The Palimpsest

Schoenbaum, Tamara Holtermann

English

Coming of Age under Hitler, Truman, and Stalin

Smetak, Jacqueline

Women on the 
Home Front:
The Iowa WIPEs
by Jacqueline Smetak
R
osie the Riveter," the glamorous fac­
tory girl introduced in 1942 as a part 
of a federal campaign to encourage 
women to apply for defense jobs and 
to encourage employers to hire them, has 
long been a familiar icon of the Second 
World War [see above]. Less familiar, how­
ever, are the real life “Rosies," the women 
who overcame prejudice and their own 
doubts to contribute to the war effort, an ef­
fort that required both a massive increase in 
industrial production and radical changes in 
how things were produced and who pro­
duced them.
In Iowa, some of the real life “Rosies” were 
the women shown in the following images 
taken by Allison-Lighthall Photographers of 
Chicago, Illinois, for the Chicago and North 
Western Railway. Eight of the seventeen pho­
tos were published in the Clinton Herald May 
18, 1943; all seventeen are now in the collec­
tions of the State Historical Societv of Iowa./
The North Western hired women to work 
as WIPEs, or engine wipers, to clean and ser­
vice their locomotives in Boone, Council
174 THE PALIMPSEST
ALL PHOTOS THROUGH PAGE 181 SHSI (OES MOINES)
\\ INTER <><> 175-
Marcella Kees, one of the Clinton WIPEs, gives a locomotive a bath—a job, according to the Clinton Herald, “far 
different from the chore of washing out a few things at home.” In order to make women doing such heavy work 
seem "natural,” traditionally male jobs held by women were often described in feminized terms.
Women on the
Home Front
The Iowa WIPEs
by Jacqueline Smetak
R
osie the Riveter,” the glamorous fac­
tory girl introduced in 1942 as a part 
of a federal campaign to encourage 
women to apply for defense jobs and 
to encourage employers to hire them, has 
long been a familiar icon of the Second 
World War [see above]. Less familiar, how­
ever, are the real life “Rosies,” the women 
who overcame prejudice and their own 
doubts to contribute to the war effort, an ef­
fort that required both a massive increase in 
industrial production and radical changes in 
how things were produced and who pro­
duced them.
In Iowa, some of the real life “Rosies” were 
the women shown in the following images 
taken by Allison-Lighthall Photographers of 
Chicago, Illinois, for the Chicago and North 
Western Railway. Eight of the seventeen pho­
tos were published in the Clinton Herald May 
18, 1943; all seventeen are now' in the collec­
tions of the State Historical Societv of Iowa.__ j
The North Western hired women to work 
as WIPEs, or engine wipers, to clean and ser­
vice their locomotives in Boone, Council
174 THE PALIMPSEST
ALL PHOTOS THROUGH PAGE 101 SHSI (DES MOINES)
Marcella Kees, one of the Clinton WIPEs, gives a locomotive a bath—a job, according to the Clinton Hero/d,"far 
different from the chore of washing out a few things at home." In order to make women doing such heavy work 
seem "natural," traditionally male jobs held by women were often described in feminized terms.
WINTER 1995 175
Edith Bennis (in window on right) had run a beauty parlor and her father’s eighty-acre farm; now in 1943 she is 
running the turntable at the Clinton roundhouse while her husband works on an army construction project in 
Alaska. Women were often depicted as temporarily ‘‘stepping in" on the home front for their husbands and 
sweethearts away at the battlefront. However, according to historian Shema Gluck, by 1944, although one out of 
three female defense workers had been a full time homemaker before the war, only one in ten was actually 
married to a service man.
Bluffs, and Clinton, Iowa, as well as Chicago 
and Proviso, Illinois, and Green Bay, Milwau­
kee, and Madison, Wisconsin.
There were eleven and a half million 
women in the U. S. work force in 1940, most 
of them employed in low-paid, traditionally 
female jobs in light industry, domestic work, 
or the service sector. The overwhelming ma­
jority worked only out of grinding economic 
necessity largely because of the widely held 
opinion that women, particularly married 
women, shouldn’t he working and thus tak­
ing scarce jobs away from men. In rural Iowa 
where manufacturing and professional jobs 
were scarce, women generally worked beside 
their husbands, brothers, or fathers on the 
farm, in small businesses, or took on short­
term seasonal work for a little extra money.
By 1941, the war in Europe had changed 
all of that. Within a matter of months the na­
tion went from chronically high levels of un­
employment—20 percent in 1938; 14.6 per­
cent in 1940—to sudden and severe labor 
shortages, most alarmingly in crucial de-
176 THE PAL.IMPSEST
Thelma Cuvage, right, screens sand that will be used 
to add friction to the locomotive’s driver wheels. Her 
husband also contributed to the war effort by working 
in a defense plant in Savannah, Illinois, about twenty 
miles north of Clinton.“The WIPEs,” the Clinton Herald 
explained, “are the feminine engine wipers, who for 
the first time since World War I, have invaded the shops 
and roundhouses of the Northwestern railroad.”
AnnaWeseman cleans the cab of a Class H locomotive. 
“At first we did not know how they'd take to the job," 
remarked labor foreman W.J.Whalen about the WIPEs. 
“But the women soon convinced us that they look at 
all those dusty locomotives in the same way they do 
the job at a big, dirty house.” The Class H locomotives 
were the “largest of the Iron Horses in service on the 
Northwestern Line.”
Marcella Kees [or Martin?] shovels wet sand into a dryer.“The sand will be used in locomotives to add friction to 
driver wheels,” the Herald reported.‘‘The job is one of many formerly held by men and now handled by women."
fense-related industries. Industry and gov­
ernment responded to the need for more 
