IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
IOWA PORKETTES
RECORDS, 1964-1996
19.2 linear feet
|
ACQUISITION: |
The records (donor no. 700) were
donated by the Iowa Pork Producers Association in 2000. |
|
ACCESS: |
The records are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyrights
held by the donor have been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
AUDIOVISUAL: |
Cassettes
located in audiocassette collection. [AC551] |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
Box 22 and
oversize. |
|
PROCESSED
BY: |
Doris
Malkmus, 2001. [Iowa Porkettes.doc] |
History
On the initiative of the newly formed National Porkettes, the Iowa Porkettes organized in January 1964 as an auxiliary to the Iowa Pork and Swine Producers Association (IPSPA). Starting with a group of forty members, the first president of the Iowa Porkettes Jan Jackson recruited over two hundred members by the end of the year. Within the first two years, the Porkettes adopted pork promotion as their primary goal. This included promoting pork at fairs and supermarkets and after 1965 organizing the rules for and conducting the annual Pork Queen contest on a more formal basis. The Porkettes also worked with schools to introduce pork information into the home economics curriculum. To finance these activities, the Iowa Porkettes sold pig-related items at fairs and conferences and in 1976 created the fully owned, for-profit company Iowa Pigskin Sales Company (IPSC).
Early Porkette officers organized groups at the
county and district level, increasing the membership from 410 in 1972 to 5671
in 1979. With increased membership,
Iowa Porkettes expanded their promotional activities. Concern about liability motivated them to incorporate as an
independent organization in 1976, linked to the IPSPA by a memoradum of
understanding. The IPSPA by this time
had changed its name to the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). As the Iowa Porkettes grew in size, the
organization acquired a more professional identity. Many members expressed a feeling that the name “Porkettes” did
not reflect this new identity, but in 1984, the membership voted by a narrow
margin to retain the name “Porkettes.”
Many members also felt the Pork Queen no longer reflected women’s role
in pork production, but most members recognized that the Pork Queen had evolved
into a polished, professional, and highly effective, public-relations
spokesperson.
In 1986, the National Pork Board allocated federally
mandated pork promotion funds to the IPPA.
With the new income, the IPPA hired additional staff, paid mileage to
its officers and committee members, and distributed high quality promotional
materials. With little discussion, the
IPPA gradually included Porkette members on many of its committees. Over the next four years, the IPPA and
Porkette committees merged completely.
Without committees to oversee, there was no longer a compelling reason
to maintain a distinct women’s auxiliary board and the Iowa Porkettes dissolved
in 1991.
Additional history is found in the “History and
Organizational Structure” series; the first project book, compiled by Kathryn
Louden in 1973; and in the IPPA organizational history Iowa Pork and People by Donald Muhm.
Scope and Content Note
The Iowa Porkettes records date from 1964 to 1996 and measure 19.2 linear feet. The collection consists primarily of committee and board records from the late 1970s and 1980s, materials relating to promotional events, and a series of scrapbooks, called “project books” compiled by Porkettes to document their activities. One oral history interview was conducted by Doris Malkmus as part of the Rural Women’s Project at the Iowa Women’s Archives and has been added to the collection. It is filed in the History and structure series. This interview was conducted as a means of gathering information to supplement the official Porkette records. Documents of the interview includes transcribed notes of round-table discussions on March 21, 2001 and April 18, 2001. At the first roundtable, officers Kathryn Louden, Karen McCreedy, Donna Keppy, Joan Nossaman, Esther VerMeer, Karen and Robin Gingerich, Joyce Oberman, and Margaret Ledger discussed founding and the later history of the Porkettes. Robin Gingerich and Doris Malkmus kept notes and Doris Malkmus moderated. At the April 18th roundtable, founding members Mary McNutt, Kathryn Louden, and Myrtle Keppy discussed the founding of the National Porkettes and the Iowa Porkettes. Neither roundtable was taped, but afterward, members unanimously selected Kathryn Louden as a spokesperson for a recorded interview of the founding years of the Porkettes and Judy Anton as spokesperson for the history of the Iowa Pigskin Sales Company. Esther Ver Meer, IPPA member and President of the National Pork Board, agreed to be interviewed about the growth and dissolution of the Porkettes. An interview with Kathryn Lauden was conducted, but interviews of the other women have not been done. These oral and written records contain detailed documentation of women’s roles in commodity organizations and the subtleties of gender identities as women’s auxiliaries integrated the previously all-male organizations.
The collection is divided into ten series: History and structure, Board of directors, Meetings, Committees, County organizations, Promotional events, Activities, Iowa Pigskin Sales Company (ISPC), Other organizations, and Photographs.
The History and structure series includes organizational chronologies, taped interviews by Doris Malkmus, lists of leaders and award-winners, and by-laws. It also contains by-laws from organizations with formal and informal links to the Iowa Porkettes.
