3eJTshEbQ9L_PP0LALBAgtdWveC51r0Q/s902/Everton49CycloneP17.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="732" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsY7AcWt2lLDyrmAVwmW_U68J8SWeW0LKtBjYRMb1Sob5NHXVH-EPtz42mza-mD-kYgeKqIiNEq_t_AeWc23ssOk7fqQ9izWI0TWkmaHYNe-ReZHU73wNGu1GZ_yIGMSAV7arjhP_qbxEo_vsi5lHwr2Gjz3eJTshEbQ9L_PP0LALBAgtdWveC51r0Q/s320/Everton49CycloneP17.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. John Scott Everton, Dean of the Chapel (<i>1949 Cyclone, </i>p. 17)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Other institutions initiated similar exchanges around this time, indicating perhaps a common hope that educational institutions might lead the way to America-wide integration. Oberlin's exchange with Hampton, for example, began at about the same time as Grinnell's (</span><i>Oberlin Review, </i><span>December 16, 1949). Similarly, the 1958 Denison University catalog alerted students "of high academic standing" to the opportunity to spend one semester at Hampton, Howard University, or Fisk University" (</span><i>Denison University Bulletin, </i><span>v. 59, no. 4 [November 1958], p. 63). In these years <a href="https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/remembrance/Content?oid=2049803" target="_blank">Antioch College also operated an exchange with Hampton</a>, and so did <a href="http://ecsu.archives.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/finding_aids/willey.pdf" target="_blank">Willimantic State Teachers College</a> (now Eastern Connecticut State University).</span></span><div><div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The Grinnell program began in January 1947 when two students were chosen to leave for Hampton almost immediately. </span>As Grinnell College trustee minutes confirm, the first exchange occurred before trustees, after having heard "many points of view," approved the plan the following June ("Board of Trustees Minutes," June 6, 1947, Grinnell College Library Special Collections, US-IaGG Archives/RG-TR-1-2; my thanks to Allison Haack for sharing this record with me). In subsequent years a college committee solicited applications in November, thereby giving students and the participating institutions more time to prepare for the exchange that took place early in the following year. The first selections seem to have depended upon only two Grinnell officials: Dean of Women <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GardnerEvelyn.pdf" target="_blank">Evelyn Gardner (1897-1990</a>) and Dean of the Chapel <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91908125/john-scott-everton" target="_blank">John Scott Everton</a>. Soon Grinnell sociologist<a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/ivdailybulletin/name/john-burma-obituary?id=25602880" target="_blank"> John Burma (1913-2006)</a> joined the committee, as did Dean of Men, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/D/DukeLes.pdf" target="_blank">Les Duke (1902-1986)</a>. And when Everton left Grinnell to assume the presidency of Kalamazoo College, his successor, <a href="https://www.genlookups.com/wi/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/1086" target="_blank">Rev. Winston King (1907-2000)</a>, took his place on the selection committee. A few other faculty were sometimes part of the committee, but this group constituted the core. The Grinnell Board of Religion provided modest financial support for the program, allotting a portion of chapel donations to help finance the Hampton students at Grinnell (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>ibid., May 18, 1951).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqOS2e5zICniMVfpQ08faNmrKJrHuhoBA3Uxu3gUHdMcSVzMqjf6DxjATXBphpLAnH8DElkFZkbXShv7k3rO88afo7cxP10QKvKj7G8XCWmGZhp0AIPKYgDGGFLbq6Lwp6Ybqwpie8JI4gmke-H_jf1SA1NT5-mjALEyvq_RMQJxEY6qT1xQuzuCPcQ/s1034/Gardner50CycloneP19.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1034" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqOS2e5zICniMVfpQ08faNmrKJrHuhoBA3Uxu3gUHdMcSVzMqjf6DxjATXBphpLAnH8DElkFZkbXShv7k3rO88afo7cxP10QKvKj7G8XCWmGZhp0AIPKYgDGGFLbq6Lwp6Ybqwpie8JI4gmke-H_jf1SA1NT5-mjALEyvq_RMQJxEY6qT1xQuzuCPcQ/s320/Gardner50CycloneP19.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evelyn Gardner, Dean of Women (<i>1950 Cyclone, </i>p. 19)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Original advertisements asked only for "letters of application" from those interested in "an opportunity to promote inter-racial understanding and to share in a significant social experiment" (</span><i>Scarlet and Black</i><span>, November 5, 1948). Later solicitations, however, required evidence of parents' permission, reflecting the fact that some Grinnell parents objected to the plan </span></span><span>(ibid., November 17, 1950).</span><span> Katherine (Buehrer) Baxter, for example, reports that when she excitedly told her "ardent lefty" parents about her plan to attend Hampton in 1949, her mom and dad, long-time opponents of racism, were unhappy about the idea (</span><i>In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree</i><span> [2020], pp. 10-11). According to another exchange participant, Chicago-area parents of Stuart Oskamp drove to Grinnell in a desperate but unsuccessful effort to dissuade their son from taking part. Not all college alums were thrilled with the plan either. Then college president, Samuel Stevens, told reporters that news of the exchange had generated criticism among alumni; the president said that some college alums thought that "White students will gain nothing from their experience as part of a Negro student body" (</span><i>Des Moines Register, </i><span>May 25, 1947).</span></span></div><div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>All the same, a total of fifteen Grinnell students took advantage of the chance to live and study at Hampton, and an equal number of Hampton students came to Grinnell in the years between 1947 and 1954 (Yeager, <i>Blacks at Grinnell, </i>p. 113, counts seventeen each, but I could not find that many). How many more were interested but denied the chance to participate is unknown. Evidently interest in the "opportunity for Negro and white students to understand each other better through the...social experience of living in educational institutions made up primarily of those of another race" diminished over time. A 1955 newspaper article observed that "no Grinnell students have participated in this program in the last three years," evidently sounding the death knell for the exchange (</span><i>Scarlet and Black</i><span>, November 18, 1955). Charles Clark '55 in spring semester 1953 was the final Grinnell student to attend Hampton (ibid., December 19, 1952). Since the college normally sent two students, Clark must have been the sole qualified applicant; the next year there were none. One Hampton student came to Grinnell for the spring semester 1953, and the last Hampton student, Betty Jean Johnson, enrolled at Grinnell in January 1954 (ibid., January 22, 1954).</span></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Who Were the Grinnell Students Who Went to Hampton?</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Nine of the fifteen Grinnell students who attended Hampton were women, and most of them came from the Midwest—especially from the greater Chicago area. By and large their parents were white-collar professionals.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlCZ_CzBLO8Jt5QZrInegKL2Ipk9sEh2ZP43J88F2oWcQDi1keq_OMlCH5toTmuD2tiOD2Iker-R5otXFBb76qprhE-ZXBewPbaGfCbDSRga3KfcXNFy_9D7eqoq460rso_7QmzN6e_Ym2tbTZlsdD7Gl9HhYJjnyQwbqHcmAakpwBxb2h1YgIn_xwA/s370/Thompson48CycloneP36.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIlCZ_CzBLO8Jt5QZrInegKL2Ipk9sEh2ZP43J88F2oWcQDi1keq_OMlCH5toTmuD2tiOD2Iker-R5otXFBb76qprhE-ZXBewPbaGfCbDSRga3KfcXNFy_9D7eqoq460rso_7QmzN6e_Ym2tbTZlsdD7Gl9HhYJjnyQwbqHcmAakpwBxb2h1YgIn_xwA/s320/Thompson48CycloneP36.png" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Thompson '48 (<i>1948 Cyclone, </i>p. 36)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Margaret Thompson (1927-2014)</b><span>, for instance, who was one-half of the first pair to study at Hampton, had been born in Kansas City, and grew up in Des Moines where she attended Roosevelt High School. </span><b>Jan (Janet) Reinke (1931-2018) </b><span>came to Grinnell from Faribault, Minnesota where both parents taught high school. </span><b>William (Bill) R. Clark (1928?-2003) </b><span>was born and grew up in Milwaukee, graduating from Shorewood High School. </span><b>Mary Catherine (Cathy) Hampton (1932- ) </b><span>joined the family of Wallace and Mary Hampton in Des Moines in 1932. Her father was an education specialist at the Wallace Homestead in Des Moines and later worked as a statistician for the US Department of Agriculture. </span><b>Dorothy Janet (Jan) Laurie (1932- ) </b><span>spent her earliest years in Cedar Falls, Iowa where her dad was a minister, but she came to Grinnell from a Buffalo, New York high school. </span><b>Stuart Oskamp (1931-2022)</b><span> grew up in the family of an insurance broker in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn.</span></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSctBhYU6vgne0blJB1f50kucjyMd9OXJqBRWkN9pJSw_YtlNaJbZwqzNjIjh8qTa3xBzIY4iNaGzw_gV7pw7m-If9dibs9DqN3fd7BrxH3g6deK2JoqRKnUvroWNnWO_V8hCI1y8ZImbvvgc84qii3cV5xRozj0iTMqgfjcalgnPVXDde2Jt5pbLEnQ/s1096/Oskamp51CycloneP30.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="524" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSctBhYU6vgne0blJB1f50kucjyMd9OXJqBRWkN9pJSw_YtlNaJbZwqzNjIjh8qTa3xBzIY4iNaGzw_gV7pw7m-If9dibs9DqN3fd7BrxH3g6deK2JoqRKnUvroWNnWO_V8hCI1y8ZImbvvgc84qii3cV5xRozj0iTMqgfjcalgnPVXDde2Jt5pbLEnQ/s320/Oskamp51CycloneP30.png" width="153" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuart Oskamp '51 (<i>1951 Cyclone, </i>p. 30)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Other midwesterners came from blue-collar families. <b>Don McInnes</b>, for example, whose father was an installation foreman for the telephone company, grew up in Homewood, a "very white" community outside Chicago. Because Homewood did not have its own high school, Don attended the much more racially diverse Chicago Heights High. <b>Nick Piediscalzi (1931- ) </b>grew up not far away in the mostly white South Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago, his father a milkman. <b>Connie (Cornelia) Lockhart (1933-2014)</b> resided in Downers Grove in the western Chicago suburbs. Her father owned and drove his own truck and her mother was a schoolteacher. <b>Betty Armbrust (1925-2019) </b>grew up in another Chicago suburb, Wheaton, where her father was a plumbing contractor.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSn_BDvdN2GFLiwDlRtESxU0PNHt8yPLFMuHS8BV4GxKux40avJMy2ZNyJfFZbH0C_CuhqvLY11J8MrPqJsDlEJ1aH8Ts5MI-gmM_yG8JqZ4Ix55ra_hXRyMH-SwPuYyrQ5iS-TwEnvetg9jtme94Kp2UIRLV8-QCQRB3cpO7rwFDZj30GhCC4zO0gmg/s548/Buehrer1947OakPkYrbk.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="438" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSn_BDvdN2GFLiwDlRtESxU0PNHt8yPLFMuHS8BV4GxKux40avJMy2ZNyJfFZbH0C_CuhqvLY11J8MrPqJsDlEJ1aH8Ts5MI-gmM_yG8JqZ4Ix55ra_hXRyMH-SwPuYyrQ5iS-TwEnvetg9jtme94Kp2UIRLV8-QCQRB3cpO7rwFDZj30GhCC4zO0gmg/s320/Buehrer1947OakPkYrbk.png" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katherine Buehrer (ca. 1947)<br />(<i>1947 Oak Park High School Yearbook)<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">A few of the Grinnell students who went to Hampton reached Iowa from more distant points. <b>Katherine Buehrer</b>, for instance, was born in New Jersey where her father was pastor of a Congregational church. By the time she reached Grinnell, her family had settled in the Chicago suburbs, and Katherine graduated from Oak Park High School. Another New Jersey student was <b>Robert Holloway </b>who grew up and graduated from high school in Teaneck, New Jersey.<b> </b><b>Mari Howard</b> found Grinnell from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, although she had spent her first eleven years in Washington, D.C. <b>Phyllis Hook (1925-2006)</b>, whose father was also a minister, was born in Henderson, North Carolina, attended high school in Ohio, but came to Grinnell from Seattle, Washington. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKMF8d5NW9ucMSaa8_IDG675Z3_GOOoIYfVyQPa6u-t14T4-7Ea9vH3O5ZvQfSYMu_l-LfEzFpuvLDuUf1PQL-Htf5O1earMcm976L-3kZnEmPD6Re5BhM3U6R9awoUkUIjfPxj0O_mRv9OfUp5DiMgs3G--EmN2Omlq5YBIIFy5ye7zd6K0ZkE4Vgg/s432/PhyllisHook1943TroyOhYrbk.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKMF8d5NW9ucMSaa8_IDG675Z3_GOOoIYfVyQPa6u-t14T4-7Ea9vH3O5ZvQfSYMu_l-LfEzFpuvLDuUf1PQL-Htf5O1earMcm976L-3kZnEmPD6Re5BhM3U6R9awoUkUIjfPxj0O_mRv9OfUp5DiMgs3G--EmN2Omlq5YBIIFy5ye7zd6K0ZkE4Vgg/s320/PhyllisHook1943TroyOhYrbk.png" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phyllis Hook (ca. 1943)<br />(<i>1943 Troy, Ohio High School Yearbook)<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Who Were the Hampton Students Who Came to Grinnell?</span></b><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Women also predominated among the fifteen Hampton students who came to Grinnell; only three men ventured onto the Iowa plains for a semester's education. Most of the exchange students were either easterners or southerners, and almost all the Hampton exchangees lived in cities with large African American populations.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWwt8qKgzGuodEqFhywZNgr01L69GoNTi6oqh2CE9yakEWrt1-657_FMTN2eZ7Tai5Z_s7wAtDPEHJwoWN0EStrdlGrKxp4YsKWhoAQR7-E4qnpfIgoYsSh66uGJvcOjmHXxhOs7DNhpU0gzbk5_n_axsinc86ftnMQMvK_700hGfl6GM2LCnShZZGA/s774/BritoWinfieldS&B7Jun1947.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="774" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWwt8qKgzGuodEqFhywZNgr01L69GoNTi6oqh2CE9yakEWrt1-657_FMTN2eZ7Tai5Z_s7wAtDPEHJwoWN0EStrdlGrKxp4YsKWhoAQR7-E4qnpfIgoYsSh66uGJvcOjmHXxhOs7DNhpU0gzbk5_n_axsinc86ftnMQMvK_700hGfl6GM2LCnShZZGA/s320/BritoWinfieldS&B7Jun1947.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marie Brito and Mae Winfield<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>June 7, 1947)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Mae Winfield (1927-2019)</b>, who was one of the first Hampton students to study at Grinnell, hailed from Tuskegee, Alabama, although she had been born in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, not far from Tulsa. Census records say that her father worked as a "truck packer" for a Frisco shop in Sapulpa, but most of the folk in their Black neighborhood worked as maids, butlers, cooks, and porters in private (presumably white) homes. <b>Yolanda Hargrave </b>reached Hampton from Knoxville, Tennessee, whose 1940 population exceeded 111,000. Hargrave's parents were both professionals—her father was a minister and her mother a schoolteacher. <b>Lillian Nell (1929-2011)</b>, who studied at Grinnell in the spring of 1950, had been born in Charleston, South Carolina. Her father was a barber, a not uncommon trade among African Americans in mid-twentieth century America; her mother, Marie, worked in the public library. In 1940 Charleston counted more than 70,000 residents, a great percentage of whom were Black. As was common throughout the American South, Jim Crow laws and open racism flourished here, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_riot_of_1919" target="_blank">the 1919 Charleston race riot</a> left some ugly memories. Montgomery, Alabama, another site of racial strife in the post-war era, was home to <b>Caldoria Lewis (1933-2019)</b>, who enrolled at Grinnell in 1951<b>.</b> At that time about 105,000 people lived in Montgomery, among them <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks" target="_blank">Rosa Parks who in 1955 refused to give up her seat on a city bus</a>, thereby beginning one of the most widely-publicized civil rights campaigns in American history. <b>Grace Edmondson (1933-2018) </b>grew up in Halifax, a small town in south-central Virginia. The 1940 census found only 536 people living there, and although whites predominated, African Americans here accounted for as much as a third of the population. Both Grace's parents were schoolteachers in Virginia's segregated public schools.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHhkE1x9PYlzq67nQJ_PU2dei_0F67-v8USehy22MS--AWhYaBeYOLzlRJ4fv9CYcABvHoJH8FG65hvea-O7y0oraZ2UCfNV60gPi4Dbn_IV7_eodYG8gyFOPqLnJLYW0OAyOqOhdcFyJNFfgGV6jjthUF7jxpGz-wBdm-SptcJ5UBKyH7hkN-z-Ogw/s1166/NellCallowayRobinsonS&B10Feb1950.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="1166" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHhkE1x9PYlzq67nQJ_PU2dei_0F67-v8USehy22MS--AWhYaBeYOLzlRJ4fv9CYcABvHoJH8FG65hvea-O7y0oraZ2UCfNV60gPi4Dbn_IV7_eodYG8gyFOPqLnJLYW0OAyOqOhdcFyJNFfgGV6jjthUF7jxpGz-wBdm-SptcJ5UBKyH7hkN-z-Ogw/s320/NellCallowayRobinsonS&B10Feb1950.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lillian Nell, Van Calloway, and Lillian Robinson<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 10, 1950)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Alfred Van Calloway (1929-2002)</b>, one of the few Hampton men to study at Grinnell, hailed from Louisville, Kentucky. In 1950 when Van enrolled at Grinnell, the population of Louisville was more than 360,000, about fifteen percent of which was Black. Van's dad worked as a mailman. Central High School, from which Van graduated as an honor student in 1947, remained segregated until 1956. Another of the male Hampton students was <b>Andrew Billingsley (1926- ),</b> who reached Grinnell in 1949. Older than most students—he had served two years in the US Army during World War II—Billingsley grew up in Marion, Alabama, a small city with a 1940 population of about 2600, mostly Black Americans. As elsewhere in the South, however, white justice prevailed in Marion, most famously in 1958 when a local, all-white <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wilson_(robber)" target="_blank">jury convicted Jimmy Wilson, a Black man, of having stolen $1.95 from a white woman for which crime the jury sentenced Wilson to death.</a> </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggi4waGIc10NIIIY-RFHoUCTEVmUF9i9tA3zTUOXE-aRbbUXa3O-Uajuv8r_J98tbhqpy1f3mZx59YYdkrbXzfu3QEjqpSvGJf52rs5SRLXSoD0alE2y65DRjCNjzvzVkhfaqCFsSwXJR9BXrgwxTHG9HL98V9vDlvTCcaF3VVwUSV66v3R6XiJujNkw/s1028/HooverBillingsleyS&B11Feb1949.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1028" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggi4waGIc10NIIIY-RFHoUCTEVmUF9i9tA3zTUOXE-aRbbUXa3O-Uajuv8r_J98tbhqpy1f3mZx59YYdkrbXzfu3QEjqpSvGJf52rs5SRLXSoD0alE2y65DRjCNjzvzVkhfaqCFsSwXJR9BXrgwxTHG9HL98V9vDlvTCcaF3VVwUSV66v3R6XiJujNkw/s320/HooverBillingsleyS&B11Feb1949.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wyvetter Hoover, Andy Billingsley, and Dean Earl Strong<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 11, 1949)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Several of the Hampton students at Grinnell came from large eastern cities. <b>Lillian Robinson (1932-2010)</b>, for example, grew up in Pittsburgh where she attended an integrated high school. Her parents, however, had been born in Georgia where Jim Crow still ruled. Nevertheless, in Pittsburgh the family lived among other African Americans on Milwaukee Street. Lillian's dad worked as a linotype operator for a newspaper and her mother bussed tables in a restaurant. <b>Bessie Williams (1932-2021)</b> was also a Pennsylvanian, having grown up in a part of Philadelphia that was overwhelmingly Black. Her father worked as a brick-layer's helper in one of the city's oil refineries.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpozp9zaewYx3qbE93GzZCw8eGWR_ht2raWCUIGsZt4e3DLJZafYKbm5Cs9dkEIb-oIDeXbSVuMiVYEVOu7fExr6VbOfYeEUYm7If0VB-WR2QvmmjtijaOaBOVDF7k-LwYaeXIbvXYCOFbcscskIdCA3rgcZbHe4pwBPHAyfhxe3h1ChWy7LHfE3S13A/s752/MitchnerLewisS&B13Apr1951.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="752" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpozp9zaewYx3qbE93GzZCw8eGWR_ht2raWCUIGsZt4e3DLJZafYKbm5Cs9dkEIb-oIDeXbSVuMiVYEVOu7fExr6VbOfYeEUYm7If0VB-WR2QvmmjtijaOaBOVDF7k-LwYaeXIbvXYCOFbcscskIdCA3rgcZbHe4pwBPHAyfhxe3h1ChWy7LHfE3S13A/s320/MitchnerLewisS&B13Apr1951.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norma Mitchner and Cal Lewis<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>April 13, 1951)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><b>Norma Mitchner</b> grew up in an extended-family household in a Black section of Baltimore. Her grandfather was a metal worker in a steel plant and her dad worked in a copper factory. Her grandmother and mother also worked, the former as a laundress for a private family and the latter as a household servant. Although today Baltimore is primarily Black, in 1940 African Americans accounted for only about twenty percent of the city's population, then registering approximately 859,000. <b>Marie Brito (1927?-2014),</b> who came to Grinnell in 1947, grew up in Summit, New Jersey. The 1940 US Census found Marie living with her mother, who, as head of household, worked as a laundress for a private family. At that time Summit was a town of about 16,000, the great majority of whom were white, but everyone who lived near the Britos on Summit Avenue was black. <b>Wyvetter Hoover (1930-2008)</b> grew up in—and spent most of her life in—East St. Louis, Illinois, a predominantly Black community. Her father sold insurance and owned properties in town, so her family was better off than many others there. But East St. Louis also had a troubled history of racial conflict, including the dreadful<a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/east-st-louis-race-riot-1917/" target="_blank"> 1917 riot,</a> a prequel to the <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-massacre" target="_blank">1921 Tulsa massacre</a>. </span><b>Joy Schulterbrandt (1934-2004),</b><span> next to last of the Hampton students to study at Grinnell, traveled the furthest to reach Iowa. Joy was born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where her father was a businessman, operating a liquor store in St. Thomas where nearly everyone was Black.</span></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>What Was It Like For Students at Their Exchange Institutions?</b></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKK_Kj072Fub8JGkczZF-pmNtngPRiWlG9XA3_Mp7QyBxDGx7oT9NTilzgQWGqmzJ-U59WVu9HmAPzBmIicxrHgXkf6GbXaQ7KhZQ-w-eVwwuK0EBh6X59_KXl9tiGQOh3a8zYhMRqclDYV2sZUhC-OQ8p5GdpyXeGUEBJg6ndJBl7tB2UXValn0rbw/s1452/EbonyV6N12Oct1951P16Photo.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="1452" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKK_Kj072Fub8JGkczZF-pmNtngPRiWlG9XA3_Mp7QyBxDGx7oT9NTilzgQWGqmzJ-U59WVu9HmAPzBmIicxrHgXkf6GbXaQ7KhZQ-w-eVwwuK0EBh6X59_KXl9tiGQOh3a8zYhMRqclDYV2sZUhC-OQ8p5GdpyXeGUEBJg6ndJBl7tB2UXValn0rbw/s320/EbonyV6N12Oct1951P16Photo.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy Laurie '53 at Pottery Class at Hampton 1951<br />(<i>Ebony, </i>vol. 6, no. 12 [October 1951]:16)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">No comprehensive record of students' reactions to their semester away survives, and evidently no one ever requested one. At least that is how Katherine (Buehrer) Baxter '51 remembers it:</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I've never known why Grinnell College took part in the exchange program. The three of us who participated [spring 1949] were given no support while we were at Hampton, and there was barely any follow-up when we returned. One evening we talked about our experiences to a small group of students and faculty, but there was nothing more. I felt tremendously let down (<i>In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree</i>, p. 29).</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>But the program's beginning did not escape the attention of the press. The <i>Washington Post, </i>for example,<i> </i>described the exchange as "an experiment in race relations" (January 28, 1947).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeZXeWV_G5XZ52REwNFR4t29Qgg134F7Azg3Z9cSOXp_MFgwMtFLHdx5ZI4z6lGDpqolk7eo1SyVfqbjV3xoB8oB3Uzl2EF50L-f7Q5GjyWZP8vHZ2p09c8zyJVfmRYAr9DnSu3YTKaoDdQGEv7javySDcROMwTFlQJHO3WUPmef31Ok_YXy0km66Yg/s708/NYTHeadline16Mar1947.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="708" height="93" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeZXeWV_G5XZ52REwNFR4t29Qgg134F7Azg3Z9cSOXp_MFgwMtFLHdx5ZI4z6lGDpqolk7eo1SyVfqbjV3xoB8oB3Uzl2EF50L-f7Q5GjyWZP8vHZ2p09c8zyJVfmRYAr9DnSu3YTKaoDdQGEv7javySDcROMwTFlQJHO3WUPmef31Ok_YXy0km66Yg/s320/NYTHeadline16Mar1947.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New York Times, </i>March 16, 1947<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>Even the </span><i>New York Times </i><span>took note, reporting in a brief article that "This is the first time that any white student has enrolled as a full-fledged student in a Negro college in Virginia" (March 16, 1947). Iowa City's <i>Daily Iowan </i>published a photograph of the Grinnell women at Hampton, headlining it "Student Exchange Aims at Racial Tolerance" (March 7, 1947).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIoDWLoymm8q641bC1qD4Ffbk-B08JOqgOIzM8FogaqGVQwKj7vVmPDKoenAlqeZR3OrPliI33p9cYKKBoSXypgPMXho1HVzn-v5Ku5A3g7VvkrOT0QIEuAIPxqbCoUQn_c7YaMPbkiuIylUtEC6eJbaxMHlATyieiXdWLf6VxL42bXSsUSHuYosYpg/s1584/DSMRegHeadline.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1584" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIoDWLoymm8q641bC1qD4Ffbk-B08JOqgOIzM8FogaqGVQwKj7vVmPDKoenAlqeZR3OrPliI33p9cYKKBoSXypgPMXho1HVzn-v5Ku5A3g7VvkrOT0QIEuAIPxqbCoUQn_c7YaMPbkiuIylUtEC6eJbaxMHlATyieiXdWLf6VxL42bXSsUSHuYosYpg/s320/DSMRegHeadline.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Header of Article in <i>Des Moines Register, </i>May 25, 1947<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In a surprisingly long article the <i>Des Moines Register </i>interviewed the first four participants, who, the article's headline affirmed, are "Convinced [that] Races Can Mingle Freely." The fact that one of the Grinnell women on the exchange, Margaret Thompson, came from Des Moines may explain why the paper attended to the project, but the piece emphasizes the experience of all four women, Black and white. Thompson told the interviewer that </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">our experience at Hampton has brought us not so much a change of attitude but a broadening of understanding of person and group problems of the American Negro...and has been a big step...in furthering understanding between the races (<i>Des Moines Register, </i>May 25, 1947).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The two Hampton women, exchanging the mainly Black environment of Hampton for mainly white Grinnell, reported similarly powerful impact. Although the city of Grinnell had "but four Negro families and only one other Negro student in the college," "we found everyone friendly—at the college and in town," said Marie Brito. She and Mae Winfield, the other Hampton student in Grinnell that year, "encountered no discrimination in Grinnell" and reported that "fellow students...included them in all activities" (</span><i style="font-size: large;">Des Moines Register, </i><span style="font-size: large;">May 25, 1947).</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Grinnell College campus newspaper regularly reported on the experiences of the exchange participants, including various talks that students gave at chapel or before other campus groups. At the end of the first semester of the exchange, for instance, the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>interviewed the four women participants. Grinnell's Phyllis Hook '48, the newspaper said, thought that "The exchange project is definitely worthy of continuance—as evidence to doubters and sceptics [sic] that races can live together happily" (June 7, 1947). </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXQF1WkcJfPrjyq1_bfznuTB2SNLfeEa-_nOLPcTVJp9i1f6daDmin_sTY2uJdqRG_VVJKMBpF9m4tJ-1UL0vYpSZrbmgTo3zo9WlAwtrtNjYEdJWkKbA3NonlgERmHcpMgPj0MFpDmeO9cfh9O3lwtD_53J7102MIF-tZp3DSw24QMyB2GPimC0rPA/s432/Armbrust49CycloneP103.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXQF1WkcJfPrjyq1_bfznuTB2SNLfeEa-_nOLPcTVJp9i1f6daDmin_sTY2uJdqRG_VVJKMBpF9m4tJ-1UL0vYpSZrbmgTo3zo9WlAwtrtNjYEdJWkKbA3NonlgERmHcpMgPj0MFpDmeO9cfh9O3lwtD_53J7102MIF-tZp3DSw24QMyB2GPimC0rPA/s320/Armbrust49CycloneP103.png" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Betty Armbrust '49 (<i>1949 Cyclone, </i>p. 103)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When two more Grinnellians studied at Hampton in 1948, the </span><i>S & B</i><span> published another interview, emphasizing the friendliness and active social life at Hampton. However, the newspaper did quote William Frank '50, who observed that in the South "prejudice is deep in the hearts of many, and it seems that even the churches are filled with it." Frank and his exchange partner, Betty Armbrust '49, thought that exchanges like theirs were "one of the best means for [interracial] understanding" (ibid., April 23, 1948). </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Back in Grinnell the following autumn the duo authored a </span><i>Scarlet and Black </i><span>guest editorial which related some of their experiences in dealing with the segregated world outside the Hampton campus. They concluded somewhat uncertainly, affirming how glad they were to be back "at Grinnell where racial intolerance and discrimination, <i>to all outward appearances </i>[emphasis mine—dk], do not exist" (ibid., September 24, 1948). The following February Armbrust was one of two respondents to an </span><i>S & B </i><span>"Pro and Con" that asked, "Are we making a substantial contribution to the solution of problems of Negro-White relations?" Armbrust seemed to doubt that progress, pointing out that Grinnell has "no Negroes on our faculty and very few in our student body. This indicates that the administration, alumni, and student body have a race attitude that is not satisfactory" (ibid., February 11, 1949). Another student, Janet Stephens '51, offered a more affirming view, endorsing the contributions of the college, but denying that they were "substantial." Stephens, who herself did not go to Hampton, nonetheless endorsed the exchange which she called a "valuable opportunity...to become intimately acquainted with members of another race...." But she thought that courses on race relations and a chapter of the NAACP on campus would extend this good beginning (ibid.).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcG3RP_UKXEhwZiETlsmeQBjZ159n1QgTYNHGMJiB8UGlM3SC_GKWB5UfriucjtX3TIszsOFCd5w8gj6lRHVhPQQleqCX7EAVthWjvwVOaVqPikFY3TGKeDFytq2QlmaoFbeo5PY2xVjnouN6t2zmLM-gY-UzCBmsr1VIcyERjKogfgVLIKZM7wZlvg/s1478/BillingsleySmithHall51CycloneP73.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1478" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcG3RP_UKXEhwZiETlsmeQBjZ159n1QgTYNHGMJiB8UGlM3SC_GKWB5UfriucjtX3TIszsOFCd5w8gj6lRHVhPQQleqCX7EAVthWjvwVOaVqPikFY3TGKeDFytq2QlmaoFbeo5PY2xVjnouN6t2zmLM-gY-UzCBmsr1VIcyERjKogfgVLIKZM7wZlvg/s320/BillingsleySmithHall51CycloneP73.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew Billingsley (front, far left) With Other Residents of Smith Hall (<i>1951 Cyclone, </i>p. 73)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The same issue of the newspaper published an interview with the two Hampton students then in Grinnell. Andy Billingsley, who later transferred to Grinnell, graduating in 1951, thought that </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The two-sided prejudice that exists in the South, and in the North, too, must be broken down...This exchange is a move toward inter-racial understanding at the level where least resistance is met. I think it's good and I'd like to see it made much larger (ibid.).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">With their semester at Grinnell ending, Billingsley and Wyvetter Hoover contributed a report to the end-of-year edition of the campus newspaper, contending that the exchange of students between Grinnell and Hampton was "definitely a success" in increasing understanding between the races. "It might attain a greater degree of success," they continued, "if the students of Grinnell made a greater effort to get to know the exchange students as persons, and not merely as representatives" (ibid., June 3, 1949).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When Stu Oskamp '51, Don McInnes '51, and Kathy Buehrer '51 returned to Grinnell from Hampton that autumn, the local chapter of NAACP—only founded the preceding year—hosted a meeting devoted to the Hampton exchange, inviting last spring's participants to talk with the group (ibid., October 14, 1949). </span><span>Six weeks later Jan Reinke '52 told an </span><i>S & B </i><span>reporter that, as she prepared for a semester at Hampton, she had applied because she "wanted a chance to find out first hand about the Negroes." Her parents, she said, were "very enthusiastic about it." Nick Piediscalzi '52, also preparing for Hampton, explained that, because of his interest in the "race problem," he wanted "to know what it feels like to live in a minority group" (ibid., November 25, 1949). </span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0m1QVH-RhaWcaSgGwTTgxcLrOGPMTu4EeI6ip8T0Jt17GIAQQhU2JjBjklCGc17qZuLBotQ5MgYHTk4apbOvjq7VR2m1CSSUwByga3lThTSCSXVjRE9uMkXl6Z131Dul2rBpIXBmHfozpzf4g4IydYkswAvViYf4MfFSH04rjqP-cqHnEhkPctGwng/s514/Piediscalzi52CycloneP38.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="302" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0m1QVH-RhaWcaSgGwTTgxcLrOGPMTu4EeI6ip8T0Jt17GIAQQhU2JjBjklCGc17qZuLBotQ5MgYHTk4apbOvjq7VR2m1CSSUwByga3lThTSCSXVjRE9uMkXl6Z131Dul2rBpIXBmHfozpzf4g4IydYkswAvViYf4MfFSH04rjqP-cqHnEhkPctGwng/s320/Piediscalzi52CycloneP38.png" width="188" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1952 Cyclone, </i>p. 38<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">When Piediscalzi returned to Grinnell after his Hampton semester he spoke at fall convocation, telling the audience that his experience at Hampton had been transformative. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I shall never forget that most warm reception [we received at Hampton]. It put me at ease. But at the same time I could not help marveling that I was being received so cordially. Here was a persecuted minority, repressed and maligned by my own race, justified, I felt, to snub me, to subject me to social embarrassment. Yet they did not. They welcomed me with open hearts as if they had long learned to shun the arrogant injustice of judging a man by the color of his skin (ibid., September 29, 1950).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Having grown up in a "segregated part of Chicago, having attended an all-white church, an all-white school, and a college where only three Negroes were enrolled," Piediscalzi realized that he had "permitted the subtle propaganda of those who were prejudice[d] to influence...[his] sub-conscious thoughts...." Therefore, he continued, </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">we do not become free [of racism] until we have lived in an unsegregated group. No matter how sincerely we believe that we have no prejudices, as long as we live in segregated cities, as long as we attend white churches, as long as we attend segregated schools,...we shall....pre-judge those whom we segregated (Nicholas Piediscalzi '52, "The Truth Made Me Free" [Grinnell College Special Collections, US-IaGG Pamphlet/006.0-06.3 - 06.8-06.8 p1P; Nick also kindly provided me a copy of his chapel talk)</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Norma Mitchner, who spent spring semester 1951 in Grinnell, told the Hampton Institute newspaper, <i>The Script</i>, that "the exchange experience has been the greatest source of maturity in all her college career" and that it "was doing a wonderful job in race relations" (<i>Scarlet and Black</i>, November 2, 1951). </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwX4W8ms6MHvHTDes_vD_G4FfDHvf6dMIlzmS1yfgZ5pSwLXm1_VjqX0TyrPqj5oXGegEq24Eh7r5sLgqjjGv8SgCIQpudDwj8_YLQOBbMPrjkw6Xp-X_cQWYUAXBPsnWfUGBgx1ug51livdjIQwi9MpGfT_X5HVnSFLEh1CNDHMB2LPBf3qQJxVIiw/s544/Howard52CycloneP36.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="322" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRwX4W8ms6MHvHTDes_vD_G4FfDHvf6dMIlzmS1yfgZ5pSwLXm1_VjqX0TyrPqj5oXGegEq24Eh7r5sLgqjjGv8SgCIQpudDwj8_YLQOBbMPrjkw6Xp-X_cQWYUAXBPsnWfUGBgx1ug51livdjIQwi9MpGfT_X5HVnSFLEh1CNDHMB2LPBf3qQJxVIiw/s320/Howard52CycloneP36.png" width="189" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mari Howard '52 (<i>1952 Cyclone</i>, p. 36)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Mari Howard '52 (who later went to graduate school at Fisk University, in 1954 becoming <a href="https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,935156,00.html" target="_blank">"the first white student to get a Fisk [University] degree since the 1890s"</a>) and Dorothy Laurie '52 told readers of the <i>S & B</i> that "they completely lost color consciousness within a week of their arrival at Hampton" (ibid., September 28, 1951). The <i>Scarlet and Black </i>reported that Bessie Williams, a Hampton student studying at Grinnell, could imagine nothing "that could afford me greater intellectual growth than living, studying, and associating with students having a cultural background different from my own" (ibid., February 8, 1952).</span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The critical comments of students like Betty Armbrust and the generally warm recollections of Hampton students about their experience at Grinnell leave one wondering how prejudiced the Grinnell community may have been. A 1945 campus survey on racial prejudice conducted by students in one of John Burma's sociology classes queried one hundred college women (evidently no men took part). Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming majority of respondents denied having any racial bias, but thirty percent of the women admitted to prejudice. A quarter of those inventoried opposed admitting "Negroes" to Grinnell, and twenty percent told interviewers that "they would not be willing to sit next to a Negro student in class." Half of all respondents "would not like to have Negro blood plasma administered" (ibid., May 4, 1945).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbsk3VqS66nQH7-J25H7_C-sfdbOLhfed_p4JtYNVrr2hLDsiGxr_QEJuOW8EYbWouKRhYWa9jlLAaHVjexLBGnL6x8YL1UwifKDyaHM2mRZs1fnj5ZKFYpKdj8JATKmyOJwvktSr2rotJr0aab13Gq-JcXu9o0NY2h-ip_CF_Q4K52_jKKKyXbQl_A/s1438/Burma1950SocClassARH.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="905" data-original-width="1438" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZbsk3VqS66nQH7-J25H7_C-sfdbOLhfed_p4JtYNVrr2hLDsiGxr_QEJuOW8EYbWouKRhYWa9jlLAaHVjexLBGnL6x8YL1UwifKDyaHM2mRZs1fnj5ZKFYpKdj8JATKmyOJwvktSr2rotJr0aab13Gq-JcXu9o0NY2h-ip_CF_Q4K52_jKKKyXbQl_A/s320/Burma1950SocClassARH.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Professor John Burma Teaching a Sociology Class in ARH (1950)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A19862)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>That autumn John Scott Everton, who later helped found the Hampton exchange with Grinnell, addressed issues raised by the survey in a chapel address. Subsequent discussions, organized and spontaneous, found an outlet in an </span><i>S & B </i><span>editorial that took college administrators to task for failure to enroll African Americans at Grinnell. In these circumstances, the editorial asked,</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Can we keep our tongues in our cheeks as we bewail the conditions that Negroes in American endure? And if we decide that segregation is the best policy, that we can learn all we need to know about the Negro in a semester course in race relations, that we are incapable of seeing a man's worth regardless of his color, then let's quit all this hypocritical bellowing by students and administration about the Grinnell spirit of democracy and equality (ibid., December 14, 1945).</span></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Almost simultaneous to the founding of the exchange with Hampton was the establishment of a local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at Grinnell. The connection to the exchange was visible in the chapter's membership: John Burma, who had overseen the exchange, was one of the founders and early faculty adviser, and veterans of the Hampton exchange—Robert Holloway, Don McInnes and Andrew Billingsley—were among the first presidents of the chapter, and Betty Armbrust, Stu Oskamp, William Frank, and Cal Lewis were among its members. Sponsoring speakers, presenting films, and encouraging discussion about "race problems," the Grinnell chapter of the NAACP attempted to develop community awareness of racial inequities and encourage interracial understanding, in that way paralleling the exchange with Hampton.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6qBUiaXW0HX8fK3bYh26Q7c_w96ANzmr65wFCqnH02r_Qa5ghgiLbONn_uQtIlAn5-xFgKn7QxUSGRtCYAD1sHSyKiE5zKlbBt7nFM9fOepU2E3pJ3h_grZc31jAv6wUMJ9qPfjx0Uw4G0-xCdt6V0XJ4nC3mB06UZUf7f70klzlzs484v0qerZ7qA/s796/NAACP52CycloneP141.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="796" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6qBUiaXW0HX8fK3bYh26Q7c_w96ANzmr65wFCqnH02r_Qa5ghgiLbONn_uQtIlAn5-xFgKn7QxUSGRtCYAD1sHSyKiE5zKlbBt7nFM9fOepU2E3pJ3h_grZc31jAv6wUMJ9qPfjx0Uw4G0-xCdt6V0XJ4nC3mB06UZUf7f70klzlzs484v0qerZ7qA/s320/NAACP52CycloneP141.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1952 Cyclone, </i>p. 141<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">However, just as the Hampton Exchange was expiring at Grinnell, so, too, did the local chapter of the NAACP. </span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">At the end of the school year in June 1952, the [Grinnell] chapter [of the NAACP] disbanded, turning over its entire budget of $5.17 to the national office. Thus ended a four-year experiment on a primarily white college campus (<i>Outside In: African-American History in Iowa, 1838-2000, </i>eds. Bill Silag, et al. [Des Moines: State Historical Society of Iowa, 2001], <i> </i>p. 333).</span></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">What, then, was the outcome of the college's experiment with Hampton Institute? There can be little doubt that for the students who participated, the exchange left an enduring impression. Obituaries of Margaret Thompson Halsey, William Frank and others recall the experience, despite the fact that the five months at Hampton accounted for but a small proportion of their lives. Other participants, like Nicole Buhrer Baxter who devoted large parts of her life to racial justice and education, reflected the life-long influence of their collegiate encounter with African Americans at Hampton.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Less well-known, perhaps, but no less important, are the career arcs of the Hampton visitors to Grinnell. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyvetter_H._Younge" target="_blank">Wyvetter Hoover Younge, for example, went on to become an attorney and a prominent member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing her home district around East St. Louis for over thirty years.</a> Grace Edmonson Harris, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_E._Harris" target="_blank">originally rejected for admission to graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University because of race, later became the highest-ranking African American and highest-ranking woman in the history of Virginia Commonwealth University</a>. Andrew Billingsley, who transferred to Grinnell and later won an Alumni Award in 1971, had a <a href="https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dr-andrew-billingsley" target="_blank">sterling academic career as a sociologist and held a series of important administrative posts, including appointment as provost of Howard University and then as the eighth president of Morgan State University</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But did the exchange, as its early announcements had hoped, "promote interracial understanding?" One must assume that the exchange did undermine prejudice and contribute to interracial understanding. But the fact that the exchange expired in 1955 from lack of interest obliges us to think that the immediate impact on campus views of race was not great. Indeed, throughout the 1950s the college annually enrolled only a handful of Blacks in what remained an overwhelmingly white institution. Of course, Grinnell College was hardly unique in that respect; 1950s America and its institutions of higher education required more than the exchange of a few students a year to disable racism, as subsequent decades proved. Nevertheless, the Grinnell student exchange with Hampton Institute remains a marker of changing times whose influence may not have reached far but certainly reached deep among the participants, Black and white, and therefore especially deserves a place in institutional memory.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><p><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p></p><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-66812591016754192472022-10-12T10:24:00.020-07:002022-10-15T14:03:15.335-07:00Queen For a Day...in Grinnell<p><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was a boy and American television was still in its childhood, one of TV's most popular daytime shows was "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_for_a_Day" target="_blank">Queen for a Day.</a>" Having begun as a network radio show, in 1956 the program migrated to television where it proved a ratings powerhouse for almost a decade. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHd7gPRA2hbizc8SEyoljIh3l-hAIWWmyw6lm2QZoRQXaurByoZX3RK2pO78ps-qQ50VvDThqKh5W05EIfasqN-_Voevf2caDbjK3iJNFQHhnVSau_WkjxImoYOcM3TnMNtlNeb6CsY7_TCa1-8V36RKnVSU6Yq2f9GgmkS29TxmpygbBA23djBjnvg/s1759/1_6NS9ZK-FYbbuVDX8i1zG-w.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1759" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVHd7gPRA2hbizc8SEyoljIh3l-hAIWWmyw6lm2QZoRQXaurByoZX3RK2pO78ps-qQ50VvDThqKh5W05EIfasqN-_Voevf2caDbjK3iJNFQHhnVSau_WkjxImoYOcM3TnMNtlNeb6CsY7_TCa1-8V36RKnVSU6Yq2f9GgmkS29TxmpygbBA23djBjnvg/s320/1_6NS9ZK-FYbbuVDX8i1zG-w.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1956 Queen For a Day, Wilhelmina Van Son with Host, Jack Bailey<br />(https://timeline.com/queen-for-a-day-tv-sexism-9bd594f509d9)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>In those Eisenhower-America years, queens were everywhere. High schools and colleges had them, and so did fire departments, shopping malls, and much more. </span></span><span>"Crowning" select women as "queens" and putting them upon pedestals was an idea that fit handily into 1950s understandings of gender. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Readers of this blog, familiar with today's Grinnell College, might be surprised to learn that in the 1950s and 1960s, Grinnell College also identified and celebrated queens. There were Cyclone Queens, Military Ball Queens, track meet queens, Mardi Gras queens, and of course Homecoming queens.</span></span><span> There was also briefly a Miss Grinnell College contest, the winner of which advanced to participate in the Miss Grinnell competition, a local link to the Miss America Pageant.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">However, in the late 1960s, when so many other happenings rocked traditions and upset conventional narratives of social organization, the idea of celebrating campus queens lost its attraction to Grinnell College students, and in 1969 Grinnell abandoned all the beauty contests on campus. Today's post tells that story.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As early as the 1920s—the same decade in which the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_America" target="_blank">Miss America pageant got off the ground</a><span>—Grinnell College initiated what the college newspaper called its "first beauty contest" under the auspices of the <i>1927 </i></span><i>Cyclone. "</i>Things of beauty are to be joys forever," said the yearbook editor. Having students choose the most beautiful Grinnell woman "gave every co-ed on the Grinnell campus...a chance at the privilege of having her portrait handed down to posterity...in the pages of this spring's annual," he continued. Conceived as a <i> </i>means to sell copies of the book, the beauty contest offered to every purchaser of the <i>1927 Cyclone</i> "five votes, which may be used [to vote] for any girl on campus." Finalists would have their portraits taken and sent to "experts in the beauty-choosing profession" (by which they seem to have meant Hollywood stars) to judge the most beautiful. Each portrait would be "exquisitely printed in a special section of the book [i.e., <i>Cyclone</i>], an everlasting tribute to the lucky girls" (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 10, 1925). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04rvZACUdcpHcnM9dCNgaGvn2xy8PtqzKk0ixQV4V7AyM8zM4rZPof_pNLcVnSe_qvkVFxOmV-aDQtpqXNe-wkfOSWqMWSyZj_ynDzr5yB_go5bCGdk-mMV6wkVc72uYItAl7LJZuOQsx8BaH5S5VfO1SllH6cB0oZeTNreQOWxKGe4nm0q240wSsVg/s1282/1927CycloneHeadline.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="1282" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04rvZACUdcpHcnM9dCNgaGvn2xy8PtqzKk0ixQV4V7AyM8zM4rZPof_pNLcVnSe_qvkVFxOmV-aDQtpqXNe-wkfOSWqMWSyZj_ynDzr5yB_go5bCGdk-mMV6wkVc72uYItAl7LJZuOQsx8BaH5S5VfO1SllH6cB0oZeTNreQOWxKGe4nm0q240wSsVg/s320/1927CycloneHeadline.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headline from <i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 10, 1925<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The next year the system did not depend upon purchasing yearbooks: "<i>Every student</i> [emphasis mine—dk] of Grinnell College will be eligible to vote...and every woman who is a student at Grinnell College will be considered a participant," the announcement said.<span> Students were invited to nominate "the most beautiful girls on campus" by placing the names of their nominee on paper that they then deposited in a ballot box in ARH. The top ten were listed on a published ballot for a January election by the entire student body (ibid., December 26, 1926). Photographs would be sent to a "judge prominent in theatrical circles" who would choose "Miss Grinnell" and three runners-up. </span><span> </span></span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>What was notable in the early history of the college's beauty contests was the participation of all students, male and female. When the <i>Cyclone </i>staff revived the competition a few years later, new rules separated the decision by gender: men picked "beautiful" women and women picked "handsome" men. For example, the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>reported in 1933 that male students had nominated thirty-nine co-eds as "most beautiful" and that women students had advanced "fifty handsome males" in a contest sponsored by the yearbook (February 10, 1933). At the <i>Cyclone </i>Ball February 24, Walter Straley '33 and </span></span><span>Katherine Lewis '35 </span><span>succeeded to the titles of King and Queen of the ball (ibid., March 1, 1933). </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>By the time Grinnell students celebrated the third Cyclone Ball in 1935, the contest embraced more enthusiastically gendered stereotypes. For this competition nineteen "representative men" each submitted a list of four names of "ideal women," a phrase that anticipates the Miss America song of a later time. The results named Betty Compton '35, Sabeth Mix '36, Catherine Webster '37, and Janith Wyle '38 as ideal women of their respective classes. In this way four women reigned over the ball, each judged "ideal" by men (ibid., March 6, 1935).</span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homecoming" target="_blank">America seems to have discovered "homecoming"</a><span> in the early twentieth century when American colleges and universities organized special occasions—complete with football games, parades, and dances—to summon alumni "home"—back to campus. According to a 1955 </span><i>Scarlet and Black </i>article<i>, </i><span>Grinnell College celebrated its first homecoming in 1916, but without a queen (October 28, 1955); only after World War II did Grinnell name its first homecoming queen.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9EEwraGJU2OesaIs7OQFysthxGKrQr4ezB0GdTZkgWcpKemKauJJUvTVu3Fb5B2ytapTg_e1bfTaofBhrGcT23V7KrIQeqyLgWWcxDVCuaG7GG9vCbApMjgINa2xXWkGCHLxBphkq3cg7bAH6UG-5NlJ7svFKDGrk5jBJjqXHinhNGs9VYBTZTEltw/s1678/GirlOfCentury%20copy.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="1678" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9EEwraGJU2OesaIs7OQFysthxGKrQr4ezB0GdTZkgWcpKemKauJJUvTVu3Fb5B2ytapTg_e1bfTaofBhrGcT23V7KrIQeqyLgWWcxDVCuaG7GG9vCbApMjgINa2xXWkGCHLxBphkq3cg7bAH6UG-5NlJ7svFKDGrk5jBJjqXHinhNGs9VYBTZTEltw/s320/GirlOfCentury%20copy.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 4, 1946<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In early October 1946 the </span><i>Scarlet and Black </i><span>initiated efforts to choose a "Girl of the Century" to commemorate the college's centennial. The campus newspaper urged students to </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Look round about you...! Who is your candidate for "Girl of the Century?" Should she be tall, short, dark or blonde? Name her, and she will reign as the Centennial Homecoming Queen... (October 4, 1946).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The newspaper printed ballots on page one, and encouraged students—<i>all </i>students—to cut the ballot from the paper, and, having written on the ballot the name of the woman they nominated, deposit the ballot in a special box in the campus bookstore. "Final announcement of the identity of the queen and her court," the paper promised, "will be kept secret until the Homecoming weekend" (ibid.). Student nominations resulted in a slate of six women from among whom the male athletes of Honor G (rather than the "professional judges of beauty" of the former Cyclone competition) chose the queen (ibid., October 11, 1946). The first Grinnell College woman to receive the crown of Homecoming Queen was <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/aurora-beacon-news/name/doris-kirhofer-obituary?id=32362695" target="_blank">Doris Crowl (1926-2022),</a> a speech and drama major from Council Bluffs, Iowa.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-S5rKP_-5RBNU3sUVlZnAl-RDBKYkjNm7ip-2vEY3QnB25p5MlsEm7C7GBBiBzFh_q0J7tkIlO_fUD1cmdsGSBik3ZY-X4Oj2BLd7GU_sbK3Pln9Ek15h2vi9_Q8K1UrygmkklZaA_AdgilSrXtg5MEocCk88UaFbOPNOU4BmJ-NzQWiDH3YT8l7WZg/s558/CrowlS&B18Oct1946.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="394" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-S5rKP_-5RBNU3sUVlZnAl-RDBKYkjNm7ip-2vEY3QnB25p5MlsEm7C7GBBiBzFh_q0J7tkIlO_fUD1cmdsGSBik3ZY-X4Oj2BLd7GU_sbK3Pln9Ek15h2vi9_Q8K1UrygmkklZaA_AdgilSrXtg5MEocCk88UaFbOPNOU4BmJ-NzQWiDH3YT8l7WZg/s320/CrowlS&B18Oct1946.png" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doris Crowl, Grinnell College's First Homecoming Queen (1946)<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 18, 1946)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The following year saw a change in the process, affirming the principle of having men determine the homecoming queen. In 1947 (and for some years afterward) each of the men's halls of north campus—rather than students from the entire campus—chose a nominee. As before, Honor G—an honor society for male athletes—then selected and crowned the queen (ibid., October 10, 1947). Lilian Crawford, who was that year the nominee of both Clark and Dibble, reigned over the 1947 homecoming festivities (ibid., October 24, 1947).</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6cnwbD7NFYomyrilRq9sowD39uAY6CugsOpxr_GGYTWTDOb0efbD2MsO7jux9PH8oHny9mY3Mih6mP8eZPzLmK8xs4JzIdEhu-MZ-Ur7vAZ2iLMk3V499gkqgWAmsEdGittLrDHV3Zz6ptFJY_r0fh0EWRsbKN-l71ziJxTXoDLirL9ujKB1ONMPNQ/s482/https:::www.stewartfh.com:obituaries:Carol-Couchenour:%23!:TributeWall.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6cnwbD7NFYomyrilRq9sowD39uAY6CugsOpxr_GGYTWTDOb0efbD2MsO7jux9PH8oHny9mY3Mih6mP8eZPzLmK8xs4JzIdEhu-MZ-Ur7vAZ2iLMk3V499gkqgWAmsEdGittLrDHV3Zz6ptFJY_r0fh0EWRsbKN-l71ziJxTXoDLirL9ujKB1ONMPNQ/s320/https:::www.stewartfh.com:obituaries:Carol-Couchenour:%23!:TributeWall.png" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Carol Lynn Fleck '60, Miss Iowa, at 1957 Miss America Pageant, Atlantic City<br />(https///www.stewartfh.com/obituaries/Carol-Couchenour/#!/TributeWall)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When Grinnell College students turned their minds toward Homecoming in autumn 1957, they confronted an unusual circumstance. Only a month before announcement of the nominees for Homecoming Queen, one college woman had already competed in the televised Miss America contest as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Iowa" target="_blank">Miss Iowa</a>. That July </span><a href="https://www.stewartfh.com/obituaries/Carol-Couchenour/#!/TributeWall" target="_blank">Carol Lynn Fleck '60 (1938-2018)</a>—who had earlier been named Miss Oskaloosa and Miss Southeast Iowa—had emerged from the state-wide competition in Clear Lake as Miss Iowa, sending her to Atlantic City, New Jersey. In late September the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>published an interview with Fleck, thereby alerting students to the presence on campus of a publicly-recognized beauty queen (September 27, 1957). Surprisingly, when the nine semi-finalists for that year's homecoming queen were announced, Fleck was not among them (ibid., October 18, 1957). Instead, Kathy Davis '60 reigned as Homecoming Queen that year (ibid., November 1, 1957).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Homecoming in 1958 brought another change in the procedure for selecting the queen without altering its gender values. If previously each hall of north campus—at the time only men lived on north campus and only women lived on south campus—had nominated a woman to be queen and Honor G had made the final selection, henceforth Honor G would nominate five candidates, and all North campus men would vote to establish the winner (ibid., October 3, 1958). The student newspaper approved of the revision, suggesting that the old system was little more than a "popularity contest among the girls dating [men] in a hall" (ibid., October 24, 1958). But giving Honor G the right to narrow the field by deciding upon the nominees and giving all North campus men the power to choose the queen retained the same gender stereotypes as had prevailed previously with Honor G and its male athletes controlling the process. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Carol Fleck did ascend the Grinnell College Homecoming throne, but not until 1958 when the Oskaloosa native and speech correction major was only one of several queens who reigned at the college that year. In March 1959 Mary Kate Prangley '59, a sociology major from Winnetka, Illinois, took the title of Cyclone Queen; <a href="http://www.starksfuneral.com/obituary/2749-vfrafgzbbn" target="_blank">Janet Catherine Schaab '59 (1937-2021),</a> a music major from St. Louis, won the inaugural competition for Miss Grinnell College; and <a href="https://alumni.grinnell.edu/file/1961-memoriam/1961_obit_jacqueline_baker_alexander.pdf" target="_blank">Jacqueline Jean Baker '62 (1940-1978)</a>, a sophomore from Glasgow, Montana, reigned as Queen of the Military Ball. The <i>1959 Cyclone </i>sported full-page photographs of all four queens, fulfilling the promises of posterity dangled before contestants in the Cyclone beauty contests of the 1920s (pp. 170-173).</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-BTNOwAMxs_sgpxY5gVwlfwezwTeBfh2Q7rrKuSpGGqWaMNMmQn9ZWFp9TzoW2Tl_E7AiAyLCn20AWnc6C2250oBSH5uUStu9T3vlgCpvGU2P2MgKqQsbNarJl2hGA3xGq4KofkjRQ2euOWOSNecBK0m0jmMgRyI0ICZ_wqlCc-6P3zq0WgEzBlLkA/s1394/1959CycloneAQueens.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="1394" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-BTNOwAMxs_sgpxY5gVwlfwezwTeBfh2Q7rrKuSpGGqWaMNMmQn9ZWFp9TzoW2Tl_E7AiAyLCn20AWnc6C2250oBSH5uUStu9T3vlgCpvGU2P2MgKqQsbNarJl2hGA3xGq4KofkjRQ2euOWOSNecBK0m0jmMgRyI0ICZ_wqlCc-6P3zq0WgEzBlLkA/s320/1959CycloneAQueens.png" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQNaX_4Ram6adOYULLyfHxMHBXNyCwRvgvwF8wJVk8Fc2uIa8bBNwr2Fh5kaOdBvV-MFaY8RD-2dfsZ44pTTLfmIaWQd5QTs9VDBkXn3CywBcHBjJfovBUgF7zUPw1Y7AJg0yAuFM6Jf1sV5nj3UBNTDWavmAynk7YGcOwl9Zkq76C-5PbukokE7hCw/s1370/1959CycloneBQueens.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1370" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQNaX_4Ram6adOYULLyfHxMHBXNyCwRvgvwF8wJVk8Fc2uIa8bBNwr2Fh5kaOdBvV-MFaY8RD-2dfsZ44pTTLfmIaWQd5QTs9VDBkXn3CywBcHBjJfovBUgF7zUPw1Y7AJg0yAuFM6Jf1sV5nj3UBNTDWavmAynk7YGcOwl9Zkq76C-5PbukokE7hCw/s320/1959CycloneBQueens.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Grinnell College Queens of 1958-59 (<i>1959 Cyclone, </i>pp. 170-73)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Exactly what stimulated the founding in 1959 of a competition for Miss Grinnell College is unclear, but perhaps nothing more than the country's fascination with Miss America explains the idea. As in the Miss America contest, all eighteen women contestants participated in a bathing suit competition, demonstrated some talent (each performance no longer than three minutes), and participated in an evening gown contest. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9soZA8sMTK5hsC4WJojA92R2E8-TvLvdk-OA5G9Acu0A266BrnVCWIvUnyuMtqof_z5VtHXUB5bohuaQ5-dtM4a2DZjZ_sUZ5zbGzYd00PbDDDQzSD4PuCBSb14f4lKWVAfT32mh7I4bRqmPQ58qaBbv_w3jc8Ewfv9WILiJt1q5WIE3O5X0FFLCQw/s1798/1959CycloneMissGrinnell.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1798" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9soZA8sMTK5hsC4WJojA92R2E8-TvLvdk-OA5G9Acu0A266BrnVCWIvUnyuMtqof_z5VtHXUB5bohuaQ5-dtM4a2DZjZ_sUZ5zbGzYd00PbDDDQzSD4PuCBSb14f4lKWVAfT32mh7I4bRqmPQ58qaBbv_w3jc8Ewfv9WILiJt1q5WIE3O5X0FFLCQw/s320/1959CycloneMissGrinnell.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of Contestants in Bathing Suits as part of 1959 Miss Grinnell College Competition<br />(<i>1959 Cyclone)</i><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In addition, a panel of faculty judges (four men and one woman) interviewed all the contestants, assessing "their intellect, personality, and poise." The judges then chose a winner ("Miss Grinnell College"), who, along with two runners-up, qualified for the Miss Grinnell contest which was sponsored by the Grinnell Jaycees; whoever won the title of Miss Grinnell would take home some locally-provided gifts and, more importantly, qualify to compete for the Miss Iowa contest (</span><i>Scarlet and Black, </i><span>April 10, 1959). In 1959 Jacque Baker, Montana native and first runner-up in the Miss Grinnell College competition, succeeded to the title of Miss Grinnell, and in Clear Lake that summer won the title of Miss Iowa (ibid., May 1, 1959; </span><i>Daily Gate City</i><span>, September 9, 1959), making her the second Grinnell College student in three years to represent Iowa at the Miss America Pageant.</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtffbtD3LMpvWUv8YWjdma0JarvNr9qhkGAbwSzwBTvu6KwHXJJygc0komIhxsTCcPEiHVa0vlQOn2aAnebOCPGWFrpxGC5EnR2FhMPk5cCWRClPSWO80GTlxW-zIWPLU_1d9oI8HjUYy94hAuXp5l3aLypGEbdxG4tozDydQ8MTmin9K3dFkRQbgg1w/s992/S&B5Jun1959Baker.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="812" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtffbtD3LMpvWUv8YWjdma0JarvNr9qhkGAbwSzwBTvu6KwHXJJygc0komIhxsTCcPEiHVa0vlQOn2aAnebOCPGWFrpxGC5EnR2FhMPk5cCWRClPSWO80GTlxW-zIWPLU_1d9oI8HjUYy94hAuXp5l3aLypGEbdxG4tozDydQ8MTmin9K3dFkRQbgg1w/s320/S&B5Jun1959Baker.png" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacqueline Baker '62 being crowned Miss Grinnell<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>June 5, 1959)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Over the next several years Grinnell College women won the local Miss Grinnell contest: Ruby Jo Ponce '63 in 1960, Gail Parish '63 in 1961, and Susan Faunce in 1962. But local interest in the beauty pageant seems to have flagged. Only five women participated in the 1963 contest, and when only three voiced interest in 1964 the Jaycees decided to cancel the event.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OQY8W1PS74otIlUjuJkFPZyegdxQhCSsQWmZcI5DBGTegOyg67vWsbuyUxV36ej_TdGDmoxysxDK81yPNA3aC5CvvevZhGXnrhygqpTapXKwKN6c9InPp9ihKRmnFH37ArfHmGIeDjaSlCJJgrli8e5pnSmyQkoVkUS6J7TdVm_w6fxnj8Z8CoaGSQ/s1266/GHR11Jun1964.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1266" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1OQY8W1PS74otIlUjuJkFPZyegdxQhCSsQWmZcI5DBGTegOyg67vWsbuyUxV36ej_TdGDmoxysxDK81yPNA3aC5CvvevZhGXnrhygqpTapXKwKN6c9InPp9ihKRmnFH37ArfHmGIeDjaSlCJJgrli8e5pnSmyQkoVkUS6J7TdVm_w6fxnj8Z8CoaGSQ/s320/GHR11Jun1964.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>June 11, 1964<br />(Thanks to Gary Meyer for sharing this scan with me)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Competition for the Military Ball Queen (also named "honorary colonel") continued. Marge Lahue '60 was named "honorary colonel" in 1960, Sharon Hasekamp '62 in 1961, Sharon Miller '63 in 1962, and Nancy Cooke '64 in 1963. With the unpopular Vietnam war in the news, students and faculty grew increasingly critical of the military presence in Grinnell. At an April 1969 faculty meeting some 100 students gathered to protest against ROTC and giving academic credit for ROTC classes. The immediate consequence was a faculty resolution ending academic credit for ROTC (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>April 11, 1969). Trustees, however, opted to retain academic credit for ROTC courses until such time as the Air Force completed phasing out the Grinnell unit by September 1972 (ibid., September 13, 1969). Events—including the 1970 campus shutdown and finally a 1972 student occupation of the ROTC building—intervened. The military ball was no more.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Except for Homecoming, other campus queen competitions also disappeared. Barbara Anne Beale '64, a speech and drama major from Minneapolis, seems to have been the last Cyclone Queen, taking her title in 1964 (<i>1964 Cyclone, </i>p. 188). The final Snow Queen election took place in January 1966. Perhaps the most notable feature of this election was the presence of an African American woman, Sandy Bates '68, among the five nominees, although she did not receive the crown (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>January 28, 1966).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77xOe3LkpixBBqvnYE_7tAvdq0B4xzXBFojGhPuFeZnmMamIV9MFMJ_wCBkaJDkMVPSCTQVhffLQfNEgmb1uA_TNlRkn-hqzVenfj-SFE8Z-7LiEzCP-ddmpunDMatfV9m7FesKA4EDCqKbdwWKj_aMBhAXv6_7FqXhb0Lzss2Fzn_9VcU-iXH6ys2g/s1072/S&B28Jan1966Bates.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1054" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77xOe3LkpixBBqvnYE_7tAvdq0B4xzXBFojGhPuFeZnmMamIV9MFMJ_wCBkaJDkMVPSCTQVhffLQfNEgmb1uA_TNlRkn-hqzVenfj-SFE8Z-7LiEzCP-ddmpunDMatfV9m7FesKA4EDCqKbdwWKj_aMBhAXv6_7FqXhb0Lzss2Fzn_9VcU-iXH6ys2g/s320/S&B28Jan1966Bates.png" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nominees for 1966 Snow Queen<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>January 28, 1966)<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div>The tradition of electing a Homecoming Queen proved more resistant to change. In 1959 Joan Christensen '61, a political science major from Fremont, Nebraska, reigned over Homecoming, and the tradition continued through most of the 1960s.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyFU3ycs7bGwrivUTBTQgeT85Wc1cdS9pEEvySDZJMumwv3FvWDMBcXEypL2ZnyuSL1wqALELwsc9vWzu89udb3gQ4pGz2ar-GCzhMDrgxijkX34h962bgiXwGOpLRnpFpHcqMznMiagkffDYp3Ha_oQusCmNsGE6tPm8T3HDXbfY1T75E6w5g2w9Gg/s1230/Queens1960s.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="1230" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyFU3ycs7bGwrivUTBTQgeT85Wc1cdS9pEEvySDZJMumwv3FvWDMBcXEypL2ZnyuSL1wqALELwsc9vWzu89udb3gQ4pGz2ar-GCzhMDrgxijkX34h962bgiXwGOpLRnpFpHcqMznMiagkffDYp3Ha_oQusCmNsGE6tPm8T3HDXbfY1T75E6w5g2w9Gg/s320/Queens1960s.png" width="320" /></span></a></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Kathleen Abbott from the class of 1971 was the last <i>woman</i> elected Homecoming Queen, but she was not the last Grinnell College Homecoming Queen. Reflecting the growing criticism of college queens and the gender stereotypes that they implied, Dick "the Kid" Mellman '71, a second-year student from <a href="https://www.ucitymo.org/" target="_blank">University City, Missouri</a>, decided to throw his hat into the ring. In a story that drew the attention of the major wire services, Mellman told reporters that he had invited the five women nominees for Grinnell's Homecoming Queen to withdraw; when he received no reply, the slim 18-year-old began to campaign against the "Establishment." Correctly pointing out that until his campaign, only men had decided the college's Homecoming Queens, and that athletes had exerted outsize influence (<i>Burlington Hawk Eye, </i>October 20, 1968), Mellman claimed to have received a "mandate" from a special election open to men <i>and women</i> students (<i>Iowa City Press-Citizen, </i>October 19, 1968). With the aid of followers, Mellman staged a "protest coronation" immediately after the crowning of Kathleen Abbott. "Sitting in a red car and wearing a robe," Mellman, with two students dressed in military uniforms beside him, entered the football stadium to the strains of "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgoDhs5lsBQ" target="_blank">Pomp and Circumstance</a>." Receiving a tissue paper crown while supporters shouted "the queen belongs to the people," Mellman became the very last Grinnell College Homecoming Queen (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>October 20, 1968).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPuI3WEP2wqVwmktNQRaT1cN1CLO2TzNxqX6W4hgTJQLTV4QJA1iQiPJDqLCNSchyJGi5SEszC7FlStB-PL3J7fopX97NYfnUO78fshUiDksjZGTMf1So9DZdTrTKwiTm6JSJlRMXPxYcZikWq0uIAJiMVoRwBTN-2ZG_va3dBzYQ6q0IM6DuIODfh5g/s640/https-::digital.grinnell.edu:islandora:object:grinnell%253A5656.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPuI3WEP2wqVwmktNQRaT1cN1CLO2TzNxqX6W4hgTJQLTV4QJA1iQiPJDqLCNSchyJGi5SEszC7FlStB-PL3J7fopX97NYfnUO78fshUiDksjZGTMf1So9DZdTrTKwiTm6JSJlRMXPxYcZikWq0uIAJiMVoRwBTN-2ZG_va3dBzYQ6q0IM6DuIODfh5g/s320/https-::digital.grinnell.edu:islandora:object:grinnell%253A5656.jpeg" width="171" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard Mellman '71, the Last Grinnell College Homecoming Queen<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A5656.tiff)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It is tempting to regard Mellman's moment in the homecoming sun as little more than a prank. In fact, however, student objections to the entire idea of selecting "queens" grew noisy in the late 'sixties. In a lengthy letter to the editor of the <i>Scarlet and Black</i>, Sally Hamann '70, who had taken part in a February demonstration against Playboy magazine (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 7, 1969), criticized the tradition of Homecoming Queen for perpetuating "the image of a woman as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie" target="_blank">'Barbie' doll</a> who is only expected to be good-looking." Accusing the tradition of exploiting women, Hamann observed that the entire process degraded women, making them into lap-dogs, and reinforced the idea that women should "concentrate on aspects of figure, face, hair, and clothes instead of the more important human qualities." Moreover, by having only men select the queen, Hamann continued, the institution perpetuated claims of male superiority, and implied that "every woman should want to be a queen, judged only on her physical attraction" (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 10, 1969). A few days earlier the student Senate, at the urging of the Grinnell Women's Liberation group, "officially recommended to the Student Affairs Committee and President Leggett abolishment of the institution of Homecoming Queen at Grinnell College" (ibid., October 17, 1969).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaYgwej9H4UnMRORNeswlQu4WWksPOGmLJXqEfV01V_IENVQF7y-PoLcuTbeuuDY5S9hXjWUUWdm2z3vbvCHw1IuTmTa24WEIZvZOKD4DN2THYkpOM9j8VT_BSPyC4sKMIHcZIMHXIzhUlUeQO1hSUONKQXsHZmzYqj9Uk_CburoMst6Tq24XenR0iA/s640/https-::digital.grinnell.edu:islandora:object:grinnell%253A5695.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="640" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaYgwej9H4UnMRORNeswlQu4WWksPOGmLJXqEfV01V_IENVQF7y-PoLcuTbeuuDY5S9hXjWUUWdm2z3vbvCHw1IuTmTa24WEIZvZOKD4DN2THYkpOM9j8VT_BSPyC4sKMIHcZIMHXIzhUlUeQO1hSUONKQXsHZmzYqj9Uk_CburoMst6Tq24XenR0iA/s320/https-::digital.grinnell.edu:islandora:object:grinnell%253A5695.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1970 Photograph of Women's Liberation Group Discussion<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A5695.tiff)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The campus newspaper advised readers that nostalgic alumni then converging on campus for Homecoming in 1969 might "be relieved to learn that, unlike last year, Grinnell College will not have a male homecoming queen." However, the newspaper continued, "traditionalists" might be "disappointed when they discover that, in fact, </span><i>Grinnell will have no homecoming queen at all this year</i><span>"[emphasis mine—dk]. The article went on to report that students had voted by more than two-to-one against having a homecoming queen (ibid.). Neither the athletic department nor the college president offered any resistance, and so the tradition of a Grinnell College Homecoming Queen, born in an era that depended upon different understandings of gender, succumbed to the values of a new age.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For many years, the conclusion of the Miss America Pageant had its host, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Parks" target="_blank">Bert Parks (1914-1992)</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6RJY5Isv4Y" target="_blank">sing the Miss America song</a> as the newly-crowned beauty queen walked the runway among the audience:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>There she is, Miss America!</span> </div></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>There she is, your ideal....</span></div></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The 1960s destroyed the facile assumptions of the Miss America Pageant about what constituted an ideal. What had been simmering discontent broke into the open in 1968, when protestors staged an embarrassing demonstration on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. T<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fifty-years-ago-protestors-took-on-miss-america-pageant-electrified-feminist-movement-180967504/#:~:text=The%201968%20uprising%20was%20conceived,Movement%20into%20the%20public%20arena.