We spent last Friday going through Helen Muir’s papers at the University of Miami. She was a Miami News and Herald reporter in the 1950s and 1960s. She was a friend of other women’s page journalists Marie Anderson, Dorothy Jurney and Jeanne Voltz. This is a photo of Helen with her daughters. (It can be found in Helen’s papers.) It was the car accident death of her youngest daughter who led Helen to champion libraries. For Helen, it was a memorial for her daughter. I am exploring Helen’s methods of advocacy for libraries and her work as a journalist in Miami. Helen was also a good friend of Marjory Stoneman…

We’re leaving this morning to drive to Miami. While there, we plan to go through the papers of Helen Muir at the University of Miami. She wrote for the women’s page of the Miami News and the Miami Herald in the 1950s. She was a lifelong friend of Marie Anderson, Dorothy Jurney and Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The four women helped create the foundation of Miami. Helen also did public relations work in early Miami – taking over from Dorothy Roe who become the women’s page editor for the Associated Press.

I am working on collecting information on Miami News women’s page journalist (and Miami library legend) Helen Muir. She was a friend of many in the Miami women’s page community – especially Dorothy Jurney and Marie Anderson. This 1972 letter, concerning the growing hippy problem in Miami, can be found in Helen’s papers at the University of Miami. We hope to go through Helen’s paper sometime this month.