Iris Pavey Gilmore (1900-1982) was an American writer. She wrote both non-fiction for adults and juveniles. She had a particular interest in Colorado history.

Early life

Iris Pavey Gilmore was born in

Villa Ridge, Illinois Villa Ridge is an unincorporated community in Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. Villa Ridge has a post office with ZIP code 62996. The town is located north of Mounds and was established in 1852 by the Illinois Central Railroad Th ...

, in 1900, the daughter of C. W. B. Pavey. She was educated at Schuster-Martin Dramatic School, in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, founded by an aunt of the actor

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...

. She received a B.A. in education and drama in 1921 and an M.A. in 1944 from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

Career

Gilmore was a dramatic teacher and director. During the 1920s and 1930s, she worked as the dramatic director of the KOA Radio Station in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Gilmore also taught music at the

Lamont School of Music Lamont School of Music is the school of arts of the University of Denver, based in city of Denver, United States. In 1941, the school merged with the University of Denver. History Despite its separation from Denver University's main campus for m ...

. Other projects included working with children’s theater and dance in Denver and teaching speech and English at the

. She was a member of the National Altrusa Club, the Sigma Alpha Lata (the National Music Fraternity), P.E.O. Sisterhood. She co-authored most of her works with Marian Huxoll Talmadge. In 1946 she wrote the screenplay for "Chautauqua, a saga of America" with Talmadge. In 1949, with Talmadge and Alan Swallow, she co-edited the "Anthology for basic communication", published by the

Press. In 1956 she won the Dodd-Mead Boy's Life prize for the book "Pony Express Boy", co-authored with Talmadge. In 1958, always with Talmadge, she wrote "Wings of Tomorrow", about cadet life at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

. She wrote several non-fiction books for juveniles and on the history of Colorado.

Personal life

Iris Pavey Gilmore moved to Colorado in 1920 and lived at 1316 E. Eleventh Ave.,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She married Harold McKinley Gilmore. She died in 1982.

Legacy

The Iris Gilmore Papers (1897-1982) are preserved at the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

, American Heritage Center. Most of the topics in the archive relate to Colorado history, including the

Ute people Ute () are the Indigenous people of the Ute tribe and culture among the Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. They had lived in sovereignty in the regions of present-day Utah and Colorado in the Southwestern United States for many centuries unt ...

. Other topics in the archive are biographical files of painter,

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

and Cheyenne socialite, Anna Broady Haggard and also includes photographs of Wyoming Senator,

Joseph C. O'Mahoney Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (November 5, 1884December 1, 1962) was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. A Democrat, he served four complete terms as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming on two occasions, first from 1934-1953 and then again fro ...

. The archive also includes information about early programming on KOA Radio in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmore, Iris Pavey People from Pulaski County, Illinois 1900 births 1982 deaths Writers from Illinois American women writers