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank">hrowing into a trash can "bras, girdles, curlers, false eyelashes, wigs, and representative issues of <i>Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, </i>etc.,"</a> demonstrators rejected the objectification of women and their implied subservience to men's fantasies. The Pageant went on, but its once glowing image was tarnished, and ever since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_America" target="_blank">the Pageant has struggled</a>, even if it has not gone totally defunct like the "Queen for a Day" television program. Post-war gender stereotypes had been exposed. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Beauty pageants, especially in their embrace of swimsuit competitions, resembled too closely the evaluation of livestock, as the Atlantic City protestors had maintained. This same critique emerged in Grinnell. </span><span>Re-reading recently news clips about her participation in the Miss Grinnell competition, one Grinnell alumna reported being horrified to recall that newspapers reported "my measurements as if I was a horse at the fair." A local story described one Miss Grinnell candidate as having "near perfect" measurements: 36 1/2 </span></span><span>- 24 1/2 -35 (</span><i>Grinnell Herald Register, </i><span>July 20, 1961). In an age when bust, waist and hip measurements of Hollywood starlets were regularly published in the press, the gendered process of choosing campus queens undoubtedly saw women through similarly calibrated eyes.</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppzVvoJjp8UlmcD0IEZSzoCxKAUkMHuarbyzieIculs4FPaUzyhMGur2fp6ibKsOCdr0sLV_pKim5XnhJt4YuFmHKWgW8wk0HDBQCLHTg1JkvsgaHH2ZyeSQJt2dlO5s4HiMP1UN3lFzgdGN98jCiWlrGMP-CRREUl2IQvQNncubEqWyXpicAqoi6GQ/s640/Homecoming1960Pic.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="640" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjppzVvoJjp8UlmcD0IEZSzoCxKAUkMHuarbyzieIculs4FPaUzyhMGur2fp6ibKsOCdr0sLV_pKim5XnhJt4YuFmHKWgW8wk0HDBQCLHTg1JkvsgaHH2ZyeSQJt2dlO5s4HiMP1UN3lFzgdGN98jCiWlrGMP-CRREUl2IQvQNncubEqWyXpicAqoi6GQ/s320/Homecoming1960Pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1960 Homecoming Platform; Mickie Clark '63 (center left) and Nancy Welch '61 (center right ), Queen<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A5661)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Grinnell College's tradition of naming campus queens also felt the influence of emergent revaluations of race. Like the Miss America Pageant itself, which, until 1971 had no contestant of color and until 1983 had never crowned an African American queen, Grinnell's queens were all white. </span></span><span>Over the twenty years when Grinnell men selected Homecoming Queens only once did an African American woman—</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Clark" target="_blank">Michele (Mickie) Clark '63 (1943-1972)</a><span> in 1960—make it onto the platform with the queen. And only once was an African American woman among the semi-finalists for the other queens chosen at Grinnell. </span><span>If, in the age of the <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964#:~:text=In%201964%2C%20Congress%20passed%20Public,hiring%2C%20promoting%2C%20and%20firing." target="_blank">1964 Civil Rights Act</a> and the public battles for racial equality,</span><span> Black women at Grinnell College did not qualify for beauty competitions, then the traditions of campus queens were understandably doomed.</span></span></div><div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufP29tGaO0XbQn4EPvQWXrro2jWrlrIILdMURUu-YaLz0O2myprjQzmTMHu_G2y9N9EnMxFlYB22_PsazBqmMM3AxkjM0HMeNvyhnHnFHCym95kc0161zDxZE3HDId4usqfkAtSxZt4O59rs8SC5ShOKcA-pXAMnYWufJmNrQSaNdbsisLwD998ax5g/s836/1956CycloneP37Cheerleaders.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="836" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufP29tGaO0XbQn4EPvQWXrro2jWrlrIILdMURUu-YaLz0O2myprjQzmTMHu_G2y9N9EnMxFlYB22_PsazBqmMM3AxkjM0HMeNvyhnHnFHCym95kc0161zDxZE3HDId4usqfkAtSxZt4O59rs8SC5ShOKcA-pXAMnYWufJmNrQSaNdbsisLwD998ax5g/s320/1956CycloneP37Cheerleaders.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Grinnell College Cheerleaders<br />(<i>1956 Cyclone, </i>p. 37)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>In the days before </span><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX" target="_blank">passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972</a> (</span><span>that prohibited sex-discrimination in any school or any other education program that received funding from the federal government), women at the college clearly occupied second-class status. Not only did the college offer no intercollegiate varsity sports for women (another issue that broke into the open on campus in the '60s), but many organizations open to women functioned primarily as supporters of men's athletics. Cheerleaders from the sidelines (both actual and metaphorical) </span></span><span>encouraged the college's male athletes, and </span><span>even organizations like Women's Honor G, which were meant to look the same as their male counterparts, performed outside the spotlight and mainly in service to men's sports. </span></span></div><div><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZQcrEcZf89QRBN-lpGCkBpaSsxnaefReXhkbBV9UNgqdHoow_yOXWqys330vzc-fCQC6mHMr3Bd0PtR9rDSlM2HBBxzv9XYhjkYiX0xpA4wfFaelDr8p22UKj_UAcrg9ppWaYhMbrgukDbE4LvKJCSZmoxoM-XFeTXgMSqTCRb4Q7PRvHEDJetoirg/s608/1956CycloneP91Women'sHonorG.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="608" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZQcrEcZf89QRBN-lpGCkBpaSsxnaefReXhkbBV9UNgqdHoow_yOXWqys330vzc-fCQC6mHMr3Bd0PtR9rDSlM2HBBxzv9XYhjkYiX0xpA4wfFaelDr8p22UKj_UAcrg9ppWaYhMbrgukDbE4LvKJCSZmoxoM-XFeTXgMSqTCRb4Q7PRvHEDJetoirg/s320/1956CycloneP91Women'sHonorG.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yearbook Description of Women's Honor G<br />(<i>1956 Cyclone, </i>p. 91).<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Like the rest of the country, post-war Grinnell saw gender as a simple binary. No doubt there were students (and faculty) on campus who struggled with this simple division, but none of those struggles made it into the public sphere. Before the shocks of war, race, and gender revolution, the tradition of crowning an "ideal" woman as Queen, putting a crown on her head and roses in her arms, lived peaceably with the rest of the post-war world.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And then it all changed. </span></div><div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-48326936588196640472022-09-14T12:13:01.446-07:002022-09-23T12:11:47.244-07:00Local Men Help Build a Road to Alaska<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although I had heard of the AlCan or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway" target="_blank">Alaska Highway</a> long ago, I had no idea that Iowans had played any part in building this vital road until I heard from Wayne Olson, whose dad, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/O/OlsonOmarL.pdf" target="_blank">Omar Olson (1903-1969)</a>, joined other Poweshiek County men who went north to work on the highway in the early 1940s. Once I started looking into the connections, however, the whole endeavor caught my imagination: how did Iowans come to take part in this massive project, and how did they adjust to working in the far North? Today's post follows the experiences and contributions of Iowans in building the Alaska Highway in the middle of World War II.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZul6Hl1Ipdk6wYp46SkTDmSmKEFJ4WbooAWyV0WiLduCqGMrTX8Q9cBD1aVf_RbiilhjiURtcwoFfAQYXWjxTKjaY5Hz74zncTt5dHzkSNS2VBaKYHMfMGe1p-5WXI5rbcpVp_o_Fd9usx3THQXy4Y0EYOb8Z6RdWToWF3jbzmD9mN7M05Ua0VkDrg/s624/TheAlaskaHighwayRoute.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="611" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZul6Hl1Ipdk6wYp46SkTDmSmKEFJ4WbooAWyV0WiLduCqGMrTX8Q9cBD1aVf_RbiilhjiURtcwoFfAQYXWjxTKjaY5Hz74zncTt5dHzkSNS2VBaKYHMfMGe1p-5WXI5rbcpVp_o_Fd9usx3THQXy4Y0EYOb8Z6RdWToWF3jbzmD9mN7M05Ua0VkDrg/s320/TheAlaskaHighwayRoute.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map Detailing the Course of the Alcan (Alaska) Highway<br />(http://www.thealaskadream.com/rv-alaska/the-alaska-highway/)<br /><br />###</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Since at least the 1920s there had been talk about forging a road through the forests and tundra of western Canada and Alaska, but only World War II brought urgency and agreement to the idea. After the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the idea of an invasion of Alaska grew terribly credible, persuading the American and Canadian governments to embark on building a road into Alaska. The Canadians granted the right-of-way and the Americans agreed to construct and finance building of the highway; six months after the war, they agreed, Canada would assume control and maintenance of the road. Consequently, in 1942 some 10,000 men from the Army Corps of Engineers along with seven US Army regiments (three of which were <a href="https://ouralaskahighway.com/?portfolio_item=african-american-regiments" target="_blank">African American in the still segregated US Army</a>) cleared a rough path from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Fairbanks, Alaska (R. E. Royall, <i>The Alaska Highway: Second Year </i>[Washington, DC, 1944, p. 1). Ramrodding through dense forest and bridging numerous rivers, the highway builders declared the 1500-mile road "complete" (if still quite rough) by October 25, 1942.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even in 1942 a large number of civilians (about 7500 altogether) joined the adventure, but during 1943 the Public Roads Administration (precursor of today's <a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/about/" target="_blank">Federal Highway Administration</a>) organized more than fifty American and Canadian road-building and bridge-building construction companies—who employed more than 14,000 civilian employees—to improve, widen, and stabilize the road (ibid., p. 70), which was officially declared "open" in November 1943.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JNXRqXmHFewPuZPGRfp7YBcmdyM6KbuSek2Mx6e92O-gkNW_-Vq74GLCxjbGS8EzOC5j96Ggq8yx6QbIy9O7t3_o38K3mz7JhbSUdF6BDLIZUAhjSw9D5_7E8DVB3NaaupHFn0OwF6U3oW8IqTAkF5VRRwU4efiJzDGkRCqL-sEiMLB11X92SBY2hA/s640/IMG_0015.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="640" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_JNXRqXmHFewPuZPGRfp7YBcmdyM6KbuSek2Mx6e92O-gkNW_-Vq74GLCxjbGS8EzOC5j96Ggq8yx6QbIy9O7t3_o38K3mz7JhbSUdF6BDLIZUAhjSw9D5_7E8DVB3NaaupHFn0OwF6U3oW8IqTAkF5VRRwU4efiJzDGkRCqL-sEiMLB11X92SBY2hA/s320/IMG_0015.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the 1942 Iowa Construction Chiefs;<br />Montezuma's V. L. Lundeen is third from right, second row<br />("Iowa's AEF—Alaskan Expeditionary Force," <i>Central Constructor, </i>20, no. 2 [July 1942]:8)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Thanks largely to the efforts of Iowa Senator </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_L._Herring" target="_blank">Clyde L. Herring (1879-1945)</a><span>, Iowa construction firms gained a share of this monumental project. <a href="https://www.archinform.net/arch/120036.htm" target="_blank">C. F. Lytle Co.</a> of Sioux City and Green Construction Company of Des Moines combined to win a management contract which permitted them to recruit seventeen Iowa construction firms, each of which had the task of working on one section of the 300+ miles at the Alaska end of the road. Among the Iowa sub-contractors were William Horrabin Construction of Iowa City, Duesenberg, Inc. of Clear Lake, and Van Buskirk Construction of Hawarden. Most important of the Iowa sub-contractors for Grinnell was V. L. Lundeen Construction of Montezuma, which dispatched crews from Poweshiek County in both 1942 and 1943 ("Iowa's AEF—Alaskan Expeditionary Force," <i>Central Constructor </i>20, no. 2 [July 1942]:6).</span></span><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZR1JNpxFZKp_x-bhcbALxP8Vm7gvY3uT09m1ZmBPOsNobay5HiHURmPPNhC4bfO1Stm6cf9164__j3bjG_mRzxO09fYeKKKbxMbanbMGkiKVSYfyCGLvj-LLkvecu6zFttza954uc0Zz8miToBptiEXvuy5xhsjEm7CYr3yK5uWv88ND87gaSrsmC0A/s970/PaymentsAlaskaHwyP45.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="970" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZR1JNpxFZKp_x-bhcbALxP8Vm7gvY3uT09m1ZmBPOsNobay5HiHURmPPNhC4bfO1Stm6cf9164__j3bjG_mRzxO09fYeKKKbxMbanbMGkiKVSYfyCGLvj-LLkvecu6zFttza954uc0Zz8miToBptiEXvuy5xhsjEm7CYr3yK5uWv88ND87gaSrsmC0A/s320/PaymentsAlaskaHwyP45.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Payments to Sub-Contractors of Lytle & Green Construction Group (<i>The Alaska Highway: An Interim Report from the Committee on Roads, House of Representatives </i>[Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1946], p. 45)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Contractors sought workers all over Iowa. Contracts prescribed that volunteers must be between the ages of 25 and 55, but some teenagers found their way north anyway. In order to avoid draining potential military recruits, the project sought men who were physically fit but held 3-A classification in the selective service registration, and all volunteers had to have a letter of release from their local draft board (<i>Grinnell Herald Register, </i>June 29, 1942). The overwhelming majority of volunteers were male, but small numbers of women also took part in the adventure, taking "stenographic and clerical jobs in camps along the rugged Alaskan Highway" (<i>Muscatine Journal, </i>June 29, 1943).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Over the two years of work in Alaska <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86304919/vernon-leroy-lundeen" target="_blank">Vern Lundeen (1900-1958)</a> employed about 130 local men, twenty of whom came from Grinnell (a few more in 1942 than in 1943); two Grinnell men, Roy Heiniker and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GerardHaroldC.pdf" target="_blank">Harold Gerard (1903-1983</a>), went north both years, but most of the Grinnell volunteers went only once. Lundeen, who resided in Montezuma, recruited the largest number of workers from his hometown: nine Montezuma men joined the expedition in 1942 and eighteen in 1943 (four men, including Lundeen, worked in Alaska both years). Oskaloosa had the next largest contingent, but more than thirty other towns—mostly in Poweshiek County—sent at least one worker north. In addition, Lundeen hired a half-dozen specialists—"scoop" operators and big machine mechanics—from outside Iowa.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfUifjzvxSRXs7fLPdQA4srsMMfAFJBdNpBCi8zf8mdTFKijYWR53-6wOr60Ew6EJBS6sZNE-vJUDwulUf4otn4H3MxrbdPXLxbL3Dqx5HzEfU-Bq1PeZKTFW-TJDnV_1wBEdFKJNmONuWeGrLo7FE_ZLZhiIMDJx8wzL5e9KO7x4v3GfUaRyY3mSQg/s640/GHR29Jun1942.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="640" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpfUifjzvxSRXs7fLPdQA4srsMMfAFJBdNpBCi8zf8mdTFKijYWR53-6wOr60Ew6EJBS6sZNE-vJUDwulUf4otn4H3MxrbdPXLxbL3Dqx5HzEfU-Bq1PeZKTFW-TJDnV_1wBEdFKJNmONuWeGrLo7FE_ZLZhiIMDJx8wzL5e9KO7x4v3GfUaRyY3mSQg/s320/GHR29Jun1942.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspaper Photograph of the 1942 Poweshiek County Men Prepared to Depart Grinnell<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>June 29, 1942; special thanks to Monique Shore for taking his photograph from the archived copies of the newspaper)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Both years the local men began their adventure at the Grinnell Depot, where they boarded special trains that took them first to Minneapolis, and then onward into Edmonton, Alberta Province. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BadgerErnestL.pdf" target="_blank">Ernest Badger (1909-1970)</a><span>, for example, told readers of the </span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register</i><span> that his train left Grinnell June 26, 1942, reaching Calgary on the 28th. It took five days to get the men on the next leg of the journey to Edmonton where they spent another eight days, "just loafing and sightseeing" (</span><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i><span>August 24, 1942). Finally, on July 12th they flew on to Alaska, landing near Fairbanks, since the Lundeen men had as their assignment a section of the road in Alaska close to the Canada border.</span></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FLp4_HOl0dE8UsD9b_4zALo65pyHBSpTLBBvKT5UkfeGZYoTyi3k7KZ_NvQoEzSkWqgCIuR1QY7D_EDMdrBNOz5G3cnPNgb-brvf728cemoZjhtKF7VQKbQUcQD3YZlEVIcKHcK4c75DHCU80uc52Rh2lJTHra_mwJCKAiIJPz17h6xBGCFAV3oGjQ/s640/AlCan1%20(1).jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="640" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FLp4_HOl0dE8UsD9b_4zALo65pyHBSpTLBBvKT5UkfeGZYoTyi3k7KZ_NvQoEzSkWqgCIuR1QY7D_EDMdrBNOz5G3cnPNgb-brvf728cemoZjhtKF7VQKbQUcQD3YZlEVIcKHcK4c75DHCU80uc52Rh2lJTHra_mwJCKAiIJPz17h6xBGCFAV3oGjQ/s320/AlCan1%20(1).jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the 1943 Alaska Highway Volunteers at Grinnell Depot, Awaiting Their Train North (June 1943):<br />Omar Olson in hat at far right; John Queen, then from Oskaloosa but later partner with Olson in Grinnell furniture store, Queen & Olson, is fifth from right, partly visible; photo courtesy of Wayne Olson)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The long flights—ten or eleven hours in airplanes most of whose interiors had been cleared out for hauling freight—proved sickening for some men, especially for those who had never before been in an airplane. The men also had the novelty and excitement of seeing the Canadian Rockies and the Alaska Range, pristine mountainous landscapes to contrast with Iowa's plains back home. <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119622699/owen-frederick-lawson" target="_blank">Owen Lawson (1923-1989)</a>, for example, a nineteen-year-old Jefferson man, in July wrote his parents about the stunning sights he had encountered: </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">We went through the mountains, and it was a very beautiful sight. All the mountains are snow-capped and I saw an ice glacier across the river ... Coming to camp, we saw a great big brown bear, and, man, was he a big one—for he was way over six feet...That trip...through the mountains was the coldest I ever had on the 5th of July (<i>Jefferson Herald, </i>July 16, 1942).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74756368/bernard-robert-brunsting" target="_blank">Bern Brunsting (1922-2001)</a>, a Sioux Center volunteer, was similarly enthusiastic:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The trip was very thrilling. The only real way to see the mountains is from the air. The spectacular sight can only be told in travel folders; I'll not attempt it. The fifty-foot spruce trees look like a well-kept lawn. They don't look much larger than blades of grass from 15,000 feet. It seems funny to look at the clouds from the top. Try it some time and see how beautiful they are...[Our trip] took us about 10 hours, ten of the most thrilling and interesting hours I've ever spent in my life (<i>Sioux Center News, </i>July 16, 1942).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though it was July, Alaska's 1942 summer weather surprised the Iowa men with four frosts (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>August 24, 1942). Overall, however the Alaska weather proved satisfactory to most. Peter Conroy, who worked in Alaska for Clear Lake's Duesenberg Company and regularly posted reports home to the <i>Mason City Globe-Gazette, </i>told readers in early August that "the weather here now is just like the weather in Iowa in late fall—shorter days, cold nights and frequent rains." Despite the mosquitoes and the occasional chill, some men on hot days would work without shirts (August 15, 1942). Ernie Badger, the Grinnell man, was more reserved, telling readers that he liked the country "when the weather is good" (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>August 24, 1942).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCPJgzMUCIkn0m1xMCuoqEv-LDJPE3b3lTRzT2G1zRKxgUNJflo4SDRVJIjlmTeIkHuxxVhxg4kp47rzmQslk-9bUF7zcbzPNZYdv5ICCaIvMvLRyDZ0CumjvsbrzbJO7nDgd0iOBg_Od27F-vDvLockswzE6LnXQ2zNEB_h9anBnKjpgw26ZfUSRjw/s1150/AKExpForceP143LundeenCrewWnatives.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1150" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjCPJgzMUCIkn0m1xMCuoqEv-LDJPE3b3lTRzT2G1zRKxgUNJflo4SDRVJIjlmTeIkHuxxVhxg4kp47rzmQslk-9bUF7zcbzPNZYdv5ICCaIvMvLRyDZ0CumjvsbrzbJO7nDgd0iOBg_Od27F-vDvLockswzE6LnXQ2zNEB_h9anBnKjpgw26ZfUSRjw/s320/AKExpForceP143LundeenCrewWnatives.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of V. L. Lundeen (center, white shirt) and Crew With Alaska Women<br />(Duesenberg, <i>Alaska Highway Expeditionary Force, </i>p. 143)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Vern Lundeen, writing from Calgary in 1942, described the Canadians as "very friendly and congenial" (<i>Montezuma Republican, </i>July 13, 1942), a sentiment many Poweshiek County men repeated. In Alaska, however, the Iowans encountered indigenous people, with whom they unconsciously shared their germs (with devastating effect) and whom they saw with varying perspectives. Vern Lundeen thought that the women he met looked "grand," "just as nature meant them to [look]. They look so pure but I guess the reason is the high tax on cosmetics and all unnecessary items" (</span><i>Mount Pleasant News, </i><span>August 21, 1942). Bern Brunsting had a different take, telling his family that he had "seen some of those Eskimos and they're not so hot" (</span><i>Sioux Center News, </i><span>July 16, 1942). Apparently the indigenous peoples responded warmly to the Americans, but overall the results of the encounter were not so positive. In 1992, when Alaskans were organizing a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the highway, a representative of the Yukon Indian Council (probably should be <a href="https://cyfn.ca/" target="_blank">Council of Yukon First Nations</a>) noted that, "'because of the things the highway brought'—disease, alcohol, a cash economy and other things that permanently changed the Natives' nomadic lifestyle—'we felt we couldn't celebrate it'" (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>October 25, 1992).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each construction company had a main camp on its assigned section of the road, and erected smaller camps along the way, as workers made progress on the road. In some places, tents served as sleeping quarters until more permanent barracks arrived. Some of the barracks sent north came from dis-assembled <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/civilian-conservation-corps" target="_blank">Civilian Conservation Corps</a> buildings, but quonset huts or other structures served elsewhere.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgkYekQ-dmxcADWJME0mLWkSrclsax_TO2VMCvdgXBtLxBbgOX1hRgoj0NAdTcCdFLcspIgV0Kb8pydNeXy1gA64GJ3wfNrOAsHtEXSgUjnxDQBENixuc_HNWpZWX47QF8NP93g8pUfRgtzbwQl0gh-6yWvZu4c1Cg_kf4eAYNTwRYBOXYv1polzbmQ/s452/12CRGazette24Jun1942.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="452" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgkYekQ-dmxcADWJME0mLWkSrclsax_TO2VMCvdgXBtLxBbgOX1hRgoj0NAdTcCdFLcspIgV0Kb8pydNeXy1gA64GJ3wfNrOAsHtEXSgUjnxDQBENixuc_HNWpZWX47QF8NP93g8pUfRgtzbwQl0gh-6yWvZu4c1Cg_kf4eAYNTwRYBOXYv1polzbmQ/s320/12CRGazette24Jun1942.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>June 24, 1942.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Ernie Badger said that his group had begun life in Alaska in a log cabin, but had soon transferred to new barracks fitted out with bunk beds grouped in twos. Badger told Grinnell readers that he and fellow-Grinnellian Oliver Patrick (1503 Elm St.) occupied the lower bunks while <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/P2/PottsWillis.pdf" target="_blank">Willis Potts (d. 1984)</a> and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GroomsWarren.pdf" target="_blank">Warren Grooms (1912-1955)</a>, also from Grinnell, slept above them (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>August 24, 1942). </span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNNE8UVEPtq9uUx9L8Lf_AFSwoaSvxhBldDfCONY5dPH9WUTu3OVfSip2NQItz31Qor6eIVQwHnMK_v_EvI_G4t1vHDiOnw3pVpgautX2tAMZs-vU6de_zGNDqUZlpKZscqPPRkCOBV3u7DhRwz5fhoNS2jAxs_-5qEYLyxjiY0uCWWIa7xjKgeGSLA/s1182/EngNewsRecV130Jan21_1943P91.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1182" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNNE8UVEPtq9uUx9L8Lf_AFSwoaSvxhBldDfCONY5dPH9WUTu3OVfSip2NQItz31Qor6eIVQwHnMK_v_EvI_G4t1vHDiOnw3pVpgautX2tAMZs-vU6de_zGNDqUZlpKZscqPPRkCOBV3u7DhRwz5fhoNS2jAxs_-5qEYLyxjiY0uCWWIa7xjKgeGSLA/s320/EngNewsRecV130Jan21_1943P91.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of some of the Poweshiek County men playing cards; Vern Lundeen is 2nd from left<br />(<i>Engineering News-Record, </i>vol. 130 [January 21, 1943]:91)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The work day in Alaska was a long one. </span><span>In 1942 </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>most of the contractors worked two 11-hour shifts a day, seven days a week...</span><span>Work, work and more work was the only program—day and night, seven days a week...Entertainment was simply non-existent. There was no recreational program provided for soldiers or civilians</span><span> (</span><span>Harold W. Richardson, "Alcan—America's Glory Road: Part II—Supply, Equipment and Camps," </span><i>Engineering News-Record, </i><span>vol. 129[December 31, 1942]:42/914).</span><span> </span></span></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The pay was not bad, especially if compared to Depression-era pay checks. Truck-drivers earned between $1.20 and $1.55 an hour; tractor drivers and grader operators earned a bit more—$1.60/hour—and power shovel operators received $2/hour. Most unskilled labor received just under $1/hour, although everyone earned time-and-a-half for overtime. The Public Roads Administration had established these rates for all contractors on the project (</span><i>The Alaska Highway: An Interim Report from the Committee on Roads, House of Representatives </i><span>[Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1946], p. 180). </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCbQwk-OtQG01dRb_mcKMBF_z-s62PYlvVX1XQI0bNDmSOFx5QInUJboORWWMJhKbwSw19rqkSi8f6VBfn32eLPTYZdvq2mPmfODBA7yg2LGGhOWoEty3P-n3J4A4_OWkDVwqDTaD1N_pw5vGqrqqDQeTpoZGyuCp9OjO-waYnynk0Q_kFjwHzRHqLQ/s1416/OlsonContract.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1416" data-original-width="866" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCbQwk-OtQG01dRb_mcKMBF_z-s62PYlvVX1XQI0bNDmSOFx5QInUJboORWWMJhKbwSw19rqkSi8f6VBfn32eLPTYZdvq2mPmfODBA7yg2LGGhOWoEty3P-n3J4A4_OWkDVwqDTaD1N_pw5vGqrqqDQeTpoZGyuCp9OjO-waYnynk0Q_kFjwHzRHqLQ/s320/OlsonContract.png" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Employment Contract for Omar Olson with Lundeen Construction Co.<br />(Courtesy of Wayne Olson)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Supervisors received monthly salaries, independent of the number of hours worked. Omar Olson, for example, who signed a contract as Camp Superintendent in April 1943, received $400 per month. Charles Lear, who was hired as head cook, received $295/month (Lundeen Collection, Poweshiek County Historical and Genealogical Society Montezuma, IA). From each month's totals, the contractors subtracted taxes as well as a charge for room and board—between $1.50 and $2 per day (Harold W. Richardson, "Alcan—America's Glory Road. Part II: Supply, Equipment and Camps," </span><i>Engineering News-Record, </i><span>vol. 129 [December 31, 1942]:42/914). The resulting paychecks were not especially fat, but without many places where the men might spend the money, they managed to save or send home substantial amounts.</span></span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsudspIhrwHGa0KBOANkJ5vShmmbTzf626407L5b7EZx-bKbpH4oDUl4KS7bxef9Ehi0eZt4ni2BglNGxm0o7ZfWRmPIjU2Edk8J3_h-WN9DFHKjGkk1IwDqQdZs6Sgat583LUTNIoQK19GzlBNUNujstUDDoNCjcMutUnzGmqK6sktU8AKxJgr_AlA/s1214/https:::web.mst.edu:~rogersda:umrcourses:ge342:Alcan%2520Highway-revised.pdf.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1214" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsudspIhrwHGa0KBOANkJ5vShmmbTzf626407L5b7EZx-bKbpH4oDUl4KS7bxef9Ehi0eZt4ni2BglNGxm0o7ZfWRmPIjU2Edk8J3_h-WN9DFHKjGkk1IwDqQdZs6Sgat583LUTNIoQK19GzlBNUNujstUDDoNCjcMutUnzGmqK6sktU8AKxJgr_AlA/s320/https:::web.mst.edu:~rogersda:umrcourses:ge342:Alcan%2520Highway-revised.pdf.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Bulldozer Flattening Spruce Forest to Forge Primitive Road<br />(J. David Rogers, "Construction of the Alcan Highway in 1942," https///web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/Alcan%20Highway-revised.pdf.png)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Much of the Canadian section of the road required flattening dense forest and devising bridges to ford the numerous rivers and creeks. In Alaska where most of the Iowa men worked, the chief complication for building the road was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskeg" target="_blank">muskeg</a>. A kind of peat that decomposed over time, muskeg provided a thick layer of insulation that kept the permafrost beneath it frozen. However, as temperatures rose in the warm season, and especially once contractors tried to move the organic material to fashion a roadway, the earth beneath the vegetation melted and disintegrated, gradually swallowing heavy machinery. Contractors often resorted to creating corduroy roads over the muskeg, helping preserve the insulation and distribute the weight of vehicles. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OntBSD9P7o3zPx2CoLQ2cicO75Ang_Zy5rNadhNcST5F8kqq6vGjKk6TcjdOHBf3qyOxW6aX4T2hk592Ea5ID_HxDbonwm9A7Q_SD9ArbZ3_xVgqGmi5Ao6fbeRL1iIMEhOXCLqgCaAMhIzsfddznCiMiFSz_Uzr-JSCcuUYaf6F0_zPyY25MW_oVw/s922/https:::web.mst.edu:~rogersda:umrcourses:ge342:Alcan%2520Highway-revised2.pdf.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="922" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OntBSD9P7o3zPx2CoLQ2cicO75Ang_Zy5rNadhNcST5F8kqq6vGjKk6TcjdOHBf3qyOxW6aX4T2hk592Ea5ID_HxDbonwm9A7Q_SD9ArbZ3_xVgqGmi5Ao6fbeRL1iIMEhOXCLqgCaAMhIzsfddznCiMiFSz_Uzr-JSCcuUYaf6F0_zPyY25MW_oVw/s320/https:::web.mst.edu:~rogersda:umrcourses:ge342:Alcan%2520Highway-revised2.pdf.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Bulldozer Captured by Muskeg<br />(Rogers, "Construction of Alcan Highway)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Like most of the contractors, Lundeen provided his own equipment, for which the government paid rent. But getting all that machinery to the work site (a job coordinated by Doak Construction of Des Moines) proved difficult; most of the caterpillar tractors, scrapers, and other items traveled part of the way by rail, then by sea, and then again by rail. Some of the machinery was trucked north, an exhausting if less complex delivery ("Iowans Again to Work on Alaska Road," <i>Des Moines Register, </i>March 28, 1943). Delays inevitably attached to the shipments, whether over land or sea, slowing construction progress. For example, only in mid-August 1942 did the Duesenberg group from Clear Lake collect the team's machinery at the Valdez docks (</span><i>Mason City Globe-Gazette, </i><span>August 25, 1942). </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzoLIb73PSlWdHKB0oEU0zL-ldVxul4JVJ_Q33Pe-ZmqOmoGWyOVyelaJZovsSqXDvtJlN7V27QXNZAWL0kRBb9fxNGPi2HSzVb22NbLraYKhJ3MdKyLpDTJAwtBg2Vrn-aXVITe8bqGiE2Syl6ODXGSU1NRtCs3wuFDyMb9a-aMoostUeShSZ6-eq2Q/s788/AKExpedForceP36LundeenCat&Scraper.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="788" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzoLIb73PSlWdHKB0oEU0zL-ldVxul4JVJ_Q33Pe-ZmqOmoGWyOVyelaJZovsSqXDvtJlN7V27QXNZAWL0kRBb9fxNGPi2HSzVb22NbLraYKhJ3MdKyLpDTJAwtBg2Vrn-aXVITe8bqGiE2Syl6ODXGSU1NRtCs3wuFDyMb9a-aMoostUeShSZ6-eq2Q/s320/AKExpedForceP36LundeenCat&Scraper.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Lundeen Men Loading Cat and Scraper for Shipment to Alaska<br />(<i>Alaska Highway Expeditionary Force, </i>p. 36).<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>While waiting for the arrival of the rest of the Lundeen heavy machinery in 1942, Ernie Badger was driving a "Ford gravel truck" (</span><i>Grinnell Herald Register, </i><span>August 24, 1942). </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43505845/robert-john-mclaughlin" target="_blank">Robert McLaughlin (1901-1993)</a>, a Newton resident who signed up with the Lundeen crew in 1943 (and who passed his last years at Grinnell's <a href="https://www.mayflowerhomes.com/" target="_blank">Mayflower Community</a>), was also a gravel truck driver, helping create a hard surface for the improved road. As he recounted to Herbert C. Lanks on a night-time run to and from a gravel pit, McLaughlin had been a watchmaker back home, but, his doctor having ordered him to work out-of-doors, he had decided to join the Alcan Highway effort. So, there in Alaska's summer darkness an Iowa jeweler drove a five-ton truck back and forth along the emerging roadway (<i>Highway to Alaska </i>[New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., 1944], p. 163).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4kP5m4LUAwSFlIMhLeYlmnGatFJh9E20QgyQe0weOrMjjOddHCYNOqxQT2G9wgQkMA3S2dCTyWjA4Csy-jaGQVX8pP8ShF2RjN-r2rQKqG8gSfgLHijwMzs2-Or_WkXNJL767o9aB8sZbuofo__IWz9JVtSfjorea79D_cqlg8MF8-e4JLXAbqDPYQ/s640/EngNewsRecJan14_1943P63:131.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="640" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4kP5m4LUAwSFlIMhLeYlmnGatFJh9E20QgyQe0weOrMjjOddHCYNOqxQT2G9wgQkMA3S2dCTyWjA4Csy-jaGQVX8pP8ShF2RjN-r2rQKqG8gSfgLHijwMzs2-Or_WkXNJL767o9aB8sZbuofo__IWz9JVtSfjorea79D_cqlg8MF8-e4JLXAbqDPYQ/s320/EngNewsRecJan14_1943P63:131.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the construction machinery on-site<br />(<i>Engineering News-Record, </i>January 14, 1943, p. 63/131)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Under the difficult conditions of work, often with low temperatures and rough terrain, the machinery frequently broke down, slowing the highway's advance (Richardson, "Part II," 35-40/908-912; </span><span>idem, "Alcan—America's Glory Road: Part III: Construction Tactics," </span><i>Engineering News-Record </i><span>130[January 14, 1943]:</span><span>136/68)</span><span>. Ray C. Haman, whose father was part of the Duesenberg gang, traveled north along the highway in 1943, and in a self-published diary of his journey tells readers how often he was needed to help repair machinery (<i>Adventure on the Alcan [Alaska Highway]</i> [1945]). The rarity of spare parts led to cannibalizing disabled machines.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>As hard as the work was and as exciting as the adventure might have been, there were, of course, costs. Experts have concluded that, in addition to the millions of dollars expended on the highway, some 30 men died during construction, including </span><a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/alaska-ferry/" target="_blank">twelve soldiers who drowned when a ferry capsized in May 1942 at Charlie Lake</a><span> near Ft. St. John. According to the Lytle and Green 1942 project manager, c</span></span><span>ivilian road-builders posted a better safety record.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Iowa contractors established a magnificent record. One man contracted pneumonia...three men suffered broken legs on bridge construction and one a broken arm...There were a few back injuries and hernias, none serious... (O. W. Crowley, "Iowans Work on the Alcan Highway," <i>Central Constructor</i> 20, no. 7 [December 1942]:12-13).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Milton Duesenberg offered other examples of injuries workers sustained:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Although most men remained healthy...there were cases of extreme homesickness, nervous breakdowns, food poisoning, and accidents. One sawmill hand lost his life when a tree fell on him, and a bridgeman had to be transported to the Fairbanks hospital for treatment of a broken collar bone and several ribs...Cleo Edgar of the Sears crew lost the sight in his left eye while repairing a broken cable...and a mechanic was knocked cold when he miscued while driving a tack pin and it...hit him in the head (<i>Alaska Expeditionary Force, </i>pp. 157, 159).</span></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>One of the injured was a Grinnell man, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/CollumJohnE.pdf" target="_blank">John Collum (1896-1978)</a>, who was part of the 1943 Lundeen work force; when the truck he was driving went over a fifty-foot embankment he suffered serious back injury (<i>Newton Daily News, </i>August 2, 1943).</span></span></p></span></span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>By mid-October 1942 a rough, "pioneer" highway had been cleared all along the 1500+ miles with timber bridges fording most of the several hundred rivers and streams. A year later, the entire road had been widened, some of the worst obstacles improved, and most bridges made permanent. With the end of construction in sight, some of the volunteers headed home in September, but most Iowans departed Alaska in mid-October. Unlike the trip north, the route home for most of the Iowa men required a voyage of several days from Valdez to Seattle, bringing sea sickness to some. From Seattle, most took trains back to the midwest where they later appeared before the local Rotary, Kiwanis, and other organizations to share stories of their Alaska adventure (<i>Mason City Globe-Gazette, </i>October 30, 1942). A few men </span>chose to drive home over the road to which they and thousands of others had given so much. For example, two Newton men, Forrest Warner and Robert McLaughlin, drove south from Fairbanks all the way to Edmonton (<i>Newton Daily News, </i>November 19, 1943), then took more conventional transport the rest of the way.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWX7e44fMIeTxZ5R3dhY1Q4rEWpbXViUNtr0IaphSvPqFP_YoBlRNxUTWOFRuJ8HympUgxkvoU-KSsJ-ly8j8VMcEYlA3NzzwugA8qtm10dPmsIqLAMe3M7sPfBH__Eh_Xrork_rxtz5SNYKyYDYUKRqqO6eY8nXeg437f2fnRx-ud0_hGhExhtuZ3vg/s620/MasonCtyGlobeGazette13Nov1942.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="620" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWX7e44fMIeTxZ5R3dhY1Q4rEWpbXViUNtr0IaphSvPqFP_YoBlRNxUTWOFRuJ8HympUgxkvoU-KSsJ-ly8j8VMcEYlA3NzzwugA8qtm10dPmsIqLAMe3M7sPfBH__Eh_Xrork_rxtz5SNYKyYDYUKRqqO6eY8nXeg437f2fnRx-ud0_hGhExhtuZ3vg/s320/MasonCtyGlobeGazette13Nov1942.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mason City Globe-Gazette, </i>November 13, 1942<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Back home in Iowa, relatives of the Alaska Highway workers could learn details of their husbands, fathers, children and neighbors through the letters that most men sent regularly. However, since the authors of these letters knew that their missives were censored, the recipients could never be sure how close to reality the letters hewed. Fortunately, there were other routes by which to learn what life was like for the Iowa men in Alaska. As my report here shows, local newspapers often published letters from those working on the highway, thereby spreading news, however censored, of life up North. Then, in late January 1943 the Des Moines radio station WHO broadcast a report by H. W. Richardson, western editor of <i>Engineering News-Record</i>, who reported on the "Twelve Hundred Iowa Fighters in Construction" (<i>Central Constructor, </i>20, no. 9[February 1943]:5). Perhaps there were similar broadcasts in other Iowa cities.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgni5j8f1g-y0M3hzJOqOGBXOG28ekdo_AsFS2vlHETOpGUyJPF4xwne49mRoHyVPcy-dvqAEwg65C2NgidCN8i5y9aWC5VOQ98wOZEFsYnlMPW92z7nUc0rMv_3fipHCIH3SE8H__JNttpQW6aHb7OOcQGhhXsLx5mxcjUn-0Cjis3llwJ4cQryRup8w/s700/17AmesDlyTrib14Aug1943Film.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="368" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgni5j8f1g-y0M3hzJOqOGBXOG28ekdo_AsFS2vlHETOpGUyJPF4xwne49mRoHyVPcy-dvqAEwg65C2NgidCN8i5y9aWC5VOQ98wOZEFsYnlMPW92z7nUc0rMv_3fipHCIH3SE8H__JNttpQW6aHb7OOcQGhhXsLx5mxcjUn-0Cjis3llwJ4cQryRup8w/s320/17AmesDlyTrib14Aug1943Film.png" width="168" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ames Daily Tribune, </i>August 14, 1943<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Hollywood also tried to tap into public interest in the Alcan adventure, releasing in summer 1943 a feature film called "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Highway_(film)" target="_blank">Alaska Highway</a>," starring <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Arlen" target="_blank">Richard Arlen (1899-1976)</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Parker" target="_blank">Jean Parker (1915-2005)</a>. According to news reports, "the picture is full of thrills and breathtaking moments," depicting "a landslide, a forest fire, toppling death-dealing trees and all sorts of unexpected dilemmas" (</span><i>Ames Daily Tribune, </i><span>August 14, 1943). Iowans might also find in their newspapers advertisements that encouraged them to visit Alaska over the newly-built highway once the war was over.</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XlJVSwy5EoEjR1uKlH_cV7SGPCwXKRCd_njVWh5yHc3Gcy_GdtS6yIJ6f0OmiJE7D9CTaexQLHuZZ36OqeqPTOZEscaz4UxLyYQeUA3q6PdE8qpCTc5sJCAzVJbPj8P7nmpyt17dhmRr3qmm_2G7Q_CeeRx_499Ve_zKm_zklaImla7X64pfbhDriA/s1022/7BurlingtonHawkEyeGazette9Jun1943.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="908" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XlJVSwy5EoEjR1uKlH_cV7SGPCwXKRCd_njVWh5yHc3Gcy_GdtS6yIJ6f0OmiJE7D9CTaexQLHuZZ36OqeqPTOZEscaz4UxLyYQeUA3q6PdE8qpCTc5sJCAzVJbPj8P7nmpyt17dhmRr3qmm_2G7Q_CeeRx_499Ve_zKm_zklaImla7X64pfbhDriA/s320/7BurlingtonHawkEyeGazette9Jun1943.png" width="284" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conoco Newspaper Advertisement, <i>Burlington Hawk-Eye Gazette, </i>July 9, 1943<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Most analysts agree that forging a road through the wilds of British Columbia, the Yukon, and Alaska in the 1940s was well worth the cost and effort. If originally defined as fulfilling a narrowly-military goal, helping defend Alaska against the anticipated attack of the Japanese, the Alaska Highway in peacetime helped integrate Alaska into the Lower 48 and brought the American and Canadian economies closer, although the impact upon indigenous peoples was much less happy.</span><span> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>But what about the men who went north to build this road? What did it do for them? </span><span><span><span>Breaking through the forest and permafrost of the North, the Iowans could imitate the nineteenth-century pioneers who first made their way into the plains that became Iowa. Many of the project veterans regarded their Alaska experience as life-changing. </span></span></span>Walter Mason, looking back on his experiences fifty years earlier, told a reporter in 1992 that "the road's part of me and I'm a part of it...I've had a number of experiences, but none more profound than that" (<i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>October 25, 1992). <span>Iowa City resident Bob Russell told an interviewer, "It was a wonderful experience. I loved it," despite—or perhaps exactly because of—the hardships (</span><i>Iowa City Press-Citizen, </i><span>June 6, 1987). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>Not all the volunteers were so enthusiastic, but the fact that many obituaries of Alaska Highway veterans mention their brief adventure in Alaska is telling. For example, </span></span></span><span>when Clifford Benton, Jr. (1924-2008) died in Tiburon, California i</span><span>n 2008</span><span>, </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/8/BentonCliffordF.pdf" target="_blank">his obituary</a><span>—full of accomplishments in real estate and insurance, outstanding volunteer contributions to suicide prevention, and years of singing with men's choruses in California—began the recollection of achievement by remembering that "his first job at the age of 17 was building the Alaska Highway...."</span><span><span> Similarly, when former Grinnellian Warren Baker (1912-1984) died in Abilene, Texas in 1984, forty years after his Alaska experience, </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BakerWarrenC.pdf">his obituary</a><span> recalled that "During World War II he worked on the Alcan Highway Project." </span></span><span>Likewise, the</span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/O/OlsonOmarL.pdf" target="_blank"> obituary</a> of <span>Omar Olson (1903-1969), who farmed, worked as a traveling salesman, and co-owned a successful Grinnell furniture store during a career of more than forty years, recalled that he </span><span>"worked on the Alcan Highway with the Lundeen Construction Co." </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Eighty years after the first Iowans traveled north to work on the Alaska Highway, living memories of that war-time experience have melted away. Other happenings, including, of course, the enormously significant moments of war in Europe and Asia, have outshone the collective memory of the highway project. But for the many Iowa men who tamed the wilds between Alberta and Fairbanks, the Alaska Highway was an important milestone. As the eighteen-year-old Harlan volunteer, Gordon Phipps, put it: "I'll be a man when I get out of this country" ("Caught Salmon in his Pants," <i>Central Constructor</i>, vol. 20, no. 3 [August 1942]:8).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>###</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;">If you are interested in learning more about the construction of the Alaska Highway, you might find the Alaska documentary interesting and helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3J80p365vY. The 67-minute Hollywood feature film, <i>Alaska Highway</i>, is also available for free on the internet: https://archive.org/details/AlaskaHighway. There are also numerous official and unofficial materials available on the world wide web.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-12027082729485033512022-08-31T14:04:00.019-07:002022-09-04T04:11:11.845-07:001936: When it was Cold, It was Very, Very Cold. And When it Was Hot, It Was Boiling!<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>If you were living in central Iowa in mid-July 2022, you might have heard commentators remark upon how hot it was in Iowa and wonder whether July 2022 was the </span><i>hottest July </i><span>in Iowa history. On July 21st, for example, </span><a href="https://www.radioiowa.com/2021/07/21/old-timers-will-recall-when-it-was-really-hot-in-iowa-the-summer-of-1936/" target="_blank">Matt Kelly told RadioIowa listeners</a><span> that, hot as it was, July 2022 was <b>not </b>the hottest. Kelly told listeners that that honor—if that's the right word—goes to July 1936 when Iowans had to contend with extraordinarily hot temperatures and precious little rainfall. Several other commentators made the same point.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPihKEKeCxzp9_w4K22SKwN3zB1u_gjgkyrNCOwtUsKpyG0HOo06Lh5Um62-5yhjeyy9NRCfTiFUvQtjlzVXryCOriSBDfrthAiIw-lvNcl2kGD_GqgS7dMU9RppECPR-rQp-qki0xVhA0pTGYGoD-w6UEd9KZDpALmoSfYu6otsf8uhNg0PqdQcGLDg/s640/1936SnowstormView4%20copy.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPihKEKeCxzp9_w4K22SKwN3zB1u_gjgkyrNCOwtUsKpyG0HOo06Lh5Um62-5yhjeyy9NRCfTiFUvQtjlzVXryCOriSBDfrthAiIw-lvNcl2kGD_GqgS7dMU9RppECPR-rQp-qki0xVhA0pTGYGoD-w6UEd9KZDpALmoSfYu6otsf8uhNg0PqdQcGLDg/s320/1936SnowstormView4%20copy.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1936 Photo of snowbound train engine<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18914)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">What made the extreme heat of 1936 July ironic was that 1936 also brought to Iowa one of the worst winters on record. Ice-cold temperatures that year followed an early January blizzard and together they helped exhaust local coal supplies. The deep freeze, which lasted through much of February, killed off livestock, restricted travel, and closed down public schools until such time as the railroads could bring in more coal. In the words of a US Department of Agriculture publication, "...in the short space of about six months, Iowa has experienced the most prolonged severe cold and the most prolonged severe heat in 117 years" (<i>Climatological Data: Iowa Section, </i>vol. 47, no. 7 [July 1936]:61).</span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Today's post examines Grinnell's experience with the extreme weather of 1936, which gave folk one of the coldest winters followed by what was probably the area's hottest summer.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfrIBTAeD42VGU9Z1yUTwtNBqzQJZ4vEOtZv7yxEqhitpUXknHrxRpgw4KgBVUm1hAcHwD7j088Ip9M8fI_lwvaBaJKOblnk1hL5x5SxKrBoNP1zRjIyohp3bMjDfabEYBnLSr3cf4MylthVPWj98HKyU-dTp-Em5iJuXQSwNbQCamiRKIjOfpZ4oKw/s640/1GR2Jan1936A.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="640" height="58" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfrIBTAeD42VGU9Z1yUTwtNBqzQJZ4vEOtZv7yxEqhitpUXknHrxRpgw4KgBVUm1hAcHwD7j088Ip9M8fI_lwvaBaJKOblnk1hL5x5SxKrBoNP1zRjIyohp3bMjDfabEYBnLSr3cf4MylthVPWj98HKyU-dTp-Em5iJuXQSwNbQCamiRKIjOfpZ4oKw/s320/1GR2Jan1936A.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>Headline from January 2, 1936 <i>Grinnell Register<br /><br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cold weather in Grinnell arrived with the 1936 New Year's celebrations. A heavy snow began on New Year's Eve, and, although temperatures moderated the next day, a stiff wind from the northwest caused considerable drifting, temporarily blocking highways as well as the north-south Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad line. More importantly, the snow cover—about 10 inches by the time the storm passed—proved an excellent collaborator for the still colder weather approaching Grinnell.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFap-vz19qUmCk3IL1xP6F1-nWjZGnT9CybojkNF16qx7S9yMRvzczpSCDbxOTylPFZord1aek0jqR-0ChDAIXN_x4JmBived5GiFoaZVIcm8p3HrTTYo-bGZBq72Nm8qeZVcmQXdzkQkFmMAYVlMA8RiwenS4G7ovR1F8o8SZIBr9Ywq8ylN1qENpqA/s1240/NOWJan36.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFap-vz19qUmCk3IL1xP6F1-nWjZGnT9CybojkNF16qx7S9yMRvzczpSCDbxOTylPFZord1aek0jqR-0ChDAIXN_x4JmBived5GiFoaZVIcm8p3HrTTYo-bGZBq72Nm8qeZVcmQXdzkQkFmMAYVlMA8RiwenS4G7ovR1F8o8SZIBr9Ywq8ylN1qENpqA/s320/NOWJan36.png" width="194" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>National Weather Service Temperature Data for Grinnell, January 1936<br />(https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=dmx)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">National Weather Service records indicate that after this first snow passed, Grinnell experienced only moderately cold weather. On January 4th the low bottomed out at +5 degrees and fell three more degrees on the 5th. Over the next two weeks, overnight lows varied, but daytime temperatures remained moderate for the most part. Indeed, on the 12th and 14th Grinnell saw high temperatures of 40 degrees. Townsfolk began to look for a January thaw.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But more serious cold was on the horizon. Overnight on January 18th the thermometer reading fell to zero; the next night it registered -15, and on the 20th overnight temperatures dropped to -22. On the 22nd, when a blizzard hit town, the low dropped to -25; the next night was slightly better (-23), and better yet on the 24th (-13). Then on the night of the 25th temperatures fell again to -22; the last several days of the month all saw overnight lows in the minus-teens. With about fifteen inches of snow on the ground, even daytime temperatures remained cold (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>January 21, 1936). Several times in late January thermometers saw daytime highs of ten degrees. Most days, however, thermometers never broke zero: -10 on the 23rd; -4 on the 24th and 26th, and -1 on the 27th. On January 27th the <i>Grinnell Register </i>reported that "the mercury has stayed below the zero mark continuously since Monday of last week, with the exception of Saturday afternoon from 3:00 to 4:00 o'clock, when it registered 3 above" (January 27, 1936). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWa_lU35oQajmx8Cg8Y7iOK3t9P4uLZMYwi8BQRhpHrb1gKLlxhT5J1HvImcOSjnSYg4ZonYSJJP6FaUH9pE98mNZKbhRh4Is0J3NhO7sjCBAxb9fcitZ-HjjZz9OgklNQFLGGPckW-nCibFEJQudiqKBoh-nfuoL-uARgI9oQ3Js9pWhLH08is5PJ8A/s640/1936SnowView1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWa_lU35oQajmx8Cg8Y7iOK3t9P4uLZMYwi8BQRhpHrb1gKLlxhT5J1HvImcOSjnSYg4ZonYSJJP6FaUH9pE98mNZKbhRh4Is0J3NhO7sjCBAxb9fcitZ-HjjZz9OgklNQFLGGPckW-nCibFEJQudiqKBoh-nfuoL-uARgI9oQ3Js9pWhLH08is5PJ8A/s320/1936SnowView1.jpeg" width="225" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>An Unidentified Grinnell Home, Winter 1936<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18911)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GaleGrantO.pdf" target="_blank">Grant Gale (1903-1998)</a><span>, who at the time lived on north Summer Street, kept track of the cold in his daily ledger. </span></span><span>Problems for the Gales began on January 13 when the "furnace blew up," although what Gale did about the disaster he did not say. Five days later, the second blizzard of the month hit town, bringing along ice-cold temperatures. Gale noted that at noon on January 18th the thermometer read -14; in the morning of the following day it was -15, and -22 on the 20th. January 22nd brought a "terrible blizzard," "heavy snow," and a low temperature of -27. Gale reported below-zero readings for each of the last days of January. In a later interview, he recalled that</span></span><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">we had this terrible northwest wind that swept across the football field. We lived over this way. It was twenty-five below zero and I remember staying home that day...I just shoveled coal in one door and ashes out the other...I think the warmest it got that day was twenty-five below zero. And this wind just swept across the campus (<a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A23306" target="_blank">Grant O. Gale Interview</a>).</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even in January, not everyone had coal. <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S/StoopsRoseE.pdf" target="_blank">Rose Stoops (1895-2001)</a>, who in 1936 was living on a farm near Deep River, wrote that, because snow had blocked roads to the coal mine at What Cheer, they ran out of coal already in January. Consequently, "<a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6049?search=stoops" target="_blank">our fuel was anything we could burn, old fence posts, an old maple tree that a neighbor had helped Harry cut down...We survived the winter, but my canned goods froze in the cellar."</a> Grant Gale learned that some farmers resorted to burning corn; "we didn't have anything else to burn," they told him.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All across the area householders discovered frozen pipes, generating lots of work for those plumbers who could get through the snow. Freezing temperatures also stilled automobiles, flooding local garages with requests for help (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>January 23, 1936). The <i>Herald </i>reported that the "bitter northwest wind...swept down straight from the north pole, causing countless frozen cars and fingers and piling up [snow in] the newly opened roads..." (January 24, 1936). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWkEkRQAlEWc1NbCplUj0h-b6_WUdiajk2s6yrXAw-HZ9FopM3Kw8Pd3nQS194oAP0dg616InjURzhy9yTZbanKe2VSMuT2t6FMlOKZkLUIlG8YS0S7_syVDDoFWVljZATSybnaE0zZ8Xiwnm-DHz7sOHJnwpSy2a07Kb8ffwDuKQmrw-ZNLY1nmzKg/s640/1936SnowstormView3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="640" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWkEkRQAlEWc1NbCplUj0h-b6_WUdiajk2s6yrXAw-HZ9FopM3Kw8Pd3nQS194oAP0dg616InjURzhy9yTZbanKe2VSMuT2t6FMlOKZkLUIlG8YS0S7_syVDDoFWVljZATSybnaE0zZ8Xiwnm-DHz7sOHJnwpSy2a07Kb8ffwDuKQmrw-ZNLY1nmzKg/s320/1936SnowstormView3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Unidentified Grinnell-Area Farm, Winter 1936<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18913)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The extreme cold slowed the work of plowing roads, especially in the country. "There are still many Poweshiek county families who find it almost an impossibility to get to town to do their trading," the </span><i>Register </i><span>reported on the 27th. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S/SearsRichardM.pdf" target="_blank">Dick Sears (1914-1992)</a><span>, who lived on the Penrose Avenue extension, about seven miles north of town, in a 1992 interview remembered that </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">in 1936 the roads was [sic] closed for everything but teams [of horses-dk] for a month. There was one full month that there never was a car went by here. We used teams—bobsleds—to get to where the road was open. Usually you had a bunch of neighbors who'd go in on the bobsled to get groceries in town and come out along the way. And the mail was the same way. The mail couldn't get through, so maybe once a week or every two or three days or something somebody would get through so they'd bring all the mail for his neighbors along the way (<a href="http://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/RichardSears/c_richardsears.pdf" target="_blank">Richard [Dick] Sears Interview</a><a href="http://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/RichardSears/c_richardsears.pdf)">)</a>.</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Truckers found themselves marooned in town if they weren't so unfortunate as to be stranded out on the road somewhere.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3dLcWtPVHz8BQbmoP7hF68N2DgcBB6wLjRlAvVnzlQ5npw2kM3uL6fswQNGXvBahTzdn52O9BQUZp7yI4R9npUJsGVyS5iOKYRURSx5hu5qDa5SdF17XgEka-Y8YTREVLQgSG4IKuPqv504Zg9lUF5affPtCyE4fv6DU9Ng6CWCTQwvmdzC-gDC_iw/s640/snowstorm.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="389" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3dLcWtPVHz8BQbmoP7hF68N2DgcBB6wLjRlAvVnzlQ5npw2kM3uL6fswQNGXvBahTzdn52O9BQUZp7yI4R9npUJsGVyS5iOKYRURSx5hu5qDa5SdF17XgEka-Y8YTREVLQgSG4IKuPqv504Zg9lUF5affPtCyE4fv6DU9Ng6CWCTQwvmdzC-gDC_iw/s320/snowstorm.jpeg" width="195" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 1936 Photograph of Ernie Renaud, William Belcher,and Forest Belcher atop a snowdrift as an automobile passes through cleared roadway (Grinnell Weather Events, Snowstorms, Drake Community Library Archive, Pamphlets, 5.4)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Crews kept the main roads mostly clear, but country roads were repeatedly "choked by drifts." "The Cold Wave Is Still On," the </span><i>Herald </i><span>announced on the 31st, pointing out that the "thermometer went to 19 below last night" (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>January 31, 1936). As National Weather Service data confirm, January 1936 in Grinnell was about ten degrees colder than normal.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zffYuaZFcrICvgS0tmn6sgjFsr4Dtk8w6uY428gHOPfYfDu7qU-iUmUwKCIzrHMvB_gPo6TsEv0lQwXpwY4iDR7BT7Uh2QYasDnC0PW574YfIcfNtfZ1555NeIlgZPWkFvNa26VdxhqEEcajV8c4HTf6gQpTb8TX_TOQp3QEkj4aWcttJgyI9GrF9g/s5612/Gale1936.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5612" data-original-width="4322" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zffYuaZFcrICvgS0tmn6sgjFsr4Dtk8w6uY428gHOPfYfDu7qU-iUmUwKCIzrHMvB_gPo6TsEv0lQwXpwY4iDR7BT7Uh2QYasDnC0PW574YfIcfNtfZ1555NeIlgZPWkFvNa26VdxhqEEcajV8c4HTf6gQpTb8TX_TOQp3QEkj4aWcttJgyI9GrF9g/s320/Gale1936.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page 5 of Grant Gale's 1936 Ledger (Grant O. Gale Personal Papers, 1850-1995, Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives, US-IaGG MS/MS 01.115, Box 5, Item 5)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>February brought no relief. Gale's ledger reported a temperature of -16 February 1st, -3 on February 2nd, followed on the 3rd by the "worst blizzard in 20 years." Gale observed below-zero temperatures every day until February 8th, which saw what Gale called the "worst blizzard since 1900." After the storm passed, the ledger shows that temperatures plunged precipitously, bottoming out at -18. On the 9th Gale reported that he and his family were "snowbound," the thermometer dipping to -18 on the 9th and 10th, and -17 on the 10th and 11th. A brief moderation in temperature soon gave way to more frigid weather. Gale recorded a low of -15 on Valentine's Day, -10 on the 15th, -13 on the 16th, and -12 on the 17th. The bitter cold finally broke on the 20th, but not before recording a -20 on the 18th and -15 on the 19th (</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">Grant O. Gale Personal Papers, 1850-1995, Grinnell College Special Collections, US-IaGG MS/MS 01.115, Box 5, Item 5)</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz98wmEc-_-7JIJrtCEchNyEsynV-fycwk4CilFlceO6xcR7v_7I7TAJRUQZV1XrYQ-ZTKJikhpo5yuyJW3IFaijOqBNldeT3ZvEwDH4qHejoyRDzPjpLTOXBLhJEQeObZuMP35myRdgc296lo3sotqoGb2GIwOQRmrOrYfd5ajwdXauBMUwv8A0dnQ/s1050/GR10Feb.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="1050" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhz98wmEc-_-7JIJrtCEchNyEsynV-fycwk4CilFlceO6xcR7v_7I7TAJRUQZV1XrYQ-ZTKJikhpo5yuyJW3IFaijOqBNldeT3ZvEwDH4qHejoyRDzPjpLTOXBLhJEQeObZuMP35myRdgc296lo3sotqoGb2GIwOQRmrOrYfd5ajwdXauBMUwv8A0dnQ/s320/GR10Feb.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Register, </i>February 10, 1936<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">As a consequence of the extended cold wave and the snow blocking roads and railroads, coal supplies were exhausted. In early February school officials, explaining that the downtown junior and senior high schools consumed between four and five tons of coal a day, announced that they could not risk running out of coal entirely, which would lead to freezing the building's pipes. With snow preventing delivery of more coal, the superintendent thought it best to cancel classes until a sufficient supply was in hand. The grade schools had not yet burned all their coal, so Parker, Cooper, and Davis remained open for a time, but then they, too, closed (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 4, 1936; ibid., February 17, 1936). The high school and junior high reopened briefly, once some coal reached town, but classes were canceled for almost two weeks (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>February 6, 1936; <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 17, 1936). </span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As if to illustrate the problem, the <i>Herald </i>reported that on February 3rd a freight train was stuck in Grinnell-area snow drifts said to be a quarter of a mile long and ten feet high. A Rock Island freight sank in snow east of town, requiring several hours to extract the engine and caboose; a passenger train reached Grinnell three hours late, then stalled at the High Street crossing for a half hour when the engine froze (February 4, 1936). Snow drifts were everywhere and often so deep as to render light snow plows useless (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 11, 1936; <i>Grinnell Register, </i>February 10, 1936). </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtP9E1GIsT94usl87FggQw9bOtL-cmGfnGpM-J95Sm2H7jvr1zMVJRcqZnSV8OrM5ryLG7gXlOpLkyO3loYW-4bW3UlRGeghTMBpqXrgSZmBstd59zgjGro8NS8bCZ5ckfwqPN1gZ345rApWf_ljOw9dZWazjmr_ClZEyGEn-zTFH6myJV0YBNGHg7jw/s2023/1936SnowstormView2.tiff" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1415" data-original-width="2023" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtP9E1GIsT94usl87FggQw9bOtL-cmGfnGpM-J95Sm2H7jvr1zMVJRcqZnSV8OrM5ryLG7gXlOpLkyO3loYW-4bW3UlRGeghTMBpqXrgSZmBstd59zgjGro8NS8bCZ5ckfwqPN1gZ345rApWf_ljOw9dZWazjmr_ClZEyGEn-zTFH6myJV0YBNGHg7jw/s320/1936SnowstormView2.tiff" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>A Photo of an Unspecified Train Being Shoveled Out of Snow Drifts, Winter 1936<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18912)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>By February 10, concerns about a coal shortage resurfaced, as 26-mile-per-hour winds blew accumulated snow back across roads and railroads only recently cleared of drifts. The planned resumption of classes at the high school did not occur after all, and numerous other items on the calendar were canceled. Some parts of downtown—like the Beyer block on Fourth Avenue, for example—were without heat; <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BatesRoyE.pdf" target="_blank">Roy Bates (1880-1971)</a> moved his Floral Shop elsewhere until more coal arrived; <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/36/LargeJB.pdf" target="_blank">Joseph Large (1874-1948)</a> installed two stoves to keep his pharmacy operating, and the jewelry store of <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BartlingFrankM.pdf" target="_blank">Frank Bartling (1880-1958)</a> and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/94093035/richard-francis-nuckolls" target="_blank">Richard Nuckolls (1882-1943)</a> had a gasoline heater in operation. The cold and the shortage of coal canceled numerous public events. Athletic contests and club meetings all succumbed to the weather, and </span><span>a playwright who expected to reach Grinnell in time to oversee rehearsals of his play had to request a postponement (</span><i>Scarlet and Black, </i><span>February 19, 1936). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGNrjT3Ctzd4KDnE-ouWljDYyxI9EVPXbqug8BTcAw595LCgIRTJoeQu1aDmYTGy-x7Km347wpNuu6JzsTY5aaoEiEDo6Az49hPrcJ4d-xsFw94EEQIy9gIFOyeKEP88o32iipXi563r5bVo0KRNckjzJYSYfb6wNEGeeMY5QzFnOmDRWESHKpqDOQw/s406/29S&B15Feb1936A.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeGNrjT3Ctzd4KDnE-ouWljDYyxI9EVPXbqug8BTcAw595LCgIRTJoeQu1aDmYTGy-x7Km347wpNuu6JzsTY5aaoEiEDo6Az49hPrcJ4d-xsFw94EEQIy9gIFOyeKEP88o32iipXi563r5bVo0KRNckjzJYSYfb6wNEGeeMY5QzFnOmDRWESHKpqDOQw/s320/29S&B15Feb1936A.png" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 15, 1936<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Unlike many householders and the city's public schools, Grinnell College had sufficient supplies of coal (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 15, 1936), and college officials offered to open the men's gymnasium to anyone needing refuge from the cold. The secure warmth of campus, however, did not spare the college president from experiencing the bitter weather. One ill-fated train captured President John Nollen and his wife, who were en route home from a visit to Nebraska when they were stranded for 25 hours near Colfax </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>because of an immense snowdrift</span><span>. Trains on the Rock Island east-west route were often delayed, newspapers reported, but at least they continued to run. By contrast, trains on the north-south route "have been completely abandoned," newspapers said (</span><i>Grinnell Register, </i><span>February 10, 1936; </span><i>Scarlet and Black, </i><span>February 12, 1936).</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6emIE87ENkqPguz-8M9Pe15SRVs-iN7-r3WRiHtbv7-y7dFdew1PPNLwHmP7JNdU8uhAzsu4T_ATiYe1td3wGPUcb338jZRd_pkDZRILjXG_dCUrsD4KpZO8GA1ouYZx6ZrtX73dQlAvf-dzJ9PcHTF6PAD4f8veqol6Y0v_ibdMjm9EJS0l_URPJ7Q/s402/GHFeb11.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="208" data-original-width="402" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6emIE87ENkqPguz-8M9Pe15SRVs-iN7-r3WRiHtbv7-y7dFdew1PPNLwHmP7JNdU8uhAzsu4T_ATiYe1td3wGPUcb338jZRd_pkDZRILjXG_dCUrsD4KpZO8GA1ouYZx6ZrtX73dQlAvf-dzJ9PcHTF6PAD4f8veqol6Y0v_ibdMjm9EJS0l_URPJ7Q/s320/GHFeb11.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 11, 1936<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The snow and cold proved dangerous to humans and their animals. During a weekend snow, Dave Haines and </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/Y/YoungmanTheodore.pdf" target="_blank">Ted Youngman,</a><span> trying to push their automobile from a snow drift just west of town, were victims of another car, whose driver "was unable to see in the blinding storm" and struck the men (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>February 11, 1936); both Haines and Youngman ended up in the hospital. When fire broke out at a hog house on the </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/153611323/thomas-john-moore" target="_blank">T. J. Moore (1891- 1990)</a><span> farm southwest of town 26 hogs burned to death; the city's firemen "were unable to make the run on account of the raging blizzard and drifts" (</span><i>Grinnell Register, </i><span>February 10, 1936). All across Iowa whole farmsteads were leveled by fires made unreachable by the snow (for several cases in Boone County, see H. Roger Grant and L. Edward Purcell, "A Year of Struggle: Excerpts from a Farmer's Diary, 1936," </span><i>The Palimpsest, </i><span>vol. 57, no. 1 [January 1976]:15-16).</span></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw3a20x5td6GtQwSn8Shoyqvt3cvb9QKnC8lQsACCdWS_rI2TOZA0jqgmm1FU98XxL43SCdt3bvdaHpe2yoj8rEkIoUo6XOuhUBrEUi8QusJdtkI1b8JRPywtQdp9VVDLDfilY0V52U0kmIZw-K6PkNRvXSN9RZMvo2nuFZf5v-kV25lXvbPvqHQI6A/s874/GH7Feb1936Headline.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="874" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWw3a20x5td6GtQwSn8Shoyqvt3cvb9QKnC8lQsACCdWS_rI2TOZA0jqgmm1FU98XxL43SCdt3bvdaHpe2yoj8rEkIoUo6XOuhUBrEUi8QusJdtkI1b8JRPywtQdp9VVDLDfilY0V52U0kmIZw-K6PkNRvXSN9RZMvo2nuFZf5v-kV25lXvbPvqHQI6A/s320/GH7Feb1936Headline.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 7, 1936<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Iowa had had many cold winters, but local newspapers began to describe 1936 as one of the worst. In early February the <i>Herald </i>called January the "most severe in many years" (February 7, 1936). A few days later the newspaper described the weekend blizzard as "One of the Worst Storms Even in Memory of Old Timers" (ibid., February 11, 1936). The <i>Grinnell Register, </i>inquiring of some of the town's oldest residents, told readers that 92-year-old B. A. Stowe "couldn't remember when he had experienced colder weather." Judge <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/26/NollThomasJefferson.pdf" target="_blank">T. J. Noll (1843-1943)</a>, then 93 years old, thought that he had lived through colder weather, but the worst cold he could recall had taken place in 1862! (January 23, 1936).</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As cold as it had been that winter, summer 1936 turned out to be among the hottest ever in Iowa. <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/07/20/these-hottest-temperatures-iowa-history/1779385001/" target="_blank">According to one account,</a> seven of the hottest ten days in Iowa history came in the summer of 1936, killing hundreds of Iowans. Residents of Des Moines managed to survive fifteen days in a row in which the high temperature reached triple digits.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdR0yt458jP5IwflvgBiMtV4c6zdO_B2ShxfZNs0AEPG77VFzl7pLzUQgnTFVmxkOaalNjWoxVmtsWTOiPqk5uAkK4jP4nG2IZay15V5PrOHejukLjGB8VUqza_Cy4WfgI9flvEyabYYnPCsLfx7Xye1S1oB7heviaihmfbgk7MCL-CNYk4pqRrp9I0g/s1710/DSMReg20Jul2019.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="1710" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdR0yt458jP5IwflvgBiMtV4c6zdO_B2ShxfZNs0AEPG77VFzl7pLzUQgnTFVmxkOaalNjWoxVmtsWTOiPqk5uAkK4jP4nG2IZay15V5PrOHejukLjGB8VUqza_Cy4WfgI9flvEyabYYnPCsLfx7Xye1S1oB7heviaihmfbgk7MCL-CNYk4pqRrp9I0g/w400-h64/DSMReg20Jul2019.png" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>Extract from the <i>Des Moines Register, </i>July 20, 2019<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Summer 1936 was also torrid in Grinnell, but June's weather did not betray the oven that was on its way to Grinnell: only five days in June saw the high temperature reach into the 90s. July, however, was something else. The first few days of the month were hot, if not exceptionally hot. But beginning with the Fourth of July, when the thermometer shot up to 105, Grinnell's citizens endured fourteen days in a row when the daily high reached 100 or above. The first week was torture, but the accumulating heat grew unendurable as the hot spell stretched into the second week: on July 11th the local weather station recorded a high of 104; the next day it reached 105 and peaked at a record-setting 108 on the 13th. The next two days saw only the slightest improvement before the thermometer gradually fell. Only on July 18 did the daily high temperature "cool" to 97 degrees. On the 25th another brief spurt of fire warmed up the town, with the record-setting high temperature of 108 degrees appearing again on July 26th.</span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqdBJK-_v3Y1JmEIUsWI_qb9L8Qm-umuMuUOs6Ot06Zj74RDpqcaQAhpG3eBAs8kgbx_J2sSlWJ1hT19TlAOiUFmiuDMKBj2rmPL1huz_TlF1uvo7IMZR2Sjs54mebMruXfEOhk312ETUTYN5DJzef51A-wd8fOVeYeAEl9yIV04g6bScyEDFGUYGmA/s1442/July1936Temps.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="1042" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqdBJK-_v3Y1JmEIUsWI_qb9L8Qm-umuMuUOs6Ot06Zj74RDpqcaQAhpG3eBAs8kgbx_J2sSlWJ1hT19TlAOiUFmiuDMKBj2rmPL1huz_TlF1uvo7IMZR2Sjs54mebMruXfEOhk312ETUTYN5DJzef51A-wd8fOVeYeAEl9yIV04g6bScyEDFGUYGmA/s320/July1936Temps.png" width="231" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>National Weather Service Temperature Data for Grinnell, July 1936<br />(https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=dmx)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GaleGrantO.pdf" target="_blank">Grant Gale (1903-1998)</a> who continued to enter daily temperatures in his private ledger, reported on July 6th the "beginning of hot spell." July 9th was, he thought, "hot," and July 12th "very hot." The next day Gale entered the high temperature—106—and on the 14th recorded a high of 107. Unhappily for the later historian, the Gale family then set off for vacation in Michigan, interrupting this local report on Grinnell's fiery summer (</span><span style="font-size: large;">Gale Personal Papers, Box 5, Item 5)</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because of the July 4th holiday, local newspapers also did not comment upon the heat until July 6th. As the <i>Grinnell Herald-Register </i>put it, "old man weather turned on the heat Saturday, July 4, and has forgotten to turn it off so far." Although the hot spell was still only a few days old, the newspaper observed that "the paving on Highway No. 6 west of Grinnell...buckled badly near the Robinson Filling Station" (July 6, 1936). The next issue of the newspaper confirmed that "Yes! It Still is Pretty Hot," listing the high temperatures July 4-9 (ibid., July 9, 1936). When the newspaper hit the streets again on the 13th, it carried word confirming "Tenth Day of Over 100 Degrees," noting that "little relief is in sight." According to the <i>Herald-Register, </i>a thermometer left in the sun on the 12th registered an incredible 136 degrees, "evidence of the type of heat we are undergoing...when in the sun" (ibid., July 13, 1936). The theme recurred in the next issue of the <i>Herald-Register, </i>which observed that "The Heat Wave Is Still in Evidence." A brief article began by listing the daily high temperatures from July 4th through noon on the 16th. The only day on that list that escaped triple digits was the noontime reading on the 16th, by which time the temperature was "only" 97, but on its way past 100 again that afternoon (ibid., July 16, 1936).