Bethane Carpenter Fister Hall (1910-2006) -- student

A native of Coon Rapids, Iowa, where her ancestors were pioneer settlers and sustained a century of history, Bethane Carpenter graduated from the local schools in 1926. She then enrolled at Iowa State University (1926-1930); during her junior and senior undergraduate years, Carpenter travelled to China and Japan, studied public parks and gardens, and brought Asian theories of design to her remaining coursework. She received her Bachelors degree in landscape architecture (March 1931) and embarked on ambitious applications of her knowledge. Carpenter briefly worked as an apprentice to Clarence Fowler, the noted New York City landscape architect, who served as president of the American Society of Landscape Architects. She returned to Ames during the summer of 1932 and took a single graduate course in "Instructive Manual Labor." While on campus, Carpenter's class may have had a role in preliminary designs for a reflecting pool (gifted by the 1937 VEISHA Committee) adjacent to the ISU Memorial Union.

In 1933, Carpenter attended the second session of the Stone City art colony, and while there, met Ruth Eby Stinson, who led the children's art classes. The two artists maintained a lifelong friendship, and the Stinson family routinely visited Coon Rapids. By 1937, Carpenter resided in San Francisco, where she assisted architects and engineers to design migrant labor camps for workers who assisted with California's long harvests. Her tenure on the west coast coincided with opening ceremonies for the Golden Gate Bridge (May 1937). Bethane returned to Iowa and worked for the noted landscape architect, Francis Asbury Robinson of Des Moines. She soon joined the Iowa State Conservation Commission's landscape department as its first female employee. While there, Carpenter did preliminary groundwork for the future Geode State Park (Danville, IA), sighting its boundaries, natural aspects, and visitor use areas. She also carried the same responsibilities for the future Springbrook State Park in Guthrie County, Iowa and designed the roadways for George Wyth State Park in Waterloo, Iowa.

By the early 1950s, Carpenter's professional goals shifted to art education. In January 1954, the Carroll, Iowa school board initiated action to hire a county-wide teacher for its new arts program. Bethane received the job offer, joined the local school district in August, and began her classes for junior high and high school students. Eventually, elementary students also participated and high schoolers experienced a single-room approach with students of various abilities. While employed in Carroll, Carpenter took summer, graduate classes at Drake University (1958-1960). With a painting emphasis in her coursework, the artist received her MFA from Drake in August 1960; her thesis was titled "Design and Construction of Three Horizontal Mosaics." At Drake, her teachers included Karl Mattern, husband of Mary Mattern, another Stone City art colony participant. Carpenter completed studies in Mexico, exhibiting watercolors at the Des Moines Art Center and the Iowa State Fair. One notable work, "Drying Nets," was selected for a national, watercolor tour, the Watercolor USA exhibit. She also studied with Dong Kingman, the master watercolorist, in workshops offered across Asia (Manila, Singapore, and Hong Kong).

Bethane retired from the Carroll Public School system in 1972; she served as secretary-treasurer of the Iowa State Educators Association and as president of the Carroll County Educational Association. She was active in her local PEO chapter (Chapter EB, Carroll, Iowa), Friends of the Public Library, and the local Methodist church. Carpenter was an avid gardener and invited friends to sketch while visiting her home. She is remembered, in Carroll, as a committed teacher and an advocate for the arts in her community.