IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
DOROTHY SPROUT PLACE (1921-
)
MEMOIR, 1993
1 linear inch
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ACQUISITION: |
The memoir (donor no. 547) was donated by Dorothy Place in 1998. |
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ACCESS: |
The memoir is open for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Doris Malkmus, 1999. [WORD 7
PlaceDorothy.doc] |
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Biography
Dorothy
Sprout was born on July 8, 1921, to LeRoy and Edith Sprout near Emmetsburg in northwestern
Iowa. She grew up on farms and
graduated from Emmetsburg High School in 1938.
While in high school, she took a teacher certification course and taught
rural school. When World War II began
and her classmate and future husband, Harlan Place, left for officer training,
she visited him at the Air Force bases where he was stationed. They were married July 19, 1944 in
Emmetsburg. After their marriage,
Dorothy Sprout Place moved near the bases where Harlan was stationed, returning
to Emmetsburg, where the first of her five children was born. After the war, the parents of Harlan Place
retired to Emmetsburg and Harland and Dorothy Place moved onto the Harlan
family farm which they farmed for thirty-five years.
Dorothy
and Harlan Place were busy in the family farming enterprise. Dorothy Place was active in the Freedom
Township Women’s Club, which her mother-in-law helped to organize. She and Harlan Place retired to Emmetsburg.
Scope and
Content Note
The
Dorothy Place collection consists of one item, a fifty-nine page reminiscence
entitled “The War Years, 1938-1945 -- The Story of How World War II Shaped My
Life.” Written in 1993 from diaries
kept after her graduation from high school and until she and Harlan settled on
his family farm after the war, the reminiscence provides a personal narrative
of a farm woman’s experiences of courtship, work, travel, marriage, and young
motherhood during World War II. It
gives an insider’s account of the daily life of a young wife living near
military bases during the war and of the enduring friendships that developed
between the families of servicemen.
Related Collections
Edith
Sprout memoir
Edith Sprout was the mother of
Dorothy Sprout Place
Freedom
Township Women’s Club (Palo Alto County)
Dorothy Place was a member of this
club from 1945 to 1998.
Box no.
**PRESS <control n> to indent each level.**