IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
MARY GREFE (1922 - )
PAPERS, 1943-1997
(bulk 1979-1988)
1.5 linear feet
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 265) were donated
by Mary Grefe in 1995. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers are open for research. |
|
ARTIFACTS: |
»In box 2. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
»Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
»In box 5. |
|
PROCESSED
BY: |
Lisa R.
Peperkorn and Lindsay Jones, 1998. |
|
REVISION: |
Kären M.
Mason, June 2000 [Word 7 Grefe.doc] |
Biography
Mary Arlene Cruikshank Grefe, educator, social
activist, politician, and businesswoman, was born on November 7, 1922 to Arthur
Cruikshank and Rena Cruikshank. The
Cruikshanks had been farmers in the Algona area since 1905, and that is where
Grefe spent her childhood. Grefe
graduated from Algona High School in June 1939, and attended Morningside
College in Sioux City, Iowa. She
graduated from Morningside with a B.A. in English and Speech in January 1943.
Grefe began her lifelong commitment to education soon
after graduation. Over the next few
years she taught high school and also at a junior college. Grefe served twelve years on the Des Moines
school board, twice as its president.
She later became involved with adult education. In 1972, President Richard Nixon appointed
Grefe as his personal representative to the UNESCO World Conference on Adult
Education in Tokyo, Japan. She was
appointed by President Gerald Ford to the National Advisory Council on Adult
Education beginning in 1974, and was its chair in 1976. Grefe also received a Mid-Continent Federal
Regional Council Award for Education in 1975.
Grefe continued her commitment to adult education through her
involvement in the Educational Foundation of the American Association of
University Women. Grefe was national
president of the AAUW from 1979 to 1981, as well as the AAUW Educational
Foundation president.
Grefe was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of
Fame in 1980. Grefe has published
articles relating to adult education, leadership techniques and the women’s
movement, as well as a leadership manual with Claire Fulcher titled Techniques for Organizational Effectiveness
(1973). Grefe founded LEAD Associates,
Ltd., in Des Moines, Iowa, to give instruction on improving the quality of
leadership in individuals as well as organizations.
Grefe has long been active in the women’s
movement. She represented the United
States as a delegate to international meetings on numerous occasions, including
the United Nations Mid-Decade Conference for Women in Copenhagen, Denmark in
1980, the United Nations Decade Conference for Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985,
and the Commission on the Status of Women in Vienna, Austria in 1988. Grefe visited China as a guest of the All
China Women’s Federation in November of 1986.
Scope and
Content Note
The Mary Grefe papers date from 1943 to 1997 and measure 1.5 linear feet. The
papers »are arranged in nine series: Biographical, Correspondence, Conferences, Organizational
Involvement and Activism, Politics, Rena Cruikshank papers, Travels, Writings,
and Photographs.
The Biographical
series (1943-1995 and undated) contains general information about Mary Grefe’s
life. The Honors subseries
contains certificates of appreciation and awards from businesses, colleges and other organizations, as
well as a copy of her
Honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the State University of New York. The Newspaper articles subseries
contains a variety of clippings ranging in topic from Grefe’s involvement in
the American Association of University Women and national politics, to
leadership
and feminist issues. Before she became
involved in the AAUW and political issues, Grefe spent several years as a high
school and junior college teacher.
Contracts, certificates and letters regarding this time are contained in
the Teaching experience subseries.
The Correspondence
series (1947-1997 and undated) contains personal as well as business letters,
including an invitation from Mrs. George Bush to a tea at the White House. Some correspondence pertaining to a specific
subject or activities can be found in other series. For example, letters from Grefe to her husband while she was on
to trip to China as a guest of the All China Women’s Federation are included in
the Travels series.
The Conferences
series (1972-1993) contains materials from and pertaining to international
conferences that Grefe attended. The
Regional Conference on International Adult Education subseries contains
the drafts in addition to the official program from that mini-conference in
Ames, Iowa. The United Nations
Decade Conference for Women subseries contains conference materials,
newspaper articles, a student research paper on that event, and materials from
a national follow-up summit in the United States called “Equality by
2000.” Grefe also attended the UNESCO
Third World Conference on Adult Education in Tokyo, Japan, as an advisor to
the United States delegation; the letters she wrote to her husband while she
was in Tokyo document Grefe’s thoughts and reactions to that conference.
The Organizational
Involvement and Activism series (1955-1995 and undated) concerns Grefe's
participation in various educational organizations. Adult Education
documents Grefe's support of Adult Education through her involvement in the
International Council for Adult Education and the National Advisory Council on
Adult Education. The Tinker vs. Des
Moines correspondence in the School Board subseries relates to the
book Be the Judge, Be the Jury: Tinker
vs. Des Moines, Student Rights on Trial by Doreen Rappaport, which is
shelved in the printed works collection.