workers by hiring massive numbers of the 
previously excluded. In Iowa, the number of 
people employed in manufacturing nearly 
doubled from 64.773 in 1939 to 112,490 in
1947.
In the summer of 1941, President Roose­
velt issued Executive Order 8802 forbidding 
racial discrimination in defense industries, 
perhaps the first effective civil rights order 
since the Fourteenth Amendment. Many 
states suspended child labor laws—by 1943 
over three million children, aged twelve to 
seventeen, were employed in war work—and 
in some areas, vagrants were arrested and 
those with usable skills were offered amnesty 
if they’d go to work.
But the most significant addition to the de­
fense work force were the six million women 
who donned coveralls and bandannas to do a 
man’s job as well as any man. Iowa women 
were no exception as they stepped into tough 
jobs, replacing, as the Clinton [Iowa] Herald 
stated it, “their male predecessors who have 
gone to war or into higher-paying war 
plants.” The Chicago and North Western’s 
railroad yard at Clinton averaged about 
twelve trains a day, with seventeen women 
employed as WIPEs “greeting the grimy loco­
motives” as they came off the line: ‘They [the 
women] swarm over the steel giants and give 
them a bath of live steam and hot water un­
der pressure,” the Herald reported.
WIPEs worked a full eight-hour shift and 
then went home to their second job. This 
from the Clinton Herald: "The fact that she
has four children did not keep Mrs. Ralph O.
178 THE PALIMPSEST
tdith Bennis, a former beauty operator, stands on top of a locomotive to service the sand dome. A year later, in 
anticipation of the end of the war, newspaper articles would focus on the problems of juvenile delinquency 
supposedly caused by women abandoning their children in order to work, and the need to find jobs for GIs who, 
it was assumed, would be coming home soon.
TO =5*
1
“Lunch time—and time for feminine gossip for women 
laborers in the Northwestern railroad shops where 
the fair sex has taken over on the labor gang,” the 
Herald reported. W.J.Whalen, labor foreman in charge 
of the crew, spoke highly of the women:“They do the 
job with care and thoroughness that is difficult for a 
man to equal” From left to right: Marcella Kees, Bonnie 
Smith, Libby Seematter, Irene Brecher.Thelma Cuvage, 
Katherine Anderson, Emily Atzen, Viola Sievers, 
Dorothy Lucke, Marcella Hart, and Anna Weseman.
Weaver . . . from joining the WIPEs. Two of 
Mrs. Weaver’s children were old enough to 
take care of the youngsters each day until Mr. 
Weaver, who is employed at the Clinton 
Bridge Works, had time to slip on an apron 
and get the supper going, while his wife 
worked the 4 p.m., to midnight shift.”
But not to fear. Mrs. Weaver's sister came 
to live with them, joined the WIPEs, and 
signed up for the 8 a.m., to 4 p.m. shift, “so 
Mr. Weaver no longer will have to worry 
about the culinary end of this all-out for Vic-
tory business.”/
Women worked tough jobs in spite of dis­
crimination, unequal pay, notions about what 
they could and could not do, the difficulties 
of taking care of children and a house in the 
days before modern household appliances 
were common, a lack of help and child care, 
and the frustrations of chronic shortages and 
long lines at the grocery store. In a very real 
sense these women—of all ages, races, 
creeds, and colors—helped spell the differ­
ence between victory and defeat. □
NOTE ON SOURCES
Sources for this article included World War II: The Home 
Front: U.S.A. (Time-Life Books, 1977); Shem a Gluck. Rosie 
the Riveter Revisited: Women, The War, and Social Change 
(1987); R obert McElvaine, The Great Depression: America, 
1929-1941 (1993); Leland Sage, d  History o f Iowa (1974); 
Jacob Swisher, Iowa in Times of War (1943); and the Clinton 
Herald, May 18, 1943, pp. 3, 14.
180 THE PALIMPSEST
WINTER 1995
_  4 * r  : — rJS '■
«r* —
-  C . r * 1
“Lunch time—and time for feminine gossip for women 
laborers in the Northwestern railroad shops where 
the fair sex has taken over on the labor gang,” the 
Herald reported. W.J.Whalen, labor foreman in charge 
of the crew, spoke highly of the women:"They do the 
job with care and thoroughness that is difficult for a 
man to equal.” From left to right: Marcella Kees. Bonnie 
Smith, Libby Seematter, Irene Brecher,Thelma Cuvage, 
Katherine Anderson, Emily Atzen, Viola Sievers, 
Dorothy Lucke, Marcella Hart, and Anna Weseman.
Weaver . . . from joining the WIPEs. Two of 
Mrs. Weaver’s children were old enough to 
take care of the youngsters each day until Mr. 
Weaver, who is employed at the Clinton 
Bridge Works, had time to slip on an apron 
and get the supper going, while his wife 
worked the 4 p.m., to midnight shift.”
But not to fear. Mrs. Weaver's sister came 
to live with them, joined the WIPEs, and 
signed up for the 8 a.m., to 4 p.m. shift, “so 
Mr. Weaver no longer will have to worry 
about the culinary end of this all-out for Vic- 
torv business.
J
Women worked tough jobs in spite of dis­
crimination, unequal pay, notions about what 
they could and could not do, the difficulties 
of taking care of children and a house in the 
days before modern household appliances 
were common, a lack of help and child care, 
and the frustrations of chronic shortages and 
long lines at the grocery store. In a very real 
sense these women—of all ages, races, 
creeds, and colors—helped spell the differ­
ence between victory and defeat.
NOTE ON SOURCES
Sources fo r this article included  World War II: The Home 
Frort: U.S.A. (Time-Life Books, 1977); Shem a Gluck, Rosie 
the Riveter Revisited: Women, The War, and Social Change 
(1987); R obert McElvaine, The Great Depression: America, 
1929-1941 (1993); Leland Sage. A History uj Iowa (1974); 
Jacob Swisher. Iowa in Times o f War (1943); an d  the Clinton 
Herald, May 18, 1943, pp. 3, 14.
180 THE PALIMPSEST
WINTER 1995 181


