Vivian Castleberry
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Virginia Whitehill & Vivian Castleberry
I was sad to see that Virginia Whitehill has died – although she had an amazing life and made a significant difference for women. This was my favorite part of her obituary:“Patty Whitehill, who lives in Florida, described her mother as a “white-gloved feminist activist” who co-founded the Dallas Women’s Coalition, the Dallas Women’s Foundation, and the Family Place, the first women’s shelter in Dallas.” I met Whitehill at an event for Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry – who I am writing a book about.
- Dorothy Jurney, journalism history, Marie Anderson, Marjorie Paxson, oral history, Vivian Castleberry, WPCF
Oral History Association Conference: 2015
I had a great time in Tampa at the 2015 Oral History Association Conference. I spoke about the women’s page editors who were part of the Washington Press Club Foundation’s Women in Journalism oral history project: Marie Anderson, Vivian Castleberry, Dorothy Jurney & Marjorie Paxson.
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Vivian Castleberry Column
The Dallas Morning News featured a great column by longtime Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. Lance & I are working on a book about Vivian’s life and career.
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Vivian Castleberry’s Coverage of JFK in Dallas
The only reporter’s notebook that women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry ever kept was the one she used when she was at the Trade Mart on November 22, 1963. Vivian drove to her office at the Dallas Times Herald early that morning. Her daughter Carol was with her that morning. Carol was going to go to the library and then take a spot along President JFK’s route. She would then take a bus to school. Vivian sent her reporter Val Imm to cover the event at Love Field. Vivian arrived at the Trade Mart and interviewed Dallas Judge Sarah Hughes. She said that she was concerned about the president visiting Dallas.…
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Happy Birthday to Vivian Castleberry
Happy birthday to Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry. Here is how Vivian was described in the documentary Trailblazing Texas Women: “An extremely bright, articulate woman, her close-cropped gray hair, pearls and suit reminiscent of the Kennedy era, Vivian Castleberry sips her cup of tea and tells her stories with a sardonic sense of humor and the same dry wit she deployed in print to blast those that treated her as “the little woman” journalist. Vivian knew from day one that she wanted to be a writer. She attended college on her own dime and states that“I never deviated a jot or a piddle, I went straight to being a…
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Women’s History Month: Vivian Castleberry, Part 2
This is the second part of a post regarding Vivian Castleberry in honor of day 13 of Women’s History Month. In the 1950s, trailblazing Dallas women’s page editor Vivian Castleberry had to find her own way of balancing being a journalist with being the mother of five daughters. She told the male editors who she worked for to allow her some flexibility. She would do her job and meet her deadlines. But she would do it her own way and on her own schedule. As she said in her oral history: “When I went to work for the Times Herald I said, “I will do a great job for you.…