Grefe was a member of the Des Moines school board when this Vietnam War
protest took place.
The Politics series (1976-1989) contains materials from Grefe’s
involvement in the Republican Party at the state and national levels. The Iowa subseries consists of
documents from Grefe’s campaign for the Iowa House. The National subseries includes
such
items as correspondence from President and Mrs. George Bush and an invitation
to the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan.
The Rena
Cruikshank series (1977, 1990) contains the papers of Grefe’s mother. Cruikshank organized the “Four Corners’
Mothers’ and Daughters’ Club” in Algona and was its first president from
1915-1917. This series contains a paper
that Cruikshank presented to the club at the age of eighty-six, and also a
program from one of its meetings.
Grefe visited China in 1986, and
this journey is documented in the Travels
series (1983-1988). The diary is
undated, but presumably from that trip and contains many descriptions and
impressions of what Grefe encountered while visiting schools, fabric mills, and
research facilities.
The Writings series (1966-1995) contains some Published
articles, but mostly Speeches that Grefe has presented. The speeches are organized by topic (e.g.,
volunteering, women’s issues, adult education) or by the organization to which
they were presented.
The Photographs series (1960-1989) contains photographs mainly from
public functions that Grefe attended such as conferences, meetings, and
political gatherings, and include photographs of Grefe with President George
Bush and other politicians.
Box 1
Biographical
Articles, 1956-1995 and undated
Honors, 1979-1989
Teaching experience, 1943-1947 and undated
Correspondence, 1947, 1979-1997 and undated [bulk 1979]
Conferences
Commission on the Status of Women, Vienna, Austria, March 14-23,
1988
Conference materials, 1988 [3 folders]
Regional Conference on International Adult Education, Ames,
Iowa, October 22-23, 1975
United Nations Decade Conference for Women, Nairobi, Kenya, July
15-26, 1985
General information, 1985
Briefing book, 1985
Box 2
“Equality by 2000,” 1986
Newspaper articles, 1985
Published materials, 1985
Research paper, 1993
UNESCO
Third World Conference on Adult Education, Tokyo, Japan, July 25-August 7, 1972
General, 1972
Correspondence, 1972
Memorabilia, 1972
Travel materials, 1972
Organizational Involvement and Activism
Adult education
General, 1974, 1976 and undated
Correspondence, 1972-1975
Publications, 1972-1989
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Centennial Book, 1981
Box 3
Conventions, 1979-1981
Correspondence, 1975-1990 and undated
American Association of
University Women (AAUW)
Educational
Foundation album, 1989 [to be disbound]
Fundraiser, undated
Publicity, 1979-1988 and undated
LEAD Associates, Ltd., undated
School board (Des Moines)
Correspondence
General, 1955-1961 and undated
Tinker vs. Des
Moines, 1992, 1994
Be the Judge, Be the Jury: Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student Rights on
Trial by
Doreen Rappaport, 1993 [shelved in printed works collection]
Newspaper articles, 1955-1959 and undated
Politics
Iowa, 1981, 1984 and undated
National
General, 1979-1989 and
undated
Gov. Edwin Edwards, Louisiana, staff appointment
certificate, 1976 [shelved in map case: drawer …]
Gov. Julian Carroll, Kentucky, staff appointment certificate,
1978 [shelved in map case: drawer …]
Rena Cruikshank papers, 1977, 1990 [Four Corners Mothers and Daughters
Club]
Travels
China
General, undated
Correspondence, 1986, 1988
Diary, 1986?»
Reference materials, 1983-1986
Writings
Published, 1973-1986
Speeches
General, 1966-1994 and undated
Box 4
Adult education, 1972-1980
and undated
American Association of University Women, 1969-1991 and
undated
General education, 1985, 1990 and undated
Leadership, 1987-1993 and undated
Volunteering, 1989-1990 and
undated
Women’s issues, 1974-1995 and
undated
YWCA, 1981 and undated
Photographs
General, 1960-1988 and undated
Adult education, 1970s and undated
American Association of University Women
General, 1971-1989
Educational Foundation album, 1989
[oversize: Box 5]
Nairobi conference, 1985
National politics
General, 1980-1989 and undated
Signed [President?] George Bush
photograph, undated [shelved in map case]
Signed photograph of Ronald Reagan,
Richard Nixon, George Bush, and Gerald Ford, undated [shelved in map case]
Tokyo conference, 1972
Box 5
Oversize:
Photographs
American Association of University
Women
Educational Foundation album,
1989