Looking in at Iowa

Biographical info about Abigail Van Allen, wife of James Van Allen, from 1962 Gazette article and 1995 ‘Close-Up’ September 9, 2008

9/11/2008 UPDATE: Gazette obituary posted for Van Allen, Abigail Halsey

~~

From July 15, 1962 Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Life Is Never Dull for Mrs. James Van Allen…

The former Abigail Halsey grew up in Cincinnati and attended Mt. Holyoke college.

“It was during the war and I went through on an accelerated program. I was graduated in December, 1943.”

She joined her family in Chicago, where they had recently moved. A friend told her about “some supersecret work in Washington, D. C. This sounded terribly intriguing and we decided to go.”

Dr. Van Allen was stationed in the Pacific at the time. “We didn’t meet until a year later, when we were both working in the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory.”

The Van Allens were married Oct. 13, 1945, in the “church founded in 1640 by my forbears” at Southampton, Long Island.

The Van Allens lived in Washington until 1951, when Dr. Van Allen accepted his present position as head of the SUI physics department.

I always thought we’d be leaving. But now we’ve passed the ten year mark, so I guess we’ll stay,” Mrs. Van Allen mused.

“So many interesting opportunities have come along,” she said. “My husband’s great motivation for staying is his being a native of this great state that has so much potential. He greatly regrets the fact that our young people are leaving after they’ve been educated.

Many, many opportunities can be created here.” …

[MORE...]

From January 1, 1995 Gazette:

Abigail Van Allen sets positive course

CLOSE UP

By Sue Davis Smith

Editor’s note: Today’s subject is Abigail Van Allen, 72, of Iowa City, homemaker.

Education: Educated in private schools in Cincinnati. Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass.

Hometown: Cincinnati.

Family: Husband, James Van Allen, 80, retired professor of physics and astronomy, University of Iowa.

Children: Cynthia Van Allen Schaffner, 47, of New York City, author of books and articles on American folk art; Dr. Margot Van Allen, 45, of West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, physician and associate professor in the College of Medicine at the University of British Columbia; Sarah Trimble, 41, of Princeton, N.J., director of corporate communications for the Gallup Organization; Thomas, 39, of New York City, architect; Peter, 35, business editor for the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J. Four grandchildren.

What do you like most, least, about your occupation?

Basically when you get to my age you have different views on things. The best and least doesn’t come into one’s thinking anymore. You do your job for so many years you don’t think anymore about what you like or don’t like.

What’s good and bad about living in Iowa City?

I don’t bother with the bad parts. You can’t concentrate on those things. Iowa City is a wonderful place to live – with stimulating people, a government that works hard and a wonderful city council that is very conscientious. The growth is toppling the place, but that’s true of every place.

What is your goal in life?

To live as healthily as I can and long enough to see my grandchildren turn into what they turn into. With luck, I want to see the 21st century.

What is the best book you ever read?

I’m very fond of the 19th century and enjoyed “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. Right now the book I’m reading is “Descartes’ Error,” by Antonio Damasio, who is in the neurology department at the medical school at the University of Iowa. It’s really very interesting. All those things you know to be true about human emotions, there’s now a reason for it in the brain.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

For several years I’ve been wanting to go to St. Petersburg, Russia, and see the Hermitage Museum. I’d want to start in Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland) and then St. Petersburg.

What is your favorite meal?

I do have two: Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I love the turkey and pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and the roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and plum pudding at Christmas. I also love the cranberry relish that goes with both of those meals.

What are your leisure interests?

I do like gardening, reading and swimming.

The most important thing you’ve learned in life is …

“The best laid schemes o’ mice and men gang aft a-gley,” from Robert Burns’ “To a Mouse.”

What’s your idea of a great time?

Dancing with my husband.

Do you have a pet peeve?

I have none. I concentrate on the positive.

What did you want to be when you were in high school?

I wanted to be an opera singer, an actress and the practical choice was a nurse. I told this to my father, who said if I was to go into medicine I should be a doctor. The more I thought about it, I realized I didn’t want to work that hard.

The first thing you notice about a person is …

Their appearance. It tells you so much.

Exclusive of the present, what would be your favorite time in history to live?

I’m grateful I live now. I couldn’t be one of those pioneers in the snow and cold and the animals.

What was your most embarrassing moment?

Several years ago my husband received the Crafoord CQ Prize, which is given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Our whole family went – 15 of us. My granddaughter was 5 years old. She knew about queens and princesses, and the idea of meeting a queen was thrilling for her. We met the king and queen (of Sweden) at a ceremony, and the queen came along and was introduced to Elizabeth.

When she reached out to Elizabeth to shake her hand, Elizabeth wouldn’t shake hands with the queen. She looked at the queen and told her, “You don’t look like a queen!” We were embarrassed, and other people who had heard Elizabeth’s comment were horrified. The queen, though, calmly told her, “It’s probably because I don’t have my crown on.”

Today’s death notice for Abigail Van Allen in Gazette.

Related articles by Zemanta

• News obituary for James Van Allen’s babysitter