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Edna P. Amidon Papers, 1924-1979

Predominant Dates: 1938-1966

The Edna P. Amidon Papers are comprised of materials relating to Amidon's efforts as an international leader in home economics. Included are materials documenting her work as Regional Agent (1929-1938) and Chief (1938-1964) of the Home Economics Education Service, particularly during the Great Depression and World War II; drafts of speeches and publications given in support of home economics; records of professional activities in Germany (1947), Sweden (1947), and France (1954); professional literature; and biographical materials.

The contents of box-folder 2.9, 4.2, 5.1, and 5.3 in this collection have been digitized and are available upon request.

ID: MSS Amidon

Extent: 2.0 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

The Edna P. Amidon Papers are comprised predominately of materials collected by Amidon during her tenure as Regional Agent (1929-1938) and Chief (1938-1964) of the Home Economics Education Service. Included are administrative records and activity reports; correspondence, publications, and documentation relating to New Deal and World War II-era initiatives; correspondence, reports, and speeches from Service employees; records of outreach and assistance to post-war European home economics educators; professional correspondence; and materials from other conferences and organizations. Included is material generated by Amidon's predecessors, Adelaide S. Baylor and Florence Fallgatter.

The collection also includes materials generated and collected by Amidon during her professional visits to Germany (1947), Sweden (1947), and France (1954). Included are extensive reports, incoming and outgoing correspondence, and supporting materials on the state of home economics education in post-war Germany; records from the 8th International Management Conference held in Sweden; notes, reports, and administrative documents from the International Seminar on Education and the Problems of Daily Living, held in France; and literature and photos from India, including images taken at the Literacy House in Lucknow (circa 1955). The collection also contains souvenirs and photographs collected during Amidon's travels and includes postcards, informational brochures and pamphlets, and a series of maps depicting occupied Germany circa 1947.

Other materials include numerous pamphlets, brochures, and published reports relating to issues of home economics and social welfare in the United States, France, and Sweden including several items published by the U.S. Office of Education. Additionally, the collection contains biographical material from Amidon including personal correspondence, award certificates and other acknowledgements, photographs and published images of Amidon, and a series of newsclippings, many of which document the work of war correspondent Ernie Pyle.

The contents of box-folder 2.9, 4.2, 5.1, and 5.3 in this collection have been digitized and are available upon request.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation: Edna P. Amidon Papers (MSS Amidon), Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Acquisition Note: The Edna P. Amidon Papers were transferred from the OSU Human Development and Family Sciences Department to the University Archives in 2007. The materials now reside in the Special Collections & Archives Research Center.

Languages of Materials

Container List

Series 1: U.S. Home Economics Education Service, circa 1924-1979 Add to Shelf

Series I is comprised of material generated by Amidon, Adelaide Baylor, Florence Fallgatter, and others through their employment with the Home Economics Education Service. Included are administrative records (reports, memos, press releases, and meeting notes); reports on the activities of the Service and its members; files on Service employees; conference materials; professional correspondence; and records from Amidon's membership in the "20 Plus Club," an organization dedicated to recognizing the service of professionals in home economics education. Of note is correspondence and reports relating to cooperative efforts between the Service and several New Deal organizations including the Works Progress Administration, the National Youth Administration, the Farm Security Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority and includes materials from the 1939 Rural-Urban Women's Conference. This series also contains drafts of speeches, reports, and publications authored by Amidon, including an annotated typescript of "American Women: Education for Family Living"; a scrapbook of newsclippings about the Service compiled by Amidon; and records from Amidon's retirement in 1964.

The contents of box-folder 2.9 in this series have been digitized and are available upon request.

Box-Folder 1.1: Home Economics Education Service Administrative Records, circa 1924-1963 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.2: Home Economics Education Service Activity Reports, 1946-1953 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.3: Home Economics Education Service New Deal Initiatives, 1934-1944 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.4: Home Economics Education Service Clippings Scrapbooks, 1926-1930 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.5: Adelaide S. Baylor, circa 1929-1979 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.6: Beulah I. Coon, 1959-1961 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 1.7: Christiane Cossus, 1950-1957 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.1: Alberta D. Hill, 1963 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.2: President's Committee on Vocational Education, 1937 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.3: Aid Program for European Home Economics Education, 1947-1953 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.4: American Vocational Association Grant for German Home Economics Programs, 1950 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.5: 9th International Congress on Home Economics, 1958 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.6: 9th International Congress on Home Economics "Preliminary Reports", 1958 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.7: American Home Economics Association, 1970-1972 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.8: Twenty Plus Club, 1952-1982 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 2.9: Correspondence, 1929-1963 Add to Shelf: The contents of this folder have been digitized and are available upon request.
Box-Folder 2.10: "American Women: Education for Family Living," Draft pages 16-154, 1966 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.1: "American Women: Education for Family Living," Draft pages 155-303, 1966 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.2: "American Women: Education for Family Living," Correspondence, 1965-1966 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.3: Publication Manuscripts and Typescripts, 1936-1965 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.4: Speech and Lecture Typescripts, 1938-1964 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.5: Amidon Retirement, 1963-1964 Add to Shelf

