Scarberry, Alma Sioux (1899-1990), Papers, 1899-1990 (C3913)
3 linear feet, 41 audio cassettes, 14 records
INTRODUCTION
The papers of Alma Sioux Scarberry, a reporter, novelist, script writer, publicist, and entertainer, include correspondence, clippings, photographs, newspapers serials, books, manuscripts, sheet music, audio tapes, and records documenting her career and personal life.
DONOR INFORMATION
The Alma Sioux Scarberry Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by her son Theodore Klein, Jr. on March 13, 1991 (Accession No. 5011). An addition to the papers was made on January 6, 1992 (Accession No. 5131). The Scarberry Papers are part of the National Women and Media Collection.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Alma Sioux Scarberry was born in Kentucky in 1899, the daughter of a strict, fundamentalist minister. Early in life Scarberry supported herself with odd jobs. She worked her way to New York City at the young age of seventeen by selling varnish. Scarberry became one of the first Yeomanettes when she enlisted in the Navy for one year.
In 1918 Scarberry began her career by writing free-lance, but was soon displaying her acting talents as well. Two years later King Features hired her to write daily columns. During the next six years she became well known for her reporting stunts and daring articles. She once dressed as a homeless person and begged for money to expose fraudulent beggars in Philadelphia. During 1922 to 1924 she also appeared on Broadway in Irving Berlin's Music Box Revue and in the Schubert Theater's The Mikado.
Scarberry moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1926 to take a position as a daily columnist for the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph. Scarberry wrote her first romance novel, Make Up, in 1927 and it appeared in newspapers as a serial. The popularity of this work prompted more offers and, over the next two decades, Scarberry wrote for Central Press, Bell Syndicate, and the North American Newspaper Alliances. The National Broadcasting Company bought one of her radio dramas.
In 1930 she married Theodore A. Klein, Sr. and moved to Chicago. A son, Theodore A. Klein, Jr., was born in 1932. The marriage ended after approximately ten years.
The 1940s and 1950s were productive years for Scarberry. The Columbia Broadcasting System in Hollywood, California, hired Scarberry as a publicity specialist in 1940. She soon became head of the writing department at the Mutual Don Lee Network. She also began to write songs during this time. "Love You Big as Texas" and "Gonna Lasso You a Rainbow," were some of her more popular tunes. In 1944 Scarberry returned to New York City where she directed the Radio Bureau of the New York National War Fund. Between 1949 and 1951 Scarberry opened her own creative writing schools in San Antonio, Texas; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Dallas, Texas. She continued to write features, columns, songs, and radio scripts. In 1955 Scarberry returned to serial publication through General Features with "The Doofer Family," a children's fantasy story.
Scarberry took a public relations position in 1959 with the Columbus Plastic Products, Inc., in Ohio. She solicited her contacts in Hollywood to market the company's Lustro Ware merchandise, and upon her request, several television variety shows and commercials used Lustro Ware products as props. For the next six years, Scarberry provided her publicity services to a variety of good causes such as the Council for Retarded Children and Cerebral Palsy of Central Ohio.
In 1965 Scarberry moved to Austin, Texas, to be closer to her son and grandchildren. She continued to handle publicity for organizations. Her work with Goodwill Industries, the Old Bakery and Emporium, and Austin Parks and Recreation allowed her to work with disadvantaged and elderly people. She also became a regular feature on a local radio talk show hosted by Cactus Pryor, and she wrote articles for local publications and starred in television commercials. Scarberry died in 1990, after achieving celebrity status in Austin for her publicity efforts.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Alma Sioux Scarberry Papers consist of correspondence, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, books, manuscripts, and audio recordings. Scarberry's career can be documented throughout her papers, but more material exists for her career and personal life after 1950. The papers are divided into two series:
The Personal series primarily contains correspondence (1924-1990), clippings (1925-1989), and photographs (1899-1988) that are not directly associated with her career. Also in this series is biographical material including an interview with Scarberry conducted c. 1981, address and guest books, scrapbooks, and material about her son and grandson, Ted A. Klein, Jr. and Travis Klein, respectively. This series is arranged alphabetically by type of material.
