The Blog of Special Collections and University Archives at Iowa State University
Physical education and kinesiology (exercise sciences) have long been an important part of the Iowa State education. Today we celebrate that tradition with some snapshots of exercise activities on campus over the years.
Feel free to walk, skip, run, bike, however you choose to move, over to the reading room on the 4th floor of Parks Library to see our collections in person!
March is the anniversary of the creation of the Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station at Iowa State. The Experiment Station was founded as a result of legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in 1887. Known as the Hatch Act, the legislation provided for the funding of agricultural research at Land Grant Colleges. In February of 1888, the Iowa General Assembly approved the terms of the Hatch Act and the Iowa Experiment Station was established. Administrative oversight of the Experiment Station was assigned to the Board of Trustees of the Iowa Agricultural College (Iowa State University). The Board, in turn, elected Captain R. P. Speer as the first director of the Experiment Station.
The work of the Experiment Station included improving and experimenting with various crops. The Station was equipped with (among other things) experimental orchards, fields, and farms. Farmers across the state were invited to contact the Station for help with their crops and domestic animals.
136 years after it opened, the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station is still doing its important work.
The Experiment Station is not a building or location. It is a program of research that is supported in part with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the State of Iowa. At Iowa State University, these public investments support research aimed at solving our state’s most pressing concerns in the areas of food safety, food security, natural resource stewardship, and the economic health of Iowa communities.
IA Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station homepage
The Experiment Station regularly produced Bulletins to disseminate their information and research. Many of these can be read in the Digital Repository. Many more Bulletins can be accessed by visiting the Special Collections and University Archives reading room.
Iowa State University has a long, historical relationship with the Iowa State Fair. Iowa State has presented exhibits at the fair for different colleges, supported 4H in their endeavors, and had Extension present to help teach the community about new technology like electricity (see photo below).
To celebrate this long relationship, we have a new exhibit on the 1st floor of Parks Library. The exhibit features photos of the “Butter Cow lady”, Norma Lyon, an alumna of Iowa State, 4H artifacts, general fair artifacts, and some of the earliest pictures we have from the State Fair in 1915.
Feel free to stop by whenever the library is open!
Gallery Images:
Starting after Memorial Day, the reading room will be open 10-4, Monday-Thursday.
As always, we can also be reached by email at archives@iastate.edu. Hope everyone has a fun and restful summer planned!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Iowa State community! This holiday has a historically special place in Iowa State’s early traditions. Starting in 1910, the engineering students held a celebration that included a parade that led them to downtown Ames (see picture below). In later years, the day also became an open house for engineering. In 1922, this celebration, along with several others, were wrapped together to become the VEISHEA celebration.
There are several other blog posts you can explore to learn more about this tradition.
We are excited to present a new genealogy workshop this winter. On February 2nd from 2-3 pm, we will be highlighting the resources available in Special Collections and University Archives as well as other resources that are free to use. You can register and find more information here.
In this workshop you will learn what resources are available through the Iowa State University Library, Ames Public Library, and other local history organizations. We will also provide tips on how to move forward with your research when your family history has not been as well documented as those with ancestors who came from Europe.
Registration is available both on-line and in person, but don’t hesitate as spots are filling fast!
The resources and materials held in the Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) are vast and varied. If someone mentions using SCUA for their research, the first thing that likely comes to mind is historical research. And while SCUA is a great place for that, we have so much more to offer. Here are some examples that may be helpful in reframing how you look at SCUA and how we can serve you.
In our collections we hold the records of the Iowa Crop Improvement Association. As part of that collection, we have records of the corn yield test from 1920 to the present. This contest was designed to determine the best growing varieties of corn in 4 different districts in Iowa. This wealth of information is a bounty for agricultural researchers.
One interesting major at Iowa State is biological and premedical illustration. Over the years, students from this major have visited SCUA to view books such as Flowers of the Brazilian Forests by Margaret Mee. The students have an opportunity to view the book not as a historical document, but an example of the type of illustration they are learning to make for their career.
