ANGELA MELVILLE Correspondence 1930-1933

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: Biography – Staff/Personnel
Series 05: Directors

ANGELA MELVILLE Correspondence 1930-1933

TAGS: Angela Melville Correspondence 1930-1933, Hubert Hadley, Dr. Alfreda Withington, Big Laurel Medical Settlement, Evelyn K. Wells, job applications, Glyn Morris, Pine Mountain Medical Association, Oma Creech Fund

GALLERY: ANGELA MELVILLE Correspondence 1930-1933

CONTENTS: ANGELA MELVILLE Correspondence 1930-1933

[melville_corr_055.jpg], [melville_corr_055b.jpg] and [melville_corr_055b.jpg] Original handwritten 3-page letter to Angela Melville from Clara C. Keezel at Winter Park, FL, March 28, 1930. (page 1) Impressions of Mrs. Bennett. (page 2) Asked about Melville’s plans for the Knoxville Conference. Miss Watts (?) and Miss Stone will attend. (page 3) They lost a student to appendicitis at Hindman. Keezel may visit PMSS.

[melville_corr_056.jpg] and [melville_corr_056a.jpg] Hubert Hadley, PMSS Director, to Melville in Plainfield, NY, September 17, 1930. Asked for information concerning the agreement made with Dr. [Alfreda] Withington, regarding salary, vacations, etc., in order to calculate her vacation versus her salary. PMSS’s financial program needs to be reorganized concerning income and expenses; asked for Melville’s opinion about discontinuing the [Big Laurel] Medical Settlement, reorganizing it so it will cost less or turning it over to Frontier Nursing Service; need to know general attitude of the Board. Suggests several ways to reorganize the Medical Settlement. (page 2) Getting bids for a heating plan for Zande House.

[melville_corr_057.jpg] through [melville_corr_057e.jpg] Original handwritten 6-page letter from Melville at Harvest Home, Williamstown, Mass., to Hadley, September 24, 1930.

[melville_corr_057.jpg] (page 1) “If you will realize that the medical work was Miss [Katherine] Pettit’s province, but that I always made difficult decisions at her request, perhaps thing will be clearer. (So was the ‘social’ work of the extension centers. My only authority was the employing and arranging for the school teacher at Big Laurel.)” Explained to Hadley what she knew of Dr. Withington’s employment.

[melville_corr_057a.jpg] DUPLICATE OF 057.

[melville_corr_057b.jpg] (page 2) Continues explaining Dr. Withington’s employment as she remembered it, mentioning Miss Wulf as her housekeeper and social worker. States her opinion about the Medical Settlement, saying she, along with Miss Pettit, felt it was a “costly luxury.”

[melville_corr_057c.jpg] (page 3) Gives her opinions about the future of Big Laurel Medical Center: “we have the investment in property there and before giving it up two things should be considered:” (a) Hire a married couple (nurse & teacher) or a lone teacher (b) “or an amalgamation with Mrs. Breckenridge’s work.” States problems with leaving the house empty or having one teacher live there alone.

[melville_corr_057d.jpg] (page 4) Suggests Dr. [Ida] Stapleton & nurse as visiting staff, plus a resident worker for classes; summarizes her suggestions.

[melville_corr_057e.jpg] (page 5) Suggests consulting Dr. Withington about re-organization for the current year.

[melville_corr_058.jpg] and [melville_corr_058a.jpg] Hadley to Melville in NYC, November 6, 1930. Received Melville’s reply to Dr. Withington. “I am expecting to recommend that the Board discontinue the work at Big Laurel for the coming year and either put a doctor at Pine Mountain or else retain one nurse here.” Arrival of Peder Moller; problems with the “light plant.” (page 2) Preparing for the Nativity Play; success of the Hallowe’en party.

[melville_corr_059.jpg] Unsigned to Melville in NYC, November 21, 1930. Relays questions from Mr. Hadley: Mrs. Burns Christmas vacation history; salary agreement with Mr. [Boone] Callahan “with the coming of the farmer.” Updates: Miss [Elizabeth] Hench has left; Kitty and Harriet are visiting.

