Georgana Falb Foster papers
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Scope and Contents
The Georgana Falb Foster papers date from 1939 to 2002 and measure 2.8 linear feet. The papers are arranged in three series: Biographical,Camp Fire Girls, and Artifacts. The bulk of the papers pertain to Foster's activities within the Camp Fire Girls from 1939 to 1954.
The Biographical series contains a biographical sketch of Foster. Also included in this series is a brief history of Foster's childhood home in Elgin, Iowa, as well as items relating to her time spent in India.
The Camp Fire Girls series contains correspondence from Georgana Falb, mostly to her family, while a camper and camp counselor at Camp Hitaga from 1940 to 1946, and seven scrapbooks documenting her time there. Also included within this series are a number of materials relating to social recreation activities and the history of Camp Hitaga. The series also contains correspondence from her time as a camp counselor at Camp Hiwela in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, as well as materials from Foster's association with the Iowana Council. The end of the series includes books about camp counseling and campcraft that were used by Georgana Falb Foster during her time with Camp Fire Girls. A memoir pertaining to her years connected with the Camp Fire Girls is also included.
The Artifacts series contains numerous items relating to Falb's involvement with the Camp Fire Girls, including a ceremonial gown and collar, award jewelry, camp T-shirts, and a beaded vest. Also included within the series are a sari uniform and three pins, all from India, pertaining to Falb's work there as a missionary from 1949 to 1952.
Dates
- Creation: 1939-2002
Creator
- Foster, Georgana Falb, 1928- (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
Georgana Mary Falb was born May 15, 1928 in Postville, Iowa to George Harry Falb and Myrtle Marie (Kerr) Falb. She grew up in the agricultural town of Elgin, Iowa. Her father was a postmaster and automobile dealer, as well as the mayor for fourteen years. Her mother taught physical education and home economics and coached the girls basketball team. Falb attended the Elgin public school, graduating in 1945 as valedictorian.
In high school, Foster worked in the public library and a canning factory, as well as delivered newspapers. Falb became active with the Camp Fire Girls in 1940 and served as a camp counselor for three years at Camp Hitaga in Walker, Iowa during the summers of 1945-1946 and 1953. In 1947 she was a camp counselor at Camp Hiwela in Wild Rose, Wisconsin. During 1954, Falb worked as a Field Secretary and Day Camp Director for the Iowana Council of Camp Fire Girls in Cedar Rapids.
Falb attended Upper Iowa University from 1945 to 1947 before transferring to the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa), where she received a B.A. in sociology in 1949. She earned a second B.A. in General Studies from the University of Massachusetts in 1989. The degree was a self-designed program and focused on South Asian studies, emphasizing popular art and worship of Hindu goddesses.
From 1949 to 1952 Falb worked as a short term missionary in India with the Women's Division of Christian Service of the Methodist Church. While there, she met her future husband, John Henry Foster. They wed on September 4, 1954 at the Providence, Rhode Island, Friends Meeting, a Quaker church. While her husband attended graduate school, Georgana Foster worked as a secretary/receptionist for the Family and Children's Service in Ithaca, New York from 1954 to 1957. After this, she was the Secretary to the Director of the Smith College Nursery School from 1957 to 1958. Other organizations that Foster volunteered for include the League of Women Voters of Amherst, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and the Leverett, Massachusetts, Town Historical Commission.
Extent
2.80 Linear Feet
Photographs in Box 5; one DVD [d168] and one CD [d169]. boxes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
A participant in the Camp Fire Girls between 1940 and 1954; materials include correspondence, scrapbooks and a memoir.
Method of Acquisition
The papers (donor no. 638) were donated by Georgana Foster in 2004. .
Subject
- Camp Fire Girls. Iowana Council (Organization)
- Camp Hitaga (Organization)
- Foster, Georgana Falb, 1928- (Person)
- Camp Hiwela (Organization)
Genre / Form
- Archives (groupings)
- Autobiographies
- Cultural artifacts
- Diaries
- Memoirs
- Oral histories
- Personal papers
- Photographs
- Scrapbooks
Geographic
Occupation
Temporal
Topical
- Author
- Elizabeth Engel, 2004; Jessica Lawson, 2014.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- eng
Repository Details
Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)
lib-women@uiowa.edu