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Desegregation in Dallas
The store in this building became a fixture in downtown Dallas for several decades, and its lunch counter was the city’s first to be integrated during the 1960s. Dallas Times Herald women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry covered the event and then went on to cover the desegregation of Dallas neighborhoods. Many women’s pages covered the everyday events in the lives of African American women, such as club women and wedding announcements.
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Anniversary of the JFK Assassination
President Kennedy was killed on Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas. Times Herald women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry was waiting to meet the president and first lady at the Trade Mart that day. She is in the crowded room in the above video. Vivian was briefly noted in the above book – although she has a unique perspective on that day and the impact on her city. The book I am writing will include her story.
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Joan Younger Dickinson revise-and-resubmit
I just got my reviews back on my manuscript about UPI women’s page reporter and Ladies Home Journal writer Joan Younger Dickson. I will get started on the revision for the national history journal over the break. The above photo is of Joan with the Duchess of Windsor. Joan covered the royal couple when they lived in the Bahamas. The New York Times ran this article yesterday about the Duchess’s jewels.
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History of women in Dallas
I am reading a fascinating book about the history of women in Dallas as part of my research on Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. Women and the Creation of Urban Life, by Elizabeth York Enstam examines Dallas from 1843-1920. It is well written and well researched. I loved this passage: “Cities, not the frontier, emancipated American women.”And, “Dallas was a contradiction of custom and tradition.” (pg 180) I also liked her examination of early club women – whose work was often covered in the women’s pages. It was a power partnership.
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Carol Sutton’s daughter
Here is a short Q & A with Carrie Orman, the daughter of Louisville women’s page editor turned managing editor Carol Sutton. Here is what she said about her mother: “Historical character identified with: My mom, Carol Sutton. She is a historical character and has been written about several times. (Sutton, former managing editor of The Courier-Journal, was the first woman to hold that position at a major U.S. daily, according to the newspaper’s archives.)”
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Fashion reporter Yvonne Pendleton
I just ordered the oral history of Yvonne Pendleton from the Sixth Floor Museum, who was a fashion reporter at the Dallas Times Herald. She worked for women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry, who I am writing a book about. The Sixth Floor Museum oral histories have been very helpful in understanding Dallas in the 1960s.
A website devoted to the history of newspaper women's pages
