Barb Welander, A Woman in a Man?s World

Mayor Ed King wanted to submit Barb Welander's name to the Mt. Pleasant City Council as his choice for the position of Building and Zoning Administrator. There had been many applicants for the 32-hour-per-week position and, of course, Welander was the only female. Welander asked Mayor King if she needed to attend the council meeting. He said it wasn't necessary.

Mt. Pleasant would make national news that day. A deranged gunman would enter the council chambers and kill the the mayor and seriously wound three others. That was Welander's first exposure to employment with the City of Mt. Pleasant. The date was Dec. 11, 1986.

One of the projects that Mayor King had been interested in was the renovation of the PEO Fountain in Central Park. As an architectural engineer, Welander would help design the new fountain in memory of Mayor King.

Barb Welander's parents came to Mt. Pleasant from Illinois in the 1950s. Her mother had been a schoolteacher. When her mother married her father, Illinois state law prohibited a married woman from teaching, so her mother quit teaching and helped her father with his hatchery business.

During high school, Barb Welander excelled in math, science, and art, so naturally, she wanted to be an architect. However, she was not allowed to take drafting in high school because it was for boys. Welander's father petitioned the superintendent and school board to make an exception. A new superintendent granted permission for Barb to take drafting.

By the way, Barb still has her Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and Erector Set that she played with as a child.

Off to Iowa State University where she would be one of the few females in the College of Engineering. She met her husband to be, Bob, on a blind date. Bob asked the arranger what Barb's major was. ?She's real cute,? he was told. He asked again, ?What's her major?? ?She's a lot of fun.? ?What's is her major?? Bob insisted. ?Engineering.? ?Oh, that's all I need.?

Barb asked what Bob's major was. ?Veterinary Medicine.? ?Oh, that's good.?

A month-and-a-half later, Barb and Bob were off to meet Bob's parents who farmed in northwestern Iowa. Bob's mother worried for a week about the food she would prepare because, she assumed, a female attending Iowa State University would be in Home Ec. Barb soothed Bob's mother's concerns real fast.

After graduation, it was off to Mt. Pleasant where Bob would start a veterinary practice, and Barb, after extensive work and testing, would become the first female registered architect in the State of Iowa ? a male dominated profession. Barb was a rare sight at job locations?women were considered a jinx. Both she, and the men she worked with, learned real fast that negotiation, compromise, and communication were the essential ingredients, not gender, in getting a job done.

About this time, Barb received from the Board of Architectural Examiners a certificate stating that she was a registered architect. It read, ?Be it known that Barbara G. Welander carries acceptable evidence of 'his' qualifications.? Later, the Board would erase the word ?his? and hand-write in ?her.? A secretary sent Barb the hand-revised certificate. She has the two certificates framed side by side.

Barb Welander is quick to point out that her motivation has always been following what she was interested in and wanting to do. Smashing gender barriers or glass ceilings was not her goal. Her advice to young people is to, ?Follow your interests.? Her and Bob's three sons all have liberal arts degrees.

When the Walmart Distribution Center in Mt. Pleasant was being expanded, there was a standoff between how the contractors wanted to construct the building, and what the City of Mt. Pleasant would allow. Walmart wanted to use the Southern Building Code, while Mt. Pleasant, at the time, utilized the Uniform Building Code. Work was delayed for seven weeks while the situation was sorted out. Welander had never worked with such a behemoth, worldwide organization as Walmart, and it could be intimidating at times. However, it was through negotiation and communication that an amenable agreement was reached and construction resumed.

During her career, Barb Welander would be appointed by the governor to be on the Building Code Advisory Council. She is now ?Chairman? of that council. She has also been appointed to the Architectural Examining Board, and is chairman of it, also. One of her first chores was to fix the gender language on the certificates of qualifications.

Barb Welander is now retired after serving 27 years as Building and Zoning Administrator for the City of Mt. Pleasant. Often the calm voice in situations where emotions can run high over permits, zoning, and inspections, she is highly respected and has been instrumental in helping Mt. Pleasant grow.

Once again, the Ed King Memorial Fountain is being renovated. Barb had the pleasure of

watching, from her and her husband's historical home on Iowa Avenue, as the fountain rolled by on a flatbed truck.

Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt also reads his stories at www.lostlakeradio.com.