Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff\/Personnel
Winifred Powell Correspondence I 1931-1935
Teacher, Housemother 1931-1939<\/p>\n
TAGS:<\/strong> Winifred Powell correspondence, Mrs. William Ackland Powell, teachers, housemothers, Glyn Morris, Evelyn K. Wells, job applications, references, Bertha Cold, Arthur W. Dodd, library, Gladys Morris, Barbara Faulkner<\/span><\/p>\n 005<\/b> July 13, 1931. To Mrs. Powell at Sidney Lanier Camp, Eliot, ME, from [unsigned] GAM, who received her letter and encloses an application blank.<\/span><\/p>\n 006-006c<\/b> July 13, 1931. Three-page letter to Mr. Morris from Winifred Powell (Mrs. Wm Ackland Powell). <\/span>[006]<\/b> At the advice of \u201c<\/span>my dear friend and co-worker, Evelyn Wells,\u201d<\/span><\/i> Powell provides details of her experience for the job. <\/span>[006a]<\/b> \u201c…I have been hostess of our great house, which is a center where our young people congregate\u2026.the life here in our rural community is much like that at Pine Mountain\u2026. In the Church of the Ascension in New [?]…I had a choir of children and a young girls\u2019 discussion<\/span><\/i> [006b]<\/b> group and have since my husband\u2019s death chaperoned in a private school for girls.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Has lived in Lampwood, MA, near Boston, all her married life; Miss Wells and Miss [Marian] Kingman<\/a> have told her about PMSS and she is <\/span>[006c]<\/b> \u201ckeen about the place and the splendid opportunity for service that it offers.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 001<\/b> July 16, 1931. Application Blank for <\/span>Mrs. Winifred Powell.<\/span><\/i> 002-002a <\/b>July 23, 1931. Reference form to Miss Evelyn K. Wells, Lanier Camp, Eliot, ME, from G.A. Morris, Director. Miss Wells\u2019 handwritten entries include: <\/span>[002]<\/b> \u201cdignified, good-looking, not an \u2018old maid,\u2019 friendly and sensible.\u201d<\/span><\/i> Miss Wells\u2019 address: <\/span>Summit, N.J. <\/span><\/i>[002a] <\/b>Handwritten note on reverse side of form:<\/span> \u201cMrs. Powell is a social person, in the best sense of the word. \u2026 Much at Pine Mountain will be new to her, but I believe she can adapt herself and she expects it to be different and would come with an open mind.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 003-003a<\/b> July 23, 1931. Reference form to Mrs. Sidney Lanier, Jr., Director, Lanier Camp, Eliot, ME, from G.A. Morris, Director. Mrs. Lanier\u2019s handwritten entries include: <\/span>[003] <\/b>\u201ccheerful and fair…is young in spirit.\u201d <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>[003a] <\/b>\u201c<\/span>Mrs. Powell has an eternally young spirit…is keen for the Pine Mountain experience…her humor is unfailing.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 004-004a<\/b> July 23, 1931. Reference form to Mrs. Frederick Cunningham, Longwood, MA, from G.A. Morris, Director. Mrs. Cunningham\u2019s handwritten entries include: <\/span>[004] <\/b>\u201cVery ladylike\u2026has had experience as chaperone with my girls\u2026..<\/span><\/i>interested in many things. Has been much in Europe. Lived in [?] for several years\u2026.was a singing teacher.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 007 <\/b>July 30, 1931. To Mrs. Powell from [unsigned] GAM. <\/span>\u201cWe shall be pleased to engage you as housemother for Boys House<\/a> for the ensuing year at a salary of $75 per month and maintenance\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/i> Asks that she arrive on August 21.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 008-008a <\/b>July 30, 1931. Two-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell, who <\/span>[008]<\/b> explains that her professional work was <\/span>\u201cof short duration. Until my husband\u2019s death five years ago I have been in my own home where I managed my household in connection with a vocal class of girls who follow us to our summer house on Long Lake, Maine.\u201d <\/span><\/i>[008a] <\/b>\u201cl like community life and people.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Has no photo to send but describes her appearance as five feet five inches tall, weighing 150 pounds, and having graying hair and a<\/span> \u201ccomfortable disposition.