The Ortha Harstad papers date from 1968-2008 and measure 20 linear inches. The papers are arranged in three series: Biographical, Travel, and Artifacts.

The Biographical series includes a copy of a 2008 Cedar Rapids Gazette newspaper clipping about Harstad, a selection of her writings and favorite quotations, and an article about her in the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation Winter 2003 newsletter.

The Travel series dates from 1968-2003 and contains a variety of original materials: photos, postcards, journal manuscripts, itineraries, maps, and pamphlets related to Harstad’s travels. Many of these manuscript materials are included in the two bound volumes of Travel Journals. These volumes include typed or copied narratives detailing Harstad’s travels around the world. Volume 1 contains travel accounts from 1968-1990 of trips to: Canada, countless states and cities in America, the Caribbean, Africa, Spain, Mexico, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, and South America. Volume 2 contains travel accounts from 1991-2003 of trips to: many states and cities in America, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Aruba, England, Canada, France, Norway, Switzerland, and Austria. Volume 2 also contains travel journals of others, entitled: 1. Ruthanne (Harstad’s daughter) and Grandma Harstad’s Trip to Hawaii, 1982; Emma Harstad’s Canadian Journal, 1987; and Emma Harstad’s New York Journal, 1988. Grandma Harstad, or Emma Harstad, was the mother of Kenneth Harstad. The Travel Journals and manuscripts in the Travel series include both narrations of what the individuals did on their trip, as well as facts about the locations they visited.

The Artifacts series consists of a National ERA t-shirt from a 1977 Springfield, Illinois rally and an original silkscreen by artist and Cedar Rapids NOW chapter member Mary Ann Williams with the “Sisterhood is NOW” logo and design. With the t-shirts, is a tag labeled Ruthanne Harstad and explains that the shirts were “worn by peace activists to G. Washington High School of Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Veterans Memorial Stadium” in spring of 1970.