Iowa Master Farm Homemakers Guild records

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS-0060

Staff Only

Scope and Content

This collection (1928-2006) includes historian's books, secretary's books, and scrapbooks as well as correspondence regarding annual meetings and Guild projects, including Bridging the Generations. Among the correspondents is Joan Moore.

Dates

1928-2006

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

Open for research.

Use/Re-use Restrictions

Consult Special Collections and University Archives

Biography/Profile

The Iowa Master Farm Homemakers Guild was initiated in 1928 with the selection of five Iowa women for the Master Farm Homemaker Award. The award was established by F. W. Beckman (editor) and Bess Rowe (women's editor) of The Farmer's Wife, a magazine published for farmwomen by the Webb Publishing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. According to a 1970 History published by the Guild, the purpose of the program was to give recognition to the contribution that farm women were making to the nation as homemakers and as voluntary community leaders. The women receiving recognitions were to be symbols of the highest values in rural life.

From 1928 to 1931, five women were selected each year for Master Farm Homemakers honors. In 1931, The Farmers Wife ceased to function as the Guild's administrator, but the membership continued to function as a state group. In 1938, the Guild wished to re-institute the annual recognition of outstanding farmwomen. A committee was formed to confer with the Extension Service about the selection of future Guild members, and in 1940 a request was made to Wallace's Farmer magazine to take over sponsorship of the award. Zoe Murphy, the magazine's homemaking editor, was placed in charge of the program. The difficulties of the war years intervened, however, and no new Guild members were selected until 1947. Since that time, five to seven new members have been added to the Guild each year. (For more information on Guild History see History of the Master Farm Homemakers Guild in file 2/3).

Extent

18.7 Linear Feet (in 8 document boxes, 8 over-sized boxes, 1 card file box, and 1 map case folder)

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is organized Chronologically.

Items in related collections

MS-0387. Associated Country Women of the World records, 1960-1994, undated MS-0437. National Master Farm Homemakers Guild records, 1927-2002, undated

Related collection materials

Related collections in the Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library include:

•Ruth Buxton Sayre Papers (MS 107)

Processing Information

Released on 2018-11-01.

Subjects

Farmers' spouses--Iowa Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Photographs Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
Rural women--Iowa Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scrapbooks Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
Women in agriculture--Iowa Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women--Iowa--Societies, etc. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women--Social networks--Iowa Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings