-
Bonnie Cashin and Eleni Epstein
I just ordered some letters between groundbreaking designed Bonnie Cashin and Penney-Missouri Award winner and Washington Star fashion editor Eleni Epstein. Bonnie’s papers are in the Special Collections at UCLA. I discovered the letters after a second review of the finding aid. Eleni’s maiden name is misspelled in the aid. At some point I hope to go through Bonnie’s papers. Bonnie was a designer for Coach purses. The company issued a special edition of Bonnie purses a few years ago. I just won the above bag on eBay – I am curious about her role as a design leader post-World War II. I am curious about the relationship between Bonnie…
-
Sisters of ’77
Today I am going to watch the film, Sisters of ’77. Here is background about the historic conference in Houston, the first federally funded U.S. National Women’s Conference. I am watching it in preparation for going through the papers of Kay Clarenbach at the University of Wisconsin next month. Kay was the director of the conference. Women’s page editors Marie Anderson, Dorothy Jurney and Marjorie Paxson attended the conference as delegates. Jurney and Paxson would go on to edit the official report to the president. It was just another example of the interaction of women’s page journalism and feminism.
-
Tom Johnson & Vivian Castleberry
This morning, I am sitting in the garden and working on a chapter of my book about Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. I am writing about the years when Tom Johnson arrived at the Times Herald. He was the first editor who really understood what she was trying to do. It is a reminder that while most male editors were not supportive of transforming women’s page content, some did understand. (Other examples would include Jim Bellows and J. Edward Murray.) Vivian and Tom exchanged some emails in 2004 that I went through. Here is one of my favorites from Tom to Vivian: “What I always respected the most was…
-
Milwaukee women’s page editor Jean Otto
I am beginning the collection of information about 1960s Milwaukee Journal women’s page editor Jean Otto. She wrote some amazing articles in the women’s sections – news about rape, workplace inequities and daycare issues. Dorothy Jurney and Vivian Castleberry described Jean as a progressive women’s page journalist. In 1972, Jean became the first woman on the editorial board at the Milwaukee Journal – one of the first women in this position in the country. In 1979, she became the first female president of the Society of Professional Journalist – an organization that excluded women until 1969. She led a national effort to have March 16 — the birthdate of James…
-
Papers of the Penney-Missouri Awards are processed
I recently learned the papers of the Penney-Missouri Awards at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri have been processed. Here is the inventory. It’s an impressive listing. The Penney-Missouri Awards, which began in the 1960s, were the top recognition for women’s pages in the country. Awards were given in different circulation sizes with special categories in reporting and fashion. Winners then attended a several-day workshop at the University of Missouri. I wrote about the awards for the April 2006 issue of Journalism History. Among this collection are the stories of most of the top women’s page journalists in the country – especially those who were publishing…
-
Death of Jo Werne
I was so sad to hear of the death of longtime Miami Herald reporter Jo Werne. She died earlier this week. Here is her obituary. (I always noticed her byline since my middle name is Jo.) Jo often covered furnishing – one of the four Fs of the women’s pages. Yet, in 1972, she won a Penney-Missouri Award for fashion. Here is what I learned about her from the Penney-Missouri Papers at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri:Werne combined her hobby with her work and it led to the 1972 Penney-Missouri Award for fashion writing. A reporter on numerous beats, she had been sewing for years.…
You May Also Like
Writing Women into the Curriculum
A website devoted to the history of newspaper women's pages