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 009-009a <\/b>August 4, 1931. Two-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell,<\/span> [009] <\/b>who thanks him for assuring her of a housemother appointment. <\/span>[009a] <\/b>Will probably<\/span> \u201cleave Boston in the 19th in order to reach Pine Mt School by the 21st.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 010 <\/b>August 14, 1931. To Mr. Morris from Powell, who relates her travel arrangements to arrive at PMSS on August 21st via Columbus. Ohio.<\/span><\/p>\n 011<\/b> October 2, 1931. To Mrs. Powell from Glyn Morris, who asks her if Reid Johnson could rest because he came in late the night before, having been with the doctor <\/span>\u201cover the mountain.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 012-012e<\/b> July 6, 1932. Six-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell at Sidney Lanier Camp in Eliot, ME, who <\/span>[012] <\/b>discusses gardening issues and mentions John Hont. Asks to borrow one of the blue ballad books. <\/span>[012a] <\/b>Evelyn Wells will not be working at the camp this season; <\/span>\u201ccuts had to be made wherever possible.\u201d <\/span><\/i>John Lanier and an assistant have been doing folk-dancing, but <\/span>\u201cit\u2019s a halfhearted performance, shorn of Evelyn\u2019s magnetic leadership.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Met with <\/span>\u201clittle Miss Aims\u201d<\/span><\/i> in Boston. <\/span>[012b & c]<\/b> Describes attending a performance by Helen Hayes with \u201cCousin\u201d Idaline Aims. <\/span>[012d] <\/b>She is looking for new games, etc., and visited the School of Occupational Therapy in Boston to look at the crafts. <\/span>[012e] <\/b>Mentions a book she\u2019s reading; asks for Pine Mountain updates.<\/span><\/p>\n 013-013a<\/b> July 28, 1932. Two-page letter to Mrs. Powell at Sidney Lanier Camp in Eliot, ME, from [unsigned, likely Morris], replying to her July 6 letter; <\/span>[013] <\/b>mentions Miss Aims <\/span>(\u201cWhat she\u2019s missed in life!\u201d)<\/span><\/i>, Mr. Lehman\u2019s appendectomy by Dr. [Kenneth] Gould<\/a> assisted by Mr. and Mrs. [Tracy] Jones<\/a>, reservoir<\/a> repairs, plans for inside toilets, Mr. [Oscar] Kneller<\/a>, Miss [Bertha] Cold<\/a> (dietician), pigs and cabbages, the new nurse, <\/span>[013a]<\/b> applications from volunteers, and the new principal and domestic science teacher. <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ll probably dispense with weaving this year. It\u2019s not making any money.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 014-014a<\/b> August 11, [no year]. Two-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell in Eliot, ME, who <\/span>[014]<\/b> informs Morris of her travel plans to return to PMSS and asks that Mr. Lewis meet her with a mule. <\/span>[014a]<\/b> May drive to Boston with Miss Wells.<\/span><\/p>\n 015 <\/b>July 3, 1933. To Mrs. W.A. Powell, Helen McCormick Memorial Hall, YWEA, Chicago, IL, from Glyn Morris, who welcomes her to work at PMSS in the coming year at $35 a month, probably at Boys House again. He could use volunteers but prefers<\/span> \u201chaving some of the old workers back.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 016-016b <\/b>July 6, [no year]. Typewritten three-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell, on letterhead for The Harriet Hammond McCormick Memorial, A Young Women\u2019s Christian Association Residence in Chicago, IL. She is pleased to know Morris wants her to return. <\/span>\u201cYou know already how much I love the place, my interest in the boys and my sincere friendship for the people there\u2026.\u201d<\/span><\/i> but needs more than $35 salary, describing her expenses; Asks for $40 per month. <\/span>[016a] <\/b>Lists the reasons the job should pay more, including that Boys House is <\/span>\u201ca more difficult group to handle.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>[016b]<\/b> \u201cBest regards, not forgetting your \u2018Gladdie.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 017<\/b> July 24, 1933. To Mrs. Powell in Columbus, OH, from Glyn Morris. <\/span>\u201cIn sooth, thou shouldst have been a solicitor, for who can resist your pleadings! You say that business is picking up, and so perhaps the psychological effect of giving you a little more salary will be beneficial — therefore, you win. Should I say, \u2018Sold, at $40.00\u2019? What price housemothers!