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfcPfgamqsovF1nf32Fh-l6T-BvnGxYqXBIEQxZ34EKE0cb1QmBKFzpiMUgLGZPKq2CtuzQLp8aIEuGM1iB44EeVA1rq6ZjGJK17oZptK1yroGMHACBpfhcIxxxmecZNgO_waQ_EyiK7UrXpavo7OIyyWbU6GscTuJ_Piq4-tDHD9mAXPiz_uYiHXsg/s744/Jul16.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="744" data-original-width="366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfcPfgamqsovF1nf32Fh-l6T-BvnGxYqXBIEQxZ34EKE0cb1QmBKFzpiMUgLGZPKq2CtuzQLp8aIEuGM1iB44EeVA1rq6ZjGJK17oZptK1yroGMHACBpfhcIxxxmecZNgO_waQ_EyiK7UrXpavo7OIyyWbU6GscTuJ_Piq4-tDHD9mAXPiz_uYiHXsg/s320/Jul16.png" width="157" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>July 16, 1936<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In boiling weather like this, people in the Grinnell area suffered. Many remarked that sleep indoors was impossible, as the extreme heat had built up within their houses. One effort to moderate the consequences of the heat wave was the installation of a water spray at Davis school. Someone had the idea of inverting a lawn sprinkler over the paved surface west of the school. Twice a day officials turned on the water, providing a cooling spray in which the kids could play: 10-10:30 each morning and again from 4-5 each afternoon. According to local reports, "over 600 children visited the school Tuesday afternoon when the sprinkler was turned on for the first time, and large crowds were on hand again when the cooler was used Wednesday" and Thursday (ibid.). Not everyone made it to the sprinkler, however, and the news began to report on the impact the heat was having on people. By the middle of July more than 200 Iowans had died from the heat. I could not confirm any Grinnell deaths attributable to the weather, but clearly stifling temperatures were having their impact. On July 16th, for instance, neighbors found 91-year-old </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GoodfellowJohn.pdf" target="_blank">John Goodfellow (1845-1940)</a><span>, who lived alone at 833 High Street, "overcome by the heat." They helped get him to the hospital (ibid., July 20, 1936). No doubt others—especially the aged and those who lived alone—encountered similar crises because of the heat wave.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzbZ87aKbnCHnmDfgIXaeJ9E-shNGV2FopRn_M9RPDCvzk0ClnYo0ZT3OHUuMbDaAljLHKtKrnChIIf6-pTqMq-L7sB5NU9xEcZ5UtOTeHaBnNaAdhk1akgRaGlYMK4rPHABsq1cR9afxlwHO3RlA2apyPwkpj0v_2-AiLJLZ85nj6jldaaW62Q_EVA/s866/July20.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="866" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzbZ87aKbnCHnmDfgIXaeJ9E-shNGV2FopRn_M9RPDCvzk0ClnYo0ZT3OHUuMbDaAljLHKtKrnChIIf6-pTqMq-L7sB5NU9xEcZ5UtOTeHaBnNaAdhk1akgRaGlYMK4rPHABsq1cR9afxlwHO3RlA2apyPwkpj0v_2-AiLJLZ85nj6jldaaW62Q_EVA/s320/July20.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>July 20, 1936<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Because farming was crucial to the Grinnell economy, locals paid rapt attention to the impact of the heat upon crops. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/Mc/McIlrathJamesL.pdf" target="_blank">J. L. McIlrath (1871-1955)</a><span>, who contributed a column on "Farm News" to the </span><i>Herald-Register, </i><span>worried about the corn. "Another whole week has passed," McIlrath wrote in mid-July, </span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">since we were sure we must have rain at once if growing crops are to survive...The hope of rain has been held out to us from day to day by the weather bureau [and] has kept us in suspense...The grain is so dry and brittle that much of it is hulling in the threshing process, something seldom ever known before...</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">McIlrath went on to bemoan the harmful invasion of grasshoppers. "Great swarms of the insects fly ahead of vehicles that pass through the field," he reported to readers (ibid., July 20, 1936).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S/SearsRichardM.pdf" target="_blank">Dick Sears (1914-1992)</a>, <a href="https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/local-history-home/oral_histories_home/voices-from-the-past/" target="_blank">one of twenty persons interviewed in 1992 for the project Voices from the Past</a>, remembered that "Grasshoppers just about took for everything green...Alfalfa was one of the things that they liked real well, and they went right in, helped themselves" (<a href="https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/RichardSears/c_richardsears.pdf" target="_blank">Richard Sears Interview</a><a href="http://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/RichardSears/c_richardsears.pdf)">)</a>. <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/53/BermanIsadore.pdf" target="_blank">Isadore Berman (1924-2021)</a> also recalled "flocks of grasshoppers" in 1936. "They devoured everything in sight...," he said; "they ate everything that was edible or inedible. Just a tremendous crop of grasshoppers" (<a href="https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/IsadoreBerman/c_isadoreberman.pdf" target="_blank">Isadore Berman Interview</a>). <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/8/DunhamMarianE.pdf" target="_blank">Marian Dunham (1919-2008)</a> reported a less destructive encounter with grasshoppers in 1936: she thought that "there were some [grasshoppers], chewed up the place a few times," but she did not recall the insects destroying an entire crop. Nevertheless, she remembered that when she went to the farm pump to get a drink, "the pump would cough up a little bit of water and a few corpses of different bugs and that was terribly frustrating" (<a href="https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/MarianDunham/c_mariandunham.pdf" target="_blank">Marian Dunham Interview</a>). </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7B9ONyhX5_LzadYGdU5Py7wraiu0ubGE09m7GcCFmurvJmA7RJ6nf3HDqQzCladhykB9ExS3wELbeQpLPIrE8WvpEaooXCI9KncZr54GsHjPl1S5v8paER2CZv2hQrwK43D8scgAIX5eIdWGA6uFXAejc7xvXg6xMh91Idj9N3eia1jidNB8jTFHnw/s640/service-pnp-fsa-8c02000-8c02200-8c02212r.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="640" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7B9ONyhX5_LzadYGdU5Py7wraiu0ubGE09m7GcCFmurvJmA7RJ6nf3HDqQzCladhykB9ExS3wELbeQpLPIrE8WvpEaooXCI9KncZr54GsHjPl1S5v8paER2CZv2hQrwK43D8scgAIX5eIdWGA6uFXAejc7xvXg6xMh91Idj9N3eia1jidNB8jTFHnw/s320/service-pnp-fsa-8c02000-8c02200-8c02212r.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>1938 Photograph of Corn Shocks <br />(Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Sheldon Dick, Photographer)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">As McIlrath pointed out, drought was even more damaging than the insects that followed it. The ground, having endured weeks of scorching temperatures without any rain, was very dry; many fields revealed networks of deep cracks. Elmer Powers, who farmed in Boone County, told his diary that as he crossed his fields he thought he could "drop my pliers down out of sight in these cracks" (Grant and Purcell, p. 24). <a href="https://grinnell.lib.ia.us/voices/MartinPearce/c_martinpearce.pdf" target="_blank">Martin Pearce remembered</a> a barley field which, when seen that autumn, "was just as bare as plowed ground. It never raised a weed or a spear of grass. That dry weather just cooked that whole field." </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Robert Dimit, recalling his dad's farm, told Frank Heath in 2013 that "there was no crops, no hay" in 1936. To feed the cattle, his father resorted to cutting down the corn that remained and tying it into shocks where it remained until it was fed to the animals (Frank Heath, </span><a href="https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A12986" target="_blank">"Conversations with Iowa Farmers"</a><span>). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1iUlDSF8ZSI3_3KqyI_lXqVrMRB0UqHZP7N-qnJmAu2MN_i7QBbQkGiObZSp8vOn_9QtGlQOcYue7rIvQbtv04gMa499Whq23_-vWrsUV61t2Evl2kgEUgzt3RICs3LLxTZEP9PWGfxuFtZX2SVwkAhVMgaoJFu9Y3u1G5gBjf4SvP-smfa5rD6Sag/s600/CrackedSoil.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="600" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1iUlDSF8ZSI3_3KqyI_lXqVrMRB0UqHZP7N-qnJmAu2MN_i7QBbQkGiObZSp8vOn_9QtGlQOcYue7rIvQbtv04gMa499Whq23_-vWrsUV61t2Evl2kgEUgzt3RICs3LLxTZEP9PWGfxuFtZX2SVwkAhVMgaoJFu9Y3u1G5gBjf4SvP-smfa5rD6Sag/s320/CrackedSoil.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Parched, Cracked Earth<br />(https://peoplesweathermap.org/the-drought-of-1936/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Iowa was spared the dreadful black clouds of dust that affected the worst-hit areas of the "Dust Bowl," but that does not mean that Iowans did not feel the effects. As <a href="https://plaza.las.iastate.edu/directory/ginalie-bein-swaim/" target="_blank">Ginalie Swaim</a> observed, "The clouds of dust did not stop at state boundaries. They hit Iowa, too." She quotes one Iowan from Black Hawk County who saw dust settle "so thickly on pastures that the cattle would not eat, and cows, and calves, and steers wandered about bawling their hunger" ("Dry, Dusty 1936, <i>The Goldfinch, </i>vol. 7, no. 4 [April 1986]:10).</span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">When rain finally came, it arrived with a fury that undermined its usefulness. On July 20 a midday 15-minute "deluge" washed Grinnell, leaving behind a half-inch of rain, much of which disappeared before penetrating the soil (<i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>July 20, 1936). Two days later another storm briefly drenched Grinnell, dropping 0.47 inches of rain (ibid., July 23, 1936). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">In some areas the rainstorms also brought hail, bombarding corn fields, stripping anything green left on the stalks. In any case, the momentary respite that rain and clouds afforded came abruptly to an end within a few days, when temperatures once again shot up over 100 degrees. Saturday, July 25th brought a high of 107; on Sunday the thermometer reached 108 (ibid., July 27, 1936). August opened with daily high temperatures in the 90s, before showers brought relief and some moisture for crops (ibid., August 6, 1936). Despite the brief reappearance of 100 degrees in mid-August, a heavy rain on the 22nd finally put paid to a miserably hot and dry summer (ibid., August 18, 1936; ibid, August 24, 1936).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRKp4mytrxWVvhuOHW-18pU-G9YhLbUZus4aqMDzqzSaNY-um9DbXswNLmqXr8nya43LIUDsSYlkOxtTH62MYibfkKgtJK-Bujyk_-QTKyheXZDx2UZ0XLFEP3t-8kxE9Y63A2UOOD0XwAZ6DJ1pFL91xirtq3TbRoH0rvCY2s7Xauo2J5rJSaQMcbA/s826/August10.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="826" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRKp4mytrxWVvhuOHW-18pU-G9YhLbUZus4aqMDzqzSaNY-um9DbXswNLmqXr8nya43LIUDsSYlkOxtTH62MYibfkKgtJK-Bujyk_-QTKyheXZDx2UZ0XLFEP3t-8kxE9Y63A2UOOD0XwAZ6DJ1pFL91xirtq3TbRoH0rvCY2s7Xauo2J5rJSaQMcbA/s320/August10.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald-Register, </i>August 10, 1936<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="font-size: medium;">The winter's bitter cold and summer's dessicating heat made the year 1936 memorable in Grinnell. Visions of grasshopper hordes and ten-foot snowbanks survived in memory, despite the passing years and the occasional blips in Iowa weather normalcy. Back then, few saw in weather extremes hints of climate change. Rather, most saw 1936 for what it was—an unexpectedly brutal weather year that ruined many farm livelihoods and made "normal" life in town difficult. As the years passed and memories faded, the sharp outlines of 1936 receded from view, only to be revived when new bursts of heat or cold provoked questions about what was the coldest or hottest year in Grinnell. The records indicate that 1936 is a good reply to both those questions.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-20445028958995250822022-08-16T04:22:00.006-07:002023-03-13T10:30:21.564-07:00The First Jews to Find Grinnell<p><span style="font-size: large;">Four years ago I posted a <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2018/09/alone-among-gentiles.html?m=1" target="_blank">story about the Daniel Berman family</a> who were, I thought, the first Jews to live in Grinnell. It turns out, however, that I was wrong about that. Thanks to a note from a reader of that post, I learned about two more Jewish families who found Grinnell a few years before Daniel Berman did. When I carried the investigation further into the late nineteenth century, I learned about yet another Jewish family that took up residence in Grinnell as early as 1900. Today's post considers these pioneering Jewish families and their history in early Grinnell.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Few if any of the 3000 or so people living in late nineteenth-century Grinnell knew a Jew; certainly there were no Jews then living in Grinnell. Of course, the overwhelmingly Christian population of town, schooled in the Christian scriptures, knew <i>about</i> Jews and the Jewish world into which their Jesus had come, but all that had happened almost two thousand years earlier; Jews in the contemporary world were largely unknown. By the 1880s, however, more than forty Iowa towns had welcomed Jewish immigrants (Michael J. Bell, "'True Israelites of America': The Story of the Jews in Iowa," <i>Annals of Iowa </i>53 [Spring 1994]:96). The most important of these for Grinnell was Muscatine, Iowa.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><a href="https://data.jewishgen.org/wconnect/wc.dll?jg~jgsys~ajhs_pb~r!!288" target="_blank">Later made one of the Midwest destinations for immigrants who passed through the hands of the Industrial Removal Office</a>, Muscatine before 1900 had already attracted a small group of Eastern European Jews (Simon Glaser, <i>The Jews of Iowa </i>[Des Moines, 1904], 311-312). Most of the early arrivals hailed from <a href="https://iajgscemetery.org/eastern-europe/lithuania/leckava" target="_blank">Leckava, a small town in Kovno gubernia of the late Russian Empire</a>. The 1897 Russian census reported that Leckava had a population of about 1100, some 800 of whom were Jews. Some of Leckava's Jews reached Muscatine in the 1880s, hard on the heels of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pogroms_in_the_Russian_Empire" target="_blank">pogroms that flared up in the early 1880s </a>in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_of_Settlement" target="_blank">Russia's Pale of Settlement</a>. How Muscatine attracted immigrants from Leckava is unknown. But t</span><span>he first arrivals soon summoned relatives and neighbors, providing the Muscatine newcomers reminders of their previous home in Europe. As </span><a href="https://www.geni.com/projects/Jewish-Immigration-to-Muscatine-Iowa-1880-1910/7737" target="_blank">one report noted,</a><span> "The village of Latskivoh [the Russian name for the village-DK] in the Kovno district of Lithuania seems to have had a direct pipeline to Muscatine, Iowa...." </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIlFrUqdgJcuqnyhHWW05HNA4vDs1W0wEimhmdf4Q0Cs-Pqgc6W4VELoSqbL5zSVws749Cqip73XSYBiv3-3vq6GtyrXbgW9eboivprVVKgvf-ewAp_HAH1V1lUxjzZNPlepgJtlhrySpe7ueQVRLkj2auIcB7j0LzPJeeMuWus4_o2lVjSOI_931Og/s1478/GoogleMap.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="1478" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIlFrUqdgJcuqnyhHWW05HNA4vDs1W0wEimhmdf4Q0Cs-Pqgc6W4VELoSqbL5zSVws749Cqip73XSYBiv3-3vq6GtyrXbgW9eboivprVVKgvf-ewAp_HAH1V1lUxjzZNPlepgJtlhrySpe7ueQVRLkj2auIcB7j0LzPJeeMuWus4_o2lVjSOI_931Og/s320/GoogleMap.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Google Map showing Distance Between Klaipeda and Leckava (about 80 miles)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Among the Leckava Jews who reached Muscatine were two brothers, </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142947721/marcus-louis-urdangen" target="_blank">Marcus Louis Urdangen (1873-1918)</a><span> and </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18780549/barney-urdangen" target="_blank">Barney Urdangen (1864-1934)</a><span>. I did not find ship's manifest from either brother's immigration, but the two men later told census-takers that they had arrived in the US around 1890. Louis, as he generally called himself, is the first to appear in Poweshiek County records. Together with Ed Greenberg (1873-1936), his brother-in-law, Louis founded a dry goods business known as Urdangen and Greenberg. No later than November 1899 the partners had opened their doors in what newspapers called "The Fair building" in central Montezuma; they soon had outposts in several other south central Iowa towns (</span><i>Grinnell</i><i> Herald, </i><span>November 28, 1899). </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZ1-zCS77xGTR0Ny0dxtsOlKEE_wQ995Ukq1IT_cVobmOo2iKNCjA8DeaqHbYFAKvKLpeCroJPIHgwgXxST3SGnSgYYpmigO_e8m6_7gfNeOhNGRVKV-feSRaRSd5nWk-rAv5UFaFfWir_0cL4ZXF6mL2xyXKVSwYGRr7rHSB_U-nDdvCy1sgskhelw/s1068/L.UrdangenOscarGrossheim1901.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="747" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYZ1-zCS77xGTR0Ny0dxtsOlKEE_wQ995Ukq1IT_cVobmOo2iKNCjA8DeaqHbYFAKvKLpeCroJPIHgwgXxST3SGnSgYYpmigO_e8m6_7gfNeOhNGRVKV-feSRaRSd5nWk-rAv5UFaFfWir_0cL4ZXF6mL2xyXKVSwYGRr7rHSB_U-nDdvCy1sgskhelw/s320/L.UrdangenOscarGrossheim1901.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marcus Louis Urdangen (1873-1918)<br />Oscar Grossheim Photograph (ca. 1901)<br />(http://www.umvphotoarchive.org/digital/collection/muspl/id/7465/rec/1)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>In May 1901 the duo appeared in Grinnell where they rented space on Main Street, planning to open a "general store" (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>May 3, 1901). The Golden Eagle, as they named their new Grinnell business, offered "a complete line of Clothing, Gents' Furnishings and shoes" (ibid., May 28, 1901).</span></span></p><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaxKuRU8TdoCvv0FAufP8Ij4S_bMAbLJU9adEODnJ8lBY3P0OUNKkYzLg3dsvThmyjBVVtwODjW0l8S00x43QUZzg35FkJksHuB32gGyfXNPbxWa8vqGbf9qEXsJVKNbj0SZcEqgsSSFiV4a3edxLcbHPkrG7QisWJN34bMnR2bTwoCQqYqdrJzWdVg/s2510/4GH31May1901.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="2510" height="104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDaxKuRU8TdoCvv0FAufP8Ij4S_bMAbLJU9adEODnJ8lBY3P0OUNKkYzLg3dsvThmyjBVVtwODjW0l8S00x43QUZzg35FkJksHuB32gGyfXNPbxWa8vqGbf9qEXsJVKNbj0SZcEqgsSSFiV4a3edxLcbHPkrG7QisWJN34bMnR2bTwoCQqYqdrJzWdVg/s320/4GH31May1901.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement from the <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>May 31, 1901<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Almost from the beginning, however, the newcomers ran into trouble. When, early in their occupation of the Corrough Building at 4th and Main, they declined to assume the five-year lease of the previous tenant, despite the owner's understanding that they had so agreed, the owner took them to court. Urdangen and Greenberg lost the argument, and were obliged to find replacement space, promptly reopening their store in the 900 block of Main Street, just a few steps from their previous address. Here the Golden Eagle resumed its advertising, dangling sales and low prices before Grinnell consumers. Business must not have met expectations, however, because by mid-November the local newspaper reported that Urdangen and Greenberg,were transferring their stock to Albia, "because they cannot oversee their stores in so many towns" (ibid., November 19, 1901).</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJneGg2JfvZTbpI6UMlgjrAWgECI_-QNFu40Z-MfqvM5CNLSmeKak4qutN_qp4iCG1Kb8uXCKxLXyEtzDVKF-P2mTgumKrH-gBzA_asOjqVsACGxVUPIx6u32cg7QKOp2sV3cDLtJ5VM6IpGNWiW3SN8U0EAnanTATJeCFEgsl_KM0AxLloam-glLGQ/s640/CorroughBldg901MainDigGrin.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="640" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJneGg2JfvZTbpI6UMlgjrAWgECI_-QNFu40Z-MfqvM5CNLSmeKak4qutN_qp4iCG1Kb8uXCKxLXyEtzDVKF-P2mTgumKrH-gBzA_asOjqVsACGxVUPIx6u32cg7QKOp2sV3cDLtJ5VM6IpGNWiW3SN8U0EAnanTATJeCFEgsl_KM0AxLloam-glLGQ/s320/CorroughBldg901MainDigGrin.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corrough Building, 901 Main Street (ca. 1905)<br />(Digital Grinnell)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><span style="font-size: large;">So far as I could learn, neither Louis Urdangen nor his partner, Ed Greenberg, ever <i>lived in Grinnell,</i> even when operating the Golden Eagle in town. The 1900 US census reports that Louis Urdangen was then boarding at a Montezuma hotel and Greenberg, who in 1898 had married Urdangen's sister, Grace (Gute Freide) (1878-1946), was also resident in Montezuma. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">One member of the Urdangen family, however, was resident in 1900 Grinnell: Barney, the older brother to both Louis and Grace. The 1900 US Census found Barney, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18780598/molly-urdangen" target="_blank">his wife Mollie (Malke; 1863-1952)</a>, and their five oldest children living at 511 Third Avenue, just south of the railroad tracks between Spring and Pearl Streets. Barney told the census official that he had arrived in the US in 1889, had later been naturalized (although I could not find this record), and was working as a "junk buyer" in Grinnell. The three oldest children—<a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18684985/libbe-r-brower" target="_blank">Libbie (Racha Liba)</a> (1886-1940), Anna (Chana) (1888?- ), and Rebecca (Riwka) (1890?- )—had all been born in Russia. Golda (1895?-1918) was their first child born in America, followed by <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115808434/louis-j-urdangen" target="_blank">Louis J. (1898-1968)</a>. Esther (1901?-1933), <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115799089/archie-urdangen" target="_blank">Archie (1903-1964)</a>, Grace (1904- ), Harry (1906?- ), and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115799162/charles-h-urdangen" target="_blank">Charlie (1909-1965)</a> were all born in Grinnell. <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154540084/ethel-m-friedman" target="_blank">(Ethel [1910-1992</a>] and an unnamed daughter [1913-1913] were later born in Muscatine.) Historical records reveal little about the children except that newspaper accounts of school honor-rolls regularly mentioned Golda and Esther in the years before 1910 when the family returned to Muscatine (see, for example, <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>June 16, 1908, when both girls were identified as honor students at Parker School). Whether any of the older girls attended Grinnell schools I could not learn.</span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpixm_NJxO2eV_WjUX0G1QVR-asHT_8gR17SpmgZ_fuZSPjZfWMAb1vQKVf7Sy3CEDtiKkfNEfP_sG2NMN0YsaWO_H3GVi2wdYpAX0k5r2S3rPBluE-ZxJQiVBbZi8Bwzo16dWWwVBBSNqyJg6PmD1bhJ2ROi9jZI6WWwWcNTsnVu6_rNMHzSy1a1Fag/s1536/1911Sanborn511Third.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1536" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpixm_NJxO2eV_WjUX0G1QVR-asHT_8gR17SpmgZ_fuZSPjZfWMAb1vQKVf7Sy3CEDtiKkfNEfP_sG2NMN0YsaWO_H3GVi2wdYpAX0k5r2S3rPBluE-ZxJQiVBbZi8Bwzo16dWWwVBBSNqyJg6PmD1bhJ2ROi9jZI6WWwWcNTsnVu6_rNMHzSy1a1Fag/s320/1911Sanborn511Third.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract from 1911 Sanborn Insurance Map for Grinnell, Iowa, showing Third Avenue<br />(https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4154gm.g026731911/?sp=13&st=image)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: large;">Grinnell's newspaper at first had nothing to say about Barney Urdangen, even though Barney was then resident in town and operating a scrap metal business. It was brother Louis whose commercial enterprises attracted the newspaper's occasional attention.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5hxyKQLFcaIfh9YIdSI7ooR4ZMS3Z9wUWqepPVZSIn-e2aXMJjRrcp0YcnpP5LIXFBBjcIrPJ05D2iqS8LVvLGOwdQNBKYJAceYT7B5TJQLfKpiu7RL5POf90q_tiF8YfQmZKb9hoKgSvm1y5PnhiJ9eS_fSulMEVBCyn8muwpymQInUfLtQ3swjSQ/s480/burdangen_large.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5hxyKQLFcaIfh9YIdSI7ooR4ZMS3Z9wUWqepPVZSIn-e2aXMJjRrcp0YcnpP5LIXFBBjcIrPJ05D2iqS8LVvLGOwdQNBKYJAceYT7B5TJQLfKpiu7RL5POf90q_tiF8YfQmZKb9hoKgSvm1y5PnhiJ9eS_fSulMEVBCyn8muwpymQInUfLtQ3swjSQ/s320/burdangen_large.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated (ca. 1930?) Photograph of Barney Urdangen<br />(https://www.geni.com/people/Barney-Urdangen/6000000013903234386)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: large;">Beginning in 1902, however, Barney placed small ads in the <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>alerting readers to his interest in purchasing iron. Sellers could deliver their iron to the business premises "south of the Carriage Factory," referencing the Spaulding factory just north of the railroad and west of West Street. </span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK06G126MRYopTA85SFteylBQ6QhozIEuwAWT-SKA2XGMnS5JigVOdj167puvNLOsk8cHoPi9g7RFkAOGSYeO2SIz9_OJgLFaWZSFPyG130LlVRVaAFE_D7hRro9zBH8RH878GFiD7BoXoLWfEzL1dysQ7Ul6hgNPeDhpSlXSZ-DvPS1iM8PxDNSDFww/s624/1GH22Apr1902.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="394" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK06G126MRYopTA85SFteylBQ6QhozIEuwAWT-SKA2XGMnS5JigVOdj167puvNLOsk8cHoPi9g7RFkAOGSYeO2SIz9_OJgLFaWZSFPyG130LlVRVaAFE_D7hRro9zBH8RH878GFiD7BoXoLWfEzL1dysQ7Ul6hgNPeDhpSlXSZ-DvPS1iM8PxDNSDFww/s320/1GH22Apr1902.png" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>April 22, 1902<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: large;">Business seems to have prospered, because Urdangen began the 1903 calendar by advertising a new undertaking which he added to his scrap metal enterprise. Opening a "New and Second-hand Store" on Commercial Street, "Opp. Herald Office," Urdangen was still soliciting scrap for his yard on Third Avenue, but he also advertised "an entirely new line of goods: Men's Clothing and Furnishings, Boots and Shoes, Tinware, and most anything you want at prices that defy competition." At the same site Urdangen offered "second-hand goods," including "household goods, stoves and articles of all kinds" (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>January 2, 1903). </span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNzE2AsnrAQk8kWqq7C2IokB_T0gAkq8rVzghM59VC64avOwnILMsEHgQ2jaXYoMDHsopb4peXeIhzpvsYZPixEf9FjKku-igBPGz_lYq97kq9Ky07t83D94ctJm6-UxYPnBMNflG5gQutiSaJAxPJawhibPb5nfqP_C3TFHtVZk71uoyoSCiNmrbLg/s1850/1898SanbornCommercial.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1850" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFNzE2AsnrAQk8kWqq7C2IokB_T0gAkq8rVzghM59VC64avOwnILMsEHgQ2jaXYoMDHsopb4peXeIhzpvsYZPixEf9FjKku-igBPGz_lYq97kq9Ky07t83D94ctJm6-UxYPnBMNflG5gQutiSaJAxPJawhibPb5nfqP_C3TFHtVZk71uoyoSCiNmrbLg/s320/1898SanbornCommercial.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract of Page 6 of 1898 Sanborn Insurance Map of Grinnell, IA<br />(https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4154gm.g026731898/?sp=6&st=image)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">About a month later he purchased the building on Commercial Street from which he ran his second-hand shop. The local newspaper reported that Urdangen planned to add a third story and rebuild the front, but the new owner seems never to have completed these improvements, as today's building still has just two stories (<i>Grinnell Herald</i>, May 15, 1903).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRM-ajAA5yR8Su-tTHKdxGQeRA5_4qCx6b3tsKlTMMnxhIdqxW9HPEtOeBk7zh806Et-mYwdDdCGLlIMxP9JPw4yg2njwhHX3trKTxrlzYo0hFR--1WNmx58yjP9BiCDGIrxMrFN8iACCm8pITasvaVeXBwvtbSwoVsuSjq7pRSfP0pfu7dapc6NnakA/s888/810.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="888" data-original-width="632" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRM-ajAA5yR8Su-tTHKdxGQeRA5_4qCx6b3tsKlTMMnxhIdqxW9HPEtOeBk7zh806Et-mYwdDdCGLlIMxP9JPw4yg2njwhHX3trKTxrlzYo0hFR--1WNmx58yjP9BiCDGIrxMrFN8iACCm8pITasvaVeXBwvtbSwoVsuSjq7pRSfP0pfu7dapc6NnakA/s320/810.png" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 Google Street view Photo of building that was formerly 806 Commercial, <br />home to Barney Urdangen's Second-Hand Store</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">An indication of Urdangen's success was the growing list of properties he purchased. In May 1904 he acquired title to the building across the street from his store, immediately renting it out to <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/46/SpencerJohn.pdf" target="_blank">John Spencer</a>, a local African American contractor (ibid., May 3, 1904; ibid., June 7, 1904). In early 1905 Urdangen bought the W. W. Stowe office building at the corner of Main and Commercial (ibid., February 24, 1905) and in May 1906 purchased the old Grinnell House at the corner of Main and Fourth, telling reporters that he intended to remodel the building to install a restaurant on the north side and use the south side for his second-hand store (ibid., May 8, 1906; ibid., June 12, 1906). This plan must have stimulated Urdangen to trade his original property on Commercial to <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajphttps://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/H/HatcherJohnF.pdf" target="_blank">John Hatcher </a>of Brooklyn, giving Urdangen property in Malcom, too (ibid., January 26, 1906). Hatcher later complained about the deal, which apparently was reversed, because soon Urdangen's newspaper ads reported his business at the old address, "across from the Herald office."</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FSGsF-dzlQl4-ggsMSIKTxc9XaRB8zJ1clWoIgG0NM3ed2B6UIYXbJ16tNAZd2guew1Bb6aJLJURIviCynq7RFFt7BGjiQYVEcj9QxJdeU8rAcFpPM3khG5Tx-NMyBXXLTWFgUObNIQ4LNvJAXqpnKUhyKJAO2c57b5zJN_u1R5s2VqobgSvgN9Ydg/s536/GH20May1910Tax.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="536" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6FSGsF-dzlQl4-ggsMSIKTxc9XaRB8zJ1clWoIgG0NM3ed2B6UIYXbJ16tNAZd2guew1Bb6aJLJURIviCynq7RFFt7BGjiQYVEcj9QxJdeU8rAcFpPM3khG5Tx-NMyBXXLTWFgUObNIQ4LNvJAXqpnKUhyKJAO2c57b5zJN_u1R5s2VqobgSvgN9Ydg/s320/GH20May1910Tax.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>May 20, 1910<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">The 1910 tax assessments for street paving provide a handy summary of Urdangen's holdings. According to the list, Barney Urdangen owned two properties on the west side of Main Street and one on the east side of Main, as well as land on the north side of Commercial and the north side of Fourth Avenue. "Barney Urdangen," the newspaper observed, "has recently become quite a large holder of Grinnell downtown property." His total assessment came to $1,483.85, one of the highest totals among local landowners (ibid., May 20, 1910).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Amid these successes Barney encountered occasional difficulties. In September 1902, little Esther—who was only about 18 months old—evidently wandered from the family home adjacent to the railroad tracks and was struck by a passenger train coming into town from the west. Observers initially feared that the little girl had been killed, but subsequent examination discovered only a broken arm and several broken ribs (ibid., September 19, 1902; see also <i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican </i>which reported the girl as dead [September 18, 1902]). She recovered, although her parents must have been badly shaken by the accident.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Other troubles concerned the business. When a fire on Main Street erupted in the middle of the night in April 1903, a burglar took advantage of the distraction to enter Urdangen's Commercial Street store where he stole "about two hundred dollars' worth of...watches, watch chains, jewelry, shoes, and some clothing" (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>April 17, 1903). Early the next year an unidentified man tried to steal some razors, but Barney, emerging from the basement, caught him in the act (ibid.<i>, </i>February 23, 1904). In May Urdangen reported that his horse, a "roan mare, about five years old, branded with the letter 'H,'" had "disappeared from Grinnell." Whether the horse had merely strayed or been stolen Urdangen did not say, offering a "liberal reward for her return" (ibid., May 5, 1905). Perhaps the worst news of 1905 was the bankruptcy of his brother Louis, first reported in early May (ibid.; see also ibid., October 27, 1905). </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydzcClJBI-wGkOQXeoiEvkek-scqdAz1gbsDyKELbnduIsbivVbvWzcJAee4mvBqL9acyV7ysC2zxYcR7ed45zm_n0YOp8v4QCJSQPdJgk858LxGH0vJ-a5ed2pyL1XTZA6oHd-pmiATywPUzyinxbv5dA2QH99Sv_2KXEg5OynepmKCZbZ8sy6424g/s418/GH15Feb1907Thompson.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="418" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiydzcClJBI-wGkOQXeoiEvkek-scqdAz1gbsDyKELbnduIsbivVbvWzcJAee4mvBqL9acyV7ysC2zxYcR7ed45zm_n0YOp8v4QCJSQPdJgk858LxGH0vJ-a5ed2pyL1XTZA6oHd-pmiATywPUzyinxbv5dA2QH99Sv_2KXEg5OynepmKCZbZ8sy6424g/s320/GH15Feb1907Thompson.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement in <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 15, 1907<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span>There was also occasional competition for Barney's scrap metal and second-hand business. At least twice over the decade that Urdangen operated in Grinnell <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/T/ThompsonAmosC.pdf" target="_blank">Amos Thompson (1852-1921) </a>opened a business that competed directly with Barney. <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/T/ThompsonAmosC.pdf" target="_blank">Adam Dunlap (1841-1921)</a> also briefly ran a store for "New and Second-Hand Goods" on Main Street, around the corner from Urdangen's shop (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>April 10, 1908), b</span><span>ut neither of these enterprises seems to have provoked conflict with Urdangen.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiREPAuxkPgM4jTBl0DhOzuCUhknIHpLoIRgR4JQAqPT9lWqBsNcrEpuzu2PcB39WxSfdyCqyGQIKm3wYkL7-lU6XZkw_ifrkMLlFnP_Qq57zRGzw5u5jJlp4gzeGlx25gf9MKHLkr8MOwEF4IHUe2b8n63bjHTnHidIXqKuwiD8GwYuBYazwtXToIWw/s1640/800E8thStMuscatine2021GooglePic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1098" data-original-width="1640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiREPAuxkPgM4jTBl0DhOzuCUhknIHpLoIRgR4JQAqPT9lWqBsNcrEpuzu2PcB39WxSfdyCqyGQIKm3wYkL7-lU6XZkw_ifrkMLlFnP_Qq57zRGzw5u5jJlp4gzeGlx25gf9MKHLkr8MOwEF4IHUe2b8n63bjHTnHidIXqKuwiD8GwYuBYazwtXToIWw/s320/800E8thStMuscatine2021GooglePic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2021 Google Street view Photo of 800 E. Eighth Ave., Muscatine, IA<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: large;">In the run-up to 1910, the Urdangens prepared to abandon Grinnell and return to Muscatine, a decision which must explain the disappearance of Urdangen's Grinnell newspaper advertisements and his concentration upon real estate. The 1910 US census, conducted in late April, has the Urdangens already living at 811 Fifth Street in Muscatine. Barney no longer mentioned his junk business, but told census officials that he lived off his "own income," probably a function of his property investments in Grinnell and Muscatine. For the 1915 Iowa census he described himself as working in "real estate." No later than 1915 the Urdangen family was residing in Muscatine at 800 E. Eighth Avenue, a large building that still stands.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Returning to Muscatine, the Urdangens, who for the previous ten years had lived in Grinnell without a synagogue or other Jews with whom to observe the rituals of Jewish worship, were able to rejoin Muscatine's lively Jewish community. The B'nai Moses Synagogue, first erected in 1893 to serve some thirty Jewish families, now empty and abandoned, remains to confirm the existence of a local Jewish community which provided a warm welcome for the Urdangens' return to Muscatine. Barney spent his last several years in Muscatine where he died in June 1934. Embraced by the local Jewish community, Barney Urdangen took his farewell from the synagogue to which he had contributed. He was laid to rest in <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18780549/barney-urdangen" target="_blank">Muscatine's Jewish cemetery</a> (<i>Muscatine Journal, </i>June 14, 1934).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ofGuCeyNFq3eCQVdZ0RnVhj5EGJxc9z9SjxFiI_cN5F3ZwGb51gYL_qSy_PFZJnCdcF5u0Fq2OX3xfPOuoxTLK2wvsrR9mypARJ5WsPAg23H8vWC0w1DeP-5HmwP2a4aXiGWLNvLTYwWE6mupLgfQxfTTkUnoIjJcrhaG-VJjljHB13YSa-7fPnF4Q/s708/Muscatine%20Syn%2002%20photo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6ofGuCeyNFq3eCQVdZ0RnVhj5EGJxc9z9SjxFiI_cN5F3ZwGb51gYL_qSy_PFZJnCdcF5u0Fq2OX3xfPOuoxTLK2wvsrR9mypARJ5WsPAg23H8vWC0w1DeP-5HmwP2a4aXiGWLNvLTYwWE6mupLgfQxfTTkUnoIjJcrhaG-VJjljHB13YSa-7fPnF4Q/s320/Muscatine%20Syn%2002%20photo.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Abandoned B'nai Moses Synagogue, Muscatine, Iowa<br />(https://samgrubersjewishartmonuments.blogspot.com/2014/06/usa-former-iowa-synagogue-up-for-sale.html)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The departure from Grinnell of Barney Urdangen opened the door for the arrival of another immigrant Jewish family. Just as Barney was closing out his scrap metal business in 1908, Ozer Winer (1877-1955) and his family arrived in Grinnell. The documentary record that explains how Winer found Grinnell remains thin. His first name usually referenced in US documents by the initial H, Ozer told 1910 US census officials that he had immigrated in 1896; his 31-year-old wife, Rizza (Rachel Shpall), told officials that she had reached the United States in 1898, but I could find no record of either arrival. Besides that, the 1910 census reports that the Winers had been married nine years, meaning that they had married around 1901. Their oldest child, Lena, said to be four years old in 1910, was born in Russia, which means that the Winers must have married in Russia and were still resident in Russia in 1905 or 1906. The 1910 census also reports that Max, the family's second-oldest child, was then one year old and had been born in Iowa, meaning that the Winers must have been living in Iowa no later than 1909 or late 1908. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqPsI8vL7MEMB2wNmuWwm-afoXL3zBGIFIJ0Hw1SpJMvypH7oc4akbhK-d4sj3B16kYF0JJqsNRdOuUd_w0PBOrLpv8O3dFM_FSSuu58KcP0Qno8FCddMlSLJr2bV4-w5BkJt6fqfV0HdKlxXtztFRCH4ToPyBFhvMYnVsMbYj3WogssNytoA6Mwz7A/s639/OzerrWiner.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="639" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqPsI8vL7MEMB2wNmuWwm-afoXL3zBGIFIJ0Hw1SpJMvypH7oc4akbhK-d4sj3B16kYF0JJqsNRdOuUd_w0PBOrLpv8O3dFM_FSSuu58KcP0Qno8FCddMlSLJr2bV4-w5BkJt6fqfV0HdKlxXtztFRCH4ToPyBFhvMYnVsMbYj3WogssNytoA6Mwz7A/s320/OzerrWiner.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Ozer Winer<br />(https://www.geni.com/people/Ozer-Winer/2242591)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Winer's name first appears in the Grinnell newspapers in November 1909, when Ozer advertised his junk business at 711 Spring Street, just a block or two away from the site of Barney Urdangen's scrap metal business. Similar ads appear in early 1910, but with a different address: 716 Spring Street, across the street. Sometime that spring Winer purchased a half-lot at 716 West Street, which is where the 1910 US Census officials found him and his family.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvQ2jIkJP3303R6V9cWWuw0qRWp9eLeAp__BD6QlbDIQiGRXTN7UlUFm35u4kRD7-BA-Jl90_UncuLeYwWWaFGbsESDTFJdL7mY20JC0wghZuAjiAI-WYwyMb-9rVtd8HVil8ZRgDvH5Do0_npePe71qi-RNVUom3b_-tAYb0pLwQKewuAvVyUuTjRA/s608/1GH19Nov1909Winer.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="348" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvQ2jIkJP3303R6V9cWWuw0qRWp9eLeAp__BD6QlbDIQiGRXTN7UlUFm35u4kRD7-BA-Jl90_UncuLeYwWWaFGbsESDTFJdL7mY20JC0wghZuAjiAI-WYwyMb-9rVtd8HVil8ZRgDvH5Do0_npePe71qi-RNVUom3b_-tAYb0pLwQKewuAvVyUuTjRA/s320/1GH19Nov1909Winer.png" width="183" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement from <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>November 19, 1909<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Apparently other Winer relatives lived in or near Grinnell at the time. For example, Rachel Ozer's sister, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60621931/lena-edith-bernstein" target="_blank">Lena Shpall (1881-1965)</a> in 1909 married a Marshalltown man by the name of <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60624934/samuel-d-bernstein" target="_blank">Samuel Bernstein (1888-1967)</a>. According to an Iowa State Affidavit of Delayed Birth Registration, Lena gave birth in Grinnell the following August to a son, Harry Simeon Bernstein. Unfortunately, only these shards of evidence survive to confirm that the Bernsteins resided in Grinnell. No directory or census puts them in Grinnell and the Grinnell newspaper makes no reference to them whatsoever.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjYCuPx3OHcPY2gupyiKPxJToonx6FBtUoCjHI4rKXexDbqNcC8XdF2rCbZE8yQ-0zejKnLYBvWWKtPHZ6Fi3yK-FelQmNgbbFdd05AmUzaJgAI3B5yLSaG7emjZAuFW9e3B9DbKLWfyEBP2e0_Sy_6RD72RFtakPZQwn8Xp0BogsRL7tSaAYcHZKPg/s2532/LenaBernsteinBirthAffidavit.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="2143" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfjYCuPx3OHcPY2gupyiKPxJToonx6FBtUoCjHI4rKXexDbqNcC8XdF2rCbZE8yQ-0zejKnLYBvWWKtPHZ6Fi3yK-FelQmNgbbFdd05AmUzaJgAI3B5yLSaG7emjZAuFW9e3B9DbKLWfyEBP2e0_Sy_6RD72RFtakPZQwn8Xp0BogsRL7tSaAYcHZKPg/s320/LenaBernsteinBirthAffidavit.jpeg" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iowa State Department of Health Affidavit for Delayed Birth Registration<br />December 18, 1941<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Local records then fall silent on the Winers, too, who left Iowa no later than 1913 when their third child, Sarah, was born in Colorado. The 1920 US Census found the Winers in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguache,_Colorado" target="_blank">Saquache, Colorado</a><span> where "Henry" was operating a general store. In this document the Winer parents report more credible dates for their immigration, telling census officials that Ozer had reached the United States in 1906 and "Rose," his wife, in 1907; they both reported having become naturalized citizens in 1917. A fourth child, Rebecca, had been born in Colorado in 1918. By this time, however, Grinnell remained but a distant memory for the Winers, who later moved to Louisiana, and then finally to Tel Aviv, Israel where Ozer died in 1955 and Rizza in 1957. The Bernsteins also moved to Colorado at about the same time as the Winers; the 1920 US Census found them living in Denver where Samuel bought hides and wool. Moreover, the census identified their son Aron (elsewhere in the records known as Harry) as having been born in Iowa in 1911, but their next son, Morris, was born in Colorado in 1913. Unlike the Winers, however, Samuel and Lena remained in Colorado where they both died and were buried in Lakewood's <a href="https://www.goldenhillcemetery.com/" target="_blank">Golden Hill Cemetery</a>. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0tdbS9abi08HqjkD7XkHnCXSGBThQZgRjncF29e7HBy488IYbwOX1mOP3XbHUIRcgh_W_NY42Piyp3aYij--9z1VxItSIJS6QgOC9GdFpNPf4CoLy2mrnTvCzsrvPGYJAhvpgJdrYthnvCvn6FGiFXYvwTJ-X7FyGRjDO0AieoUBNDH-_gr3eTRTuA/s472/GH21Oct1910Greenbaum.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="472" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0tdbS9abi08HqjkD7XkHnCXSGBThQZgRjncF29e7HBy488IYbwOX1mOP3XbHUIRcgh_W_NY42Piyp3aYij--9z1VxItSIJS6QgOC9GdFpNPf4CoLy2mrnTvCzsrvPGYJAhvpgJdrYthnvCvn6FGiFXYvwTJ-X7FyGRjDO0AieoUBNDH-_gr3eTRTuA/s320/GH21Oct1910Greenbaum.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement for Greenbaum's Crown Junk Yard<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>October 21, 1910)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Overlapping with the Winers in Grinnell was another Jewish family. First identified in Grinnell sources in the spring of 1910 was the family of <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/204207867/sam-green" target="_blank">Sigmund Greenbaum (1884-1970)</a>. Sam Green (as he later called himself after legally changing his name) had been born in 1884 in Russian Poland, and had immigrated to the US in 1906 via Stockholm. In New York City he met Gussie Mintz, who had been born in 1882 in Odessa, then also part of the Russian Empire. The couple married in New York in August 1908, and their first child, Emanuel (Manny) arrived a year later. By April 1910, when US census-takers were in Grinnell, the Greenbaums were living at 720 West Street, just one door away from the Winers on the east side of the street. Like their fellow-immigrant neighbors, the Greenbaums operated a junk business, using space at the north end of the block, closest to the railroad tracks and beneath the shadow of a grain elevator.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk1So2k-KgtBYC7SnbaQ44d3hw_FlA1Tdgq6uVwRsZxfEY2Y1ruM5NdSGwX0wvHYpyv4UFtrh2THrE5SX3qJuSl9Isns3IihAtB4-y200JQ59OUT9M48xP2MSq0mSTPYlQR7BAniEwNWueNf6sYNkBy0FiQ-XC2LW8bsqQfrJKvAMKe5uf_H9Vgnkfw/s890/CloseupBRobinsonPic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="890" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk1So2k-KgtBYC7SnbaQ44d3hw_FlA1Tdgq6uVwRsZxfEY2Y1ruM5NdSGwX0wvHYpyv4UFtrh2THrE5SX3qJuSl9Isns3IihAtB4-y200JQ59OUT9M48xP2MSq0mSTPYlQR7BAniEwNWueNf6sYNkBy0FiQ-XC2LW8bsqQfrJKvAMKe5uf_H9Vgnkfw/s320/CloseupBRobinsonPic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Enlargement of a Section of a 1916 Billy Robinson Photograph of Grinnell, Looking South and Showing Grain Elevator in Center; Greenbaum Junk Business Was Located Just to the West and South of the Grain Elevator<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A3291)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">But soon the Greenbaums also deserted Grinnell, probably sometime late in 1910. The latest advertisement for Greenbaum's Crown Junk yard appeared in the October 21, 1910 issue of the <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>and in mid-February Mr. and Mrs. P. D. Barton, from whom Greenbaum had purchased the property on West Street, brought suit against him to cancel the arrangement "because of default in payments provided for in said contract..." (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>February 16, 1911). Greenbaums apparently returned to New York, where their second child, Bertha, was born in 1912, but by 1915 they were living in Los Angeles where Sam died in early January 1970.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Consequently, when Daniel Berman reached Grinnell in 1912, he followed in the wake of several Jewish immigrants who had preceded him to Grinnell. The Urdangens, Winers, and Greenbaums lived and worked in Grinnell for the first decade of the twentieth century, but the record preserves little evidence of how Grinnell's gentile population regarded them. Still, if years later the Bermans heard people call them "kikes," it requires little imagination to suppose that earlier Grinnell residents had behaved similarly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even if there was not much overt hatred, family life for Grinnell's first Jewish immigrant families must have been difficult. Instead of the predominantly Jewish, Yiddish-speaking populations of their European home towns where the oldest among them had been born, they found in Grinnell no other Jews with whom to worship or socialize. There was no synagogue, no rabbi for important family events. Only once does the Grinnell newspaper provide some insight into this dilemma, reporting that Barney Urdangen had invited some of Grinnell's gentile movers and shakers to attend the circumcision of his son (unnamed, but probably Archie, who was born in 1903); in addition to the Cedar Rapids rabbi who performed the rite, Urdangen had <a href="chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnhttps://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/V/VittumEdmundM.pdf" target="_blank">Rev. E. M. Vittum</a> of the Congregational Church, local physician <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/22/SomersPE.pdf" target="_blank">P. E. Somers</a>, and local banker <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/H/HamlinGeorgeH.pdf" target="_blank">G. H. Hamlin</a> in attendance. What these men made of the occasion the record does not reveal, but the event certainly signals Urdangen's attempt to reach across the religious and cultural divide that separated him and his family from the rest of the town (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>October 17, 1905). The news reports no similar event later, although at least two other Urdangen sons (Harry and Charlie) were born while the family was living in Grinnell. Likewise the birth of Max Winer in 1909 left no evidence of making his circumcision public, so perhaps the experiment of reaching out to the gentiles did not go well. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The scant trace in the news of these first Jewish families in Grinnell is not surprising. If, as seems likely, gentile Grinnell looked on them with suspicion, the Urdangens, Winers, and Greenbaums may well have kept to themselves, as <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2018/09/alone-among-gentiles.html?m=1" target="_blank">Isadore Berman</a> reported some years later that his family had done:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><blockquote>We went about our own business and ignored the element that would make remarks. And as far as being active in other social functions, we didn't participate in many community functions...and so what we didn't know we didn't miss.</blockquote></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">When Barney Urdangen died in 1934 in Muscatine, his obituary overlooked his place of birth (where he had spent more than 25 years) and minimized the decade he had spent in Grinnell. "Mr. Urdangen," the <i>Muscatine Journal </i>said, "came to Muscatine 45 years ago and with the exception of a short period of time spent at Grinnell, had lived all his life here..." (June 14, 1934). Those ten years in Grinnell accounted for almost a quarter of Barney's life in America, but perhaps, given the absence of other Jews in Grinnell, those ten years did seem unimportant and relatively trivial. We know less about how the Winers and Greenbaums thought of their much briefer sojourn in Grinnell, but the brevity of their lives here may be evidence of their dissatisfaction with living in the midst of an overtly Christian small town. But they, along with the Urdangens, had pioneered Jewish settlement in Grinnell, paving the way for the longer Grinnell residence of the Bermans and Bucksbaums who followed them.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>PS. Many t</span><span>hanks to Davida Wood who, on having read the original post about the Bermans and Bucksbaums, wrote to tell me about the Winers, Shpalls, and Bernsteins that I had mistakenly overlooked.</span></span></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-57553449492888316672022-06-29T09:58:00.002-07:002022-06-30T04:59:20.153-07:00Play ball!!<p><span style="font-size: medium;">When people talk about accomplished baseball players from the Grinnell area, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/12/CollumJack.pdf" target="_blank">Jackie Collum (1927-2009)</a> often comes first to people's minds. Collum, who was born in Victor and grew up in Newburg, played for half a dozen major league teams between his signing with the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1947 and his retirement in 1963 as a Los Angeles Dodger. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=collum001jac" target="_blank">A 5-foot 7-inch left-handed pitcher, Collum compiled a record of 32-28 with a 4.15 ERA over 9 seasons in the majors</a>. He later settled in Grinnell where for some years he owned and operated the Pioneer Oil station on West Street.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpvC7RiJ-Cm7NueR9TgnqIG__C9_DO5-cY3vOWbRcjIZ8e0WdWGkjqHA78AinV8fvY8Zt161nFhBSRA3ObrpaG8dEVRg8wviZ0K0qjkX7TnBhvNd6ei7Q8JVC6zt1M3053bAgljdmDmB92epEFaZ3X1x_Tcd-iJ8tEZv0cJBOhMJFuDtEuOAkaHYl-w/s1223/FrisbeePhotoBB.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="765" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpvC7RiJ-Cm7NueR9TgnqIG__C9_DO5-cY3vOWbRcjIZ8e0WdWGkjqHA78AinV8fvY8Zt161nFhBSRA3ObrpaG8dEVRg8wviZ0K0qjkX7TnBhvNd6ei7Q8JVC6zt1M3053bAgljdmDmB92epEFaZ3X1x_Tcd-iJ8tEZv0cJBOhMJFuDtEuOAkaHYl-w/s320/FrisbeePhotoBB.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Charlie Frisbee in Baseball Uniform<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46057419/charles-augustus-frisbee)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I don't know any major leaguers who had earlier played for Grinnell High school, but, according to <a href="https://www.thebaseballnexus.com/college/grinnellia" target="_blank">one baseball reference site,</a> two major league baseball players attended Grinnell College: <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46057419/charles-augustus-frisbee" target="_blank">Charlie Frisbee (1874-1954)</a> and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17003343/john-gustave-thompson" target="_blank">"Gus" (John Gustave) Thompson (1877-1958)</a>. Unfortunately, I could find no evidence for Thompson having attended Grinnell, but Charlie Frisbee did indeed attend (although he never graduated from) Grinnell College. Newspapers report that Frisbee came to Grinnell in the spring of 1894 "to take a course of study at Iowa College and also to assist the baseball team there to win the pennant this year" (<i>Alden Times, </i>April 12, 1894). College reports on baseball, however, mention Frisbee (sometimes "Frisbie") only in the spring of 1895 (<i>The Unit, </i>April 13, 20, May 11, 25, June 1, 1895) when he was the regular catcher for the college team. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Immediately thereafter Frisbee abandoned college and pursued a career in professional baseball.</span><span> </span><span>A switch hitter who threw right-handed, Frisbee played only two seasons in the majors, but spent ten seasons playing for minor league teams, many of which had memorable names. Today's post follows the life of Charlie Frisbee and his career in baseball.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">### </p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlie was the first-born of <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128587728/ellen-a-frisbee" target="_blank">Ellen Young Frisbee (1840-1905)</a> and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128587675/f-p-frisbee" target="_blank">Dr. Frank P. Frisbee (1845-1905)</a>. Although born in Dows, Iowa, Charlie grew up and attended school in Alden, Iowa, where Dr. Frisbee moved his practice shortly after Charlie's birth. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alden,_Iowa" target="_blank">Alden</a> was founded in 1855, almost the same time as Grinnell, but the town grew much more slowly than Grinnell. If by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grinnell,_Iowa">1900 Grinnell counted more than 3800 residents</a>, that same year's census found only 709 people in Alden. Watered by the Iowa River and served by railroad, the flat plains of north central Iowa attracted farming interests, but did not draw the other vectors of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century economy that had helped Grinnell grow. Alden retained the economy and feel of small-town Iowa where townsfolk knew one another well.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXLan1Jl2iSOZeMEwROVdGdmbLb3QTZ2BtCE9H2opqK2PtwrD6ibwsEXc6iTutRZziAa8apkklEHqKFJs19jJA_50CTI_8ihZVLzjdJgJV63zJQ7emHqF9hfUFh723x5AollLWzmg532C9IXHIOPWbJe1DH5BOx8qtm54T6jdoutpRWWQ85bexmEBZA/s892/aldenstreetscene1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="892" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXLan1Jl2iSOZeMEwROVdGdmbLb3QTZ2BtCE9H2opqK2PtwrD6ibwsEXc6iTutRZziAa8apkklEHqKFJs19jJA_50CTI_8ihZVLzjdJgJV63zJQ7emHqF9hfUFh723x5AollLWzmg532C9IXHIOPWbJe1DH5BOx8qtm54T6jdoutpRWWQ85bexmEBZA/s320/aldenstreetscene1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Alden, Iowa Street<br />(https://iagenweb.org/hardin/pictures/aldenstreetscene1.jpg)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">In his teens Charlie regularly played catcher for the Alden school baseball team which played the kind of baseball that might end when the catcher had to go home to supper (<i>Alden Times, </i>October 4, 1889). And if the Alden boys often beat teams from neighboring towns, the contests were "gentlemanly," said the Alden newspaper, "without the wrangling that has sometimes spoiled games" (ibid., June 13, 1890). </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_CgqptRJmWreTmInwVr060m8Vah_dbupk2JIOQAKySy53jbaNpe7vR3e2si1LV3JzEtGfyuEdp2Dj7Vh-V-r0bf7BDFRVI9hg-WAPVgGxLTkbb-APXU6GBbgf6nIfPCm_xrlNpwnoxKPpuYqu7qXlTFb-OXJWeZVn9ylriFUjTXSkAOjbqNOj4XdYQ/s978/CRWilliamsCherokeeIA.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="978" data-original-width="710" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ_CgqptRJmWreTmInwVr060m8Vah_dbupk2JIOQAKySy53jbaNpe7vR3e2si1LV3JzEtGfyuEdp2Dj7Vh-V-r0bf7BDFRVI9hg-WAPVgGxLTkbb-APXU6GBbgf6nIfPCm_xrlNpwnoxKPpuYqu7qXlTFb-OXJWeZVn9ylriFUjTXSkAOjbqNOj4XdYQ/s320/CRWilliamsCherokeeIA.png" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Charlie Frisbee in Catcher's Outfit (ca. 1890)<br />(C. R. Williams, Cherokee, IA)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlie and his sister, Laura, three years his junior, seem to have been popular, sometimes entertaining large groups of friends "royally" at their family home (<i>Alden Times</i>, February 6, 1891). And apparently Charlie was a very conscientious student, because, after completing high school, he jumped right into teaching, as sometimes happened in small schools that could not easily attract teachers from the State Normal school.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRf2daCWt1xc2yKC2oocLxqkw24dM-hhZczfKw7nG0cv509SwX4SNR7Xshdpws6jf4TAM_mGRccKFl0RmWO4IUwNLfwdEu4i62iVFA3PykOk8T-RA_AyTb58LSjBH0W5_dc_gJoGP5Se5RAwRGFsYJFtHOXeqNY0VjNcVuPMhlRgA_FEPF4naU77uH8Q/s1002/Head&HeadDowsIACabPortrait.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRf2daCWt1xc2yKC2oocLxqkw24dM-hhZczfKw7nG0cv509SwX4SNR7Xshdpws6jf4TAM_mGRccKFl0RmWO4IUwNLfwdEu4i62iVFA3PykOk8T-RA_AyTb58LSjBH0W5_dc_gJoGP5Se5RAwRGFsYJFtHOXeqNY0VjNcVuPMhlRgA_FEPF4naU77uH8Q/s320/Head&HeadDowsIACabPortrait.png" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Studio Portrait of Charlie Frisbee<br />(Head and Head, Dows, IA)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Originally Frisbee was to fill in for another teacher suffering "la grippe" (<i>Alden Times</i>, March 11, 1892), but before long Frisbee had the class to himself (ibid., April 22, 1892), teaching in School No. 4, one of a dozen one-room schools in Alden Township (ibid., April 29, 1892).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKEn1zL0kzA-SquS8Tx-3Bvhf15vHxfEvCTYWe7EFwMgVdbl3RkbN09l5-OpowFj2fGtceXtRpRKOkeOFb2cQvjvYhZ1jbIAN4THDUIgAtRAKqJaLEQNjjpuz8yzmvdbRzk-1oXwTPNiH3wwcBnuBhPmHjkfL7xC9NY558Q6VyYPmOcjrqUVY1S-IYA/s1344/SchlhseBentonCty.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1344" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAKEn1zL0kzA-SquS8Tx-3Bvhf15vHxfEvCTYWe7EFwMgVdbl3RkbN09l5-OpowFj2fGtceXtRpRKOkeOFb2cQvjvYhZ1jbIAN4THDUIgAtRAKqJaLEQNjjpuz8yzmvdbRzk-1oXwTPNiH3wwcBnuBhPmHjkfL7xC9NY558Q6VyYPmOcjrqUVY1S-IYA/s320/SchlhseBentonCty.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of An Abandoned One-Room Schoolhouse, Benton County, Iowa<br />(https://www.flickr.com/photos/iadeptofeducation/19565208099/in/album-72157653627699364/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently Frisbee taught school only through the end of the 1891-1892 academic year, because by autumn the local paper announced that Frisbee was working as head clerk at a local business (<i>Alden Times</i>, November 18, 1892). Two summers later Charlie was "waiting on customers in the J. Laird & Son store" (ibid., August 3, 1894). Perhaps this employment potpourri shows only that in Alden, where Charlie Frisbee was well known and popular, small-town dynamics helped guarantee the young man regular employment.</span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">How Charlie heard of Grinnell I do not know, but, according to the <i>Alden Times, </i>by April 1894 Charlie was living in Grinnell, studying and playing baseball for the college (April 12, 1894). How things went those first months is unclear; local newspapers have nothing to say about Frisbee until the 1895 baseball season when his name regularly surfaces on the sports pages.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Throughout the spring of 1895, Frisbee occupied a prominent place in the box scores, catching the Grinnell pitchers. He also sometimes hit the ball well, as, for example, when Grinnell defeated the State University of Iowa (today's <a href="https://uiowa.edu/" target="_blank">University of Iowa</a>) in April, 1895. The town newspaper reported in thesaurus-laden language that "Frisbie" (often misspelled in the newspaper) "hit the sphere for two bags" and later scored on a passed ball (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>April 23, 1895; <i>Scarlet & Black, </i>April 20, 1895).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyj6PB1Bijwn9XKj3axa1Piq1hvNSdhg23J46N4pa41KmjzzWuRy5CcTFrEDxD6fANEIPGujY7KyXdSisj-orQXKCcMPVnAL8r-uRSrAyrrHWHSa1YISN8HyITWDtoqkSl6QLscfibNgaE1Wtojijo6gYyp4Vbrgl2V9Yg2uXBjoPRbMud4e1iVvB85w/s562/S&B17Apr1895Pic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="562" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyj6PB1Bijwn9XKj3axa1Piq1hvNSdhg23J46N4pa41KmjzzWuRy5CcTFrEDxD6fANEIPGujY7KyXdSisj-orQXKCcMPVnAL8r-uRSrAyrrHWHSa1YISN8HyITWDtoqkSl6QLscfibNgaE1Wtojijo6gYyp4Vbrgl2V9Yg2uXBjoPRbMud4e1iVvB85w/s320/S&B17Apr1895Pic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>April 17, 1895<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">During a series of games in Wisconsin and Illinois in mid-May, Frisbee moved to the clean-up spot in the batting order where he seems to have thrived, collecting several doubles and one triple during the trip. To judge by the occasional passed ball that eluded the catcher, his defense was not quite so potent as his batting skills.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">That summer Frisbee played for a Marshalltown club (<i>Alden Times, </i>August 16, 1895), and consequently was near Grinnell. But for reasons unexplained, he declined to resume his studies at Grinnell in the fall, the college reporting that Frisbee was then employed as a traveling salesman for an Eldora, Iowa clothing firm (<i>The Unit, </i>v. 11, no. 4 [October 5, 1895]:40; <i>Alden Times, </i>October 18, 1895). But then Frisbee "quit traveling for Smith & Fagg of Eldora," and reported that he would resume teaching (ibid., October 24, 1895; <i>Eldora Herald, </i>December 5, 1895).</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Baseball remained at the center of his ambitions, however, explaining why in spring 1896 he signed to play ball with the <a href="https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-pg13870/y-1896" target="_blank">Portland (Oregon) Gladiators</a>. The local newspaper claimed that Frisbee, who stood five feet, nine inches tall and weighed about 175 pounds, was "a first class all around ball player and he will be heard from in the baseball games out on the Pacific coast..." (<i>Alden Times</i>, April 3, 1896). Apparently <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/charlie-frisbee/" target="_blank">the Gladiators did well in their brief season, going 19-9. Frisbee hit well, going 40 for 118 (.339), including eight doubles, one triple, and one home run</a>. But by late June Charlie had returned to Iowa, "the Pacific coast [league] having disbanded." The Alden newspaper told readers that Charlie had "had a good time and saw lots of sights in his trip out west so he considers himself ahead on the summer's work" (ibid., June 26, 1896).</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">How he spent the rest of the summer is unknown, but next winter there came word that he had signed to play baseball with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Blues_(1885-1901)" target="_blank">Quincy Little Giants</a>, an Illinois team that was part of the Western Association (<i>Scarlet & Black, </i>March 27, 1897). The Alden newspaper indicated that Frisbee would play outfield (instead of catching), collecting "a gilt edged price for his services" (<i>Alden Times</i>, January 29, 1897). Appraising the baseball season some months later, Frisbee's hometown newspaper declared the season in Quincy "successful," pointing out that Charlie had accumulated a "fine record" (ibid., October 1, 1897). The <i>Alden Times </i>was not exaggerating: playing in 122 games, Frisbee hit .309, <a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/charlie-frisbee/" target="_blank">leading to rumors that he might soon be drafted into the major leagues.</a> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>For the 1898 baseball season Frisbee played for the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Blues_(1885-1901)" target="_blank">Kansas City Blues</a><span>, a Class A minor-league team (Quincy belonged to Class B). </span><a href="https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/charlie-frisbee/" target="_blank">Playing in 138 games for the Blues, Frisbee hit for a .315 average, ninth best in the league.</a><span> It was in Kansas City where Frisbee's frequent bunting led to his nickname, "Bunt." The Alden newspaper proudly reported that the Kansas City team had won the Western League pennant "and our townsman, Charlie Frisbee, was right in it all the time" (</span><i>Alden Times, </i><span>September 23, 1898).</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeGSfmTgYa-yf13C8Ek81ikFhYetH6iYPsfLnoliA463vLbgpvLwnJtKgFld-hiDDxDx5FEPSSo-kLotcUIQr0C2MaQY6eN-WsCiMQ4aP89AbDrBK7qpmPL09KNSPWIchUdx2X5x2p9rObaBrvfbt0NO7p3oXLKlO_4WwotAt3hcohRTMkDhLajOeLQ/s1204/1890sKCBlues.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1204" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeeGSfmTgYa-yf13C8Ek81ikFhYetH6iYPsfLnoliA463vLbgpvLwnJtKgFld-hiDDxDx5FEPSSo-kLotcUIQr0C2MaQY6eN-WsCiMQ4aP89AbDrBK7qpmPL09KNSPWIchUdx2X5x2p9rObaBrvfbt0NO7p3oXLKlO_4WwotAt3hcohRTMkDhLajOeLQ/s320/1890sKCBlues.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1890s Photograph of Kansas City Blues Baseball Team<br />(https://www.ebay.com/itm/162871747855)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The excellent season in Kansas City brought Frisbee to the attention of the Boston major league franchise, which acquired him in October 1898. Back in Iowa, Alden newspaper readers learned the next spring that Frisbee had played for Durham, North Carolina "where he will join the Boston Baseball club of the National League for preliminary practice" (<i>Alden Times, </i>March 24, 1899). Before the season began, however, Boston assigned him to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_Farmers" target="_blank">Worcester (Massachusetts) Farmers</a>, another Class-A minor league team. Overcoming his disappointment, Frisbee started off the Farmers' season at a torrid pace, batting over .400, including a game-winning home run in June. The Braves, their regular center fielder now injured, recalled Frisbee to Boston where, on June 22 the Alden phenom patrolled center field. However, once the regular center fielder returned from injury, Boston sent Frisbee back to Worcester where he continued to pound the ball; by season's end Frisbee led the league in batting. </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcPT9iDgdNyMmKb5naRRq4FpVMJ_MvPVkZ-2AkeFnoMLFGxKlXjEG8tAcOvAmWP6op5n-_zbWU0qQ6rEaL5_RW2YtLuasaJgh1A5gwssp1kDy3n4Bz5UIr28GNXWjqqPgtfjuJg3oQDx5M5uYiB-tfVE33S4q2DGE2xMg1tVCoqZe5X-zreDgOGwc0w/s1156/FrisbeePhotoBostonElmerChickering1900.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1156" data-original-width="880" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcPT9iDgdNyMmKb5naRRq4FpVMJ_MvPVkZ-2AkeFnoMLFGxKlXjEG8tAcOvAmWP6op5n-_zbWU0qQ6rEaL5_RW2YtLuasaJgh1A5gwssp1kDy3n4Bz5UIr28GNXWjqqPgtfjuJg3oQDx5M5uYiB-tfVE33S4q2DGE2xMg1tVCoqZe5X-zreDgOGwc0w/s320/FrisbeePhotoBostonElmerChickering1900.png" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Charlie Frisbee in Uniform of Boston Braves (ca. 1900)<br />(Elmer Chickering, Boston)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Once the minor league season was over, Frisbee rejoined the Braves and acquitted himself well, batting .329 over all 42 major league games he played that season. His fielding was not nearly so excellent, recording eleven errors in 88 chances, but hometown fans happily overlooked these flubs, jubilant at their neighbor's big league success (</span><i>Eldora Herald, </i><span>October 21, 1899). An Alden jewelry store proudly displayed a photo of the seventeen regular Boston Braves, the newspaper noting that "Alden's contribution, Charlie Frisbee, is the best looking one in the lot" (</span><i>Alden Times, </i><span>October 27, 1899).</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnmtMqcFSzvxOORCwrK7ohT9EEezpr_i_Spf18ERplZZyo9GTNE2f1Kr1QvPiTNiTEgiZYfobKV3DQSWORHohvo-5AKJStEu8v6C8tSN0feg556zCmqZM6WJc39QKHZYcZqLbaUOdgc4zTVRzn7uCktuBAAi2V4pr3pRwmapOTOEIJvOUlx3vfJag_Q/s640/1897_Boston_Beaneaters.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnmtMqcFSzvxOORCwrK7ohT9EEezpr_i_Spf18ERplZZyo9GTNE2f1Kr1QvPiTNiTEgiZYfobKV3DQSWORHohvo-5AKJStEu8v6C8tSN0feg556zCmqZM6WJc39QKHZYcZqLbaUOdgc4zTVRzn7uCktuBAAi2V4pr3pRwmapOTOEIJvOUlx3vfJag_Q/s320/1897_Boston_Beaneaters.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the 1897 Boston National League Team<br />(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1897_Boston_Beaneaters_season#/media/File:1897_Boston_Beaneaters.jpg)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Over the winter Boston sold Frisbee to the New York Giants (Joseph L. Reichler, <i>Baseball Trade Register </i>[NY: Macmillan, 1984], pp. 15, 122). While playing for the Giants in spring 1900 Frisbee hurt himself: "he not only wrenched his knee badly but got an ugly cut on his foot from another player's spiked shoes as well as his neck injured in a collision while running for second base " (<i>Alden Times, </i>April 27, 1900). The injuries kept him out of the lineup for three weeks (<i>Alden Times, </i>May 18, 1900). Meantime the Giants' front office, contemplating a reduced, reconfigured National League, proposed to trade Frisbee (<i>Eldora Herald, </i>June 13, 1900). After considerable public debate about <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/07/how-curt-flood-changed-baseball-and-killed-his-career-in-the-process/241783/" target="_blank">baseball's reserve clause, finally abolished decades later, thanks to Curt Flood</a>, Frisbee was sent to the American League <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Cleveland_Lake_Shores" target="_blank">Cleveland Lake Shores</a>, a successor to the Grand Rapids minor league team to which he had originally been sold and a predecessor of today's Cleveland Guardians. Frisbee managed to play in only four games for the Giants that year, taking the batter's box just thirteen times. In the 60 games he played for Cleveland he came to the plate more than 200 times, but managed only a .232 average.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps the early season injuries explain his relatively poor performance. Certainly that's what the folk back in Alden thought, as the newspaper explained: Frisbee "has been playing in hard luck all this season, getting his knee and foot injured in the very first series of games and getting them hurt frequently since then." He returned to Alden in September to rest and recover, hoping that by opening day 1901 he would "be ready for any thing" (<i>Alden Times, </i>September 7, 1900). But recovery did not come as hoped; in March Frisbee told the local newspaper that he would "give up playing ball for the coming season at least." "He has found that the injuries that he received last year when his knee was so badly hurt will not permit him to take such violent exercise as is demanded of a successful player" (<i>Alden Times, </i>March 22, 1901).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">He played no baseball during the 1901 season, although he was technically part of the roster of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochester_Red_Wings" target="_blank">Rochester Red Wings</a> (Bill Nowlin, <a href="https-//sabr.org/bioproj/person/charlie-frisbee/.pdf" target="_blank">"Charlie Frisbee"</a>). As he had done after leaving Grinnell and during the off-season, Frisbee found work in town, clerking for a local store for about eighteen months as he awaited recovery from his injuries (<i>Alden Times, </i>March 7, 1902). </span><span style="font-size: medium;">For the 1902 season Frisbee returned to Worcester, appearing in 115 games and batting .323. Few of his 152 hits went for extra bases, however, which may explain in part why in June 1903 he was sold to New Orleans in the Southern Association. Frisbee had also been ill, having been hospitalized in Toronto before the sale. In New Orleans, too, he fell ill, and played in only 25 games, hitting .202.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42np3WnhIJ-xvZQKWNkr4_d8WSRLce8UQxDpbCVvUsAGyHSfOfRtuBIf3sWxkVK6OA5l0mfGT3LbvUPjiv6NmZA6ww8erJFwh6adFk9wBh4hz3hmN-xqniNYLRxSnZ5LvRq3vnlhZTpmNX2xkqh7pauE1vBH2SrYWRnczV6gPxIhg-bcuxYoHm4d0Aw/s640/wedding.