IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
TITLE:»
MELBA GARDEMANN OLSON
(1909-2000)
PAPERS, 1916-1993
5 linear inches
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ACQUISITION: |
The papers were donated by Karen Symonds (donor no. 670) in 1999. |
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ACCESS: |
The papers are open for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright held by the
donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
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PHOTOGRAPHS: |
Box 1. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Doris
Malkmus, 2001. [OlsonMG.doc] |
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Biography
Melba
Gardemann was born to John and Clara Schlotterback Gardemann in South Dakota in
1909. In 1911, the family returned to
Iowa by train. After moving twice, they
settled on a farm near John Gardemann’s parents, whose daughter Luella was
close in age to Melba Gardemann and her brother Merle. Melba Gardemann spent
her young womanhood cleaning, helping with washing, ironing, gardening, and
raising poultry. She belonged to the
Fremont Busy Bee 4-H Club of which her mother was a leader. She attended Newhall High School and made
the basketball team as a sophomore. She
and her two aunts, Luella Gardemann Boddicker and Marie Gardemann, played on
the Newhall team. In their senior year,
Melba and Luella Gardemann played in the 1927 girls’ high school state
basketball tournament, winning the state championship for Newhall. The Des Moines Register chose Melba and
Luella Gardemann as forwards for the All-Tournament team. Melba Gardemann graduated that year and was
class salutatorian. Her parents sent
her to Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa, for
the two-year, elementary school teacher’s training course. She graduated in 1929 and taught in Whitten
for four years, then in nearby Conrad.
She taught the high school girls’ physical education course in both
towns.
In May 1936, she married Merle Olson. Because teachers were dismissed upon
marriage and jobs were scarce, Merle and Melba Olson kept their marriage a
secret the first year so that she could continue teaching. She left her job before 1937 when their
daughter Karen was born. A daughter
Kaylene followed in 1943. Merle Olson
operated a print shop, bought and sold the Benton
County Star newspaper and finally the Dysart
Reporter in 1945. Melba Olson edited its news page until 1954
when they bought an insurance agency in Dysart. They retired in 1972 and Melba Gardemann Olson died in 2000.
Scope and Content Note
The Melba Gardemann Olson papers
date from 1916 to 1993 and measure 5 linear inches. They consist of the reminiscence “The Life Story of Melba
Gardemann Olson,” one scrapbook [disassembled], and two photograph albums. The donor assembled the donated scrapbook
from items in other scrapbooks without any particular order. It has been disassembled for preservation
purposes. Pages of the scrapbook
containing photographs have been photocopied to show original order. The scrapbook contains primarily school
records and programs from Olson’s education and teaching career as well as many
newspaper clippings concerning the 1927 high school girls’ basketball
championship game. The photograph
albums include many pictures of Melba Gardemann and her school mates. These papers and photographs convey the camaraderie
and excitement surrounding the 1927 Newhall girls’ high school basketball team.
Box no. Description
Box 1 “The
Life Story of Melba Gardemann Olson,” 1993
Scrapbook [disassembled], 1920s-1977
1916-1930
1927
1929-1935
1920s-1936
1950-1977
Photographs,
1920s-1950s
Fremont
Busy Bee 4-H Club photograph album, 1924
Photograph album, 1920s