Simpson College’s Librarian and Archivist, Cyd Dyer, retires after 47 years of serving students and staff; as she reflected on her past, she urged the community to stay in the present moment.
Dyer, the longest-serving Simpson staff member, said her time at the college wasn’t a job, but an adventure. She came into Simpson as a Cataloger, but applied for and received the position of Archivist in 1983.
“I’ve moved through technology, moved through buildings, that was always interesting,” she said. “So much has changed, but on the other hand, so much has stayed the same.”
While Dyer didn’t graduate from Simpson, she recalled the first time she stepped foot on campus.
“I first saw Simpson when I was in high school and I came for a cheerleading camp,” she said. “Who knew many years later I would be applying for a job here?”
Dyer has been involved in multiple communal activities, on and off campus, including the Indianola School Board, Indianola Parks and Recreation and the Indianola Library Board. Her favorite part of all, though, has been the Archives.
Dyer built the Archives from the ground up, which she originally worked on with the late Joseph Walt (2013). She believed Walt was concerned with the preservation of the college’s history.
Following his passing, Dyer thought to herself: “What would Joe want?” The school then provided enough money to build a public research room, where Walt’s old collections remain.
In her time serving the Simpson community, she has worked with 30 college archivists. Senior Undergraduate Assistant (UGA) Katherine Hendrickson is the final one to work for Dyer.
Hendrickson, a history and education major, has been the Archives UGA for two and a half years. She said her experience working with Dyer has been positive, and she’s learned a lot of different skills.
“[Cyd]’s probably been one of my top mentors here at Simpson, just because we work so closely together,” she said. “She’s just instilled a love for history, more than I already had.”
Hendrickson said she loved getting to see what a successful archive looked like and admired Dyer’s passion to preserve Simpson’s history.
“It’s just been really awesome to see how she’s basically been running this whole thing,” she said.
Hendrickson’s last day working in the Archives was April 25. She said the Archives are important to both her and Dyer, so they want to make sure someone will be there to successfully take over.
“A lot of the things that happen are due to her doing research in the Archives and finding something,” Hendrickson said. “Her work’s definitely been vital to the continuation of the college.”
Dyer’s impact goes beyond the library. Hendrickson described her as an exceptional person who instills a lot of confidence in people.
“She’s definitely a major part of why I still get up sometimes in the morning,” she said. “I’m always looking forward to the couple of hours a day we have with each other.”
Dyer will end her time at Simpson with the May Term travel trip to Costa Rica, where she will practice her Spanish and tai chi. Senior Andrea Warner, a library employee, will attend this trip with Dyer.
Warner said getting to hang out as a group and reflect on their experiences is what she is most looking forward to on the trip.
“I’m excited to get to know [Cyd] more and have similar fun experiences with her,” she said. “She was a good person to be around and chat with during my work-study shift.”
As Dyer finishes her time serving the Simpson community, she said her post-retirement goal is to continue to be in the present moment.
“The past is important, but live in the present, because time goes so fast,” she said.
Dyer’s presence will be missed amongst students and staff, but she will have a lasting impact where her legacy will live in history, in the Archives.
“To work in a fantastic place like Simpson all of these years, I’ve been extremely blessed,” she said. “I felt at home here.”