Elaine Estes
Mrs. Elaine Estes grew up in Springfield Missouri where she helped out with her family’s restaurant – Graham’s Rib Station. At the age of 16, she came to Iowa to start college at Drake. It was 1949, and her attempt to live in the then-unintegrated dormitories, led to her petitioning the Drake board to integrate the dormitories. She became the first African American female graduate of Drake’s College of Business Administration and at the time was one of only few female students in Retailing. This was only the beginning of her career as a trailblazer and role model.
With a Masters Degree in Library Science from University of Illinois, she began her 39 year tenure at the Des Moines Public Library. She was the director of the Library for 19 years, and she is the first and only African American director of the Des Moines Public Library. Under her leadership, the library became the first in Iowa and in the country to carry out a materials-preservation program and to form a disaster preparedness plan, and Iowa became the first state to pass a law protecting library users' rights, and Mrs. Estes was instrumental in getting this law in place. |
In addition to the impact she has made on the library, she has also had a huge impact on and has held leadership roles in a number of civic and community organizations, including the National Trust Historic Preservation Council, the Terrace Hill Commission and the Des Moines Art Center. She is one of the charter members of the Des Moines Chapter of The Links, Inc.—one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of women and is committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. As a tribute to her many contributions to the organization, the Links dedicated the reading room in the Forest Avenue Library in Mrs. Estes’s name.
Not surprisingly she also helped found the Ray Society (now Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Drake University. And she was the first woman inductee of the Des Moines Rotary Club.
Over the years, she has received many honors, including a Distinguished Alumni Award, a Sage over 70 honor, induction into the Springfield Missouri High Schools Hall of Fame, induction into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame, and she was interviewed in her 80s for the documentary Tradition and Valor: The Story Continues that tells about African Americans who made a difference in Iowa’s history.
Mrs. Estes has travelled the world, including a trip to Antarctica shortly before she turned 80, also an example of lifelong learning. In fact, her life and career has been a model for all who seek to open doors for others, have a positive impact on the world around them, and lead by example.
Not surprisingly she also helped found the Ray Society (now Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at Drake University. And she was the first woman inductee of the Des Moines Rotary Club.
Over the years, she has received many honors, including a Distinguished Alumni Award, a Sage over 70 honor, induction into the Springfield Missouri High Schools Hall of Fame, induction into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame, and she was interviewed in her 80s for the documentary Tradition and Valor: The Story Continues that tells about African Americans who made a difference in Iowa’s history.
Mrs. Estes has travelled the world, including a trip to Antarctica shortly before she turned 80, also an example of lifelong learning. In fact, her life and career has been a model for all who seek to open doors for others, have a positive impact on the world around them, and lead by example.