[melville_corr_060.jpg] through [melville_corr_060e.jpg] Original handwritten 7-page letter from Melville at The AWA Club House, NYC, to Hadley, November 21, 1930.

[melville_corr_060.jpg] and [melville_corr_060a.jpg] (pages 1 and 2) Sorry about the light plant; the Fairbanks-Morse people should send a man to “make it right.”

[melville_corr_060b.jpg] (page 3) Cannot afford to attend the Board meeting.

IMAGE FOR (page 4) IS MISSING [melville_corr_060x.jpg]

[melville_corr_060c.jpg] (page 5) Glad that Mrs. Hadley enjoys Zande House; is the furnace in yet?

[melville_corr_060d.jpg] (page 6) Miss Russel and Harriet Crutchfield plan a visit to PMSS; hopes Mr. Moller…

[melville_corr_060e.jpg] (page 7) …sends “a good fat check!”

[melville_corr_061.jpg] Unsigned (truncated letter) to Melville, November 25, 1930. Wrote to Miss Louise E. Flagg in NYC “applying for a place here for this winter”; describes her credentials.

[melville_corr_062.jpg] and [melville_corr_062a.jpg] Hadley to Melville in Jamaica, West Indies, January 23, 1931. Planning to return to Carcassonne on April 1st; believes “that the salvation of Pine Mountain would more nearly be safe-guarded by your (Melville’s) return as director…” feeling that Melville is “alive to the changing conditions…” An industrial or trade or vocational school is the most logical plan; Melville may face some opposition; asks Melville for a statement concerning the year’s mistakes; describes school’s finances and the “light fund.”

[melville_corr_063.jpg] Wells to Melville, May 20, 1931. Enclosing a reference from Mr. Young and a check for Melville’s expenses. The last 6 weeks have been “a rich experience.”

[melville_corr_064.jpg] Wells to Melville in Plainfield, NJ, May 2, 1931. Enclosing credentials for Mrs. Stearns, who is applying for Boys’ House housemother. “She may be too modern for us.”

[melville_corr_065.jpg] Unsigned to Mr. H. Hubbard at The Travelers, NYC. Explains the delay in forwarding Hubbard’s letter to Melville, who was in Jamaica for 2 months; asks him to wait until hearing from her before crediting her with a lapse in her insurance contract.

[melville_corr_066.jpg] Wells to Melville, May 21, 1931. Sending more references.

[melville_corr_067.jpg] Glyn Morris, Director, to Melville in Plainfield, NJ, July 10, 1931. Morris thanks Melville for her letter of inspiration and advice. Encloses a copy of a letter he wrote that the “Board misunderstood…and thought I was down here to preach Socialism, which indeed I am not.” Hopes he can do well as a director; wishes Melville a “speedy recovery from your illness.”

[melville_corr_068.jpg] Morris to Melville in Plainfield, NJ, August 7, 1931. Thanks her for the poem she sent; “The last thing in the world that I desire to be is an autocrat, but from what has happened here…I am afraid that one must assume a little bit for himself the methods of “Il Duce” — I love democracy and I love to be in a place where everyone is working wholeheartedly and unselfishly toward an ideal, but there are always people to take advantage of one’s democratic spirit….”

[melville_corr_069.jpg] and [melville_corr_070.jpg] Unsigned to Melville, November 6, 1931. (page 1) School updates: Board is pleased with everything; I’m enjoying my work immensely and believe that I am getting along very nicely with my staff”; describes the repairs to the reservoir which had a broken main water line; now have 106 students. Describes small changes at the School: the children get an extra 1/2 hour free time for 3 1/2 hours of good work; interactions that are permitted between boys and girls.

(page 2) Explains his use of self-government and social control among the students; encloses a study Morris made of where students come from and their home conditions; weekly staff meetings.

