Access: The papers are open for research with the exception of the correspondence which is closed until January 15, 2041.

Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 882) were donated by H. Elaine Lindgren in 2007.

Preferred Citation: Beulah Wiederrecht 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

Beulah Minder Wiederrecht, a teacher and homemaker, was born in 1905 to Hannah and John Minder on their farm near Muscatine, Iowa. She began teaching in a country school at age eighteen, and later, after receiving a teaching certificate from Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa), taught in the Wapello public schools. In 1931 she married Kenneth Wiederrecht and retired from teaching. The couple lived on a farm near Wapello, Iowa, and had two daughters: Lois and Elaine. After World War II, relief agencies solicited clothing and other items for the European victims of World War II. Beulah Wiederrecht donated some clothing, and the families who received it wrote to thank her. Wiederrecht located a Polish woman living in Burlington, Iowa, who translated the letters for her, and thus began a four-year correspondence between Wiederrecht and the two Polish families. Wiederrecht maintained a lifelong interest in world affairs, taught Sunday school, and was a 4-H leader for many years. Beulah Wiederrecht died in 1983.

The Beulah Wiederrecht papers date from 1946 to circa 1995 and measure 4 linear inches. The papers consist of an unpublished essay written by Wiederrecht's daughter, sociologist H. Elaine Lindgren, that analyzes the correspondence between Wiederrecht and two Polish families after World War II, and the documents that formed the basis for the essay. Those documents include the original Polish letters, the translations of those letters, notes written by the translator, letters written by Beulah Wiederrecht to the Przybysz and Zwingeta families in Poland, and a few newspaper articles about the translator's life story. Lindgren's essay seeks to show "the possibility of establishing primary ties, even with strangers, in order to reestablish a sense of order in chaotic circumstances.

Related Materials

Land in Her Own Name by H. Elaine Lindgren shelved in the IWA printed works collection  [F636 L56 1991].

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Wiederrecht, Beulah, 1905-1983
Lindgren, H. Elaine

Dates:
20th century

Topics:
Rural women
War relief
War victims

Occupations:
Teachers
Homemakers

Geographic Names:
United States -- Iowa -- Wapello
Poland

Genre/Form of Materials:
Correspondence
Archives
Personal papers
Photographs

Family Names:
Przybysz family
Zwingeta family

Browse:
Rural and Farm Women