Women on the Home Front: The Iowa WIPEs

The Palimpsest, vol.76 no.1, Spring 1995

Swaim, Ginalie

Exciting news from your editor
A n O ld  F rien d  
w ith  a N e w  N a m e
R
ecently a reader wrote to us: “I
always avoided your magazine be­
cause I didn’t know what a palimp­
sest was or how to pronounce the 
word (I still don’t know how!). But then I re­
ceived a gift subscription to the magazine 
and was delighted to discover it's about Iowa 
history. I ll bet there are many others like 
me who would enjoy the magazine if they 
weren’t scared off by its strange name."
This is a story all too familiar to me. As 
editor of the magazine, I'm naturally inter­
ested in reaching as wide an audience as 
possible. It’s frustrating to know that the 
name on the cover of the magazine may 
alienate people before they have a chance to 
discover what’s inside.
So it is with great excitement—and a few 
tears—that I announce that the magazine 
vou hold in your hands will be rechristened 
in 1996. For seventy-six years it has borne 
the intriguing and unique name The 
Palimpsest. Starting with the spring 1996 
issue, our new name will be Iowa Heritage 
Illustrated. (We’re following the standard 
publishing custom of naming a magazine 
what it is, and we think it has a nice lilt, too.) 
Our bigger size, about 8x11, will allow more 
variety in design and layout and more eco­
nomical use of paper.
This won’t be the first change, as you can 
see from a few sample covers shown here. 
Since 1920, it has grown from roughly 5x7 
inches to 7x10. The design of the nameplate 
has changed four times. Illustrations have in­
creased from none at all, to an insert of 
black-and-white plates, to today’s color im­
ages of photos, artifacts, and documents.
The cover has changed from a small brown 
cover, to a glossy solid-color cover with a 
small black-and-white photo, to our current 
showcase covers with full-size color photog­
raphy.
The growing visual richness of the maga­
zine reflects basic truths about the past—
that history is more than words, and that it 
isn’t black and white. We are reminded, too, 
that history isn’t just for people who recog­
nize unusual words like “palimpsest." There­
fore, after long study, we have decided the 
magazine needs a new, friendlier name.
“Why change the name now, after seventy- 
six years?” you ask. “It's a venerable and tin-
usual title. What’s more, I finally know how/
to pronounce it.”
I agree that the word “palimpsest," once 
learned, “trips along softly on the tongue 
this way” (as Meredith Willson says of “Gary, 
Indiana”). But, oh! to master that word "pal­
impsest.”
We’ve taken to heart what many of you, 
our loyal readers, have told us—in your let­
ters, survey responses, and phone calls with 
research questions or subscription orders. 
For nine years I’ve listened to our readers 
and researchers and writers puzzle over the 
word. I’ve provided it in awkward pauses in a 
conversation, modeled it when I sensed the 
speaker was deliberately skirting it. With
146 THE PALIMPSEST
foot-high flashcards, one per syllable, I’ve 
coached a busload of history enthusiasts on 
how to pronounce die name. And still 
people stumble over it, or ask, “Now, what 
does it mean again?”
Our reasons for changing the name are 
threefold. First, people who don't know The 
Palimpsest won't get a feel for the magazine 
from the name alone. As one reader advised 
some time ago: “Change the name to reflect 
Iowa history—nobody knows what it's 
about.”
Second, people have a hard time pro­
nouncing the name. “Even college graduates 
slur over it/' another reader confessed. “I 
haven't found an ordinary person who 
could pronounce the name.” Another re­
marked, "If you can't pronounce it, it is hard 
to sell it!”
Perhaps most important, for the magazine 
to k*eep bringing Iowa
historv to more/
people, it needs a 
name more people can 
understand. “I realize
the historical signifi­
cance of the name,” a 
reader commented,
“but perhaps another 
name might attract 
more subscribers.”
Even American writer 
Gore Vidal, whose au­
tobiography was just 
published, in a 1994 
interview remarked
about those memoirs: “They’re entitled 
Palimpsest—a word nobody will know.”
Many of our readers and writers and edi­
tors (including me) cherish the name and 
its long tradition. Some appreciate the title 
because history, like a palimpsest, has mul­
tiple layers. “It is probably the only unique 
name in the world repertoire of magazines, 
one reader wrote. Another thought the 
name “gives it distinction.” I agree, and I 
want you to know that this has not been an 
easy or quick decision. My colleagues and I 
at the State Historical Society of Iowa have 
struggled with this issue for years.
We have become convinced that we must
I've listened to our readers 
and researchers and writers
puzzle over the word. I've 
provided it in awkward 
pauses in a conversation, or 
when I sensed the speaker 
was deliberately skirting it.
focus less on our affection and respect for 
the word “palimpsest,” and more on our 
greater goal (and official mandate) of reach­
ing ever wider audiences with the fascinating 
story of Iowa’s past. A clearer title will also 
help you share your enthusiasm for the 
magazine with your friends who don’t yet 
subscribe. (Can it be that there are curious, 
thoughtful people who don't yet subscribe? 
Let’s bring them on board!) What’s more, a 
clearer name will bring more researchers to 
the magazine's solid research, and more 
classroom teachers and students to its acces­
sible information.
In the premiere Palimpsest in July 1920, 
founder Benjamin Shambaugh explained 
the magazine's aim: “that the story of our 
Commonwealth may be more widely read 
and cherished.” We are now taking another 
step forward in this tradition by replacing a
title on the cover that
unfortunately has been
#
to many a locked door 
with a secret password. 
We are changing it to a 
name that will be a 
wide-open door with a 
welcome sign.
What will not change 
is our commitment to 
bringing you four is­
sues a year chockfull of 
compelling Iowa his­
tory. In fact, we’re 
planning exciting new 
ways of presenting
more stories and photos in every issue.
Over the decades of The Palimpsest's exist­
ence, we have been heartened by your loy- 
alty to the magazine and to the cause of dis­
seminating Iowa history. Thank you. As we 
enter Iowa's 150th year of statehood, we 
want to count on your ongoing support for 
the magazine and its revitalized mission.
And for those of you have especially cher­
ished the name The Palimpsest, please give 
the new title—Iowa Heritage Illustrated—a try.
I think you'll soon find that this is a change 
for the better. Look at it as an old friend 
with a new name.
— The Editor
WINTER 1995 147


An Old Friend with a New Name

Norstrud, Karen Beane

Crinoids in the Sugar Bowl: Remembering my Grandfather, Amateur Paleontologist B.H. Beane

