Oral History Summaries
By Author:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ
Jeanne Bellamy (1911-2004), journalist, TV broadcaster, banker, civic leader. Interviewed in 1994 by Marina Whitman. Four audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). Barnard College 1928 - 1929; AB, Rollins College 1933. Ph.D. (Hon), Biscayne College 1975. Interview traces Bellamy's family and childhood, discusses the education of women, and continues with her professional experiences as a journalist for The Miami Herald, 1937-1973, and member of its editorial board from 1977 - 1982, as well as her service as the first woman to chair the Sun Bank Midtown, Miami (now SUNTRUST) and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and as President of the Fairchild Tropical Garden Club (FTG) and member of numerous boards, including the South Florida Water Management District, the Montgomery Foundation, the National Audubon Society, the Nature Conservancy, and Biscayne and Rollins Colleges, and her interest in water resource management and the environment. She describes her travels throughout the Western Hemisphere and in Great Britain. Awarded the Thomas Barbour Medal by the FTG, 1984. Joined SWG in 1982.
Dorothy Agnes Bennett (1909? -1999), anthropologist, archeologist, astronomer, editor, teacher. Interviewed in 1994by Fauno Cordes. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, University of Minnesota, 1930. Diploma from the Institute of Archaeology in London. Bennett was the senior anthropologist with the Museum of Anthropology, University of California. Director of Epoch at Berkeley. Organized a Junior Astronomy Club at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York. Published the first Star Explorer, a revolving chart displaying more than 500 visible stars. Edited the Golden Books series for children, including the Golden Almanac (1944) and the Golden Nature Guide Books (1950). Astronomy took her to Peru and various locations in the Pacific. Member of the American Astronomy Association, American Archaeological Association, American Mentor Association, honorary member of the Geological Society of Peru, and a Fellow of the American Geological Society. Joined SWG in 1945.
Katharine Fowler-Billings (1902-1997), geologist, conservationist, author. Interviewed in 1995 by Birgit Faber Morse. Two audiotapes, transcript (copyright SWG), and videotape. BA, Bryn Mawr College1925. MA, University of Wisconsin 1926, Geology. PhD, Columbia University 1930, Geology. Billings mapped the geology of the Laramie Mountains of Wyoming; Sierra Leone in Africa; and the Monadnock region, Odioue Point in Rye, and the Isle of Shoals in Portsmouth, all in New Hampshire. With her husband, Billings also mapped the geology of north central New Hampshire with a special emphasis on the White Mountains National Forest. Her conservation efforts include the maintenance of the ecology integrity of Wellesley, Massachusetts and the Mount Washington Valley in New Hampshire, restricting land development to prevent environmental pollution. Her efforts also protected the marshlands in North Hampton, New Hampshire, preserving the Green Hills in North Conway, New Hampshire and establishing the Science Center for Environmental Education at Odiorre Point in Rye, New Hampshire. Author of The Gold Missus and Stepping Stones. Joined SWG in 1938.Awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the SWG in 1996.
Ellen Sparry Brush (1933-1999), anthropologist, archaeologist. Interviewed in 1999 by Zorka Milich a few months before Brush's death. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Smith College, Anthropology. MA, PhD, Columbia University. Brush's work in Archeology was in Guerrero, Mexico, and she participated in expeditions to the Licancabur volcano on the border between Chile and Bolivia, the Amzat area of New Guinea, and Baffin Island. She served two terms as Director of the Explorers Club and was awarded the Explorers Club's President's Medal for Distinguished Service. Founder of the American Scandinavian Society. Joined SWG in 1966. Co-chair of the SWG's 50th Anniversary celebrations in New York, 1975. Chair of the New York Group 1987-1990, 1992-1993.Honored by the SWG New York Group with an Outstanding Service Award in 1996.
