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Harriet E. Johnson Palmer papers

 Collection
Identifier: IWA0839

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Scope and Contents

The Harriet E. Palmer papers date from 1922 to 1926 and measure 2.5 linear inches. The papers consist of Coral Rose Johnson's 1912 commencement program from the State University of Iowa College of Medicine and a scrapbook kept by Harriet Emalyn Johnson from 1922 to 1926. The photographs, letters, and newspaper clippings in the scrapbook portray a young woman surrounded by her friends and nursing school cohort, engaged both her profession and a social life that calls to mind the "Roaring Twenties." Several of the photographs depict friends Palmer refers to as "The Bunch" or "The Dirty Five" clad in their nursing uniforms at school. Off work, the women are photographed picnicking in Ames and Greenwood Park and posing by the water on seaside vacations. Newspaper clippings include wedding announcements, police reports of public intoxication, and articles on local nursing schools or hospitals. Toward the end of the scrapbook, several photos captioned "The Juana Scenes - Scenes at La Jolla," depict Johnson and her friends on vacation in Tijuana, Mexico. One of these photos features two men laughing behind bottles of Oporto and whiskey, with the caption, "Thru Rose Colored Glasses." The clippings include quotes about success and hard work interspersed with witticisms of a new age: "A flapper is one who bobs her hair, powders her nose, and says to herself, 'Clothes, I am going downtown, if you want to come along, hang on.'" Palmer's clippings also highlight her scholastic life.  Photographs in the scrapbook depict nurses assisting in the operating theater, caring for an African American child, and other aspects of the profession. It is noted that there appears to be a mistake in the commencement program for Johnson's graduation in 1925 in which Johnson's name is listed as "Harriet Elizabeth Johnson" rather than "Harriet Emalyn Johnson." This was most likely due to a mix-up between Johnson and her grandmother's name, as all of Johnson's other papers refer to her as "Harriet Emalyn Johnson." 

Dates

  • Creation: 1912-1926

Creator

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

Harriet Emalyn Johnson Palmer was born in Seymour, Iowa in 1904 to John C. and Rilla E. Johnson, and was presumably named after her grandmother, Harriet Elizabeth Johnson. After she earned her nursing degree in 1925 from Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, Johnson was a practicing nurse throughout eastern Oregon, including a stint as head nurse at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg.

In 1933, Johnson married George Arthur ("Art") Hansen, to whom she was married to until his death in 1962. Following Hansen's death, Johnson then married Ernest Palmer. Harriet Palmer's obituary memorialized her as an avid traveler and camper, frequently fishing and hunting in eastern Oregon's abundant parks and forests. She died at the age of 94 in 1999 in Sutherlin, Oregon, sixty miles outside of Eugene. Harriet Palmer's aunt, Coral Rose Johnson Harris was born in 1891 in Seymour, Iowa to William and Harriet Elizabeth Johnson.

After spending her youth in Whittier, California, Johnson returned to Iowa to attend the State University of Iowa's School of Nursing, where she was one of twelve nurses to graduate in the 1912 class. Shortly after graduation, Coral Johnson married Eugene Harris in Burns, Oregon. She worked as a practicing nurse in various cities along the west coast into the 1960s. At the time of her death in 1982, Coral Harris was the last surviving member of her 1912 class. 

Extent

2.50 linear inches

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Scrapbook featuring the professional and social life of an Iowa nurse in the 1920's.

Method of Acquisition

The papers were donated by Debra Harris in 2008.

Author
Rebecca Boyle
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)