Irma Callahan Photograph Collection

Collection

Identifier: Photo 2064

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Irma Callahan photographs were received as part of her papers, which were processed separately as Mss 200. These prints document her active involvement in the Democratic Party and to a lesser extent her employment at the United States Internal Revenue Service. They span from the 1920s to the 1970s, with the majority of them dating from the 1950s and 1960s. The photographs were organized into three series: Portraits, Organizations and Gatherings, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Portrait Series consists of portraits of Irma Callahan, high ranking officials, and state office candidates who had their pictures taken with Callahan. There are portraits of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Senator Robert Kerr and several others. The portraits of Callahan are of her during her campaign for state auditor and in her later years. Some of the portraits are signed, including by Kerr and Senator Stern. The Organizations and Gatherings Series contains photographs of Callahan at the various organizations she supported and Democratic Party functions. Most of the photographs in this collection document Callahan’s participation in the March of Dimes and the Mother’s March on Polio. The others show her at Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s cocktail party in 1955, flying with W. Averell Harriman (presidential nominee candidate) in 1952, and Harry Truman at the 1956 Democratic National Convention. Callahan is in most of the photographs, but it is hard to determine if she is in the photograph with Harry Truman. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Series consists of photographs of employees, employee gatherings, and an exterior of the old IRS building in Fargo located at 2nd Avenue North. The photographs document Callahan’s years of service at the IRS. They show the employees in group photographs and the employees playing for the camera at picnics and office parties. Also, there are some small portraits of department heads at the IRS. One photo is a group portrait of all the IRS employees at the Fargo branch.

Dates

1920s-1970s

Creator

Callahan, Irma, 1899-1995. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

Copyrights to this collection remain with the creator.

Biography

Irma (Krebsbach) Callahan was born October 11, 1899 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 active in politics. She ran for state auditor in 1958 and for the North Dakota Legislature in 1964 on the Democratic ticket, only to be defeated in both attempts. When she ran for state auditor in 1958, Callahan was the Vice-chairman of North Dakota Democratic State Central Committee. She also served as a delegate to the 1952 and 1956 Democratic National Conventions and was an observer at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. Callahan was also active in areas apart from politics. She was the secretary of the Cass County Chapter of the March of Dimes, Fargo City Chairman of Mother’s March on Polio and later was appointed by the national foundation to serve as the State Advisor. Over the years Callahan made many friends as evidenced by the numerous Christmas cards and letters she received from various governors, United States senators, and Cabinet members. In 1924 she married James Callahan, an engineer for the Northern Pacific Railroad. He died in 1966 and she died February 28, 1995. They had no children.