IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
LOIS H. EICHACKER
(1932- )
PAPERS, 1905-1998
9 linear inches
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 357) were donated
by Lois Eichacker in 1996 and
succeeding years. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In box 2. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Natalie S. Brody, 1997 and
1999. |
|
REVISION: |
July 23, 1999, Bobby Jett, version WORD7. |
Biography
Lois Ann Eichacker was born on November
25, 1932, in Keokuk, Iowa, the third of Lillie G. Harper and Dr. Harry D.
Harper's five children. She attended St.
Joseph's School and graduated from Fort Madison High School in 1950. After attending the University of Wisconsin
and the University of Iowa, she graduated from Ohio State University in 1956
with a bachelor's degree in general social studies. From 1957 to 1959 she worked as a therapist at Columbus (Ohio)
Psychiatric Hospital for Children. In 1960 Eichacker was employed as a
caseworker at the Cook County Psychopathic Hospital in Chicago. She married George Eichacker, former
chairman of the board and president of Keokuk Federal Savings and Loan Bank.
They have three children.
Eichacker spent her professional
career at the Southeast Iowa Community Action Organization, Inc. (SEICAO), a
four-county agency of the federal government's Office of Economic Opportunity. In 1967 she was appointed the agency's
coordinator in Lee County. She became
the neighborhood center director for SEICAO in 1970, two years later, the
Deputy Director and in 1974, the executive director. After fifteen years in that position, she retired in 1989. The Iowa Community Action Neighborhood
Center in Fort Madison was named in her honor.
Among her numerous organizational
positions, Eichacker has served as chair for the Iowa Commission on Community
Action Agencies; vice chair of the Iowa Department of Economic Development and
the University of Iowa Black Alumni Association; and president of the
University of Iowa Alumni Association's Board of Directors (1995.) Eichacker
was the first African American to serve as president. In 1997 she was appointed to the Friends Advisory Board of the
University of Iowa Libraries. She has
been active on many state boards and councils, as well as Community-action
State, regional and national associations.
Honored widely for her contributions to her community and the state,
Eichacker was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1994 and received
the University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.
Scope and
Content Note
The Lois H. Eichacker papers date from approximately 1905 to 1998 and measure 9 linear inches. The bulk of the collection dates from 1984
to 1998. The papers are arranged in six series: Biographical information, Correspondence, Community activities,
State of Iowa, University of Iowa, and Photographs. The collection focuses on
Eichacker’s professional and civic activities: at the local level, for the
State of Iowa, and for the University of Iowa.
The Photographs series consists of four photographs of Lois Eichacker in
various public roles and three photocopies of family photographs. An oversize
color photocopy of Eichacker's great-grandparents, Rufus and Mathilda
Dandridge, ca. 1905, is shelved in the map case.
Related
Collections
Virginia Harper papers
Virginia Harper was Eichacker's
sister.
Harry
Harper papers, University of Iowa Special Collections Department
Harry Harper was Eichacker's father.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Biographical information
Resumes
Iowa Women's Hall of Fame,
1994
Newspaper clippings,
1989-1998
Speeches, 1980-1997 and
undated (scattered)
Correspondence
Family and friends
1971, 1990-1994
1995-1998
Legal Services of Iowa,
1995-1997
General, 1989-1998
Community activities
General, 1988-1997 and
undated
Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 1971 and undated
Family Development
Demonstration Grant Proposal, October 1988
State of Iowa
Appointments, 1980-1998
Correspondence, 1991-1996
Commission on Community
Action Programs, 1991-1997
Iowa Department of Economic
Development (IDED), 1987-1997
Box 2
University of Iowa
Alumni Association
Board of Directors meeting,
October 12-13, 1995
Correspondence and speeches,
1988-1995
Spring Reunion Weekend,
May-June 1996
Black Alumni Association,
1991-1997
Correspondence, 1988-1998
and undated
Distinguished Alumni Award nomination;
Elizabeth Catlett Mora, 1996
1999 Distinguished Alumni
Award recipient, 1998
Photographs
1960-1995 (scattered)
Oversize:
Dandridge, Rufus, and
Dandridge, Mathilde Stevens [photocopy], c1905 [shelved in map case: drawer 2]