WEST DES MOINES , Iowa - The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) will celebrate the "Iowa Girl" as part of its celebration of the 100th Girls State Basketball Tournament in Iowa by honoring former student-athletes from its earliest days as an organization. Over 75 women age 90 and older will be honored along with the Oldest Known Living Iowa Girl, Velma Maxine McCool.
Last December, the IGHSAU launched an online campaign in search of the "Oldest Known Living Iowa Girl" with the intention of celebrating the trail-blazers of the early six-on-six player game as part of the 100th Girls State Tournament. Over the course of the next month, nearly 150 nominations were received from friends and family of former high school basketball players, all including stories and memories of the early game of girls basketball in Iowa.
"The stories and memories that these Iowa Girls shared in their nominations were wonderful to receive", says IGHSAU Executive Director, Jean Berger. "This campaign has brought our organization tangible links to the past and has been a fantastic complement to the 100th Tournament celebration."
Of the 75 women to be honored, 28 will make the trip to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for a special halftime ceremony during the 4A Championship game on Saturday, March 2nd. A special video board segment will celebrate those that are unable to attend.
"At the Girls Union we say, 'Once an Iowa Girl, Always an Iowa Girl'", says Berger. "There is no better way to celebrate the 100th Girls State Basketball than by celebrating the women from the early years of the IGHSAU."
A full list of the women being recognized and their respective high school is below.
| Name (Age Order, Oldest First) | School |
| Velma Maxine McCool | Bayard |
| Dorothy Barker Sorden | Millersburg Consolidated |
| Beatrice White | Unionville High School |
| Leona "Maxine" Coffin Fischer | Alleman |
| Margie Kendrick Fritz | New Market |
| Wyona Williams | Casey |
| Dena Logli Randolph | Ankeny |
| Dorothy Moore | Ayrshire |
| Thelma L. (Harness) Elijah | Clarence |
| Wilma Moore Cornwell | Ankeny |
| Linda Key | Anita |
| Margaret May (Gade) Fuhrman | Owasa, |
| Janell Spencer Hines | Cumberland |
| Viola Ruth Koenen | Alexander Consolidated |
| Esther Collins Chambers | Dallas Center |
| Anna "Ann" Mae (Robertson) Steelman | Hubbard |
| Kathryn (Ostercamp) Brouwer | Aplington |
| Joyce Wilken | Wall Lake |
| Janet Hendrickson Klein | Richland |
| Darlene (Wilson) Scar | Dexter |
| Edith Arlene Sanders | Gibson |
| Betty Neighbor | Toddville |
| Marie Howard Ballard | Ankeny |
| Virginia Harrington | Farragut |
| Vicky Anderson Bergstrom | Olds |
| Juanita Schubert | Rock Falls |
| Mary Ann Ruzicka-Cory | Elkhart |
| Marge (Caboth) Randol | Armstrong |
| Maxine (Sieler) Noble | Wesley |
| Vera Erpelding | Wesley |
| Charlotte Weltha Koenigsberg | Randall |
| Myra Lugene Hendrickson Krieger | Richland |
| Elaine Sorenson | Lake Center |
| Tina Gioffredi Battani | Ankeny High |
| Reva Caster Dostal | Union |
| June (Hasley) Williams | Searsboro |
| Louise Tolander Unkrich | Olds |
| Lorraine Laidley Eddy | Rockwell |
| Lois (Brokaw) Brown | Lenox |
| Jean Bloom | Hamilton & Bussey |
| Alice Elizabeth Welton Barnard | Cedar |
| Barb Bloom | Northboro |
| Dorothy (Hadacek) Hayek | Clutier |
| Leone Ellen (Monk) Larson | Ruthven Consolidated |
| Wanda Dunsbergen | Lynnville |
| Harriet Irene Bruggeman | Hartwick |
| Dolores Rawson | Norway |
| Hazel Irene Van Horn Banwart-Goff | Rodman |
| Mae Dean Blair Frisk | Ankeny |
| Grace Erickson | Plover |
| La Ora Steele Miles | Fremont |
| Marjorie Elaine Johnson | Ireton |
| Wilma Baker | Winterset |
| Betty (Looft) Opsal | Armstrong |
| Mary Irene (Scebold) Kenyon | Missouri Valley |
| Verneil "Tootie" Arlene (Steffens) Steines | Lowden |
| Jeanne Jones | Ruthven |
| Doris Davis Risenhoover | Hedrick |
| Marlis Nadine Oehlert-Ames | Sheffield |
| Laura Slach | West Branch |
| Colleen David Kinnick | Coon Rapids |
| Helen (Harrison) Thompson | Maxwell |
| Betty Hartwig | Dunlap |
| Elnora Steele Norris | Fremont |
| Ruth Richie Belich | Lansing |
| Eleanor Alex | Perry |
| Barbara Jean Hicklin | Lacy |
| Erna Horstmann Brendes | Lowden |
| Dolores M Perdue Swope | Lewis |
| Thea Leslie | Center Point |
| Mona Jean McLuen Sellman | Guthrie Center |
| Delores Alvina (Yaddof) Wulf | Gooselake |
| Venetah Andrews Tubaugh | Moravia |
| Lois Mae (Whitman) Dieckmann | Calamus |
| Virginia Lee Stewart Moore | Lacey |
| Joann Slagter | Cedar Consolidated |
***
ABOUT THE IGHSAU
The IGHSAU is the only state activity association in the nation solely devoted to promoting, directing and regulating interscholastic athletics for junior high and high school girls. Our mission is to govern fair, safe and sportsmanlike interscholastic competition that emphasizes the educational enhancement of all of participants.
The IGHSAU sanctions 10 sports for Iowa girls. This website helps provide athletes, coaches and administrators news, information, forms, policies, guidelines, rules, scores, schedules and more to aid in the promotion and success of every Iowa Girl.