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="51" data-original-width="640" height="26" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj42np3WnhIJ-xvZQKWNkr4_d8WSRLce8UQxDpbCVvUsAGyHSfOfRtuBIf3sWxkVK6OA5l0mfGT3LbvUPjiv6NmZA6ww8erJFwh6adFk9wBh4hz3hmN-xqniNYLRxSnZ5LvRq3vnlhZTpmNX2xkqh7pauE1vBH2SrYWRnczV6gPxIhg-bcuxYoHm4d0Aw/s320/wedding.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Register of December 31, 1903 Wedding of Charlie Frisbee and Luella Catlin<br />(Ancestry.com)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1903 Charlie Frisbee, then 30 years old, married <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128325147/luella-florence-frisbee" target="_blank">Luella Catlin (1879-1950)</a>. Like Charlie, she had grown up and attended school in Alden where she was born. The details of their courtship remain unknown, but a newspaper report of an 1895 community play performed in Alden points out that both Charlie and Luella Catlin had parts, proving that the two young people had known one another at least eight years before their marriage (<i>Alden Times, </i>February 15, 1895).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">After the 1904 season, when Charlie had played for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_Mud_Hens" target="_blank">Toledo Mud Hens</a> in the American Association (<i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican, </i>March 24, 1905), appearing in 149 games and posting a respectable .278 average, he and his wife returned to Alden to spend the winter. During that off-season Frisbee worked at the Miller lumber yard, earning money in his hometown as he had done for years. The following spring the Frisbees' first child, Nellie Naomi (1905-2001), was born (<i>Alden Times, </i>March 3, 1905).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHel4ALH8akV6AxTupktm7K2pj7ups5-scNltT_nAu-PeL6padR9LI1T7hRwPZ76IRyI_s662opIqctOS6Jv-XPg-uIpxHS28pf-Lets60Lh3HTrYJ2A-pgc73qTAXSNBd1SroYm24xlHZBuk3xOUbD9OExK9-1rjkRVqpERU-h98efYA5F8LljiNciw/s2411/IADelayedBirths1856-1940.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2411" data-original-width="2202" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHel4ALH8akV6AxTupktm7K2pj7ups5-scNltT_nAu-PeL6padR9LI1T7hRwPZ76IRyI_s662opIqctOS6Jv-XPg-uIpxHS28pf-Lets60Lh3HTrYJ2A-pgc73qTAXSNBd1SroYm24xlHZBuk3xOUbD9OExK9-1rjkRVqpERU-h98efYA5F8LljiNciw/s320/IADelayedBirths1856-1940.jpeg" width="292" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Affidavit of Birth of Nellie Naoma Frisbee (March 3, 1905)<br />(Ancestry.com)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">With the approach of a new season, in mid-March 1905 Frisbee resigned his Alden job, preparing to play again for Toledo (<i>Alden Times, </i>March 17, 1905; <i>Waterloo Times-Tribune, </i>March 28, 1905). But in April came news that he had signed with the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Des_Moines_Underwriters" target="_blank">Des Moines Underwriters </a>(<i>Marshalltown Times-Republican, </i>April 5, 1905), for whom he played in just nineteen games. Within a month his contract was sold to the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=566cd312" target="_blank">Colorado Springs Millionaires</a>, but apparently Frisbee never played a single game for the Millionaires or their successor, the Pueblo Indians. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Soon family emergencies called Frisbee back to Alden. For one thing, his father—<a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128587675/f-p-frisbee" target="_blank">Dr. Frank Frisbee—having suffered through several months of illness, died in early June</a> (<i>Livermore Gazette, </i>June 2, 1905). Charlie's presence in Alden was no doubt a help to his mother who, herself having endured cancer for several months, died in November (<i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican, </i>November 13, 1905). The problems at home along with a lackluster season may have encouraged Frisbee, as the local newspaper explained, "to take a lay off from his baseball work for a short time, and...get acquainted with his daughter" (<i>Alden Times, </i>June 23, 1905).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">The baseball urge was difficult to resist, however, so that, when officials of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlington_Bees" target="_blank">Burlington (Iowa) Flint Hills </a>approached him about managing their club, he accepted the offer (<i>Marshalltown Evening Times-Republican, </i>July 5, 1905), becoming a player-manager as he also played center field for Burlington (<i>Marshalltown Times-Republican, </i>August 7, 1905). By all accounts, his performance as manager was exceptional, taking over a club that "was sadly in the hole" and helping them to respectability, even if, by season's end, the team came in dead last (ibid., August 24, 1905; <i>Alden Times, </i>September 15, 1905). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjL52b6gbYgdNJhgCTvp6y1Fut1xBk6eQQ3LzjrMhLuOaaH91vLwN0QZAstaYJgzPXy5VXaOhX9qrfTVC9AOqjjL_MFoRJJZKz_OXWKzFWevgxuuFCVq96lkXEwOmRLuv27S95EJ2mPmIhBOTyZuPosTsqaq38y9KacQ_Pov-0BojLZwHb_IOtxN2Uw/s1632/WaterlooBBWorthPoint.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1632" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzjL52b6gbYgdNJhgCTvp6y1Fut1xBk6eQQ3LzjrMhLuOaaH91vLwN0QZAstaYJgzPXy5VXaOhX9qrfTVC9AOqjjL_MFoRJJZKz_OXWKzFWevgxuuFCVq96lkXEwOmRLuv27S95EJ2mPmIhBOTyZuPosTsqaq38y9KacQ_Pov-0BojLZwHb_IOtxN2Uw/s320/WaterlooBBWorthPoint.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard Photograph of Waterloo Microbes Baseball Team (ca. 1905)<br />(https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/baseball-team-w-pc-advert-waterloo-3762578033)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>The following year Charlie managed and played for the </span><a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=6073a6c4" target="_blank">Waterloo Microbes</a><span>, boarding in the Germania Hotel when playing at home. Batting .288, Charlie did not put up the numbers he once did, but still ended up as the team's best hitter. By this time, Charlie had bounced around the minor leagues for years, and perhaps had tired of the demands made on his aging body. In early June 1906 he resigned his Waterloo position. The </span><i>Alden Times </i><span>imagined that he would soon be playing elsewhere, "as he is too good a ball player to be out of a job long" (June 8, 1906). In fact, however, Charlie Frisbee's baseball career was over.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Like his baseball peregrinations, Charlie's post-baseball career featured a series of short-term jobs. In 1908 Luella gave birth to their second child, Frank (1908-1985), who joined sister Naomi in the family's home on Franklin Street, providing more reason for Charlie to secure steady employment</span><span>. I could not learn where Frisbee worked immediately after he left baseball. Although I did not find evidence to confirm the thought, it might be that he used this time to attend business school in Dubuque, schooling mentioned in his obituary (<i>Iowa Falls, Hardin County Times, </i>November 9, 1954). </span></span><span>This would explain why the 1910 US Census described Charlie as a "retail merchant" </span><span>in the lumber business. However, it might also be that Frisbee simply returned to Miller Lumber where he had often worked in the off-season. If so, that position did not satisfy, because we learn that in 1913 Charlie and his family left Alden for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garner,_Iowa" target="_blank">Garner</a>, the county seat of Hancock County. With a population just over 1000 in 1910, Garner was about 50 miles north of Alden.</span><span> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGNmrO6lcgxo_7uvepmC03qBgVwnxtDOCUv1RDJqa7wR8NyECPnpsTRYk0fiS6ORu_aQvKQAHgUCaiWnzjKWz3heK5lycpfSbeq2wbRiq81DgZ49EYMpn_tmq1GY1MZXwpUD6ICJ4wAwN-tSkwdY9HXYIdrewG2gkqOoTZXvi-ac03toyl8pDVZMHyw/s806/GarnerMainSt1918.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="806" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGNmrO6lcgxo_7uvepmC03qBgVwnxtDOCUv1RDJqa7wR8NyECPnpsTRYk0fiS6ORu_aQvKQAHgUCaiWnzjKWz3heK5lycpfSbeq2wbRiq81DgZ49EYMpn_tmq1GY1MZXwpUD6ICJ4wAwN-tSkwdY9HXYIdrewG2gkqOoTZXvi-ac03toyl8pDVZMHyw/s320/GarnerMainSt1918.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1918 Photograph of Main Street, Garner, Iowa<br />(https://sites.google.com/a/garner.k12.ia.us/the-history-of-garner-iowa/photos)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>What drew Frisbee to Garner was the offer to acquire and operate a Garner hotel </span></span><span>(</span><i>Alden Times, </i><span>March 7, 1913). </span><span>Because it was the county seat, Garner hosted waves of business, depending upon the rhythm of the courthouse. The Alden newspaper told readers that, in a personal letter to an Alden friend, Frisbee had reported that in the early days of his work there the hotel did well (ibid., February 14, 1913). But apparently the prosperity was short-lived or else the work lost its allure for Frisbee, because by the time he registered for the World War I draft in 1918 Charlie told officials that he was working at the State Savings Bank in nearby <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodell,_Iowa" target="_blank">Goodell, Iowa.</a> </span></span></div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>According to a 1917 history of the area, when the Frisbees settled in Goodell, they joined a tiny community of about 250 people; the bank at which Charlie worked had been incorporated in 1892 with capital stock of only $10,000, </span></span><span>numbers which may explain how Charlie, who had no experience in banking, qualified for such a position</span><span> (</span><i>History of Winnebago County and Hancock County, Iowa, </i><span>v. 1 [Chicago: Pioneer Publishing Co., 1917], pp. 225, 287-88). </span><span>Whether because of inexperience or for other reasons, by 1920 Charlie had changed jobs yet again, moving back to Garner to work as a bookkeeper for a small manufacturing company. The family lived in a house on Rose Avenue.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When changing jobs yet again in January 1923, Charlie received the first of three appointments as postmaster in Garner. According to the Hancock County record of appointments of US Postmasters, he gained reappointment in 1927 and again in 1931. His federal job must have lasted into 1935 by which time Iowa was knee-deep in the Depression. Then past 60 years of age, Charlie had to figure how to keep the wolf from the door. When census officials visited the Frisbee household in 1940 they reported that Charlie owned his own real estate business in Garner, adding yet another line to Frisbee's resume.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When Garner installed a new athletic field in 1950, officials called on Charlie Frisbee—then 77 years old—to throw out the first pitch. No doubt Charlie reveled in the role, but probably also noticed that the newspaper, announcing his ceremonial throw, misremembered his baseball glory, telling readers that he had "pitched for the Boston Braves, the Cleveland Indians and the New York Giants at the turn of the century" (</span><i>Mason City Globe Gazette, </i><span>September 1, 1950). Of course, all that glory was now long past, new generations of baseball players having taken the field and having captured the imagination of fans. His brief obituary in the <i>Mason City Globe Gazette </i>recalled that Frisbee had been a postmaster at Garner and a businessman in Goodell, adding only vaguely that Frisbee "was at one time a major league baseball player" (November 9, 1954). A more detailed obituary appeared in the Iowa Falls newspaper, and it remembered the numerous stops in Charlie's baseball career, even his brief sojourn at Grinnell College (<i>Iowa Falls, Hardin County Times, </i>November 9, 1954). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkrp6hSYzCO6EJvC_m8tk2APVWB2V6ChXRZcHd5sOyZyg_xEej5Dl0jzbfFCotsCUx2gN7X_7KIJoNLpH0npHo9PRF9CK67wU6PF_LtrB2ulGB7SVjhJYFyb7QvxU_btGgJyxwvuQuzMXJopzstSiGm2OCEBHW6BWUwzNqRmFh8ylVJ1sZqCJ5AhbJQ/s2816/FrisbeeGravestone.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZkrp6hSYzCO6EJvC_m8tk2APVWB2V6ChXRZcHd5sOyZyg_xEej5Dl0jzbfFCotsCUx2gN7X_7KIJoNLpH0npHo9PRF9CK67wU6PF_LtrB2ulGB7SVjhJYFyb7QvxU_btGgJyxwvuQuzMXJopzstSiGm2OCEBHW6BWUwzNqRmFh8ylVJ1sZqCJ5AhbJQ/s320/FrisbeeGravestone.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone for Charles and Luella Frisbie, Alden Cemetery, Alden, Iowa<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/128325147/luella-florence-frisbee)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><div style="text-align: left;">Many thanks to Jeremy Shapiro who pointed Charlie Frisbee out to me, noting that Frisbee was a Grinnell College alum. I would not otherwise have known of Charlie Frisbee and his story.</div></span><p></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-31459182853363025482022-06-12T14:39:00.005-07:002022-06-13T10:41:46.923-07:00Shooting in 1916 Grinnell<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately, shootings are much in the news these days. Grinnell is fortunate to be spared this phenomenon for the most part. Of course, that doesn't mean that there never were any shootings here. I've previously written about a <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-very-cold-caseof-murder.html" target="_blank">1914 shooting at the Grinnell Depot</a>, a crime that was never solved. A 1967 incident at the west edge of town bears more similarities to the shootings we hear about these days: <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2019/10/death-comes-to-tiny-acres.html" target="_blank">a young man shot and killed his girl friend, then turned the gun on himself.</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Today's post reports on another Grinnell shooting that happened more than a century ago. Unlike many of today's shootings, the 1916 event was the result of a single shot; no rapid-fire assault weapons were involved. On the other hand, like some modern American crimes, race played a part in the events of 1916: a black man was charged with having shot a white man in a dispute about gambling. After a preliminary hearing, a local judge thought the evidence sufficient to send the accused to jail where he sat for a couple of months before a grand jury convened and surprised everyone, choosing not to issue a bill of indictment against the alleged shooter.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib74sWBouyEmqcP1cqlw0HDGGJTnl5h-d8NaDll-hB5VMGeg-uMU84OJkVsQn-T3MN8ZiS77EPIJYxv2IxTAWC4_jgrDyXJBcPyxuniPgj9nWnaA9R9ID1fCvSRyk0_JCeUxFezWPDNf5zHDRnCwwlobCZ76Sn-3DFhlNoHG1pft0eec19QejBv11ikg/s900/GasPlant1909.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="900" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib74sWBouyEmqcP1cqlw0HDGGJTnl5h-d8NaDll-hB5VMGeg-uMU84OJkVsQn-T3MN8ZiS77EPIJYxv2IxTAWC4_jgrDyXJBcPyxuniPgj9nWnaA9R9ID1fCvSRyk0_JCeUxFezWPDNf5zHDRnCwwlobCZ76Sn-3DFhlNoHG1pft0eec19QejBv11ikg/s320/GasPlant1909.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1909 Postcard Photograph of the then-new Grinnell Gas Plant<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A10856)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But I'm getting ahead of myself; let's go back to the beginning and set the scene.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">BACKGROUND </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1915 the Grinnell City Council decided to award a sizable paving contract to a firm headed by an Iowa City man, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39579574/william-horrabin" target="_blank">William Horrabin (1871-1923)</a>. Although a competing bidder had offered a lower total cost for brick paving, Horrabin based his bid on <a href="https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/?a=d&d=Tribune19160916-01.2.27&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------" target="_blank">bitulithic paving,</a> a surface that Grinnell had adopted when it began paving city streets in 1909 (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>June 7, 1915). Horrabin's 1915 bid provided for some 83,000 square yards of paving, along with curbing, gutters, etc. (<i>Water & Sewage Works </i>48[1915]:64). The project was a big one, and involved several blocks of seventeen different streets in town (West Street, Fourth Avenue, Hamilton Avenue, First Avenue, Cemetery Hill, Fifth Avenue, Park Street, High Street, Third Avenue, Eighth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, Sixth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, Elm Street, Main Street, East Street, and State Street [<i>Grinnell Register, </i>June 7, 1915]). </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKmbc_k178HXhGjwGTZBOAiKQ-Fb1tn5sBRAH0V5BIP8lyukniNfEjuriDhIshFKgfV4fupVzhj6316ztmogNwFyCx9y_JHVre-lqB3nhc8fcYbfTUlB6-lkEjtAGEnXoZNf8tNGWFWJLookfRx_RJVTxrhI8MvrZeLLHbF2NimeVVASaMh_4JDD_MA/s640/Paving1909.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="640" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKmbc_k178HXhGjwGTZBOAiKQ-Fb1tn5sBRAH0V5BIP8lyukniNfEjuriDhIshFKgfV4fupVzhj6316ztmogNwFyCx9y_JHVre-lqB3nhc8fcYbfTUlB6-lkEjtAGEnXoZNf8tNGWFWJLookfRx_RJVTxrhI8MvrZeLLHbF2NimeVVASaMh_4JDD_MA/s320/Paving1909.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Paving Broad Street (1909)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6520)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A second city project operated alongside road paving: installation of cement sidewalks. A local African American contractor, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/46/SpencerJohn.pdf" target="_blank">John Spencer (1867?-1921</a>), had won a sidewalk contract from Grinnell that spring, so that, while Horrigan's gang paved streets, Spencer's work force excavated and poured sidewalks (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>April 6, 1916). Both Horrigan and Spencer hired construction workers on a temporary basis—only for the length of the project—and both men employed African Americans who were part of the temporary expansion of Grinnell's population.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSOI8dnjaeMARQnOIsz3skJUnBrT83T5MA0c0AlP0ONYelGd7_Ddh5iY_oGoLI-3OHYe4CMWVfLXr5rVj3B67CsGOlbzpuh3aZytVBn_NQfFIzje8F4i85l2Lk0obCXIHs-f8ulyDHYOQ9uwJhUZ4jhK5t-DqNlNMPkCP50MeCvuGRyu02ZsKfiM0ZA/s772/GR6Apr1916B.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="772" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSOI8dnjaeMARQnOIsz3skJUnBrT83T5MA0c0AlP0ONYelGd7_Ddh5iY_oGoLI-3OHYe4CMWVfLXr5rVj3B67CsGOlbzpuh3aZytVBn_NQfFIzje8F4i85l2Lk0obCXIHs-f8ulyDHYOQ9uwJhUZ4jhK5t-DqNlNMPkCP50MeCvuGRyu02ZsKfiM0ZA/s320/GR6Apr1916B.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspaper Advertisement for John Spencer<br />(<i>Grinnell Register, </i>April 6, 1916)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These construction works brought to Grinnell a large number of men who had no regular residence or employment in town. To provide for (and perhaps take advantage of) these folk, a man by the name of J. A. ("Alabama") McCall opened a restaurant ("All Nations Restaurant") on Commercial Street. McCall also set up a large tent to provide temporary housing for the paving and sidewalk gangs. Situated adjacent to the new gas plant southeast of the railroad depot, the tent accommodated as many as thirty men, leaving small space between beds and a larger space in the center where in their leisure time workers could entertain themselves, playing poker or shooting craps on the tables occupying this space.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniZizstxzVz4GqkONiTnAd4FcuIfVY4mrO17YN0n-sZcq7xBD7Sk6CllET-VvAlKLBwH2rUs21TaAiD4BNZOwRuxHI5xPrvZ5_rjFM-sBmSHIOcK_Xjryqg2-Z6Y_LrPXDnDb70PbACiT-Fff4qDT3yg0mxlukPr_Oh8-_AsQVPosWUrNpdB6MWXSfQ/s1354/1940AerialViewGasPlant.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="1192" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniZizstxzVz4GqkONiTnAd4FcuIfVY4mrO17YN0n-sZcq7xBD7Sk6CllET-VvAlKLBwH2rUs21TaAiD4BNZOwRuxHI5xPrvZ5_rjFM-sBmSHIOcK_Xjryqg2-Z6Y_LrPXDnDb70PbACiT-Fff4qDT3yg0mxlukPr_Oh8-_AsQVPosWUrNpdB6MWXSfQ/s320/1940AerialViewGasPlant.png" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1940s Aerial Photograph of Grinnell with Gas Plant Indicated; Intersection of Broad and Third at Bottom <br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A27169)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unsurprisingly, the tent soon attracted not only street-paving and sidewalk construction workers, but also transients and others who, when not at work, fell into playing games of chance. In late June two police officers popped into the tent and there "found a full fledged poker game going on at one table and a crap game at another." As soon as the policemen showed up, the lights went out and most men fled; the officers managed to capture just one man who was taken to the Montezuma jail to await a grand jury (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>June 27, 1916).</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gambling had been illegal in Iowa since the founding of the state in 1846 ("<a href="https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LG/9446.pdf" target="_blank">Legislative Guide to Gambling in Iowa,</a>" p. 1), so the men who gathered at McCall's tent to try their hand at craps or poker were definitely violating the law. Moreover, "polite Grinnell" had long opposed gambling. Grinnell's founder, a well-known opponent of alcohol, was also a long-time opponent of gambling. As Earle D. Ross points out, at the 1886 dedication of the Iowa State fair grounds, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/G/GrinnellJB.pdf" target="_blank">J. B. Grinnell (1821-1891)</a> articulated a long and colorful list of activities he found objectionable and wanted excluded from the fair. Gambling headed the list:</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I would bar the gates forever to gamblers, jockeys, whiskey venders, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/21/archives/27000000-frauds-in-oleomargarine-government-finds-it-has-been.html" target="_blank">oleomargarine frauds</a>, and leave reptilian monsters, with acrobats, pigmies and fat women to the showman, Barnum ("Evolution of the Agricultural Fair in the Northwest," <i>Iowa Journal of History and Politics </i>24[1926]:473).</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Grinnell College catalog also included gambling in a list of proscribed activities (<i>Catalogue of Iowa College 1883-1884</i>, p. 59). </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">THE CRIME </span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The law and polite society notwithstanding, gambling in Grinnell persisted. Late one Saturday night in July 1916 as many as twenty men—including at least a half-dozen African Americans—gathered around the craps table in McCall's tent. As the dice were passed around the table, a dispute arose over whether the dice belonging to a Black man were "loaded"—that is, crooked—or not. One of the disputants was Wylie Mack (1892-1963), an African American man from Arkansas who with his family had lived in Grinnell for the previous three years working odd jobs and who was then working on the paving project. After some argument between McCall, Mack, and another Black named Arthur Long, McCall finally told Mack to leave, which he did, but—according to some testimony—only after Mack had complained and threatened to get even with McCall. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">By this time Sunday had arrived, and while Christian Grinnell slept soundly in anticipation of attending church, the betting continued under the tent by the gas works. What happened next was later disputed, but around 1:45 AM someone shot into the tent. The lights went out and the gamblers, thinking that a police raid had begun, scrambled, several of them running right over fellow gamblers in an effort to escape. McCall, who later claimed to have had a wad of money in hand when the lights went out, stumbled out of the tent, the hat he'd been wearing still atop his head. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepP2OkWbz5cnoVsuMquJCDLzPZOHD2t3NwHQDMkKv2OMMMc5-HDp5g3_rg1KmH_N0bTDD_2Wzh4aSj8l5gGCcH2XQnV7_2AdW84FUin2s9ETFP7D2NVbKpjwr1rADv9-7ZQJUaxCkDAEawbz1555nPN3LMUnFEnJMaMCCbiYVMCmnDnribq315uOXHQ/s1426/GrinnellDepot1900.tiff" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1426" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhepP2OkWbz5cnoVsuMquJCDLzPZOHD2t3NwHQDMkKv2OMMMc5-HDp5g3_rg1KmH_N0bTDD_2Wzh4aSj8l5gGCcH2XQnV7_2AdW84FUin2s9ETFP7D2NVbKpjwr1rADv9-7ZQJUaxCkDAEawbz1555nPN3LMUnFEnJMaMCCbiYVMCmnDnribq315uOXHQ/s320/GrinnellDepot1900.tiff" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinnell Train Depot (ca. 1900)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A20220)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Swerving as though drunk, McCall staggered downtown, following the railroad tracks. James Greene, an African American from Omaha who had earlier been in the tent with the gamblers, was by then sitting at the railroad depot, enjoying a bottle of locally-produced "Purity Soda."</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rlXXuo04t83bHuCOeKXG5KYA2reia_llcwifp4JwP1w7rQkdmr-WuhG7pyh4FsPS260brVSou5h6tTrNLcwcl5MMxXCQiOL1-SaL1cKeP7AKPp1zPSxIywbRLuITHTvUpLXeV8SdSZD41p2ulytmB44-uq2wIWaJurfSH8JIlHPzmNbhLGMsxw5_tw/s1468/GH4May1917Purity.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1468" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6rlXXuo04t83bHuCOeKXG5KYA2reia_llcwifp4JwP1w7rQkdmr-WuhG7pyh4FsPS260brVSou5h6tTrNLcwcl5MMxXCQiOL1-SaL1cKeP7AKPp1zPSxIywbRLuITHTvUpLXeV8SdSZD41p2ulytmB44-uq2wIWaJurfSH8JIlHPzmNbhLGMsxw5_tw/s320/GH4May1917Purity.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspaper Advertisement for Purity Soda<br />(<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>May 4, 1917)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Observing McCall stumbling toward him, Greene thought the man drunk, and offered to help. McCall kept complaining that someone had knocked him out and stolen his money. Greene, noticing the blood on McCall's head, suggested that they find a doctor, so that, when they encountered a policeman—or, according to another account, when they reached the police room in the Beyer Building on Fourth Avenue—Greene asked the cop to find a doctor. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/52/HarrisEdwin.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. E. E. Harris (1867-1938)</a><span> was summoned. Once they had McCall inside a lighted room, it became evident that McCall had not been struck on the head, but rather had been shot. His hat showed a hole through which a bullet had passed. Harris had McCall taken immediately to the Grinnell hospital, and called two other doctors to meet him there. Dr. Harris later testified that, while operating upon McCall, he and his two colleagues had</span></span><p></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">found a number of portions of lead—possibly from a bullet or some other instrument...We found a hole on the left side of the head just on a level with the upper border of the left ear. From this hole was oozing a large amount of blood—some brain substance and there were a number of pieces of bone near the wound (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>July 13, 1916).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Police, meanwhile, interviewed whatever witnesses they could find (despite the fact that many men who had been in the tent had fled) and, having heard about the alleged threat from Mack, went straight to Mack's home at 607 Center Street where they found Mack in bed. Officers handcuffed him, and took him downtown to await the county sheriff, who had been called from Montezuma. While much of Grinnell prepared for Sunday morning church, the sheriff took Mack to the Montezuma jail. J. A. McCall, meanwhile, lay on a hospital bed, clinging to life. The end came Monday evening when McCall died, some thirty-six hours after having been shot in the head.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKrTWirnR111lSqzNiH5g-3NUi-D6_wcCc98nQGJR2DKQA-MGJzb5Z_tj_Lpst7gkbStrMIgYmMjwrDuXWNIlCXULH-v92WqABTMy0QKY3kPeTWAU7Nm96w5XEsEmYuYDSyRl-YjR-00JvpfMTU_b3dFH8AYuHyFOSlKNc4rZYUdEdzwhyV3A2mPH7g/s546/IMG_3661.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKrTWirnR111lSqzNiH5g-3NUi-D6_wcCc98nQGJR2DKQA-MGJzb5Z_tj_Lpst7gkbStrMIgYmMjwrDuXWNIlCXULH-v92WqABTMy0QKY3kPeTWAU7Nm96w5XEsEmYuYDSyRl-YjR-00JvpfMTU_b3dFH8AYuHyFOSlKNc4rZYUdEdzwhyV3A2mPH7g/s320/IMG_3661.jpeg" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Site of Superior Court in 1916 Grinnell (815 1/2 Fourth Avenue, 2nd Floor) (2022 photo)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">On Tuesday the sheriff brought Mack back to Grinnell for a preliminary hearing before <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/N/NorrisJudgePaulGifford.pdf" target="_blank">Judge P. G. Norris (1878-1955)</a> of Superior Court at 815 1/2 Fourth Avenue. Local attorney and former mayor, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/P/PattonJohnH.pdf" target="_blank">J. H. Patton (1856-1935)</a>, represented Mack, who was charged with the "willful and deliberate murder of J. A. McCall." The hearing occupied most of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. According to the informal transcript published in the <i>Grinnell Register, </i><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/L2/LymanHenryG.pdf" target="_blank">H. G. Lyman (1880-1955)</a>, county attorney, called nine witnesses for the prosecution, two of whom were African American. J. H. Patton called eight witnesses (including the accused, himself African American) for the defense.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7L_jMNmJlQ67T3XZYB9uL901_PXU07xGa8awm1JKBuAkgjqEXOICD6I1a5QLJzKvEP18x9K4YXcbZJF_4DHrUy7QiI1tKUF_lytGUrQHi3IoBgU7nSwRSsPGvuUvuRXwZqSNl8Oli-UtedF6flotk3jUzPE3odJvg9VQHnmHoTi1ok5ns-XjS8UqGPw/s866/59752409_130109833279.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="593" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7L_jMNmJlQ67T3XZYB9uL901_PXU07xGa8awm1JKBuAkgjqEXOICD6I1a5QLJzKvEP18x9K4YXcbZJF_4DHrUy7QiI1tKUF_lytGUrQHi3IoBgU7nSwRSsPGvuUvuRXwZqSNl8Oli-UtedF6flotk3jUzPE3odJvg9VQHnmHoTi1ok5ns-XjS8UqGPw/s320/59752409_130109833279.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of J. H. Patton, Attorney for Wiley Mack<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59752409/john-harper-patton)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">The prosecution's case depended primarily upon the testimony of a white man who was said to have been lying on one of the beds inside the tent when the shot was fired. William H. Carter, a Missouri man who, until a few days before, had been cooking for McCall at the All Nations Restaurant up town, claimed to have witnessed the crime.</span><p></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I was lying there on my bed on my elbow. [Wylie Mack] raised the back end of the tent up to get in. I thought it was the Law when I seen the tent raise up and I kinda raised up to see who it was. He [Mack] walked right over there behind Tom Johnson [an African American] and fired the shot (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>July 13, 1916).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite some contradictory testimony, Judge Norris determined that the evidence was sufficient to hold Mack in custody pending the convening of a grand jury.</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">OUTCOME</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I noted at the beginning of this story, when the grand jury convened in late September, it surprised locals by declining to indict Mack. Because the proceedings are secret, we have no way of knowing exactly what the jurors heard or what questions they may have asked witnesses. We have only the informal transcript of the preliminary hearing, but it does provide some material that helps explain the decision not to indict Mack.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcM6uBfXqmIPio_VK6-Hi_DyVY0cOHlb8qFnRfQYcrD2c0gCU_h4RyvL3uOG-4a3S9cfnJSKBJl45dPDQ9REgyY7sP47Jtt6-bdXiDxFEW9BAL5e9Xi8iS1tzmPMCuw1_v-s-J73K7EFq2XVdkKICjl-T2lYAQMrdb67COAuXF5rN8_WJg0VFVPsQW4w/s584/GrandJuryFailed.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="584" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcM6uBfXqmIPio_VK6-Hi_DyVY0cOHlb8qFnRfQYcrD2c0gCU_h4RyvL3uOG-4a3S9cfnJSKBJl45dPDQ9REgyY7sP47Jtt6-bdXiDxFEW9BAL5e9Xi8iS1tzmPMCuw1_v-s-J73K7EFq2XVdkKICjl-T2lYAQMrdb67COAuXF5rN8_WJg0VFVPsQW4w/s320/GrandJuryFailed.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headline from Article in <i>Grinnell Register, </i>September 25, 1916<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The main problem for the prosecution, it seems, was the credibility of its star witness, William Carter whose testimony was overlain with racial bias, was uncorroborated and contradictory. When speaking with police later, for example, Carter twice used the n-word to describe the shooter, claiming that the man was "a n....r with blue eyes." Carter's language seems not to have surprised the court, including Wiley Mack's lawyer, who used the same word several times in asking Carter to confirm his testimony. However, i</span><span>f it was a blue-eyed African American who shot J. A. McCall, it could not have been Wiley Mack whose eyes were brown, as Mack himself said (and as other witnesses confirmed). Mack's 1917 registration for the World War I draft describes his eye color as "brown."</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95I2d3R9wgbDr2OJm8ShlZ5W3yge34yX3CZp3ncjj6NfSxl7e3cUfGeEGPCEBRJNm2jLjJOyuXaDO1hPoOtHMYmHEA9HWBshWO3sqg5CRsOPjonRXk1r2kIvIOw4hOLIQNTBQlazMXMrP/s1903/MackWWIReg.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1903" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95I2d3R9wgbDr2OJm8ShlZ5W3yge34yX3CZp3ncjj6NfSxl7e3cUfGeEGPCEBRJNm2jLjJOyuXaDO1hPoOtHMYmHEA9HWBshWO3sqg5CRsOPjonRXk1r2kIvIOw4hOLIQNTBQlazMXMrP/s320/MackWWIReg.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiley Mack's 1917 Registration for the Draft<br />(Ancestry.com)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Carter also claimed that, while leaving the tent, Mack had said, "I'll get out, but I'll come back and get you" (<i>Grinnell Herald,</i> July 11, 1916). This language certainly gave officers reason to think that Mack had a motive for shooting McCall, and no doubt explains why police went straight to Mack's home to arrest him. At trial, however, </span><span>Mack denied ever having made any threat against McCall. </span></span><span>Moreover, the spoken threat that Carter claimed to have heard Mack make found no corroboration in other testimony, even though some twenty men were gathered around the craps table and were therefore close to the dispute. </span></span><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Worse for the prosecution was the fact that their witness had contradicted himself with earlier reports that he gave lawmen. Rollie Brewer, another white man who was employed at the Gem Restaurant on Park Street and who was present when officers arrived to investigate the shooting, testified that he </span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">heard Carter talking to Mr. Gray [the city marshal] and he said he was asleep when the shot was fired...Mr. Gray asked him did he see who it was and he said, 'No, it was dark and he couldn't tell who it was...he was asleep when he heard the shot and he couldn't tell who it was. This conversation was about four o'clock Sunday morning... (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>July 13, 1916).</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, Brewer's account was little more than hearsay, but Gray himself, when questioned by Patton, proved unable to contradict Brewer.</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I don't know whether I heard Carter tell conflicting stories or not. We have had so many stories from different men that I can't keep them all straight. I hadn't had much sleep and was all tired out. I got so much dope on that it it [sic] pretty darn hard to remember it all (ibid.)</span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Because of these contradictions (or other problems we cannot know), the grand jury declined to indict Wiley Mack (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>September 22, 1916; <i>Grinnell Register, </i>September 25, 1916), who soon left Grinnell, returning to Arkansas where he had been born. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A final, unexpected twist to the story came with the attempt to send J. A. McCall's body to his home for burial. When no relatives responded to telegrams soliciting help, authorities shipped the body to Nashville, Tennessee. Newspaper reports explained that McCall would be buried in Chapel Hill, Tennessee, presumably at the suggestion of the dead man's wife, who had been hospitalized for some weeks prior to the shooting, but was by then living with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Corrick at 222 West Street in Grinnell (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>July 13, 1916).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQg63YdVvDpFXtyqa9yHFgYDV8uhV-MCA6zP1O0yuOVQW9hyTwUnsErIcnH5qj0TzPFMAeYHcuKXqSPd2NVRDtejRd7DJi6tOE-E0FHgTfFTz6HaFCVRfwdsM7Fqk7vPBo_cMRAy1K_kzOsvm5ofVN9q4G2gIBJOpjsXycO2cw33_j0G24EI-xYhTpg/s548/TipLoftin25Jul1916.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="548" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQg63YdVvDpFXtyqa9yHFgYDV8uhV-MCA6zP1O0yuOVQW9hyTwUnsErIcnH5qj0TzPFMAeYHcuKXqSPd2NVRDtejRd7DJi6tOE-E0FHgTfFTz6HaFCVRfwdsM7Fqk7vPBo_cMRAy1K_kzOsvm5ofVN9q4G2gIBJOpjsXycO2cw33_j0G24EI-xYhTpg/s320/TipLoftin25Jul1916.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>July 25, 1916<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>Then came word from a Tennessee Justice of the Peace that the man known in Grinnell as J. A. McCall was in fact Tip Loftin and would be buried in Allisona, Tennessee where he had grown up (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>July 25, 1916). So far as I know, Grinnell learned no more about this case of mistaken identity, nor was anyone else ever charged with the murder of J. A. McCall/Tip Loftin.</span></div></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b>AFTERWORD</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Grinnell a century ago was far from free of racial bias. Inasmuch as the gambling crowd at McCall's tent was multi-racial, it stands out as an exception in a town </span></span>that did not provide many occasions for interracial mixing. Under McCall's tent both black and white men gathered around the craps table, exchanging bets and excitement. Of course the paving and sidewalk gangs were multi-racial, so the men present at the shooting were accustomed to working with one another, irrespective of race. </span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8-RZyd4YvXL8TaZaFr4Fw2zkzj5-5TSfJge5ugN1ULXc-uUZTnK-bZfQWZXB__rR9yOlAb8cCU-idVFRqr1RXBhah__mZhRlvQ4iw1YIc1Ge-Y4BpRXPrrR5tcNzo5N6LgfRUMgmhWGcurLIaELGlexPO0z4zKMF5VFi7Chi4lL9rr1Y9FpQm7Somw/s4168/SouthSchlca1912.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2960" data-original-width="4168" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8-RZyd4YvXL8TaZaFr4Fw2zkzj5-5TSfJge5ugN1ULXc-uUZTnK-bZfQWZXB__rR9yOlAb8cCU-idVFRqr1RXBhah__mZhRlvQ4iw1YIc1Ge-Y4BpRXPrrR5tcNzo5N6LgfRUMgmhWGcurLIaELGlexPO0z4zKMF5VFi7Chi4lL9rr1Y9FpQm7Somw/s320/SouthSchlca1912.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Renfrow (2nd row, left) With Classmates at South School, 1912<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6360)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">But most of Grinnell could not make the same claim. No Blacks worked at the Glove factory, at the Washing Machine Factory, or at Spaulding's. No blacks clerked at the stores in Grinnell's downtown, and blacks were unwelcome at the town's fraternal societies, women's clubs, and organizations like Fortnightly, all of which helped weave together Grinnell society. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Except for churches like the Congregational, where the Renfrow family worshipped, or the Methodist, where the Lucas family worshipped, or the public school classrooms which Grinnell's few African American children attended, socialization in Grinnell observed rather rigid racial lines. In this way, the events of July 1916 offer a surprising difference to main-line Grinnell: both black and white men occupied in the dirty work of paving city streets and sidewalks gathered around the same craps table to entertain themselves.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUHQU0azZ4gl6pxl8g8I9Kq4xsp3cv0EBFj2pAGMaadErzUWFyjtSFCaEdl4YCFwefgTbazXr-961xNtW2pWMMWrvomFTVIdoKKaGPOg6vtlaOKh8ty6YRi9SQ9rTOb3aOC8-Los9Isw7guQwRMlLxKW9iyJm-U7vdpg4eAw_s_ZZ7A1xSvERC8yddw/s640/TuesdayClub1910.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="489" data-original-width="640" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCUHQU0azZ4gl6pxl8g8I9Kq4xsp3cv0EBFj2pAGMaadErzUWFyjtSFCaEdl4YCFwefgTbazXr-961xNtW2pWMMWrvomFTVIdoKKaGPOg6vtlaOKh8ty6YRi9SQ9rTOb3aOC8-Los9Isw7guQwRMlLxKW9iyJm-U7vdpg4eAw_s_ZZ7A1xSvERC8yddw/s320/TuesdayClub1910.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of a March 1910 Dinner at Odd Fellows Hall of All-White Tuesday Club<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6067)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>However, the published, informal transcript of the preliminary hearing makes plain that the hearing's participants, like the rest of Grinnell, were acutely aware of race. Addressing the narrative to the town's overwhelmingly white readership, the <i>Grinnell Register </i>did not neglect to specify the racial identity of witnesses, beginning with the very first </span></span><span>witness called by County Attorney Lyman on behalf of the state: "Dave Campbell, a young white man...Roy Adams, white, was the next witness...Tom Johnson, colored, was the next witness..." (July 13, 1916). Witnesses and court officers alike freely indulged in the language of racism.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And yet, not only did several white witnesses contradict the racially-tinged testimony of Carter and the casual racist language of the court's officers, the grand jury refused to indict Wiley Mack. Although Mack had been arrested and tried by white men on the testimony of a white man who seems to have seen African Americans through the prism of racism, the grand jury—almost certainly all white—declined to indict. In this instance, at least, racism in 1916 Grinnell did not overcome the evidence brought to court.</span></div><div><div><p></p></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-19090609597982276722022-05-31T13:17:00.011-07:002022-06-01T05:35:44.326-07:00From Alien to Citizen: A Jamaican Comes to Grinnell<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Land-locked in the middle of the American plains, Grinnell does not often attract Jamaicans whose island home rises from the Caribbean Sea 1800 miles to the south. However, if you search for "Jamaica" in the on-line <a href="https://alumni.grinnell.edu/alumni-directory" target="_blank">Grinnell College Alumni Directory</a>, you will discover the names of ten Jamaicans, all of them having attended the college in the last ten years. This result is hardly surprising at a time when <a href="https://www.grinnell.edu/about/grinnell-glance" target="_blank">internationals comprise almost twenty percent of the college's student population</a>. But the numerous internationals attending Grinnell today contrast sharply with the College enrollment of a century ago. The student body of 1920s Grinnell College was overwhelmingly domestic: the majority of students hailed from Iowa and almost every Grinnell student was white.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2NiVZKi2MAY8TDy4mTKWgfQ0x5cRE_qn64AXE9Lfz2Do25OvQ01XyUG1vK1l39ceuzKkzQiS7CbP7hEszKk8IK65G_yX7RSkT31bwmi5s2ls57c3sm9K2J3T9D7Ewu7fPJhCRQJHXAPjODnyKhNccvr_QXrc0uMiVkV_8MqOlSM6ZIXB8GlF_gE_LQ/s656/SebertDove1930.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="630" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI2NiVZKi2MAY8TDy4mTKWgfQ0x5cRE_qn64AXE9Lfz2Do25OvQ01XyUG1vK1l39ceuzKkzQiS7CbP7hEszKk8IK65G_yX7RSkT31bwmi5s2ls57c3sm9K2J3T9D7Ewu7fPJhCRQJHXAPjODnyKhNccvr_QXrc0uMiVkV_8MqOlSM6ZIXB8GlF_gE_LQ/s320/SebertDove1930.png" width="307" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Sebert Dove from His 1930 Declaration of Intention to Become US Citizen<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Into this very white, homogeneous midwestern world came Sebert Dove (1895-1948), a Jamaican who graduated from Grinnell College in 1924. Today's post tells the story of Dove, who, having immigrated to New York City in 1917, encountered there Grinnell's Edward Steiner who steered the young Jamaican to J. B. Grinnell's prairie town and its college. After graduation Dove forged a path of accomplishment. Along the way he exchanged his natal country for the United States, to whose less privileged citizens he brought energy and education.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKb_sKIP1qt-Ui2KleLlGJcfdC4ts0tyhDWj0bR16hQHszxW2Xpwgas3vAWgLlNMNWpP5J9wMPISavDKM3ehUkIYHzqbzYvM86mPACIwjiygWzrlWP2efAGhXz8fWER1A_sTNbvQuEgFYh_Jz2gLXmZP1Tjxdxd0jix9en5B9pFdsWbOurdjrbLkneCA/s1790/JamaicaCivilReg1895.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="1790" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKb_sKIP1qt-Ui2KleLlGJcfdC4ts0tyhDWj0bR16hQHszxW2Xpwgas3vAWgLlNMNWpP5J9wMPISavDKM3ehUkIYHzqbzYvM86mPACIwjiygWzrlWP2efAGhXz8fWER1A_sTNbvQuEgFYh_Jz2gLXmZP1Tjxdxd0jix9en5B9pFdsWbOurdjrbLkneCA/s320/JamaicaCivilReg1895.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamaican Civil Birth Registration for Sebert Constantine Dove, October 11, 1895<br />(Jamaican Civil Registration via Ancestry.com)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Sebert Constantine Dove, along with his twin sister, Burdecco, was born October 11, 1895 to Charles Sebert Dove and Adriana Russell Dove </span><span>in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarendon_Parish,_Jamaica" target="_blank">Clarendon, Jamaica</a><span>. One of the largest parishes in Jamaica, Clarendon is home to tobacco and cotton farmers, but is now also the site of bauxite mines. Although the Anglican church was long the established church in Jamaica, other Protestant churches gained a foothold in the nineteenth century. Early in the twentieth century Clarendon was, in the words of a visiting Catholic priest, "a very nest of Baptists" </span><span>whom Jesuits were trying to convert to Catholicism </span></span><span>("A Letter from </span><a href="https://www.geni.com/people/Patrick-Mulry-S-J/6000000002648463653" target="_blank">Father Patrick F. Mulry</a><span>," </span><i>Woodstock Letters, </i><span>vol. 35, no. 2 [September 1, 1906], p. 225)</span>. Sebert Dove's father was one of the early conquests of the Jesuits, and, once converted, Charles Dove taught in the local Catholic school. Young Sebert followed in his father's Catholic footsteps, and is remembered as having served as altar boy at Catholic mass (ibid.) </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>According to a much later account, young Sebert attended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolmer%27s_Schools" target="_blank">Wolmer's School</a>, a highly-regarded Jamaican institution that followed closely the traditional British grammar-school curriculum </span><span>(</span><i>Amsterdam News, </i><span>October 30, 1948)</span><span>. The same source remarks that Dove was subsequently "articled to a barrister"—presumably a kind of training internship—preparatory to his receiving a position in the Jamaican civil administration. Indeed, the </span><i>Blue Book of the Island Jamaica 1916-1917 </i><span>confirms that</span><i> </i><span>Dove worked as a clerical assistant to the Legislative Council from May 1, 1913 (when he would have been seventeen years old) until February 3, 1917 (p. 48). Almost immediately thereafter the 21-year-old Dove left Jamaica, booking passage on the SS Danube to New York, where he arrived March 29, 1917. </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWv0ZoEotzRsB1Ou60CKXwXkUhFTZBVfiMx77eqQhpIoiBRZf6000fU4uBWxKHXMjG6L9hpMqPU-YQH5g-0t1l3ViQJWUZ-8zVxoSW030aCtX4x37el9n_q_TNnf9TW9kaxAFGYwy3oquOnJjG4YvjlTK7DVXemfxzQhu4i3Jw05FhRR8sLhhhNu1rA/s2647/danube.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1620" data-original-width="2647" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUWv0ZoEotzRsB1Ou60CKXwXkUhFTZBVfiMx77eqQhpIoiBRZf6000fU4uBWxKHXMjG6L9hpMqPU-YQH5g-0t1l3ViQJWUZ-8zVxoSW030aCtX4x37el9n_q_TNnf9TW9kaxAFGYwy3oquOnJjG4YvjlTK7DVXemfxzQhu4i3Jw05FhRR8sLhhhNu1rA/s320/danube.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of S. S. Danube<br />(https://www.statueofliberty.org/statue-of-liberty/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>What drove the decision to emigrate and where Dove lived and worked in New York I could not learn. There can be no doubt, however, that over the next few years Dove encountered numerous challenges in the American metropolis, then teeming with immigrants like himself. No evidence reports the details, but it seems likely that the young immigrant, like the immigrant waves that preceded him, worked in low-paying jobs and lived in crowded housing. It comes as a surprise, therefore, to learn that it was in New York City that Dove learned about distant, prairie-bound Grinnell. Several years after his 1917 arrival, Dove, speaking at a Sunday evening service of Grinnell's Methodists, explained that he had met </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S2/SteinerEdwardA.pdf" target="_blank">Edward A. Steiner</a><span> (1886-1956), Grinnell's Rand Professor of Applied Christianity, in New York.</span><span> </span><span>The newspaper story on the talk says that Dove "heard [Steiner] lecture, spoke to him and was encouraged to come out here [to Grinnell] and educate himself" </span><span>(</span><i>Grinnell Register, </i><span>March 10, 1924). </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF9r-H0HshXttnReXn1PZjOmt2eecXjuQkTUlMGD9k_sMgZbkBxU0yir_H6CeZKiWzqj7P35RjUUXZuL8oaVwDBOAu3K3Baifzr4HvWfMuy8Y6k9d1OlbOsFdWjBCsqmM_XYLyMglsq103iG3HoLcbx_8ETKmJW_amq4lqUqy6tBGlpazz5PaXtT2xw/s1340/SteinerPhoto.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1340" data-original-width="992" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrF9r-H0HshXttnReXn1PZjOmt2eecXjuQkTUlMGD9k_sMgZbkBxU0yir_H6CeZKiWzqj7P35RjUUXZuL8oaVwDBOAu3K3Baifzr4HvWfMuy8Y6k9d1OlbOsFdWjBCsqmM_XYLyMglsq103iG3HoLcbx_8ETKmJW_amq4lqUqy6tBGlpazz5PaXtT2xw/s320/SteinerPhoto.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Edward A. Steiner<br />(https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/1953)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S2/SteinerEdwardA.pdf" target="_blank">Edward A. Steiner</a><span> </span><span>was probably the best-known of the college's faculty at that time. Himself an immigrant, Steiner was author of numerous books about the immigrant experience and New York newspapers of the time frequently advertised his books, including </span><i>On the Trail of the Immigrant </i><span>(1906), </span><i>The Immigrant Tide: Its Ebb and Flow </i><span>(1909), and </span><i>From Alien to Citizen</i><span> (1914), Steiner's autobiography. Living in New York for almost three years, Dove may well have seen some of these titles in bookstores or have seen their newspaper advertisements, perhaps suggesting a connection to his own circumstances.</span></span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCeW3THtYVDrHKHPxa3nR1ea7vv1hImRBXnjRuFUjlPssg02v6oI58DQogEHRTDrqXcKU-Mzn2Irm00K4FU_jKq9Oe73uaVtre6ICnn2P8N3t_4-B9Suc67KDfQYzS2-VIoBjuPWm2kLaKxPgkzXWuw8aLtCi1lb57KrH96oFcARBLh0YClH08egZDg/s758/NYTrib30Aug1920BookAd.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="758" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCeW3THtYVDrHKHPxa3nR1ea7vv1hImRBXnjRuFUjlPssg02v6oI58DQogEHRTDrqXcKU-Mzn2Irm00K4FU_jKq9Oe73uaVtre6ICnn2P8N3t_4-B9Suc67KDfQYzS2-VIoBjuPWm2kLaKxPgkzXWuw8aLtCi1lb57KrH96oFcARBLh0YClH08egZDg/s320/NYTrib30Aug1920BookAd.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Book Advertisement in <i>New York Tribune, </i>August 30, 1920<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Steiner also occasionally lectured in New York, as he did, for example, at the <a href="https://www.bam.org/about" target="_blank">Brooklyn Academy of Music</a> on May 4, 1920. Whether Dove was in attendance at this particular talk ("Nationalizing America Through a Common Historic Experience") I do not know, but, as he later told Grinnell's Methodists, Dove in fact had attended a Steiner lecture somewhere in New York, there meeting the professor and accepting his suggestion to attend Grinnell. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMRMV6nw-2439djiBwfErK7OYbpMaZMT-nXZk9Rq3Q8-ARpOWHICn3jJD7PW9zHXI3XowOyLQmrY-u6jXYH-xfT4SQoUZ-qtYpeDaCbQ1Lyme12ugSxkeXKTDLJp45Zj971Vll90JSKS8GrzqKHZp5TsMRDd1sX7dzc_pWMEGB5BWjv_m50PKN4_t0w/s1412/NYTrib4May1920GoingOnToday.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="1412" height="54" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMRMV6nw-2439djiBwfErK7OYbpMaZMT-nXZk9Rq3Q8-ARpOWHICn3jJD7PW9zHXI3XowOyLQmrY-u6jXYH-xfT4SQoUZ-qtYpeDaCbQ1Lyme12ugSxkeXKTDLJp45Zj971Vll90JSKS8GrzqKHZp5TsMRDd1sX7dzc_pWMEGB5BWjv_m50PKN4_t0w/s320/NYTrib4May1920GoingOnToday.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice of a Lecture by Edward Steiner at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, May 4, 1920<br />("What's On Today," <i>New York Tribune</i>, May 4, 1920)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>And Steiner, <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/03/grinnells-colfax-orator.html" target="_blank">who had encouraged another Black man to attend Grinnell years before</a>, was not beyond encouraging young Dove to enroll at Grinnell. </span>Further evidence of Steiner's role in Dove's life comes from the college directories of the early 1920s, which report that Dove lived at 921 High Street all four years. The owner and occupant of the house at this address was the Edward Steiner family, proving that the professor took more than a passing interest in the education and well-being of Sebert Dove (Grinnell College Directories 1920-1923).</span></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Exactly how Dove reached Grinnell no record survives to say. Like most other Grinnell students of the time, the young Jamaican likely arrived at the Grinnell railroad depot, and made his way a few blocks north to the college campus. Dove was certainly in place in time to begin the autumn 1920 semester. According to the <i>1924 Cyclone</i>, from the start Dove "loaded up with all the stiffest courses in college, mathematics and chemistry being his major and minor, and in spite of this fact [he] has been able to maintain a high standard of scholarship." His affection for chemistry did not weaken over time, as Dove remarked in a 1938 letter to Grinnell chemistry professor <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S/ShermanLeoP.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. Leo P. Sherman</a> (1888-1978): "...your communication," he wrote Sherman, "...added much to the ineffable delight I experienced in getting a letter from the Chemistry Department at Grinnell with your name on it. I still live over my days under you—they were rich" ("May 2, 1938 letter from Sebert Dove to Dr. Sherman," Alumni Letters to Chemistry Department, Pamphlet 51-51.3 C42a, Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4o_kbGC3_FZ6ZHzkmM-SS1jW4MxmtIWFumGdFCUyTC8vPIYSkteIR_yp6JzRyFNsycvLtBOKIiLiVJyFZaoTDZBFrUXhTsjrSrGMGNf3WNpnRT0PAX_3zfUg5Lwr8pcIPFbsCEwS9N_FkoIjNV2bFYWkNfNCWSZAUCbxyvXMqVSG4BWPQzHjOhc61Q/s1388/1924CycloneCordeFratresPicDove.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="1388" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4o_kbGC3_FZ6ZHzkmM-SS1jW4MxmtIWFumGdFCUyTC8vPIYSkteIR_yp6JzRyFNsycvLtBOKIiLiVJyFZaoTDZBFrUXhTsjrSrGMGNf3WNpnRT0PAX_3zfUg5Lwr8pcIPFbsCEwS9N_FkoIjNV2bFYWkNfNCWSZAUCbxyvXMqVSG4BWPQzHjOhc61Q/s320/1924CycloneCordeFratresPicDove.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the Cosmopolitan Club; Dove in first row, 4th from left)<br />(<i>1924 Cyclone</i>)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But Dove was far from a mere classroom grind. Already in his second semester at college he was elected secretary and treasurer of the Cosmopolitan Club, the purpose of which was "to unite peoples of racial, national, and religious differences into a group of brotherhood and democracy" (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>April 13, 1921;<i> </i>ibid., November 16, 1921; ibid., November 22, 1922). This ambition was also prominent in the Macy Club, a group that focused attention upon politics and society. Dove was the sole international student in the club which in 1922 elected him vice-president (ibid., May 10, 1922; ibid., October 18, 1922). His affection for mathematics led the young Jamaican to attend the annual picnics of the Mathematics Club (ibid., October 7, 1922), and for a time he worked at one of the town's newspapers (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>March 10, 1924), providing him with contacts beyond the campus boundaries.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8GbzT5oYXPW97-6AutpJY6qeDeu6Ubt82XlMMhfvYS_B5LOk9o8EDyI75NOz7pK6QO1s_t6cpsYYcE0bzqWJfrNEe6EAQ3vWlPuFxS5I740ageahiS4o5I4zOtLSudPxlP698NmaqRfNdWFhqqsr9J4Vat1lB63pzu2vV_srLp-ipB4ne4XvRcEJAg/s1424/GrinnellMen'sDormitories1918P2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="1424" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8GbzT5oYXPW97-6AutpJY6qeDeu6Ubt82XlMMhfvYS_B5LOk9o8EDyI75NOz7pK6QO1s_t6cpsYYcE0bzqWJfrNEe6EAQ3vWlPuFxS5I740ageahiS4o5I4zOtLSudPxlP698NmaqRfNdWFhqqsr9J4Vat1lB63pzu2vV_srLp-ipB4ne4XvRcEJAg/s320/GrinnellMen'sDormitories1918P2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the then-new Men's Dormitories, Grinnell College; Building One on Left<br />(<i>Grinnell Men's Dormitories</i> [Grinnell College, 1918], p. 2; Digital Grinnell)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Because he lived off-campus Dove extended his familiarity with Grinnell's townsfolk. Like other students who resided in town—either in their own family's homes or in rented rooms—Dove received affiliation with one of the men's residence halls. Along with 19 other men (including three Chinese men), Dove was affiliated with Building One, now known as Smith Hall (<i>Scarlet and Black</i>, October 14, 1922). Joining Dove with this building was probably not random, as all the Rosenwald Scholars—all African American men—also lived in Smith almost their entire four years (Hosea Campbell and Gordon Kitchen both lived elsewhere their senior years) (Grinnell College Directories 1919-1924).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43sFrvCAW7Pkxq0bQYNLLDoL2hzAMxrfx0MTXa8vz4G29bEcD0YvDzmdaLdJTSgrl_SmmRdDkuVRlJeXKDhmzU5U4U9ASWxkoZcAs-zEaLciGJUAXK4YxyfL5hdOrtx1d0VHd4DXenAjq8yOHMdvx2zzSuonNR783h6kxZcnH0kEikbglVsXy8PDQlA/s800/EvaPearlRenfrow%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="581" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43sFrvCAW7Pkxq0bQYNLLDoL2hzAMxrfx0MTXa8vz4G29bEcD0YvDzmdaLdJTSgrl_SmmRdDkuVRlJeXKDhmzU5U4U9ASWxkoZcAs-zEaLciGJUAXK4YxyfL5hdOrtx1d0VHd4DXenAjq8yOHMdvx2zzSuonNR783h6kxZcnH0kEikbglVsXy8PDQlA/s320/EvaPearlRenfrow%20copy.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Mrs. L. A. Renfrow (1875-1962)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In addition to his college friendships, Dove developed close connections with the town's small African American community. Strong evidence of this relationship comes from two funerals for which Dove, alongside the College's </span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-sears-roebuck-helped-bring-black.html" target="_blank">Rosenwald Scholars</a><span> and local African American men, served as pall bearer. For example, when African American Ruth Lucas (1893-1923), wife of Grinnell's Bruce Lucas, died in February 1923, Dove—like college men </span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/hampton-man-comes-to-grinnell.html" target="_blank">Collis Davis '23</a><span>, </span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/02/another-phi-beta-kappa-via-rosenwald.html" target="_blank">Alphonse Heningburg '24</a><span>, and </span><a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-final-rosenwald-scholar-gordon.html" target="_blank">Gordon Kitchen '25,</a><span> along with African American townsmen <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/R/RenfrowRudolph.pdf" target="_blank">Rudolph Renfrow</a> and George Monroe (b. 1891)—carried the casket (</span><i>Grinnell Herald</i><span>, February 20, 1923). Likewise, when </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/C/CraigElizaJ.pdf" target="_blank">Eliza Jane Craig (1841-1924),</a><span> aged mother of Mrs. L. A. Renfrow, died June 6, 1924, Dove took his place beside Black townsmen <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/29/RenfrowLeeAugustus.pdf" target="_blank">L. A. Renfrow</a>, John Brown Lucas (?1861-1946), <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/46/BrownSolomon.pdf" target="_blank">Solomon Brown</a> and college men Heningburg and Kitchen (ibid., June 10, 1924). Experience with local African American families and with the Black college men gave Dove a network within which he could better appreciate the meaning of race in America.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpLWMmZCey-hJD7C43ogmhcFuq8J2bTiipca8HD42ni4SHSGUQt-1fBfCXXZK3DklwoxLQYtSD9OYi6xpbUpUlZFZzP8cld29zU5HRc07Mbf1ir-GxR8tYa75oJc3in9BXm-v5H01wXhjazWcklohaB27um9WSnFeA9ZVkQZwfTxaTrD_bZYVq_HkIQ/s800/StraightCollegeGrads1921.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="800" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTpLWMmZCey-hJD7C43ogmhcFuq8J2bTiipca8HD42ni4SHSGUQt-1fBfCXXZK3DklwoxLQYtSD9OYi6xpbUpUlZFZzP8cld29zU5HRc07Mbf1ir-GxR8tYa75oJc3in9BXm-v5H01wXhjazWcklohaB27um9WSnFeA9ZVkQZwfTxaTrD_bZYVq_HkIQ/s320/StraightCollegeGrads1921.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of 1921 High School Graduates of Straight College<br />(https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/4602046421)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Apparently during his student days in Grinnell Dove transferred his religious commitment to the Methodists. As noted earlier, at least one Sunday evening Dove was the featured speaker at Grinnell's Methodist church. More telling are newspaper reports that identify Dove, along with local African American girl Helen Renfrow, among the members of the Methodist Tri-M Sunday School class (<i>Grinnell Register, </i>June 24, 1923). Nothing else from his college years speaks to Dove's religion, but, after graduation and a brief return to New York, Dove began teaching in historically Black colleges supported by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Missionary_Association" target="_blank">American Missionary Association</a>, a Congregationalist institution. In 1925 and 1926 he taught physics, chemistry, and mathematics at Straight College (now <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_University" target="_blank">Straight University</a>) in New Orleans where some 500 students attended elementary, high school, and college (<i>80th Annual Report of American Missionary Association </i>[NY: American Missionary Society, 1926], p. 60). The next two years found him teaching at Tillotson College (now<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huston%E2%80%93Tillotson_University" target="_blank"> Huston-Tillotson University</a>), a women's college founded by Methodists in Austin, Texas. Apparently Dove also served as Dean there before taking a new position as registrar at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Quinn_College" target="_blank">Paul Quinn College</a>, another historically Black Methodist institution then based in Waco, Texas. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqx3iDNi_cn1O5pEl6xCMFvn6F--eDHhfFArVtMqieesoe5GLdaBwOxyyY1xoroYtxkKjH7YRxFJlIegsnJtl311EIZDBIOkNYTWwKAWJaIiBrR9ruQUmX4_VTZhX4DQTiDEJjAAuY0lKzql59k5QM8b9Z9IxWExgRH6r739G-RpqLHkdwRoTyLwYORQ/s712/AdminClassrmCafTillotson1930BlueBonnetHill.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="712" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqx3iDNi_cn1O5pEl6xCMFvn6F--eDHhfFArVtMqieesoe5GLdaBwOxyyY1xoroYtxkKjH7YRxFJlIegsnJtl311EIZDBIOkNYTWwKAWJaIiBrR9ruQUmX4_VTZhX4DQTiDEJjAAuY0lKzql59k5QM8b9Z9IxWExgRH6r739G-RpqLHkdwRoTyLwYORQ/s320/AdminClassrmCafTillotson1930BlueBonnetHill.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Classroom Building of Tillotson College<br />(1930 Yearbook of Tillotson College, <i>Blue Bonnet Hill</i>)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One year later he left Waco, accepting appointment as head of the Science Department at Booker T. Washington High School (now <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington_High_School_for_the_Performing_and_Visual_Arts" target="_blank">Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts</a>) in Dallas, Texas. In the world of Jim Crow, Washington High School was an all-Black school, so that Dove, <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/03/grinnells-colfax-orator.html" target="_blank">like James Redmon, his fellow Grinnell alumnus,</a> taught school within the world of racially segregated public education. Dove taught chemistry at Washington, and, by his own account, enjoyed "the respect of students and administrators" ("1938 Letter from Sebert Dove to Dr. Leo Sherman"). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In September 1928, "culminating a long romance," Dove married fellow Jamaican, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178687589/amy-delmena-dove" target="_blank">Amy Delmena Stern (1897-1999)</a> in St. Louis, Missouri. The 1930 US census found the couple living at 2617 Cochran Street, Dallas, where they shared an address with another African American couple. By 1940 the Doves had their own Dallas home at 2323 Jordan Street, the better to accommodate their four children: Donald (born August 7, 1930); Eleanor (born August 28, 1932); Adrian (born August 31, 1934); and Carmen (born November 17, 1938). In these years, both Sebert and Amy traveled back and forth to Jamaica (daughter Eleanor was born in Jamaica), but Dallas was their home. In 1930 Dove filed a Declaration of Intention to seek U.S. citizenship, but why he chose this moment to file is unclear (his wife did not file until 1949). Perhaps officials at Washington High recommended it. Whatever the motivation, Dove completed the Petition for Citizenship two years later, and was formally sworn into citizenship in March 1933. Alien no more, Sebert Dove was officially American.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlQHJ-1oMhI7u4Tuq4w2TzzFyVtIDWGAweGcKZpCWzrR70pwgZ2iF7vBGPBmCqeGWGznNfk3bm6s8CY728JMZbS6AuHU2Tl7uycP9pBzGhCaDWa3H7Ei4yQPZk-s963EuhedPkOy_m7FVwWA2_XdKMoLjO4gLiz9gtQhAwZl6vVi3viRJPpeb4ugMIw/s1814/PetitionForCitizenship.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="1814" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxlQHJ-1oMhI7u4Tuq4w2TzzFyVtIDWGAweGcKZpCWzrR70pwgZ2iF7vBGPBmCqeGWGznNfk3bm6s8CY728JMZbS6AuHU2Tl7uycP9pBzGhCaDWa3H7Ei4yQPZk-s963EuhedPkOy_m7FVwWA2_XdKMoLjO4gLiz9gtQhAwZl6vVi3viRJPpeb4ugMIw/s320/PetitionForCitizenship.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top half of Sebert Dove's September 8, 1932 Petition for U.S. Citizenship<br />(Ancestry.com)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">World War II brought some interruption to the family routine. When Dove registered for the draft in February 1942, he was still teaching at Washington High, but soon he took over direction of the Muller Street USO in Gainesville, about 70 miles north of Dallas. Perhaps in the era succeeding U.S. entry into World War II, Dove, now 47 years old, saw the USO as an opportunity to demonstrate his civic commitment. Like the <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-final-rosenwald-scholar-gordon.html" target="_blank">Brownwood Texas USO that fellow Grinnell alum Gordon Kitchen </a>oversaw, the Muller Street USO served African American soldiers, reflecting the on-going racial segregation of the US Army. Dove threw himself into the job, and earned appreciation within the Gainesville community. Among other things, he engineered the remodeling of USO facilities, providing new showers, locker rooms, and new entry points. When professional architects proved unavailable, Dove even drew his own blueprints, thereby hastening the remodeling, all this with the aim of improving life for the African American soldiers at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Howze,_Texas" target="_blank">Camp Howze</a> (<i>Gainesville Weekly Register, </i>February 3, 1944).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F8k4i37XEwGPqQsTk8SISsHodSu-p4sF_Vvf7hwoY1pBSUUsapNwMZy1Pi7eOxSoY40zP2xodFJORlEcUUjYDH4MNbeRtFshF1AfrvPmcTB6erJDrsV48Rbr8_C8zVA6qgsNOoYUVaX-AgO_84DvtIFHojNGYWMlliXX2ELcdF2yWbWAJqHggi0BRg/s726/MullerStUSO.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="668" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3F8k4i37XEwGPqQsTk8SISsHodSu-p4sF_Vvf7hwoY1pBSUUsapNwMZy1Pi7eOxSoY40zP2xodFJORlEcUUjYDH4MNbeRtFshF1AfrvPmcTB6erJDrsV48Rbr8_C8zVA6qgsNOoYUVaX-AgO_84DvtIFHojNGYWMlliXX2ELcdF2yWbWAJqHggi0BRg/s320/MullerStUSO.png" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gainesville Weekly Register, </i>February 3, 1944<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1945 Sebert Dove made a seemingly abrupt move, not only to a different location and different job, but also to a different profession. Reasserting an association with Catholicism, Dove moved to California to become a full-time social worker for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Youth_Organization" target="_blank">Catholic Youth Organization</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts,_Los_Angeles" target="_blank">Watts</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willowbrook,_California" target="_blank">Willowbrook</a> sections of Los Angeles. These areas had grown quickly during the so-called "Great Migration," which had brought tract housing and many African Americans to Los Angeles. Catholic Youth gained a foothold here and proved to be an important ally to the mainly Black working-class population that settled Watts and Willowbrook.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">How Dove came to know of this position and what moved him to accept it I don't know, but evidently he took to the work very well. An obituary described him as founder-president of Los Angeles's Willowbrook Community Improvement Organization and as field director for the <a href="https://cyola.org/home" target="_blank">LA Catholic Youth Organization</a>. His specialty, the newspaper continued, focused upon "the interracial field and organizing clubs, securing scholarships, jobs and housing for youth and their families" (<i>New York Amsterdam News, </i>October 30, 1948). In the spring of 1948 Dove received the <a href="https://laul.org/" target="_blank">Los Angeles Urban League</a> Award of Achievement; the citation lauded "his training, experience, fortitude and persistence" which brought "credit and honor to his vocation and community" (<i>New York Age, </i>May 22, 1948).</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyfui5eK8YzOmEDAv_WPQosCeWNwkRMPPHnrcwHxhhzgDRWWZD_SxZ6iDK9aSjgAG49FPwV76YKG5EDSvo-KhCT9rW8zpuwb31wg1rpEbEJZcbFKc4vdcgLaxKZfcpMy2iBSppmFEGzq2VFRXDaEdmlZC1aiR6ewryPwdYapplOU3HL1qNZNX33zpCA/s826/AwardNotice.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="826" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkyfui5eK8YzOmEDAv_WPQosCeWNwkRMPPHnrcwHxhhzgDRWWZD_SxZ6iDK9aSjgAG49FPwV76YKG5EDSvo-KhCT9rW8zpuwb31wg1rpEbEJZcbFKc4vdcgLaxKZfcpMy2iBSppmFEGzq2VFRXDaEdmlZC1aiR6ewryPwdYapplOU3HL1qNZNX33zpCA/s320/AwardNotice.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Los Angeles Sentinel, </i>May 22, 1948<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Hard on the heels of this award, Sebert Dove died suddenly in his Los Angeles home, victim of a ruptured aortic aneurysm (</span>September 30, 1948; the <i>Alumni Scarlet & Black [Nov '48-Jan '49</i>, p. 8<i>]</i> says he died October 2, but the death certificate confirms the September date). Only 53 years old, Dove left behind his wife of twenty years and his four children, the oldest of whom was eighteen, the youngest only ten. Catholic priests presided at his funeral at the Church of St. Leo the Great, and he was buried in <a href="https://catholiccm.org/holy-cross-cemetery-mortuary-culver-city" target="_blank">Holy Cross Cemetery</a> October 5, 1948 (<i>New York Amsterdam News, </i>October 30, 1948), implicit confirmation of a return to the Catholic Church of his youth. Apparently the entire family embraced Catholicism, because, when daughter Eleanor married eleven years later, she took her wedding vows in the same church that had hosted her father's funeral mass (<i>Los Angeles Sentinel, </i>September 10, 1959).</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A diminutive man—just five feet, four inches tall and about 140 pounds—Sebert Dove, a Jamaican immigrant, had accomplished a great deal among African Americans of his adopted country. Newly arrived in the U.S. when he reached central Iowa, Dove nevertheless made common purpose with the Renfrows and Lucases of Grinnell, just as he did with the African American Rosenwald Scholars at Grinnell College. As member of the college's Cosmopolitan Club Dove helped "unite peoples of racial, national, and religious differences," an ambition he shared with the club's faculty advisor, Edward Steiner. After graduation, Dove immersed himself in African American communities in the U.S. South, teaching at historically black colleges in Louisiana and Texas, and then becoming head of science at the all-Black Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas. There he flourished, sharing his love of chemistry and mathematics with young Black men and women. World War II opened yet another door for Dove, who became director of the Gainesville, Texas Muller Street African American USO club. Working among African American soldiers at Camp Howze, Dove displayed the same enthusiasm for improvement that he had shared with college and high school science students. Finally, he landed in California, where, as a social worker within the Los Angeles Catholic Youth Organization, he reached out to the multi-racial poor of Watts and Willowbrook, helping young men and women find jobs, win scholarships, and obtain suitable housing. As before, Dove lived the motto of the college Cosmopolitan Club, advancing brotherhood and democracy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZSepA05aCfJMfu503P-eUxw7InjhYAF4MmNno6ggER39NtRgOnspDczofEM6lQcZ8CmskhknuJmdF8KzUdNr5TrECBS6iUxaUwhshWj10ClPwqFHgNaeyd5u_gadHBjXiQotUKOwBejv82Elnw1Yv4EtNjUm1eSiXfRu6xUbLJ_KBpuXiTJFGqVhIg/s1020/FromAlienToCitizen.