Betty Didcoct Burrill (1916- ), geographer. Interviewed in 1974 by Delia Goetz (life and career) and in 2000 by Joanna Biggar (SWG-related). Two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Mount Holyoke College 1938, Archaeology. MA, Peabody College 1939, Library Science and 1944, Geography. The 1974 interview, taped shortly after her retirement, describes Burrill's early life, education, and career as a geographer at the United States Department of State, specializing in Latin America, as well as her travels on government business in Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Alaska. It also covers her SWG activities up to that time. The second interview focuses on SWG and her activities on behalf of the organization, especially her Presidency. Joined SWG in1953. Chairman of the National Fellowship Fund Committee, 1973-1998.President of SWG, 1975-1978.
Marion Stilwell Cave (1904-1995), botanist, plant cytologist and embryologist. Interviewed in 1994 by Lorrie Bunker. Two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). A.B. & A.M. University of Colorado 1924 & 1925. Ph.D. University of California 1936.Interviewee recounted how her professional life was thwarted by sex discrimination. Instead of being put on an academic career track, she was made a research assistant. Behind her microscope she began independent embryological studies on Liliaceae and cytological studies on Hydrophyllaceae and Volvocaceae. She published in professional journals, writing more than 45 articles in the course of her career. In 1953 applied for and received a Guggenheim Fellowship to work with Professor Mary Pocock on the cytology of chromosomes in algae. From 1958 to 1959 she became the principal instigator of the compilation of the Index to Plant Chromosom eNumbers, a project supported by the National Science Foundation. In 1959 she was convener of an embryology symposium for the Ninth International Botanical Congress. Joined SWG in 1957. Chairman of Bay Area Group from 1963 to 1966.
Elizabeth Colson (1917- ), anthropologist. Interviewed in 1993 by Fauno Cordes. Two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, MA University of Minnesota 1938, 1940. MA, Radcliff1941. PhD, Radcliffe 1945, Anthropology. Honorary degrees from Brown University, University of Rochester, and the University of Zambia. The interview traces Colson's life from Hewitt, MN, to El Cerrito, CA. Her early interest in archaeology developed into social anthropology with a focus on social change and forced migration. This led to a study of a World War II relocation camp for Japanese-Americans at Poston, AZ and a long-term study in Africa of the Gwembe Tonga of Zambia, who were resettled from Lake Kariba Basin in 1958. Awarded the Rivers Memorial Medal by the Royal Anthropological Institute, 1981. Other areas of interest include North America, Antarctica, Japan, Nepal, and Australia. Joined SWG in 1972. Awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by SWG in 1981.
Lauramay Tinsley Dempster (1905-1997), botanist, researcher. Interviewed in 1994 by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds. Three audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, MA University of California at Berkeley, 1925, 1927, Botany (then the youngest graduate of the Department). Dempster focused on the botany of western North America, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Numerous publications resulted in international recognition as the authority on New World plants. Member of the Biosystematics, the California Nature Plant Society, and an honorary member of the California Academy of Science. . The interview covers her family background, childhood, education, her early career in Botany (that she left when she married and then returned to 16 years later, combining it with raising her children), and her travels for pleasure throughout the world. Joined SWG in 1963. Chair and co-chair of the Bay Area group from 1984-1990.
Ida Brevard DePencier (1893-1998), teacher, researcher, writer, traveler, lecturer. Interviewed in 1993 by Catherine Novotny-Brehm. Four audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). Teaching certificate, County Normal School, Menomonie, WI, 1917.AB, AM, University of Chicago, 1928, 1950, education. DePencier taught social studies, history, and geography for 33 years at the University of Chicago Laboratory School. Author of The History of the Laboratory School, 1967. The interview covers her family background, childhood, education, extensive teaching experience, and travel for pleasure throughout the world. Awarded the Alumni Service Citation from the University of Chicago for over 70 years of outstanding volunteer work as a docent. Joined SWG in 1954. Held numerous positions in the Chicago Group including Chair, 1987-1990.
Dorothy Dingley (1912-1997), educator, photographer, audio-visual specialist. Interviewed in 1994 by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds. Six audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). B.A., University of California at Los Angeles 1936, Elementary Education. MA, Columbia University 1947, Audio-visual Education. The interview traces Dingley's childhood in California, her work as a professional photographer in the United States Navy (where she produced, edited, and wrote scripts for training films in Washington, DC and Charleston, South Carolina) and as head of the National Audubon Society's photography and film department, her many years as a teacher in New York, California and at the American School in Japan, and travel for pleasure throughout the world. Honored with the Teacher of the Year award, El Sobrante, California, 1977. Joined SWG in 1986.