Iowa State is the proud home of one of the best public fashion design programs in the country. Should an aspiring fashion designer be searching for inspiration, they need look no further than the Mary A. Barton fashion illustration collection. The collection (1776-2008) contains plates of general fashion dating back to the 18th century and continuing through the 20th century. You can see many of the fashion plates online (pre-1923). Of course, 19th century fashion doesn’t directly correlate to modern fashion, but it’s just one more great place to get inspiration. Or, if you are looking to recreate clothing from the past, we also have patterns!
These are just a few examples of the endless possibilities for research to be done in SCUA. Stop by anytime, we’d love to see you! We are open Monday-Thursday, 9-5, no appointment required.
Now that fall is officially upon us, it’s time to think about delicious fall foods. We have a large collection of Iowa cookbooks here in Special Collections and University Archives, so of course, there are a lot of soup recipes to go with that!
Historic cookbooks are always interesting for what they reveal about the intended users. Notice that the directions are vague and the measurements rare. These are things home cooks would have been expected to figure out and know for themselves. Whether you’re looking to study cookbooks of the past or looking for some new recipes to try yourself, cookbooks from this collection are available digitally and many more are open for research in our reading room. Happy fall, y’all!
We frequently get requests from patrons for records of people linked to the “State University of Iowa.” This is a very understandable request. It only serves to reason that the “State University of Iowa” would be the forerunner to “Iowa State University.” However, this is not the case, and we need to refer those patrons to contact the University of Iowa special collections and archives. In this post, I will explain some clues we use to figure out the discrepancy and how the names have changed over the years.
Founded in 1847, the University of Iowa is legally the State University of Iowa. The Board of Regents made the decision that they can go by University of Iowa for everyday usage in 1964 (Source). I see this most often on theses of students of the State University of Iowa.
Iowa State University was founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm (though the first class did not start until 1868). “In 1898, the name was changed to the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, to reflect the engineering curricula…” (A Sesquicentennial History of Iowa State University, 313). It wasn’t until July 4, 1959 that Iowa State College officially became a university.
When a request comes in, there are a few clues we use to determine whether a question is for us or for the University of Iowa. If anyone mentions a medical or dental degree, that’s pretty much a guarantee that we need to pass the letter on. Other major areas of study can be a clue, but there is less certainty (like English/writing or art). A mention of Iowa State as a university pre-1960s is often a clue, but not a guarantee since the patron could know that it was technically a college at the time, but using the current nomenclature when asking their question.
Of course, if you’re not sure if your question is for ISU or UI, please don’t hesitate to send it our way! We’ll be happy to let you know whether we can help you or if you’ll need to search elsewhere. We take reference inquiries at archives@iastate.edu.
St. Patrick’s Day was historically a special day at Iowa State. Why, you may ask? Well, St. Patrick is the patron saint of engineers! He earned this honor by “teaching the Irish to build arches of lime mortar instead of dry masonry” (Engineers Ireland).
The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Iowa State was held March 17, 1910. Beginning at 8:30 in the morning, members of the Civil Engineering Society paraded around the campus, wearing tall top hats and pushing their flag bearer in a wheelbarrow. The group paused for a program of songs and speeches on the steps of Beardshear Hall. They then proceeded to downtown Ames, where they were addressed by Mayor Parley Sheldon. In the afternoon, the Civil Engineering juniors played baseball against the seniors—the seniors won, 13-10. Roller skating and a banquet brought the day to a close.
Though St. Patrick’s Day began as a day of entertainment, by 1913, it was also serving the function of an open house for the Engineering Division. Each department had a display. Outstanding senior engineers were inducted into the Knights of the Order of the Guard of St. Patrick, an engineering honorary. The inductees were “knighted” with a slide rule, by the “Engineer’s Lady” who had been selected by a student vote at the Engineer’s Campfire during fall semester. St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated from 1910 until 1921. The Knighting of the Guard of St. Patrick was incorporated into the VEISHEA ceremonies from 1922 to 1926 and then the ceremony was added to the Engineer’s Campfire festivities. (Previous 2 paragraphs researched and written by Becky Jordan, Reference Specialist.)
Everyone have a fun and safe St. Patrick’s Day, especially our friends in engineering!
Cardinal Tales 