Dates

• Existence: 1900 - 1986

Biography

Dorothy Gahring Clark was born August 24, 1900 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At age twenty-one, she decided to become a Methodist deaconess and moved to Missouri in 1922 to attend the Kansas City National Training School for Deaconesses and Missionaries. After graduation in 1925, Dorothy Gahring served for three years at First Methodist Episcopal Church in Pittsburg, Kansas. She moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1928 to work as a parish worker and ministerial assistant at Central Methodist Episcopal Church under the direction of Dr. S. H. Turbeville. Although the deaconess position was eliminated in 1931, she remained active in church activities throughout her life, whether as an organist, Sunday school teacher or a member of the administrative board into the 1970s.   Dorothy Gahring married Stillman Clark on September 5, 1931. Stillman Clark was a postal worker for forty years and was an active member of the American Legion and Memorial Day Committee. The Clarks had two children: Charles, who died at birth, and Esther May Clark, who was born in 1935. Esther May Clark composed the Iowa Flag Song in 1946; it was adopted as the official state flag song by the Iowa Legislature on March 24, 1949.   Dorothy Clark was active in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) beginning in 1942 and with the Children of the American Revolution (CAR) beginning in 1952. These organizations offered an outlet for her interests in local history and patriotism. She served as the Oskaloosa Chapter DAR regent from 1952 to 1954 and National Regional Vice President of CAR, 1955-1958.   Stillman and Dorothy Clark were directly involved in the formation of the Mahaska County Historical Society (MCHS) in 1940-1942 and during the acquisition of the Nelson Pioneer Farm in July 1958. Stillman Clark was president of the MCHS from 1947-52 and curator from 1952-1962, whilst Dorothy Clark was Historian and Editor of the News Bulletin from 1952-1962. After her husband's death in 1962, Dorothy Clark became president of MCHS, serving from 1962-65, and subsequently served as curator and museum director from 1965-1969, continuing to have various roles until 1977. During her tenure, the Nelson house was restored, the Craft Day Festival was created and the Iowa Local Historical and Museum Association (ILHMA) founded. Dorothy Clark conducted research and writing on Mahaska County history, focusing on pioneer and Indian heritage. She wrote extensively about Chief Mahaska, his descendants and Iowa Indians, and about the Iowa 33rd Regiment in the Civil War. Some of her completed works include; "Glendale Road," "Daniel Nelson, His Family and Homestead," "A Century of Marked and Dedicated Memorials," and "Chief Mahaska: Man of Peace." On March 8, 1968 the Aliso Canyon Chapter of the DAR in California awarded Dorothy Clark the Diamond Jubilee Award for her work on the Nelson Pioneer Farm and Museum. Dorothy Clark died November 12, 1986.

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