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Talking to Chairs & Furnishing Writers
With all the mocking of Clint Eastwood talking to a chair at the RNC, I kept thinking how much fun the furnishing writers of the women’s pages would have had. (Furnishings is one of the 4 Fs associated with the women’s pages.) Three of the furnishing writers I am researching are Dorothy Dawe and Lois Hagen from the Milwaukee Journal, and Jo Werne from the Miami Herald. If I were talk to a chair, this would be the kind I would choose.
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Big Finds in the Marjorie Paxson Papers
I just finished going through the wonderful package of papers that arrived from the National Women & Media Collection. The copies are from the newly indexed Marjorie Paxson papers. Marjorie, who helped established the NWMC, was a longtime women’s page editor before becoming a newspaper publisher. That is a drawing of her above and a card signed by her friends and colleagues at the Miami Herald as she was leaving for the St. Petersburg Times. There are also great photos of her going away party – including one image of Marj with women’s page pioneer Marie Anderson. In some ways it was bittersweet to see the images. Marjorie looks so…
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Eudora Garrison & Recognizing Food Editors
The work of newspapers food editors has long been devalued – especially those who wrote in the 1950s and 1960s. In the book The United States of Arugula, David Kamp refers to them dismissively as the “Jello-abusing women’s page ladies.” What is interesting is how often I now see the recipes of these women cited. For example, 1950s Charlotte Observer food editor Eudora Garrison’s recipe for a chicken salad sandwich was cited in Oprah Magazine. This blog cited one of Garrison’s cake recipes.
- Alice Richards, food journalism, Marian Manners, Mary Cullen, Mary Meade, Prudence Penny, Ruth Ellen Church
Food Writers & Pen Names
Several of the newspaper food writers in the women’s pages of newspapers used pen names such as Ruth Ellen Church (pictured above from when she was home economics journalism student at Iowa State University) who wrote under the byline of Mary Meade during her long career at the Chicago Tribune. This link shows that it was Virginia Harms who wrote under the byline of Alice Richards at the Milwaukee Journal. Here is a story about the use of two pen names at Los Angeles newspapers: Prudence Penney and Marian Manners. Mary Cullen was a food writing pen name in the Northwest. I am continuing to research this food writing trend…
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Naming of Hurricanes
The Associated Press recently ran a story about the names of hurricanes. What is left out of the story is the role that Miami feminist Roxcy Bolton (pictured below) played in changing the policy. Prior to her activism, hurricanes were ALWAYS named for women. She got tired of reading headlines about hurricanes with women’s names destroying communities. Instead, she suggested that hurricanes be named for senators – since they like to name things after themselves. By 1979, the policy was changed to alternate women and men’s names when it came to naming hurricanes. Here is a story that provides some background. Roxcy was a friend of Miami Herald women’s page editor…
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Writing Women into the Curriculum
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New Research Finds
I have completed two orders for new material about women’s page journalism and food journalism. From the Fales Library at NYU, I ordered a transcript of an interview between Associated Press food editor Cecily Brownstone and the great food writer Laura Shapiro. I am presenting a paper about Cecily at the National Communication Association Convention this fall. From the National Women and Media Collection, I placed a large order of copies from the papers of women’s page editor and later publisher Marjorie Paxson. It includes references to Paul Myhre, Edee Green and Jim Bellows. There was also a folder devoted to a food editors meeting.
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Green Bean Casserole & Food Editor Cecily Brownstone
A website devoted to the history of newspaper women's pages