Goldberg, Marcia Chinitz

Atlantic's Canning Season of 1902

Myers-Verhage, Shelby

The Diaries of Anne Frank 
and Birdie Mathews
by Shelby Myers-Verhage
W
hile sightseeing in 
Washington, D.C. in 
August 1941, Birdie 
Matthews wrote in her travel 
diarv that she had seen the 
Magna Carta, “which has 
been sent here from England 
for safe keeping during the 
bombing.” In Amsterdam, far 
closer to the bombing, Anne 
Frank had not even begun 
her diary yet. She would re­
ceive it as a birthday gift from 
her father the next June.
Frank's diary would be 
short but intense and emo­
tionally honest. Mathews’s di- 
ary would be at first kept spo­
radically (during her travels), 
but then almost daily as she 
detailed her life in Danville, 
Iowa, as a retired teacher. 
Each diarist wrote about what 
was important to her. Each 
diary—as all diaries do—gives 
a unique view of the world.
Yet the Anne Frank diarv
/
that became known around 
the world was not exactly the 
same diary in which Anne 
first wrote. There are actually
three versions. She began her 
cloth-bound diary on her 
thirteenth birthday, June 12, 
1942. She wrote about the 
war (the families in hiding lis­
tened to the wireless daily) 
and her everyday experiences 
with those in the secret an­
nex. She wrote mostly for her- 
self, using the diary as a place 
where she could be alone and 
express her feelings.
On March 28, 1944, Anne 
heard a radio broadcast re­
questing letters and diaries 
detailing individual wartime 
experiences. She began to 
consider writing her experi­
ences as a book, calling it het 
Achterhuis (“the house be­
hind” or “secret annex”).
That May she began in ear­
nest to rework her original di­
ary for publication, recopying 
the entries onto loose-leaf pa­
per, adding and editing selec­
tions, changing the names of 
some of the people in the an­
nex. She edited her entries 
through March 29, 1944.
At the time of her arrest
on August 4, 1944, Anne’s 
original diary and her revi­
sion were left behind. Otto 
Frank’s co-worker Miep Gies 
gathered them up to save for 
Anne. When Anne's death 
was confirmed, Gies gave 
them to Otto, who had not 
read his daughter's diary be­
fore this.
Otto Frank soon began to 
translate excerpts into Ger­
man to send to his mother in 
Switzerland. At first he trans­
lated portions for family and 
friends only, but after ex- 
cerpts were shared with the 
publishing community, the
diarv soon became a work for/
a larger audience. A pub­
lisher worked closelv with/
Otto Frank in editing the di­
ary, selecting largely from his 
excerpts. (Otto did not wish 
passages about Anne's diffi­
culties with her mother and 
certain intimate entries to ap­
pear.) This version was pub­
lished in the Netherlands in 
1947 and in the United States 
in 1952. All three versions of
NOTE ON SOURCES FOR PAGES 152-161
Besides the various editions o f  the A nne Frank diary m en tioned  in die p reced ing  articles, the biographies AnneFrank (1985) by 
Tina T ridenti; AnneFrank: Beyond the Diary (1992) by Ruud van der Rol and Rian Verhoeven; and  The Last Seven Months o f Anne 
Frank by Willy Lindwer (1991) were useful. T he Frank sisters’ co rrespondence  to the W agner sisters is at the Simon Wiesenthal 
C en ter in Los Angeles. Sec the Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1988) for a com m ent from C ornelius Suijk, in te rna tional director of 
the A nne Frank Foundation  in A m sterdam . R egarding Birdie Mathews, the au th o r interview ed o r corresponded  with 
Mathews’s relatives and  fo rm er students (Bob Dodds, B onnie Ja n e  Hayward, Don Kellar, Vivian Kellar, Don Mathews, Cyrene 
Wagner, Vera Mathews, and  Roger and  C aroline P arro tt). Betty Ann W agner was particularly helpful. M arjorie Fitzsimmons 
loaned co rrespondence  from  Mathews. J o h n  H aefner, professor em eritus, University o f  Iowa, provided background on school­