There are four sections in the Professional series: Correspondence, Public Relations, Writings, and Miscellaneous. All four sections are arranged chronologically. The series has material about Scarberry's career as a writer and publicist. The Correspondence section (1940-1985) contains general information about Scarberry's various positions and writings. The Public Relations section (1940s-1984) is comprised of material about her advertising career, beginning with the Columbia Broadcasting System in the early 1940s and ending with the numerous organizations she promoted in Austin during the 1970s and 1980s. Notes and reports about her activities in the Austin area make up the majority of the material in this section. The Writings section (1930-1985) consists of Scarberry's romance novels and serials, radio scripts, manuscripts, and musical writings that are comprised of sheet music and audio recordings. An alphabetical index to the four folders that contain sheet music, lyrics, and disc records is at the end of this inventory. In addition, there is material about "The Doofer Family" that includes manuscripts, illustrations, radio scripts, and clippings. The Miscellaneous section (1941-1980s) contains three folders pertaining to Scarberry's creative writing workshops, material related to her military service, and notes and audio cassettes from the Cactus Pryor Show. The cassettes are recorded conversations with Scarberry from Pryor's radio talk show during the 1970s and 1980s.
FOLDER LIST
| f. 1 | Address books, c. 1940s-1950s |
| f. 2 | Awards, membership cards, 1940-1954, 1979-1980 |
| f. 3 | Biographical material, 1939-1990 |
| f. 4 | Calendars, 1978-1979 May |
| f. 5 | Calendars, 1979 August-1982 |
| f. 6 | Clippings, c. 1925-1949 |
| f. 7 | Clippings, 1950-1968 |
| f. 8 | Clippings, 1970-1978 |
| f. 9 | Clippings, 1980-1989 |
| f. 10 | Correspondence, 1924-1949 |
| f. 11 | Correspondence, 1951-1959 |
| f. 12 | Correspondence, c. 1960-1979 |
| f. 13 | Correspondence, 1980-1990 |
| f. 14 | Correspondence, n.d. |
| f. 15 | Correspondence, Siouxziegram form letter, 1965-1978 |
| f. 16 | Guest book, c. 1988 |
| f. 17 | Klein, Theodore, Jr. and Travis, material, 1945-1981 |
| f. 18 | Interview, c. 1981 |
| f. 19 | Legal papers, 1965-1972 |
| f. 20 | Photographs, 1899, 1916-1937 |
| f. 21 | Photographs, c. 1940s-1947 |
| f. 22 | Photographs, c. 1950s-1967 |
| f. 23 | Photographs, 1971-1979 |
| f. 24 | Photographs, 1980s |
| f. 25 | Photographs, 1980-1988 |
| f. 26 | Scrapbook, 1929-1969
Scrapbook, 1929-1974 [OVERSIZE] |
| f. 27 | Scrapbook, 1943-1984 |
| f. 28-31 | Correspondence, 1940-1985 |
| f. 32-49 | Public relations |
| f. 32 | CBS Press Department, notebook, c. 1940s |
| f. 33 | Texas State Fair, Dallas, c. 1951 |
| f. 34 | Columbus [Ohio] Plastic Products, Inc., 1959-1960 |
| f. 35 | Columbus [Ohio] Plastic Products, Inc., Scrapbook, 1959-1960 |
| f. 36 | Columbus [Ohio] Plastic Products, Inc., Press Kit, 1960 |
| f. 37 | Columbus [Ohio] Plastic Products, Inc., 1961-1968 |
| f. 38 | United Cerebral Palsy of Central Ohio and Council for Retarded Children, Columbus Ohio, scrapbook, 1956-c. 1965 |
| f. 39 | Miscellaneous public relations programs, c. 1962-1980 |
| f. 40 | Dallas County, Texas Humane Society, 1964 |
| f. 41 | Goodwill Industries, Austin, Texas, 1968-1970 |
| f. 42 | Theater Unlimited, Austin, Texas, 1970-1971 |
| f. 43 | KLRN-TV (PBS), San Antonio, Texas, 1975-1976 |
| f. 44 | The Old Bakery and Emporium, Austin, Texas, 1977-1984 |
| f. 45-46 | Austin, Texas area, miscellaneous notes, c. 1980 |