Gertrude E. Dole (1915-2001 ), anthropologist, historian. Interviewed in 1993 and 1994 by Helen B. Shepherd. Ten audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). AB, Middlebury College 1937,Biology and French. MA, University of North Carolina 1949, Anthropology. PhD, University of Michigan 1959, Anthropology. Dole's work has concerned the evolution of social organization, especially in South America, as well as ecology and conservation. The interview describes her family, childhood, education, personal life, and professional activities, including her fieldwork with aboriginal peoples (the Amahuaca of Peru and the Kuikuru of Brazil). Dole is an early oral historian herself, having interviewed Vermont high hill farmers during the period 1973-1980 and several members of SWG as part of the celebration of its 50th anniversary in the mid-1970's. Dole's fieldwork, research and manuscripts are being catalogued and preserved at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York. Member of the American Anthropological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the New York Academy of Science. Joined the SWG in1968. Treasurer of the SWG New York Group, 1969-1974. SWG Oral History chairman, 1973-1980. Member of the SWG Council, 1973-1982and 1990-1993. Awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by SWG in 1999.
Pamela Ann Flowers (1946- ), Arctic dogsled musher, explorer, lecturer. Interviewed in 2000 by Sara Rau. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). Associate Degree, Houston College1975, Respiratory Therapy. The interview covers Flowers' childhood, education, and her personal growth and decision to move to Alaska. It describes her involvement with sled dogs, participation in the Iditarod race, and her 2500-mile solo dogsled expedition across the Arctic from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Repulse Bay, Canada, tracing the footsteps of the woman Anarulunguaq, a Greenland native who guided part of the fifth Thule expedition across the North American continent (in the opposite direction) in 1923-1924. (A videotape in the SWG Collection describes Flowers' solo expedition from Resolute Bay to the Magnetic North Pole.) The interview also discusses her experiences speaking to schoolchildren across the United States and Canada about her expeditions. Member of SWG 1987-2001. Honored with the SWG Gold Medal in 1996.(A second videotape in the SWG Collection records her talk when she accepted the medal).
Jeanne Gurnee (1926- ), speleologist, writer, editor, conservationist, and land-use planner. Interviewed in 2000 by Sara Rau. Four audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). The interview covers Gurnee's exploration and development of many caves, including the Kartchner Caverns in Arizona, Harrison's Cave in Barbados, the Fountain Cave in the British West Indies, and most notably, the Rio Camuy Cave system in Puerto Rico. Author of numerous articles and co-author with her husband of Discovery at the Rio Camuy and Gurnee Guide to American Caves. International Director, National Caves Association, 1980- present. President of the National Speleological Society, 1992-1994. President R.H. Gurnee, Inc., a firm specializing in speleological consulting and studies, 1995-present. Joined SWG in 1967. Honored with SWG's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1987.
Carole Hickman (1942- ), paleontologist, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkley, curator, researcher. Interviewed in 1996 and 1999 by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds and Fauno Cordes. Six audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Oberlin College 1964, Geology. MA, University of Oregon1968, Geology. PhD Stanford University 1975, Geology. Hickman's research includes marine gastropods, the analysis of form in living and fossil organisms, and other aspects of marine invertebrate biology. Her geographic areas of include Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Polynesia. The interview covers her family background, childhood, education, professional experience, and problems she encountered as a faculty wife at a college with an unfriendly attitude toward her efforts to pursue her own academic career. Fellow of the Geological Society of America , member of the Society for Comparative and Integrative Biology (1995-1997 Chairman, Division of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology), and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science .Awarded the Miller Research Professorship by the Miller Institute for Basic Research, 1994. Joined SWG in 1979.