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="590" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZSepA05aCfJMfu503P-eUxw7InjhYAF4MmNno6ggER39NtRgOnspDczofEM6lQcZ8CmskhknuJmdF8KzUdNr5TrECBS6iUxaUwhshWj10ClPwqFHgNaeyd5u_gadHBjXiQotUKOwBejv82Elnw1Yv4EtNjUm1eSiXfRu6xUbLJ_KBpuXiTJFGqVhIg/s320/FromAlienToCitizen.png" width="185" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of Edward A. Steiner's 1914 Autobiography<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Dove formally became a US citizen only in March 1933, but long before that moment Jamaican-born Sebert Dove had applied himself to the citizen's task of improving his adopted country. Over the thirty-one years of his American sojourn, Sebert Dove passed from alien to citizen, repeating the metamorphosis of his Grinnell College mentor and host, Professor Edward Steiner, whose autobiography bore that exact title. But then, far too quickly, Dove's light went dark, short-circuiting a life of service to African Americans.</span></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-89086423795954617222022-05-19T12:42:00.007-07:002022-05-21T10:43:06.935-07:00Definitely Not a Coffee Table...<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Sometimes I stumble upon a mystery that catches my attention. That's what happened a few weeks ago after I received a covid booster shot at Mayflower Community. The nurse asked me to remain in the lounge of Montgomery Hall for </span><span>a few minutes after the shot</span><span> </span><span>to make sure that there were no unha</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">ppy consequences. Discovering that all the seats in the lounge were already occupied, I passed through the lounge toward Montgomery Hall's front door and there found a chair. With no one to talk to, I cast my eyes around the unfamiliar space and noticed an unusual table in the entry immediately below the mailboxes that serve Montgomery Hall residents. I got up to take a closer look, and discovered that the table bore a decorative inscription taken from Christian scriptures (Matt. 28:20): "Lo, I am with you alway." Although Mayflower was founded by the Congregational Church of Iowa in part to provide for former missionaries and pastors, the clerical inscription still surprised me as the entryway gave no other evidence of religious service.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uEu2gSRnz_LWjognBHXJxRCrjtVkz3jy-VJ8Sn71eMhdSaADuffLJrjBMnY3T4W313egCKkhHP5PJbbIiUb_cm73dd2Yui07qBj-IEf7yJg79QBm2PiizxbKb4aDMAcfmf1eMX_7q0fvfy2oMza3gkb5URsgnNFuS2q7xAs1mDUrq0Ter0Cngz841w/s4383/Table.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2542" data-original-width="4383" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uEu2gSRnz_LWjognBHXJxRCrjtVkz3jy-VJ8Sn71eMhdSaADuffLJrjBMnY3T4W313egCKkhHP5PJbbIiUb_cm73dd2Yui07qBj-IEf7yJg79QBm2PiizxbKb4aDMAcfmf1eMX_7q0fvfy2oMza3gkb5URsgnNFuS2q7xAs1mDUrq0Ter0Cngz841w/s320/Table.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Moreover, the table surface featured a small dedication plate that remembered Lucinda A. Haskell Noble (1832-1921), who was, the inscription announced, "A faithful member of this Church."</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDM1KTdq_4gjhpDLDxMxlinyD1rPTMR8lKmMnvNBo9XVocyrhX5HxlUQrv34Hxfv-aiFJ3fgqv4g3H8RiW0n1IxO4lIixi8CxFvTUnnLFLNZJXKDS_MjI8wLow8ZifoZQZcJy69Ihw6hi82bvMo0y4d77XIkPCtTGAYAfy20n8ew1raJ7_1UuKxNrPCA/s3149/MemorialInscriptionLARGE.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1112" data-original-width="3149" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDM1KTdq_4gjhpDLDxMxlinyD1rPTMR8lKmMnvNBo9XVocyrhX5HxlUQrv34Hxfv-aiFJ3fgqv4g3H8RiW0n1IxO4lIixi8CxFvTUnnLFLNZJXKDS_MjI8wLow8ZifoZQZcJy69Ihw6hi82bvMo0y4d77XIkPCtTGAYAfy20n8ew1raJ7_1UuKxNrPCA/s320/MemorialInscriptionLARGE.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Well, that was odd. For one thing, the table was not standing in a church, but in the entry of an apartment building. In addition, Lucinda Noble had died more than a century ago and some thirty years before Mayflower was founded. What the heck? I wondered. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">And so began a winding search to learn how this table, built a hundred years earlier, found a home in the entryway of Mayflower's Montgomery Hall in Grinnell, Iowa.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finding the obituary for Lucinda Noble proved fairly easy. Thanks to the digitized records of a northeast Iowa newspaper, I learned that the elderly "Mrs. Noble was a devoted Christian woman, [and] a faithful member of the Congregational Church of Strawberry Point" (<i>Edgewood Journal, </i>April 7, 1921). Glad to know what church she had attended, I was nevertheless further discomfited to realize that the table in Montgomery Hall in Grinnell had previously stood in a Congregational Church in Strawberry Point. Why wasn't the table still in Strawberry Point, continuing the remembrance of Lucinda Noble and her faithfulness?</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwv_frx3P9JPR3vXt9kKAgzFIatrfRgctzD3_vn3IzFbWfLl3IgiPhjWSdQB7eLgAK7J8QAlV6ojLoTKuyYL2o9RRYvMrpoUoMl-dX08n3bjQ4RaMVWdt8WaziQ4lM-7PRMyMF85grHp6LGj6dgnFQN88mn6tDRUCNPYhIHb44MbtQkJnauEx9oab6JQ/s1123/9227b162123be43a21064b09bdbf80d9.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1123" data-original-width="695" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwv_frx3P9JPR3vXt9kKAgzFIatrfRgctzD3_vn3IzFbWfLl3IgiPhjWSdQB7eLgAK7J8QAlV6ojLoTKuyYL2o9RRYvMrpoUoMl-dX08n3bjQ4RaMVWdt8WaziQ4lM-7PRMyMF85grHp6LGj6dgnFQN88mn6tDRUCNPYhIHb44MbtQkJnauEx9oab6JQ/s320/9227b162123be43a21064b09bdbf80d9.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph Postcard of Strawberry Point Congregational Church</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Answering that question also proved easy. A newspaper article from March 1953 reported that the First Congregational Church of Strawberry Point had recently been razed. "A decrease in the size of the congregation and no hope for immediate comeback brought an end to the church," the newspaper explained (<i>Dubuque Telegraph Herald, </i>March 22, 1953). As further investigation proved, in fact the church had been closed already early in 1951 (<i>Clayton County Press Journal, </i>July 26, 1951; <i>Cedar Rapids Gazette, </i>January 25, 1953). Clearly the Strawberry Point Congregational Church had disappeared almost seventy years ago, so whom could I ask about the table? Even those who had been members when the church came down in 1953 would now be either quite elderly or dead. How could I learn more?</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQE3gaylJDqIyoHVP_uhRPgbq0cNFWySKk9-yAgOe_C0tgxCMfujr8BSokRwTscIo0cGrfycpsSAmwhaFWDzyYkkbCJ9HefiDsgzHMuyKcWLw_VmwTe3JrmzRccUOGjYi8zklw5KRUDPssiV0PDWGWZMdE9o8wKxB8ZJrh1JVaENtcSUI1En3rYfOaw/s1284/DqueTelegrHer22Mar1953Pic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1284" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQE3gaylJDqIyoHVP_uhRPgbq0cNFWySKk9-yAgOe_C0tgxCMfujr8BSokRwTscIo0cGrfycpsSAmwhaFWDzyYkkbCJ9HefiDsgzHMuyKcWLw_VmwTe3JrmzRccUOGjYi8zklw5KRUDPssiV0PDWGWZMdE9o8wKxB8ZJrh1JVaENtcSUI1En3rYfOaw/s320/DqueTelegrHer22Mar1953Pic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph from <i>Dubuque Telegraph Herald, </i>March 22, 1953<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Happily, the records of the closed Strawberry Point Congregational Church landed, along with other records of the Iowa Conference and its churches, in the <a href="https://www.congregationallibrary.org/" target="_blank">Congregational Library and Archives</a> in Boston, Massachusetts. One of the archivists there kindly located for me the papers from Strawberry Point and sent me scans of the church register which recorded minutes of the last meetings of the congregation. These records report that on a slippery, winter night in January 1952 only eight members of the Strawberry Point Congregational Church appeared for the annual meeting at which they hoped to decide "whether or not to disband." With so few members present, a motion to delay the decision and reconvene in late April or early May carried. The reconvened annual meeting did not take place until June 8. That Sunday, after a pot-luck dinner, the twenty assembled members voted to authorize the church's trustees "to make such conveyance of property, both real and personal as shall be agreed upon in said negotiations" to the Iowa Conference of the Congregational Church, although the vote asked that the Conference find a way to share the proceeds of the sale with the <a href="https://www.iaumc.org/churchdetail/461827" target="_blank">Strawberry Point Methodist Episcopal Church</a>, which at the time was organizing a building fund for a new church.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9HP5MnR7DJoTt4sl_QK0EXhd6tN1xzIslpANx_ETOukS6ZmwcnnLLOcZxQ-ZRJZlg-MG6rWdcTqOp0bKGylf9oCQ-fhGSQyw0_TxmQcODBsB6uIqwpNgMZHvaoKvdXZtMe3TmbgeNLlpiyOpANX_9bH56FPOOmXXAa_pjPCZ-ybl7sMemtiGM8qZ9Q/s400/s-l400.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="261" data-original-width="400" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9HP5MnR7DJoTt4sl_QK0EXhd6tN1xzIslpANx_ETOukS6ZmwcnnLLOcZxQ-ZRJZlg-MG6rWdcTqOp0bKGylf9oCQ-fhGSQyw0_TxmQcODBsB6uIqwpNgMZHvaoKvdXZtMe3TmbgeNLlpiyOpANX_9bH56FPOOmXXAa_pjPCZ-ybl7sMemtiGM8qZ9Q/s320/s-l400.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Postcard of First Methodist Church, Strawberry Point, IA<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Formal dissolution of the Congregational Church in Strawberry Point did not occur until November 24, 1952 when <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/news-journalonline/name/judson-fiebiger-obituary?id=26413446" target="_blank">Dr. Judson Fiebiger (1905-2005)</a>, Conference Secretary, Rev. Andrew Craig, Field Secretary, and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/T/ThomasDavidH.pdf" target="_blank">Mr. D. H. Thomas (1874-1959)</a>, Business Manager and Assistant Treasurer, met Strawberry Point church officials at the Union Bank and Trust Co. of Strawberry Point (subsequently <a href="https://www.usbanklocations.com/union-bank-and-trust-company-1856.shtml" target="_blank">succeeded by Citizens State Bank</a>). The meeting concluded with several resolutions. The first conveyed to the Congregational Christian Conference of Iowa the real estate of both the church and parsonage. The second resolved that fifty percent of the proceeds of the sale be placed in trust in the Union Bank and Trust Company of Strawberry Point for the Building Fund of the Methodist Church of Strawberry Point. According to the final page of the church's records, the church sold for $2250 and the parsonage for $5800, thus ending forever the Congregational Church of Strawberry Point.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One other paragraph from the minutes of the November 1952 meeting is important for the history of the table now in Montgomery Hall:</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">It was agreed that the Thimble Society of the Congregational Christian Church be empowered to dispose of the personal property in the church, all moneys so rec'd [sic] to enhance the Thimble Treasury, it being understood that receipts be spent to advance Congregational Christian projects (Congregational Library and Archive, Iowa Conference Records, Subgroup III, Church records, Series FF: Strawberry Point Congregational Church Records, 1883-1952, Church register, 1935-1952). </span></blockquote></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><span style="font-size: medium;">Coinciding with the dissolution and sale of the Strawberry Point church was a recently-founded and ambitious project of establishing a Congregational retirement community in Grinnell for former missionaries, pastors, and their spouses. The idea of a Congregational retirement home in Grinnell began with Royal and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/M/MontogmeryMargaret.pdf" target="_blank">Margaret Montgomery (1883-1957)</a>, who at that time were living in a home at 819 Ninth Avenue, Grinnell. <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/M/MontgomeryDrRoyalJ.pdf" target="_blank">Royal Montgomery (1879-1966)</a> had served the <a href="https://www.congregationallibrary.org/finding-aids/IAConf0103" target="_blank">Congregational Christian Conference of Iowa</a> for many years in various positions until his retirement in 1948. As <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/K/KieselMargaretW.pdf" target="_blank">Margaret Matlack Kiesel (1908-1987)</a> put it, the Montgomerys "were living comfortably in the house they had built...," but "Dr. Montgomery also was aware that other Congregational ministers and their wives were not as fortunate as he and Margaret" (<i>A Journey in Faith: The Story of Mayflower Home</i> [n.p.: Mayflower Homes, Inc., 2000], p. 7). The Montgomerys decided to donate the proceeds from the sale of their home to help underwrite the founding of a retirement community in Grinnell. Soon thereafter <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/K/KieselFerdinardJ.pdf" target="_blank">Ferdinand Kiesel (1879-1956)</a>, a stalwart in the Grinnell Congregational Church who was impressed with the Montgomerys' idea, agreed to donate his own home on Broad Street toward the project. With this beginning, the Montgomerys approached the Iowa Conference with a proposal to found a retirement community in Grinnell. The Conference formally adopted the proposal in June 1950 and by November of that year the Mayflower Home was incorporated.</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7pIN5sqjlBT2Cgdord6I2BxUQPuiACWRVM8TUKQYu9vk5ZyCnKcVxkYiOqL946i2EZ5yaGCnsM0tkHBDKIP4fppXeKChI8wm_WzVCcCUTqiSXdnhQUcq-YpYtmLGQD08NH0iK2YBY8Jz62JHxVR-hnM7D6blIrw3DKS4Q6jlxLinPEfRWMt7bndbgQ/s4555/MontgomeryPlaque.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4555" data-original-width="3336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7pIN5sqjlBT2Cgdord6I2BxUQPuiACWRVM8TUKQYu9vk5ZyCnKcVxkYiOqL946i2EZ5yaGCnsM0tkHBDKIP4fppXeKChI8wm_WzVCcCUTqiSXdnhQUcq-YpYtmLGQD08NH0iK2YBY8Jz62JHxVR-hnM7D6blIrw3DKS4Q6jlxLinPEfRWMt7bndbgQ/s320/MontgomeryPlaque.JPG" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plaque Recognizing the role of Royal and Margaret Montgomery in founding Mayflower Home<br />(entry to Montgomery Hall)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Although the recruitment of funds to build the new community proved challenging, by August 1952 officials had succeeded in securing sufficient backing to break ground for the first housing unit in the 600 block of Broad Street. The one-story brick structure featured eleven apartments, half of which were endowed to make them affordable to the denomination's retirees. Named in honor of Royal and Margaret Montgomery, this first building was formally dedicated in June 1953.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Among those attending the June dedication ceremony in Grinnell were several women from Strawberry Point: Mrs. J. J. Matthews, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169015426/jennie-myrtle-howard" target="_blank">Mrs. Jennie Howard (1876-1955)</a> (who as clerk had recorded minutes of the Strawberry Point Congregational Church's closing), Mrs. Carrie Slagel, and <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80212667/nelle-i-westfall" target="_blank">Miss Nell Westfall (1871-1961)</a> (<i>Clayton County Press Journal</i>, June 18, 1953). All four were members of the Thimble Society, a women's organization which, despite the closing of the local Church, continued to operate. When the Thimbles next met, on June 25th, Nell Westfall and Mrs. Jennie Howard reported on their Grinnell visit for the Mayflower dedication (<i>Clayton County Press Journal, </i>July 2, 1953), helping spread the word in Strawberry Point about the Mayflower Home. Later that autumn, now meeting at the Methodist Church parlors, the Thimble Society welcomed "Miss Francis Ackman [sic; should be Aikman] of the Mayflower Home in Grinnell" who "gave a very interesting and informative talk on the Home" (ibid., November 5, 1953). <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/A/AikmanFrancesL.pdf" target="_blank">Francis Aikman (1876-1977)</a>, who hailed from Minneapolis, was among the original residents of Montgomery Hall, occupying apartment 11. Her father, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136625986/joseph-g-aikman" target="_blank">Rev. J. G. Aikman (1839-1923),</a> had once been pastor at the Strawberry Point Congregational Church (<i>Congregational Iowa and Pilgrim Log, </i>February 1954), which explains both her connection to Strawberry Point and to the Mayflower.</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDr1UvPSMXezT35Uam86m2Wj2oTKOqO9JuP3c1MPzOghRXVDIRLp78dX6m_o_OldV5AetuipvknPyFvpQ3GUuKRODN_vjuGJ2OsAtKmgFZ37FTlFTUalvedgEaEleBkjkEc0_7UL-8zJLovXvxBpE2FuRVf9nnkGP4pujURm_FOeYd1oaiHWUhHoreg/s1400/1stRezPic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1400" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDr1UvPSMXezT35Uam86m2Wj2oTKOqO9JuP3c1MPzOghRXVDIRLp78dX6m_o_OldV5AetuipvknPyFvpQ3GUuKRODN_vjuGJ2OsAtKmgFZ37FTlFTUalvedgEaEleBkjkEc0_7UL-8zJLovXvxBpE2FuRVf9nnkGP4pujURm_FOeYd1oaiHWUhHoreg/s320/1stRezPic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Residents of Montgomery Hall, Mayflower Home (1953)<br />Margaret and Royal Montgomery, 1st row, 1st & 3rd from left; Francis Aikman, back row, 3rd from left<br />(Drake Community Library, Records of the Mayflower Home #92, Box 2, Series 7,<br />"Scrapbooks, Pre-1959") <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Strawberry Point Thimble Society, like other organizations within the Iowa Conference, supported the Mayflower Home initiative financially. Already in July 1952 the group donated $100 to the Mayflower Home (<i style="text-align: left;">Clayton County Press Journal, </i><span style="text-align: left;">July 17, 1952) and in December 1953 sent another $75 (ibid., December 10, 1953). The following April the group decided to send an Easter gift of $25 to Dr. Royal Montgomery, "the founder of the Mayflower Home" (ibid., April 22, 1954). Clearly the Thimble Club knew a great deal about and contributed generously to the Mayflower.</span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But the Thimble Club was not the only party in Strawberry Point committed to Mayflower. The program for the 1953 dedication of Montgomery Hall, for instance, reports that among those who had underwritten apartments in the building intended for clergy were "Dr. and Mrs. James S. Alderson, Strawberry Point." <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110324215/james-alderson" target="_blank">James Alderson (1864-1953)</a> had operated medical practices in several Wisconsin towns and then later in Dubuque, but he had been born in Strawberry Point and was married there to <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110324353/mary-alderson" target="_blank">Mary Buckley (1865-1963)</a>, who came from a well-known, pioneer Strawberry Point family. After Alderson retired, he and his wife moved back to Strawberry Point where they lived with Mary's sister, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110325293/helen-t-buckley" target="_blank">Helen T. Buckley (1871-1960) </a>(<i>Clayton County Press Journal, </i>November 5, 1953). Both women were members of the Thimble Society, and therefore had early knowledge of the Mayflower Home. Moreover, both women provided bequests to Mayflower in their wills; the total of the two bequests ($120,000, about $1 million today) anchored the financing that allowed Mayflower to build its fourth apartment building, named Buckley Hall in their memory (<i>A Journey in Faith</i>, p. 36).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnm7c7Csw-4x5XyBRa6yZCmv4tfhwkqzrGXZ7pi30nEOZXv5D-gw_YJ8ZsTgr2IkOXFbFrdSLuJm_ANzZWah8MLmxaEDdtxNtlmXmxt7CfcgbsLaplp4-ET9AIoTRE_Z91iGnaXzCdxe6geTKop-4ToAmpzUuYYGMF_2boCxDzTHxrA5g5Y28e7dKGg/s1626/BuckleyHall.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1626" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnm7c7Csw-4x5XyBRa6yZCmv4tfhwkqzrGXZ7pi30nEOZXv5D-gw_YJ8ZsTgr2IkOXFbFrdSLuJm_ANzZWah8MLmxaEDdtxNtlmXmxt7CfcgbsLaplp4-ET9AIoTRE_Z91iGnaXzCdxe6geTKop-4ToAmpzUuYYGMF_2boCxDzTHxrA5g5Y28e7dKGg/s320/BuckleyHall.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Postcard Photo of Buckley Hall, Dedicated September 1963<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A11644)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">"The Newberry Foundation, Strawberry Point" was also identified as a donor to Montgomery Hall. Information on the Foundation proved scarce; a survey of Clayton County newspapers in the decades around the Mayflower's founding yielded only a single reference to the foundation. But the Newberrys were well-known in Strawberry Point. The Honorable <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/168732963/byron-w-newberry" target="_blank">Byron Newberry (1853-1944),</a> for instance, had been a local lawyer and banker, and had served several terms in the Iowa legislature. In 1905 he had married <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110325371/eva-m-newberry" target="_blank">Eva Buckley (1858-1951)</a>, thus joining two local pioneer families. Eva Newberry's brother was <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150411064/parke-buckley" target="_blank">Parke Buckley (1856-1925)</a>, who graduated in 1881 from Iowa (later Grinnell) College and who in 1885 married a local Grinnell woman, <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/B/BuckleyNettieW.pdf" target="_blank">Nettie Williams (1859-1889)</a>, sister of the plein-air artist, <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2016/12/grinnells-famous-but-in-grinnell-poorly.html" target="_blank">Abby Williams Hill</a>. So the Newberrys had a long connection with Grinnell and also with the Buckleys. </span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Documents confirming the dissolution of the Strawberry Point Congregational Church had empowered the Thimble Society "to dispose of the personal property in the church, all moneys so rec'd [sic] to enhance the Thimble Treasury, it being understood that such receipts be spent to advance Congregational Christian projects." Exactly how the Thimbles disposed of furniture and other movables of the old church is not clear. Newspaper notices confirm that the club regularly hosted rummage sales, so it may be that they arranged for a special sale of church furnishings. If they did, no notice of an auction or tag sale came to my attention. However the Thimble women sold off the church possessions, some items proved difficult to merchandise. Not everyone, for example, needs a pulpit or communion service to add to their living or dining room!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2frTUzyfRR_SLKEmE7yVeb8l08BG0Tnv12fCTLliPdrPQjQRee4gCqS5-cGPVcwWlE67Aw05QUMBOIVY4AjLQ_rbTHHDfNIUOEm6O1qNWBQIQDeRSn0fK-sDD9fV4TrpQXJikiqd2TqjD2Oj2ptYTWmullicn8Kxkzw0ZHOrFkWOYGQ92YWvOerBfg/s716/ClaytonCtyPressJour26Oct1950.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="716" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2frTUzyfRR_SLKEmE7yVeb8l08BG0Tnv12fCTLliPdrPQjQRee4gCqS5-cGPVcwWlE67Aw05QUMBOIVY4AjLQ_rbTHHDfNIUOEm6O1qNWBQIQDeRSn0fK-sDD9fV4TrpQXJikiqd2TqjD2Oj2ptYTWmullicn8Kxkzw0ZHOrFkWOYGQ92YWvOerBfg/s320/ClaytonCtyPressJour26Oct1950.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example Announcement of Thimble Society Rummage Sale<br />(<i>Clayton County Press Journal, </i>October 26, 1950)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Perhaps for that reason, the Strawberry Point Thimbles decided, as reported in </span><i>Congregational Iowa and Pilgrim Log </i><span>(v. 70, no. 2 [October 1953], p. 22), to donate "the Communion service and the Noble memorial table and the pulpit" to the Mayflower Home. At that time Mayflower had no chapel as such, so these items, however valuable they might have seemed, had to find a home that might not have corresponded closely to their original purpose. This explains the presence of the Noble table in the entryway of Montgomery Hall; perhaps the table has stood there ever since the Thimbles gave it to Mayflower (waiting for someone like me to ask how it got there).</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl7rtQydUN5cHCzAmHZQTRvrcpHByrF_qVHDblH2zMYDG6K7TKYVqXC3Cr1kfTeCHFdtBM_Iwj3ES5-UKDU8DgNXhRcEi9Zu9OSUiYV1vbu4cQz1XVUCARrZ4Bfj3t8cviC6saLoSJWrpTjeSyIaENOLX6rlChRPL6nnBAZkBOMxL8yPx6meLtnJaMA/s640/IMG_3656.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="427" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFl7rtQydUN5cHCzAmHZQTRvrcpHByrF_qVHDblH2zMYDG6K7TKYVqXC3Cr1kfTeCHFdtBM_Iwj3ES5-UKDU8DgNXhRcEi9Zu9OSUiYV1vbu4cQz1XVUCARrZ4Bfj3t8cviC6saLoSJWrpTjeSyIaENOLX6rlChRPL6nnBAZkBOMxL8yPx6meLtnJaMA/s320/IMG_3656.jpeg" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wine pitcher from the Communion Service of Strawberry Point Congregational Church (2022 photo)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Likewise, the church's communion service survives at Mayflower. Now decorating the shelves of Buckley Dining Room is a silver wine pitcher bearing the inscription "Cong'l Church, Strawberry Pt., Iowa 1875," two silver cups ("CC," engraved on the base, presumably signifying Congregational Church), and two silver trays for the communion bread. With no formal chapel at Mayflower until the 1959 dedication of the Warren Hathaway Denison Memorial Worship Center in the basement of Pearson Hall, it seems likely that the communion service stood on display in Montgomery Hall or remained in storage, only later being brought into Buckley to help decorate the Dining Room.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Something similar might be said of the Strawberry Point pulpit: without a chapel until 1959, Mayflower officials either kept the donated pulpit in storage or perhaps decided to re-gift it. What makes the latter option more probable is the fact that when the new chapel opened in 1959, it opened with brand new, locally-crafted birch pulpits made especially for the Denison Worship Center. These pulpits remain visible—one in Kiesel Hall beneath Pearson and one in the Lucille Carman Center above the Mayflower Health Center. But a clue survives to indicate that at least initially Mayflower retained and made use of the Strawberry Point pulpit.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7g-x3Ctpe5nD0_6temNw8iVLh_YqTxJt5bjyNHKwdbZQ5VZsI8VDIFoyxxabAiIp3J3lGJQq5UqgCd44-aSaQWgMrM0_mgZvY3-yQnS7rUxLA5seJs5b9plIld6G5rSEKY9DJccexAZt7BlOLfVts9qcHDxyblFbchMOUzqryUweNGj0y3uFPCMPzA/s630/Pulpit1955Photo.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="604" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7g-x3Ctpe5nD0_6temNw8iVLh_YqTxJt5bjyNHKwdbZQ5VZsI8VDIFoyxxabAiIp3J3lGJQq5UqgCd44-aSaQWgMrM0_mgZvY3-yQnS7rUxLA5seJs5b9plIld6G5rSEKY9DJccexAZt7BlOLfVts9qcHDxyblFbchMOUzqryUweNGj0y3uFPCMPzA/s320/Pulpit1955Photo.jpeg" width="307" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from a faded photograph of the June 1955 Dedication of Edwards Hall<br />(Drake Community Library, Records of the Mayflower Home #92, Box 10, Series 21, <br />"Photographs 1953-1965") <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photographs from the June 1955 dedication service of Edwards Hall, the second apartment building erected at Mayflower, show what looks to be a mahogany or walnut pulpit in use. Much church furniture of the time bore this dark coloring, perhaps an explanation for why Mayflower, sensing the more modern, brighter tastes of the 1950s, settled on bright birch pulpits when opening the Denison Worship Center. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have so far found neither the pulpit nor a document that reports what happened to the pulpit, but I suspect that church furniture on view in photos of the Edwards dedication service was the one bestowed upon Mayflower by the Thimbles of Strawberry Point. If so, then we may imagine that the pulpit saw occasional service at Mayflower at least until the 1959 opening of Pearson Hall and its new chapel that was outfitted with light, birch furniture. What happened after that I am not sure. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">And so I come to the end of my search. The table that first drew my attention is definitely not, as the title here confirms, a coffee table. Although most Protestant communion tables bear a different inscription ("Do This In Remembrance of Me"), I imagine that the table now guarding the entrance to Montgomery Hall for many years occupied center stage at communion in Strawberry Point's Congregational Church. If so, then the silver communion service now at Mayflower regularly stood upon the table's surface, from which the church's pastors distributed the elements. In this way, the Thimble Club's gift joined together these relics of yesterday among Strawberry Point's Congregationalists. The third part of the Thimble Club's gift, the pulpit, was also present in the Strawberry Point chancel. Any photograph of the church interior inevitably would have joined these three items, all central to Congregational worship.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Their transfer to Grinnell's Mayflower did not fully preserve their liturgical service, as the women of the Thimble Club might have wished. Their church abandoned and torn down, the Congregational women of Strawberry Point, casting about for an honorable retirement for these most precious symbols of worship, must have hoped that at Mayflower, among the retired Congregational pastors and missionaries, the pulpit and communion service would enjoy a new season of usefulness. Perhaps for the first few years the Grinnell retirees found opportunities to revive use of the pulpit and communion service. But before long, they, too, slid into retirement, reduced to quotidian or decorative functions only. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Today, some seventy years after the Strawberry Point Congregational Church closed, the Noble table and the church communion service survive to remind us of a time when Grinnell enjoyed the interest, confidence, and generosity of the Congregationalists in Strawberry Point Iowa.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-5254553572813663332022-03-31T06:20:00.018-07:002022-04-01T13:39:54.955-07:00Grinnell's Colfax Orator<p>Colfax, Iowa has played a surprisingly large part in the history of Grinnell College. A small town whose population in 1910 was about 2500 (but <a href="https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/id/6463/" target="_blank">which attracted thousands every year to the town's mineral springs</a>) sent several talented young men to the college. Most famous among the Colfax natives who attended Grinnell was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Norman_Hall" target="_blank">James Norman Hall (1887-1951)</a>, who had an adventurous life and left behind a substantial literary legacy. Less well-known is <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2021/10/grinnells-black-bicycling-champion.html" target="_blank">Leo Welker (1880-1937), an African American who was also a champion bicyclist</a> and went on to a career in medicine and higher education. Given how few African Americans enrolled in Grinnell in those years, the arrival of James Owen Redmon in 1909 was notable, especially since he, too, found Grinnell from the "Spring City" thirty miles west of Grinnell. Redmon, who, like Welker, was not born in Colfax, wrote no literary masterpieces nor did he win any bicycle races. But soon after his arrival at Grinnell he proved himself a distinguished orator, a skill that he put to good use often in his career. Like Hall and Welker, Redmon took part in World War I, commanding a mortar platoon in France. But his greatest contributions came later when, like some of <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-sears-roebuck-helped-bring-black.html" target="_blank">Grinnell's later Rosenwald Scholars</a>, he worked within the "separate but equal" world of racial difference in twentieth-century America. Today's post examines the life of J. O. Redmon.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndzDzfCDgKjIDJwZgn6LYPnvfEjXhc2OovLo07JF77-3q2Lu_MJNuz_snCKmj4cC_7u7AwPNxLKPZfAOO4vLhzt0AjEEwTg8EOxYdsXHgP3SjiiE9rOjRh1gX4RPo0tEymg0H0F5n5grlUwT5SwbvoSbGXCH0I7NITd1fuo1SRKzAijldkT_S2WOuoA/s1166/MilitaryPic.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="771" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndzDzfCDgKjIDJwZgn6LYPnvfEjXhc2OovLo07JF77-3q2Lu_MJNuz_snCKmj4cC_7u7AwPNxLKPZfAOO4vLhzt0AjEEwTg8EOxYdsXHgP3SjiiE9rOjRh1gX4RPo0tEymg0H0F5n5grlUwT5SwbvoSbGXCH0I7NITd1fuo1SRKzAijldkT_S2WOuoA/s320/MilitaryPic.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Lt. J. O. Redmon (ca. 1918)<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105382637/j-owen-redmon)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;">James Owens (later records abandon the final "s" in his middle name) Redmon (1889-1978) was the third child born to Samuel and Elizabeth Adams Redmon (1861-1912) in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boonville,_Missouri" target="_blank">Boonville, a town in central Missouri</a>. Built on the shores of the Missouri River and a way-station on the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/safe/index.htm" target="_blank">Santa Fe Trail</a>, late nineteenth-century Boonville was home to some 4000 persons, including the Redmon household. Samuel Redmon died in 1898, leaving "Lizzie" to provide and care for her four children, the youngest of whom, Oscar, was only seven. The 1900 US Census reports that widowed Lizzie, still in Boonville, worked as a cook, but her wages were evidently slim, so James quit school after the fifth grade in order to contribute to the household income. taking work as a child minder, driving a horse-and-buggy for a judge, and delivering meat for a butcher (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, 9/</i>1/1968). His elder siblings, Sam and Susie, evidently did the same, as the 1900 census does not report the teenagers in school. Lizzie was also not well, increasing the importance of her children's wages and perhaps helping explain her move to Des Moines where in early 1910 she remarried, taking Hamilton (elsewhere Hampton) Chessner as her husband. She did not live long to enjoy this pairing, however: she was only 52 years old when she died in <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64204488/lizzie-chessner" target="_blank">March 1912</a>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCW9k6YaBiEuBdMa5yM98bxqSdxVElA1yJaVvwO78MQgEbf0IIl8opxjQsdBDwc1KVhfbwrGbGTltGMmpMjEjWaVYLpBFfgxGDJ91EHfsmujUEnwmPdMNH8lcc1Xwazb31B962aIbncV3labIGlSVjBM2YDpUolbMNGkl0IdYwR-MQaoaMWbAt5tDNQ/s1280/64204488_129565537437.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCW9k6YaBiEuBdMa5yM98bxqSdxVElA1yJaVvwO78MQgEbf0IIl8opxjQsdBDwc1KVhfbwrGbGTltGMmpMjEjWaVYLpBFfgxGDJ91EHfsmujUEnwmPdMNH8lcc1Xwazb31B962aIbncV3labIGlSVjBM2YDpUolbMNGkl0IdYwR-MQaoaMWbAt5tDNQ/s320/64204488_129565537437.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone for Lizzie (Adams) Redmon Chessner (1860?-1912)<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64204488/lizzie-chessner)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">No doubt his mother's death was a blow to young James (or Owen, as he was now often called), but by the time of his mother's death Owen had already left Lizzie's household. According to the obituary of his uncle, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146076277/samuel-e-dean" target="_blank">Samuel Dean (1873-1941)</a>, as early as 1903 the Deans had taken Owen into their own <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colfax,_Iowa" target="_blank">Colfax</a> home, although I could not find Owen's name with the Deans in either the 1905 Iowa census or the 1910 US Census (<i>Colfax Tribune</i> 10/23/1941). Attending Colfax High School, Owen quickly showed his skill as an orator. The program for the 1906 school declamatory contest, for example, had Owen—only a tenth-grader and probably the lone African American—giving a speech on "The Unknown Speaker" (<i>Colfax Clipper </i>12/8/1906). Owen was part of the next year's competition, too, this time speaking on "Affairs in Cuba," referencing US intervention on the island (ibid., 12/12/1907). A few months later Owen recited several "Sketches from Longfellow's Poems" for the annual Longfellow Program (ibid., 12/12/1908). As a high school senior Redmon again joined the declamatory competition, an event so interesting to townsfolk that entrance cost each person twenty-five cents (ibid., 11/26/1908). So far as I could learn, Redmon won none of these competitions, but he was certainly operating at a disadvantage, originally because of his youth and inexperience but also, perhaps, because of his Missouri origins and race.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzacSZ4hzmm0ZebZBOvz_jhGitwH8xiIZgfilZA9exHeRWXj7pEBa_6TiBuaJOJItVHz22d4XboTkpXwFHlHLQP9cJd_bfb4-AAYT4KIQFBRvzCTx0SDekpJcck2XERrKR-EdHS0Fdr8-C69sUefUkivbDNO8sbOdw98braGYpXbSK-LRW6af4zKYCQ/s3210/ColfaxHS1917.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2028" data-original-width="3210" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzacSZ4hzmm0ZebZBOvz_jhGitwH8xiIZgfilZA9exHeRWXj7pEBa_6TiBuaJOJItVHz22d4XboTkpXwFHlHLQP9cJd_bfb4-AAYT4KIQFBRvzCTx0SDekpJcck2XERrKR-EdHS0Fdr8-C69sUefUkivbDNO8sbOdw98braGYpXbSK-LRW6af4zKYCQ/s320/ColfaxHS1917.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1917 Photograph of Colfax High School<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell:14566)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Before leaving Colfax High, Redmon took part in the local observance of the 1909 <a href="https://www.neh.gov/article/lincolns-centennial" target="_blank">Centenary of Abraham Lincoln</a> (Redmon's association with Lincoln would follow him into his career when he taught and administered schools named for the great emancipator). At a program convened in Colfax on Lincoln's birthday, young Owen Redmon read <a href="http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm" target="_blank">Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech</a>, the memorable lines doubtless making the reading the highlight of the occasion (ibid., 2/11/1909).</p><p style="text-align: left;">One week later Redmon was again the center of attention, this time impersonating "cupid with white wings" at a high school valentine's social. Amid the red and white decorations, the costumed Cupid pronounced a poetic greeting to each guest he introduced, "an effusion from the muse that solicited many compliments," the newspaper enthused (ibid., 2/18/1909). Ten days later the Douglass-Washington birthday was the center of celebration at <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20420199/alice-battles" target="_blank">Mrs. Battles</a>'s home, "prettily decorated with the national colors, pink and white carnations, and the cherry tree with the historical hatchet." This time Owen Redmon kicked off the program by singing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful" target="_blank">"America"</a> and a song called "Revolutionary" (ibid., 2/ 25/1909). Coming of age in Colfax, whose 1909 graduating class numbered only ten, Redmon grew accustomed to being in the spotlight, giving him an advantage over some less-experienced persons.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGoetS7brA9tMW7nXxWdtjJtbNcFHE5g3H5-EMVIDj5Eevx6z_Eack1Jz5V981Xgb1CXFdAH_TuED-CF1MLNQhSc53-w2lnughK8cJFeTR4S986lzV8tHBPhP3XnF-o5z80-_b6ve_iueAtUxwLJJSMSa15AkqhBfEsT1fW-3xW2xDmsvN5rC92jcEA/s3222/MethEpisCh1940Pic.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2034" data-original-width="3222" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGoetS7brA9tMW7nXxWdtjJtbNcFHE5g3H5-EMVIDj5Eevx6z_Eack1Jz5V981Xgb1CXFdAH_TuED-CF1MLNQhSc53-w2lnughK8cJFeTR4S986lzV8tHBPhP3XnF-o5z80-_b6ve_iueAtUxwLJJSMSa15AkqhBfEsT1fW-3xW2xDmsvN5rC92jcEA/s320/MethEpisCh1940Pic.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Methodist Episcopal Church, Colfax<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A13461)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>At the high school graduation ceremony on May 26 in the Colfax Methodist Church, the school superintendent, the high school teachers, and members of the school board all gathered on the platform along with the five female graduates, all wearing white and carrying tea rose bouquets, and the five male graduates (among whom was Owen Redmon), all sporting rose boutonnieres. The speaker for the occasion was <a href="https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/1953" target="_blank">Dr. Edward A. Steiner</a> (1866-1956) of Iowa College, "a distinguished and popular speaker who delivered a fine address...." According to the newspaper, Steiner "emphasized the idea of respect for all human life, regardless of race or color, of the fellowship and sympathy for mankind." The college professor argued that "the difference in life was only due to inheritance and opportunity...," an address bound to impress a young African American. A song from a male quartet followed the address, after which "Owen Redmon, the bright, colored boy graduate, sang a solo..." (<i>Colfax Clipper, </i> 5/27/1909). By all accounts, it was a splendid evening.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Sz1rw5bPcF8Sz1xBRl1bnb_AGz3YUnsLHzKPGmM2Tw-pAk_u8Ltgwt278-bkB6Pj2akXffbHF_7Zvd2yhtR-JMHV6yGzY2MLuXA98YO8mawQa4XycKoyeapflX_Kt1Jlcl4xBxwerEGQEDBqV_oRQWKyg0zQJGa3NSU24hx8hW0_G5mIXd5hbmQIbQ/s592/576413e423649905ba4276e5c9c51fdf.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="429" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Sz1rw5bPcF8Sz1xBRl1bnb_AGz3YUnsLHzKPGmM2Tw-pAk_u8Ltgwt278-bkB6Pj2akXffbHF_7Zvd2yhtR-JMHV6yGzY2MLuXA98YO8mawQa4XycKoyeapflX_Kt1Jlcl4xBxwerEGQEDBqV_oRQWKyg0zQJGa3NSU24hx8hW0_G5mIXd5hbmQIbQ/s320/576413e423649905ba4276e5c9c51fdf.png" width="232" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph (ca. 1914) of Dr. Edward A. Steiner<br />(Edward A. Steiner, <a href="https://archive.org/details/fromalientocitiz00steiiala/page/n9" style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: none;"><i><span style="color: black;">From Alien to Citizen: The Story of My Life in America</span></i></a> [<span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">New York, NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1914])<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">For Owen Redmon, however, the 1909 graduation ceremony was more than splendid; it directly affected his fate. According to recollections published much later, at the 1909 Colfax commencement Steiner had </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>complimented young Redmon who was the only colored boy in the graduating class. Redmon was so touched that he went to the railroad station to thank Dr. Steiner before he left for Grinnell. Dr. Steiner asked him if he intended to go to college. The boy said he'd like to if he could find work. Dr. Steiner promised to see what he could do for him (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>9/1/1968).</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">A week later Redmon received a letter from Grinnell College president, <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/04/02/102222024.html" target="_blank">John H. T. Main (1859-1931),</a> who awarded the young man a scholarship "on character and ambition." In this way circumstance helped fulfill a prayer that young Owen had often sent heavenward: </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>I prayed to God daily asking that somehow I might be given a chance to get a college education. I promised that, should I receive it, I would use it for the benefit of my people and the advancement of His kingdom ("J. Owen Redmon, Grinnell '13: Past and Present Activities," Grinnell College Alumni Award files).</blockquote><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wgP0bIvYGLnBK7VRt1CCkExdszSpg4yf3oVGIeYpMW2GYJWhsWXIpJAAHAOLZ8mywDZQldW5BQHEegaZbCBq9pJaz4hN_vRoPSLT_qwWtwXTcACCKCgdPMWrCaf-dxeBraVwFHlJZAlRJdiEIWB3wuERlZGasDqyana86dLMQevhYROQ1xeQYd0jyQ/s1042/GrinCBullV14_1916P46.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="1042" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wgP0bIvYGLnBK7VRt1CCkExdszSpg4yf3oVGIeYpMW2GYJWhsWXIpJAAHAOLZ8mywDZQldW5BQHEegaZbCBq9pJaz4hN_vRoPSLT_qwWtwXTcACCKCgdPMWrCaf-dxeBraVwFHlJZAlRJdiEIWB3wuERlZGasDqyana86dLMQevhYROQ1xeQYd0jyQ/s320/GrinCBullV14_1916P46.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell College Bulletin</i> 14(1916):46<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Enrolled at Grinnell College in the fall 1909, Redmon immediately continued his participation in public speaking, competing as a first-year in the annual Spaulding Prize competition. The <i>Marshalltown Times-Republican </i>reported that Grinnell's "Colonial Theater was packed with eager listeners...for the Spaulding prize for 'most effective public speaking.'" "The emphasis," the newspaper continued, "...is mainly on delivery, the character of the production being ignored and the convincing power of the speaker taken into account" (5/12/1910). The <i>Grinnell Herald </i>reporter thought that Redmon "showed self-possession and grace on the platform and gave a finished declamation" (5/13/1910). Redmon's subject was "Indifference," but<i>, </i>despite the theme of the talk,<i> </i>the freshman "carried his audience very successfully and suited his bodily movements to his message to a remarkable degree." The student reporter admired Redmon's voice, but thought that "faulty enunciation" undermined the final result. Nevertheless, Redmon won third prize—twenty dollars (<i>Scarlet and Black, 5/</i>14/1910).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpQKQQ012-vuW-y0XEy_2ZOf5Je2-uez5_bzI-4fQD7tFxC5H95gXgNH7mQHarC5D89tSIQcasHsLdUIXhfdFq702SkDsF-lZlCwSGoLYjosYtOzihzRvCrReOTFbDdfmyHcawkJ16fucNPhv7A3NoYUeCXchVwszrIkiPcKuDW6D4tW7iQbeyBVuVQ/s1168/ColonialThtr1890s.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="1168" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpQKQQ012-vuW-y0XEy_2ZOf5Je2-uez5_bzI-4fQD7tFxC5H95gXgNH7mQHarC5D89tSIQcasHsLdUIXhfdFq702SkDsF-lZlCwSGoLYjosYtOzihzRvCrReOTFbDdfmyHcawkJ16fucNPhv7A3NoYUeCXchVwszrIkiPcKuDW6D4tW7iQbeyBVuVQ/s320/ColonialThtr1890s.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinnell's Colonial Theater (ca. 1890s)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6172)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Success at the Spaulding competition helped Redmon make more connections on campus. For example, the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>reported in January 1911 that Redmon was one of a handful of students who had organized a new campus group, the Quill and Gavel Society. The group's published statement expressed the hope that the new organization might "bring the College nearer the ideal of democracy, a democracy which recognizes the importance of each individual...and develops the individual through subordinating all purely personal matters to the common welfare." Roy Clampitt (1888-1973), who graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1911 and later became the father of the American poet, <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/clampitt-amy-kathleen" target="_blank">Amy Clampitt</a>, served as the group's first president and Owen Redmon became the group's first secretary (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>1/21/1911). The new society gave Redmon frequent occasion to practice his speaking skills. In late March, for instance, Redmon spoke to the society on "Current Events"; two weeks later he offered Quill and Gavel a reading on 'The Government of the Canal Zone" (ibid., 3/30/1911; ibid., 4/14/1911). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGL1TUMA3EUYZpFTO4lllPHiEJdn5tCYb_j5PVEicaOWQtyNsfycArcCJcLlIyuDGrbs329POFkWHNoX6hVgBoh0W7KvXXQ1_CPQZjYCOB2yzfZSPgTKEBL-GUI8Ptj4w_PzkKYfr0kb6aeeKnyTblCr5E0gWJDRmndnbnZSy_8YQYqSzeNuaoX95gA/s1884/1913CycloneQuill&GavelPic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1884" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGL1TUMA3EUYZpFTO4lllPHiEJdn5tCYb_j5PVEicaOWQtyNsfycArcCJcLlIyuDGrbs329POFkWHNoX6hVgBoh0W7KvXXQ1_CPQZjYCOB2yzfZSPgTKEBL-GUI8Ptj4w_PzkKYfr0kb6aeeKnyTblCr5E0gWJDRmndnbnZSy_8YQYqSzeNuaoX95gA/s320/1913CycloneQuill&GavelPic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph from 1913 <i>Cyclone </i>Yearbook<br />(Redmon in front row, 1st from left)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Somehow Redmon managed to keep up with his course work while preparing and delivering all these talks. More than that, seeking ways to earn money for room and board, the young man determined to open his own shoeshine shop. The first tiny advertisement for Redmon's "Shining Parlor" at 812 Fourth Avenue appeared in the <i>Grinnell Herald </i>on April 11th; the <i>Scarlet and Black </i>edition of April 12, 1911 had the same ad, encouraging readers to "get an up-to-date shine for 5 cents." Friday's <i>Herald </i>printed a two-line, anonymous endorsement: "I just had my shoes shined at Redmon's Palace; 5c" (4/14/1911). Two weeks later the S&B told readers that Redmon's younger brother, Oscar, had come to Grinnell "to assist his brother...in his shining parlors" (4/26/1911). In a recollection published much later in life Owen remembered that, in addition to shining shoes, he had worked in a Grinnell barber shop as well as in a Grinnell restaurant (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>9/1/1968).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitX9iGG4dVYoEfkha85F149Hll-hsduVm6Qh_YgIM5S2bRNXQs5EbUcVjvg9JlZ5S5ZAahLao9ugrYxdwVqgBxIsCuzJ6nDLVjcXy1c1ejvn3Bs5amlEqR9JzfqP7G12TQKeHprYNvwLqPI79e66_Y9LpDPTD_17_FCiyAo0TGl_WalAca2p7s-BOLw/s450/6S&B12Apr1911Redmon.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="450" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiitX9iGG4dVYoEfkha85F149Hll-hsduVm6Qh_YgIM5S2bRNXQs5EbUcVjvg9JlZ5S5ZAahLao9ugrYxdwVqgBxIsCuzJ6nDLVjcXy1c1ejvn3Bs5amlEqR9JzfqP7G12TQKeHprYNvwLqPI79e66_Y9LpDPTD_17_FCiyAo0TGl_WalAca2p7s-BOLw/s320/6S&B12Apr1911Redmon.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advertisement for Owen Redmon's Shining Parlor<br />(<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>April 12, 1911)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Selections for the 1911 Spaulding Prize competition were soon announced, and again Owen Redmon was among the participants. Taking as his subject "The African in America," Redmon bested the other seven contestants, winning the first prize of fifty dollars. As he later recalled, "That $50 was the most money I had ever had at one time in my life" (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>9/1/1968). Appraising Redmon's performance in the competition, the college newspaper asserted that "Mr. Redmon surpassed in artistic finish. He demanded attention, and his subject...did much in helping him win the audience. His gestures were graceful and he moved about the stage naturally." As with the S&B article on the previous year's contest, however, the student reporter again found Redmon "troubled a little with enunciation," perhaps a reference to Redmon's Missouri origins or his use of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_English" target="_blank">Black English</a> (<i>Scarlet and Black, 5/</i>6/1911; reprinted in <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>5/11/1911)). The city's other newspaper offered a longer, more appreciative review:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>Redmon...took up the always present, the ever perplexing theme of race prejudice, as it applied to his own race. After the first few sentences, he had the entire sympathy of his audience as he told of the wrongs and injustice, the barriers against advancement in all lines, which the Afro-Americans had to face. It was a seething indictment against prevailing ideas in the United States, and, what was worse, it was hard to find a flaw in the propositions which he advanced. His delivery was such a fitting medium for the thoughts which he wished to convey that the majority of those who heard his eloquent plea heartily joined with the judges in giving him the first place (<i>Grinnell Register, 5/</i>8/1911).</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Unlike the S&B reporter, no one in Colfax found anything to criticize in Redmon's success. The Marshalltown <i>Evening Times-Republican </i>told readers that after the oratorical victory Owen "received an ovation in his home town of Colfax on Saturday evening" at a banquet organized to celebrate Redmon's prize (5/16/1911; also see <i>Grinnell Register, 5/</i>15/1911). The young man's success soon spread to Des Moines, the city's Young Colored Men's Progressive Association inviting Redmon to deliver his Spaulding oration soon to the group (<i>Scarlet and Black, 5/</i>24/1911; <i>Grinnell Herald, 5/</i>26/1911). As his sophomore year drew to a close, Redmon found himself elected vice president of Quill and Gavel, explainable at least in part by his many oratorical successes (<i>Scarlet and Black</i>, 6/3/1911). That autumn Redmon attended a meeting of the college's Debating Union which had recently made Quill and Gavel a member (ibid., 11/29/1911). In December the collegiate orator addressed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladora,_Iowa" target="_blank">Ladora</a> Congregational Church "on the race question," after which "he received many words of appreciation" (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>1/9/1912). In June at the annual Hyde Oratorical competition Redmon gave another oration directed at race in America: "An Appeal for the Afro-Americans." The newspaper complimented the speaker's technique, although "at times it was hard for him to make himself heard by those in the back seats...partly the result of the commotion caused by late arrivals"—or did Redmon's appeal make some of the listeners uncomfortable? (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>6/12/1912; <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>6/11/1912).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98yeDa4d36EQk9IcyPE4bQMno74tp5zOvtSPOG6sG5CVpqOIYUVbBgC5WFOpad4bqTarsiDVGvsoXiXteUINsAo6AGCVmN-M2ZiSAC3-QRi1V9RwHTMDPHnOlgizGWXzHQaolzNdKqTygKQBOKCf9WB-or8aLWbZz61gaAKFXjVWNmwRbpzW-jneccA/s1030/HydePrizeGCBullV8_1910P40.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="1030" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98yeDa4d36EQk9IcyPE4bQMno74tp5zOvtSPOG6sG5CVpqOIYUVbBgC5WFOpad4bqTarsiDVGvsoXiXteUINsAo6AGCVmN-M2ZiSAC3-QRi1V9RwHTMDPHnOlgizGWXzHQaolzNdKqTygKQBOKCf9WB-or8aLWbZz61gaAKFXjVWNmwRbpzW-jneccA/s320/HydePrizeGCBullV8_1910P40.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell College Bulletin</i> 8(1910):40<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Next fall Redmon was part of the Merrill Political Debate at which three teams argued the cases for the three candidates for the US Presidency. Although the sides were decided by lot, Redmon spoke in behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, and, despite the debate victory by Taft's partisans, the college newspaper thought Redmon's speech "excellent in technique and powerful in appeal" (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>11/2/1912; <i>Grinnell Herald, </i>11/1/1912). The <i>Grinnell Register </i>noted that, "Judging by the applause the audience seemed to consider Redmon's opening speech the best..." (11/4/1912). For whom Redmon actually voted I do not know, but the campus newspaper announced a few days later that Redmon was among the twenty or so men who went home to vote, Redmon being the only African American among them (<i>Scarlet and Black,</i> 11/6/1912). Perhaps Owen favored Wilson, since after the election he spoke before Quill and Gavel about "The Coming Administration" (ibid., 11/16/1912), although what he said the record does not preserve. Several times during the spring Redmon again made the newspaper because of his work at Quill and Gavel (ibid., 2/22/1913; ibid., 4/12/1913).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2bCguQq4TlwgMyrxdxS2MYfk2P99m2FfowxpKtjzsJceGx35UhtFMcNf0QiD3F_igEvRm16ZKVkfO3sTeEGvkwabKytF_OoIWVg-wGd_EFy93-Cf9pn0-xJkfg1r5SuIpP4KKz-A2Oula_5ReJJlcy-fLMbxaDKodKDn88x_NELraEhrv5w_jgZf5w/s562/1913CyclonePic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2bCguQq4TlwgMyrxdxS2MYfk2P99m2FfowxpKtjzsJceGx35UhtFMcNf0QiD3F_igEvRm16ZKVkfO3sTeEGvkwabKytF_OoIWVg-wGd_EFy93-Cf9pn0-xJkfg1r5SuIpP4KKz-A2Oula_5ReJJlcy-fLMbxaDKodKDn88x_NELraEhrv5w_jgZf5w/s320/1913CyclonePic.png" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of J. Owen Redmon in <i>1913 Cyclone </i>Yearbook<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">As graduation approached, Redmon cast his eye on the future which, unfortunately, remained out of focus. He told the S&B that he intended to teach, "probably at St. Louis" (ibid., 5/24/1913), although this prospect did not materialize. In fact, despite being a college graduate and an experienced orator, Owen Redmon found it very difficult to secure a teaching position. As he himself later reported:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>Following my graduation from Grinnell [majoring in English and History] in June 1913 I tried unsuccessfully to secure a position somewhere in the country where Negro teachers were employed. I sent out letters to various schools and colleges...Most of the replies...stated that first consideration was given to graduates of their own institutions... (Redmon, "Past and Present").</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Redmon met this unwelcome rebuff with admirable determination, and accepted whatever work he could acquire. At various times in the years after leaving Grinnell he worked as a porter in a Newton barber shop, as a night clerk and porter at the Victoria Sanitarium in Colfax, as a "helps hall" supervisor at Hotel Colfax, and as a chauffeur for an <a href="https://www.indianolaiowa.gov/" target="_blank">Indianola</a> family (ibid.). He even moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where he worked first in a garage and then at the University Club, thanks to the intervention of Stanley Gates, the brother of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Augustus_Gates" target="_blank">George Augustus Gates (1851-1912)</a>, former president of Grinnell College (ibid.).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixhfrv6jfOyi6UxxNTKLRM-9kpZ3P3-k7OUgwPqC4c7RlOdsWFc-uWKekhS49KuL15RpgcKkSXpJa7bYfqVt0yAVL6OtZvabbIaERGnYcdgEQkMyVD27trQae-MwyfQM0FwEKg-TdO4e-1XX964_nTinACgybCGhh-jM3vDbPQMYqedeSn9SW637-lkQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="1603" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixhfrv6jfOyi6UxxNTKLRM-9kpZ3P3-k7OUgwPqC4c7RlOdsWFc-uWKekhS49KuL15RpgcKkSXpJa7bYfqVt0yAVL6OtZvabbIaERGnYcdgEQkMyVD27trQae-MwyfQM0FwEKg-TdO4e-1XX964_nTinACgybCGhh-jM3vDbPQMYqedeSn9SW637-lkQ" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard Photograph of Colfax's Victoria Sanitorium (postmarked 1913)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A13612)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">In between these employments Redmon continued to mount the rostrum to deliver talks. For instance, at the Colfax 1913 Thanksgiving celebration, "Mr. J. O. Redmon, late graduate of Grinnell College, made a short and interesting talk on the race being thankful. He said many good things in his remarks, which gave rise to the thoughts of his hearers along the lines of racial progress and thankfulness for the many blessings received in the past fifty years." The <i>Bystander's </i>report expressed regret that Redmon "was compelled to close his remarks and hurry to the train which conveyed him to Grinnell College where he had been invited to deliver an address that evening" (12/5/1913). In 1915 Redmon was again back in Grinnell, taking part in a supper meeting of the campus YMCA (<i>Scarlet and Black, 6/</i>9/1915). Later that summer he went to Chicago to attend the Negro National Educational Congress, thanks to his appointment by <a href="https://www.nga.org/governor/george-washington-clarke/" target="_blank">Iowa's Republican Governor, George Washington Clarke (1852-1936)</a> (<i>Marshalltown Times-Republican, 8/</i>16/1915; <i>Grinnell Herald, 8/</i>13/1915). In 1916 Redmon joined the Des Moines branch of the NAACP to celebrate the births of Lincoln and Douglass. Before a "good-sized crowd," Redmon, "the young Negro orator of Colfax," delivered a much-admired talk on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass" target="_blank">Frederick Douglass</a> (<i>Bystander, 2/</i>18/1916).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNMKjnRb3vvdfC5CJP7lT_H-OpoTFe6ni5u7SNMgPnQCDG-X6MOJwQLJkKO4qKZkj39_aTQn_s4_z5u7kSBL7JQfiJbDHS_6hwXGaJ4EWcCj9Gh_uGnpKNgR_p4DhbTwvM9767UmZr_C3QP-5VjeB1iIcqRoKSFI0QAh2r_x2LPjgmTuq-0CvcIeeYQ/s1082/P107.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1082" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNMKjnRb3vvdfC5CJP7lT_H-OpoTFe6ni5u7SNMgPnQCDG-X6MOJwQLJkKO4qKZkj39_aTQn_s4_z5u7kSBL7JQfiJbDHS_6hwXGaJ4EWcCj9Gh_uGnpKNgR_p4DhbTwvM9767UmZr_C3QP-5VjeB1iIcqRoKSFI0QAh2r_x2LPjgmTuq-0CvcIeeYQ/s320/P107.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owen Redmon (back row, 2nd from right) at Fort Des Moines<br />(John L. Thompson, <i>History and Views of Colored Officers Training Camp for 1917<br /> at Fort Des Moines, Iowa </i>[Des Moines: The Bystander, 1917], p. 107)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">War brought an end to public speaking engagements and to efforts to find a teaching position. In June 1917 Redmon returned to Colfax, registered for the draft and applied for admission to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Des_Moines_Provisional_Army_Officer_Training_School" target="_blank">Fort Des Moines Provisional Officers Training Camp</a>, opened to African American men with college degrees. By mid-June Redmon had arrived at Fort Des Moines and was formally inducted as a 2nd Lieutenant, assigned to Headquarters, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/366th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)" target="_blank">366th Infantry Regiment</a>, 92nd Division. Special training took him to Camp Dodge and then to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Sill" target="_blank">Fort Sill,</a> Oklahoma. In between assignments Redmon sometimes visited his Uncle Sam Dean in Colfax (<i>Colfax Clipper, </i>2/14/1918). When he returned to Fort Dodge in May he found his regiment preparing to go overseas. After a brief stay at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Upton" target="_blank">Camp Upton</a> in New York, Redmon embarked on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Covington_(ID-1409)" target="_blank">USS Covington</a>, headed to France. The Americans arrived at Brest on June 15, after which Redmon received more training at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Expeditionary_Forces" target="_blank">American Expeditionary Forces</a> School for Sapping and Bombing near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbonne-les-Bains" target="_blank">Bourbonne-les-Baines</a>. Within a month he and his men were at the front, which is where the November 11th Armistice found them. Two of his men had died, several were wounded, but Redmon seems to have escaped injury. Not until February 22, 1919 did Redmon board the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Aquitania" target="_blank">RMS Aquitania</a> for the trip home, arriving in New York February 28. Back in Iowa a couple of months later, Redmon was discharged from the US Army on April 4, 1919 (Redmon, "Past and Present").</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC8rh_VSwn4w8dJ9VxOS-0FflA0Hh8tvkfoTHIrlEUazn3WlwN1Kn6e4-dKEIzMm0SiuzVg6j1GBoDo6eu2B1Buaf4h1sLkOdZNJdL8jBzMOr2tCq3kd1yRZ7Nfuqp4hXHmCuTjWq-3Y9Ec2C4DSpinOIAh_9EHqbuKj7pMLLbOZTgnvPEI6ddzHK0A/s600/600px-SS_Aquitania.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="600" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC8rh_VSwn4w8dJ9VxOS-0FflA0Hh8tvkfoTHIrlEUazn3WlwN1Kn6e4-dKEIzMm0SiuzVg6j1GBoDo6eu2B1Buaf4h1sLkOdZNJdL8jBzMOr2tCq3kd1yRZ7Nfuqp4hXHmCuTjWq-3Y9Ec2C4DSpinOIAh_9EHqbuKj7pMLLbOZTgnvPEI6ddzHK0A/s320/600px-SS_Aquitania.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1914 Photograph of the RMS Aquitania, Requisitioned as a Troop Ship in WWI<br />(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Aquitania)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Home again, with many new experiences but still without the teaching job he coveted, Redmon resumed the job search. Through the offices of a former Grinnell College friend, in June 1919 Redmon accepted the offer to cook for the Des Moines YMCA Boys Camp at Boone, Iowa, spending the whole summer working the stove. Redmon's summertime cooking at Boone clearly pleased him and became something of a habit; according to a 1969 celebration of the Camp, Redmon cooked eleven successive summers at Boone (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>3/1/1969), a welcome addition to his regular work earnings as well as an important contribution to the African American youth of greater Des Moines.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhabiFqjVRj4v8LccLBtdGomB_JojvJwcK-UJOlTGORzR3xnVhCdHldHOCoX12uqhydPDH98lw6njcBfLDgBItYFYpRmmOGSk2-RnxTFLhCFXP7oo42Iq9JCzLzklSCrIV_GKjTR_nHQ6AwDc2VebP5Apr3AXnE0LBgEupecDEqWJi1cM2ZvJnawkfg/s1074/QuincyHeraldWhig1Mar1969.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="906" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhabiFqjVRj4v8LccLBtdGomB_JojvJwcK-UJOlTGORzR3xnVhCdHldHOCoX12uqhydPDH98lw6njcBfLDgBItYFYpRmmOGSk2-RnxTFLhCFXP7oo42Iq9JCzLzklSCrIV_GKjTR_nHQ6AwDc2VebP5Apr3AXnE0LBgEupecDEqWJi1cM2ZvJnawkfg/s320/QuincyHeraldWhig1Mar1969.png" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1969 Photograph of "Chef" J. O. Redmon at Des Moines YMCA Celebration<br />(<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>March 1, 1969)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The $60 a month that Redmon received for his summer cooking did not, however, suffice, neither in monetary nor in career terms: teaching African American youth remained his objective. In the meantime, Redmon improvised. In 1919 he took and passed an examination for the position of railway mail clerk, and began riding the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Rock_Island_and_Pacific_Railroad" target="_blank">Rock Island</a> trains between Des Moines and Omaha, sorting mail. After a brief posting to Union Station in Chicago, Redmon left the railroad, and took a position as rural mail carrier in Colfax beginning in September 1920. After two years juggling the rural mail carrier duties with his summer cooking at Boone, Redmon received the very welcome news that he had been hired to teach at Lincoln High School, an all-black school in Princeton, Indiana. "I was pleased with the thought that at last I was going to be a teacher," he remarked in a much later reminiscence (Redmon, "Past and Present").<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HeP5JV2byYPAqbU8DT7C4P2GCiwwlnCqaJzaBRW9gVU1mVw-mmk8HkaEL4Ttx0LqbvH_fLE0NbDO3ZtKv9NUN2NFlclQxtlwaChLF_rXWEAp5Oz4jP52jvAxMqLjxf7qQZqHTFX1TvIkDK6ZEK2IqMuk7Z0ZyO2nmFjtFOl8J4ELnX499qwfvzvKrg/s888/LincolnHSPrincetonIN1947.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="888" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HeP5JV2byYPAqbU8DT7C4P2GCiwwlnCqaJzaBRW9gVU1mVw-mmk8HkaEL4Ttx0LqbvH_fLE0NbDO3ZtKv9NUN2NFlclQxtlwaChLF_rXWEAp5Oz4jP52jvAxMqLjxf7qQZqHTFX1TvIkDK6ZEK2IqMuk7Z0ZyO2nmFjtFOl8J4ELnX499qwfvzvKrg/s320/LincolnHSPrincetonIN1947.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1947 Photograph of Lincoln High School, Princeton, IN<br />(https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/ppl/id/1921/rec/2)<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton,_Indiana#Demographics" target="_blank">Princeton, Indiana </a>in 1920 had a population of about 7500, 5% of whom were African American. In Princeton, as in so many other places in America, African Americans studied in schools that were all-Black. Lincoln High School was one of those schools (<i>Caron's Princeton Directory for 1927</i>, p. 141), described as serving "colored" students, of whom there were only 38 in 1929. At Lincoln Redmon taught Latin as well as History and English. It proved to be a challenging assignment, as he later observed: "I discovered that some high school pupils were more difficult to handle than the horses" he had used to deliver rural mail in Iowa (Preston, "Past and Present"). But Redmon must have done well, because after five years he was promoted to teaching principal at Lincoln (<i>Indiana School Directory for 1929, </i>p. 82). In 1927-28 Redmon took some education classes at the Indiana University Extension in Princeton and in summer 1928 he studied at Drake University, embellishing his resume (Data card at Grinnell College Alumni Office). All the same, life had not been easy for the single man who in his early forties owned no home and boarded with the Lorenzo Woods family at 603 East Chestnut (1930 US Census, Ward 1, Princeton City).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Even though he now worked a long distance from Colfax and his uncle Sam and aunt Maggie Dean, Redmon regularly visited his Colfax relatives. Most of his journeys there were unremarkable, but once, after having spent the Christmas holidays with the Deans, he had a difficult automobile trip back to Princeton that consumed several days. A blizzard and deep snow caught him on the road, obliging him to detour around various snow-related obstacles. As all Blacks in 1920s America knew, traveling through white America was not easy; many hotels, restaurants, and garages refused to serve Blacks, giving rise to publication of the <i><a href="https://transcription.si.edu/project/7955" target="_blank">Negro Motorist Green Book</a>, </i>a guide for Black travelers, the first edition of which appeared only in 1936. When Redmon and his African American passenger made their 1928 trip without the help of the Green Book, finding housing and food demanded negotiating rigid racial barriers, like those he encountered around <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaSalle,_Illinois" target="_blank">LaSalle, Illinois</a>:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>We were informed that the road was blocked with snow and that 32 cars were snowed in on one road, and one farm house had as many as forty people in it. They do not like colored people in LaSalle and there are none in the town. We appealed to the Police. Two policemen visited most of the hotels with me but all claimed to be filled. So we returned to the Police Station and sat up in chairs all night....</blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Summarizing his journey later, Redmon called it "a terrible experience which I never want to go through again. I am sore and weak from it now...Winter is no time for automobiles and I intend to use the train on all other winter trips" (<i>Colfax Tribune, </i>1/26/1928).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLgUleHhq6MKhH0Au7m1qY6RSCILgFfPfNoOochS5iNTrYUvWCYxoakJnAFJcD4kHJuyzLeD6UU_phDgRmmu5PKt1u9uox2qMJ6K63FgJYO3-Tw82yHANpTZVRZKeMovIpegjtaCOONlAlrHsnQ9sFM5fLuB6Ge1ZOz7Y5Wuq6SU5e3RFHYyrEJ7D1g/s400/hsqac.org:a-look-at-lincoln-school-1872-1957.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="400" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVLgUleHhq6MKhH0Au7m1qY6RSCILgFfPfNoOochS5iNTrYUvWCYxoakJnAFJcD4kHJuyzLeD6UU_phDgRmmu5PKt1u9uox2qMJ6K63FgJYO3-Tw82yHANpTZVRZKeMovIpegjtaCOONlAlrHsnQ9sFM5fLuB6Ge1ZOz7Y5Wuq6SU5e3RFHYyrEJ7D1g/s320/hsqac.org:a-look-at-lincoln-school-1872-1957.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Lincoln Elementary, Quincy, Illinois<br />(https://www.hsqac.org/a-look-at-lincoln-school-1872-1957)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>After ten years in Princeton, Redmon found his health deteriorating, and in 1932 he resigned, returning to Iowa. In a brief autobiography he prepared for the Grinnell College Alumni Office Redmon did not specify what health issues plagued him, nor did he articulate how he spent the 1932-33 year in Colfax. His Aunt Maggie Dean had died in February 1932 (<i>Colfax Tribune, </i>2/11/1932), and, since she had effectively been his mother since 1903, Maggie Dean's passing must have impacted Redmon, perhaps precipitating his resignation and his declining health. In any case, Redmon's sojourn in Princeton was over.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-Gplen6S3gH2zr65fCD2uUktx1593-megZ0jILubB4qQLe_qSUyTYb0caiSTmhuuCbQ2cbIJuFO4mYZYNxQA2HO27yN9OfZx2xn3qUUlg3YZX08bU3vKRtUB1ifv3G-ZoYtyuYZKYVK64ANNFaU2yF76tkCvKOh_GwJJPOGGzKIcOj4hpjpbo6z1Cw/s804/QuincyHeraldWhig12Jul1933.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="804" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-Gplen6S3gH2zr65fCD2uUktx1593-megZ0jILubB4qQLe_qSUyTYb0caiSTmhuuCbQ2cbIJuFO4mYZYNxQA2HO27yN9OfZx2xn3qUUlg3YZX08bU3vKRtUB1ifv3G-ZoYtyuYZKYVK64ANNFaU2yF76tkCvKOh_GwJJPOGGzKIcOj4hpjpbo6z1Cw/s320/QuincyHeraldWhig12Jul1933.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headline from <i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>July 12, 1933<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div>In July 1933 Redmon received word that he had been appointed principal of Lincoln Elementary in Quincy, Illinois. As in Princeton, so, too, in Quincy Lincoln school was a "Negro" school. According to a 1945 directory, the school employed 5 teachers for about 117 students (<i>Illinois Directory of Schools 1945-46, </i>p. 65). Many of the pupils came from poor homes, as Redmon himself noted, telling an audience once that "fifty percent of the children attending Lincoln school were undernourished, making them susceptible to tuberculosis and other diseases" (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>11/28/1937).</div><div><br /></div><div>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy,_Illinois" target="_blank">city of Quincy</a> was much larger than Princeton; the 1930 US census found almost 40,000 residents. Located on a bend of the Mississippi River, a little northeast of Hannibal, Missouri and southeast of Keokuk, Iowa, Quincy promised much shorter trips home to Colfax. Although Aunt Maggie was now gone, Redmon's aging Uncle Sam still resided in the Spring City, drawing the Quincy principal back to Iowa often.