Dorothy Pearl Unmack Dix papers

Collection — Folder: 1

Identifier: IWA0449

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Dorothy Pearl Unmack Dix papers consist of photocopies of a manuscript memoir that measures one linear inch. Dorothy Dix wrote the memoir intermittently from 1982 to 1990. A typescript of this memoir and an introduction by the author's daughter Catherine Dix Bonham are also included. Dorothy Dix wrote in a plain, factual style and describes her childhood activities and schooling in the Loess Hills area of Harrison County in western Iowa. She describes berrying, riding to school on horse-drawn buses, shopping, and working as hired help during high school. She also describes the clothing worn by young girls of the time. The memoir details her marriage, the austerities of the Depression, the loss of their family farm, and the careers of eight healthy children.

Dates

Creation: 1982-1999

Creator

Dix, Dorothy Pearl Unmack, 1908-1997 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Dorothy Pearl Unmack was born February 8, 1908 near Magnolia in Harrison County, Iowa. Her parents were farmers and descendants of German and Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants. During most of her childhood, the family moved between Calhoun township and the town of Magnolia. Dorothy Unmack received her education in both towns and graduated from Magnolia High School in 1926. She married a neighboring farmer Ernest Dix, in November of the same year, and together they raised eight children. They farmed on his family's farm until they moved first to Magnolia during the Depression and then to Missouri Valley during World War Two. When Dorothy Unmack Dix's youngest child was in third grade, she enrolled at Omaha University for teacher certification. She taught for eighteen years before retiring. In 1988, when Ernest Dix died, they had sixty-one grand and great-grandchildren. Dorothy Dix died in 1997.