Jeannette Hilleger (1919- ), teacher, lecturer, photographer. Interviewed in 1993 by Jill Cherneff (SWG-related). One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Occidental College 1940,German and History. The interview covers the early years of SWG's Southern California Group, her experience as Chair, duties of SWG officers and the value of the organization. Included in the SWG oral history collection and available upon request are brief summaries of the SWG Southern California Group meetings, 1987-1993.Joined SWG in 1967. Chair of the L.A. Group, 1986-1992.
Edith McChesney Ker (1924-2003), photographer. Interviewed in 2000 by Ann Imlah Schneider (SWG-related). One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, College of William and Mary 1945,Spanish, French and Government. The interview briefly discusses Ker's youth and professional experience, especially her travels to New Zealand, Canada, and Kenya, where she lived for many years, and her life there as a photographer with a special interest in wildlife. The East African Wildlife Society used her photographs for Christmas cards and calendars and the Whitman Publishing Company illustrated several children's books with her photographs. The main body of the interview relates to her activities with the SWG. Joined SWG in 1980. For many years she chaired the Library Committee. Honored with the SWG Washington Group's Meritorious Service Award in 1993. President of SWG, 1996-1999.
Anne LaBastille, wildlife ecologist, land-use planner, writer, photographer,
lecturer, wilderness guide. Interviewed in 2000 by Elizabeth S. Brownstein.
Three audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). University of Miami. B.A., M.A., and Ph.D, Cornell University, wildlife ecology. Author of numerous books and articles, including Woodswoman, Woodswoman II, Beyond Black Bear Lake, Mama Poc, Wilderness World of Anne LaBastille, Birds of the Mayas, Woodswoman III, and Jaguar Totem. The interview topics include her childhood and formative experiences, early years of eco-tour guiding, conservation efforts, particularly in New York and in Central and South America, service as a commissioner for the Adirondack Park Agency, observations on the writing life, and development of her library of wilderness literature. SWG member since 1956. Honored with the SWG Gold Medal in 1993. Dr. LaBastille's advance written consent is required for the use of any part or all of this oral history.
Jean H. Langenheim (1925- ), biologist, plant ecologist, researcher. Professor Emerita, Biology, University of California at Santa Cruz. Interviewed in 1994 by Fauno Cordes and Flora Elizabeth Reynolds. Two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BS, University of Tulsa 1946, Biology. MS, University of Minnesota1949, Botany. PhD University of Minnesota 1953, Botany. Langenheim's research has focused on the chemical defenses of tropical and Pacific Coast plants. She has also studied amber as a botanical source through geographic time and the international interactions in science technology, with emphasis on South and Central America, Africa, and Australia. Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, International Society of Chemicalecology, Botanical Society of America. Honors include the Distinguished Nieuwland Lectureship (University of Notre Dame, 1991) and Fellow with the Institute of Advance Studies (Australian National University,1981). Joined SWG in 1976.
Clara Egli LeGear (1896-1994), librarian, cataloguer of maps, author. Interviewed in 1988 by Jane Case Williams and Catherine Griggs. Interviewed in 1991 by Carol Zachary. Three audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, MA, George Washington University, Library Science. LeGear spent her career (1914-1961) in the map and manuscript division of the Library of Congress involved in cataloging, reference, acquisitions, bibliography, and administration, ultimately serving as head of the Reference and Bibliographic section (followed by eleven years as an Honorary Consultant). The interview also discusses her travels to South America, especially Rio de Janeiro, representing the Library of Congress. Joined SWG in 1932. Honored by SWG with the Outstanding Achievement Award in 1990.
Leila Hadley Luce (1925- ), writer, editor, author, researcher. Interviewed in 2000 by Marina Whitman. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). Author of numerous books including Give Me the World, 1958; How to Travel with Children,1965; Manners for Children, 1965; Fielding's Guide to Traveling with Children in Europe, 1972, and Journey with Elsa Cloud, 1997. Book reviewer for Palm Beach Life magazine, 1970-1972. Associate editor Saturday Evening Post, 1968-1970. Associate editor Diplomat magazine, 1966-1968.The interview touches upon Luce's family background, childhood, marriages and children and then provides a wide-ranging description of her multi-faceted career and her travels all over the world, many described in her writings. Co-founded and served as Chairman of the Board of Advisors for Wings Trust, 1994. Member of the Society of American Travel Writers, the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in London, and the Asia Society of New York. Joined SWG in 1973. Member of the SWG Executive Council representing the New York Group, 1987- 1994.