</div><div><br /></div><div>The new job also made possible another change in Redmon's life: marriage. Apparently during the 1932-33 academic year he had become acquainted with <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105382782/bertha-g-redmon" target="_blank">Bertha Strothers Gaines (1887-1971)</a>, who had been widowed sometime in 1922. In 1930 she was working as a janitor and living in Des Moines with her two sons, Donald (11) and Harold (9). How she and Owen became acquainted I don't know, but in August 1933 they married in Des Moines. Immediately thereafter Redmon took his blended family to Quincy where they established a home at 1736 State Street.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAlDRBzk_aI6AIikA8BZNuuY3whk7PudqkmEwT0SXV48oWi8lH2ekRPT0dE4Gd7eZ4O1yuhqmj1zFBDzCek8jIHq0f5S4-vIHbg_CRkuaLJHIJ6qrBMGAci5JEbfF-qmsAvaeg25IA8H-C6yt9UKGbgpu3nN2K-vcKPGVzD85NUl8AImMnx9NnwSUaw/s2560/1933MarrGainesRedmon.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="2016" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAlDRBzk_aI6AIikA8BZNuuY3whk7PudqkmEwT0SXV48oWi8lH2ekRPT0dE4Gd7eZ4O1yuhqmj1zFBDzCek8jIHq0f5S4-vIHbg_CRkuaLJHIJ6qrBMGAci5JEbfF-qmsAvaeg25IA8H-C6yt9UKGbgpu3nN2K-vcKPGVzD85NUl8AImMnx9NnwSUaw/s320/1933MarrGainesRedmon.jpeg" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1933 Marriage Certificate for James O. Redmon and Bertha Gaines<br />(Ancestry.com: Iowa, U.S., Marriage Records, 1880-1945)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>As Redmon made clear later in his life, he remained deeply religious, ultimately becoming licensed as a local preacher within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Methodist_Episcopal_Church" target="_blank">African Methodist Episcopal church</a>. But even at Grinnell classmates knew Redmon to be closely connected to his faith, a knowledge that helps explain how Redmon sometimes presided over college class prayer meetings (<i>Scarlet and Black</i>, 4/27/1912). But in Princeton for the first time Redmon served as a substitute pastor at the A. M. E. church when the regular minister left. His sermons proved popular, leading the Quarterly Conference of the A. M. E. church to issue Redmon a license as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodist_local_preacher" target="_blank">"local preacher."</a> Although he later declined to be made a full-fledged minister, Redmon remained, as he later recalled, "a local preacher and assistant to all my pastors since" (Preston, "Past and Present"). In Quincy he worshipped and served at the <a href="https://khqa.com/news/local/bethal-methodist-turns-171" target="_blank">Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church</a>.</div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgku5J8HRwzqTlZXicgzbm9WMd_A9rZz7_V3nmXHgzCnZur27q9DUq2x3g0HP7js8zbLTM3coVqhCV20eZHw5X5rgPJansz4KYWhQ_9K1CtmeN3pgowTiSEp_K84EumQAdSsrxlVYLIpD9Bh699V6xv7a7XlJZC8iJHjyi8SfqhWNdxRLemmHtlTWdQqg/s1090/BethelAMEChurch.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1090" data-original-width="930" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgku5J8HRwzqTlZXicgzbm9WMd_A9rZz7_V3nmXHgzCnZur27q9DUq2x3g0HP7js8zbLTM3coVqhCV20eZHw5X5rgPJansz4KYWhQ_9K1CtmeN3pgowTiSEp_K84EumQAdSsrxlVYLIpD9Bh699V6xv7a7XlJZC8iJHjyi8SfqhWNdxRLemmHtlTWdQqg/s320/BethelAMEChurch.png" width="273" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Quincy, IL<br />(image taken from 2018 Google Street view)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">Redmon had declined the offer to become a fully-licensed minister because he wanted to focus upon his work with African American youth. And in Quincy the school principal often found himself supporting local kids, in and out of school. In October 1934, for instance, the newspaper reported on the arrest of two thirteen-year-old "Negro boys" for theft of a bicycle. But when Redmon appeared at court, the judge allowed the boys to go, entrusting them to Redmon and a man from the school's men's club (ibid., 10/9/1934). When the "Negro boy scout" troop was reorganized in Quincy in 1936, Redmon was one of three men serving as troop committeeman and later served as chaplain and committee chairman (ibid., 1/11/1936; ibid., 1/14/1936; ibid., 2/17/1940)). Redmon also seems to have founded a quartet from children who had attended Lincoln, and he often took the "Musical Ambassadors" to meetings of the school's PTA and other groups (<i>Quincy Herald-Whig, </i>3/22/1935; ibid., 12/15/1935<i>; </i>ibid., 9/27/1936).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Redmon had not forgotten, however, that race, a subject he had addressed in several of his college speeches, remained a vital issue in America. When a local church embarked upon a series of six meetings devoted to the "Kingdom of God on Earth," James O. Redmon delivered one of the talks, taking as his subject "The Kingdom and Race" (ibid., 1/16/1938). At a meeting of the Lincoln school PTA a few weeks later, Redmon talked about "The Negro in Our History," his contribution to observance of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month" target="_blank">Negro History week</a> (ibid., 2/2/1938). At another Lincoln PTA meeting, Redmon spoke on an "Equal Chance." "The Negro asks no special favors," the principal said, "but simply requests [that] he be regarded as an American citizen...If America is to lead in the full vindication of equal opportunity, Christian fraternity and liberty, America must treat 'the oppressed race' decently," Redmon concluded (ibid., 4/28/40). Redmon's reputation as a speaker and his views on race brought him the role of keynote speaker for a "Race Relations Day" at Union Methodist Church. With representatives from China, Palestine, Greece, Austria, Germany, and Japan on the platform, Redmon, "representing the Negro race," delivered a talk on "America's Choice." With World War II raging around the globe, Redmon emphasized how, "For the second time in a generation, the honor of our country has been pledged to the noblest of causes. Our civilization preaches equality in God. Therefore, we must leave other people to live on equal terms of liberty." The newspaper does not say whether Redmon directed any of his remarks to the absence of equality within America, but African Americans in the audience will surely have noticed the parallels (ibid., 2/14/44).</p><p style="text-align: left;">The 1940s brought several challenges to the Redmon family. In early 1940 a fire did serious damage to the family home, firemen chopping holes in the roof to access the fire (ibid., 2/2/1940). Even more disturbing was the October 1941 death of Samuel Dean, Redmon's Uncle Sam. Dean had lived alone in Colfax after his wife's 1932 death. But in early 1941 his health rapidly deteriorated until finally, in early September, he moved to Quincy to live with the Redmons. Within six weeks the 68-year-old was dead (<i>Colfax Tribune, </i>10/23/1941). A decade later the Redmons endured a similar trial when Bertha's father, L. W. Strothers, fell into poor health. Autumn 1950 he moved to Quincy to live with his daughter and son-in-law who served and comforted him until his May 30, 1951 death (ibid., 6/7/1951).</p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><p style="text-align: left;">The 1909 Colfax High School graduating class had announced as its motto "Labor Conquers All," a slogan that could be applied very well to Redmon himself (<i>Colfax Clipper,</i> 5/13/1909). Although Redmon resigned from his duties at Lincoln school in 1955, throughout his last years the Colfax native maintained a furious pace of community activism. He helped found a Citizens' Good Government League in 1951 and that same year joined the Quincy Interracial Council's scholarship committee. Later he spoke on "Human Rights" before a Baha'i study group in Quincy. The same year that he resigned he joined a citizen group formed to attract to Quincy "outstanding speakers on topics of public interest." Three years later his alma mater brought him back to Grinnell to bestow on him an Alumni Award. After retirement he served many years on the city's Council on Human Relations from whom in 1965 he received a plaque for twenty years' service. In 1971 Quincy's Senior Citizen Council named Redmon "Senior Citizen of the Year" (ibid., 7/20/1971). For twenty years he was president of the Negro Advancement Association of Quincy; he was also a long-time member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and he was a director and occasional speaker of the Friendly Visiting Service of the United Fund and Welfare Council of Quincy. Because he had helped secure funding for the Frederick Ball Community building at 815 Elm, in 2006 the center was renamed as the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community-Organization/Redmon-Lee-Community-Association-558622827483132/" target="_blank">Redmon and Lee Youth and Adult Community Association,</a> partly in Redmon's honor (ibid., 11/26/2006). And this is only an incomplete list of his community contributions. James Owen Redmon had certainly labored long and hard, even if his efforts had not conquered all the injustice and discrimination that African Americans encountered.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5xNEkXWfJOSs-nFp96Xu5QJqNFowy4XGG5dQTYbdAG0eN1YNBFA8wGnbqBBAGtcG5mZhc7nCIy3kNfFtFiHtGoaI1uSMARp3LU3csdUPEKG_GjN8ld8634FEeyECPf5ODTqmuVsmLLiOHc6HjEo2VwIl9s6MjB9Q8mLb69Mpsuz_fhT-6r3wUJh4kw/s1556/Redmon&LeeCommCtr2012.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1556" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5xNEkXWfJOSs-nFp96Xu5QJqNFowy4XGG5dQTYbdAG0eN1YNBFA8wGnbqBBAGtcG5mZhc7nCIy3kNfFtFiHtGoaI1uSMARp3LU3csdUPEKG_GjN8ld8634FEeyECPf5ODTqmuVsmLLiOHc6HjEo2VwIl9s6MjB9Q8mLb69Mpsuz_fhT-6r3wUJh4kw/s320/Redmon&LeeCommCtr2012.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redmon and Lee Community Association, 815 Elm St., Quincy, IL<br />(2012 Photograph from Google maps)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>When his wife, Bertha, died in January 1971 (ibid., 1/4/1971), Redmon was left alone; he and Bertha had had no children of their own and his stepsons were far away—one in Chicago and the other in Puerto Rico—but he had his Quincy friends, including the generations of students whom he had guided through the halls of Lincoln school and into their futures, among them the seven African American children whom they had fostered. <p style="text-align: left;">February 10, 1978 James Owen Redmon died in <a href="https://www.blessinghealth.org/" target="_blank">Quincy's Blessing Hospital.</a> Labor may not, in fact, conquer all, as the 1909 Colfax High School graduates had hoped, but James Owen Redmon, the Colfax orator and 1909 Colfax High School graduate, had labored long and honorably within the Black communities of a racially divided country. He had spoken often, with great skill and passion, to white audiences about racial injustice in America, but he had also worked decades within "Negro schools" to aid generations of Black men and women to succeed. As the 1958 Grinnell College Alumni Award remarked, Colfax's orator was a "loved and respected leader of his race."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-67776180633311962542022-03-16T13:32:00.001-07:002022-03-17T06:18:42.164-07:00When Grinnell Got a Hospital...<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Having had occasion to visit a hospital recently, I found myself wondering about hospital care in Grinnell a century ago. If today in the US <a href="https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/faststats/NationalDiagnosesServlet" target="_blank">childbirth, septicemia, heart failure, and osteoarthritis</a> are the main reasons for hospitalization, what drove people to the hospital back then, and what did physicians do to help them? Were hospital admissions common or rare? Was surgery a solution to which doctors often turned or not?</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfd8HMR0EwejCq4TI8tlql87RgdhtyrOWoVUGTuYSnNUjW7LWh48rqqcI-IyNHS3Vco01kpxxawYeqNQchJFeDYKaX8ghnWLTMbL5-mOUHaTE375sEeVCHkAIv81bFfBTPfs02vhKirhvjuMJ93sSzjionxdHhO-RZ6oz0NAo3gqRSGV1AwlvdnwxnQQ=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="141" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfd8HMR0EwejCq4TI8tlql87RgdhtyrOWoVUGTuYSnNUjW7LWh48rqqcI-IyNHS3Vco01kpxxawYeqNQchJFeDYKaX8ghnWLTMbL5-mOUHaTE375sEeVCHkAIv81bFfBTPfs02vhKirhvjuMJ93sSzjionxdHhO-RZ6oz0NAo3gqRSGV1AwlvdnwxnQQ=s320" width="71" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Photograph of the binder of Grinnell Hospital Register, 1915-1917<br />(Courtesy Drake Community Library)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Happily, two hospital registers, covering the years 1915-1919, survive for the last years of Grinnell City Hospital at 1030 Elm Street. Each register provides space to enter the details on 400 persons admitted to hospital in the period that overlapped World War I and the arrival of the so-called "Spanish flu." Today's post looks at the hospital registers to see what brought the men and women of early Grinnell to the hospital and what the local physicians did to help them.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The surviving registers do not come from Grinnell's first hospital, an eight-bed facility that <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/22/SomersPE.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. Pearl Somers</a> (1870-1952) founded </span><span>in 1901</span><span> </span><span>in his own home at 1127 Park Street. Not much is known about the patients or practice of that facility, which Somers reluctantly closed in 1904 (</span><i>Reflections 1967-2007: A History of Grinnell Regional Medical Center</i><span>, pp. 5-6). Despite the fact that most doctoring at the time took place at the patient's home, Grinnell's physicians and generous community support led to the opening of a new hospital in 1908 at 1030 Elm Street. It is from this second Grinnell hospital that the patient registers referenced here come.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvPwS87DrVRh1BzBnLhhtmAAtjb4MwhGTRu7jupgBLWvmfLaMTLF84ll-kzrlI9BCYV-YJkSJ2nRa6qTWRl0LK2eXtfAjAgGXE2r5CtNWxq2V5LbERmRUzgr0NNDDia7mWOmda6hAsj29HcrOjNbuhP0FcCMST_uTo4zHJGVXQ010c8S_7xc-OlY2BZA=s900" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="900" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvPwS87DrVRh1BzBnLhhtmAAtjb4MwhGTRu7jupgBLWvmfLaMTLF84ll-kzrlI9BCYV-YJkSJ2nRa6qTWRl0LK2eXtfAjAgGXE2r5CtNWxq2V5LbERmRUzgr0NNDDia7mWOmda6hAsj29HcrOjNbuhP0FcCMST_uTo4zHJGVXQ010c8S_7xc-OlY2BZA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinnell City Hospital (ca. 1910)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A14514)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The house at 1030 Elm, often called Murray Hall, had functioned for some years as a rooming house for college students. The 1894 Grinnell College directory, for instance, identified a dozen students living there, including four academy students; the 1904 college directory listed sixteen student-residents. But in April 1908, the new Grinnell City hospital opened in this building, refitted to serve its new medical purposes.</span><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeHrz3eXPay66DbTUY72VNjNgCMemroIvMWlYR60OpZ3eAecm65ccJChwi1Gx09w1OLtnYhI28FoX1QKdd2Yd6_lL_09ADer6rP7NA6W0lzly9DGzt_94JHKUKDicgzeHXyf2eC2zFJ2viJxZI-D0G5fi6xKwdrtIPLiefpaNdinNgKl0PpZwD1eXqBA=s1715" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1715" data-original-width="1171" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjeHrz3eXPay66DbTUY72VNjNgCMemroIvMWlYR60OpZ3eAecm65ccJChwi1Gx09w1OLtnYhI28FoX1QKdd2Yd6_lL_09ADer6rP7NA6W0lzly9DGzt_94JHKUKDicgzeHXyf2eC2zFJ2viJxZI-D0G5fi6xKwdrtIPLiefpaNdinNgKl0PpZwD1eXqBA=s320" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-remodeling Photograph (ca. 2000) of First-floor Hallway 1030 Elm Street, Looking To Front Door<br />(Photograph Thomas Grabinski, Courtesy of Drake Community Library, Grinnell, IA)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>An enthusiastic newspaper review of the new hospital described the building's layout which seems to have embraced the original plan, adapting it to new uses. Entering from Elm Street, one came into a hall which opened onto a reception room where, one imagines, the hospital registers were maintained. A dining room lay just to the east, and behind that a kitchen and an operating room that faced southeast. "The operating room...is arranged to cause a minimum of trouble in keeping it asceptic [sic]," the newspaper enthused, "from the tile linoleum floor to the enameled walls and glass operating table" ("New City Hospital Opened Yesterday," </span><i>Grinnell Herald </i><span>April 10, 1908). Beyond the operating room lay the Men's Ward (whose costs the local <a href="https://odd-fellows.org/" target="_blank">Odd Fellows</a> and <a href="https://odd-fellows.org/about/rebekahs/" target="_blank">Rebekahs</a> donated) with three beds, each "adjustable and made so as to be easily kept clean." The Women's Ward, "which is furnished beyond the need of any possible improvement," occupied "one of the best locations, looking out on the southwest..." (ibid.).</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyKjuDnluBsx2nFqCS4IjNrwz3qQNVuM77pU_OU4mpr1bwsFmkX8R2ANqmp2PLm7rPIgOl5IV3M73iufirnhVeSiNR0rRBiWtx6wiXOZ1jR7uUXfD5_C2OID7ZBO37qQpc3wK5WapTZ0IyqwGh7Mzr1Gcfy6dknWq8N3TOF9h_9AK4604DM_YGKSqPfA=s1997" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="1997" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyKjuDnluBsx2nFqCS4IjNrwz3qQNVuM77pU_OU4mpr1bwsFmkX8R2ANqmp2PLm7rPIgOl5IV3M73iufirnhVeSiNR0rRBiWtx6wiXOZ1jR7uUXfD5_C2OID7ZBO37qQpc3wK5WapTZ0IyqwGh7Mzr1Gcfy6dknWq8N3TOF9h_9AK4604DM_YGKSqPfA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph (ca. 2000) of the Door to the Men's Ward, Named for I.O.O.E. (barely visible on door)<br />(Photograph Thomas Grabinski; Courtesy Drake Community Library, Grinnell, IA)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Six private rooms—previously bedrooms—filled the second story. "From the fine linen of the beds to the beautiful pictures and new furnishings everything was as much as could be desired...," the newspaper continued. Several local organizations—<a href="https://www.peointernational.org/about-peo" target="_blank">PEO;</a> <a href="https://pythiansisters.org/" target="_blank">Pythian Sisters</a>; and Grinnell Hospital Association—underwrote costs of three rooms while private donors (Mr. & Mrs. <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/M2/ManattWesley.pdf" target="_blank">Wesley Manatt</a>; Mr. and Mrs. G. H. McMurray; and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/N/NorrisElizabeth.pdf" target="_blank">Mrs. D. W. Norris</a>—supported several others. </span><span>A laundry and drying room along with a furnace room and a new hot-water furnace occupied the basement.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the years around World War I Grinnell was home to about 5000 people. The hospital registers count about 200 admissions per year, a figure that included patients from other towns in the area. This means that a hospital visit remained an unusual experience in pre-1920 Grinnell. In this era <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2021/10/when-doctors-made-house-callswith-radium.html" target="_blank">physician home visits or self-medication was much more common than admission to hospital.</a> Nevertheless, some Grinnell folk found their way into the hospital, hoping for relief from the health issues with which they contended. The hospital registers preserve the history of their visits.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzwgMbBWAftUCTGid-otH8w1NWTinhMVS4YxKtIoycGpb6kWhR8bJT1g820t64Y2nCgBAInHVAx7J1PRtGwD6l1MAe-D2Bpm-BPUNeIdv8L2aX6IhMVhq7fgr7gY4_eN9iHXSw61T6cI4EWxC86KDmpGHZLV1SItbG59gG3MEjIYOX-gTaTQbl9OO-tQ=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgzwgMbBWAftUCTGid-otH8w1NWTinhMVS4YxKtIoycGpb6kWhR8bJT1g820t64Y2nCgBAInHVAx7J1PRtGwD6l1MAe-D2Bpm-BPUNeIdv8L2aX6IhMVhq7fgr7gY4_eN9iHXSw61T6cI4EWxC86KDmpGHZLV1SItbG59gG3MEjIYOX-gTaTQbl9OO-tQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample Entry from Grinnell Hospital Register<br />(Courtesy Drake Community Library, Grinnell, IA)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The registers allowed one page for each admission, detailing the name of the patient, the patient's address, age, occupation, religion, and address of a friend. There then followed space to identify the name of the patient's physician, the room to which the patient was assigned, the "disease" (meaning, presumably, the diagnosis), the operation (when there was one), the anesthetic deployed and by whom, and the name of the doctor or doctors who performed the operation. The last lines asked the dates of the patient's admission and discharge, the size of the fee, and an indication of when the fee was paid.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Compilers of the registers did not respond to all questions for every patient. "Occupation" was often left unfilled as was the address of a friend. Hospital officials also often failed to enter a "Disease," although more regularly provided entries for the type of surgery, type of anesthesia (almost always <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyND4M2WrlI" target="_blank">ether</a>), and the names of the doctors supplying anesthesia and those performing the operation. These data permit a rough understanding of what brought Grinnell area men and women to the city hospital in the years between 1915 and 1919.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The extant hospital registers report that the two most frequent surgeries performed there between 1915 and late 1919 were appendectomies and tonsillectomies. The registers count 108 appendectomies (along with another half-dozen other operations to which appendectomies were joined) over the four years covered by the books—about two every month or about 13% of all hospital admissions. Tonsillectomies were slightly more usual, the books identifying 119 cases addressed in the hospital. In addition, the registers reported another 19 patients whose tonsils were removed in the physician's office and a handful of other cases when doctors removed <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/adenoids.html#:~:text=Adenoids%20are%20a%20patch%20of,through%20the%20mouth%20and%20nose." target="_blank">adenoids</a> as well as tonsils.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZsFLbVzjaJj4KLdicvz3JT13Ns8I3FpaW8dI_u7ev14_kKp4TpLxNWpq7X2czC73PCEyCthWy3WpWkTikVFIXzJIxxH0XoJR2YvBbA93hF35mamrPHtBuMHD_I8o6hR8O6MFvjmPkxACQoPDLOif6UZqh5ttz6zkWUZ3VI-GmL1p3af4Eua5b9quUlg=s866" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZsFLbVzjaJj4KLdicvz3JT13Ns8I3FpaW8dI_u7ev14_kKp4TpLxNWpq7X2czC73PCEyCthWy3WpWkTikVFIXzJIxxH0XoJR2YvBbA93hF35mamrPHtBuMHD_I8o6hR8O6MFvjmPkxACQoPDLOif6UZqh5ttz6zkWUZ3VI-GmL1p3af4Eua5b9quUlg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MacKenzie-type Double Guillotine Used in Late 19th-Century Tonsillectomies<br />(https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co175957/mackenzie-type-double-tonsil-guillotine-london-england-1869-1900-tonsil-guillotine)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Although some form of tonsillectomy is reported in ancient times, the operation fell out of favor for a long time until new, more efficient surgical tools appeared around 1900. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillectomy" target="_blank">By the early twentieth century, tonsillectomies became very common, especially for children</a><span>. In this way, the Grinnell hospital data correlate well with the most modern medical practice elsewhere in America. The great majority of tonsillectomies done in the Grinnell Hospital belonged to Dr. </span><a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/52/LauderClarkH.pdf" target="_blank">C. H. Lauder</a><span> (1884-1953), who specialized in eyes, ears, nose and throat. A recent graduate of the University of Iowa medical school, Lauder opened his practice in Grinnell in 1910, and, according to the hospital registers, often performed tonsillectomies within his downtown office (913 Main Street, upstairs), although why these were registered in hospital books I do not know.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9wqEBdUQKJn3hwAC7oCv8lt4JntjpPt43ncwDMIAoCFNMCG4aObtv46W9KKfFiZHiorfXVn61KWNUUHI5sVvHNtHCCvZEHPPZuQIXJ20Yr0FfKliwt5941MkDi5td4BmP3UwKphc9r-cKlmQjXGFO8tFlITos_U9fDdXBlnAHOfViLHFGzIn2sEhKPA=s716" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="716" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9wqEBdUQKJn3hwAC7oCv8lt4JntjpPt43ncwDMIAoCFNMCG4aObtv46W9KKfFiZHiorfXVn61KWNUUHI5sVvHNtHCCvZEHPPZuQIXJ20Yr0FfKliwt5941MkDi5td4BmP3UwKphc9r-cKlmQjXGFO8tFlITos_U9fDdXBlnAHOfViLHFGzIn2sEhKPA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Herald, </i>October 7, 1910<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendectomy" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">Appendectomy has a much shorter histor</span></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendectomy" target="_blank">y</a><span>, the first cases of appendix removal being reported only in the nineteenth century. Grinnell's doctors, who performed the great majority of surgeries at Grinnell hospital, must have been among the first or second generation of physicians to learn the proper methods for diagnosing appendicitis and for operating to remove the appendix. Older Grinnellians would not have been familiar with the operation which came to prevail in the hospital's operating theater.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The third most-common "surgery" performed at the Grinnell Hospital in the early twentieth century was child delivery. Most Grinnell-area babies continued to be born at home rather than in hospital, but hospital registers identify some 60 successful deliveries over the four years recorded there. Two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section" target="_blank">c-section operations</a> occurred at hospital in these years, and at least one stillbirth. Hospital registers also identify five <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ectopic-pregnancy/symptoms-causes/syc-20372088#:~:text=An%20ectopic%20pregnancy%20occurs%20when,is%20called%20a%20tubal%20pregnancy." target="_blank">ectopic pregnancies</a> and six miscarriages, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">an indication, perhaps, that only mothers whose pregnancies presaged difficulties chose to use the hospital for their children's births. In cases like these, doctors might find it advisable to perform <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curettage" target="_blank">curettage</a> (or curettement), a procedure recorded at least 28 times. So-called "incomplete abortions" and other ailments like pelvic infections might also lead physicians to employ the curette.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGD-4UZ-pyq-M8upmgXm-zj6f1r7E2c8dMJhxcRq7qGTDFg0pTLLEa-KjiKhOS2yNSTgfh0CYjykEipC5XTT2d1B62637JNapu0By0RfwxrMinXohbOwfTh4kFyevzeLVhp8uk1hUToCNchlUWOFC_huEBO19Vn3-9WlVc6QmvhuRssLirI8QgVjc69w=s1032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="1032" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGD-4UZ-pyq-M8upmgXm-zj6f1r7E2c8dMJhxcRq7qGTDFg0pTLLEa-KjiKhOS2yNSTgfh0CYjykEipC5XTT2d1B62637JNapu0By0RfwxrMinXohbOwfTh4kFyevzeLVhp8uk1hUToCNchlUWOFC_huEBO19Vn3-9WlVc6QmvhuRssLirI8QgVjc69w=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Selection of Curettes<br />(https://obgynkey.com/dilatation-and-curettage/)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">In a community largely dependent upon manual labor it is small surprise to learn that hernias brought to the hospital in these years a dozen Grinnell citizens who found relief from surgical intervention. Hemorrhoids were twice as common a problem in early Grinnell, perhaps a function of the meat-heavy diet and consequent constipation. Here, too, Grinnell doctors were able to provide surgical repair.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH9f546Hwx9Oh6db-QyMcE6QuPtx4zr8jF-iP7PI27KOz0G1XkWo0JvZ0UAVYRaRaLPLGPbWD8YCST-mHiLkNt379VfyUqosSL07VW0g6QHdbSRf0gnP7vyhZ1EQ2_vvzZh7QJQYF0bL8T3r9roT_spjfEbZiKWezWd85DhwWCswW6SHCoi2QZfLuNlw=s998" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="998" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH9f546Hwx9Oh6db-QyMcE6QuPtx4zr8jF-iP7PI27KOz0G1XkWo0JvZ0UAVYRaRaLPLGPbWD8YCST-mHiLkNt379VfyUqosSL07VW0g6QHdbSRf0gnP7vyhZ1EQ2_vvzZh7QJQYF0bL8T3r9roT_spjfEbZiKWezWd85DhwWCswW6SHCoi2QZfLuNlw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Register, </i>January 6, 1916<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">The Grinnell Hospital, of course, offered help for other illnesses, although the physicians were not always able to do much. Hospital records for these four years report at least 28 pneumonia diagnoses along with another 21 cases thought to be either influenza or pneumonia. These numbers seem surprisingly low, inasmuch as they include the <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2017/11/when-spanish-flu-hit-grinnell.html" target="_blank">era when the great influenza pandemic blew through Grinnell</a>. Many of the Grinnell residents who contracted flu apparently remained at home, nursed by family members who, not infrequently, themselves soon contracted the virus.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Typhoid was diagnosed in another 21 Grinnell patients. No surgery or then-available medicine was of any use in these cases, so patients either survived or didn't. Similarly immune to surgical help were the persons diagnosed with alcoholism or with some form of debility caused by nerves.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxO-O0BbLl9U73dRIKK0TWfKLyDvyGIygi4b7Gkq9rFkc5JI-th8wOVRfPtPRalUsZjhpCVT84I1jaPhP7OLJVPNggFc5jiHk5JEw0OMawvDnC7jsg8AvYAQC_svRlRJ1r-QWQAI2m2Il1UY0UPeb8zeoOqt3zVd2ymNpDTBHHvGxBrbeBPjgZmAne2A=s1463" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1463" data-original-width="1078" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxO-O0BbLl9U73dRIKK0TWfKLyDvyGIygi4b7Gkq9rFkc5JI-th8wOVRfPtPRalUsZjhpCVT84I1jaPhP7OLJVPNggFc5jiHk5JEw0OMawvDnC7jsg8AvYAQC_svRlRJ1r-QWQAI2m2Il1UY0UPeb8zeoOqt3zVd2ymNpDTBHHvGxBrbeBPjgZmAne2A=s320" width="236" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell Register, </i>September 25, 1916<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351250#:~:text=Tuberculosis%20(TB)%20is%20a%20potentially,air%20via%20coughs%20and%20sneezes." target="_blank">Tuberculosis</a>, although not common in early Grinnell, was nevertheless deadly; in the absence of antibiotics, doctors could do little, as the case of Joe Canton illustrates. Admitted to hospital on the last day of August 1915, Canton died the next day, apparently having courted tuberculosis previously for some time. Locals knew little about the man, so that, when they discovered among his possessions a notebook with the name of Frank Knute of <a href="https://www.cityoflittlefalls.com/" target="_blank">Little Falls, Minnesota</a>, officials tried to reach the Minnesota relatives. Alas, the Knute family denied any connection with the Grinnell man, so Poweshiek County paid the $3 hospital bill, and the Social Service League covered the cost of the funeral and arranged for Canton to be buried in potter's field at Hazelwood (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>September 7, 1915).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0sZRbkAX8m3qtZA9iX7OmoAFn0Q7L75Baiu1WYN4noEVaHjuovLS8CN58JBI7WRi0W46xnX9Lxagvhj4v5FJFRuAzAWqnZJZkLh-hsWQhiztJJhhL8-DW_t2O4eWAiW7soFKZztllcwAFSkfzHp_23XQSVvRjnnYMOsxvpAhVG-KOI8h2rKvp7fFwgA=s1280" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="1280" height="41" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0sZRbkAX8m3qtZA9iX7OmoAFn0Q7L75Baiu1WYN4noEVaHjuovLS8CN58JBI7WRi0W46xnX9Lxagvhj4v5FJFRuAzAWqnZJZkLh-hsWQhiztJJhhL8-DW_t2O4eWAiW7soFKZztllcwAFSkfzHp_23XQSVvRjnnYMOsxvpAhVG-KOI8h2rKvp7fFwgA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract from the Potter's Field List of Burials at Hazelwood Cemetery<br />(Drake Community Library Local History Archive)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Perhaps the most unsurprising category of diagnosis included fractures and other body traumas, like scalp wounds or hand injuries. Grinnell physicians were usually able to provide prompt repair for these problems, and most of their patients were soon up and back to their normal routines. Sometimes, however, surgeons had to resort to desperate measures, as happened to </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/95590814/william-edmond-scofield" target="_blank">William Scofield (1874-1930)</a><span>, for instance. Scofield was part of a 1915 railroad crew at work on a bridge three miles north of Grinnell. When one of the jacks that the men were using to leverage a steel girder into place jumped out of position and struck Schofield on the head, the force of it threw the man twenty feet down the embankment. Trainmen rushed him to Grinnell where Dr. Somers took the man to the hospital, there discovering that the "dislocation of the right knee was so severe that it had caused laceration of the blood vessels and all circulation was cut off in the right foot" (</span><i>Grinnell Register, </i><span>November 18, 1915). Somers determined that it was necessary to amputate the right leg at the knee.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182495721/charles-eastman" target="_blank">Charles Eastman (1890-1917)</a> fared worse. An employee of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Rock_Island_and_Pacific_Railroad" target="_blank">Rock Island Railroad</a>, the twenty-seven-year-old was up a utility pole, stringing wire along the railroad track. For reasons unknown, Eastman fell about 35 feet, landing at the foot of the pole; "the skull was fractured at the base of the brain and both bones of the left arm were broken" (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>January 9, 1917; <i>Grinnell Register, </i>January 8, 1917). Others at the site rushed Eastman to the Grinnell hospital where he lingered for about three hours before dying; doctors could do little.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another patient who died in hospital was <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/D/DecampElmer.pdf" target="_blank">Elmer DeCamp (1845-1919)</a>, who operated a farm two miles north of Snow's Corner (intersection of 6th Avenue and Penrose). Since DeCamp lived alone, the stroke he suffered at home in February 1919 went unnoticed until Frank Sturgeon arrived to conclude some business. Sturgeon discovered DeCamp unconscious in his chair, but the situation could have been much worse: Sturgeon also found a kerosene lamp, which had been knocked on the floor, and had burned and scorched some papers before burning a hole in the wooden floor. Surprisingly, the house had not caught fire. Taken to the Grinnell Hospital, DeCamp proved unable to recount the details, since the stroke had deprived him of speech. He remained in hospital for several days before death took him. Doctors were powerless to remedy the work of the stroke.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the more surprising reports in the Grinnell hospital records concerns <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/circumcision/about/pac-20393550#:~:text=Circumcision%20is%20the%20surgical%20removal,it's%20a%20more%20complex%20procedure." target="_blank">circumcision</a>. Presumably new male babies born at the hospital were all circumcised, as the practice had become increasingly common in the US at the time. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_circumcision#cite_note-84" target="_blank">By one estimate</a>, around 30% of American males born in 1900 were circumcised. But if, as seems likely, most babies in the Grinnell area at this time continued to be born at home, many without the presence of a doctor, most boys would not have been circumcised at birth. This circumstance helps us make better sense of some other cases that appear in the hospital registers. Take, for example, the case of <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62017114/donald-eugene-dawley" target="_blank">Donald Dawley (1901-1980)</a>, who was sixteen years old when admitted to hospital in August 1916. The spare wording of the register reports only that the reason was circumcision, which <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/P/ParishDrOraFrank.pdf" target="_blank">Dr. O. F. Parish (1873-1947) </a>accomplished on the same day that Dawley was admitted. Released later that day, Dawley paid the $3 fee and resumed his life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Everett Graham's case was more complicated. Twelve years old when admitted in November 1916 with a diagnosis of appendicitis, Graham had Drs. Parish and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/H/HarrisClintonE.pdf" target="_blank">C. E. Harris</a> perform an appendectomy. However, while the scalpel remained in hand, the Grinnell physicians proceeded to do a <a href="https://www.hirslanden.ch/en/corporate/treatments/herniotomy-hernia-surgery.html" target="_blank">herniotom</a>y and, finally, a circumcision. We may speculate that young Everett or his parents figured that, so long as a crisis had brought the boy to surgery, they might just as well have the surgeons take care of that other, more minor matter. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRgHdkFI1jQeiAloYuSXTO0_sWyY0iDfM61c1wF_qKj7Oxot7lRF3JK9mPtUysXY-cMlC2w82KNdR2Lsyk-Bz-iY5_SDLFjiN0jRm4jX-DkjTqP_VpYTgjMCb_mmFX_wSmtq5fvltv6iXq1kVBAlgti5xcMPZbVvbckfjVYkRrp8QPt30u4gb0HWkbPw=s430" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRgHdkFI1jQeiAloYuSXTO0_sWyY0iDfM61c1wF_qKj7Oxot7lRF3JK9mPtUysXY-cMlC2w82KNdR2Lsyk-Bz-iY5_SDLFjiN0jRm4jX-DkjTqP_VpYTgjMCb_mmFX_wSmtq5fvltv6iXq1kVBAlgti5xcMPZbVvbckfjVYkRrp8QPt30u4gb0HWkbPw=s320" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Howard Hafkey (1912-1980), <i>1929 Grinnellian<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span>Two additional cases offer a more routine course leading to circumcision. </span><span>Howard Hafkey (1912-1980) was only three years old when he entered the hospital in June 1915. Drs. Somers and <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/43/TalbottEF.pdf" target="_blank">E. F. Talbott (1873-1943)</a> circumcised him, and released him the same day. <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86778717/william-kenneth-palmer" target="_blank">Kenneth Palmer (1913-1979)</a> was two when he entered the Grinnell Hospital where Dr. Parish circumcised him. It seems likely that both cases attempted to remedy the absence of circumcision from at-home deliveries that no doctor had attended. We may hypothesize that, in an era in which circumcision was increasingly common, parents opted to have the procedure done as soon as possible so as to spare their boys from the operation when they were older.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>###</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A wide variety of other ailments brought patients to the Grinnell Hospital in the World War I era, although often doctors were not able to do much to solve the problems. The registers contain one or two entries for <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/symptoms-causes/syc-20369653#:~:text=Asthma%20is%20a%20condition%20in,asthma%20is%20a%20minor%20nuisance." target="_blank">asthma</a>, <a href="https://www.gwhospital.com/colitis#:~:text=Colitis%20is%20a%20chronic%20digestive,causes%20of%20an%20inflamed%20colon." target="_blank">colitis</a>, dementia, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/emphysema/symptoms-causes/syc-20355555" target="_blank">emphysema</a>, <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317973" target="_blank">erysipelas</a>, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gonorrhea/symptoms-causes/syc-20351774#:~:text=Gonorrhea%20is%20an%20infection%20caused,vaginal%2C%20oral%20or%20anal%20sex" target="_blank">gonorrhea</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurasthenia" target="_blank">neurasthenia</a>, pyloric perforation, <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/peritonitis#:~:text=Peritonitis%20is%20a%20redness%20and,be%20a%20serious%2C%20deadly%20disease." target="_blank">peritonitis</a>, <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/salpingitis" target="_blank">salpingitis</a>, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sciatica/symptoms-causes/syc-20377435#:~:text=Pain%20that%20radiates%20from%20your,of%20your%20thigh%20and%20calf" target="_blank">sciatica</a>, and <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/varicocele/symptoms-causes/syc-20378771#:~:text=A%20varicocele%20is%20an%20enlargement,depleted%20blood%20from%20the%20testicles." target="_blank">varicocele</a>, among others. Hospital patients also presented impacted teeth, ingrown nails, hammer toes, and similar lesser problems to which Grinnell physicians might readily apply their skills. All sorts of accidents—including in one case a man who fell from an airplane (A. C. Beach who came to Grinnell to fly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Robinson_(aviator)" target="_blank">Billy Robinson</a>'s monoplane after <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/R/RobinsonBilly.pdf" target="_blank">Billy Robinson's death</a> [<i>Grinnell Register, </i>April 3, 1916])—brought Grinnell's men and women to the hospital where doctors did what they could to repair the damage.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYipofzZzsTsrSBIPe3l-JLh5vw5KHl0E4AJBuUeCdJrVsqu5MFHXQJpiFGhMUeoxH7GjkVynzJPIbTBPgyyXkklcnR0kSNdl0-K0m9YL6_z43yC2x4K14hPJ3F6ev5AHdBsj3RMmWreL67aQEmd0AolpZ53sk4Y-aaVU5iTzFU1eGZy0yDqxeqEwJIQ=s1512" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="962" data-original-width="1512" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYipofzZzsTsrSBIPe3l-JLh5vw5KHl0E4AJBuUeCdJrVsqu5MFHXQJpiFGhMUeoxH7GjkVynzJPIbTBPgyyXkklcnR0kSNdl0-K0m9YL6_z43yC2x4K14hPJ3F6ev5AHdBsj3RMmWreL67aQEmd0AolpZ53sk4Y-aaVU5iTzFU1eGZy0yDqxeqEwJIQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinnell Community Hospital (Opened in 1919)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A11318)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>But the times were changing, and medicine itself was changing. As I have written elsewhere, the <a href="https://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2018/11/when-radium-came-to-grinnell.html" target="_blank">arrival of radium in town initiated an entirely new form of therapy</a> for a wide variety of illnesses which had been largely immune to earlier treatments. Following hard on this was the appearance in Grinnell of the x-ray machine which soon supplanted the direct application of radium to the affected area. Moreover, x-rays gave physicians a view of the patient's insides unlike anything they had previously had, providing better diagnoses and opening new forms of surgery. But these new technologies and treatments had to await the building of two new hospitals in 1919 Grinnell.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEVP3DwMuOMugGvl1RF9M-OCVjJVwxtAztcgo6sR4GtgxjWmkFOB5_uXc1lrggxx4EnvXTCnO9VcYJ-IpbBBsrGJ2fRxIxVl21ogdkjkNWkuyhxppGgDffMMXEtAKicyRpWiBBW1kQP8I460LyKWdRsHe8KxNKTDylPCSpY7Vhz9qYejTCvEK7XvwTDw=s1408" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1408" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEVP3DwMuOMugGvl1RF9M-OCVjJVwxtAztcgo6sR4GtgxjWmkFOB5_uXc1lrggxx4EnvXTCnO9VcYJ-IpbBBsrGJ2fRxIxVl21ogdkjkNWkuyhxppGgDffMMXEtAKicyRpWiBBW1kQP8I460LyKWdRsHe8KxNKTDylPCSpY7Vhz9qYejTCvEK7XvwTDw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Francis Hospital, Grinnell (Opened in 1919)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A6529)</td></tr></tbody></table></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-52494107170224415652022-02-09T16:14:00.030-08:002022-02-16T12:31:21.977-08:00The Final Rosenwald Scholar: Gordon Kitchen '25<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Unlike the three young men who preceded him as Rosenwald Scholars at Grinnell, <b>Gordon Kitchen '25</b> (1899-1991) was an athlete, and therefore brought to the college's football and track & field teams experience with racial difference. As noted in <a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-sears-roebuck-helped-bring-black.html" target="_blank">an earlier post</a>, at the time he enrolled at Grinnell there was some question about whether the Rosenwald Fund, anxious to end its program at Grinnell, would help underwrite Kitchen's college expenses. Although Kitchen himself seems to have thought that Rosenwald helped fund him for all four years at Grinnell, it may be that he had Rosenwald money only his last two years. But however much Rosenwald contributed, Kitchen seems to have thrived at Grinnell and he later looked back at his college years with appreciation, a sentiment that the college returned by presenting Kitchen with an alumni award in 1965, forty years after his graduation. Today's post looks at Gordon Kitchen's Grinnell experience and where it led him in the years after Grinnell.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;">###</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzL_aCNdsO8nD0UFzQgYuG3jYyOfc4S2lWzTmhC73C61_4HNWSiZX1HBRjG6i7B0QGYn_mQ5RgQkMF39fY2cIWNh16gf9VItlGfqbewgtsnG8pb-nX6ZW0U4OdTjhVbW6p43t_uJtG1WydkCm9BhS4VbgObZXn0Xf2xK37XixSyKwJMLTa2a7m2ZjlUQ=s1378" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="1128" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzL_aCNdsO8nD0UFzQgYuG3jYyOfc4S2lWzTmhC73C61_4HNWSiZX1HBRjG6i7B0QGYn_mQ5RgQkMF39fY2cIWNh16gf9VItlGfqbewgtsnG8pb-nX6ZW0U4OdTjhVbW6p43t_uJtG1WydkCm9BhS4VbgObZXn0Xf2xK37XixSyKwJMLTa2a7m2ZjlUQ=s320" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1925 Grinnell College Cyclone<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Gordon Henry Kitchen, the third of four children, was born in 1899 to Walter and Girlie Kitchen in <a href="https://www.valdostacity.com/history" target="_blank">Valdosta,</a> Georgia, a town or small city in south central Georgia which in 1920 had a population of more than 10,000—about twice the size of 1920s Grinnell. Walter Kitchen had worked as a farm laborer and later worked in a dry goods store when Gordon attended grade school. After completing <a href="https://vhs.gocats.org/" target="_blank">Valdosta High School</a>, Gordon faked his age in order to enlist in the US Navy; World War I military records indicate that he signed up in late August 1918 and served aboard ship for more than a year before his 1919 discharge. He then enrolled at Tuskegee Institute (today's <a href="https://www.tuskegee.edu/" target="_blank">Tuskegee University</a>) where, upon graduation, he was nominated to attend Grinnell under the <a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-sears-roebuck-helped-bring-black.html" target="_blank">Rosenwald Fund plan</a>. </span><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN9Ahb46Yfq4LLT5pViqmrxjs00pIWpLdgY74pnugLdfJKOebSBGgvEi-jEZei7-Rp88Hdtg96mxus59AhHSbdk6ZVUV9msepMqDPfnW8PO0RxlsGGWlDX_BLl-4FKVjG_wsHS-knqjjNHoBLfF-zPs63LpViTsxLmNS2C3ogPMJQZxgwJ2ggIQ5inWQ=s3572" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2356" data-original-width="3572" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjN9Ahb46Yfq4LLT5pViqmrxjs00pIWpLdgY74pnugLdfJKOebSBGgvEi-jEZei7-Rp88Hdtg96mxus59AhHSbdk6ZVUV9msepMqDPfnW8PO0RxlsGGWlDX_BLl-4FKVjG_wsHS-knqjjNHoBLfF-zPs63LpViTsxLmNS2C3ogPMJQZxgwJ2ggIQ5inWQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">World War I Military Service Record for Gordon Henry Kitchen<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Following <a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-first-rosenwald-scholar-at-grinnell.html" target="_blank">Hosea Campbell</a>, </span><a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/hampton-man-comes-to-grinnell.html" target="_blank">Collis Davis</a><span> and </span><a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/02/another-phi-beta-kappa-via-rosenwald.html" target="_blank">Alphonse Heningburg</a><span> to campus, Kitchen benefitted from the experience and excellence that his fellow African Americans had accumulated in Grinnell. But whereas Davis and Heningburg were outstanding academics, Kitchen, a good student, excelled in athletics. A speedy halfback on the college football team and a track speedster, Kitchen, who was the single African American on the college teams, gained many campus admirers.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEja-yismOeBiMxbf3y7LhbVq8QV44sn0w2XL5PqLHGDXfwKkq-j3VCny66bQfbp3BtKp6RJPiQxREThtyT61nBmol8ZUym1HsrMJ8nPq0WlLoDQrE5EBJlsUKJqt9YN7i4hpiiwRdkfqojH_XRevPXgczzZC8net2lTAGG5sK9PW_z21igB5B9MQBq12A=s2172" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="2172" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEja-yismOeBiMxbf3y7LhbVq8QV44sn0w2XL5PqLHGDXfwKkq-j3VCny66bQfbp3BtKp6RJPiQxREThtyT61nBmol8ZUym1HsrMJ8nPq0WlLoDQrE5EBJlsUKJqt9YN7i4hpiiwRdkfqojH_XRevPXgczzZC8net2lTAGG5sK9PW_z21igB5B9MQBq12A=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Grinnell College Honor G Club<br />(<i>1925 Grinnell College Cyclone</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Already in autumn 1922, the campus newspaper took note of his skill and speed, observing that Kitchen, then a second-year student, "won the right to play on varsity in the Coe game, when he was the only man who could gain consistently." The newspaper remarked that Kitchen "has plenty of speed and is a hard tackler" (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>November 18, 1922).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU-yf0r7ZERHrnnGdtmMgJKT9c_Qi9iE9Q5Me7QsmdDXv5zC7ynOGd-mo_CHPAnFpF_mc9qZbvUhfMS16LxTjOEU877S63u1LbmG_r5yLk9zE5ZT2CZ6Er9-Yflc_A4DWCuJCVLU-EBQQyCmbTEbk4wMAWqqD5XWB6Ma-fGTbHVeN8BUeZdoXRbzV8rQ=s1032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="428" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiU-yf0r7ZERHrnnGdtmMgJKT9c_Qi9iE9Q5Me7QsmdDXv5zC7ynOGd-mo_CHPAnFpF_mc9qZbvUhfMS16LxTjOEU877S63u1LbmG_r5yLk9zE5ZT2CZ6Er9-Yflc_A4DWCuJCVLU-EBQQyCmbTEbk4wMAWqqD5XWB6Ma-fGTbHVeN8BUeZdoXRbzV8rQ=s320" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1925 Grinnell College Cyclone<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Kitchen also ran sprints for Grinnell in both the indoor and outdoor track season, getting his first athletic letter as a sophomore (<i>Ames Evening Times, </i>June 1, 1923). One measure of his athletic prowess was his photograph, alongside teammates <a href="https://atom.grinnell.edu/index.php/rinefort-foster-c-class-of-1927-photograph" target="_blank">Foster Rinefort '27</a>, <a href="https://atom.grinnell.edu/index.php/meeter-gordon-l" target="_blank">Gordon Meeter</a>, and Olympic medalist, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Taylor" target="_blank">Morgan Taylor (1903-1975)</a>, in the <i>Des Moines Register</i> on the eve of the 1925 Drake Relays (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>April 24, 1925).</span><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Athletics was not his only interest, however. A 1924 newspaper piece told of a Romance Language Club meeting at which "Gordon Kitchen read a paper on his recent trip to South America," perhaps a memento of his service in the US Navy (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>March 5, 1924). In his final year on campus Kitchen served as Romance Language Club secretary (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 1, 1924), and also took part in Cosmopolitan Club activities, in February 1925 reporting on his attendance at the national convention in Ames the preceding December (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>February 21, 1925). At the Ames convention Kitchen was "the only Negro representative from foreign as well as American universities and colleges" (<i>Pittsburgh Courier, </i>July 16, 1927). I did not find any record of his impressions of the Cosmopolitan Club national convention, but a report relayed to club members at Indiana University offers one take of what Kitchen might have found there:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The spirit of the Convention was truly cosmopolitan...Everyone thought in terms of making our organization one for the brotherhood of man...Some of us just grew up as Cosmopolitans, while others of us have come to this country alone and have not found ourselves a part of the world until brought into contact with different peoples through the Cosmopolitan Clubs...we learn to judge a person not from the standpoint of nationality, but what kind of person is he? This helps to break down class distinctions and social prejudices (<a href="https://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/findingaids/archives/InU-Ar-VAA2766)" target="_blank">Indiana University Cosmo Reporter, February 4, 1925</a>).</span></div></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If these sentiments reached Kitchen, by then the only African American at Grinnell College, they might well have been powerful. According to the record of his 1982 interview, only once at Grinnell did he experience racism directly when he was refused participation in a track meet held at another college (<i>"Memorandum of Record; Telephone Interview with Gordon Kitchen '25, November, 1982," Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives, Record Group S, Series 2.1, sub-series 2, "Blacks at Grinnell," Box 5</i>). This limited recollection of racial slights may explain the enthusiasm with which he later remembered Grinnell. </span></p></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Like the men who had preceded him at Grinnell through the Rosenwald program, Kitchen also found time to speak with local groups. When he was a second-year student, for example, he and Alphonse Heningburg spoke at the Sunday evening service of the Grinnell Congregational Church. "Mr. Kitchen," the </span><i>Grinnell Herald </i><span>opined, "made a fine address on 'The Americanization of the Negro.'" The newspaper summarized Kitchen's talk:</span></span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">As the negro was brought to this country in slavery and had worked in the building of the new country, the only country that he knew was America and the only flag which he had ever loved was the stars and stripes. As his loyalty had been proven in every war in which the United States had participated, Mr. Kitchen said that it was only fair that the Negro should be given equal protection with foreigners coming to this country—should have only what others wished for—liberty (<i>Grinnell Herald, </i>February 13, 1923).</span></blockquote></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLhX9Zqkk5lWyHATeU7O7m3u5-_1bnvR6jooqTfqUOyt_Jb7ndyBzeXrm2P9NcXeRbOob0VxyzgrnY_KNRJ9QlDVQS9ULIFsu7J9UEmkbr9ZEFrzOy5nSvIzgD9DY1y3ka1USJBY26TxlWzvRefwvNnaAosrrvX40kb9EqPTmEM7nMlk2XET-04i_2aw=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="640" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLhX9Zqkk5lWyHATeU7O7m3u5-_1bnvR6jooqTfqUOyt_Jb7ndyBzeXrm2P9NcXeRbOob0VxyzgrnY_KNRJ9QlDVQS9ULIFsu7J9UEmkbr9ZEFrzOy5nSvIzgD9DY1y3ka1USJBY26TxlWzvRefwvNnaAosrrvX40kb9EqPTmEM7nMlk2XET-04i_2aw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1940s (?) Photograph of Interior of Grinnell Congregational Church<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell:13287)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Like Davis and Heningburg, Kitchen made friends within the small community of African Americans in town. Proof of the bond between the college men and Grinnell's own African Americans appears in the <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/L/LucasRuthP.pdf" target="_blank">obituary of Ruth Lucas (1893-1923</a>)</span><span>. In addition to two local men </span><span>and along with a Jamaican college student, Sebert Dove (1895?-1948), Heningburg, Davis, and Kitchen served as pallbearers at the young woman's funeral (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>February 20, 1923). Again, when </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63990710/eliza-jane-craig" target="_blank">Eliza Craig (1841-1924)</a> <span>died the following year, Kitchen, Heningburg, and Dove joined Eliza's sons-in-law as pallbearers, an indication of how closely the college men had been joined to Grinnell's tiny African American population (</span><i>Grinnell Herald, </i><span>June 10, 1924).</span></span></div><div><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;">After graduation (which Du Bois reported in <i>The Crisis </i>30[1925]:172), Kitchen accepted a position as director of the Frederick Douglass Community Center in Toledo, Ohio (<i>Pittsburgh Courier, </i>October 31, 1925). Historians think of the 1920s as the apogee of Toledo history. The city's port at that time serviced thousands of ships each year and Toledo's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willys" target="_blank">Willys Overland Automobile</a> factory produced more cars than any other auto manufacturer of the time except Ford (Ted Long, <a href="https://www.toledo.com/quicklinks/toledo-ohio-history/" target="_blank">"The Toledo Story"</a>). This vibrant economic base attracted many African Americans, whose share of the city's population ballooned in the 'teens and 'twenties.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Fresh out of college and moving into such a vigorously growing world must have been exciting and Kitchen took to his duties with enthusiasm. Working with the Boy Scouts as well as with several youth athletic teams, Kitchen proved a busy and popular man. Both the "Kitchen Half-Pints" and the "All Stars," school-age basketball teams, had Kitchen as coach, as did the "Center Pets," the junior team of the Douglass Center (<i>Pittsburgh Courier, December 26, 1925; ibid., March 20, 1926; ibid., April 10, 1926</i>). When baseball season arrived, Gordon Kitchen coached the Douglass Center team (<i>ibid., August 7, 1926</i>). Kitchen was also in demand as a speaker, appearing before numerous local organizations, including, for example, both the "Uplift Club" and the "Unity Club" over a short period in January 1925 (<i>ibid., January 23, 1926</i>).</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As satisfying (and busy) as this work no doubt was, Kitchen had reason to seek a job in Des Moines. At the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Relays" target="_blank">Drake Relays</a> in spring 1922, Kitchen's first year at Grinnell, he had met Dorothy Hughes, a young woman from Des Moines. Interviewed about this moment sixty years later, Gordon recalled Dorothy as "just a beautiful woman." Dorothy, who was cheering on the runners that day in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Stadium_(Drake_University)" target="_blank">Drake Stadium</a>, had a more specific memory: "He had a beautiful body," she told a reporter in 1983, describing the man who became her husband, "and he ran beautifully. He reminded me of the Greek runners in the Olympiad" (Myrna May, "Service Keeps Kitchens' Marriage Cooking," <i>Columbus [GA] Ledger-Enquirer, </i>June 2, 1983).</span><br /><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmYKyhT0btvejfdnoUIzUuXiA0kPPtnaSKglY9GgvhmnQNKz1HOa6SKNVsQRsGtEqXjSsViEmcVWh00sLk2SMvtygUCk776fBUDjMawgAGoH6ngKW3tBMTD8OlQvuiLSNRPCkrp4IFJPNrptvKTe1KFeta5P-s4UXBIh-RCI8V8QaS4GJn0HEOs9uCsA=s1046" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="1046" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmYKyhT0btvejfdnoUIzUuXiA0kPPtnaSKglY9GgvhmnQNKz1HOa6SKNVsQRsGtEqXjSsViEmcVWh00sLk2SMvtygUCk776fBUDjMawgAGoH6ngKW3tBMTD8OlQvuiLSNRPCkrp4IFJPNrptvKTe1KFeta5P-s4UXBIh-RCI8V8QaS4GJn0HEOs9uCsA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yearbook and Official Rosters of Young Men's Christian Association for the year 1926-27</i>, p. 72.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>However, with Gordon busy at Grinnell ("He was really a serious student," Dorothy later said) and Dorothy enrolled that autumn at the National Recreation College in Chicago, not much happened between the couple. But when in summer 1926 Kitchen accepted the position as executive director of the </span><a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/local/des-moines/2017/04/29/almost-100-years-later/307799001/" target="_blank">Crocker Street YMCA</a><span> (what was then called a "colored" YMCA) in Des Moines, his relationship with Dorothy bloomed. Hughes was, by all accounts, a popular and accomplished person (</span><i>Chicago Defender, </i><span>July 16, 1927), and appeared often at the Y, playing piano for the men's chorus of which her father was a member. In June 1927 she and Gordon married quietly at the parsonage of a Des Moines M. E. Church (</span><i>Pittsburgh Courier, </i><span>July 16, 1927). Their first child, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125273210/victoria-steele" target="_blank">Victoria Nan Kitchen</a>, was born in Des Moines early in 1928 and a second child, <a href="https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/gordon-kitchen-obituary?id=16033853" target="_blank">Gordon Henry, Jr. (1929-2009)</a>, was born the following year. The Kitchen household, with two small children demanding attention, was no doubt a busy place.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The YMCA gave Kitchen plenty to do. A report out of New York to the various "colored" YMCA chapters announced that the Crocker Street YMCA had among its recent accomplishments the following: </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Ten juvenile court cases have been satisfactorily handled within the past six months...a boys' band, a senior and a junior glee club, a booster boys' club, and a live Bible class [have been organized]. Three sex hygiene meetings have been conducted with an attendance of 300 men and boys; nine young men have been led into the Christian life...five religious interviews have been held; employment service has been rendered thru [sic] the placing of ten men in good jobs; an athletic program...has been carried out to the delight and benefit of the boys (<i>"Secretarial Newsletter" [Colored Work Department, National Council of Y.M.C.A., New York, NY] vol. 4, no. 9 [June 1927]:5</i>, <i>University of Minnesota Libraries, Kautz Family YMCA Archives, Speeches, Articles, Pamphlets, and Newsletters. Newsletters: Secretarial Letter, 1923-1927, Box 6, Folder 11)</i>. </span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Over and above all this, one of Kitchen's more demanding duties was to organize each summer what newspapers called "the largest negro boys' camp in America" (<i>Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, </i>July 21, 1929), which convened in Boone for a week in August for several years in the late 1920s (<i>Mason City Globe, </i>July 20, 1929). Kitchen reported to headquarters in New York that the 1927 camp had attracted 93 African American boys, and was "the best ever" (</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>"Secretarial Newsletter" [Colored Work Department, National Council of Y.M.C.A., New York, NY] vol. 4, no. 12 [September 1927]:2</i><span>, </span><i>University of Minnesota Libraries, Kautz Family YMCA Archives, Speeches, Articles, Pamphlets, and Newsletters. Newsletters: Secretarial Letter, 1923-1927, Box 6, Folder 11)</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>. </i><span>In addition, as during his time in Toledo, Kitchen found himself often visiting and speaking before church and civic groups. Busy as his schedule was, it did not keep him from extending his reach further into the community, so that he also served as secretary to the local branch of the </span><a href="https://naacp.org/" target="_blank">NAACP</a><span> and as secretary-treasurer of the city's Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (</span><i>Pittsburgh Courier, </i><span>July 16, 1927).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1931 Kitchen's career took a dramatic turn when he accepted a position in the physical education department of <a href="https://www.talladega.edu/" target="_blank">Talladega College</a>, a small school about 100 miles west of Atlanta in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The oldest private Black college in Alabama, Talladega in the 1930s enrolled about 200 students in the college department, another 250 in the "Practice Schools" (teacher training), and perhaps 60 in the music department. These 500 students came mostly from Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina (<i>1934 Catalog of Talladega College, </i>p. 88). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5yveS4NfCIVDy5McSeU56GqRKA5L7uyupxRE5F1k1fKzD459zf9nGfIHxV4OSUT1j6BjxBYKN2r--_0tVQqEGczgFSZgJczMGm5-yk2osaMERV8Hwd7dmX59mX5HkLNtsfS4pSOwroOlohSDuOWODtPFnWk7ktfP-5UgLamKyuKhcw-qxxywE9DENpg=s1816" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1816" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5yveS4NfCIVDy5McSeU56GqRKA5L7uyupxRE5F1k1fKzD459zf9nGfIHxV4OSUT1j6BjxBYKN2r--_0tVQqEGczgFSZgJczMGm5-yk2osaMERV8Hwd7dmX59mX5HkLNtsfS4pSOwroOlohSDuOWODtPFnWk7ktfP-5UgLamKyuKhcw-qxxywE9DENpg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Faculty Members of Talladega College, 1931;<br />Gordon Kitchen, front row, 4th from the right<br />(<i>Chicago Defender, </i>June 6, 1931)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><a href="https://alabamanewscenter.com/2021/09/24/could-football-at-alabamas-historic-talladega-college-make-a-comeback/" target="_blank">At one time Talladega had been a football power</a> within the Southern Intercollegiate Conference, accumulating championships twice in the early 1920s. Competition in the Conference was always spirited, and Tuskegee, for whom Kitchen himself had once played, had long held sway within the conference, but </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Kitchen oversaw the football and basketball programs at Talladega with considerable success. The 1934 Crimson Tornado football team, for example, was undefeated; at Talladega it was almost like the good old days.</span><span> In the midst of all this activity on campus, Kitchen continued his education, earning an M.S. in Public Health and Recreation in 1940 from the University of Michigan.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Although the Kitchen family numbered four when they settled in Alabama, the fifth Kitchen joined them in late November 1932. Like her older sister and brother, Joy Adelyn was born in Des Moines's Mercy Hospital, Dorothy having returned to Des Moines and her parents' home before the baby's arrival. Although Gordon and Dorothy never moved back to Des Moines, the Iowa capital exerted continuing influence upon the family. Victoria, for instance, attended Drake University, graduating there in 1948. </span></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4T6MyEGwl_r8mL_6IUmPLPIvEfr-Ykf_dMRqNZFbwKcnRl1CkRN3sPiDtAp6ATo84e1kJqM--weiMJxmKTNDDUj75O8kG9ErqNS0mNm8lJ4EE7TNXzEgzPyXGOKAFBWnLF1tkUk4OQsdnUItmAWJPUO1r0xAmH2o_WwQxoXvEkh_ldlBKeVAQUyoXIQ=s1010" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1010" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4T6MyEGwl_r8mL_6IUmPLPIvEfr-Ykf_dMRqNZFbwKcnRl1CkRN3sPiDtAp6ATo84e1kJqM--weiMJxmKTNDDUj75O8kG9ErqNS0mNm8lJ4EE7TNXzEgzPyXGOKAFBWnLF1tkUk4OQsdnUItmAWJPUO1r0xAmH2o_WwQxoXvEkh_ldlBKeVAQUyoXIQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1935 Photograph of Gordon Kitchen Family, including (L-R) children Gordon II, Joy, and Victoria<br />(Kitchen Photos, 1931-1969, Lillian Voorhees Papers, Box 50, Folder 13, Amistad Research Center, Tulane University)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, forces far from Talladega, Alabama conspired to bring yet another dramatic change in Gordon Kitchen's life. With war already underway in several parts of the world and American participation in the war increasingly under discussion, in September 1941 Kitchen received an unexpected telephone call, as he himself reported:</span><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">September 27, 1941 as I sat at my desk where I was drawing up plans as Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Head Athletic Coach at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, I was paged to answer a long distance telephone call from New York City. On answering the telephone this is what I heard, "Kitchen, this is Hardy. Hardy of YMCA in New York. Today you were selected to go to Brownwood, Texas for USO-YMCA work. How 'bout it!" (<i>Gordon H. Kitchen, "The History of the Cordell Street USO, Brownwood, Texas, Operated by the YMCA," University of Minnesota, Kautz Family YMCA Archives, Club Histories, Army-Navy Clubs, Brownwood, Texas [African American], 1941-1945, </i>p. 14).</span></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Within two weeks of having received telephone orders from New York, Gordon Kitchen arrived at Brownwood, a small city in central Texas, equidistant from Dallas and San Antonio. Today </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownwood,_Texas" target="_blank">Brownwood</a> counts about 20,000 residents, but the city was smaller in 1941 when the government began construction of <a href="https://www.brownwoodtexas.gov/323/History-of-Camp-Bowie" target="_blank">Camp Bowie</a>, which at its peak during World War II occupied about 123,000 acres and was home to some 60,000 soldiers. <a href="https://www.brownwoodtexas.gov/323/History-of-Camp-Bowie" target="_blank">Although the camp was closed and disassembled after the war</a>, during its heyday Camp Bowie exerted enormous influence on the local economy and society. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhugKRfqopQvV3WWjsaIeOIsFJe3XDWDgbijtcf5g2Ow-Z3PxLlWZF6HkjHCM2sxSIWiVjZDWe01xAh4lwegQodl0f39XBFzDPs4KrX4IRi2p9fXqLbU8EpBcHd97r749mPY07zwcI_hROXkGkQoXIF7iEL6hWueOq6UvthcTNWCcVkfYC1WC8RisCbuw=s1247" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1247" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhugKRfqopQvV3WWjsaIeOIsFJe3XDWDgbijtcf5g2Ow-Z3PxLlWZF6HkjHCM2sxSIWiVjZDWe01xAh4lwegQodl0f39XBFzDPs4KrX4IRi2p9fXqLbU8EpBcHd97r749mPY07zwcI_hROXkGkQoXIF7iEL6hWueOq6UvthcTNWCcVkfYC1WC8RisCbuw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard Image of Brownwood, Texas USO (ca. 1940)<br />(https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:zk51vn24m)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Kitchen's duties in Brownwood focused upon African American soldiers, for whom separate USO facilities were built. In this as in so many things in mid-century America, "separate but equal" prevailed. As Kitchen reported in his 1945 summary, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The Cordell Street USO is located in the very heart of the colored section of the City of Brownwood...The club is just a half block from the City Park for Negroes...The local Negro high school is just across the streets...and the four churches serving the Negro population are within two blocks of the USO...The main Negro business block is just about one and one-half blocks from the USO Club... (<i>Kitchen, "History of the Cordell Street USO...," </i>p. 27).</span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Unsurprisingly, race played an important part in the work that Kitchen did in Brownwood. The new director had hardly set up his office when a fight broke out after a civilian cop beat up an African American soldier. Some of the victim's pals came to his rescue, in the process taking the cop's gun and seriously injuring him. Called to the scene, Kitchen urged the soldiers to come to the USO where music and games helped calm tempers. Then the police, </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>State Highwaymen, posses and just any one...began rounding up all the soldiers. The police took them from every place with guns in their backs with hands raised and a walk down to the local jail. The soldiers who had been in the Cordell Street USO all the evening were marched out with hands up (<i>Kitchen, "History of the Cordell Street USO...," </i>pp. 19-20)</blockquote>Kitchen uses the incident to illustrate his decision to provide more recreation and entertainment for African American soldiers. He and his staff found a way to permit African American soldiers to come to town "by units, using their own transportation and using USO as...headquarters." Black MPs accompanied the units, and each soldier received a pass. This system seemed to work, and soon the USO was rocking on the weekends (<i>ibid., </i>p. 20<i>)</i>. Later events at the center were routinely crowded, the facility gradually accumulating good will within the civilian community as well as among Black soldiers.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHtVJfEsqwwalChob_Js7pXR8964OwIP52fNwZtHoct-fPnCekbZ0jLStkkipmyVpdLjnQkiDYfZ95EKrUD0FkZI1zhNGcFmnNXAUwkDHo9uRMObPhKPymAMIAqm0ltqypmOTjU8A9SrTtWLVPsQw0-VEpouJc3i2mEWDLByUo4J6hXZ8sln9QezvSCw=s1764" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1764" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgHtVJfEsqwwalChob_Js7pXR8964OwIP52fNwZtHoct-fPnCekbZ0jLStkkipmyVpdLjnQkiDYfZ95EKrUD0FkZI1zhNGcFmnNXAUwkDHo9uRMObPhKPymAMIAqm0ltqypmOTjU8A9SrTtWLVPsQw0-VEpouJc3i2mEWDLByUo4J6hXZ8sln9QezvSCw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letterhead of USO Club in Columbus, Georgia When Gordon Kitchen was Executive Director<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>In late August 1945 with the war ended, Kitchen resigned his post at Brownwood and accepted appointment as executive director of the USO in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus,_Georgia" target="_blank">Columbus, Georgia</a>, a town which straddles the state line with Alabama in west central Georgia. </span></span><span>If today's population in </span><a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/columbus-ga-population" target="_blank">Columbus is around 200,000, when Gordon Kitchen arrived the city was only about a quarter as large</a><span>. Sitting on the banks of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattahoochee_River" target="_blank">Chattahoochee River</a><span>, Columbus had long benefitted from processing the cotton grown throughout this part of the country. Slaves had been crucial to the old South's cotton economy, so it is no surprise that even</span><a href="https://datausa.io/profile/geo/columbus-ga#demographics" target="_blank"> today the city's population is almost 50% African American;</a><span> it seems likely that the city's racial composition was not much different in 1945.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Like Brownwood, Columbus was adjacent to a huge Army base, in this case </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Benning" target="_blank">Fort Benning</a>.