| Date Span: | 1920-1999 |
| Creator: | Tucker, Bertha Korn (1908-2010) |
| Extent: | 2.00 linear feet. |
| Collection Number: | IWA0434 |
| Repository: | Iowa Women's Archives |
| Summary: | Writer and life-long student who was active in the Sisterhood (Jewish aid society) at the Beth El Jacob Synagogue in Des Moines and Hadassah, a national organization aiding disadvantaged Jews, primarily children. |
Bertha Korn Tucker is a writer and life-long student who has lived in Iowa for almost her entire life. Bertha Ida Korn was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 25, 1908. She was the youngest of five children born to Shana Ethel Hoffman and Samuel Koen, who had emigrated from Lithuania just a few years before her birth. Growing up in the "Jewish ghetto" of Des Moines, she faced a great deal of prejudice. She graduated from North High School in1926 and completed her two-year Certificate in Education from Drake University in Des Moines two years later. Throughout her life, she has held a variety of jobs including kindergarten teacher, typist, and secretary.
In 1937, she married Isadore Tucker, an Oelwein businessman in the automobile salvage industry. After living briefly in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Washington, D.C., and Petersburg, Virginia, she settled back in her hometown with her family. Tucker had two children and is a devoted parent, grandparent, and great-grandparent. She has been involved in the Sisterhood (Jewish aid society) at the Beth El Jacob synagogue in Des Moines and served as program director for Hadassah, a national organization which aids disadvantaged Jews, primarily children. She has also been an active member of the Yiddish class at Bethel Jacob, for which she translated dozens of songs, poems, and short stories. Tucker has always been deeply committed to Jewish culture and history.
Tucker re-enrolled at Drake University and was awarded a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis on English, in 1969. She continued to take courses at Drake over ten years after her graduation, well into her seventies. Since elementary school, her true love has always been writing. Over the years, she has amassed an impressive body of work, having composed over forty short stories and poems in both English and Yiddish.
Alternate Extent Statement: 3 reel-to-reel audiotapes
Photographs in Box 1
Access: The papers are open for research.
Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.
Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 637) were donated by Bertha Korn Tucker in 1999.
Preferred Citation: Bertha Korn Tucker papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.
| Repository: | Iowa Women's Archives |
| Address: | 100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242 |
| Phone: | 319-335-5068 |
| Curator: | Kären Mason |
| Email: | lib-women@uiowa.edu |
| Website: | http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa |
Browse by Series:
Series 1: PERSONAL LIFE
Series 2: CREATIVE WRITING IN ENGLISH (5 folders)
Series 3: ACADEMIC PAPERS
Series 4: WRITINGS AND TRANSLATIONS IN YIDDISH
Series 5: JEWISH-THEMED WRITINGS
This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.
