IOWA WOMEN'S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
NEIL BJURSTROM RURAL MUSIC
1910, 1930-1993
2 linear feet and
audiovisual material
Iowa State University, Parks Library,
Special Collections Department.
History
While music has always been a part of
life in Iowa, it was not until the work of Charles A. Fullerton that it became
an integral part of learning and teaching in Iowa schools. Fullerton believed that Iowa farm children
were not getting a proper music education.
So he developed the Fullerton plan.
By listening to phonograph recordings of popular songs sung and played
by professionals, the children were better able to understand musical concepts.
As part of the music extension
program of the Iowa State College Cooperative Extension Service, the study of
music also worked its way into the 4-H clubs in Iowa, mainly the girls'
clubs. The rationale behind the program
was to give people access to culture.
Each year a different type of music was chosen to be studied. The children learned various songs and at
the 4-H convention each year, they sang together as one group. The first such group, in 1930, included one
thousand children from sixty-seven countries.
In 1934-1935, the 4-H clubs began a
study of opera and the operetta "Bohemian Girl" was examined in
length. The year's study ended with the
rural production of the "Bohemian Girl." It included 175 singers from forty-seven countries. There were two performances, one at Iowa
State College in June of 1935 and the other at the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
Convention in Des Moines in January of 1936.
The story was picked up by dozens of national and local papers. In 1986, a fiftieth anniversary celebration
of rural music and the "Bohemian Girl" (Rural Music History
Celebration) included a re-creation of the opera.
It was the success of the 1936
performance of the "Bohemian Girl" that helped start the program of
the County Women's Choruses. Under the
leadership of Fannie Buchanan, music extension director, and with the help of
Sarah Porter Ellis, assistant extension director of home economics, and Tolbert
Mac Rae, head of the music department of Iowa State, the choruses started in
1937. The program was a joint effort of
the Iowa State College Extension Service and the Iowa Farm Bureau. The choruses later came under the direction
of Max Exner from 1947 to 1980 and Neil Bjurstrom from 1980 to 1993.
The women gathered in the center of
the county, usually at the county seat, and were directed by a volunteer
leader, usually a former music teacher or someone interested in music. They practiced regularly, usually two to
four times a month, and performed at various functions throughout the
year. The highlight of the whole
program was the joint appearance of the county choruses together at the state
festival, which traditionally opened the first main evening session of the
annual Iowa Farm Bureau meeting in Des Moines.
The choruses were phased out in 1993.
Scope and
Content Note
The Neil Bjurstom Rural Music
Collection dates from 1910 and 1930
to 1993 and measure 2 linear feet. The
records are arranged in six series:
"Bohemian Girl," County Women's Choruses, 4-H Music, and
Photographs. This collection gives
insight into music teaching in rural schools and the activities of rural women.
The "Bohemian Girl"
series (1935 to 1936 and undated) contains photocopies of correspondence and
newspaper clippings about the 1935 and 1936 performances of the operetta. Also included are stage movement and costume
guides.
The County Women's Choruses series
(1937-1993 and undated) consists mainly of newspaper clippings for several
county choruses. The sheet music
consists of examples of the music commonly used by the choruses. It has been kept in its original order and
is grouped by date of use.
The 4-H music series
(1936-1985 and undated) has several newspaper clippings and pieces of
correspondence in it about group activities.
The Rural Music History
Celebration series (1985-1988) consists of committee minutes and
correspondence dealing with the celebration.
Much of the material can be found in the Beverly Everett papers (see
Related Collections).
Included in the Rural School
Music series (1910, 1930-1962 and undated) are sheet music and articles
showing the growth of music in rural Iowa.
The slide show contains biographical information about several of the
influential people in rural music.
The Photographs series
(1954-1986 and undated) consists primarily of photographs from Rural Music
History Celebration, along with a few photographs of county choruses.
Related
Collections
Beverly
George Everett papers
These papers contain a more in-depth look at the Rural
Music History Celebration including the minutes of the Coordinating Committee,
correspondence, and newspaper clippings (Box 5, Personal, Rural Music History,
Celebration).
Box no. Description
Box 1
"Bohemian Girl"
General, 1935-1936 and
undated
Newspaper clippings, 1935
and undated
Sheet music, undated
County Women's Choruses
Annual State Festivals
1977, 1979-1985
1986
1987-1992
1993
Correspondence, 1936-1938,
1984, 1989 and undated
County Choruses
Allamakee, 1960-1981 and
undated
Howard, 1986
Jasper, undated
Linn, 1937-1983
Marshall
General, 1950-1953 and
undated
Sheet music, undated (Folder
1)
Box 2
Sheet music, undated (Folder
2)
Muscatine, 1935 and undated
Page, 1956, 1976-1983, 1990
Poweshiek, 1937
Shelby, 1948
Sioux, 1939-1940, 1955-1958,
1983 and undated
Tama, 1979-1984 and undated
Webster, 1972 and undated
Winneshiek, 1976-1985 and
undated
Worth, 1937-1980
Mac Rae, Tolbert, 1928 and
undated
Newspaper clippings, 1937,
1982-1993
Old chorus names list,
undated
Overview, 1981
Reports, 1964, 1993
Sheet Music
Date of use
1930s-1993 (3 folders)
Box 3
1930s-1993 (1 folder)
1980-1993 (3 folders)
1992 (1 folder)
Silver Anniversary Banquet,
1956
Slides, unknown group, 1982
4-H Music, 1936-1937, 1985 and undated
Rural Music History Celebration
General, 1985-1986, 1988
Recollections [shelved in
audiocassette collection]
Anderson, Julia Faltinson,
1986 [AC197]
Bell, Eleanor Nissen,
undated [AC198]
Everett, Beverly George,
1986 [AC199]
Kriedeman, Joan Nissen, 1986
[AC200]
Poweshiek and Iowa County,
4-H dancers, 1986 [AC201]
Slides, 1986
Rural School Music
Educational Bulletin, 1930
Extension Service, Iowa
State College (Iowa State University), handouts, 1959, 1962
Fullerton, Charles A.
General, 1931-1941 and
undated
The New Song Book and Music Reader, 1910
Box
4
"Listen and Sing"
Phonograph record (LP 33 1/3), 1959
Programs, 1958-1959
Music, undated (2 folders)
"Personality
Development Through Music," Florence George, 1947
Slide show
Slides, undated
Narration, undated [shelved
in audiocassette collection: AC202]
Photographs
"Bohemian Girl,"
undated
County Women's Choruses
County Choruses (1 folder)
Allamakee, 1954
Marshall, 1949
Page, 1954, 1956
Winneshiek, 1983?
Iowa Rural Chorus,
Washington, D.C., 1950 [shelved in map case: drawer 2]
Exner, Max, undated
Rural Music History
Celebration, 1986