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In Memory of Dr. Joan Iversen

~ Honoring Her Legacy Through Building A Scholarship and Sharing Our History

In Memory of Dr. Joan Iversen

Monthly Archives: March 2014

Joan Iversen “will be remembered forever in my heart”

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by Nancy J. Smyth in Reflections

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Former Student

remember by jenny downing

remember by jenny downing

It’s been over 30 years since I graduated from Oneonta, but the one teacher I will always remember fondly is Ms. Iversen. I was so fortunate to have an educator who was incredibly passionate about the subjects she taught and her enthusiasm permeated throughout each student. I become a history devotee after my “Iversen Classes.” In all of my years of schooling, it was one of the few courses I really looked forward to, was excited about and remember to this day. I honor and thank you Joan as my all time favorite teacher. You will be remembered forever in my heart.

~ Allan Infeld (1981)

Photo (remember) courtesy of jenny downing on Flickr

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She moved us each … vacation thru family maneuvers with the precision of a field General

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Nancy J. Smyth in Reflections

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Family

Pictured in front of Lake Michigan, with the Chicago Skyline in the background.

A family vacation to Chicago in 1972
Left to right, front: Kristen Iversen, Jill Iversen, Terry Smyth, Tod Iversen
Left to right back: Jack Iversen, Joan Iversen, Nancy Smyth

Joan was my mom in the truest sense of the word.  As a step-daughter I spent many years trying to bridge the gap between child and step child, trying to figure out what makes a ‘real’ mom…trying to find the steps I would need to be a ‘real’ child not a ‘step’ child.  What I discovered was that, as with all things, Joan, had already figured out what I struggled so long to learn.

Love, respect, perseverance mixed with healthy doses of high expectations, seemingly inexhaustible energy and patience which often morphed into stubbornness as she made her thoughts…or dictates known and more importantly had them obeyed….these were the ingredients she used to build a family where there was once none.

How did she take five vastly different, sometimes insecure and lonely children, two parents, a dog and four cats and bend them to her will?  What tools were in this family building arsenal that she employed?  In a word, her master plan revolved around the all important teaching time known as  “Vacation”

She moved us each spring and summer vacation thru family maneuvers with the precision of a field General.  We were given our marching orders as we prepared for our many trips into the world as a collective unit, orders which we either followed to a “T” or we learned to get out of the way and blame Jill.

Our travels brought us to every historical village, monument , battle site and museum that Joan could use to enrich our knowledge and love of history. She would educate us, expose us to culture and use shared experiences to fill the holes we had lived in.  What she never counted on was that the ways in which  a small and mischievous herd of children would interpret the wonders of history and how this would challenge her own view of the world.

And so our travels and journeys of family discovery began…..history would never be the same for Dr. Joan Iversen….

The stark existence of the Donner pass, the plight of the starving pioneers who built this nation had their image tarnished with the photos of us gorging on oreos…

The sanctity of our nations national monuments were challenged time and time again as we raced to be first, ignoring lines of tourists waiting in line, trampled gardens and spoke thru the entreaties of tour guides and park rangers as we sought bathrooms or a drink to ease our thirst or even  a snack to fill our always hungry bellies,   all the while trying to look like we were paying attention…woe to the one or two of us caught not learning….

"1951 - Thank You Marshall A parade float at the Dutch Flower Festival, expressing appreciation for the efforts of the Marshall Plan."

“1951 – Thank You Marshall
A parade float at the Dutch Flower Festival, expressing appreciation for the efforts of the Marshall Plan.”

But learn we did…we learned to listen to one another, we learned when to fight and when to turn the other check, we learned to be siblings who stood up to and for each other…and Joan learned too…

She learned when to step in and mediate disputes and when to let us figure things out….she learned that children have a tremendous capacity to love but to not always be lovable

Our trips taught her that the best way to share her passion for learning and her love of history was with a sense of humor and by ditching us occasionally to ride the buses endlessly around Colonial Williamsburg while she and dad recovered their strength with a ration of gin and tonics.

Condensing our family time into weeks of vacation, squeezing us into small spaces where we had to be together, were all part of Field Marshall Joan’s master plan.

The successes and occasional failures we encountered as Joan prodded, pushed and persuaded us to assume the roles we have learned to relish are the learning curves we had to follow.  Our travels to Miles Standish, Jekyll Island, Tom’s Cove, Outdoor Resorts, Key Largo Kampground and our summer long trip across country were the encampments that brought us together.

It was Joan’s love and often fiery emotional leadership that brought us to a place of family.  It is her generous nature, her inability to back down, her strength as a women, a teacher, a mom that I will most remember.  It is Joan’s legacy that this family she rebuilt from a place of pain to a position of strength….will endure.  My siblings at arms are raising the next generation of strong, intelligent, sometimes stubborn and  independent children…in the hopes that the love they have learned from us, thru Joan will give them a future as bright as the one she gave us.