ing practices in Iowa p rio r to World War II. Local sources include the Burlington Hawkeye and  Des Moines County News, Jan  .-June 
1940, and The History o f the Danville Community (1966) by Jam es I. Garrels and David R. Gerdes. T h e  Birdie Mathews Papers, now 
in the State H istorical Society o f Iowa collections (Iowa City), includes Nancy B auer's 1967 Burlington Hawkeye interview, other 
clippings, teaching m em entos, and  postcards. A nnotations to these articles are in The Palimpsest p roduction  files.
160 THE PATIMPSEST
the diary now appear to­
gether in The Diary of Anne 
Frank: The Critical Edition 
(1989). An unabridged ver­
sion of the 1952 diary was
#
also recently published.
B
irdie Mathews, the
teacher who arranged 
the pen-pal exchange 
for Anne Frank and Juanita 
Wagner, also was a devoted 
diarist. Her diaries, recently 
donated to the State Histori­
cal Society of Iowa by Vivian 
and Don Kellar (Birdie 
Mathews’s grandnephew) be­
gin with travel diaries kept 
during her frequent trips and 
her post-retirement winters in 
Florida and California. Each 
entry was carefully handwrit­
ten on loose-leaf or plain typ­
ing paper, or in composition 
books or unused teacher 
record books.
Once retired, Mathews de­
voted even more time to her 
diaries, writing nearly every 
day until her death at age 
ninety-four in 1974. She de- 
tailed her everyday activities 
and daily regimens with great
care. For example, an entry 
from October 15, 1967, 
reads: “Rainy all day. The 
chili supper scheduled for to­
morrow night called off on 
account of the flu epidemic.” 
In an entry from February 
22, 1959, she wrote, 
“Washington’s 228th birth­
day. Cold. The Gerdes boys 
came with their snow plow 
and shovel and cleaned the 
snow from my walks. Paid 
them $1.25.” At times her 
topics expanded to world 
events. On July 19, 1950, the 
eve of the Korean War, she 
noted: “Listened to President 
Truman’s message tonight. 
Sounds exactly like Dec.
4
1941. Must we go through all 
that again? God forbid.” 
Mathews seldom recorded 
deeply personal perspectives, 
although some of her earlier 
travel diaries include a few 
poems and reflections on her 
travels. Although lacking the 
emotional impact or histori­
cal significance of Anne 
Frank’s adolescent diary kept 
while hiding from the Nazis, 
the Birdie Mathews diaries
give us a glimpse into the or­
derly life of a rural Iowa 
teacher who tried to broaden 
her students’ and commu­
nity’s world view by sharing 
her experiences. The portrait 
that emerges from the Ma­
thews diaries is of a career 
school teacher who organized 
her life as she did her diary 
pages—with clarity and de­
tail.
“lowans are fortunate to
have rediscovered the story of/
Birdie Mathews, as it serves as 
a strong reminder of the role 
lowans can play in world af­
fairs,” remarked Mary Ben­
nett, audiovisual archivist at 
the State 1 listorical Society of 
Iowa (Iowa City), where the 
Mathews diaries are now 
housed. “Rather than remain 
complacent and uninvolved, 
this school teacher took an 
active interest in events across 
the globe. She encouraged 
her students to look outside 
of their relatively secure lives 
in Iowa in order to gain in­
sights about the turmoil 
faced by people like Anne 
Frank. Her diaries and writ­
ings are significant because 
they document her worldly 
attitude and the experiences 
she gained while traveling 
abroad. It is fortuitous that 
her family preserved these re­
search materials for future 
generations, so we can gain a 
new perspective on how 
World War II impacted 
lowans.” □
Left: Selections from the Birdie 
Mathews papers: her letters from 
Europe published in the local 
newspaper: diary entries for 1945 
in a teacher’s planning book; and 
loose-leaf pages of her 1961 diary.
WINTER 1995 161
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Ify S & frSIL, a
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The Diaries of Anne Frank and Birdie Mathews