<span> Named for a former Confederate General like so many Army bases in the South, Fort Benning in 1940 occupied nearly 200,000 acres and accommodated almost 100,000 officers and soldiers. As everywhere in the US Army at the time, African American soldiers occupied separate quarters and populated separate units—"separate but equal"—but racial encounters were not rare. Not long before Kitchen's arrival, for example, the base had seen at least </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Hall" target="_blank">one lynching </a><span>as well as the </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/05/28/albert-king-black-soldier-killed-1941-fort-benning/" target="_blank">homicide of a black man whom a white soldier shot in the open on the base</a><span>. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As he wrote his friend and former colleague at Talladega, </span><a href="http://amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu/archon/?p=creators/creator&id=158" target="_blank">Lillian Voorhees (1896-1972)</a><span>, Kitchen came to Columbus in October 1945 alone, the family remaining in Texas to finish the school year. Dorothy was left to supervise things in Brownwood and organize the move to Columbus that came only in the spring of 1946 (</span><i>February 18, 1946 Letter of Gordon Kitchen to Lillian Voorhees, Amistad Research Center, Collection 365 [Lillian W. Voorhees Papers, 1892-1973], Box 7, Folder 7)</i><span>. </span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9FUd4SvbXQbZVSOtFaC2p-2rzhrrdyJGANqnaYMRxfBQfcFeSgL7ulJj8H8PiZPOSrvYX1E2zGJPWhp-awGCLxU4fVpYtEdg3w1TX5Gw_BEWOQDDeFChX9C_7OrzdsL3SArgKmO_amIBSkbMpqa0EMXEKSvXxIRKAUFkaTW2Rn5Lb1Uen0yoJEnu5gw=s3871" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2980" data-original-width="3871" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi9FUd4SvbXQbZVSOtFaC2p-2rzhrrdyJGANqnaYMRxfBQfcFeSgL7ulJj8H8PiZPOSrvYX1E2zGJPWhp-awGCLxU4fVpYtEdg3w1TX5Gw_BEWOQDDeFChX9C_7OrzdsL3SArgKmO_amIBSkbMpqa0EMXEKSvXxIRKAUFkaTW2Rn5Lb1Uen0yoJEnu5gw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Columbus, GA USO Professional Staff, 1945-49; Gordon Kitchen, 2nd from right<br />(University of Minnesota Library, Kautz Family YMCA)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Although by this time the war had ended, Kitchen found that many of his duties in Georgia differed little from those he had had in Texas. In particular, race remained a source of conflict, and Kitchen found himself intervening in cases that involved Black soldiers and white Columbus officials. In June 1947, for example, a local physician reported that a Black sergeant by the name of Raphael Shouell had been attacked and brutally beaten by two Columbus policemen—W. P. Sapp and J. H. Hawkins. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_War" target="_blank">War Department</a>'s "Memorandum for Record" noted that the report had received confirmation from "Gordon Kitchen, USO Director, Columbus, Georgia." Officials took testimony from three "negro" soldiers, two MPs, and one "civilian Negro"—presumably Kitchen. The two policemen concerned were suspended for fifteen days without pay," but this outcome could not have satisfied Kitchen or the other Black witnesses (<i>African Americans in the Military</i></span><span>, Part 2, Subject Files of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Hastie" target="_blank">Judge William Hastie</a>, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of War [Bethesda, MD: UPA, 2008]).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuy8Y52NC4zsm4dThyIukwoXqSLqjEAvqgWEFjiFklflMLWm4FlO2-U2vCQBi2PdC1Y8Kp30UjOyftdeJKyTqHJjgyd1S89VYCYPS26AWtRIg1AewEjnTxzONNUa-681XDExn4UjuiHqSeKmQSOib6DqQa9Bbd6HU2HKFXmwvpgQ6A-pkk_RPHcWboOQ=s600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuy8Y52NC4zsm4dThyIukwoXqSLqjEAvqgWEFjiFklflMLWm4FlO2-U2vCQBi2PdC1Y8Kp30UjOyftdeJKyTqHJjgyd1S89VYCYPS26AWtRIg1AewEjnTxzONNUa-681XDExn4UjuiHqSeKmQSOib6DqQa9Bbd6HU2HKFXmwvpgQ6A-pkk_RPHcWboOQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Historical Marker for the razed Ninth Street YMCA<br />(https://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Among the tasks in Columbus that were new to Kitchen was fund-raising. In 1953 both Gordon and Dorothy were involved in raising money for the "Negro Division, United Givers, Inc." (<i>Atlanta Daily World, </i>October 6, 1953). Numerous other efforts to raise money followed, but the biggest campaign to which Gordon directed his efforts was the YMCA drive for a new center in Columbus. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">The 9th Street YMCA was built in 1907, at the time being the first modern "colored" YMCA in the South. In its time it was a fine structure, but the subsequent fifty years had been hard on the building and therefore plans had been laid to raise money for a new facility.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpee1rtuFZln2c1NcYAOa6-hMGZwsRXkDyW_ANWfTWvt7gGWAASuJpYS2f_ZU1qOt_h7gu1BjoEVO02ZUWZFiJNwQB6ubvQ_wonoBYpA9H0ZJybyPbsn0jsKqHvd7sFtuW7OiYldOcldjDrIMVJ2DYuY1-AI2zgZeSawI8-6bVtXkh2lSzdXzBWjL0jg=s1056" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1056" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpee1rtuFZln2c1NcYAOa6-hMGZwsRXkDyW_ANWfTWvt7gGWAASuJpYS2f_ZU1qOt_h7gu1BjoEVO02ZUWZFiJNwQB6ubvQ_wonoBYpA9H0ZJybyPbsn0jsKqHvd7sFtuW7OiYldOcldjDrIMVJ2DYuY1-AI2zgZeSawI8-6bVtXkh2lSzdXzBWjL0jg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1955 Photograph of Gordon Kitchen (left), E. E. Farley, and Dr. J. M. Grant at 9th Street YMCA<br />(Photo courtesy of The Columbus Museum, GA; General Acquisition Fund G.2020.49.2)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Gordon chaired the committee, kicking off the campaign in early spring 1959. In a letter to New York headquarters Kitchen reported that </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><blockquote>Negroes will oversubscribe their goal of $110,000.00 and [will] be matched almost three to one by our good friends of the White citizens. It is a glorious opportunity and I am humbly grateful that I was "drafted" to be a part of it. The folks are just fine in responding to the urgency (<i>March 17, 1959 Letter of Gordon Kitchen to Louis Meillette, University of Minnesota Library, Kautz Family YMCA Archives, Administrative Files. Local Club Files. Columbus, GA. African American branch, 1949-1963, p. 5)</i>.</blockquote></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It took several years to collect the necessary funds and to build the new structure, but on May 6, 1962 a crowd of 2000 defied 98-degree heat to attend the dedication of the new Ninth Street Branch YMCA (<i>Atlanta Daily World, </i>May 10, 1962).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRJFTMVlbvhifycOc4QqGMmDnWQuEIkyKb242wby1WplmLvxtrI2NoymIOSfiajVaQyi5rc2msEK-BkVwrE9Dol2t3jF0UkqNGKJaKHazlLmAbH1oeg7wXfZl5LxFKYF7y02TpbXvijQQfgngSVsDmlnLq53X7kT7vrX9tEd56jwjolIZ5ZDedgXRUGw=s910" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="878" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRJFTMVlbvhifycOc4QqGMmDnWQuEIkyKb242wby1WplmLvxtrI2NoymIOSfiajVaQyi5rc2msEK-BkVwrE9Dol2t3jF0UkqNGKJaKHazlLmAbH1oeg7wXfZl5LxFKYF7y02TpbXvijQQfgngSVsDmlnLq53X7kT7vrX9tEd56jwjolIZ5ZDedgXRUGw=s320" width="309" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1959 Photograph of Kickoff of Fund Drive for New Negro YMCA (Gordon Kitchen, far right)<br />(<i>Columbus Enquirer</i>, March 12, 1959)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The success of the campaign brought many congratulations to Kitchen, but perhaps none so significant as his being named Columbus's 1961 "Man of the Year—Negro." A few years later his alma mater named him an Alumni Award Winner; the citation listed the details of his numerous civic contributions and ended by observing that, "With moral courage, great wisdom, and judicious strategy, he has moved toward the Christian objectives he set for himself, his people, and the entire community" (<i>"Gordon Kitchen '25," Grinnell College Alumni Awards, Alumni Office, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA</i>).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5NUWZMTtKMwlXkbswocJACRuxQnZ9Kn1QlRyJDnmrMJz3VH4pOu6IRC3n0eWCGc61H41kH4FkPJ2-VNWN3lBxHaJ273MPANYoZj8gPM6jEf54_JI0wKb4lgzkwHaLpo1zT3ymUS2yOgQJeuyKfFFYZmk9eeCSa_Na2GFs59KCTPr96s5w-pWun6lhqQ=s470" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="470" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg5NUWZMTtKMwlXkbswocJACRuxQnZ9Kn1QlRyJDnmrMJz3VH4pOu6IRC3n0eWCGc61H41kH4FkPJ2-VNWN3lBxHaJ273MPANYoZj8gPM6jEf54_JI0wKb4lgzkwHaLpo1zT3ymUS2yOgQJeuyKfFFYZmk9eeCSa_Na2GFs59KCTPr96s5w-pWun6lhqQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 5, 1965 Photograph of Frank Furbush '32, President of Grinnell College Alumni Association, presenting Alumni Award to Gordon Kitchen '25 (Grinnell College photo)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1965 Gordon retired from his work with the Y, and accepted a position as Assistant Public Affairs Director with WTVM, a Columbus area television station. But his involvement in the community continued. After passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Gordon joined an Advisory Bi-Racial Committee in Columbus, continuing his life-long interest in improving race relations in America (<i>"Compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964," Civil Rights During the Kennedy Administration, 1961-1963, Part 2: The Papers of Burke Marshall, Asst. Attorney General for Civil Rights, </i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Folder 001351-024-0001</i>).</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> In a 1970 letter to Lillian Voorhees he worried </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>about what is happening "all over" but especially in our schools—both high [schools] and colleges. We have had a little trouble here, but we try to '<u>head off'¨</u> all indications of trouble; I have been meeting with different committees almost daily for the last two months. Thank God we are seeing a little light now (<i>June 18, 1970 Letter of Gordon Kitchen to Lillian Voorhees, Amistad Research Center, </i><i>Collection 365 [Lillian W. Voorhees Papers, 1892-1973]</i><i>, Box 13, Folder 5</i>). </blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">As he explained to Voorhees, he had arranged for an anonymous gift of $100,000 which the government matched to provide employment for young people in the area. "We are trying to do things instead of meeting and talking the thing to an early demise," he wrote. Joining a special "Watch Dog Committee" in Columbus that met with the mayor, police chief and others "to assess any and all explosive potentials," Gordon wrote that he was "on call night and day for any 'actualities'" (<i>ibid.</i>).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Retired though he might be, Kitchen continued to volunteer and sat on numerous boards, among them the Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, USO-YMCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and a businessmen's prayer group. In 1967 he became the first African American appointed to the Muscogee County Jury Selection Committee (<i>Columbus [GA] Ledger-Enquirer, </i>April 5, 1967), and in 1975 he accepted appointment to the board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews (<i>Columbus [GA] Ledger-Enquirer, </i>February 10, 1975). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Living in Georgia and having taught at Talladega, Kitchen remained loyal to his own school, Tuskegee. In 1947, for instance, he was part of the group posing for a photograph to commemorate establishment of the Carver Memorial Scholarship at Tuskegee (</span><i>Atlanta Daily World,</i><span> September 12, 1947; </span><i>New Journal and Guide, </i><span>September 13, 1947</span><span>). Moreover, for years Kitchen chaired the committee that sponsored the annual football game staged in Columbus between Tuskegee and Morehouse College (</span><i>Pittsburgh Courier, </i><span>October 31, 1964). This rivalry gained so much attention that it has even figured in the <i>Congressional Record</i> when in 2013 <a href="https://bishop.house.gov/about" target="_blank">Congressman Sanford Bishop, Jr</a>. delivered a speech on the House floor in honor of the game (<i>vol. 159, issue 142, October 11, 2013).</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZxgltGvJyNn7oATP2eG7C5g62JRqtyJAknzNunFaO_d1m0NbvM38CjzTx42RAKwa7xkKBBGR4jTvpB_76jqyGrkM_9rvz_pFuHI7S-PVw8wIwO2hze9TFilg7xgkYKDpYlEKdiT3YAej-lNjN_pwGp5DUy9qE7ak6ikZ04VbfYahZOTtJ-w6laQ8D2A=s966" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZxgltGvJyNn7oATP2eG7C5g62JRqtyJAknzNunFaO_d1m0NbvM38CjzTx42RAKwa7xkKBBGR4jTvpB_76jqyGrkM_9rvz_pFuHI7S-PVw8wIwO2hze9TFilg7xgkYKDpYlEKdiT3YAej-lNjN_pwGp5DUy9qE7ak6ikZ04VbfYahZOTtJ-w6laQ8D2A=s320" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Officers of Georgia-Alabama Boy Scouts, Muscogee District; Gordon Kitchen seated (right)<br />(<i>Columbus Enquirer, </i>December 8, 1954)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In June 1983 the local newspaper published an affectionate appreciation of Mr. and Mrs. Kitchen who had celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary (<i>Columbus [GA] Ledger-Enquirer, </i>June 2, 1983). The article enumerated the many organizations that the couple had founded or served, including those to which Mrs. Kitchen, no less community-minded than her husband, had contributed. Dorothy had worked to establish a YWCA in Columbus, in 1947 had opened a ballet school for young blacks, and for some years read newspapers for the blind.</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">A few days after the newspaper article appeared, a "roast" of Gordon Kitchen took place at the Columbus Hilton. Representatives of various civic organizations articulated their "respect, adoration and love [for] ...this great man," a newspaper reported. The news also took note of and criticized the absence of local NAACP officials who found reason not to celebrate Kitchen's contributions (<i>Columbus Times, </i>June 15, 1983), although the paper did not explain what motivated the absence.</span></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUYu4NmF8TY1kMzw2Ru9wATdErjtKBLWMuB_etsfw5aZRgUnM6SxS5XdpIn_G19epBXS4fxHDZ67ZXofZ_dBcv5-dhYHtcfHWLj3YGXCTWLWbDIUFX7WCaHxF78ejbe1cMQ_TPZA6QK0sm9yhIPHDI2wjNiCcPF7R9p444KobivcnYKctoIoEZjpXGSw=s922" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="584" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUYu4NmF8TY1kMzw2Ru9wATdErjtKBLWMuB_etsfw5aZRgUnM6SxS5XdpIn_G19epBXS4fxHDZ67ZXofZ_dBcv5-dhYHtcfHWLj3YGXCTWLWbDIUFX7WCaHxF78ejbe1cMQ_TPZA6QK0sm9yhIPHDI2wjNiCcPF7R9p444KobivcnYKctoIoEZjpXGSw=s320" width="203" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Program Cover for Funeral of Gordon Kitchen, August 7, 1991<br />(Courtesy of Tuskegee University Archives)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Gordon Kitchen died in Columbus August 1, 1991; his funeral took place a few days later at the St. James A. M. E. Church where Gordon had long worshipped and where he had fulfilled several leadership positions. His obituary enumerated the many organizations to which Gordon had contributed, and concluded by noting that Gordon had "led a life of service and Columbus, Georgia is a better place because of him."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Gordon Kitchen lived his last several decades in Georgia, not far from Valdosta where he had been born 92 years earlier. All the same, he had traveled a long and difficult road, with important stops in Tuskegee, the US Navy, Grinnell, Toledo, Des Moines, Talladega, and Brownwood. A Black man in a land where race trumped most every other factor, Kitchen had struggled—often in the South where "separate but equal" so long dominated society—to bring fairness to men and women of color. As David Jordan noted in his 1982 interview with Kitchen, Gordon "carefully avoided any emphasis on blackness or racial separatism. He is a confirmed non-separatist...." To support the point, Jordan wrote that, among the moments at Grinnell he recalled, Kitchen paid special attention to the Cosmopolitan Club, which "sought to create better relationships between people of different backgrounds" (<i>Jordan interview</i>). By the time Kitchen died, plenty of difficulties remained between people of different backgrounds, but Gordon Kitchen had certainly worked hard to improve those relationships and make the world a better place.</span></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-76379500049593671412022-02-01T16:45:00.021-08:002024-02-11T04:38:14.537-08:00Another Phi Beta Kappa via the Rosenwald Fund<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6FJxwHJFg_xhU8Hl_mFNvG8vW0tN2wxWmPRHLnaFj_cSRL4YPGsNvKD06MxwHa9M9DlWLxBsHWsDGt5Fs_OqLJrFYP75zOjSHIG8AU7gbPLbjjWHltqnhSHXr4Fc7el4vAPEH4rFyVQYDYeVKTbYmjNNrHYXMo-tu3T0EhfQf-iHK0EiC_aBe6zlVTQ=s668" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6FJxwHJFg_xhU8Hl_mFNvG8vW0tN2wxWmPRHLnaFj_cSRL4YPGsNvKD06MxwHa9M9DlWLxBsHWsDGt5Fs_OqLJrFYP75zOjSHIG8AU7gbPLbjjWHltqnhSHXr4Fc7el4vAPEH4rFyVQYDYeVKTbYmjNNrHYXMo-tu3T0EhfQf-iHK0EiC_aBe6zlVTQ=s320" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1938 (?) Photograph of Alphonse Heningburg<br />(The George Washington University, Special Collections Research Center, National Education Association Records-Special Collections [NEA1007], Box 3043, Folder 8)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><b>Alphonse Heningburg (1902-1982) '24, </b>the third Rosenwald scholar in 1920s Grinnell, was born in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistler,_Alabama" target="_blank">Whistler,</a><span> Alabama, a small community northwest of Mobile. His parents, Andrew Heningburg (1860-1930) and Florence Ella Reves, had married in 1881, and a handful of children had followed: Janie; Clementine; Joseph; Benjamin; Mary; Andrew; Nathaniel; Amelier (?); and in 1902 Alphonse. </span></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi22R2xcIAP8ep5x789WIm2BJqXDodFFRgoo03OShYJGd-tzDAA_-BCnuL91QfINQumI9DtNFgxdK8J50o9rL071qX8V2KCG8F5386WCzKqSdJxMGWNxOEbUwn-w0VSTHtpIgb4z-fZDxlyoGVcJKjaGSfpPqizv5xQJA5hgA-fZBTxz6EE-CSM8azlxg=s1610" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1610" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi22R2xcIAP8ep5x789WIm2BJqXDodFFRgoo03OShYJGd-tzDAA_-BCnuL91QfINQumI9DtNFgxdK8J50o9rL071qX8V2KCG8F5386WCzKqSdJxMGWNxOEbUwn-w0VSTHtpIgb4z-fZDxlyoGVcJKjaGSfpPqizv5xQJA5hgA-fZBTxz6EE-CSM8azlxg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1881 Certificate of Marriage for Andrew Heningburg and Florence Ella Reves<br />(Ancestry.com. <i>Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 </i>[database on-line]. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>But when Alphonse was only four years old, his mother, </span><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107964738/florence-ella-heningburg" target="_blank">Florence Ella Heningburg (1865-1906)</a>, who was only 40 or 41 herself<span>, died quite suddenly. With toddler Alphonse still under foot, her death must have traumatized the household. Evidence for having rearranged the family comes from the 1910 US Census which found </span><span>Alphonse, then eight years old, living in a Mobile household headed not by his widowed father, but by his older brother, Joseph, then 24 years old and working as a brick mason; a widowed sister (26) and two other brothers were the only other members of the household. The children's father, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107964545/antwine-heningburg" target="_blank">Andrew Heningburg</a>, seems not to have died until 1930, so why the children were living together without their father in 1910 I do not know. In a 1933 essay Heningburg reported that his father had been a "fairly successful contractor, although his school work had not extended beyond the third grade" (Alphonse Heningburg, "The Relation of Tuskegee Institute to Education in the Lower South," </span><i>Journal of Educational Sociology </i><span>v. 7, n. 3 [November 1933]:160). Early census reports describe him as a brick mason or laborer, but I could find little else about the man.</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAA1TetOm7YHAmecCbmR0bsHxgJVkaao8zUYAZMVYyksmCFcCekVFfR8elUmOu5eOIHNHQerMI1eaSTQ9GjkzNsv1Yu3EgPRrLNuJ02RfEPXkR_3lmqWwQz1Yr8zHnycKAmVEAdI-OynQqIaoEs55QFlIDowwgjTgcxuz3CCiGyeCGNVdiub4QRLD34Q=s1960" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="1960" height="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAA1TetOm7YHAmecCbmR0bsHxgJVkaao8zUYAZMVYyksmCFcCekVFfR8elUmOu5eOIHNHQerMI1eaSTQ9GjkzNsv1Yu3EgPRrLNuJ02RfEPXkR_3lmqWwQz1Yr8zHnycKAmVEAdI-OynQqIaoEs55QFlIDowwgjTgcxuz3CCiGyeCGNVdiub4QRLD34Q=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span>Extract from 1910 US Census for Carvers Precinct #8, Mobile, AL<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Alphonse evidently did his primary schooling in Whistler, but in 1916 he enrolled at Tuskegee Institute, which, under the influence of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington" target="_blank">Booker T. Washington</a>, had organized its curriculum to emphasize trade skills in addition to a more conventional curriculum (Heningburg, "The Relation of Tuskegee Institute to Education," pp. 159-62). As the catalog points out, </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">Tuskegee Institute aims to provide an opportunity for young colored men and women to acquire a sound vocational training so that upon graduation they may be thoroughly equipped for active leadership in improving moral, educational, industrial and civic conditions in the communities in which they may thereafter live...The more or less abstract teaching of the classroom is supplemented and illustrated by practical lessons in field and shop (<i>1920-1921 Catalog of Tuskegee Institute, </i>pp. 14-15). </span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Consequently, it was at Tuskegee that Alphonse began his life-long love of and skill at woodworking.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt7S7MgQ9WQvaqq0mA4VYfCA07vp7D4z885gY4XxESJ8SHq2al7IgchVbwSPJUJo3mO6Gc9pd6rVQOYaJ1xKC_-4ZYZ61lt7gm7zLNkzq-FXWt-AQCkW5oAr_lauz3AnEr2KW6oNnHuFZqmecsaoy4ZBUyszSS23LG7s2l9Hj8TGtCmsVcYuyIcU0G-A=s1410" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="1410" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt7S7MgQ9WQvaqq0mA4VYfCA07vp7D4z885gY4XxESJ8SHq2al7IgchVbwSPJUJo3mO6Gc9pd6rVQOYaJ1xKC_-4ZYZ61lt7gm7zLNkzq-FXWt-AQCkW5oAr_lauz3AnEr2KW6oNnHuFZqmecsaoy4ZBUyszSS23LG7s2l9Hj8TGtCmsVcYuyIcU0G-A=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract from<i>1920-1921 Catalog of Tuskegee Institute, </i>p. 27<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Heningburg graduated from Tuskegee in 1919, winning the Sumner Prize for his essay on peace and the Frye Prize, which was "awarded to the student...who makes the most progress in his or her trade and at the same time makes the best record in academic studies" (</span><i>39th Annual Catalog of Tuskegee Institute 1919-1920, </i><span>pp. 137-38). Unsurprisingly, Heningburg completed Tuskegee as</span><span> valedictorian of his graduating class of which he was also vice president (<i>1924 Cyclone; Afro-American, </i>August 22, 1931). In brief, his Tuskegee record was outstanding.</span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Heningburg also did well at Grinnell, although his arrival brought him face to face with racial bias. In an essay he wrote many years after leaving Iowa he recalled his first attempt to get a haircut in town:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>The shop was clean and attractive, and the barber at the first chair looked up with a cheerful "Good morning" as I entered. I sat for a few minutes waiting my turn and continued to read a Spanish play which was one of my assignments for the afternoon. The barber whose customer I became was evidently of Spanish descent, for after having noted the book I was studying, his "<i>Buenos dias, señor</i>" greeted me cordially as I took my seat in his chair. An air of friendliness developed and we talked about some of the better-known Spanish writers and artists...The discussion turned in my general direction after a while, and I mentioned casually that I was perhaps the first Negro student to attend the college. My glance into the mirror caught his expression of surprise and bewilderment.With hands raised above his head and in a tone of incredulity, he demanded: "You mean to tell me you're a Negro!" I admitted that I was. "Why I can't cut your hair!" he gasped....I finally persuaded him to finish the job, but he did it with much reluctance and with a great show of effort. He knew the temper of the community; he was probably in danger of losing his job if it became known that he had trimmed a Negro's hair...I was a Negro and, as such, immediately lost claim on the hospitality of the community (Alphonse Heningburg, "Two Worlds," <i>Common Ground </i>49[1944]:46).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmdCxSzNSkguj_0fgREc6Xp0K_FCpeHbTWZ4OqYOE9djBIO9OSKEjXYAMg5CfbvKTTBXDfiPMlquCcxzyiciUMeIDXhJ20NBpktf0IfWJa7xgAtcSNYTmLoTRtInxEhSHxt_kI-Ib0kKVdy-sw69irOgd7xz8NUNHs5PrdokCkR-jgFoK56Z-Mu88EVw=s4048" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2856" data-original-width="4048" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmdCxSzNSkguj_0fgREc6Xp0K_FCpeHbTWZ4OqYOE9djBIO9OSKEjXYAMg5CfbvKTTBXDfiPMlquCcxzyiciUMeIDXhJ20NBpktf0IfWJa7xgAtcSNYTmLoTRtInxEhSHxt_kI-Ib0kKVdy-sw69irOgd7xz8NUNHs5PrdokCkR-jgFoK56Z-Mu88EVw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1919 Photograph of a Grinnell Barbershop in the 900 Block of Main Street<br />https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell:6152</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Unfortunately, Heningburg reports that he encountered the same racial attitudes on campus, as he illustrated with another anecdote. Heningburg tells of an in-class assignment (from an instructor he does not name, but who might have been </span><a href="https://digital.janeaddams.ramapo.edu/items/show/1953" target="_blank">Edward Steiner [1866-1956]</a><span>) requiring students to "tell how they felt when the word 'Negro' was mentioned...." No names were required, but the instructor asked students to reply "as clearly and as concisely as you can the kind of thoughts you have when you hear the word 'Negro.'" Heningburg then recalled, as well as his memory would allow twenty-some years later, the exact words of his fellow students.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>"When I hear the word 'Negro,' I feel a strange kind of resentment, and I think about things which are not pleasant." "The very mention of the word 'Negro' makes me see red, for I think of all the problems which the people in my part of the country face because we have to put up with these people." "Negroes are an awful nuisance in my community—at least all those that I have known. It would be a great thing if all of them could go back to Africa" (ibid., p. 47).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Alluding to his fellow students, Heningburg ruefully recalled that "There was hardly a one who seemed to think about Negroes as if they were [people] much like themselves" (ibid.).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">One may wonder how faithfully Heningburg could recall these statements decades later. As scholars have noted, memories—even terrible memories—are fungible and can be reconstructed over time (Randy Rieland, "What Scientists Know About Repairing Memories," <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/what-scientists-now-know-about-repairing-memories-1566240/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/what-scientists-now-know-about-repairing-memories-1566240/</a>). Moreover, because Heningburg begins his recollection by describing Grinnell as "the small northwestern town in which I went to college," it is tempting to question the accuracy of the statements he recalls. But even if the literal accuracy of the quotations be questioned, it is much harder to doubt that Heningburg has remembered accurately the sense of these comments, whose vocabulary and tone call to mind the 1921 Rosenwald Fund summary of the students' experience at Grinnell:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"></span><blockquote><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">At first there were slights, perhaps exaggerated by natural apprehension, Negroes being new both in college and in the community. Local barbers refused to give service...There were social and scholastic adjustments necessary both with members of the faculty and with the student body (</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Anonymous, undated, untitled Summary of the Project, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Julius Rosenwald Papers, Box 16, Folder 17, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">).</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Nevertheless, Heningburg remained in college and succeeded brilliantly at Grinnell. Majoring in Spanish which he combined with courses in Business Administration, he did well enough to be elected to Phi Beta Kappa (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>May 21, 1924). He was also a member of the Cosmopolitan Club (ibid., October 20, 1923) and the Romance Language Club of which he was treasurer (ibid., April 30, 1924) and one of its few male members.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8rdJnr1MAy8wTFU366Ad1hhFr2TcrKVTUkYG-iCSlK3Q_VC7Vl7kCM9QM9jun7oagOgm75UhNioqyRPKJhPQjw9hhvW0ISvGnjGbUrpjMzMjAv-6-eaFO4bjUepEjaQQY2HNXuM-_FZWmv8yKiPIld3o1F2HiYF9KcZWHsRJi9UiYmrWn4QfrJh-aiw=s1384" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1384" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8rdJnr1MAy8wTFU366Ad1hhFr2TcrKVTUkYG-iCSlK3Q_VC7Vl7kCM9QM9jun7oagOgm75UhNioqyRPKJhPQjw9hhvW0ISvGnjGbUrpjMzMjAv-6-eaFO4bjUepEjaQQY2HNXuM-_FZWmv8yKiPIld3o1F2HiYF9KcZWHsRJi9UiYmrWn4QfrJh-aiw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romance Language Club, <i>1924 Grinnell College Cyclone<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>After Grinnell Heningburg accepted a position at the Slater State Normal School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (</span><i>Southern Workman, </i><span>1924, p. 325), s</span><a href="https://www.wssu.edu/about/points-of-pride/our-history.html" target="_blank">oon renamed Winston-Salem State University</a><span>. Archivists there could not give me evidence of his assignments at Winston-Salem, but his tenure there could only have been brief anyway, because he was soon en route to France where he studied at the </span><a href="http://Sorbonne.">Sorbonne.</a><span> After two years in Europe and receipt of a diploma (<i>L'enseignement français a l'etranger)</i>, he arrived back in New York in August 1927.</span></span></div><div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRXtwiY0BfiY1ffG1BUDbdFf5lx3SGVNJRWlblRlg-RGYKtqOtsSOkOhWlAnj5n1I8v7QU80Kd4pxbuG8uijSoICEasztyplsEEUbIVqx5tBK2WWk4CFtarziFmeJX-4DI_Y21Mp1kwBaczxGAfKEOx5myKUWWGACxEMJDAWh5qB_dJgOTgGi43zJmIg=s2572" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="2572" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRXtwiY0BfiY1ffG1BUDbdFf5lx3SGVNJRWlblRlg-RGYKtqOtsSOkOhWlAnj5n1I8v7QU80Kd4pxbuG8uijSoICEasztyplsEEUbIVqx5tBK2WWk4CFtarziFmeJX-4DI_Y21Mp1kwBaczxGAfKEOx5myKUWWGACxEMJDAWh5qB_dJgOTgGi43zJmIg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract from Passenger List of S.S. Caronia, arriving in New York, August 27, 1927<br />(Ancestry.com. <i>New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists [including Castle Rock and Ellis Island], 1820-1957 </i>[database on-line]. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Hard on the heels of his two-year sojourn in France (October 15, 1927), Heningburg married a young Alabama woman—<a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/187833497/madeline-harris-davis" target="_blank">Madeline J. Davis (1907-1979)</a>. Given the speed with which they married, Heningburg must have known Davis from before he went to Paris, but I could not find the link. At first I thought that they might have grown up together, but the 1910 and 1920 US Censuses found Madeline and her family living on 6th Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama, about 250 miles from Whistler. I did not locate her in the 1930 census, but the 1940 US Census identified her as a "widow" who lived with her widowed mother in Birmingham along with her six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. If Madeline remarried after her marriage to Heningburg, she did not change her surname: the 1940 record knows her as Madeline Davis. But whatever that earlier relationship with Alphonse Heningburg, their marriage did not last long, although I discovered no evidence of a divorce. </span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZGCR5NCT6z2B0FPD2Sc0nNS_2lsbtsdMmnZIgBCxehf4u_ZoRDEf3P_lp7iDlwj4Ma-I0lMNNU9ycEm6b4ZOmLjPgjWfho0lCsIn6OuJ3k6GePVZTUvm5vzdbvqY9JH4TR_ocJJh_Jxv_-wUQsPGMkpV4dQa79vSXyyZczMe3Zo1J1srvKhfPChhwSg=s1346" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1302" data-original-width="1346" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZGCR5NCT6z2B0FPD2Sc0nNS_2lsbtsdMmnZIgBCxehf4u_ZoRDEf3P_lp7iDlwj4Ma-I0lMNNU9ycEm6b4ZOmLjPgjWfho0lCsIn6OuJ3k6GePVZTUvm5vzdbvqY9JH4TR_ocJJh_Jxv_-wUQsPGMkpV4dQa79vSXyyZczMe3Zo1J1srvKhfPChhwSg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1927 Marriage Certificate of Alphonse Heningburg and Madeline J. Davis<br />(Ancestry.com. <i>Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 </i>[database on-line]. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Heningburg very shortly married again, this time taking as wife <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182159525/willa-mae-heningburg" target="_blank">Willa Mae Scales (1905-1999)</a> in an August 1929 ceremony in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Newspaper reports of the wedding made no reference to Heningburg's previous match, concentrating instead upon the details of dress and decoration ("Wedding of Miss Scales to Prof. Heningburg Occurs at Pretty Home of Bride's Parents," <i>New Journal and Guide, </i>August 31, 1929).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZNUbgrsuXnt-engRtFHCokErtAN4TTPjHpsWBTf_2tEVeeh5HOhYNcMXFlRtbQ5znM0Cdm0q7YyjQgCo2S8po0nnj1f44DcP5CQG2yKAU2IvOe9pssGRjv6SKiKz5TeZhN59uR-5IsuzZoAgg4rRCoMPfB8LQvYoRctNUyWj-hJtZQ9l_mr2KX43Vgw=s1632" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1632" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZNUbgrsuXnt-engRtFHCokErtAN4TTPjHpsWBTf_2tEVeeh5HOhYNcMXFlRtbQ5znM0Cdm0q7YyjQgCo2S8po0nnj1f44DcP5CQG2yKAU2IvOe9pssGRjv6SKiKz5TeZhN59uR-5IsuzZoAgg4rRCoMPfB8LQvYoRctNUyWj-hJtZQ9l_mr2KX43Vgw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1929 Marriage Certificate of Alphonse Heningburg and Willa Mae Scales<br />(Ancestry.com. <i>North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 </i>[database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The 1930 US Census has the couple living on Montgomery Road in Tuskegee, Alabama. According to the census Heningburg was then working at Tuskegee and "Wilhelmina," his wife, worked as a secretary at the local YMCA. The Heningburgs were renting—apparently living on campus—and had nine lodgers, most of whom worked at Tuskegee. Tuskegee records indicate that Heningburg held several positions at the school between 1927 and 1936: for a time he was head of the Academic Department (High School) and occupied his final post—Director of Personnel—between 1934 and 1937 (Daniel T. Williams, </span><i>Positions at Tuskegee Institute: Names and Tenure </i><span>[Tuskegee: Tuskegee Institute, 1974], 64, 76).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1930 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Russa_Moton" target="_blank">Dr. Robert Moton (1867-1940)</a>, then the principal of Tuskegee, accepted a request from the U.S. State Department to name a delegation that would travel to Haiti for "educational study." The committee that Moton named included the President of <a href="https://howard.edu/" target="_blank">Howard University</a>, a field secretary of the General Education Board, the president of Georgia State Industrial College (now <a href="https://www.savannahstate.edu/about-ssu/history.shtml" target="_blank">Savannah State University</a>), and the Dean at Tuskegee. Heningburg was to accompany the delegation: "Prof. Alphonse Heningburg of the department of romance languages at Tuskegee Institute, graduate instructor in French from the Sorbonne, Paris...will act as official interpreter and aide to the committee" </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>(U.S. Department of State, </span><i>Press Releases</i><span>, vol. 2, no.14-39a, 1930, pp. 90-91).</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9ucsg5oWFq9aU3wn2AFOfwYYUYdAlNw_AP6XFT8EMGgdgcZVyhbn9NIZ9rMqUQZAN8h5capGvE9B4LYUiTVkCp6TBTVqHb5iTO7JS6npN8wI7nep39fwcqU7i2VKnX2gAjWJxPAwCXkGomZXFzhHXlmPUVwZui9FFeb0z5jf_r1gPSUiO726n30UjdQ=s2028" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="2028" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9ucsg5oWFq9aU3wn2AFOfwYYUYdAlNw_AP6XFT8EMGgdgcZVyhbn9NIZ9rMqUQZAN8h5capGvE9B4LYUiTVkCp6TBTVqHb5iTO7JS6npN8wI7nep39fwcqU7i2VKnX2gAjWJxPAwCXkGomZXFzhHXlmPUVwZui9FFeb0z5jf_r1gPSUiO726n30UjdQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduate Education Board Fellowship Record Card for Alphonse Heningburg<br />(<span style="text-align: left;"><i>Rockefeller Foundation, Record Group 10.2 [Fellowship Recorder Cards], General Education Board A-Z Box 20 Heningburg-A)</i>.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The trip to Haiti began in June, just a few months after </span><span>Alphonse and Willa welcomed into their family their first child, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182159105/gustav-heningburg" target="_blank">Gustav (1930-2012)</a>, who went on to a distinguished career of his own. <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/182159783/adrienne-heningburg" target="_blank">Adrienne was born in 1933,</a> but died young. Their second son, <a href="https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/silver-spring-md/michael-heningburg-7063887" target="_blank">Michael, was born in 1938</a>, by which time the Heningburgs were living in North Carolina. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1933 Heningburg received a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Education_Board" target="_blank">General Education Board</a> that allowed him to begin graduate study at <a href="https://www.nyu.edu/" target="_blank">New York University</a>. That summer he enrolled in several courses devoted to educational administration (along with a course in "Advanced methods of woodworking," which evidently followed up on his early years at Tuskegee). He also passed two foreign language exams and his field prelim exams, meaning that, together with his credits from the Sorbonne, he could complete residence requirements soon. The following summer, thanks to an extension of his fellowship, he was again in New York at work on his dissertation. His NYU supervisors were much impressed, one of them writing to the Graduate Education Board that Heningburg was an </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Unusual man in every respect [and] ranks high among candidates for the degree of Ph.D. [He] is well poised, has [a] splendid outlook, works well with everybody, and is very commendable in every respect (</span><span><i>Rockefeller Foundation, Record Group 10.2 [Fellowship Recorder Cards], General Education Board A-Z Box 20 Heningburg-A)</i>.</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div><div><p></p><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Heningburg had hoped that he might receive the degree as soon as 1935, but in fact he completed all requirements at NYU in 1939, devoting his dissertation to "The Teacher in the Negro College" (<i>List of Doctors and Masters Theses in Education, New York University, First Supplement, October 1936—June 1940, </i>comp. Nouvart Tashjian [New York: RHO Chapter, Phi Delta Kappa, School of Education, New York University, 1941], p. 11).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhF9hGNuSa_fTalufRm8CrYZWNZHOjCSW-4EkXkarLoNRDgWxFU3BuKUdcLpIyb_1wqwizrLl1vzd8WYqF2VFL1FK7KA2mFHUfk_O2F7tYWA2Q9Rk-S2mUssgsw2vXhS_DzV-CCP7MEmkzQko7d6eU81F0CVqycYFyfQ2uc4dzmQhpaDuokgMXjpIUXHw=s1962" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1962" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhF9hGNuSa_fTalufRm8CrYZWNZHOjCSW-4EkXkarLoNRDgWxFU3BuKUdcLpIyb_1wqwizrLl1vzd8WYqF2VFL1FK7KA2mFHUfk_O2F7tYWA2Q9Rk-S2mUssgsw2vXhS_DzV-CCP7MEmkzQko7d6eU81F0CVqycYFyfQ2uc4dzmQhpaDuokgMXjpIUXHw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1939 Yearbook of North Carolina College for Negroes</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1937 the Heningburgs relocated to Durham, North Carolina where Alphonse began work as a special assistant to the President of what was then called the North Carolina College for Negroes—today's <a href="https://www.nccu.edu/" target="_blank">North Carolina Central University</a> </span><span>(</span><i>Campus Echo, </i><span>25 October 1937; ibid., 8 March 1939)</span><span>. Very soon Heningburg was named vice-president, as confirmed by Durham city directories for 1939 and 1940. The 1942 directory, however, identified his title as "instructor" and the following year called him "professor," indicating that Heningburg had moved from administrative duties to full-time teaching (Ancestry.com. <i>U.S. City Directories, 1822-1975 </i>[database on-line]. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011). His foreign language instruction did not overlook the importance of race: the campus newspaper reported that in 1939 during National <a href="https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/carter-woodson-black-history-month/" target="_blank">Negro History Week</a> Heningburg had provided his French students with special classes about Negro Americans and Negro Frenchmen who were "not mentioned in textbooks of this day and age" (</span><i>Campus Echo, </i><span>March 8, 1939). From the first Heningburg was active in the local YMCA and was also involved in campus theatre, which in 1939 brought him into contact with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zora_Neale_Hurston" target="_blank">Zora Neale Hurston</a> (1891-1960), who was on campus to direct a play (ibid., 29 November 1939).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihYuaIiGVM7Q8cDeRsA6wktSe9hcX21nNlFxGGR9F-QpiSWjrWlU9maxEk3wPQLr6DVpSoTeWuxMObsy1W18N6Qqrm4ypP33C6tvmoBF17ZBUnD3YYGXpOjvhhVDhnZxUvoKNOa9HKCp73ISoZNYBkN_Axn8bR47AY6DtifhbffC_GOa82Q9RiOdyg0w=s978" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="978" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihYuaIiGVM7Q8cDeRsA6wktSe9hcX21nNlFxGGR9F-QpiSWjrWlU9maxEk3wPQLr6DVpSoTeWuxMObsy1W18N6Qqrm4ypP33C6tvmoBF17ZBUnD3YYGXpOjvhhVDhnZxUvoKNOa9HKCp73ISoZNYBkN_Axn8bR47AY6DtifhbffC_GOa82Q9RiOdyg0w=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New York Age, </i>March 29, 1941<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Increasingly Heningburg attracted attention beyond the Durham campus. In 1937 he was elected President of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Teachers_Association" target="_blank">American Teachers' Association</a>, an organization that represented teachers in African American schools in the South (<i>Historically Black College Leadership and Social Transformation, </i>ed. Vickie L. Suggs [Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2014], p. 48). In spring 1941 newspapers reported that Tuskegee alumni had nominated Heningburg for a spot on the Tuskegee Board of Trustees. Soon thereafter <i>New York Age </i>noted that Heningburg had been elected president of Delaware State College for Colored Students (now <a href="https://www.desu.edu/about/our-history" target="_blank">Delaware State University</a>). As things turned out, the former president, <a href="https://www.desu.edu/about/administration/president/presidents-delaware-state-university" target="_blank">Dr. Richard Grossley</a> who had been fired by the school's trustees, was reinstated, canceling Heningburg's election (<i>New Journal and Guide, </i>May 17, 1941; <i>Afro-American </i>June 21, 1941; <i>Chicago Defender, </i>June 28, 1941). But it was clear that Heningburg's career trajectory was arcing upward.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9t68Tfn4r9zp1UDBQlmBSBYNQHeh-_csUmse429jOHtfR04EshNazuH0rgHpmB0KuVFSzo2nyQhyrnM38WrCNcISn2jzZZe0p2UjFX6fhtu9P3Lha0TLCkcRDHgZmnrEzg26MhhtIIC-uixmHj4yYJy7uL-RrToCvYOvL6PBbUtbGApalaXAvBqCY9g=s956" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="956" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9t68Tfn4r9zp1UDBQlmBSBYNQHeh-_csUmse429jOHtfR04EshNazuH0rgHpmB0KuVFSzo2nyQhyrnM38WrCNcISn2jzZZe0p2UjFX6fhtu9P3Lha0TLCkcRDHgZmnrEzg26MhhtIIC-uixmHj4yYJy7uL-RrToCvYOvL6PBbUtbGApalaXAvBqCY9g=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>New York Age, </i>May 17, 1941</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">With the outbreak of World War II, Heningburg, like the other Rosenwald Scholars from Grinnell, registered for the draft. The Durham, North Carolina Selective Service Draft Board #2 measured Heningburg at 5 feet, 10 inches tall and gave his weight as 165 pounds, about the same height and weight he reported thirty years later, an indication that Heningburg remained active and in good health (Ancestry.com. <i>U.S. WWII Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940-1947 </i>[database on-line]. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrsjV1v1E-AaTQmZkyWJC-9SsYGeNBFwjYVKH02Hv6QgxigFeHWaJ1AL3mq_L9-xUUER8Er0JtXEAgd28kOM9ey-ovqFXzbUMS9OJrtXMeP8fGv8mKidRghlEgko39HSpczL6ZFaf_DvFPpb8DTePHAM1qp1AKRTBtpl9Gnk9_i5MxJTFJoy2IWSveuA=s1316" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1316" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrsjV1v1E-AaTQmZkyWJC-9SsYGeNBFwjYVKH02Hv6QgxigFeHWaJ1AL3mq_L9-xUUER8Er0JtXEAgd28kOM9ey-ovqFXzbUMS9OJrtXMeP8fGv8mKidRghlEgko39HSpczL6ZFaf_DvFPpb8DTePHAM1qp1AKRTBtpl9Gnk9_i5MxJTFJoy2IWSveuA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of Alphonse Heningburg and staff with National Urban League Booth at <br />National Conference of Social Work, Cleveland, Ohio, May 21-27, 1944<br />(<i>Opportunity </i>22[1944]:133)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>In October 1943 Heningburg took leave from North Carolina College to become Industrial Relations Field Secretary of the <a href="https://nul.org/" target="_blank">National Urban League </a>in New York; the following July he accepted a regular position as Director of the Urban League's Department of Public Education (</span><i>Opportunity </i><span>22[1944]:184). In this post Heningburg often published pieces in the Urban League's journal, <i>Opportunity</i>: "Can America's Dreams Come True?" (22[1944]:14-15, 44); "Down In the Ditch" (ibid., 150); "To the Polls We Go" (ibid., 150-51); "The Negro Veteran Comes Home" (ibid., 23[1945]:3); "What the Urban League Expects for All Races" (ibid., 123); and </span><span>"The Future Is Yours" (ibid., 181-83)</span></span><span>. These essays demonstrated Heningburg's skill as an eloquent and spirited defender of African Americans' rights.</span><span> </span></span></div><div><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAAV7ntW-dgDmnEJvuNKXLmqUAp1HwRUSaruwLdLEaOpSZ5sWn19GXZQFmIlbq0FS6NkBDFBClER6xbQcpwWq_j8UZHYITk2gAQcJ8tyCKTxgLPewK6H3CLfidhO-_YNcPvlNGLO7Q-0Y7JdgLBGTn4GdQr_fpypM33CzgywMw2MXNI32cOMq9PCY0QQ=s1768" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1212" data-original-width="1768" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAAV7ntW-dgDmnEJvuNKXLmqUAp1HwRUSaruwLdLEaOpSZ5sWn19GXZQFmIlbq0FS6NkBDFBClER6xbQcpwWq_j8UZHYITk2gAQcJ8tyCKTxgLPewK6H3CLfidhO-_YNcPvlNGLO7Q-0Y7JdgLBGTn4GdQr_fpypM33CzgywMw2MXNI32cOMq9PCY0QQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alphonse Heningburg as Secretary of NY Department of Welfare in<br />announcement of 1947 NY Metropolitan Council Workshop<br />(https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/auc.146%3A0051)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Having made the move to New York in 1943, Heningburg never looked back. In 1944 he purchased a home in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Albans,_Queens" target="_blank">St. Albans, Queens,</a><span> and he and his wife joined <a href="http://www.saccucc.org/" target="_blank">St. Albans Congregational Church</a>. Although the Borough of Queens attracted ever larger numbers of African Americans, buying a home there did not necessarily happen without racial bias. So far as I know, the Heningburgs themselves encountered no difficulties, but a few years after they moved in, the sale of a house just one block away generated a court fight because the property had a racial covenant attached to it (<i>"</i>Court Grants Writ Barring Sale of a Home in Queens to a Negro," <i>New York Times, </i>February 14, 1947).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1946 he became the first African American to be Secretary of the New York City Department of Welfare (today's <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dss/index.page" target="_blank">Department of Social Services</a>), a position he held until 1949. Even before he accepted this latest post, Heningburg had been teaching at NYU, including a course entitled "Racial Contributions to American Culture" (</span><i>People's Voice</i><span>, June 8, 1946). In 1949 he was named assistant professor at <a href="https://www.adelphi.edu/" target="_blank">Adelphi University</a> in Garden City, New York, where he worked until 1953. Among the courses he offered at Adelphi were Educational Philosophy, School and Community, and Audio-Visual Methods, a subject that would influence his later career (<i>The Delphian, </i>February 24, 1953, p. 6).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimMlnk30TfSlvZNDbqFUqEEjFxwq_4DhcOmrcmTgXG1SbeB5EBaU1qTFX73GZt323jXmndRxBXVUok8gahR8lU28QrL2V0dwJ5QQVwc0nPtzjOj6fpyaPE3WpqfKpnF4Jzbt70UbwL0gQcC_YH2lR7fEgIsNy7pRT1P2gINniuCgPmMAp6y4QPyI__Zg=s878" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="878" data-original-width="820" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimMlnk30TfSlvZNDbqFUqEEjFxwq_4DhcOmrcmTgXG1SbeB5EBaU1qTFX73GZt323jXmndRxBXVUok8gahR8lU28QrL2V0dwJ5QQVwc0nPtzjOj6fpyaPE3WpqfKpnF4Jzbt70UbwL0gQcC_YH2lR7fEgIsNy7pRT1P2gINniuCgPmMAp6y4QPyI__Zg=s320" width="299" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The home that the Heningburgs purchased in 1944 at 112-27 176th Street, St. Albans, Queens, New York<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Heningburg occasionally taught elsewhere, including NYU, <a href="https://hunter.cuny.edu/" target="_blank">Hunter College</a>, <a href="https://www.yu.edu/" target="_blank">Yeshiva University</a> and <a href="https://www.hofstra.edu/" target="_blank">Hofstra University</a>. He was also a frequent lecturer for numerous civic associations and inter-faith groups in the greater New York region. His interest in foreign languages and his international experience also encouraged him and his wife to sponsor for several years in the 1950s an annual gathering of French students (who spent a month in the US under the auspices of the <a href="https://www.experiment.org/" target="_blank">Experiment in International Living</a>) to hear from and visit with "prominent Long Islanders, Negro and white, from the fields of social work, politics, journalism and business" (<i>Pittsburgh Courier, </i>December 18, 1954).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">At about this same time Heningburg joined several other African American activists to form the "Non-Partisan Citizens' Committee for Reapportionment" in Queens with the goal of forcing politicians to make sure that Blacks, who made up a gradually larger proportion of Queens residents, had a voice in government. As <a href="https://afam.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/martha-biondi.html" target="_blank">Martha Biondi</a> reported, "Heningburg called the fight for 'political autonomy' for African Americans 'the most important issue that has confronted this community'" (<i>To Stand and Fight: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Post-War New York City </i>[Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003], p. 218; "Queens Leaders Set to Elect Negro," <i>New York Amsterdam News, </i>June 23, 1951). One consequence of this commitment was his willingness to stand for election to the City Council from Queens; were he elected he would have been the first African American elected to public office in Queens. Running as an independent Democrat on the Liberal Party and Independent Party slates, Heningburg had to face a Democratic incumbent as well as a Republican and two other candidates (<i>New York Amsterdam News, </i>October 17, 1953), but he gained useful endorsements from the Citizens Union, which called him "Qualified and Preferred," and from the Queensboro Independent Citizens Committee for Good Government, which asserted that it could "think of no one individual whose background and virtues are more deserving of our support." Several other groups weighed in with similar views (ibid., October 24, 1953).</span></div><div><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9lNSDWdn5ugGjIV5vRjFa-jp4I9ivOe4I8jDsXwNkP2ewakBlwB1lTsbEujYwYUeEntYe223s63m9PhSQXgGzmLA5F_RTw_D7XVBnboReglSEMGVWRY2k214F83X_pPMYqIg0LFURETMh0gU97ptbpdBZh89p1jZRfZHDpbk9W0ZqQ0ONQW_C49iNQg=s1610" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1610" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9lNSDWdn5ugGjIV5vRjFa-jp4I9ivOe4I8jDsXwNkP2ewakBlwB1lTsbEujYwYUeEntYe223s63m9PhSQXgGzmLA5F_RTw_D7XVBnboReglSEMGVWRY2k214F83X_pPMYqIg0LFURETMh0gU97ptbpdBZh89p1jZRfZHDpbk9W0ZqQ0ONQW_C49iNQg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heningburg's 1953 New York Teacher's Certificate<br /><span style="text-align: left;">(Special Collections Research Center, Gelman Library, George Washington University, National Education Association Records (NEA1007), American Teachers Association and ATA Affiliates, 1911-1986, Box 3043, Folder 8, "Alphonse Heningburg")<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1953 Heningburg made another career change, becoming first Director of Audio-Visual Services (later Media Coordinator) and Director of Community Relations for the </span><a href="https://www.whufsd.com/" target="_blank">Union Free School District #27, West Hempstead, New York</a><span>. Although Heningburg had taught university courses concerned with audio-visual sources, the change in occupation nevertheless surprises. Certainly West Hempstead was close to Garden City where he had been teaching at Adelphi and it was also more convenient than Manhattan for commuting from his home in St. Albans. At the same time, this position gave him less reason to deal publicly with issues of race, to which he had committed considerable energy over the preceding decade. But Long Island seems to have drawn the family's affections with increasing power: around this time the Heningburgs purchased property in </span><a href="https://www.sagharborny.gov/" target="_blank">Sag Harbor</a><span> and there built themselves a home, the carpenter training that Heningburg had received at Tuskegee proving useful ("A Resort Community Whose Residents Happen to be Black," <i>New York Times, </i>July 20, 1969).</span></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6pJJQUttKN9bOG96gGLC8rXsfgcXyRQIy6fvJN4j_2CFnUmakn3qdrrZO45_4h2cHKVgC_JbY69-eCWDMtoG4d4tPxvTvvPukXPv0609ONPwTqb7_UHtxH4LtqPrdM5LSFHfpMp_jA0860ajj6IwendYQg_p7F8BXN_UXwfgraHb3S6Ds2qEhPUkAIA=s1272" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="734" data-original-width="1272" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi6pJJQUttKN9bOG96gGLC8rXsfgcXyRQIy6fvJN4j_2CFnUmakn3qdrrZO45_4h2cHKVgC_JbY69-eCWDMtoG4d4tPxvTvvPukXPv0609ONPwTqb7_UHtxH4LtqPrdM5LSFHfpMp_jA0860ajj6IwendYQg_p7F8BXN_UXwfgraHb3S6Ds2qEhPUkAIA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Alabama Tribune, </i>December 5, 1958, p. 8<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Heningburg remained at West Hempstead until 1971, when he retired from the schools. The only interruption came in 1962 when the <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/" target="_blank">Agency for International Development</a> "borrowed" him to help "build, equip, and staff a school of business and law at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunis_University" target="_blank">University of Tunis</a>." By his own testimony, Heningburg interrupted what had been a three-year contract after only 15 months "because of illness in the family" (<i>Special Collections Research Center, Gelman Library, George Washington University, National Education Association Records (NEA1007), Box 3043, Folder 8, "Alphonse Heningburg"</i>). But this experience served him well, because after he retired from West Hempstead, he accepted a position as Vice President of Learnex, Inc., a company that was "training people in eight [West African] cities for employment in the building and management of hotels" (<i>"</i>Cocktail Chit Chat," <i>Jet, </i>March 23, 1972).</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw3GSQxuqMYZ7TYpf5mrZhXWjOsRrFW68QK04jjc2G79jDgc6nBzZZz7TE_8SNsNldQwznuRLS-FLcBk6sKh3iTyR67IrLz6zo3S9rrAU3zBjAFGRZie8e6g3CjfvkDmG9NxcSXBbSBZb5yPVM9vPq1b5uKujxw96XSSHaUCOF-SYInsU1TJjR9zrCiQ=s1252" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="1252" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgw3GSQxuqMYZ7TYpf5mrZhXWjOsRrFW68QK04jjc2G79jDgc6nBzZZz7TE_8SNsNldQwznuRLS-FLcBk6sKh3iTyR67IrLz6zo3S9rrAU3zBjAFGRZie8e6g3CjfvkDmG9NxcSXBbSBZb5yPVM9vPq1b5uKujxw96XSSHaUCOF-SYInsU1TJjR9zrCiQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Cocktail Chitchat," <i>Jet, </i>February 28, 1980</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />In 1980 the Heningburg children arranged a joyous celebration in Virginia of their parents' 50th wedding anniversary, a half-century of accomplishment and adaptation that Alphonse and Willa had shared. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Sadly, that long record of shared adventure was ruptured within two years of celebrating a golden anniversary: Alphonse died in Orange, New Jersey, July 22, 1982. He was eighty years old, and had filled his life with achievements. The last child of nine, orphaned (it seems) when he was only four, Heningburg went on to excel at Tuskegee, Grinnell College, the Sorbonne, and New York University. He taught at several universities, and at least twice served in those schools' administrations. In his forties he worked for the National Urban League in New York, helping set the post-war political agenda for African Americans. In the Eisenhower years he moved from university teaching to the public schools, administering audio-visual resources and reaching out to the West Hempstead community. In the midst of these Long Island occupations Heningburg took leave in 1962 in order to assist in the establishment of programs at the University at Tunis, a loud echo of his visit to Haiti in 1930 with African American educators. He concluded his work career in the private sector, bringing to Learnex some of the skills he had accumulated earlier. Through it all he maintained a healthy marriage which lasted more than a half-century. He and his wife raised two sons, both of whom served their country in the US Army and then put their lives to work for their communities and for fellow African Americans.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">It's an impressive resume, reflective of Heningburg's intelligence and energy. Although he encountered racism when first he ventured onto the Grinnell campus and into downtown Grinnell, he did not let this hatred undermine his accomplishments. An excellent student at Grinnell, where he became the second African American inducted into the Grinnell chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, and later an outstanding student and teacher at his high school alma mater—Tuskegee—and then at North Carolina Central, Heningburg introduced legions of students to the world of Spaniards and Frenchmen, especially drawing attention to the Black men and women of those countries. In New York, where he served both the National Urban League and the City of New York, he applied his learning to advance the cause of African Americans in mid-century America. If his last productive years focused upon Long Island, even then he interrupted this work to imagine and equip a university in North Africa. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Grinnell College is fortunate to name among its graduates many women and men of accomplishment, but few can have lived lives so full of meaning as did Alphonse Heningburg, the third of Grinnell's Rosenwald Scholars.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-58095144954798198752022-01-29T04:54:00.012-08:002024-02-03T04:41:20.275-08:00Hampton Man Comes to Grinnell<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Collis Huntington Davis (1900-1974)</b> was born in Hampton, Virginia in September 1900. His father worked as a plasterer and his oldest brother was already working as a hotel bellman when Collis joined the family, the sixth of eight children. Before coming to Grinnell in 1919 as the second Rosenwald Scholar, young Davis, who had graduated from Hampton Academy in 1918, had never lived outside Hampton, so the adventure of meeting the American prairie and a very white town no doubt brought many surprises. </span></p><div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjS77Abwms2WCaF4BF29zaj-4R-5TpwNUl0cXv0K94561Dua2Jrp6M4o_FSB9K7SaeQKQrJPHj6lju-AywLV77-Pvmsa3tfQ0Codywe6Zlsch4A27X5cvC0j-e72QC09kC54Eqo5iXoDIc6ztjZC9ppCTlpvDrxwlq11y4NIL_RrLIGrPuxlhsZS1fZ4Q=s412" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjS77Abwms2WCaF4BF29zaj-4R-5TpwNUl0cXv0K94561Dua2Jrp6M4o_FSB9K7SaeQKQrJPHj6lju-AywLV77-Pvmsa3tfQ0Codywe6Zlsch4A27X5cvC0j-e72QC09kC54Eqo5iXoDIc6ztjZC9ppCTlpvDrxwlq11y4NIL_RrLIGrPuxlhsZS1fZ4Q=s320" width="255" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Collis H. Davis, <i>1924 Grinnell College Cyclone<br /><br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">When census officials came to Grinnell in 1920, Davis was living in college dormitories along with several other Blacks, including <a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-first-rosenwald-scholar-at-grinnell.html" target="_blank">Hosea Campbell</a>, the first Grinnell Rosenwald scholar who had arrived in 1918. Unlike Campbell, who favored history and philosophy, Davis majored in chemistry and zoology, and seems to have taken to his Grinnell classes immediately. A 1919 notice that appeared in Hampton's <i>Southern Workman </i>carried word that Davis was registered at Grinnell for a full load—16 hours—and "likes his work immensely" (48[1919]:671). That Davis enjoyed his studies is obvious from his academic success. A campus newspaper article from autumn 1921 included Davis among the 29 Grinnell students (out of college total of more than 600) whose grades the preceding year qualified them as "Grinnell Scholars"— that is, they all "received at least twenty hours of A last year and none of their work was below B" (<i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 1, 1921). Davis maintained this high level of success throughout his time at Grinnell as evidenced by his election to Phi Beta Kappa, the first African American to join Grinnell's PBK chapter (<i>1925-26 Negro Yearbook, </i>p. 300). I found little about how race influenced Davis's experience in Grinnell, but in a private email his daughter, Thulani Davis, recalled that her dad had worked as a Pullman porter during the summers while he was at Grinnell, and was "forced to sing spirituals every Friday night before being given dinner" (email February 3, 2022).</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiOqAdc4m5Pr6xWnaeMorkLdAeiionLypw-2JqBiJYIe3HEUQJNdOYYv6XaWaEEV3xgJyi8h6RIkiAzsgdtOB0FsinXigpg_srfFcfKh8gNIgQ4qUdahaNZXtbPbmz8DM9JX4E8_vylYvdAY233Yntz2Bw4M1k89jnhJphzyszRBq0UQqvM6rGCX7O2A=s1288" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="943" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiOqAdc4m5Pr6xWnaeMorkLdAeiionLypw-2JqBiJYIe3HEUQJNdOYYv6XaWaEEV3xgJyi8h6RIkiAzsgdtOB0FsinXigpg_srfFcfKh8gNIgQ4qUdahaNZXtbPbmz8DM9JX4E8_vylYvdAY233Yntz2Bw4M1k89jnhJphzyszRBq0UQqvM6rGCX7O2A=s320" width="234" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1924 Photograph of Collis Davis (front row, centre) and his six brothers<br />(Ancestry.com. McCammon Pautler Family Tree)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">After graduation, Davis immediately returned to Virginia where he began teaching chemistry at Hampton Institute. The 1930 US census, conducted in April, reported that Davis was rooming on the Hampton campus with other men, but that September he married <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14231128/louise-davis" target="_blank">Willie Louise Barbour</a> (1905-1955) in New York City. Collis and "Billie," who hailed from Kansas City, Missouri, had met in Boston when Collis took a summer class at Harvard and Billie was a student at <a href="https://www.bu.edu/sargent/about-us/our-history/" target="_blank">Sargent Physical Education School</a>. A talented woman in her own right, Billie later taught dance at Hampton, and became a very accomplished photographer.</span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4eM-U85Z9yWlGVjFljgCQ9EQNgKdDGPj-e_db1El8zotGdILraGdk55sSA6ikMGRE-ZurQvCy0UBnBrxXjTW0NsDmUI2xN9eRFGjeganHwD22ViJpvVaXTWM5QaIcCW6oVjiaxlSjwDhYlpMNX9gpbe10-M-lD3pCPBX-boPH5290ZsX6f9RNkWWi9A=s496" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4eM-U85Z9yWlGVjFljgCQ9EQNgKdDGPj-e_db1El8zotGdILraGdk55sSA6ikMGRE-ZurQvCy0UBnBrxXjTW0NsDmUI2xN9eRFGjeganHwD22ViJpvVaXTWM5QaIcCW6oVjiaxlSjwDhYlpMNX9gpbe10-M-lD3pCPBX-boPH5290ZsX6f9RNkWWi9A=s320" width="213" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A 1920s photo of "Billie" Barbour Davis (1905-1955)<br />(Ancestry.com, McCammon Pautler Family Tree)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span><span>Collis and Billie gave birth to a talented family. <a href="https://www.cremnc.com/obituary/louise-stone" target="_blank">Georgia Louise (1932-2011)</a> was the first African American to attend Maine's <a href="https://www.fryeburgacademy.org/" target="_blank">Fryeburg Academy</a>, and later attended <a href="https://www.colby.edu/" target="_blank">Colby College</a> and <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/" target="_blank">Columbia University</a>. At various points in her life Louise, as she preferred to be called, authored newspaper columns on jazz and theater. Jennie Crosby Davis (b. 1934) also graduated from Colby College, later taking a master's degree from Hampton and an Ed. D. from <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/" target="_blank">Rutgers University</a>. Collis Huntington, Jr. (b. 1942) attended the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockbridge_School" target="_blank">Stockbridge School</a> in Massachusetts, then took a bachelor's degree from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/" target="_blank">University of Wisconsin</a>. After overseas duty with the U.S. Army, Collis, Jr. began a career in film and television, which he combined with teaching at several colleges and universities. Having developed a special interest in the Philippines as a result of Fulbright Fellowships, he settled there in 2001. Barbara Neal (later known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thulani_Davis" target="_blank">Thulani</a>) was born in 1949; she graduated from the <a href="https://www.putneyschool.org/" target="_blank">Putney School</a>, then from <a href="https://barnard.edu/" target="_blank">Barnard</a>. For some years she worked as a journalist in San Francisco, then moved to New York where she worked for <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Village_Voice" target="_blank">Village Voice</a></i>, all the while writing books and collaborating with other African American artists (</span><span><a href="https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/davisfamily">https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/davisfamily</a>). Clearly the Davis family was a highly educated and multi-talented group.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiW0SuKxuiW2jr_S8KzfeuETmvtt5o_L1kq2fBj1BY1CImX-1_-kuH5vwI8JoJVBk_HErWTYWWTUGPcB8yGrFfx_xWRl0WmsvMr6OgF0yuGkJ2qd964rZrCCU8AN43gUKVHdMCZMqltYtCOpPRl2sB4a2cfEl0F_nmPEn1VlK1rfxwexlQLjhvbrOUPQw=s2240" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1442" data-original-width="2240" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiW0SuKxuiW2jr_S8KzfeuETmvtt5o_L1kq2fBj1BY1CImX-1_-kuH5vwI8JoJVBk_HErWTYWWTUGPcB8yGrFfx_xWRl0WmsvMr6OgF0yuGkJ2qd964rZrCCU8AN43gUKVHdMCZMqltYtCOpPRl2sB4a2cfEl0F_nmPEn1VlK1rfxwexlQLjhvbrOUPQw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated photograph of Collis Davis, Sr. and his four children<br />(<i>The Call and Post, </i>June 4, 1992)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>As his family grew, Collis, Sr. climbed the academic ladder at Hampton. Thanks to <a href="https://rockfound.rockarch.org/general_education_board" target="_blank">General Education Board Fellowships</a> from the Rockefeller Foundation, he continued his chemistry education. The first fellowship, 1930-31, enabled him to obtain an MA from Columbia University in 1931. A second fellowship, 1939-40, allowed Davis to work toward a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, where he passed comprehensive examinations and two foreign language exams (</span></span><span><i>Rockefeller Foundation, RG 10.2 [Fellowship Recorder Cards], Series GEB A-Z, Box 20 Davis-C</i>), but c</span><span>ircumstances conspired to prevent him from finishing his Ph.D. As Davis acknowledged in a 1939 letter to his undergraduate chemistry teacher at Grinnell, he was obliged to pursue his doctorate "in very piece-meal fashion as I now have a wife and two children to support...." Enumerating the multiple courses he taught at Hampton and the numbers of students, many of whom studied chemistry only as a sidelight to their work in agriculture, home economics or teacher education, Davis allowed that "we earn our salaries" (</span></span><span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Alumni Letters to Chemistry Department</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Pamphlet 51-51.3 C42a-51.3 C42a, </span></i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives</i><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">).</span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDeFR1DBXPsStR5m8-zorBJGLRY3yt8XpRW0RyGD68npq0hW34xqY8RnG0120UQplG0VGbqq5FeypeVvW1dTiaJy6tR7VJAHmgnEsiISlMBzK5aPGiPy0zdU4cBVAtTC5mlzbnNfSJlbcncO-x04swJ69Xy0fXyGERj9KYW__zUSNKuQS_i9XemlPytA=s2048" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="2048" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDeFR1DBXPsStR5m8-zorBJGLRY3yt8XpRW0RyGD68npq0hW34xqY8RnG0120UQplG0VGbqq5FeypeVvW1dTiaJy6tR7VJAHmgnEsiISlMBzK5aPGiPy0zdU4cBVAtTC5mlzbnNfSJlbcncO-x04swJ69Xy0fXyGERj9KYW__zUSNKuQS_i9XemlPytA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rockefeller Foundation, RG 10.2 (Fellowship Recorder Cards), Series GEB (A-Z), Box 20, <br />Davis, Collis Huntington—GEB-N<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span>At Hampton Davis served, not only as a faculty member but also at different points in his career in numerous administrative positions—Director of General Studies, Dean of Students, and Registrar (</span><i>Daily Press </i><span>[</span><span>Newport News, VA], November 28, 1974). </span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvRtdJxSYnD6QYXIYKOOeFt2cLW-C4EPxvUX_np3wDmY2iwJ3XWcpf6JkFtYFUfx33qYLdZ5aCUsZ0RFlvKetXQQWTYCLpuRVLKW7U7Fj6Pw9sZnXSlN90XkDYpCXuFWsco9Pj2MtvrCp7S9WEQW4hHU58D2fAaYkkv9mNzx1t07dtC8T0Yp4vte_ltw=s676" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvRtdJxSYnD6QYXIYKOOeFt2cLW-C4EPxvUX_np3wDmY2iwJ3XWcpf6JkFtYFUfx33qYLdZ5aCUsZ0RFlvKetXQQWTYCLpuRVLKW7U7Fj6Pw9sZnXSlN90XkDYpCXuFWsco9Pj2MtvrCp7S9WEQW4hHU58D2fAaYkkv9mNzx1t07dtC8T0Yp4vte_ltw=s320" width="219" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chicago Defender, </i>August 3, 1946</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span>Like most other American men of that time, Davis registered for the draft when the United States entered World War II. His February 1942 draft registration card describes him as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and weighing 150 pounds. According to the registration official, Davis had brown eyes, black hair, and a "light" complexion. He was 41 years old, and had already taught at Hampton for almost twenty years. Later that year Collis, Jr. was born, and in 1949 the couple's fourth and last child, Barbara Neal (later Thulani), was born. Although busy, these were good years for Collis and his family. By the time Dwight Eisenhower became President, the older girls were either already in college or soon would be; Collis, Jr. was in grade school and Barbara was a toddler.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ9zeG62kbX_eRnCQLUkX62aKb9Zxn7H3VZPjo4Fx9qLH7X8ucpWDxFiAJRsno2ag5k50lJti1mudK_z378qJ6tsKKbiHtRnoFCTxeVQv3RgkPsfiASC6BHvV_1C2y3tq1zfeIXAKKb1dEDKbC-MMiYRX9FL5F4bsdWvoKEBUIb4IsgAAaWUwXA8pEGw=s509" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="401" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZ9zeG62kbX_eRnCQLUkX62aKb9Zxn7H3VZPjo4Fx9qLH7X8ucpWDxFiAJRsno2ag5k50lJti1mudK_z378qJ6tsKKbiHtRnoFCTxeVQv3RgkPsfiASC6BHvV_1C2y3tq1zfeIXAKKb1dEDKbC-MMiYRX9FL5F4bsdWvoKEBUIb4IsgAAaWUwXA8pEGw=s320" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated photograph (1940s?) of Collis Davis, Sr.<br />(Ancestry.com, McCammon Pautler Family Tree)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span><span>Into this fairly tranquil life came a terrible shock: in December 1955 Billie suffered a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_thrombosis" target="_blank">coronary thrombosis</a>. She was only 50 and excited about her photography which was attracting increasing attention, but within three days she was gone (</span><i>Certificate of Death, Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Registration District 2270, State File No. 27080, Registered No. 251</i><span>). Georgia would have already graduated from Colby, and Jennie must have been a senior there, but Barbara was only six and Collis, Jr. just thirteen. I did not find any record of how Collis dealt with his wife's death, but it could not have been easy.