\u201d <\/span><\/i>Mentions the Depression; Miss Wallace is leaving; hears often from [Arthur W.] Dodd<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n 018<\/b> August 7, 1933. To Mrs. Powell from Glyn Morris, who informs her of the school opening date and asks for her arrival date.<\/span><\/p>\n 019-019d <\/b>August 20, [no year]. Four-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell in Ann Arbor, MI, who <\/span>[019]<\/b> encloses the [?] list. <\/span>\u201cIn the teacher\u2019s course, I was fortunate in getting a bit of \u2018visual education\u2019 in which I learned the importance of films in teaching.\u201d<\/span><\/i> [019a] <\/b>She imagines films she would like to use in class. <\/span>[019b] <\/b>Asks about the list he sent. <\/span>[019c] <\/b>Asks if the office could arrange the timing of getting films to fit her class schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n 020-020f<\/b> August 23, [no year]. Seven-page letter to Mr. Morris from Powell. <\/span>[020]<\/b> Discusses reading matter for ninth graders. <\/span>[020a] <\/b>Suggests that the Library class should meet more often than three classes weekly. <\/span>[020b] <\/b>\u201cEven more important than the knowledge of some of the classes is the necessity of self-expression, both [?] and oral; refers to the way the French teach reading. <\/span>[020c]<\/b> \u201cThe idea seems to obtain here that all teachers should teach English if we are to make it functional, but that English teachers should confine themselves to English. That history should be taught by a history teacher with integrated programs.\u201d <\/span><\/i>[020d] <\/b>Recommends <\/span>\u201csome comprehension of good poetry\u2026.\u201d <\/span><\/i>[020e] <\/b>She <\/span>\u201cwants a place in the [?] for my Lib. class\u2026<\/span><\/i>. <\/span>[020f]<\/b> \u201c…I understand English flunks more freshman than any other course here at M.U. The first two weeks of the freshman year is devoted to written work\u2026\u201d <\/span><\/i>[missing last page(s)?]<\/span><\/p>\n 021<\/b> March 29, 1934. To Mr. F.E. Shnyder, Chairman, Staff Selection Committee, NYC, from Glyn Morris, provides a reference for <\/span>\u201cMrs. William Ackland Powell,\u201d<\/span><\/i> as requested: <\/span>\u201ccharming and cultured…During her first year here she did an excellent piece of work….. Personally I like her very much and she makes an excellent companion, and is very stimulating in a group. She had had rich and varied experiences.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n 022-022a<\/b> July 11, 1934. Two-page letter to Mrs. Powell in Columbus, OH (\u2105 Mrs. Baughman), from Morris. Asks for her help with an issue concerning Sue Hall<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nCONTENTS: WINIFRED POWELL Correspondence I 1931-1935
IMAGES 001-039<\/h3>\n[Note: Letters from PMSS staff are carbon copies, typewritten, unsigned and meant for the Office files. The initials at the bottom left of some of the PMSS letters indicate the writer (along with initials of the secretary), such as “GAM,” the initials for Glyn A. Morris<\/a>, PMSS Director. Miss Powell\u2019s letters are handwritten unless otherwise noted. The following list of contents is in chronological order and not necessarily in order of the image numbers. Question marks in brackets — [?] — indicate illegible handwriting.]<\/span><\/h5>\n
1931\u00a0<\/h2>\n
<\/span>Age: <\/span>52<\/span><\/i>
<\/span>Education: <\/span>High School \u2026.
<\/span><\/i>What line of work at Pine Mountain interests you? <\/span>Housemother<\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>Training and experience? <\/span>Besides my private home and family, have had professional position in Lanier Camp for four years, [?] camp in Maine where I took young girls to training.
<\/span><\/i>Salary or Volunteer? <\/span>Salary: I understand the salary of Housemother is $75.00 per month. <\/span><\/i>\u2026.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>How did you become interested in work at Pine Mountain? <\/span>Through [Evelyn K.] Wells<\/a>\u2019 description of it.<\/span><\/i>
<\/span><\/i>[Mrs. Powell provided the names of three references.]<\/span><\/p>\n1932\u00a0<\/h2>\n
1933\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n
1934\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n