110 Years of Inspiration

On July 14, Grinnell’s first Black woman graduate, Edith Renfrow Smith ’37, will mark her 110th birthday — an amazing milestone in a life of achievement, service, and generosity. Grinnell College is thrilled to join with the entire community to recognize Renfrow Smith, whose life embodies the close connections between the town and the College.

A True Grinnellian

When Renfrow Smith was born in Grinnell in 1914, the world moved at a slower pace. Cars were a rarity on the streets of her hometown, and Renfrow Smith walked to school from her family’s home on First Avenue to the then-new Davis Elementary School.

Edith was the fifth of six children. She and her siblings grew up hearing their mother, Eva Pearl, encourage them to get an education. Through hard work and determination, all six of the Renfrow children earned a college degree — a remarkable achievement during the Great Depression, when money was beyond tight for most Americans.

Renfrow Smith says her mother was both strict and loving. “She was a tough taskmaster,” Renfrow Smith says. “She didn’t let us do a lot of things that other kids did: no movies on Sunday — no movies period — no card playing, no alcohol.” But Eva Pearl tempered her strict rules with affection and unwavering support.

Renfrow Smith remembers her mother saying, “They may be more beautiful, they may have more money, they may have more clothes, but there is no one better than you.”

“That was her motto, and that’s what she taught us,” Renfrow Smith says. “My mother was a lady before her time.”

Life in Grinnell

The Renfrow home was not far from Arbor Lake to the south and the cemetery to the west. “It was a great place to grow up,” Renfrow Smith says.

Renfrow Smith says she knew from the time she was a young girl that Grinnell College was her choice for college. “That’s the only place I had ever wanted to go,” she says.

She remembers the town and the College fondly. “They were very good to me at Grinnell.”

Renfrow Smith later became an elementary school teacher and taught for 21 years in the Chicago public schools, where she rose to the level of head teacher before her retirement in 1976.

After retiring from teaching, she volunteered for Goodwill and the Art Institute of Chicago, continuing to give back to others through her efforts.

“People have given me so much,” she says. “It [was] time to give back.”

Grinnell is Always Home

Renfrow Smith never forgot Grinnell, although she lived most of her adult life in Chicago. She rented out her family’s home on First Avenue to the Van Ersvelde family. Renfrow Smith and her husband Henry returned to Grinnell regularly to visit and to do maintenance work on the house.

April Van Ersvelde Isaac was a little girl when her family lived in the Renfrow house, but she remembers it well. “My parents were renting that house when I was born, so Edith’s known me since I was a baby,” Isaac says.

Her fondest memory of Renfrow Smith involved an Iowa treat — sweet corn. “My mom always had a big garden,” Isaac says. “It must’ve been July or early August because sweet corn was ready. And Edith says, ‘Come on, I’m going to show you how to eat sweet corn.’

“We went out to the garden and walked into Mom’s corn patch, and Edith ripped off an ear and husked it. And we stood there in the garden and ate corn right there in the garden!”

“This is how you eat sweet corn,” Renfrow Smith told the little girl.

“It was so fun, and I thought I was hot stuff!” Isaac says.

Isaac’s family moved when she was just 7 years old, and she lost touch with Renfrow Smith. In 2007, they reconnected thanks to a story about Edith Renfrow Smith in The Grinnell Magazine.

“Getting back in touch with her — it was just so neat,” Isaac says. “She remembers my family — well, she remembers most everything!” Nowadays, they talk on the phone every two weeks or so and exchange notes and letters regularly. Isaac and her husband have even visited Renfrow Smith at her home in Chicago.

When Renfrow Smith came back to Grinnell to receive an honorary degree from the College at Commencement in 2019, Isaac made a point of going to the ceremony. She ended up spending most of the day with Renfrow Smith. Isaac took her for a ride around Grinnell and was amazed by how much Renfrow Smith remembered about the town.

“Her memory of where things were and who lived there and what color the house was and all that — it was amazing,” Isaac says.

Drake Library Exhibition

The celebration of Edith Renfrow Smith is a community-wide affair — it’s a fitting tribute for a woman whose life illustrates the many connections between town and campus.

For example, the Drake Community Library will host Connections: Combining History and Art to Explore Grinnell in the Early 20th Century. This exhibition is a collaboration between Drake Community Library and the Grinnell Area Arts Council (GAAC), supported in part by a Grinnell College Mini-Grant. The project, led by Monique Shore ’90, will use historic photographs to explore life in Grinnell from 1890–1950 — the era when Renfrow Smith was growing up in Grinnell.

A mix of self-standing banners and foam-mounted images will be exhibited in the GAAC Stewart Gallery during July and in future exhibitions, including the September 2024 dedication of Renfrow Hall. 

Shore, who serves as technology coordinator for the Drake Community Library, says, “The display of historic photographs will help people think about what it was like to live, work, and play during these years. This retrospective will also show how change is a constant in the life of any community. The way a space like Central Park or Broad Street looks is a never-ending evolution.”

Join us in Celebrating Edith Renfrow Smith

The Grinnell College alumni office is sponsoring a card shower for Renfrow Smith in honor of her birthday in July. We’d love to see her receive at least 110 birthday cards in honor of this milestone birthday. Please join us in celebrating Edith Renfrow Smith with birthday greetings by sending your cards to us by July 11: Edith Renfrow Smith c/o the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 733 Broad St., Grinnell IA 50112.

In addition, a weekend of special events is planned for September 27 and 28, including the official dedication of Renfrow Hall, Grinnell College’s new student residence hall named in Renfrow Smith’s honor. Renfrow Hall is part of the Civil Engagement Quad (CEQ), set at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Broad Street.