The Board of directors series includes a fairly complete record of the minutes and correspondence of the full board and the executive committee of the board. Sporadic minutes from joint IPPA and Iowa Porkette executive boards are also included. The Meetings series includes minutes and correspondence related to the quarterly meetings of the full membership.
The Committees series provided detailed information on most of the activities of the organization. It includes the records of committees on finances, by-laws, promotions, Pork Queen contests, the State Fair, and educational activities. The project books, located in this series, form a complete and readily accessible account of all Porkette activities for any given year.
Although most counties in Iowa had Porkette organizations, county records are rarely included in this collection. Existing records have been preserved under the County organization series. The Promotional events series includes records of a wide variety of annual, single-time, and on-going events. The files of several committees--State Fair, Metropolitan, and Queens--also contain information about promotional events.
The Activities series includes a full run of the Lady’s Pork Journal, other intermittent publications, and a speaker corps manual. Before the Porkettes published their own journal, the Porkette president wrote a column for the IPPA newsletter. These columns are found in a scrapbook compiled by Kathryn Louden covering 1964 to 1972. Annual project books from 1973 to 1988 are included in this series. After 1977, state project books were assembled with standardized plastic covers provided by the IPPA. The 1977 project book is boxed in its original cover. The plastic covers of later project books have been removed and any ornamentation on the cover stored with the contents of its scrapbook.
The Iowa Pigskin Sales Company series includes financial records, sewing manuals, slides of pigskin fashions, and a scrapbook. More information about the IPSC can be found on the oral history tapes of Judy Anton.
The series Other organizations includes materials from affiliated groups—the Iowa and National Pork Producers Association and the National Women’s Pork Council—as well as related industry groups.
The Photographs series consists primarily of photographs of Pork Queens contestants and a photo album of Pork Queens. Additional photographs of Porkette officers and members at various events are located in the annual project books.
Box no. Description
Box
1
History and structure
Twenty Year History, 1984
Twenty-eight
Year History,
1992
Collected materials for Twenty-eight Year History, 1992
Reunion round-table, March 21 and April
18, 2001 transcriptions, 2001
Oral history interview with Kathryn
Louden, 2001 (AC 551)
Charter member address book, 1964
List of officers, 1975, 1983-1988,
1990-1991
Election of officers, 1982
Executive committee of board of
directors, 1985
By-laws
Porkettes
1964-1991
County organizations, 1979, 1988
Iowa Pork Producers Association, 1988 and undated
National Porkettes, 1972
National Pork Council Women, 1988
National Pork Producers Council, 1986 and undated
Unification of Porkettes and Iowa Pork Producers Association, 1990 and undated
Committees
1977-1980, 1983, 1985
Annual reports, 1979-1986
Iowa Pork Producers Association, 1986-1991
District and Committees, 1991
County organizations
Charters, undated
Iowa Pork Producers Association
Leadership Directory
1977
1982
Box 2
1983
1986; two-year directory,1986-1987
Membership meetings
1964-1969
1970-1973
Board
of directors
Minutes
1976-1992 (16 folders)
Executive committee minutes
1974-1979 (5 folders)
Box 3
1980-1991 (8 folders)
Correspondence
1973-1990 (15 folders)
Box 4
Presidential papers
Karen McCreedy, 1976-1978
Meetings
Annual
1973-1980 (10 folders)
Box 5
1981-1990 (10 folders)
Membership
1974-1979 (6 folders)
Box 6
1980-1991 (12 folders)
Committees
Plan of work
1977-1978
1979
1983-1987 (5 folders)
Administrative Study, 1984
Awards
1978-1979
1980-1983
1984-1988 (5 folders)
Budget and Finance
1974-1977
Box 7
1978-1982 (5 folders)
Finance and revenue development
1983-1991 (8 folders)
Contributions, 1987-1988
Insurance, 1984-1988
Tax forms, 1984-1991
Ledger
1986-1987
1987-1988
1988-1989
1990-1992
Box 8
By-laws
1977-1979
1981-1989 (9 folders)
Communications, 1983
Craft, undated
Credentials, 1982-1987
Delegate, 1987-1989 (6 folders)
By-laws
Display, 1984
Fellowship, 1988
Fine meats, 1977-1980
Ground pork, 1977-1980
Box 9
Iowa chop, 1976-1980
Long range planning, 1977-1986
Manuscript, 1986
Membership
1974-1987 (11 folders)
Box 10
1988
1989
Certificates and awards, undated
Metropolitan
1978-1985 (5 folders)
1988
Newsletter
1978
1983-1988 (6 folders)
Nominating
1977-1978
1982-1984
Pork in Education
1976-1979
1980
Conference exhibits, 1978
Education and nutrition
1981-1986 (6 folders)
Box 11
1987-1991
Undated
Packet, 1985
Project books
1975-1988 (11 folders)
Box 12
Contest results, 1981-1988 (8 folders)
Awards, 1991