Missouri Press Women, Papers, 1961-1985 (C3967)

.8 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

The papers of the Missouri Press Women consist of award and scholarship information, bylaws, correspondence, financial and membership records, and minutes.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Missouri Press Women Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by Betty Cook Rottman (SHS Accession No. 1131) on 2 April 1975 with an addition on 20 November 1980 (SHS Accession No. 2342). Vera Haworth Eldridge also donated material on 20 October 1981 (SHS Accession No. 2389) with additions on 15 September 1983 (SHS Accession No. 2492) and 19 July 1985 (SHS Accession No. 2567). The Missouri Press Women Papers are part of the National Women and Media Collection.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

The Missouri Press Women was founded in 1937 as the Missouri Women's Press Club. The club was organized to promote the highest ideals of American journalism and to foster improvements through mutual association. The organization is affiliated with the National Federation of Press Women.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Missouri Press Women Papers are arranged by type of material and span the years from 1961 to 1985 with many gaps. The awards and scholarships section documents a number of awards and scholarships sponsored by the organization and other journalism groups. The bylaws for the Missouri Press Women are detailed in a brochure. There are also proposed changes to those bylaws. The correspondence consists of general correspondence as well as material from the Northwest District of the Missouri Press Women and miscellaneous press releases.

The majority of the financial records consist of membership rosters with the amount of dues paid. Financial statements and special financial reports, such as those of a committee chair to the treasurer, complete the section. The membership section contains directories, biographical sketches, and photographs. Noted personalities appearing in the files include Bertha Bless, first president of MPW, and Lola Anderson, board member. The Bertha Bless file contains personal correspondence between Bless and Vera Eldridge, often providing insights into organizational politics and the association's reaction to the women's movement of the 1970s.

The newspaper clippings deal with various members of the Missouri Press Women. The publications include Lifelines, the newsletter of the Missouri Press Women and a copy of a cookbook Make A Splash. The records of the meetings consist of agendas, minutes, committee reports and programs.

FOLDER LIST

f. 1-8Awards and Scholarships
f. 1-3Missouri Press Women Contest, 1961-1982
f. 4Missouri Writer's Guild, 1963-1964
f. 5Youth Writing Contest
f. 6Lola Anderson Scholarship, 1966
f. 7Scholarship Loan Fund, 1977
f. 8National Federation of Press Women, 1966
f. 9Bylaws
f. 10-11Correspondence, 1965-1982
f. 12Correspondence, Miscellaneous press releases, n.d.
f. 13Correspondence, Northwest District, 1976-1985
f. 14Financial Records, 1963-1981
f. 15-18Membership
f. 15Directories
f. 16Biographical sketches
f. 17Bertha Bless
f. 18Photographs
f. 19Newspaper Clippings
f. 20-24Publications
f. 20-23Lifelines, 1963-1985
f. 24Cookbook, 1981
f. 25-30Meetings
f. 25-27Minutes, 1962-1977
f. 28Committee meetings
f. 29-32Programs, 1965-1983

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.

  • Anderson, Lola
  • Bless, Bertha
  • Bradley, Jenifer
  • Branham, Janet
  • Davidson, Clarissa Start
  • Flink, Jane
  • Izzard, Gaye
  • Jacobs, Lois
  • Journalism education
  • Leathers, Tom
  • Lifelines
  • Michie, Mildred Planthold
  • Missouri Press Women
  • National Women and Media Collection
  • Rottman, Betty Cook
  • Weir, Ben F.
  • Wolfe, Lois Lauer
  • Women journalists
  • Women--Societies--Missouri