150th Anniversary of the Sifirninfr of the 
Declaration of Independence
----- AUSPICES OF-----
K n ig h ts  of the
K U  K L U X  K L A N
Of Union County, at Worsley’s Grove
7 Miles Southwest of Creston and 4 Miles North of Kent
ALL DAY AND EVENING
G R E E N F I E L D  B A N D
w,M * *
B A S E B A L L  G A M E
3;30IN AFTERNOON
Swift & Co. “Night Hnwks” v*. Kent’s Ball Team; Tug of War, Union Coon- 
tv Against All Comers; Fat Men's Race; Potato Race; Horse Shoe, and Many 
Other Attractions. J
GOOD SPEAKING
Patriotic Reading. Good Music by Kent’s Male Quartette and Others
FIREWORKS IN EVENING
EVERYBODY WELCOME. COME AND CELEBRATE
THE PUBLIC INVITED
PLENTY TO EAT AND DRINK ON THE GROUNDS.
‘WHITE RIDER
IN  T H E
KLUX KLAN
Solloo p k l Jr* wnaalion, play lag U’packed hou»*4 crarjw herti TL* 
\inic picturr- «’vor prodixvd, iotorwoten Into oce of tb* gn« tast 
V Many «>cjJ!cd Klan i4cturc* hate bct)b exhibited, but don't
R obe and h o o d  (h e re  on 
m a n n e q u in ) w e re  used in 
W a te rloo  area. Posters announce 
movie White Rider and picnic in 
G reenfie ld, and ce lebra tion  o f 
“  150th Anniversary o f the Signing 
o f th e  D e c la ra t io n  o f  In d e ­
pendence, Auspices o f Knights o f 
th e  Ku K lu x  K lan  o f  U n io n  
County.”
Images
of the Ku Klux Klan 
in Iowa
PHOTOS BOTH PAGES BY CHUCK GREINER 
POSTERS FROM ADAIR CO UNTY HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY (G R EEN FIE IO . IOWA)
iFE 3 E 3 (-t - = 3 C = = = ]G 3G
KLUXKLAN
LABOR DAY CELEBRATION
Under Auspices of Union County Klan Organization
CRESTON, IO W A
MONDAY9 SEPT.
WEST SIDE OF McKINLEY LAKE
F o r e n o o n ,  A f t e r n o o n  a n d  E v e n in g
k  1 n  O* Afternoon and evening' by our Nation’s 
111  ̂  best. Plenty of entertainment all day long
O N  G R O U N D S
$300 Cash Prizes
B « t Band $123.00
Best McnV Drill Team $20.00. $15.00. $5.00 
Best Ladle** Drill Team $20.00, $10.00, $5.00 
Largest Robed Delegation 570.00
Prizes for Floats $10.00.8.00, 5.0ft. L00. 3.00 
Union Count} Will Not Compete
L argest Firey 
Cross Ever 
Seen in Iowa
K 1 m  \\/W l  ̂TH) O* At 2:30  p. m. this Sacred Ceremony will be
11 11 'I'i U il V v v, 'Ll La li II II ^  given inside the human cross under the Flag
B i g  C a r n i v a l  E n t e r t a i n m e n t s  
M u s ic  b y  S e v e r a l  B ig  B a n d s
E X T R A ! EXTRA! E X T R A !
An added, mysterious feature will be given at 10:30 p.m. No 
American should miss this two hours of ENTERTAINMENT. Some­
thing different which is alone worth more than the price of admission
^_____Bring Your Dinner and be E n te rta in ed !_____
Everyone Welcome; Bring the Children; Everything for Your Comfort
A d m is s io n  2 5  c e n t s ;  C h i l d r e n  U n d e r  12  F r e e
3G 3G DG
In case of rain will be held nex t day. 
31DC IE3E1I
66 THE PALIMPSEST
FROM COLLECTIONS OF ADAIR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (GREENFIELD. O W A |
OURTESV CHEROKEE AREA ARCHIVES
^bove: Klan members pose proudly with 
loat in Sioux City, O ctober I I, 1924. 
Opposite: Poster (circa 1925) fo r the 
Plan’s Labor Day celebration in Creston 
promises the “ Largest Firey Cross Ever 
>een in Iowa” and “ an added, mysterious 
eature" at 10:30 p.m. “ No American 
should miss this two hours of ENTER­
TAINMENT.” The Klan often used carni- 
'al-type events, baseball games, bands, and 