Helen Lillie Marwick (1915-2003), Scottish author, journalist. Interviewed in 1973 by Eloise Engle. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). MA, Glasgow University, 1938,History and Geography. The interview focuses on Marwick's view of journalism as a profession, rather than her life and career. However, her 1999 autobiography, A New Kind of Life, in the SWG Library Collection, helps to fill that gap. Under the name Helen Lillie, she has written numerous books for adults and teenagers. She wrote for newspapers including the Glasgow Herald (Scotland), where her column "Helen Lillie" discussed life and events in Washington DC, where she has lived for many years. In addition to her autobiography, her publications include The Listening Silence, 1970; Call Down the Sky; Home to Strathblane, 1993; Strathblane And Away; The Rocky Island, 1998; A New King of Life,1999; History on My Doorstep, 2000. Joined SWG 1969.
Katharine Douglas Massel (1910- ), journalist, civic leader. Interviewed in 1994 by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds. Two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, University of California at Berkeley 1931, Political Science. The interview describes Massel's long career in journalism with Time, Life, Fortune, and World War II's Office of War Information and the OSS and her work at the Department of State on programs for women in developing countries, which she continued later through the League of Women Voters Overseas Education Fund. After she moved to California she became involved in local issues in Monterey County, such as adult literacy, libraries, the environment, etc. She has traveled extensively throughout the world. Joined SWG in 1964.
Elizabeth McClintock (1912-2004), botanist, curator, researcher, and teacher. Interviewed in 1994 by Lorrie Bunker. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, MA, University of California at Los Angles. PhD, University of Michigan, Botany. McClintock specialized in the taxonomy of seed plants and the distribution of flowering plants, especially California natives. The interview covers McClintock's family background, education, and career, including her experiences as a curator in the botany department of the California Academy of Sciences and involvement as a key founder and supporter of the Strybing Arboretum (San Francisco, CA). Editor of the Journal of the California Horticultural Society, 1945-1975. Associate editor of the Journal of Pacific Horticulture, 1976-, which published three of her articles, in a continuing series on Trees of Golden Gate Park. Member of the American Horticulture Society and the Royal Horticultural Society. Awarded the Silver Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 1977, and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Gold Medal by the American Horticultural Society, 1986. Joined SWG in 1964.
Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978), world-famous anthropologist and author of many books and articles. Interviewed in 1974 by Gertrude Dole and Jeanne Gurnee (SWG-related). One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Barnard College 1923. MA, Columbia University 1924, Psychology. PhD, Columbia University1929, Anthropology. Numerous honorary degrees and other awards. She was Curator of Ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught at Columbia University for many years. In this delightful interview, done as part of SWG's 50thanniversary celebration, Mead insists that she will answer only questions about SWG, deflecting other questions by referring her interviewers to her C.V. and her book Blackberry Winter: My Early Years (1972). She joined SWG in 1928 and was a loyal member until she died in 1978, describing SWG as a lively interesting group of women. SWG also proved to be a good way for her to socialize and exchange ideas with her Museum colleagues, many of whom were married to SWG members. The interview touches upon her experiences as an anthropologist in an era when women were not welcomed in the field and describes her work during World War II. Awarded the SWG Gold Medal in 1942.
Luree Miller (1926 - 1996), writer, editor, author of many books and articles. Interviewed in 1995 by Joanna Biggar. Three audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). Reed College,1944-1946. BA, Stanford University 1948, history. MA, George Washington University 1977, Women's Studies. Unfortunately, the tape of the first interview (covering her early years up to age31) was defective but the story has been reconstructed by the interviewer with the help of Miller's family and friends. The transcript picks up with her arrival in Dacca (then East Pakistan) as a United States Foreign Service wife with a young family and household to manage and continues with her development as a writer as her husband's career took them to Bombay and other places in the Indian sub-continent and then to England, where she wrote On Top of the World: Five Women Explorers in Tibet. After her husband was posted in Washington, DC, in the 1970's, Miller enrolled in a master's degree program, enjoying and struggling with the flowering of the women's movement in the U.S. The interview also describes many of her other travels to do research for her publications. Joined SWG in 1977 and served in multiple capacities on committees and the Executive Council and as President 1990 - 1993.