</span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqDptkDJPkaaVUYGaOimRVHoAwyfwMrZeFNVXlpCodL1FqsQhuvlQV0FBVl5fIKe1ACHHSuNoa8IMueBjNCHTH5ndYd6GT2hi531FBk_wlYNeirEQFL0eAmCvBsBDaZ0apBHdeoPZw-af1_qDL7n1hys3UI6biw6KZAjoYTqFuWhVcuHRUlG4LVf7MBg=s1194" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="889" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqDptkDJPkaaVUYGaOimRVHoAwyfwMrZeFNVXlpCodL1FqsQhuvlQV0FBVl5fIKe1ACHHSuNoa8IMueBjNCHTH5ndYd6GT2hi531FBk_wlYNeirEQFL0eAmCvBsBDaZ0apBHdeoPZw-af1_qDL7n1hys3UI6biw6KZAjoYTqFuWhVcuHRUlG4LVf7MBg=s320" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph (ca. 1939) of Billie Davis and daughters Louise and Jennie<br />(<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Alumni Letters to Chemistry Department</i><span style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Pamphlet 51-51.3 C42a-51.3 C42a, </span></i></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: left;">Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives</i><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;">)</span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In April 1960 Davis remarried, taking as his second wife <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14231171/viola-palmer" target="_blank">Viola G. Palmer (1912-1991)</a> in a ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut. <a href="https://peninsulagenealogy.wordpress.com/viola-palmer/" target="_blank">Viola taught biology at Hampton, beginning in 1953</a>, so she and Collis were colleagues in the sciences and must have known one another when Billie Davis died. Viola was twelve years younger than Collis but age difference seems insufficient to explain the brevity of this match: already in August 1961 they separated, and a year later formalized the divorce.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHW8GiNRnMHnCzPvhSzYYv3w0-CCeTp_R3c9uPrMYgcsVHUFSSMhdbJskc5BHNYCHsslMsXDe3Y2qDsGxE290CjskF9J_1Nl1aZ_Eg-YGQpsj7WrNo33yjmFSkuymnCIAyFHd7gFoOvFYYEpnTQYjycKG-6jYoBr4iE6Qdq0n4hT5gNmtxr4totcMcRQ=s4344" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3032" data-original-width="4344" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHW8GiNRnMHnCzPvhSzYYv3w0-CCeTp_R3c9uPrMYgcsVHUFSSMhdbJskc5BHNYCHsslMsXDe3Y2qDsGxE290CjskF9J_1Nl1aZ_Eg-YGQpsj7WrNo33yjmFSkuymnCIAyFHd7gFoOvFYYEpnTQYjycKG-6jYoBr4iE6Qdq0n4hT5gNmtxr4totcMcRQ=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Abstract of 1962 Virginia Divorce Decree<br />(Ancestry.com; Virginia Divorce Records 1918-2014 [database on-line], Ancestry.com, Provo, UT, 2015)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1970 Davis accepted what proved to be his final position at Hampton, Administrative Assistant to the President; the following year he retired. "Students are what I enjoyed most during my 47 years as a faculty and staff member at Hampton Institute," he said. A published appreciation described him as "an alert and youthful person in thought and action," confirmed by his "youthful appearance, precise speech, and his forward look" (<i>Chicago Defender, </i>August 7, 1971). Confirmation of his classroom success came with winning the <a href="https://www.lindbackfoundation.org/programs.html" target="_blank">Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award</a> for 1969-70.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_92r-obG9F6tqrDD4SYaHxahj-tPCwqYXl1yLnD8nRtefFQ9cZALL0Iu2Je66bLPnBTC8ltcW9nDqrnDksdD2iyNh6voU6izM9t7qxhrYXolLTAC3-cFBynZ4JbjPtK_PFFNqOdL4vxhiFaOEnd1YlP_zq2Bh_nio4csTAotUUCo5FFhEwYGz75cwrQ=s1843" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1843" data-original-width="1660" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_92r-obG9F6tqrDD4SYaHxahj-tPCwqYXl1yLnD8nRtefFQ9cZALL0Iu2Je66bLPnBTC8ltcW9nDqrnDksdD2iyNh6voU6izM9t7qxhrYXolLTAC3-cFBynZ4JbjPtK_PFFNqOdL4vxhiFaOEnd1YlP_zq2Bh_nio4csTAotUUCo5FFhEwYGz75cwrQ=s320" width="288" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Newport News Daily Press, </i>November 28, 1974<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Sadly, retirement did not last long. In late November 1974 Davis entered Hampton Hospital, victim of a "cerebrovascular accident" that stemmed from "cerebrovascular disease." Within days he was dead. The funeral service convened November 30th in the <a href="https://www.visithampton.com/attraction/hampton-memorial-church/" target="_blank">Hampton Institute Memorial Chapel,</a> fittingly capping Davis's half-century of service at Hampton. He was buried next to Billie in the <a href="https://hampton.oncell.com/en/view-video-22466.html" target="_blank">Hampton University Cemetery</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXnTKFcutDCYxBPqiq86uZdupvNRPf-9j_9PwZNwTyC4x4JuMDvu-75NjxjVZf0YF8q7_vDiOMqzPJbFL5C-PLMksvg9jOvg0O1L48lQYXtSHqkeFf8tMI8qwkxVoIH658X7vydKbIUaGk_QZsnF75pniYxcawaQrJH9DyRrO499UqDRZERK1FW8rCJg=s700" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="700" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXnTKFcutDCYxBPqiq86uZdupvNRPf-9j_9PwZNwTyC4x4JuMDvu-75NjxjVZf0YF8q7_vDiOMqzPJbFL5C-PLMksvg9jOvg0O1L48lQYXtSHqkeFf8tMI8qwkxVoIH658X7vydKbIUaGk_QZsnF75pniYxcawaQrJH9DyRrO499UqDRZERK1FW8rCJg=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Gravestone of Collis Huntington Davis and Louise Barbour Davis, Hampton University Cemetery<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14231128/louise-davis)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Collis Davis began and ended his life at Hampton. He was a student at the Academy and he taught at the Institute (later University) for almost fifty years. He raised a family there and his remains were buried in the Hampton University Cemetery. Along the way Davis touched many lives, the influence of his intelligence and education radiating outward from the Hampton campus. He spent only four years at Grinnell, but, as his own letters confirm, they were important years and helped thrust him toward graduate education and studies at several Ivy League universities. It would be surprising if he did not encounter racial bias in central Iowa, but if he did, these ugly moments did not overwhelm the benefit that Julius Rosenwald and Grinnell College contributed to this remarkable man.</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-78401984652199092172022-01-27T12:18:00.004-08:002022-01-27T13:28:38.745-08:00The First Rosenwald Scholar at Grinnell<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>In a <a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-sears-roebuck-helped-bring-black.html" target="_blank">previous post </a>I told the story of how, beginning in 1918, the Rosenwald Fund, with the collaboration of Grinnell College, had underwritten the costs of four African American men to attend Grinnell. The "experiment," as documents called the plan, not only provided college educations to these men but also intended to determine if the presence of these men on campus "might have an effect in changing the attitude of the white students toward the Negro" </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">(</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Anonymous, undated, untitled Summary of the Project, </i><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Julius Rosenwald Papers, Box 16, Folder 17, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">). This early effort at affirmative action seems not to have succeeded—at least that was the conclusion of the Trustees of the Rosenwald Fund. Consequently, the Fund declined to underwrite any more African American students admitted to Grinnell. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">But what about the young men who came to Grinnell with Rosenwald funding? How did their experience at Grinnell and their Grinnell education play out in the years after they left Iowa? Little has been written about these men, and I will therefore use the next several posts to tell their stories, one at a time. Unsurprisingly, their biographies follow unique arcs, some more successful than others. But their experience in the American heartland helped define their futures.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>###</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Hosea Booker Campbell (1896-1975),</b><span> who graduated from Grinnell College in 1922, was the first student to enroll at Grinnell College with financial support from the Rosenwald Fund.</span> </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEga0YXk1WYlyaRYFuO2Up9htVsKzr5PeSq4m1x-ukyrZ5XEfFSTfofKR4XUYdbxdyZe7Mymj75wgy5BuI3G-_jiaQ_ZW6MZtca7RO934KTO0NzZE33O0aLdAqGOJ19NLuO7r3wZpFrTflz3gmKOU8etRzSJ0H7byFPJ5u3ikMZxIYf737Xyxid0Uv7XLQ=s708" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEga0YXk1WYlyaRYFuO2Up9htVsKzr5PeSq4m1x-ukyrZ5XEfFSTfofKR4XUYdbxdyZe7Mymj75wgy5BuI3G-_jiaQ_ZW6MZtca7RO934KTO0NzZE33O0aLdAqGOJ19NLuO7r3wZpFrTflz3gmKOU8etRzSJ0H7byFPJ5u3ikMZxIYf737Xyxid0Uv7XLQ=s320" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1922 Grinnell College Cyclone<br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Born in Quincy, Florida, the sixth of six children, Campbell came to Grinnell in 1918 not from Florida, but from Chicago, Illinois where he had been a student at Wendell Phillips High School (now <a href="https://phillipshs.org/" target="_blank">Phillips Academy High School)</a> <span>(</span><i>1922 Cyclone)</i>. A student at none of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities" target="_blank">Historically Black Colleges and Universities</a> from which the Rosenwald Fund imagined most candidates would come, Campbell was a beneficiary of the Fund's trustees, who named him as the first Rosenwald scholar. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Someone at his high school had warned officials that Campbell would do better to complete another year of high school before beginning college, but this advice, left in the margins of a document from the Rosenwald Fund, went unheeded.</span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE-MHLVeE2e2qQL9c2x7mYkBqDmiRFmcawHp610QVNLEjWiCrpL4xSMHctKCSs0Agutdl8GltZKNoExzT5_9Lj2P-Ur1U3UL6UPyyZ2CYlLK7QW5ZQtOC0-E3PazQk6qBv3IUEkMFLc6PhhObcnbYPQc0ykLLPpQlDpqsgKfofXu4j4P3m0K0LOlEEyw=s1084" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="1084" height="38" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE-MHLVeE2e2qQL9c2x7mYkBqDmiRFmcawHp610QVNLEjWiCrpL4xSMHctKCSs0Agutdl8GltZKNoExzT5_9Lj2P-Ur1U3UL6UPyyZ2CYlLK7QW5ZQtOC0-E3PazQk6qBv3IUEkMFLc6PhhObcnbYPQc0ykLLPpQlDpqsgKfofXu4j4P3m0K0LOlEEyw=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handwritten comment in margin of July 24, 1918 Letter from William C. Graves to President John H. T. Main (<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Julius Rosenwald Papers, Box 16, Folder 17, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago)<br /><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">How Campbell came to live and go to school in Chicago I did not learn; Grinnell publications, like the College Catalog, regularly identified his home as Tallahassee, Florida, so perhaps his Chicago residence was temporary.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxF9ps1DDu3WSCuQzHSf0aaVHK9GOq-Vn5_9huNGTaVICi6Kuod9cADUmqyUkYH2fFJYzlJ1WlpCj4k2HJuO4oKnj7N7rAk_-QSYYRJwRQDRd2wagK25zhQU8Ef5gq-0KJ-9eFOZqhmSI9iy7u-Qfa3drON8sJu7vCQWZUhbcu32qjhUWrckQW_0eIeQ=s1092" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="744" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxF9ps1DDu3WSCuQzHSf0aaVHK9GOq-Vn5_9huNGTaVICi6Kuod9cADUmqyUkYH2fFJYzlJ1WlpCj4k2HJuO4oKnj7N7rAk_-QSYYRJwRQDRd2wagK25zhQU8Ef5gq-0KJ-9eFOZqhmSI9iy7u-Qfa3drON8sJu7vCQWZUhbcu32qjhUWrckQW_0eIeQ=s320" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1918-1919 Grinnell College Catalog,</i> p. 151<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>His 1918 registration for the military draft indicates that Campbell spent the summer of 1918 working at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_Motors" target="_blank">Nash automobile factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin </a> (</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;">Ancestry.com. </span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #262626; margin-top: 0px;">U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #262626;"> [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005)</span></span><span face="ui-sans, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #262626;">.</span><span> But in September he arrived at Grinnell and took his place among the first-year students at the college. American entry into World War I and the establishment of the </span><a href="https://exhibits.library.jhu.edu/exhibits/show/hopkins-and-the-great-war/homewood-campus/experiences/student-army-training-corps" target="_blank">Student Army Training Corps</a><span> on campus meant that very soon after arriving in Grinnell Campbell, like almost all the other 250 men on campus, enlisted in SATC. College dormitories were converted to "barracks" and the college curriculum underwent a similar alteration, the better to suit the country's military aims. So far as I could learn, Campbell had nothing to say about these changes.</span></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2mijSwfPkBfuSiyvfZtAYeSXOCRzw3lXhDpA0M5TRi6cjHltWlHAzOALD79sj7vYHPQFGHXc9VZQLOMA_A2suq0-5gO4CHcDc12xKAyYdcYObNElT5k5JvfWekzGJt5vv9LP7Mk-hrbXIhJsqEnS9SDXdcc1jYIg55jbfgVukWzXHlGjHXjiGAWihwQ=s926" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2mijSwfPkBfuSiyvfZtAYeSXOCRzw3lXhDpA0M5TRi6cjHltWlHAzOALD79sj7vYHPQFGHXc9VZQLOMA_A2suq0-5gO4CHcDc12xKAyYdcYObNElT5k5JvfWekzGJt5vv9LP7Mk-hrbXIhJsqEnS9SDXdcc1jYIg55jbfgVukWzXHlGjHXjiGAWihwQ=s320" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1918-1919 Grinnell College Bulletin, </i>p. 136<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Perhaps it was for the best that SATC did not last long. With the announcement of armistice in November 1918, the urgency of training more American soldiers disappeared. The following month SATC at Grinnell was disbanded, and Campbell, after less than two months as a "student soldier," turned all his attention back to the more usual college curriculum. </span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>To judge from the few reports available, Campbell was a good, if not excellent, student. The </span><i>1922 Cyclone</i><span> asserted that Campbell "studies very industriously, and is very well read," and that Campbell enjoyed conversations about history, philosophy, or literature. The word "industrious" often carries a negative valence; to work hard is not necessarily to work well, and it may be that the <i>Cyclone </i>intended exactly that distinction. When in 1920 President Main provided Rosenwald officials with brief reports on the progress of the Rosenwald-funded students at Grinnell, he could do no better than judge Campbell's work as "not discreditable." "His lowest grade...is 'D.' There is one 'C.' The other grades are 'A' and 'B,'" the President wrote (</span><i>July 13, 1920 Letter of President Main to William C. Graves, Julius Rosenwald Papers</i><span>).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>Long after having left Grinnell, a fellow Rosenwald Scholar described Campbell as "aloof" and rarely involved in campus extracurriculars <span style="font-family: inherit;">(</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><i>Memorandum of Record, Telephone Interview with Gordon Kitchen '25, November 1982, Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives, </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Record Group 5, Series 2.1, sub-series 2, "Blacks at Grinnell," Box 5</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">)</span></span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span><span>Indeed, a search of the </span><i>Scarlet and Black</i><span> over the years of Campbell's attendance uncovered few mentions of him: in 1920 he competed in the Hyde Contest in public speaking and a few times he ran intramural track races, but nothing else made it onto the pages of the </span><i>Scarlet and Black</i><span> (April 1, 1920; April 28, 1920; May 29, 1920). Off-campus evidence established that in 1920 Campbell wrote </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">W. E. B. Du Boi</a><span>s </span><span>to solicit help in founding a chapter of the NAACP in Grinnell, although Campbell later dropped the plan, figuring that such a white campus was unlikely to yield many NAACP supporters (<i>Outside In: African-Americans in Iowa, 1838-2000</i>, eds. Bill Silag, et al. [Des Moines: Iowa State Historical Society, 2001], p. 333).</span></span></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2dDFTTVttrU5zovfL2HFNZIvKRtTGdBwYDwuzFrb7zLgzF2ommkNK4aDtRRcfplYa7pNxpSL-SxWOnJHLGvEKAw2CKpeKuBy0N63KimQ2Ehsx6NrISW_VlNxofFIMskVP9YdtxlgVwjdVwFkPX8IQww7-6UmEdejewVBCWJAVqVDw3x3H0VsEAIPZeg=s1064" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1064" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2dDFTTVttrU5zovfL2HFNZIvKRtTGdBwYDwuzFrb7zLgzF2ommkNK4aDtRRcfplYa7pNxpSL-SxWOnJHLGvEKAw2CKpeKuBy0N63KimQ2Ehsx6NrISW_VlNxofFIMskVP9YdtxlgVwjdVwFkPX8IQww7-6UmEdejewVBCWJAVqVDw3x3H0VsEAIPZeg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grinnell College Bulletin, </i>May 1923, p. 167<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>If not much involved in extracurricular activities, Campbell was nevertheless an able student, graduating from Grinnell in 1922, his academic record good enough to secure him admission to graduate study in history at Harvard University. Assisted by a $500 scholarship from the </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Association for the Study of African American Life and History</a><span>, Campbell began graduate study at Harvard in 1922, working as a research assistant to </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950)</a>, who had founded the academic study of African American history<span> (<i>Journal of Negro History</i> 7[1922]:454). </span><span>Asked to study Reconstruction in South Carolina as part of Woodson's big project on the history of Reconstruction, Campbell disappointed his mentor, who soon removed him from the team and cut off his funding (Jacqueline Goggin, <i>Carter G. Woodson: A Life in Black History</i> [1997, p. 68]; Patricia Watkins Romero, <i>Carter G. Woodson: A Biography</i> [Ph.D. diss., Ohio State University, 1971], pp. 140-41).</span></span></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggWm0OrxSv5W1OPuW9FhKGKIfVWvdJ4u--4wtOh6J7IWOuaL4pT0Cw3MJl--FZRf14zDECmXDe0upnlli0S2VhbnfGwm5STTuGlWTMP-GjIMyMTR-lgCc7F21GCoej8dbkAszwckM-wyyE6K8rmCjrnzfFBZakH0JPtxog3PINiQ-XptJUMviL8n_EGA=s1524" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="1524" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggWm0OrxSv5W1OPuW9FhKGKIfVWvdJ4u--4wtOh6J7IWOuaL4pT0Cw3MJl--FZRf14zDECmXDe0upnlli0S2VhbnfGwm5STTuGlWTMP-GjIMyMTR-lgCc7F21GCoej8dbkAszwckM-wyyE6K8rmCjrnzfFBZakH0JPtxog3PINiQ-XptJUMviL8n_EGA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1925-26 Harvard University Catalog, </i>p. 160<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">After having received his MA, Campbell remained at Harvard, completing course work toward the PhD. But no later than 1927 he left Cambridge, and began a cycle of temporary stops that recurred often over the next few decades. In 1927-28 he lived in New York, where he told correspondents that he was trying to finish his degree. Soon thereafter, however, he moved to Wilberforce, Ohio where in Fall 1928 he assumed the position of Vice President and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (U. S. Department of Interior, <i>1929 Educational Directory</i>, p. 73).</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4CsTZLGMrRzaB0Jo8D0SEslawycHbURgY5B8r9AK55-i7WDCTtoa98C5suKYzX9UwUiMsxjUmleec5OtLoKUlnEE7YOGSCnCubZ83o-UbhuF2kXxhoxyidMI8O4d3-yy2JlEV0hi5SEvYGRyluFp-GpNGRRHhnHw410DyCCr__anNJ9h4IzFIuWnLoQ=s808" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4CsTZLGMrRzaB0Jo8D0SEslawycHbURgY5B8r9AK55-i7WDCTtoa98C5suKYzX9UwUiMsxjUmleec5OtLoKUlnEE7YOGSCnCubZ83o-UbhuF2kXxhoxyidMI8O4d3-yy2JlEV0hi5SEvYGRyluFp-GpNGRRHhnHw410DyCCr__anNJ9h4IzFIuWnLoQ=s320" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pittsburgh Courier</i>, September 22, 1928<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>How Campbell attracted such a position with his graduate study incomplete is unclear. Equally mysterious is why he left Wilberforce so quickly. The archivist at Wilberforce wrote me that an asterisk preceded Campbell's name in the university's annual bulletin, indicating that he had resigned before the document was printed (<i>3 January 2022 email from Mackenzie Snare</i>). Already by June 1929 Campbell was gone and his replacement named. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The following year found Campbell in New Haven, Connecticut, but the record says little to explain what he was doing. When the 1932 academic year began Campbell moved to Oklahoma to teach history and head the Social Sciences Department at </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Langston University</a><span>. Again, however, his appointment was brief, lasting only one year. As at Wilberforce, the circumstances of his departure are unclear. The Langston catalog mistakenly asserted that Campbell had obtained his PhD, an error that might have played a part in his brief sojourn in Oklahoma.</span></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi14MLqP5tD6PwvPfrrSoxjeX5AQdmLmXixUJIDCTaT3HiNkMKBXEaH69nuPMhqdSKHqnEOv2ir1d3h4R4vIF0t8aHrQS7S79nSlzEiVLqsT8wJVJd5nJzEZP9lmyBqnvXnA6MncFFHJkoY3kSz0ubdzkz_s371Vcf0GoCuyQ8nXqRS0VbEBH79SUvp7A=s1172" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="1172" height="39" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi14MLqP5tD6PwvPfrrSoxjeX5AQdmLmXixUJIDCTaT3HiNkMKBXEaH69nuPMhqdSKHqnEOv2ir1d3h4R4vIF0t8aHrQS7S79nSlzEiVLqsT8wJVJd5nJzEZP9lmyBqnvXnA6MncFFHJkoY3kSz0ubdzkz_s371Vcf0GoCuyQ8nXqRS0VbEBH79SUvp7A=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1932-33 Langston University Catalog, </i>p. 6<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Among the courses listed in the Langston catalog was one devoted to "The Negro in American History," a course for which Campbell's education had specially prepared him.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiROjOM1vJQMMaIdLPvR4i3V_oW491aPThtiSYVeplvG9yw28bL_nYLNAgMcc_nEnVzEK56gEFEMbgoXEujaByaIMcmg0jldKWYxpRKnXmFJHRSDlNb85VJ56mkTMT9Ut4KQ62mtefetPWracFEE8U1MLp5wFG2LcUB6A1y-KR3yuci_uHDJKyLDZIxyg=s1014" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="244" data-original-width="1014" height="77" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiROjOM1vJQMMaIdLPvR4i3V_oW491aPThtiSYVeplvG9yw28bL_nYLNAgMcc_nEnVzEK56gEFEMbgoXEujaByaIMcmg0jldKWYxpRKnXmFJHRSDlNb85VJ56mkTMT9Ut4KQ62mtefetPWracFEE8U1MLp5wFG2LcUB6A1y-KR3yuci_uHDJKyLDZIxyg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1932-33 Langston University Catalog, </i>p. 41<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">It seems unlikely that Campbell had the chance to teach this course more than once before he left Oklahoma, returning to the East coast. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTefZeEbpo1Nb9aSUN0ME-2W4uyw0AW2yt5yk6ZO4DUSP6lEQp6YaHHKBKE0czYfHp1oot6wUycwMPmLqTu4h3im6rXPjKqeTE02dNNuaX412H-NGt32jOZnr42298ZLIO4-k9lpi6D2I_J8XXhuijacmqkg125rTKQHmKj094P7grkSrUmSMKe5Os6w=s1162" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1162" data-original-width="490" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTefZeEbpo1Nb9aSUN0ME-2W4uyw0AW2yt5yk6ZO4DUSP6lEQp6YaHHKBKE0czYfHp1oot6wUycwMPmLqTu4h3im6rXPjKqeTE02dNNuaX412H-NGt32jOZnr42298ZLIO4-k9lpi6D2I_J8XXhuijacmqkg125rTKQHmKj094P7grkSrUmSMKe5Os6w=s320" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Chicago Defender, </i>October 17, 1931<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Completion of doctoral work at Harvard increasingly occupied less of his energy than did his idea of founding a private academy for African Americans, something that seems to have occurred to Campbell early in his graduate study. No later than 1931 he was meeting with officials who might endorse or fund his plan. As the years passed, Campbell seems to have concentrated all his energy upon the idea, becoming correspondingly less committed to finishing his PhD. In late 1934 W. E. B. Du Bois wrote Harvard University, seeking confirmation that Campbell had in fact received his Ph.D. Assistant Dean <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080425" target="_blank">Lawrence S. Mayo (1888-1947)</a> wrote back in early January:</span></div><div><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">I have your letter of November 6 and am afraid you have been misinformed, if you believe that Hosea Booker Campbell has received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University. According to our records he has not yet fulfilled the requirements for the degree (<i>Letter from Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences to W. E. B. Du Bois, November 8, 1935. W. E. B. Du Bois Papers [MS 312]. Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries</i>).</span></blockquote></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps Du Bois intended to print news of Campbell's doctorate in <i>The Crisis</i>, as he had published word of Campbell's bachelor's degree in 1923 (<i>The Crisis</i>, 26[1923]:108). If so, he was disappointed with the news from Harvard.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">In his memoir <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hope_Franklin" target="_blank">John Hope Franklin</a> (1915-2009), among the giants of African American history, reports having encountered Campbell at Harvard in 1935, describing him as a "sixth-year graduate student in history who spoke more frequently about his plans for a preparatory school for Negro boys than about the completion of his graduate studies" (John Hope Franklin, <i>Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin</i> [NY: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2005], p. 60). Campbell's hopes for obtaining the PhD seem to have faded, and hopes for an academic appointment faded with them.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjw0PGCPzQV1khY1mx1QTKZbIuX7opVNe6-S00WEwerDkrjC9_fhr1UXpdur_xOTTVVpS5QfGKEg7aH_U1RDmqe64AlPFn6zl9Gvii-MXVDKZlWYKBjhqVtCQHnepO6GsWY1fcw2voKlm-UQJ7G2tYAhoESFj4qZ0cyQXCiEi3BjNY_wp8WyWCb1U-02w=s903" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjw0PGCPzQV1khY1mx1QTKZbIuX7opVNe6-S00WEwerDkrjC9_fhr1UXpdur_xOTTVVpS5QfGKEg7aH_U1RDmqe64AlPFn6zl9Gvii-MXVDKZlWYKBjhqVtCQHnepO6GsWY1fcw2voKlm-UQJ7G2tYAhoESFj4qZ0cyQXCiEi3BjNY_wp8WyWCb1U-02w=s320" width="221" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph (1930s?) of John Hope Franklin<br />(https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/collections/creators/people/johnhopefranklin)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In 1935 Campbell returned to New Haven, where he worked for a time as a staff investigator for the</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"> Yale Institute of Human Relations</a><span>, although whether the appointment was full-time seems doubtful. Newspaper reports from that year also place him in New York City, where Campbell taught a class on "Negro History" at </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">St. Luke's Episcopal</a> and<span> also functioned as a Lay Reader (<i>New York Age</i>, January 12, 1935).</span></span></div><div><br /><br /><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh35u8fw_J0fzOPqo08Uvct9rN69c9CjJxawzPVSD3rSU0NImkdFsj-esEYthd7zOf1akYSvF6w26ymKUVFokCbyDJ8Ey7dVD71r0dLnFW82OEi6fry8VhzeylbfCDqBG9-0nyFGGykHSWZQt_8C42TvNzNtgtGv3Bn6lIjtw-qXkcNQda_0ZNPOb6nkQ=s320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">1936 Letter to Charles Houston</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Papers of the NAACP, Part 15: Segregation and Discrimination, Complaints and Responses, 1940-1955. Series A: Legal Department Files, Group II, Series B, Civil Rights. New Jersey, 1941-1948)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The year 1936 found Campbell back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but apparently without a job, as his April 3rd letter to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Hamilton_Houston" target="_blank">Charles Houston (1895-1950)</a> reveals him asking for help in securing a position at <a href="https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/" target="_blank">City College of New York</a>, a plan that did not succeed. That same year Campbell sent letters to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Harold Ickes</a><span>, seeking funds for a "private preparatory school for American colored youth." Campbell hoped to get a grant or loan from appropriations directed to the </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Public Works Administration</a><span>, but a disappointing denial arrived within a week (<i>National Archives, Department of the Interior [Record Group 48], Office File of Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of Interior, 1933-1942</i>).</span><br /><br /><span>Over the next few years Campbell floated across the Northeast, without any steady employment and still seeking funding for the academy of which he had first dreamt in the 1920s. In 1938 he was living in New York City again, reporting to correspondents that he had acquired five houses in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Hill,_Manhattan" target="_blank">Sugar Hill section of Harlem</a>. His letter does not explain where the money came from, but does complain about all the troubles the properties had brought him, perhaps explaining how he had "lost some money" in 1940. Writing his friend, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Steele" target="_blank">Julian Steele (1906-1970)</a> in 1944, Campbell asked to have a 1933 loan renewed, promising to have money to repay the debt soon (<i>June 16, 1944 letter to Julian D. Steele [Howard Gottlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University, Julian Steele Collection #727, Box 12C, General Correspondence, 4, 1940-44])</i>.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGrC_iS3iNS9G78J0bgSQuQiHXCk0S6njE1O81jpqWOfJx0vqh_HfcDnt19gw15nWzyq1tNJ27iExGW01DmYTcyUgz74RT3Ainq9usRrlmiMtHudABT6JwL9aQZMb0XnzkJ49mwxb622ZR_0mH8XPFjjxUtqS1ozFe0m0kLM_TQXDnUQcpdYXkJcH1ag=s320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Campbell's 1942 Draft Registration Card</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Ancestry.com. US World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917-1918 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, 2005)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When he registered for the World War II draft in 1942, Campbell was living in Elizabeth Union, New Jersey, working for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard" target="_blank">Packard Motor Car Company</a>, a job unlikely to have depended upon his study of African American history. The local registrar reported him as 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds, brown-eyed with black hair, his complexion "dark brown." Somewhere Campbell had picked up a scar on his right arm (<i>ibid.</i>). Late in the war Campbell's stationery identifies his home as Bridgeport, Connecticut; later he lived in East Norwalk. In none of these places did he find work commensurate with his education. </span><br /><br /><span>The lowest point in his career came in a Paterson, New Jersey courtroom in February 1956 when Campbell, then about 60 years old, pleaded no defense to a charge of fraud—"accused of converting to his own use a total of $5 from a Passaic housewife." A newspaper account alleged that Campbell "represented to her [that] he was soliciting subscriptions for the Periodical Publisher's Service Bureau of Newark and the Franklin Square Subscription Agency of Englewood." Before sentencing Campbell to the 81 days of jail he had already served (an indication that Campbell could not pay bail), Judge Donald G. Collester lectured the defendant, observing that "A man with your education shouldn't be getting mixed up with this type of thing...you ought to know better." Apparently a similar charge awaited Campbell in nearby Sussex County </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>(</span><i>The News</i><span> [Paterson, NJ], February 13, 1956)</span><span>.</span></span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A brief note in the February 14, 1962 issue of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Branch,_New_Jersey" target="_blank">Long Branch, New Jersey</a> <i>Daily Record</i> announced that Campbell, then about 65 years of age, was living in Long Branch, and had recently learned that he was appointed as a researcher for the Education Department of the WPA at Newark, focusing upon "special studies in the field of Negro history." The newspaper offered no details on the project or on the precise work in which Campbell would be engaged. The article concluded by mentioning Campbell's Grinnell degree, but erroneously credited him with a degree from Howard University (instead of Harvard), "where he majored in history." Although Campbell must have regarded the new position as better than selling magazines or working in an automobile factory, he could not help but notice that in old age he was replicating the sort of research assistance with which he had begun graduate study almost forty years earlier.</span><br /><br /><span>Death came to Hosea Campbell in June 1975 in East Orange, New Jersey (<i>Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014)</i>. What caused his death and where he was buried I could not learn. Despite my best efforts, I found no obituary. So far as I know, Campbell never married, never had any children, and left behind no record of publication—historical or political.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;">###</div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">When Hosea Campbell graduated from Grinnell in 1922 and began graduate study at Harvard University, he seemed poised to join that first generation of African Americans who studied and taught the history of African Americans, correcting the inattention and imbalance that had long prevailed in US history books. Soon, however, Campbell's dream of a preparatory school for African American youth displaced all other ambitions, the doctoral degree at Harvard forgotten. America in the 1930s and 1940s—mired in Depression and then World War—was hardly a promising environment in which to seek financial support for founding such an institution, with the result that Campbell's dream was never actualized. During his last years, when his name rarely broke into the historical record, Campbell found himself not teaching "Negro history" at some college or university—not even at a church somewhere—but rather back at work in an automobile factory, just as he had done before he had ever enrolled at Grinnell College. Standing in a New Jersey court room, a sixty-year-old who had spent the previous three months in jail, Campbell had to endure the reproaches of a white judge, who told him, "you ought to know better." <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Campbell's death brought no celebration of a life marked by achievement. There was no obituary littered with accomplishments, no institution to repeat and preserve his accomplishments, and no offspring to mourn his passing and preserve his memory. In this respect, Campbell's Grinnell education did little to differentiate him from most African American men who labored under the weight of racism. Hosea Campbell, once having earned special attention because of his pioneering role as a Black man at very white Grinnell College, later drifted out of the historical narrative; not even the location of his grave earned a spot in the public record. </span><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154682791035536789.post-37804361610249924042022-01-22T15:41:00.044-08:002022-01-25T16:53:06.245-08:00How Sears, Roebuck Helped Bring Black Men to Grinnell College...<p> </p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">If over the last several decades Sears has declined as an important player in America's consumer market, when Sears, Roebuck and Company was founded in the 1890s, like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)" target="_blank">Amazon </a>more recently, it pioneered shopping from home; instead of the internet, however, Sears customers relied upon the company's bulky, printed catalog to order all sorts of durables, groceries, and other consumables. </span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfNZ62l3qc7fYMyUfEn64cTHHRFW9mvSvgMiqrgbNbJnhkuBAcFKXYSF-6E8sxlrvZk5QhSEmrLb0ceuSjSqQLFCrsjWXQ93mg9OrrYOpnizWXKlmoKqQ1rGtuP9J-VsEcPTBvC0XdJsjbpJN-5XVdLWx1j2Psgp2udeMc19ZsFFh5O5kuZyIUeglN4g=s1360" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1051" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfNZ62l3qc7fYMyUfEn64cTHHRFW9mvSvgMiqrgbNbJnhkuBAcFKXYSF-6E8sxlrvZk5QhSEmrLb0ceuSjSqQLFCrsjWXQ93mg9OrrYOpnizWXKlmoKqQ1rGtuP9J-VsEcPTBvC0XdJsjbpJN-5XVdLWx1j2Psgp2udeMc19ZsFFh5O5kuZyIUeglN4g=s320" width="247" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cover of 1897 Catalog of Sears, Roebuck & Company,<br />a 720-page doorstop republished by Skyhorse in 2018<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">The company's founders—Richard Warren Sears (1863-1914) and Alvin Curtis Roebuck (1864-1948)—were soon joined by Julius Rosenwald, who brought to the business "rational management philosophy and diversified product lines," with the result that business boomed: annual sales in 1907 amounted to more than $50 million—roughly $1.4 billion in today's dollars. By 1908, both Sears and Roebuck were gone; Rosenwald headed the thriving corporation by himself, serving as both CEO and president</a><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoUt8O0KBin4y9kmpONI-ngxPD9VUk3YkLePDpkxLNU7l1r5CXCDf9B3B4er2gsU9CflWF5iaLcIRcN-o7SQtqJVqoW8D5lpOHa5m5V4UxMQkR3HqILuqVuDTymEIAXE7zmTYDFIHJQJWsqMEY0X6P4nxuRR-gX2eoQ7LsNnZrXfe5ohBlWo3F6E0rNw=s399" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="327" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoUt8O0KBin4y9kmpONI-ngxPD9VUk3YkLePDpkxLNU7l1r5CXCDf9B3B4er2gsU9CflWF5iaLcIRcN-o7SQtqJVqoW8D5lpOHa5m5V4UxMQkR3HqILuqVuDTymEIAXE7zmTYDFIHJQJWsqMEY0X6P4nxuRR-gX2eoQ7LsNnZrXfe5ohBlWo3F6E0rNw=s320" width="262" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Undated photograph of Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932)<br /> (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c11719)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Rosenwald's success, not unlike that of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Bezos" target="_blank">Jeff Bezos</a> more recently, made him a fabulously wealthy man. Happily for others less fortunate, Rosenwald also proved himself to be a <a href="http://www.searsarchives.com/people/questions/rosenwaldfoundation.htm" target="_blank">generous philanthropist.</a> Influenced by several of his friends, Rosenwald took a particular interest in African Americans, and came to be especially close to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington" target="_blank">Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)</a>, through whose influence in 1912 Rosenwald joined the Board of Trustees of Tuskegee Institute (now <a href="https://www.tuskegee.edu/" target="_blank">Tuskegee University</a>). Consequently, when Julius Rosenwald established the Rosenwald Fund in 1917, support for African Americans played a prominent part in the Fund's operation, over the years financing </span></span><span>construction of some <a href="https://savingplaces.org/places/rosenwald-schools#.YedvaVjMLt0" target="_blank">5000 school buildings for African Americans</a> in fifteen southern states. Rosenwald was also a significant donor to <a href="https://howard.edu/" target="_blank">Howard University</a>, <a href="https://www.fisk.edu/" target="_blank">Fisk University</a>, and other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historically_black_colleges_and_universities" target="_blank">Historically Black Colleges and Universities</a>. And, b</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenwald_Fund" target="_blank">eginning in 1928, the Rosenwald Foundation provided scholarships to more than 1000 African American artists and researchers</a><span>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj7cUUIQ_u2pGjvreCyilXprM0yHAzLi3ZmEXdWfS0QzRcOgpanrDY2eFTqOF1EwRUXDfQD5tLbrJHt2cPbCLI3dzZ_Xw-8z-0PqB80kN_i60QpNoZAhShCg89P6bPM4x58rIUofuIZ6lMN-bf1oWeY8y5CGOPgnErJF4R0bqD9HvY63tQF_yxhtuPLA=s804" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="804" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj7cUUIQ_u2pGjvreCyilXprM0yHAzLi3ZmEXdWfS0QzRcOgpanrDY2eFTqOF1EwRUXDfQD5tLbrJHt2cPbCLI3dzZ_Xw-8z-0PqB80kN_i60QpNoZAhShCg89P6bPM4x58rIUofuIZ6lMN-bf1oWeY8y5CGOPgnErJF4R0bqD9HvY63tQF_yxhtuPLA=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">31st Annual Catalog of Tuskegee Institute (1911-1912)</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />Even before these grants began, however, Grinnell College entered into an arrangement with Julius Rosenwald, proposing that the recently-founded <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenwald_Fund" target="_blank">Rosenwald Fund</a> help underwrite the education at Grinnell of several young African American men. So it was that some of the fantastic revenues at Sears, Roebuck and Company brought to Grinnell in the 1920s a handful of African American students at a time when the college was almost entirely white. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">###</span></p><div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For reasons that I cannot explain, the Grinnell College archive preserves little evidence of this pathbreaking initiative. <a href="https://atom.grinnell.edu/index.php/john-h-t-main-president-1904-1931" target="_blank">President Main's papers</a> include no documents addressed to or received from Mr. Rosenwald or his personal secretary. Only two brief mentions in the Grinnell College <a href="https://atom.grinnell.edu/index.php/minutes-of-meetings-p-201-516-of-trustee-minutes" target="_blank">Trustee Executive Committee Minutes </a>reference the agreement, without attributing the idea to anyone.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>However, correspondence within the <a href="https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.ROSENWALDJ" target="_blank">Julius Rosenwald </a></span><a href="https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.ROSENWALDJ" target="_blank">papers</a> archived at the <a href="https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/scrc/" target="_blank">University of Chicago</a> indicates that it was Grinnell College that initiated the plan "to provide scholarships for Colored boys in Grinnell," soliciting financial support from Rosenwald. A 1918 letter from Rosenwald's secretary summarizes the main founding events:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>The correspondence of Grinnell College with Mr. Rosenwald's office about half scholarships for Colored boys in Grinnell was submitted to the Trustees of the Julius Rosenwald Fund at a meeting yesterday, July 23rd, and, by unanimous vote of the Trustees, it was decided to accept <i>your proposition </i>[emphasis mine—DK] to Mr. Rosenwald of April 27 and June 19, 1918, and restated in your letter addressed to Mr. Graves [Rosenwald's secretary—DK] under the date of July 11, 1918 (<i>July 24, 1918 letter from William C. Graves to President Main, Julius Rosenwald Papers, Box 16, Folder 17, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I have not found the Grinnell College letters referenced here, but if the claim is accurate, then sometime in the spring of 1918 someone in the Grinnell leadership hatched the idea of making a special effort to recruit—with Rosenwald financial support—African American men to attend Grinnell College. The spare language of the Grinnell College Trustees' Executive Committee Minutes provides no additional information, merely reporting that at its April 18, 1918 meeting,"On motion [the] President [is] authorized to negotiate with Julius Rosenwald of Chicago in regard to scholarship in the College for negro students <i>from other countries </i>[emphasis mine—DK] (<i>Grinnell College Trustees, Executive Committee Minutes, 1911-1928, p. 352)</i>. That the plan aimed to import international students—visible nowhere in the documents I have studied—is mystifying, suggesting that Main might have misled the trustees.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdLtcZiFcIisADJ_9lyOfQ1pUD4I--ZXGn0kCKRuajUvifXAooNxmQgsxLGo_qTmEV7RaAHoitb-H0GeD-GfaXt5PYY9xM8NNStKk7pfSsM7USCmKuYd37sw3tMtqtKnb_o1JY65rwbo3wSd36-8AG68RySOnG_qly2Rt9WZ41nEVXiJNVKUW_feiEnA=s708" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdLtcZiFcIisADJ_9lyOfQ1pUD4I--ZXGn0kCKRuajUvifXAooNxmQgsxLGo_qTmEV7RaAHoitb-H0GeD-GfaXt5PYY9xM8NNStKk7pfSsM7USCmKuYd37sw3tMtqtKnb_o1JY65rwbo3wSd36-8AG68RySOnG_qly2Rt9WZ41nEVXiJNVKUW_feiEnA=s320" width="262" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hosea Booker Campbell (1896-1975)<br /><i>(1922 Grinnell College Cyclone)<br /><br /></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The original plan called for the College to control the admission process, seeking promising candidates from places like Hampton Institute (now <a href="https://www.hamptonu.edu/" target="_blank">Hampton University</a>) and Tuskegee Institute. </span><span>As many as three African American students were planned for 1918, but the lateness of the hour made that hope impractical.</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Consequently, t</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>he same letter that summarized the plan also nominated Hosea Booker Campbell (1896-1975) as the first Rosenwald-funded student at Grinnell. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>The Trustees [of the Rosenwald Fund] nominated as the candidate for admission to the College in September 1918...Hosea B. Campbell, c/o Y. M. C. A., 3703 Wabash Ave., Chicago (ibid.).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The college trustees seem to have understood the plan originally as a one-year experiment, which they renewed for another year in 1919: </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The President stated that Mr. Rosewald [sic] was anxious that the College allow the agreement, now in existence between itself and Mr. Rosenwald, covering attendance of three negro students at Grinnell to be in effect for the year 1919-1920. It was moved by Mr. Pooley and seconded by Mr. Spaulding that the agreement be extended. Carried (</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Grinnell College Trustees, Executive Committee Minutes, 1911-1928, p. 362).</i></span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Surviving documents in the Rosenwald archive, however, indicate that from the beginning the</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>plan imagined that</span><span> Grinnell would admit more Blacks to Grinnell in each of the next four years, w</span><span>ith the Rosenwald Fund providing half-scholarships and the College providing the other half. I found no record of a request for or the granting of a renewal in 1919.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpT8TXA8gPYSJ0Ev_icqudpeGHn6Wy77WISctDEnEQM97hKzdPns907flN_uQcmdHcqwAsLb-LuYaudjxiDd5--QUp5I6LHGysyF0gkqdivTVQvs_7-Ye-6Zwp9cRkILzUGQNmAtuhiI-KmHbPw-CVWinpfPru8R1b1RH7XJzQx0rQWNA6B-cHHr4gGg=s1874" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1874" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgpT8TXA8gPYSJ0Ev_icqudpeGHn6Wy77WISctDEnEQM97hKzdPns907flN_uQcmdHcqwAsLb-LuYaudjxiDd5--QUp5I6LHGysyF0gkqdivTVQvs_7-Ye-6Zwp9cRkILzUGQNmAtuhiI-KmHbPw-CVWinpfPru8R1b1RH7XJzQx0rQWNA6B-cHHr4gGg=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ibid.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The computation of costs included in the document seems to imagine no more than six students being admitted to Grinnell with Rosenwald Fund support. If three students were admitted in 1918, then the cost that year would total $750, as the table recognizes; if three more students were admitted in 1919, then the costs of both the returning students and those newly-admitted would total $1500, funding six students, which also corresponds with the table's data. Understanding the costs of the next three years proves more difficult, unless no new students were admitted. In that case, the same students who were funded in 1919-20 would continue to receive aid the next two years, each year at the same price (unless college costs rose). When the original three graduated in 1922, only the three men admitted in 1919 would remain to collect their scholarship for one final year before graduation in 1923. Reading the table this way means that the proposal would entail educating at Grinnell no more than six African American men between 1918 and 1923.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, altogether the College did admit a total of six men under the Rosenwald plan, only not as the agreement anticipated. As already noted, only Campbell came in 1918; the following year, the college admitted two students, one of whom (Carl Saunders [1899- ], a Chicagoan) soon left; in 1920 again the college enrolled two African American men with Rosenwald funding, but only one survived into the next year (<a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/166980514/nathaniel-peyton-miller" target="_blank">Nathaniel Miller</a> [1892-1980], from Virginia, did not re-enroll). After some controversy with the Fund, the college admitted a single scholar in 1921. Consequently, all told only three Rosenwald scholars successfully navigated four years of a Grinnell education with full funding; the fourth man admitted in 1921 may have had Rosenwald support for only his final two years at Grinnell (see more below).</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO2iCzXaAd6zMLev4Fv2f79ktB5tDiDPE-cZJVxp9mNVzT23C_p0Ti8oeK7h4y2HYCHLq3lCQeA_nW6hUcuOcyfvhrLOr-00q_GTY9QvjDaGLA3Wn9mdHU17Fny36sGrXDPw7pdGB8cb_FF4R3AVOeJ83zucsyOGbBByBNNBVM7mDPciHErl-BStm-Og=s1748" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="1158" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO2iCzXaAd6zMLev4Fv2f79ktB5tDiDPE-cZJVxp9mNVzT23C_p0Ti8oeK7h4y2HYCHLq3lCQeA_nW6hUcuOcyfvhrLOr-00q_GTY9QvjDaGLA3Wn9mdHU17Fny36sGrXDPw7pdGB8cb_FF4R3AVOeJ83zucsyOGbBByBNNBVM7mDPciHErl-BStm-Og=s320" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Undated Photograph of Hannibal Kershaw (1856-1883)<br />(Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives)<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span>An undated summary of the project, which was composed for the Rosenwald Fund and retained in the Rosenwald papers, inaccurately reported that "There had never been any Negro students in the institution [Grinnell College—DK]" (ibid.). In fact, however, Iowa College (later known as Grinnell College) had enrolled several African American students in the nineteenth century, the first graduate—<a href="https://www.jbhe.com/latest/news/3-2-06/grinnell.html" target="_blank">Hannibal Kershaw</a>—taking his degree in 1879. Moreover, as recently as 1913 Grinnell had granted a diploma to <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105382637/j-owen-redmon" target="_blank">James Owen Redmon (1889-1978),</a> an African American who hailed from nearby Colfax, which was also the home of </span><a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2021/10/grinnells-black-bicycling-champion.html" target="_blank">Leo Welker,</a><span> an African American widely known as a successful bicyclist who graduated from Grinnell College in 1903 and went on to a career in medicine. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPErNC1ffMt-nYb_n28_Dkahnyj7aIpLpZSPPE1qad7d8wCOhWbAbyCHKVNewelhYzBkhgSnJSDSI1TbKGTpl8qeDwDrjf00tN3AVzo-48efNzHJLopImWGmum5sIhDO4vuTsACGk5oTLTejYRN6rDQlyl32ZxYxBn-6Fq4c1ZESAmv04mOt_WPpOFlg=s1978" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1978" data-original-width="858" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPErNC1ffMt-nYb_n28_Dkahnyj7aIpLpZSPPE1qad7d8wCOhWbAbyCHKVNewelhYzBkhgSnJSDSI1TbKGTpl8qeDwDrjf00tN3AVzo-48efNzHJLopImWGmum5sIhDO4vuTsACGk5oTLTejYRN6rDQlyl32ZxYxBn-6Fq4c1ZESAmv04mOt_WPpOFlg=s320" width="139" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 10, 1978 obituary of James Owen Redmon<br />("Illinois, Mildred Hooper Obituary Collection, ca. 1959-1981," database with images, <span><i style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #202121; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">FamilySearch</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202121; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"> (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2TX-2B2K : 1 November 2019), Mr James Redmon, 1978, ; citing private collection of Mildred Hooper, Nauvoo; FHL microfilm 1,639,121)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>The author of the anonymous Rosenwald Fund memo, however, was oblivious of these facts, and seems to have viewed the college as forever</span><span> white, describing the </span><span>organizers' motive as an "experiment" to try to undo the white bias that prevailed on campus: </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>There was a desire to try an experiment to see whether the introduction of a number of carefully chosen students of that race [i. e., African American—DK], of excellent character, might have an effect in changing the attitude of the white students toward the Negro (<i>Anonymous, undated, untitled Summary of the Project, ibid.</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Alas, as Fund officials observed as early as 1921, the "experiment" did not achieve the desired result. A brief note that year from Rosenwald's secretary advised President Main "that the Julius Rosenwald Fund Trustees feel [that] the experiment of having colored students at Grinnell is not working out satisfactorily." Promising to continue funding for the three African American students then still enrolled at the college, Graves reported that the trustees intended to discontinue the plan, and urged Grinnell not to admit anyone new (J<i>uly 14, 1921 letter from William Graves to Dr. Main, ibid.</i>).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVFBjHPZQMuqpeQIOxqrA0JLaDKCmBwSHa5dSood2651gntc3pxiiWXEzSWWJe2xYMe6YFDhf-nAupH7S3KaM_42Y-_UPwt1_UqPzTUI3aTD5m86lSILge7tKsPKRKgsgzusJxD9GaaFIUz078Djdf1l4HFNJk6Ywx3iJ0VawAi0uNwSJM9eg5A1UhoQ=s304" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="250" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVFBjHPZQMuqpeQIOxqrA0JLaDKCmBwSHa5dSood2651gntc3pxiiWXEzSWWJe2xYMe6YFDhf-nAupH7S3KaM_42Y-_UPwt1_UqPzTUI3aTD5m86lSILge7tKsPKRKgsgzusJxD9GaaFIUz078Djdf1l4HFNJk6Ywx3iJ0VawAi0uNwSJM9eg5A1UhoQ" width="250" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Undated photograph of John Hanson Thomas Main (1859-1931), Grinnell President 1906-31)<br />(https://dbcs.rutgers.edu/all-scholars/8904-main-john-hanson-thomas)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">President Main's correspondence bears a very different valence. In a 1920 letter that preceded the Fund's declared intention of halting the project, Main allowed that, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>From the general point of view, the three men [funded by Rosenwald] have gotten along nicely. They have had no trouble in their association with the men. I believe I can say that there has been no discrimination shown. They have work to do and have had definite promise of work for the coming year. So far as their social relation to Grinnell is concerned, it is entirely satisfactory, and gives every promise of continuing so (<i>July 13, 1920 letter from President J. H. T. Main to William C. Graves, ibid.</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As a result, the 1921 criticisms from the Fund caught Main off-guard. His early August 1921 reply to Graves took exception to the pessimism that Graves had voiced. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>Personally, I think, with the exception of Mr. Hosea Campbell, the men have been satisfied and reasonably happy. We have done our utmost to meet all the requirements of the situation, and I have given personal attention and consideration to practically all of the personal difficulties the colored students have had (<i>August 2, 1921 Letter of John Hanson Thomas Main to William C. Graves, ibid.</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><p>The Fund's analysis, however, was much more critical. Perhaps because of what the students themselves wrote to Rosenwald, the Fund's officials reported that Grinnell's African American students had encountered numerous difficulties.</p><blockquote>At first there were slights, perhaps exaggerated by natural apprehension, Negroes being new both in college and in the community. Local barbers refused to give service. There were periods of lonesomeness and depression. The college representative who arranged the plan left the institution and no one seemed to take his place. Our general impression was that no one on the faculty took much interest in what was represented to us to be intended for a social experiment. There were social and scholastic adjustments necessary both with members of the faculty and with the student body (<i>Anonymous, undated, untitled Summary of the Project, ibid.</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The Rosenwald papers include what appears to be an outline or sketch composed in preparation for the formal letter cited above. The two-page, handwritten memo is headed "Grinnell," and identifies six points. The first line takes direct aim at the entire idea and baldly states that "The experiment of trying to give whites a better idea of the Negro failed." Among the justifications noted here was the opinion that "the president [i.e., President Main—DK] was not much concerned" with the project and that "the one who had the thought [of initiating the plan] left Grinnell before the matter was tried out." In the margin a different hand has added "DeHaan," which seems to reference <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8784347/arie-benjamin-dehaan" target="_blank">Arie Benjamin DeHaan (1884-1960)</a>, a 1906 graduate who had served as missionary in China. What role he may have had in the Rosenwald plan I do not know.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPl0xo3XZKT-Rd_aLr651kB8MSZTLP-rZtb3AEaMUCRAHt_vJEBqfYLKtYWm70es9wlhkR0wovR7ds8MmXk9-r-4jTctUd4PtFJopdk0kyK0TjZOK90iM4BbAK1cnSfOoy1wSXBpLevQAGWPdvk6BecH7ML6HIhxdnSBHYHrrBcg1jAyCw5LBQgsv3Gg=s1642" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1642" data-original-width="1144" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPl0xo3XZKT-Rd_aLr651kB8MSZTLP-rZtb3AEaMUCRAHt_vJEBqfYLKtYWm70es9wlhkR0wovR7ds8MmXk9-r-4jTctUd4PtFJopdk0kyK0TjZOK90iM4BbAK1cnSfOoy1wSXBpLevQAGWPdvk6BecH7ML6HIhxdnSBHYHrrBcg1jAyCw5LBQgsv3Gg=s320" width="223" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Undated Photograph of A. B. DeHaan<br />(https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8784347/arie-benjamin-dehaan)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">A second point in the outline asserted that "The negroes were lonesome socially," because there was "no negro community in Grinnell town" and "race lines [were] drawn in town." Certainl<span style="font-family: inherit;">y Grinnell's African American population in 1918 was small, but Edith Renfrow Smith rememb</span>ered that her parents often entertained the college's African Americans, not infrequently around the Sunday dinner table. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><blockquote>...[The] Rosenwald Fellows [were] African American men [who] attended Grinnell from 1918-1921 with half-tuition scholarships provided by the Rosenwald Foundation and matched by the College. Mrs. Smith's family [the A. L. Renfrow family] hosted these scholars and served as the men's social center, and their presence in her home deepened her sense of connection to the College. "Of course since ours was the oldest family and since my sisters were older, that was their social life, and they came to the house on Sundays to play the piano and have dinner and what have you (Feven Getachew and Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, "<a href="https://edithrenfrowsmith.sites.grinnell.edu/" target="_blank">Edith Renfrow Smith: Through the Eyes of a Pioneer</a>").</blockquote></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The Fund's critique also claimed that "no one in college apparently except one professor [Edward Steiner?—DK] paid any attention to the boys with [the] idea of helping them." "Even Cosmopolitan Club," the hand-written outline continued, "containing brown and yellow men, barred" the Rosenwald Scholars from membership. Later reports from the men themselves undermine the claim that no faculty helped, and it is also unlikely that the Cosmopolitan Club prohibited Blacks from membership. Not long after this report was written Alphonse Heningburg, the third of Grinnell's Rosenwald Scholars, became a member of the club (which was also known as Cordes Fratres).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivMg5_cht1N75uJrUEiuo8FLYnJSLNhOaC4IBr_98OMUfwyrrxC2tQuPt-2Obn673UcCQ4M6dc3WfYObtRC2xKCXP9uPDOZmABILmtR8MwRyqbbtII34wcORWonJuGWQpgJBiInsKXZFRd1uMXcfPm4oKe3gytpdwsBwrvVOFHOhmIi9RNMtTXTX9nCA=s570" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivMg5_cht1N75uJrUEiuo8FLYnJSLNhOaC4IBr_98OMUfwyrrxC2tQuPt-2Obn673UcCQ4M6dc3WfYObtRC2xKCXP9uPDOZmABILmtR8MwRyqbbtII34wcORWonJuGWQpgJBiInsKXZFRd1uMXcfPm4oKe3gytpdwsBwrvVOFHOhmIi9RNMtTXTX9nCA=s320" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Scarlet and Black, </i>October 20, 1923<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">On rather less evidence the memo maintained that, although the Grinnell Rosenwald scholars "got something out of it," they would have done better </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>at Oberlin, Denison, Beloit, or other colleges where a) There have been colored students; b) There has been a sympathetic attitude toward them; c) They have been admitted to literary societies; and d) There are colored folk in town and some chance to be with boys and girls of their own kind (<i>Anonymous, undated Note titled "Grinnell," Julius Rosenwald Papers, Box 16, Folder 17, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The concluding point of the working outline proposed to "Continue [the] boys at Grinnell till graduation, but take on no new ones there." In other words, the Fund would let the Grinnell "experiment" play out, but refuse any future collaboration with Grinnell. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Fund's intelligence about how well the "experiment" was working at Grinnell must have come from the students themselves, although so far I have seen only </span><span style="font-size: medium;">one letter to Rosenwald on this subject. In a February 1921 letter, Hosea Campbell expressed skepticism about the project. "My Dear Mr. Rosenwald," Campbell wrote:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>Since you told me to keep you informed about the welfare of the [Rosenwald] fellows out here, I am sorry to say that I am less optimistic about the success of the experiment now than hitherto. There has been a general depression of spirits among the fellows and I am not afraid to say that discouragement will likely affect them. ...I am merely venturing such a statement at present and will not agree until fully borne out by later developments. But I feel that I am only fair and obedient to you when I give what may be regarded as an honest tentative opinion. In the meantime, I shall strive to face whatever personal obstacles I may have and encourage the other fellows whenever necessary (<i>February 3, 1921 letter of Hosea B. Campbell to Julius Rosenwald, ibid.</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxIzA4pVh2k1X72qE1Cspqe0Wu-93BuN6QeMb9nYDTp83q3murKiOZvL9M_iWVdab3bEOOc_nHU5KoQh_F4qMppMwJkULKeEydoSroXWuGJFyDcfs0dCDTn99p2NoO77dqcgD6wwA8EowS5Sj6RcD5ydsUEILHNV1INxUn3EUyhAXWUcro2c6wQJfTgg=s1846" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1846" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxIzA4pVh2k1X72qE1Cspqe0Wu-93BuN6QeMb9nYDTp83q3murKiOZvL9M_iWVdab3bEOOc_nHU5KoQh_F4qMppMwJkULKeEydoSroXWuGJFyDcfs0dCDTn99p2NoO77dqcgD6wwA8EowS5Sj6RcD5ydsUEILHNV1INxUn3EUyhAXWUcro2c6wQJfTgg=s320" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Closing of February 3, 1921 Letter from Hosea B. Campbell to Julius Rosenwald (ibid.)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It may be that the other Rosenwald fellows conveyed similar sentiments to their benefactor, but it bears mentioning that Campbell, although the first, was apparently also the least accomplished of the four who graduated from Grinnell. Even before Campbell arrived, someone heard from his Chicago high school, suggesting that he would do well to spend another year in school before entering college.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">.</span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP2dHoJkQVos1uqUdMT5fWHjOwq4tqVfhriFziEv3aCT5at5m4VfYZXIq4DmPqoNYlrYoyzRAGLue2noe4dG3GwBGb3phZUx_6jvxfcR7jWYS3GVahliPzfWrTgvWxf2rHYPk9lRTkqExCZIWV_9u9Q57FelSlCuESvA9foeqR2JhQPBKNkfc5sE0BUQ=s1084" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="1084" height="69" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgP2dHoJkQVos1uqUdMT5fWHjOwq4tqVfhriFziEv3aCT5at5m4VfYZXIq4DmPqoNYlrYoyzRAGLue2noe4dG3GwBGb3phZUx_6jvxfcR7jWYS3GVahliPzfWrTgvWxf2rHYPk9lRTkqExCZIWV_9u9Q57FelSlCuESvA9foeqR2JhQPBKNkfc5sE0BUQ=w581-h69" width="581" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anonymous comment in the margin of July 24, 1918 letter of William C. Graves to President John H. T. Main (ibid,)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>In a 1920 report to Rosenwald's secretary President Main himself pointed out that, although the other two Rosenwald scholars then on campus were doing very well, "the work of Hosea Campbell is not quite as good. His lowest grade...is 'D.' There is one 'C.' The other grades are 'A' and 'B.' His record is not discreditable," he concluded, but clearly Main thought less of Campbell than of his African American colleagues, both of whom (Collis Davis '23 and Alphonse Heningburg '24) later earned election to Phi Beta Kappa (<i>Letter of President Main to William C. Graves, July 13, 1920, ibid.)</i>. Moreover, Gordon Kitchen '25, told David Jordan in a 1982 telephone interview that he thought that Campbell had had a more difficult time at Grinnell than the other Rosenwald fellows. Campbell was "a little aloof," Kitchen said; "he thought he wasn't accepted" (<i>Memorandum of Record, Telephone Interview with Gordon Kitchen '25, November 1982, Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives, </i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; text-size-adjust: auto;"><i>Record Group 5, Series 2.1, sub-series 2, "Blacks at Grinnell," Box 5</i></span>).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Whether or not the Rosenwald Fund trustees had reliable intelligence on the students' experience at Grinnell, the program limped to a conclusion. Initially, Fund officers tried to dissuade the college from admitting Gordon Kitchen, nominated by Tuskegee Institute, to the class of 1925. However, as President Main noted in a September 1921 letter, "Gordon Kitchen is already in Grinnell and has registered for his work in the college" (<i>The Case of Gordon Kitchen, ibid.</i>). Bowing to the Fund's decision to abandon the project and Kitchen, Main wrote that "I personally shall take care of his interests. Of course I shall not call on the Julius Rosenwald Fund to assist in his case" (ibid.). Nevertheless, within a month the college treasurer dispatched a letter to Graves, listing Kitchen with the preceding three Rosenwald Scholars: "A check on account for these boys for the current year will be appreciated," Phelps wrote (<i>October 3, 1921 Letter from Louis Phelps to William C. Graves, ibid.</i>). A Fund executive wasted no time in replying: "This office has no record of Gordon Kitchen as a beneficiary of the Julius Rosenwald Fund" (<i>Case of Gordon Kitchen," ibid.</i>).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I found no evidence to prove that the Rosenwald Fund eventually contributed to Kitchen's college costs. It seems likely that at least in 1921 the Fund held to its decision, paying only for the first three scholars. Moreover, although in his 1982 interview with David Jordan, Kitchen reported himself as a Rosenwald Scholar, he also reported that </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>he often worked for President Main, doing chores around the President's home...Kitchen also worked in the dining hall to supplement his income. He "cleaned up, mopped up," rather than serving tables or working during the eating hour itself (<i>Memorandum of Record, Special Collections and Archive, Grinnell College</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Perhaps these jobs explain in part how President Main, without Rosenwald support, provided funding for Kitchen's education. However, there is some reason to think that Kitchen did receive Rosenwald support for his last two years at Grinnell. The Rosenwald archive contains a 1923 letter from Alphonse Heningburg, the third Rosenwald grantee at Grinnell, asking the Fund to assume Kitchen's scholarship for his final two years in place of Collis Davis's:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>As Mr. Collis Davis graduates this term, I have been wondering whether you would consider giving to Kitchen for the next two years the money that had been given to Mr. Davis. Kitchen is working as much as he can, but is finding it almost impossible to keep up his accounts (<i>April 10, 1923 Letter of A. Heningburg to F. W. Shepardson, ibid.</i>).</blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Whether the Fund acceded to this request, I do not know, but the Fund's officials had to be impressed that Heningburg, reported to be doing very well at Grinnell, undertook to represent another student's interests. Whatever the fate of that request, Heningburg's letter implicitly confirms that Kitchen did not receive Rosenwald funding for the first two years of his Grinnell education.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">###</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A century afterward, the Rosenwald-funded "experiment" at Grinnell provokes wonder. Although the vocabulary of the correspondence reflects an acknowledged racial bias at the college, the idea itself seems to anticipate what a later generation would call affirmative action. After all, the project obliged Grinnell College to seek out potential African American students, and to that end President Main did write to several Historically Black Colleges and Universities, including both Hampton and Tuskegee, institutions that supplied three of the four Rosenwald Scholars who graduated from the college. The graduates' records confirm that they were very able students, but, given the rarity of Black men at Grinnell, it seems unlikely that Campbell, Davis, Heningburg and Kitchen would have enrolled at Grinnell without the college having sought them out.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">As already noted, officials at the Rosenwald Fund deemed the project a failure. Certainly few African Americans followed these pioneers onto the Grinnell campus, and, so far as I know, for many years the college did not initiate any successor to the original plan; the campus remained very white. All the same, the men themselves seem to have seen the "experiment" differently. In a 1939 letter to his Grinnell chemistry professor, Collis Davis wrote affectionately of his experience at Grinnell. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>Your letter addressed to the men and women who have studied chemistry at Grinnell made me homesick...I have wished many times since I graduated that I could be back in my old stall in Blair Hall. I think of you often as one of the best friends that I had when I was a student there [at Grinnell] (<i>Alumni Letters to Chemistry Department, </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pamphlet 51-51.3 C42a-51.3 C42a,</span></i><span style="font-family: Open Sans Regular, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Grinnell College Special Collections and Archives</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">). </span></blockquote></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">David Jordan's report on his 1982 conversation with Gordon Kitchen leaves the impression that Kitchen's experience at Grinnell, despite everything, was "normal." </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><blockquote>[Kitchen] did not find adjustment to rural Iowa and a predominantly white campus too difficult...[he] fondly recalled <a href="https://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S2/StrongEarlD.pdf" target="_blank">Earl Strong [1885-1968]</a> as a "special professor." <a href="http://www.grinnell.lib.ia.us/Obit/S2/SteinerEdwardA.pdf" target="_blank">Edward Steiner </a>"was very helpful to all of us"...and "he did a splendid job"...Kitchen also recalled <a href="https://atom.grinnell.edu/index.php/john-p-ryan-by-jean-ryan-squires" target="_blank">John Ryan [1877-1951], professor of speech and rhetoric</a>, as "quite a friend" (<i>Memorandum of Record)</i>.</blockquote></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDI6A9IBtllwg-wECm8qdPO0yIPYaFdMohHGC_kB8mY-mXZ8AUXj0OWE9xcBfY-zUB4rr0Ax-fynlEQ9w6SEnnLfc-C5fihmQd9dk6-_n4fkLaioZ6I2DpK-U4XVSk38vpJLbhuRaWUJWQOyoAghXiIgKmgY5V_6c_idAZE7ukAwtIycmgNn-xTyQV9Q=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDI6A9IBtllwg-wECm8qdPO0yIPYaFdMohHGC_kB8mY-mXZ8AUXj0OWE9xcBfY-zUB4rr0Ax-fynlEQ9w6SEnnLfc-C5fihmQd9dk6-_n4fkLaioZ6I2DpK-U4XVSk38vpJLbhuRaWUJWQOyoAghXiIgKmgY5V_6c_idAZE7ukAwtIycmgNn-xTyQV9Q=s320" width="255" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Undated (1920?) Portrait of Edward Steiner (1866-1956)<br />(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell%3A18367)<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, comments like these do not erase or minimize the difficulties that the men faced on and off campus. <a href="http://grinnellstories.blogspot.com/2017/06/when-fiery-crosses-burned.html" target="_blank">Grinnell in the 1920s proved receptive to a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan,</a> for instance, which added substantially to the racial bias of the town. But certainly these remarks undermine the absoluteness of the Rosenwald Fund's 1921 conclusion that the project had been a failure. As the career arcs of the Rosenwald Scholars confirm, these were men who made a difference, and 1920s Grinnell helped them on that road. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">In the next several posts I will look more carefully at the lives these four men lived, once they left Grinnell.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p></div><div><span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br /></p></div></div></div>Dan Kaiserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02896067220998977360noreply@blogger.com1