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Paul F. Peck (Class of 1897) was the Parker Professor of History at Grinnell College from 1905 until his sudden death in 1925. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and during World War I served in the Red Cross. He was married to Grace Parsons (Class of 1898).

Wright, Samuel M. Age 19. Residence Knoxville, nativity Indiana. Enlisted May 21, 1861. Mustered June 10, 1861. Died of pneumonia Feb. 8, 1862, Quincy, Ill. Buried in National Cemetery, Quincy, Ill.

Harry Waldo Norris was born in New Hampshire in 1862 and his family came to Grinnell in 1870. Norris attended both the Grinnell College Academy and Grinnell College, graduating in 1886. Although he studied and taught elsewhere, most of his career was spent teaching at Grinnell College, focusing on courses in botany, biology, zoology, and related subjects. He was elected Chairman of the Faculty many times, served as President of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, and continually engaged in scientific research.

Harry Downer received his B.A. from Grinnell College in 1882. He lived in Davenport working as a newspaper editor, school principal, member of an opera company, and finally as head worker at Friendly House. He was active in Rotary Club, School Board, Library Board, Scott County Historical Society, and other organizations. He was author of History of Davenport and Scott County Iowa, 1910. Grinnell awarded him an honorary degree in 1931.

A group of women who had belonged to literary societies at Grinnell College organized Entre Nous in 1908. Originally, papers presented at meetings focused on a central theme, such as Italian cities, Iowa history, or modern sociological problems. Since about 1926 members have presented book reviews at the meetings. Membership is loosely balanced between town- and college-related women.

Henry William Matlack was a professor of music at Grinnell College beginning in 1901. Merta Rebecca Johnson was his student and they married in 1903. In 1922 Henry was named alumni secretary of the college; he died in 1936. Merta was active in many community activities including the League of Women Voters and Entre Nous, was a determined gardener and expert weaver. In 1936 she was a local supervisor for the Consumer Purchases Study, a WPA project and continued working with area families on nutrition and housekeeping into the 1940s. She lived until 1968 in the family home at 1510 East Street in Grinnell.
They had six children, all of whom attended Grinnell College: David Johnson, Mary Westgate, Margaret Westgate, Jane Fairbanks, Laura Wolcott, Helen Constance. David remained a Grinnell resident his entire life; the daughters all moved away, married, and led active lives; eventually they all returned to Grinnell. Laura moved into the family home and lived there until her death in 1997. (See attachment: Matlack Family Tree for additional information about the children, their spouses, and offspring.)

Margaret Matlack Kiesel (1908-1987) was a writer, educator, feminist, and civil rights activist. She received her B.A. from Grinnell College in 1930 and her M.A. at Oberlin in 1932. She and her husband, Paul F., lived in Minnesota and Marshalltown, Iowa before returning to Grinnell in 1970. The bulk of the materials in this collection are from her work after her return to Grinnell and most of her published work is from this period. At the time of her death she was compiling a sociological and educational history of women in Grinnell.