Dates

• Existence: 1904 - 2007

Biography

Lena Belle Bock was born June 30, 1904 in Linden, Iowa. She was raised on farms in Dallas and Fayette counties. Bock graduated from Stanley Iowa Consolidated Schools, then attended Iowa State and Iowa State Teachers College (now Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa respectively.) For eight years she taught home economics, government, and history in Swaledale and Klemme, Iowa. During World War II, Bock also taught in Hayfield, Iowa. Bock married Edwin F. Bock in 1931 and raised two daughters, Mary B. (Meg Bushnell (Mrs. Frederic R. Bushnell)) and Virginia M. (Virginia Lemire (Mrs. Robert A. Lemire)) in Garner, Iowa.

Bock was politically active for over twenty-five years before her election to the Iowa House of Representatives. Her activities included memberships on the Garner Town and Country Planning Committee, Building Committee of the Methodist Church, and Recital Club. She was the only female member and secretary of Hancock County Conservation Commission.

Stressing the impact of legislation on women's lives, particularly in the area of taxes and industrial growth, Bock, a Republican, campaigned for and won the House seat for Hancock County. Bock was one of the five women elected to the House in 1960. She is noted for her statement on women in the legislature: "Women in the legislature need to look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, and work like a dog.""

Bock served two terms in the legislature, from 1960 to 1964. During her tenure she was appointed to eight committees: Agriculture, Board of Control, Institution of Higher Learning, Motor Vehicles and Trucks, Commerce and Trade, School Libraries and State Education, State Planning and Development, and Roads and Highways. Bock was also involved in the remodeling of the House and Senate Chambers.

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