IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
ALPHA EVANS (1918- )
PAPERS, 1977-2001
3.5 linear inches
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers
(donor no. 602) were donated by Alpha
Evans in 1999. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers
are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright held by the
donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Doris Malkmus, 2001.
[EvansAlpha.doc] |
Biography
Alpha Simmons Evans, teacher
and curriculum advisor, was born February 19, 1918, on a homestead in North
Dakota. In 1920, her family moved to
Iowa where she attended rural schools in Kossuth County, graduating from Swea
City High School in 1934. An abiding
passion for the earth sciences earned her a science scholarship to West Union
College in Le Mars, Iowa, but economic factors precluded her attending. She enrolled in a two-year teacher
certification program, graduating in 1936 at age eighteen. Following her graduation, she taught seventh
and eighth grade classes, first in Ringstead, Iowa, from 1936 to 1940, then in
Gilmore City, Iowa, from 1940 to 1942, and later in Council Bluffs, Iowa, from
1942 to 1944. At each post, she coached
girls’ basketball, and in Council Bluffs coached boys’ baseball as well. During World War Two, she took summer
courses in the earth sciences at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
When World War Two ended, Alpha Simmons married
Master Sergeant Robert S. Evans, following his discharge from the service. They operated a hardware store and raised a
family in Strawberry Point, Iowa. After
not having taught for seventeen years, Evans returned to teaching in 1961 in
response to an acute teacher shortage.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Upper Iowa University in
Fayette, Iowa, in 1966. After her
husband died suddenly in 1967, she sold the hardware store and resumed her
teaching career in earnest as a high school teacher.
During the 1970-1971 school year, she represented
teachers during a labor dispute and became involved with regional and state
education advisory committees. That
same year she also began work at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) to
complete a Masters of Education degree under Roger Keuter at the Education
Center in the College of Education. An
account of her activities at UNI are given in the Biographical series. The
1970s was an active decade in Evans’s life.
She created original learning units using behavioral objectives, worked
with state and national advisory committees, and completed a Masters Degree in
Education at UNI. She continued to work
on advisory panels until 1983 when she resigned to resume her focus on teaching
language arts to seventh and eighth grade students. She won recognition for her writing activities from Drake
University, which named her “Writing Teacher of the Year” in 1989. She retired from the profession in 1989.
Evans was an original member of the
Clayton County Sesquicentennial Commission that arranged for performances and
other events to celebrate Iowa’s sesquicentennial in 1996. She served as a field representative for
Earthwatch, traveling with archeological investigation teams to Mexico each
summer for several years. She also
traveled to Israel, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, the Grand Canyon, and Belize from
1986 to 1999.
Scope and
Content Note
The Alpha Evans papers date from 1977 to 2001 and measure 3.5 linear
inches. They are arranged in three
series: Biographical, Professional, and Clayton County Sesquicentennial Committee. They demonstrate the creativity and
innovation in rural education.
The Biographical
series consists of a ten-page autobiographical account of her activities
with state and national education committees.
The Professional series
includes her Master’s thesis “Teacher Oral Reading: Its Potential for Student
Attitudes Toward Own and Other Groups,” and a related course paper, “The
Effects of Reading Literature on the Attitudes of Adolescents.” It also includes her original teaching units
for middle school students.
The Clayton County Sesquicentennial Commission series consists of the
comprehensive records of the commission.
Evans kept records of commission meetings, grants, event planning, and expenses related to the Iowa state
sesquicentennial in 1996. Originally kept in a three-ring binder, the records
have been removed from the binder and filed in folders in their original order.
Box no. Description
Box 1
Biographical
“Autobiography of a Professional Life,” 2001
Professional
“The Effects of Reading Literature on the Attitudes of Adolescents,” undated
“Teacher Oral Reading: Its Potential for Influencing Student Attitudes Toward Own and Other Groups,” 1977
“Language
Arts,” 1982
Teaching
Units: “Great
Storytellers and Their Stories;” “An Outdoor Education Experience Across the
Disciplines;” “Storybook Character Day: A Lively Activity for the Final
Quarter,” undated
Clayton
County Sesquicentennial Commission
Records, 1996-1997
Minutes, 1993-1996
Event grants and reports, 1995-1997
Event contracts, 1996
Finances, 1996