Isabel Nauerth Haynes was born October 25, 1899 in Traer, Iowa. She attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1921 with a teaching certificate. In 1922, Isabel began her forty-five year association with Yellowstone National Park taking a summer job with Yellowstone Camps and Lodge Company. She eventually spent three years as manager of Roosevelt Lodge after completing a resort management program in California. During her employment in Yellowstone, Isabel met Jack Ellis Haynes whom she married in 1930. Isabel became an integral part of the Haynes company. During the winter months, she recruited Minnesota college students looking to spend their summers in the park and managed the Yellowstone stores during the season. Isabel and Jack's only child, Lida, was born in 1932, but died suddenly in a car accident in 1952. As a gift to the youth of Montana, the Haynes Foundation was created by Jack and Isabel in 1958 as a way to provide scholarships to the state's Universities. After her husband's death in 1962, Isabel assumed full control of the Haynes Picture shops, running them until selling out to Hamilton Stores in 1969. Mrs. Haynes was an active citizen in the Bozeman community and the state of Montana . She was honored with many awards including the MSU Blue and Gold award, honorary doctorates from M. S. U. and Carroll College, and the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce's Sperry award. Isabel Haynes passed away in Bozeman April 7, 1993.
From the guide to the Isabel Haynes Papers, 1886-1992, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)