Parades to attract the public and draw huge
:rowds.
SUMMER 1995 67
I
i
PALIMPSEST
Greenfield, in Adair County, was a Klan 
stronghold and home of Iowa’s Grand 
Dragon. Left: Amidst patriotic decora­
tions, center tables form a cross at Klan 
banquet in Greenfield. Below and right: 
On August 24, 1926, the $50,000 Adair 
County Klan headquarters was dedicated. 
Note crosses in window glass. “ We dedi­
cate this building,” the dedication service 
reads, “ For aggression against evil, the en­
couragement of right, the sanctity of the 
home, to foster Patriotism and Education 
in American and Christian citizenship to 
ever keep America Protestant."
KLAN DEDICATES
ADAIR KLAVERN
GREENFIELD
10,000
$50,000 Structure.
C O R R E S P O N D E N T.
Greenfield, la.,  Aug. 24 (Spe­
c ia l )— Adair klavern, the new  
$50,000 headquarters of the Ku-  
Klux klan here, was dedicated to­
day by grand officers of the state  
order, before a crowd estimated at 
10,000 persons.
The klavern is the first build­
ing of its kind to be constructed  
by the klan in Iowa. No demon-  
stration was reported on the part
FROM COLLECTIONS OF AOAlR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (GREENFIELD. »OWA|
_ __ .ue Kiavern grounds at 
noon, where a barbecue dinner 
was served.
Greenfield is accredited with  
being the klan's stronghold of 
the state. Friction at times hag
cT̂ Tr ttt rue Kiavern grounds at 
noon, where a barbecue dinner 
was served.
Greenfield is accredited with
FROM CO LLECTIO NS OF AOAIR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (GREENFIELD. IOWA)
68 THE PALIMPSEST
CO URTESY JEFF M AR TIN  SMSI (IO W A CITY)
Greenfield, in Adair County, was a Klan 
stronghold and home of Iowa’s Grand 
Dragon. Left: Amidst patriotic decora­
tions, center tables form a cross at Klan 
banquet in Greenfield. Below and right: 
On August 24, 1926, the $50,000 Adair 
County Klan headquarters was dedicated. 
Note crosses in window glass. “We dedi­
cate this building," the dedication service 
reads, “ For aggression against evil, the en­
couragement of right, the sanctity of the 
home, to foster Patriotism and Education 
in American and Christian citizenship to 
ever keep America Protestant."
10,000 See ^Ceremonies at 
$50,000 Structure.
-  » -  -  r w -
by sta ff  correspondent .
Greenfield, la., Aug. 24 (Spe­
c ia l )— Adair klavern, the new  
$ 5 0 ,0 0 0  headquarters of the Ku- 
Klux klan here, was dedicated to­
day by grand officers of the state 
order, before a crowd estimated at 
10,000 persons.
The klavern ia the first build­
ing of its kind to be constructed 
by the klan in Iowa. No demon­
stration was reported on the part
^  -----* ---  ̂
rfj £f£Vivf*v$£
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
INYISIB
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
To a ll  Genii, Grand Dragons ms and Furies, K leagles, Gia 
r and Citizens o f the Invisible 
hts of she K u K lu x  Klan, repK N O W  Y E
he having served fa ith fu lly , hone. having been satisfactory 
to his advancement to
HTHOOD]
B Y  V IR T U E  OF T H IS  CERTIFIC .
< 3
&
£  T 3
in  the loyalty of
irtue of the authority vested in  me and as
onors and shall receive a ll courtesies due
t L O Y A L T Y .
• K u KJux KJan, a t the Imperial Palace 
'o affix my Seal on this the 1**IP  f i t  A.
FROM COLLECTIONS OF AOAIR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (GREENFIELD. IOWA|