Helen Lenneham Muir (1911- ), author, journalist. Interviewed in 1995 by Donita Enright (life/career and SGW-related). One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). Muir wrote for the Yonkers Herald-Statesman (starting at age 18), New York Evening Post, New York Evening Journal, Miami Herald, Saturday Evening Post, and Nation's Business. The interview covers her family background, childhood, career and marriage, as well as her role as a co-founder of the SWG Florida Group and some of its early members.. Geographic areas of interest include Ireland, Scotland and France. She has a special interest in libraries including the Coconut Grove Library Association where she holds the position of President. She was inducted into Florida's Women's Hall of Fame in 1984 and received the Trustee Citation of the American Library Association in 1984. Joined SWG in 1981. She was honored by the SWG Florida Group with a Meritorious Service Award in 1996.
Laura Nader (1930- ), anthropologist, Professor of Anthropology, University of California at Berkeley. Interviewed in 1994 by Fauno Cordes. Two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Wells College 1952, Latin America Studies. PhD, Radcliffe College 1961, Anthropology. Nader's academic work has focused on Mexico and the Middle East with an interest in the law, globalization, and the anthropology of science and of large corporations. The interview describes her family background, childhood and education and explains how she came to include corporations as a subject of research. She discusses her experience as the first woman hired by the Anthropology Department at Berkeley and her efforts on behalf of women faculty members. Member of the American Anthropological Association, the Law and Society Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Joined SWG in 1962.Honored with SWG's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1990.
Evelyn Stefansson Nef (1913 - ), psychotherapist, author of books on the Arctic, writer, editor, photographer, patron of the arts. Interviewed in 2002 by Catherine Novotny Brehm (SWG-related). One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). Institute for the Study of Psychotherapy, New York, 1977, and several honorary degrees, the most recent of which was June 2002, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. This is a lively interview of the remarkable woman who led SWG in the mid-1970's and presided over the gala celebration of the Society's 50th Anniversary. She describes with some nostalgia a time when the Society relied on dues alone for its income, with members pitching in to do the work needed, meeting in members' homes, and having to move its tiny headquarters office from one rented space to another, long before the generosity of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson enabled it to afford its handsome headquarters building in the Capitol Hill area. She reminisces about the extraordinary SWG members she knew, including Marion Stirling (later Pugh), Margaret Mead, and Eugenie Clark, and her goals as President. The interview also touches upon Nef's own amazing life, described in detail in her recently published Finding My Way: The Autobiography of an Optimist. Joined SWG in 1944. President of SWG 1972- 1975.
Cary Millholland Parker (1902-2001), landscape architect, architectural historian and maker of relief model maps. Interviewed in 1993 by Ada Currier, one audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA Wellesley College, 1934. She chose Wellesley College because of its extensive and beautiful grounds. Subsequently she traveled with family friends to Europe and later to Indonesia, Ceylon, the Philippines, China, Japan and Burma. This first Asian travel stimulated a serious interest in trees and after her return, she went to the Cambridge School of Landscape Architecture and received the MLA degree (1934) from Smith, which had absorbed the school. Back again in Washington, she worked for a private architecture office and then for several government agencies before joining the U.S. War Department as a designer and draftsman. In 1943 she transferred to the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), where she was a supervisor of contour maps. After the war, Cary had her own landscape practice in Washington. She planned the Plaza of St. John's College, Annapolis, and Jefferson Patterson's Point Farm in Calvert County, Maryland. In 1954 she married and spent the next six years in Central America. In Honduras, she began to study the interrelationship of lands, plants, fauna, climate and people of that country. In Nicaragua, and later living in Guatemala, she collected orchids and studied birds. She spent three years working on the beautification of Washington with Lady Bird Johnson. As early as 1979 she began to study the use of dry land plants for gardening. Although she did not publish professionally, she accomplished significantly. A fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, she received a Medal of Merit from the Garden Club of America. She joined SWG in 1972.