| f. 47 | Austin [Texas] Parks and Recreation, senior programs, notes, c. 1980 |
| f. 48 | Austin [Texas] Parks and Recreation, senior programs report, 1980-1981 |
| f. 49 | Siouxziegram greeting cards, 1980-1982 |
| f. 50-104 | Writings |
| f. 50 | Flat Tire, novel, 1930 |
| f. 51 | High Hat, novel, 1930 |
| f. 52 | The Dimpled Racketeer, novel, 1931 |
| f. 53 | Make-up, novel, 1931 |
| f. 54 | Flighty, novel, 1932 |
| f. 55 | Puppy Love, novel, 1933 |
| f. 56 | Penthouse Love, novel, 1934 |
| f. 57 | "Penthouse Love," script, c. 1934 |
| f. 58 | "Heart on Her Sleeve," serial, c. 1935 |
| f. 59 | "Leap Year Lady," c. 1935 |
| f. 60 | Too Wise to Marry, novel, 1935 |
| f. 61 | "Paradise is Here," serial, 1940 |
| f. 62 | "Farewell to Glamour," serial, c. 1935 |
| f. 63 | "Love Will Come Again," serial, 1941 |
| f. 64 | "Stars Over Hollywood," script, 1943 |
| f. 65 | Sheet music, lyrics, disc records, 1943-1949 |
| f. 66 | "Jersey Gadabout," script, 1947 |
| f. 67 | "Aunt Jennie," script, c. 1950 |
| f. 68-69 | "The Baby Racket Murders," manuscript, c. 1950 |
| f. 70 | "Point of View," manuscript, c. 1950 |
| f. 71 | "Uncle Tex Comes to Boston," manuscript, c. 1950 |
| f. 72 | "Wish Upon a Star," manuscript, c. 1950 |
| f. 73 | "The Young Have Hope," manuscript, c. 1950 |
| f. 74 | "Clingin' Vine," script, c. 1950 |
| f. 75 | "If I had a Million," script, c. 1950 |
| f. 76 | "Tough Breaks," Taplinger and Associates, Inc. material 1950-1954 |
| f. 77 | "Tough Breaks," correspondence, 1953-1954 |
| f. 78 | "Tough Breaks," manuscripts, 1953-1954 |
| f. 79 | Sheet music, lyrics, disc records, 1952-1959 |
| f. 80 | Miscellaneous scripts, c. 1953-1959 |
| f. 81 | Miscellaneous writings, c. 1953-1959 |
| f. 82 | "Romance of Helen Trent," script by Frank and Anne Hummert, 1953 |
| f. 83 | Poems, 1954-1973 |
| f. 84-97 | "The Doofer Family" |
| f. 84 | Correspondence, 1954-1956 |
| f. 85 | Book 1, chapters 1-9, manuscript, c. 1955 |
| f. 86 | Book 1, chapter 10-20, manuscript, c. 1955 |
| f. 87 | Character illustrations, color, c. 1955 |
| f. 88 | Daily illustrations, pen and ink, c. 1955 |
| f. 89 | Radio scripts, c. 1955 |
| f. 90 | Radio scripts, c. 1955 |
| f. 91 | Introductory material, chapters 3-7, 1955-1956 |
| f. 92 | Chapters 9-18, 1955 |
| f. 93 | Chapters 19-27, 1955 |
| f. 94 | Chapters 28-36, 1955 |
| f. 95 | Chapters 37-44, 1955 |
| f. 96 | Chapters 45-54, 1955-1956 |
| f. 97 | Clippings with accompanying illustrations, 1955-1956 |
| f. 98 | Sheet music, lyrics, disc records, 1961-1971 |
| f. 99 | Stories, reissue of, 1968-1986 |
| f. 100 | Kalendar, St. Luke's-on-the-Lake Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas, 1971-1974 |
| f. 101 | "Fashion Flash: Christmas and Spring," 1975 |
| f. 102 | Networker, Austin Texas, 1983-1985 |
| f. 103 | Sheet music, lyrics, disc records, cassette tapes, n.d. |
| f. 104 | Sheet music, lyrics, unidentified, n.d. |
| f. 105-107 | Miscellaneous |
| f. 105 | Writing schools, advertisements, clippings, 1941-1951 |
| f. 106 | Military related material, 1942-1951 |
| f. 107 | Cactus Pryor Show, notes, audio cassettes, c. 1970s-1980s |
| A Beautiful Gal Can't be True | f. 103 |
| A Travis and Leila Song | f. 98 |
| Alice from Dallas | f. 103 |
| And So It's Over | f. 103 |
| Banjo Lullaby | f. 103 |
| Big Tom Turkey | f. 79 |
| Big Top Blues | f. 103 |
| Black Out Rhapsody | f. 103 |
| Can Do from Sing Poo | f. 79 |
| Capital Cappers Cuddle | f. 103 |
| Chant of the Cavalier | f. 79 |
| Cuckie | f. 79 |
| De Queen of De Rodeo's From Brooklyn | f. 79 |
| Don't Bug Me | f. 103 |
| Down the Stardust Trail | f. 103 |
| Footloose Mama | f. 65 |