Above: A t an Ottumwa funeral in 1925, 
despite the family’s intentions, the Klan 
joined the funeral procession of a man who 
had joined the Klan late in life.
Left: Certificate, women’s constitution,and 
combination songbook and fan. One lyric: 
“ I’m for the U. S.A./A member of the Klan/ 
A real American/Believe in the public 
school/Live the Golden Rule/And that 
makes a real, real man.”
SUMMER 1995 71
SMSI |K )W A CITY)
D E S  M O IN E S  R E G IS T E R . 6/20/26
Above: Ku Klux Klanners march in evening 
rain in Des Moines, June 12, 1926, follow­
ing a state-wide convention (o r“ klorero”). 
The Des Moines Register estimated the pa­
rade as “ th irty three blocks long” with ap­
proximately 3,000 members. Here, the 
marchers pass Eighth Street on Locust. Op­
posite: Poster for parade.
72 THE PALIMPSEST
FROM COLLECTIONS O f  AO AIR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (GREENFIELD. IOWA)
/
SPEC TA C U LA R
8 P.M 8 P.M
DES MOINES. IOWA
TURDAY JUNE 9 1926
PRECEDED DY
PUBLIC KLONKLAVE & PICNIC
— h i i 11
11:00 A.ni. TO 6:00 P.M.
' t- » * {r* . i P
A d d resse s  By P ro m in e n t  S p e a k e rs  a n d  S ta te sm e n
BA N D  C O N C E R T S 
DRILL PATROLS
Q U A R T E T S 
DRUM CORPS
IOWA STATE FAIR GROUNDS
Admission 25c Gate 25c Grandstand
Special R ates on all Rail a.nd Electric Lines In Iowa
PUBLIC CORDIALLY IN V ITED
SUMMER 1995 73
FROM COLLECTIONS OF ADAIR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (GREENFIELD. IOWA)
KLANSMEN, 
KLA’S WOMEN
AND KRUSADERS
IOWA .
THURS., JULY 3 0 S j J
ADAIR COUNTY KLAN, REALM OF IOWA, INVITES ALL KLANS- 
MEN, KLANSWOMEN, KRUSADERS, AND THE PUBLIC 
IN GENERAL TO BE WITH US AT FONTANELLE
THURSDAY, JULY 30th, 1925
B ig  p a ra d e  o f  R o b e d  K la n s m e n , K la n s w o m e n ,  K ru s a d e rs , B a n d s , M o u n te d  P a t r o ls ,  F lo a ts  a n d  D r i l le d  K a v a l ie r s .
$ 5 0 0 .0 0  W O RTH O F F IR EW O R K S
$200  Cash Prizes
$ 5 0  FOR B E S T  BAND
A d a ir  C o u n ty  B a n d  N o . 6 2  N o t  A l ­
lo w e d  to  C o m p e te .
$ 2 0  TO THE CO UNTY
H a v in g  M o s t K la n s m e n  in  th e  P a ra d e  
O u ts id e  o f  A d a ir  C o u n ty .
FOR PLT. BEST DRILLED MEN
1 s t, $ 1 5 .0 0 ;  2 d ,  $ 1 0 .0 0 ;  3 d ,  $ 5 . 0 0 .
PLT. BEST DRILLED WOMEN
1 s t, $ 1 0 .0 0 ;  2 d .  $ 7 . 5 0 ;  3 d ,  $ 5 . 0 0 .
Prizes For Floats
1 s t, $ 1 0 .0 0 ;  2 d ,  $ 7 . 5 0 ;  3 d ,  $ 5 .0 0 ;
4 t h ,  $ 4 ;  5 t h ,  $ 3 ;  6 t h ,  $ 2 ;  7 t h ,  $1.
S P E A K IN G
A t  G ro u n d s  b y  N a t io n a l  L e c tu r e r .
S ta te  O f f ic e rs  w i l l  be  p re s e n t .
Parade at 7:30 p. m.
COME EARLY! YOUUL BE ENTERTAINED!
FONTANELLE, IOWA 
THURSDAY, JULY 30 th
I  - O  - W  - A.
74 THE PALIMPSEST
CHE HOKE t AREA ARCHIVES
SUMMER 1995
Above: Robed Klansmen ring the audience 
at a 1924 rally in Cherokee. Klan speakers 
used patriotic rhetoric and local issues to 
fire up support among midwesterners, 
who saw their traditional way of life threat­
ened by changes in America’s power struc­
ture. Opposite: Fireworks and cash prizes 
also helped attract the public to a rally in
Fontanelle. □


Images of the Ku Klux Klan in Iowa

Underwater Iowa - Where Graceful Crinoids Once Swayed in Ancient Seas

Spitzer, Alan B

A Historian's Memory of the Second World War

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