Doris L. Rich (1920 - ), biographer, aviator historian. Interviewed in 2001 by Sara Jane Rau, two audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). Flint Junior College (now University of Michigan at Flint), 1938 - 39. University of Michigan at Flint, 1939 -1940.BA American University, School of International Studies, 1972, East Asian Studies.. Author of Amelia Earhart: A Biography; Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator, a biography of Bessie Coleman, the first black to get an international flying license, and The Magnificent Moisants: Champions of Early Flight, the first family of American pioneer fliers. A work in progress is a biography of Jacqueline Cochran, first woman to break the sound barrier. The interview covers Rich's childhood and education, her participation in World War II, and five decades of overseas living, largely in East Asia. From 1944 until 1983 she worked in the South Pacific and throughout Asia as Red Cross Field Assistant, Army information officer, free-lance journalist and photographer, writer in Fodor's Guide for Hong Kong and Taiwan, English teacher, and wife of journalist-Foreign Service officer. Postings included Guam, Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Bangkok, Khon Kaen (NE Thailand) and Ghana. The last quarter of the interview describes how she came to write best-selling biographies of pioneer women aviators (all published by the Smithsonian Press) and how she taught herself the principles of accurate biographical research. Joined SWG 1990.
Edith Anna ("Jackie") Maslin Ronne (1919 -) Antarctic pioneer, writer, lecturer. Interviewed in 1993 by Fauno L. Cordes. Four audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). Interviewed in 2002 on her SWG presidency by Elizabeth Smith Brownstein. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). Wooster College, 1936 38. BA, George Washington University 1940, History and English. Ronne was the first woman to set foot on the continent of Antarctica and stay, when she wintered-over there in 1947 48 as a member of her husband Finn Ronne's Antarctic Research Expedition at East Base on Stonington Island. The 1993 interview describes her family background, childhood, education, and activities after her Antarctic experience, but the bulk of the interview provides a detailed personal account of the expedition, its planning and preparation and various personalities, including Admiral Richard Byrd, who were involved in one way or another. Her account also refers to other historical events involving Antarctica and polar exploration. Member Explorers Club. Joined SWG 1948. Carried SWG flag to the South Pole in 1971 for celebration of 60th anniversary of Amundsen's reaching the pole. SWG President 1978 1981.
Anna Roosevelt (1946 - ), anthropologist, Curator of Anthropology, Field Museum of Natural History, Adjunct Professor, Anthropology, U. of Illinois. Interviewed in 1996 - 97 by Frances Maclean. Five audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). AB, Stanford University 1968, History (with distinction), MA, Columbia University 1974, Anthropology, M. Phil. , Columbia University 1976, Anthropology, PhD (with distinction), Columbia University 1977, Anthropology. Roosevelt's newsworthy discoveries in Amazonia have led her to conclude that the Americas were populated by humans centuries earlier than assumed. The interview covers her childhood inspirations, mentors, and the steps which led to her discoveries, as well as reaction by rivals. Author of Mound builders of the Amazon, Parmana, The Ancestors: Native Artisans of the Americas. Member of the Society for American Anthropology, American Anthropological Association (Fellow), American Association for the Advancement of Science, Center for Inter-American Relations, Council for Museum Anthropology. MacArthur Fellowship 1988. Joined SWG 1977. Awarded SWG Gold Medal in 1999. Dr. Roosevelt's permission is required for access to this oral history. Ask SWG Headquarters for instructions.
Lily Spandorf (1919-2000), artist. Interviewed in 1994 by Charlene James-Duguid. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). Graduate of the College of Applied and Fine Arts, Vienna. The interview describes Spandorf's experience studying art in Italy, where she blossomed as an artist, her decision to exhibit her work in the United States, including Washington, D.C., where she eventually settled, and her travels throughout Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Nepal painting city scenes, landscapes, and people. Well-known Washington artist. Painted numerous White House scenes, including the lighting of the Christmas tree and the Easter egg roll, and many old Washington buildings about to be demolished. She designed the second Christmas stamp for the United States Postal System. The White House Historical Association and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute and Forum in Minneapolis have acquired her drawings and paintings, and others have been exhibited in several Presidential libraries. Her drawings appeared in The Washington Post, The Georgetowner, The Evening Star, and the Washington Times. Joined SWG in 1974.
