The University of Iowa Libraries

Irene Winifred Else Hoover, farm woman, 4-H leader, and volunteer, was born in Mahaska County and graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1924. She married Carl W. Hoover, a fellow farmer, the following year. She devoted considerable time and care to their first child Elvin, who was born with significant health and developmental problems. Their second son Dale enjoyed an abundance of health, eventually graduating from the University of Chicago with a Ph.D. in Economics. During their childhood, Irene Hoover led a girls' 4-H club. After they were older, she chaired the Mahaska County Farm Bureau Women's Committee and served on its state board. She attended the Associated Country Women of the World conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1950 and represented the Iowa Farm Bureau Women at the annual meeting of the Rural Health Council of the American Medical Association in Portland, Oregon in 1956. That year, she was honored as a Master Farm Homemaker. She became involved in international exchanges in the 1960s, hosting many visiting international guests. She was a member of the Board of Social Welfare of Mahaska County for twenty years, beginning in 1962. She served on the Iowa Legislative Study Committee for Mental Health in 1956 and 1962. Nominated as Iowa Mother of the Year, she became a "Merit Mother" in 1963. She co-chaired the Mahaska County Republican Party for four years and belonged to various women's clubs. She joined and was active at the national level in the Friends Church. Her husband, Carl W. Hoover, died suddenly in 1973. Irene Hoover and her son Elvin Hoover moved to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1988 to be closer to Dale Hoover, then on the faculty of the University of North Carolina. Irene Hoover passed away September 2, 2001.

The Irene Hoover papers date from 1923 to 2001 and measure 10 linear inches. The collection includes folders concerning her family, Farm Bureau activities, activities with other organizations, her international visitors, and photographs. There are a few personal letters and a photocopy of a family photograph,but the collection consists primarily of publications, programs, and photographs of the various organizational events with which she wasinvolved. There are notes of undated speeches she delivered, as well as notes taken during the 1950 tour of Europe. The collection also contains good records of the visits of the international guests to Mahaska County duringthe 1960s. The bulk of the photographs depict groups of women at various organizational events.

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.712) were donated in 2000 by Dale Hoover.

Preferred Citation: Irene Hoover 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

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Hoover, Irene

Corporate Names:
Farm Bureau (Mahaska County, Iowa) Women's Committee
Associated Country Women of the World
Associated Country Women of the World Conference
Iowa Master Farm Homemakers Guild

Dates:
20th century
2000-2009

Topics:
4-H clubs
Rural women
Rural families
Women in agriculture

Occupations:
Farmers
Volunteers
Community activists
Homemakers

Geographic Names:
Mahaska County (Iowa)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Photographs
Speeches
Yearbooks
Scrapbooks
Personal papers

Browse:
Rural and Farm Women
Women's Clubs and Organizations