| Get Offen the Pot | f. 79 |
| Give Me the Faith of a Little Child | f. 79 |
| Goin' to Lasso a Rainbow for You | f. 65 |
| Gonna Gitcha | f. 103 |
| Heart on My Sleeve, Love in My Eyes | f. 65 |
| Heaven's Nye | f. 103 |
| Highway | f. 103 |
| Honey Chile | f. 79 |
| Hoofbeats on the Trail | f. 79 |
| I Crave to be a Wave | f. 103 |
| I Got a Trifflin' Heart | f. 103 |
| I'm Fixin' to Shout | f. 103 |
| I'm in a Daze | f. 103 |
| Imperial Quartet | f. 103 |
| Indian Trader Sam | f. 98 |
| Iris Bloom | f. 103 |
| It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn | f. 103 |
| Jerry Clown | f. 103 |
| Jet Ball Widow | f. 79 |
| Jitti Jitti Boom Boom | f. 103 |
| Kaliope Lullaby | f. 79 |
| Kelly Green Christmas | f. 103 |
| Liberate Me, Liberate Me, Liberate Me! | f. 98 |
| Light a Little Light | f. 79 |
| Little Tree in the Wind | f. 103 |
| Love You Big as Texas | f. 79 |
| Magic Carpet of Dreams | f. 65 |
| Me and My Trifflin' Heart | f. 79 |
| Merry-Go-Round Cowboy | f. 79 |
| Minnie Mae from Texas | f. 98 |
| Miss Aqua Beauty | f. 98 |
| My Christmas Dream is Far Away | f. 65 |
| Ohrbach's Xmas Song | f. 103 |
| Padden Me, Why I Lay an Egg | f. 103 |
| Pear Orchard, Texas | f. 103 |
| Poodle Doo | f. 98 |
| Prayer for a Leader | f. 103 |
| Preston Smith from Texas | f. 98 |
| Renunciation | f. 103 |
| Road Fever | f. 79 |
| Since You Happened to Me | f. 103 |
| Sing Americans Sing | f. 103 |
| So Far So Good | f. 103 |
| Song of April | f. 65 |
| Start Spreading Cheer Around | f. 79 |
| Take it One Day at Time | f. 98 |
| The Day It Rained in Texas | f. 103 |
| The Great Big Bend of Texas | f. 103 |
| The Gypsy Said | f. 103 |
| They Met at La Villita | f. 103 |
| Two Little Stars that Fell | f. 79 |
| Vitamin T Steam | f. 79 |
| Voices of the Woods | f. 103 |
| Whatever Happened to the Hula | f. 103 |
| When the Irish Met at Scholz's | f. 98 |
| Whirlin' | f. 103 |
| Wonderful Dream While it Lasted | f. 79 |
| You're Still My Favorite Moon | f. 103 |
INDEX TERMS
These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.
- "The Doofer Family"
- Advertising
- Cactus Pryor Radio Show, Austin, Texas
- Canova, Judy
- Children's literature
- Civil service
- Columbia Broadcasting System, Hollywood, California
- Columbus Plastic Products, Inc., Columbus, Ohio
- Council for Retarded Children, Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas County Humane Society, Dallas, Texas
- Dean, Eddie
- Epstein, Dave A.
- Evans, Dale
- Experience unlimited, Austin, Texas
- Fiction
- Fiction--Newspaper serials
- General Features Corporation, New York City, NY
- Goodwill Industries, Austin, TX
- Greeting cards, 1980s
- Job Preparation Center, Austin, TX
- Klein, Theodore, Jr. (1932- )
- KLRN Television, San Antonio, TX
- Koelle, William F.B.
- Lopez, Vincent
- National Women & Media Collection
- Ohio, Columbus
- Ohio. Fair, Columbus, OH, 1960
- Old Bakery & Emporium, Austin, TX
- Poetry, 1940s-1960s
- Postcards, 1920-1950s
- Pryor, Cactus
- Public Relations
- Publishers & publishing
- Radio advertising
- Radio programs
- Radio scripts
- Reporters & reporting
- Roberst S. Taplinger & Associates, Incorporated, New York, NY
- Scarberry, Alma Sioux (1899-1990)
- Sheet music
- Sound recordings
- Swayze, John Cameron
- Television advertising
- Texas, Austin
- Texas, Austin, Parks and Recreation
- Texas, Austin. Parks and Recreation
- Texas, Fair, Dallas, TX
- Theater Unlimited, Austin, TX
- United Cerebral Palsy of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH
- Writers Workshop
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