[melville_corr_071.jpg] Morris to Melville, February 10, 1932. Discusses their exchange of cards, letters, Monthly Bulletin and Notes. Next year’s changes: Miss [Ruth B.] Gaines and Emily Hill will not return to Laurel House; new doctor, who is paid $2000 per year; no nurse at Medical Settlement. Traveling to Gabes Branch with Henry Creech and others for a meeting to discuss establishing the Pine Mountain Medical Association – medical services for one year at $15 per family; explains its purposes.

[melville_corr_072.jpg] Morris to Melville at The Hut in Jamaica, British West Indies, April 1, 1932. Asks her to be PMSS field representative for a time.

[melville_corr_073.jpg] Melville to Morris in Malvern, Jamaica, April 13, 1932 (original typewritten letter). Asks for copies of the Notes to be sent to John Daniels, Nat’l Secretary of the English Speaking Union of the U.S. Two of their English teachers visited the School in fall 1930.

[melville_corr_074.jpg] Original handwritten letter from Melville at The Hutt (sic), Malvern, Jamaica, to Morris, June 11, 1932. Extends sympathy for the death of Reed Johnson (teacher) on May Day.

[melville_corr_075.jpg] Morris to Melville at The Hutt, Malvern, Jamaica, July 2, 1932. Asks if Morris would take over the (Oma Creech) Fund from her, due to her living at a long distance. Melville only hopes that Oma Creech “will be helped.” Asks if the appeal for 1932-33 would go out in Morris’s name from Pine Mt. Provides NYC address. Discusses sending acknowledgments to 1931-32 donors who have not yet received them.

[melville_corr_076.jpg] and [melville_corr_076a.jpg] 2-page letter from Morris to Melville in NYC. (page 1) Discusses donors to the Oma Creech Fund. “As I now understand it, the sponsors of the Fund are trying to raise $350 a year for Oma Creech’s tuition.” Offers to handle it. Describes the new dietician, Miss Bertha Cold and the former one, Miss Gaines.

(page 2) First major operation in the Infirmary was on the PMSS secretary, Mr. Lehman (“brother of Lehman of Red-Bird, a college chum of mine”) for appendicitis; performed by Dr. [Kenneth N.] Gould. Considering purchasing a silo and grow corn to save of the annual feed bill. Increase of 25% more students this year; fell $800 short of amount received from the April Letter of the preceding year. Building a 3-foot wall on the reservoir to increase water supply. Discusses the “tragedy of May Day,” why he thinks it occurred and possible solutions.

[melville_corr_077.jpg] Original 2-page handwritten letter from Melville in NYC to Morris, August 7, 1932. (page 1) Has written to Mr. Jones about the Oma Creech Fund.

[melville_corr_078a.jpg] (page 2) Agrees with Morris that the problem at PMSS is “primarily an economic one… the ultimate solution lies with the desires of the people…an enlightened people…will re-make conditions surrounding them.”

[melville_corr_079.jpg] Morris to Melville in NYC, August 22, 1932. Asked if she thought his recent (appeal) letter had cleared up the matter of the Oma Creech Fund.

[melville_corr_080.jpg], [melville_corr_080a.jpg] and [melville_corr_080b.jpg] Original 3-page handwritten letter from Melville in NYC to Morris, April 23, 1933. (page 1) Assures Morris his appeal letter was excellent. (page 2) Encloses “a wee $1.00.” (page 3) “Will you give my love to the Creeches, specially my namesake, and tell Delia I aim to write…” Asked for the address for James Dixon.

[melville_corr_081.jpg] Morris to Melville in NYC, May 1, 1933. Acknowledges her donation; donations are ahead of last year’s April letter; “…trying to maintain the school with just about half as much money as last year.” May Day was yesterday; Miss Christensen visited for month of April.

[melville_corr_082.jpg] Morris to Melville in NYC, December 31, 1933. Thanked Melville for “all that you did to make my trip successful….”; the trip was worthwhile due to the contacts Morris made; expressed thanks to Miss Campbell for her part.

See Also:

ANGELA MELVILLE – Biography

ANGELA MELVILLE Correspondence 1920-1928
ANGELA MELVILLE Correspondence 1925-1929