~Kristen Iversen Cartwright

Marshall Plan float photo courtesy of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Flickr

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Never Miss Another Post on the Joan Iversen Blog

18 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by Nancy J. Smyth in Uncategorized

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So many of us have such busy schedules that routinely checking websites or Facebook pages just drops to the bottom of the “to do” list. Make sure that you never miss a post from the Joan Iversen blog: simply add your email to the blog mailing list. You’ll receive a notification in your email in-box to let you know that a new post has been published.

The mailing list sign-up is in the upper right corner of the blog just below the long picture that sits at the top of the blog (see red arrows in the image below). Simply put your email in the box–you’ll receive an email notice asking you to click on the link to verify that you really want to be added. Click the link and that’s it, you’re done! You’ll be notified about each post in the future.

Sign up for Joan Iversen Blog

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She Provided “The Most Thorough, Rich, Intriguing Lessons in History”

14 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Nancy J. Smyth in Reflections

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Former Student

2518958314_40ca1cf650_o

My memory is not always clear. Specific facts or events seem to be more like quiet influences. I had always been turned on to learning before entering Oneonta in the Fall of 1976, but I could hardly imagine the desire to not want a lesson to end, like that longing when finishing a book, just wanting more. That is how I recall I felt in the classes I took with Dr. Iversen. She would stand at the podium, (do I recall correctly?), or elbows on her desk and provide the most thorough, rich, intriguing lessons in history. I didn’t want to leave the room. I believe I took every course I could – 20th century American History, women’s history, history through film, history of the 60s. Extraordinary. I am so pleased to offer my recollections, for me just writing this makes me want to return to her classroom but mostly it reminds me that inspiration comes from an authentic love of knowledge. With deep appreciation, I am grateful to have known Dr. Iversen.

~Denise Kronstadt (1980)

Denise Kronstadt in Albany lobbying with Senator Jon Bonacic

Denise Kronstadt, in Albany, N.Y., lobbying — with Senator Jon Bonacic. NYLJ 3/11/14 photo by Tim Roske

Top image adapted from photo, Tapestry of Freedom, from Gail Borden Public Library on Flickr

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Women’s Week at SUCO? What do You Remember?

07 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by Nancy J. Smyth in Reflections

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Women's Studies

International Women's Day 2014 Logo

International Women’s Day 2014 Logo

International Women’s day, March 8th, brings back memories for me of the Women’s Week events that my mom, her colleagues, and students organized at the State University College at Oneonta (SUCO). Those were exciting, if exhausting, times. When I was a “tween” and a teen I remember going to hear some of the speakers and just absorbing it all like a sponge: the excitement, energy, activities and political dialogues.

According to Wikipedia, International Women’s day was first celebrated in 1908. The day had a political focus from the start and quickly included women’s suffrage as part of its focus. So in honor of those roots, here’s another card from my mom’s suffrage postcard collection.

And what better way to honor International Women’s Day, those SUCO Women’s Weeks, and Joan Iversen herself than by giving to the Joan Iversen Scholarship? The scholarship will be the first at Oneonta to go to a women’s/gender studies student. We are already past the halfway mark for our scholarship goal. You can donate here and move us one step closer.

What do you remember about the SUCO Women’s Weeks?

Meeting of Cabinet Ministers 1978

Meeting of Cabinet Ministers 1978

~ Nancy J. Smyth (Joan’s oldest daughter)

 

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Photo Gallery

Joan Smyth around 1967
Joan Smyth around 1967
Jack and Joan Iversen - Her 70th birthday party
Jack and Joan Iversen – Her 70th birthday party
Jack & Joan Iversen - Making Her Point at Her 70th birthday party
Jack & Joan Iversen – Making Her Point at Her 70th birthday party
Joan Iversen at her 70th birthday party, protesting having her photo taken.
Joan Iversen at her 70th birthday party, protesting having her photo taken.
Dr. Iversen & two student at the DC Rally
Pro-Choice Rally, DC, circa 1985 w/SUCO Women’s Alliance members Stevi Calandra & Robin Frankel
Dr. Iversen with trees in background.
Joan Iversen sponsoring a BBQ for the SUCO Women’s Alliance at her home on Goodyear Lake
Joan Iversen at podium, Mark Delligatti to the right
Joan Iversen Receiving Alumni Award, with Mark Delligatti, her nominator. Photo courtesy of Mark Delligatti.
The Iversen-Smyth Family, in 1976 Top left to right: Terry Smyth, Jack Iversen, Joan Smyth Iversen Bottom left to right: Tod Iversen, Kristen Iversen, Nancy Smyth, Jill Iversen
The Iversen-Smyth Family, in 1976 Top left to right: Terry Smyth, Jack Iversen, Joan Smyth Iversen Bottom left to right: Tod Iversen, Kristen Iversen, Nancy Smyth, Jill Iversen

Recent Posts

  • “Your Mother Changed My Life”
  • Happy Valentine’s Day from Joan Iversen’s Suffragettes
  • Photo Moment Memory: Joan Iversen & Mark Delligatti
  • Joan Iversen “was in every other sense my real mother”
  • Happy Anniversary to Joan and Jack Iversen

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