I
IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
MAHASKA COUNTY FARM BUREAU
WOMEN'S COMMITTEE
NORTHN
HISTORY, 1971-1998
2 linear inches
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ACQUISITION: |
The history (donor no. 627) was
donated by Betty Barnard in
1999. |
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ACCESS: |
The history is open for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been retained by the authors. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Doris Malkmus, 1999. |
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History
The Mahaska County Farm Bureau developed in the second decade of the twentieth century as part of the statewide, grassroots effort to provide agricultural and homemaking science to Iowa farmers. Although originally part of the Iowa State University Cooperative Extension, the Farm Bureau separated from the extension service in 1955 and became the largest political and corporate organization representing farmer interests in Iowa. In 1920, Mrs. Ellsworth Richardson, an active Mahaska County Farm Bureau member, became chair of the county women’s group. With the support of the Mahaska County Farm Bureau, she spearheaded the development of an independently organized, statewide women’s Farm Bureau committee. She insisted that the women’s chair have a seat and full voting privileges on the board of directors of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. Richardson was elected chair of the statewide women’s committee in 1923.
Since
that time, women in the Mahaska County Farm Bureau have maintained their own
local, county, district, and state committees.
Farm Bureau women have actively engaged in promoting agriculture,
safety, and nutrition in their communities.
They actively lobby on political issues, provide leadership to local 4-H
groups, and undertake a wide variety of civic and personal betterment
projects. In the last two decades, Farm
Bureau women have also joined the traditionally male Farm Bureau groups at the
local, county and state level.
Scope and
Content Note
The
Mahaska County Farm Bureau Women's Committee history dates from 1971 to 1998
and measures 2 linear inches. The
history consist of a 1971 typewritten history and an addendum composed of the
annual reports of the Mahaska County women’s committee from 1920 until
1998. Josephine Van Zomeren compiled
the annual records into a history of the women’s committee from 1920 to
1971. Both the history and the annual
reports list the names of township groups and their officers, county officers,
and committee chairs and members. Brief
reports about the projects and other events sponsored by Farm Bureau women's
committee for each year are included in the history and annual reports.
Box no. Description
**PRESS <control n> to indent each level
SCVF