DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Burlington Atomic Energy Week, 1947 | 1950-03-15 Letter to Dorothy Schramm from S.U.I. College of Education

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Burlington Atomic Energy Week, 1947

1950-03-15 Letter to Dorothy Schramm from S.U.I. College of Education

STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

March 15, 1950

Mrs. James Schramm
2700 South Main Street 
Burlington, Iowa

Dear Dorothy: 

Many thanks for the material you sent me on the Burlington atomic energy week. It was just coming to an end when I returned to Iowa and I did not get the chance to see any of it. It was far bigger than I had imagined. My compliments to you and the League!

I shall return the material as quickly as possible, retaining with your permission the report. I may also return for a couple of months two of the photos, if you don't mind. A state committee has been working now for eighteen months on curricula for all educational levels. The material will be going to press in May or June, and will include a photographic section. Would you mind if I were to include your report on Burlington in toto or with the minimum of editorial deletion? The adult section of the Iowa program is going to deal specifically with what has been done in Iowa (damn little) and with a few things that could be done. There is no reason why the Burlington effort should not have been copied by every Iowa city of any size. 

It occurred to me that this whole program would make an excellent prelude to the inaugurating of work in civilian defense. The need to organize such work may be coming more quickly than we anticipated. Already there is a partial national plan which is supposed to be in operation at the end of this month. It is very possible that I may have to represent the state and attend a training program for organizational leaders. 

Most civilian defense breaks down because it is impossible for the ordinary citizen to imagine the atmosphere he might live under were war to break out. An intensive propaganda and educational drive such as Burlington's can at least approximate this atmosphere, and should put a city in the right moode to undertake civilian defense organization seriously. 

Did the Des Moines Register run a checkup through the Iowa Poll? If so, I would like to see the results.

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STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA IOWA CITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION March 15, 1950 Mrs. James Schramm 2700 South Main Street Burlington, Iowa Dear Dorothy: Many thanks for the material you sent me on the Burlington atomic energy week. It was just coming to an end when I returned to Iowa and I did not get the chance to see any of it. It was far bigger than I had imagined. My compliments to you and the League! I shall return the material as quickly as possible, retaining with your permission the report. I may also return for a couple of months two of the photos, if you don't mind. A state committee has been working now for eighteen months on curricula for all educational levels. The material will be going to press in May or June, and will include a photographic section. Would you mind if I were to include your report on Burlington in toto or with the minimum of editorial deletion? The adult section of the Iowa program is going to deal specifically with what has been done in Iowa (damn little) and with a few things that could be done. There is no reason why the Burlington effort should not have been copied by every Iowa city of any size. It occurred to me that this whole program would make an excellent prelude to the inaugurating of work in civilian defense. The need to organize such work may be coming more quickly than we anticipated. Already there is a partial national plan which is supposed to be in operation at the end of this month. It is very possible that I may have to represent the state and attend a training program for organizational leaders. Most civilian defense breaks down because it is impossible for the ordinary citizen to imagine the atmosphere he might live under were war to break out. An intensive propaganda and educational drive such as Burlington's can at least approximate this atmosphere, and should put a city in the right moode to undertake civilian defense organization seriously. Did the Des Moines Register run a checkup through the Iowa Poll? If so, I would like to see the results.