Irma Callahan

Irma (Krebsbach) Callahan was born in Stacyville, Iowa.  When she was ten her family moved to Napoleon, North Dakota.  Callahan graduated from Dakota Business College and then worked for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in Fargo from 1921 to 1943.  During her last eight years there, Callahan was the Assistant Chief of Income Tax.  After leaving the IRS she became more active in politics.  She ran for State Auditor in 1958 and for the State Legislature in 1964 on the Democratic ticket, only to be defeated in both attempts.  When she ran for State Auditor in 1958, Callahan was Vice-chairman of the North Dakota Democratic State Central Committee, a position she held for four years.  She also served as a delegate to the 1952 and 1956 Democratic National Convention and was an observer at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.  She died February 28, 1995.

The collection consists of scrapbooks Irma Callahan made over the years and contain political memorabilia, invitations to inaugural balls, and Christmas cards from various VIPs. The collection contains political materials from the late 1940s to the late 1960s covering national and state politics.  The scrapbooks contain letters from hopeful presidential nominees and telegrams from presidential nominees such as Adlai Stevenson.  The majority of the material is letters, telegrams, flyers, and newspaper or magazine clippings.  The scrapbooks show how the political process works on the state and national levels and how the candidates vie for support among the delegates.

Photograph Collection (Photo 2064) 
 

Politics and Government Women