Catherine "Kay" Hauberg Sweeney (1914-1995), patron of science, especially botany, who concentrated her efforts on the preservation and scientific use of "The Kampong," formerly the eight-acre estate of the famous plant explorer and collector Alexander Graham Bell Fairchild. Interviewed in 1993 and 1994 by Georgia Tasker. Two audiotapes, transcript (copyright SWG). BA, University of Illinois, Natural History (geology); graduate work in ecology, University of Arizona, 1935-36. The interviews cover her parentage, early education and travels, university studies, influences, early married life with Edward Sweeney, trips to Africa (including meeting the Leakeys) and South America, and acquisition of "The Kampong" which she later donated to the National Tropical Botanical Garden. She mentions being on the board of the Arnold Arboretum (Harvard University), American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, the World Wildlife Fund, the Fairchild Tropical Garden, and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. She joined SWG in 1950 as a member of the Washington Group, and later was active in the formation of the SWG Florida Group.
Mary Vance Trent (1914-1998), United States Foreign Service officer, lecturer, teacher. Interviewed in 1993 by Carol Zachary. Eight audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Butler University 1937, History and Political Science. Graduate study, University of Virginia 1943. The interview covers Trent's upbringing in Indiana, including her selection as the U.S. Girl Scout delegate to the inauguration of the first international Girl Scout/Girl Guide headquarters in Switzerland, and her travels throughout the world. As one of the first female Foreign Service Officers in the United States Government, she served in France,1946; Norway, 1947; Czechoslovakia, 1949; Indonesia, late 1950's-early 1960's; New Zealand, 1969-1972; and as the only State Department presence in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Micronesia),1972-1974. Honors awarded Trent by the State Department include the Superior Service Award in 1964 and the Meritorious Honor Award in 1974. Joined SWG in 1977. President of SWG 1984-1987.
Elizabeth (Betsy) White (1938-), comparative development expert, author, mountaineer, researcher, social scientist, teacher, coordinator of Luce Scholars Program for the Asia Foundation. Interviewed in 1995 by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds and Fauno Cordes. One audiotape and transcript (copyright SWG). BA, Smith College1960, History. MA, University of Colorado 1972, History. PhD, University of Denver 1975, International Studies. The interview covers White's childhood, education, marriage, children, experiences in the United States Peace Corps in Pakistan and as the Asia Foundation's Director in Indonesia and later in Pakistan. She describes her lifelong passion for mountain climbing all over the world, sometimes with a small child in tow, and her harrowing rescue of an ill companion during a climb in Nepal. White's work has focused on comparative studies of women in developing countries, with a special interest in Islam and in social change and its effect on women and development. Her geographic areas of interest include South, Central, and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. White continues to be an active mountaineer, having in recent years hiked across the Torres del Paine National Park of Chile, Argentina's Glacier Park, the Aksu area of the Apmir Alai range, and the Teton Range in northwestern Wyoming. First woman to be awarded the Sowles Medal for Valor by the American Alphine Club,1998. Joined SWG 1983.
Elizabeth Moffat White (1898 - 1993), world-wide traveler. Interviewed in 1992 by Luree Miller and Chris Prouty Rosenfeld. Four audiotapes and transcript (copyright SWG). The interview covers White's childhood and education in New York City in the early part of the 20th Century and many of her experiences as a United States Foreign Service wife from 1920 to 1945 in Venezuela, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Buenos Aires (during the 1930 revolution), Nazi Germany, British India (where she and her American diplomat husband traveled in Afghanistan, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet), Morocco (in 1940), Haiti, and Peru. Upon their return to the U.S., the Whites bought a farm near Washington, D.C., where she became an enthusiastic organic farmer. After the death of her husband in 1967, White continued her world-wide travels up until a few weeks before she died. Joined SWG in 1949.
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