Earlville

Here are a few facts and photos about Earlville, where Ruth had her apiary business, and where today there is a Park and a Library named in her honor.

Ruth was living here when Ferner drove over from Cedar Falls to meet her. She loved her little cottage, and the money she earned from keeping bees helped her go to New York City to write each winter.

Plaque at the Park

Here is what it says:

Ruth Suckow loved the Iowa countryside near this site. The rolling farmlands, woods, streams, and wildflowers. She called the little house that stood here ‘my house.’

Ruth was unknown when she came to Earlville in 1920. By 1926 she had published two novels and many short stories and was recognized in this country and abroad as the author of a fresh kind of realism. Her work tells in rich detail the life of middle western communities in the earlier part of the 20th century. The family gatherings, church suppers, holiday celebrations, school commencements. Born in Hawarden, Iowa, August 6, 1892, Ruth died in Claremont, California on January 23, 1960.

The Suckow Park, courtesy of Terry Walters, one of our members who looked after the Park for many years.

Old logo for the organization, with the Bee Skemp.

Simple Map of Earlville

Note cards for the RSMA, designed by Irma Potter during the 1960s (She signed her work "Amy.")

Ruth Suckow loved the Iowa countryside near this site. The rolling farmlands, woods, streams, and wildflowers. She called the little house that stood here ‘my house.’

Ruth was unknown when she came to Earlville in 1920. By 1926 she had published two novels and many short stories and was recognized in this country and abroad as the author of a fresh kind of realism. Her work tells in rich detail the life of middle western communities in the earlier part of the 20th century. The family gatherings, church suppers, holiday celebrations, school commencements. Born in Hawarden, Iowa, August 6, 1892, Ruth died in Claremont, California on January 23, 1960.

Set of Maps of Earlville -- dated 1929