Series 2: International Travel and Activities, 1947-1955 Add to Shelf

Series II is comprised of materials collected by Amidon relating to her international travel on behalf of the Home Economics Education Service. Materials relate predominately to a trip to Germany arranged by the U.S. War Department (1947), attendance at the 8th International Management Conference in Sweden (1947), and the International Seminar on Education and the Problems of Daily Living in France (1954). Included are informational materials (itineraries, programs, travel documents, etc.); extensive notes and reports; photographs and a transparency; and correspondence; and travel souvenirs (including five maps depicting post-World War II occupied Germany). Also included is literature and photographs from India, including photographs of Indira Gandhi, Welthy Fisher, and Literacy House in Lucknow.

The contents of box-folder 4.2, 5.1, and 5.3 in this series have been digitized and are available upon request.

Box-Folder 3.6: U.S. War Department Travel Orders, Germany, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.7: Convention for Homemaking Education, Wiesbaden, Germany, 1947-1948 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 3.8: Home Economics Education in Germany, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.1: Home Economics Education in Germany, 1947-1948 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.2: Travel Souvenirs, Germany, 1947 Add to Shelf: The contents of this folder have been digitized and are available upon request.
Box-Folder 4.3: 8th International Management Conference, Sweden, Informational Materials, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.4: 8th International Management Conference, Sweden, Notes, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.5: Travel Souvenirs, Denmark, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 4.6: Travel Souvenirs, Sweden, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.1: Travel Diary Typescript, Europe, 1947 Add to Shelf: The contents of this folder have been digitized and are available upon request.
Box-Folder 5.2: Travel Photographs, Europe, 1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.3: Correspondence, Europe, 1947-1951 Add to Shelf: The contents of this folder have been digitized and are available upon request.
Box-Folder 5.4: International Seminar on Education and the Problems of Daily Living, France, Informational Materials, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.5: International Seminar on Education and the Problems of Daily Living, France, Correspondence, 1954-1956 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.6: International Seminar on Education and the Problems of Daily Living, France, Notes, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.7: International Seminar on Education and the Problems of Daily Living, France, Housing Committee Records, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.8: Travel Souvenirs, France, 1952-1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 5.9: Travel Souvenirs, France, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.1: Travel Souvenirs, France, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.2: Travel Souvenirs, Italy, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.3: Travel Photographs, France, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.4: Travel from Europe to the United States, 1954 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.5: Travel Souvenirs, India, 1950-1955 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.6: Travel Photographs, India, circa 1955 Add to Shelf
Map-Folder 8: Maps of Germany, Sweden, and India Add to Shelf

Series 3: Professional Literature, 1930-1963 Add to Shelf

Series III is comprised of home economics literature collected by Amidon. Included are pamphlets and booklets from the U.S. Office of Education ("School Children and the War" and "Family Saving and Spending in Wartime"); U.S. home economics programs ("Measuring Home Management" and "The History of Home Economics"); France ("Feminine Work and Work at Home" and "Rational Construction of a Home"); and Sweden ("The Postwar Programme of Swedish Labour" and "Social Benefits in Sweden").

Box-Folder 6.7: U.S. Office of Education Literature, 1930-1950 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 6.8: Home Economics Literature, United States, 1945-1963 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.1: Home Economics Literature, France, 1954-1957 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.2: Education and Social Welfare Literature, Sweden, 1930-1947 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.3: Other informational materials, 1938-1961 Add to Shelf

Series 4: Biographical Materials, 1927-1979 Add to Shelf

Series IV is comprised of biographical and personal materials collected by Amidon. Included is a small collection of personal correspondence; a typescript of Amidon's 1927 master's thesis, "The Development of a Method of Evaluating Ability in Meal Preparation"; numerous awards and recognitions for her professional achievements from Phi Upsilon Omicron, the U.S. government, the American Vocational Association, and other organizations; and numerous photographs and publications featuring images of Amidon and others including John F. Kennedy and Eleanor Roosevelt. Also included is a file of newsclippings comprised predominately of articles by and about war correspondent Ernie Pyle and a collection of miscellaneous ephemera, pamphlets, and publications.

Box-Folder 7.4: Amidon Personal Correspondence, 1978-1979 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.5: Amidon MS Thesis: The Development of a Method of Evaluating Ability in Meal Preparation", 1927 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.6: Awards and Recognition, 1927-1972 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.7: Newsclippings, 1938-1965 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.8: Photographs and Published Images, 1953-1966 Add to Shelf
Box-Folder 7.9: Collected Personal Materials, 1944-1975 Add to Shelf

People, Places, and Topics

Forms of Material

Related Materials

Home Economics students refinishing furniture, 1940s.

Information and Credits