GOVERNANCE BOT 1935 Correspondence

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 03: GOVERNANCE CORRESPONDENCE
PMSS Board of Trustees
1935 Correspondence

“Draper Hall – Berea College.” [nace_II_album_094.jpg

TAGS: BOT correspondence, Board of Trustees of Pine Mountain Settlement School correspondence, Berea College, Dr. Frances S. Hutchins, J.S. Crutchfield, Celia Cathcart Holton, C.N. Manning, Glyn A. Morris, Evelyn Wells, Katherine Pettit, Mary Rockwell Hook

GOVERNANCE BOT 1935 Correspondence

[Note: PMSS Board members’ letters in the PMSS Collections are carbon copies, typewritten, unsigned, and meant for the Office files. The following list of contents is in the order of the image numbers and not necessarily in chronological order.]

[Note: The following may not be a complete listing of letters for the year. This page will be updated with additional letters as they are found and processed.]

[BOT_corres_1935-001.jpg] through [BOT_corres_1935-017.jpg]

001 April 27, 1935. To “Mr. Martin” from [unsigned], acknowledges his resignation letter and suggests that Mr. [J.S.] Crutchfield is his successor. The writer suggests Professor Swift, Dr. [Alfred E.] Wilson of Chicago, and Mrs. Peabody of Cambridge to fill vacancies made by Crutchfield, Celia [Cathcart Holton], Mr. Moss; and Mrs. Wendell Goddard (formerly Kitty Russel) of Detroit to replace Miss Bolles [who has died].

The writer mentions Dr. [Frances S.] Hutchins and states that Mr. [C.N.] Manning has said “that there is to be definitely no consideration of a combination with Pine Mountain on the part of Berea.”

002 March 19, 1935. To Glyn A. Morris, Director, from [indecipherable signature] who suggested to Mrs. Holton of February 5th that “I hope Dr. Hutchins would find it feasible to take over Pine Mountain from an early date.” The writer will not bring the subject up unless someone else does. The writer mentions Morris’s New York visit “in which you spoke fourteen times in six days” ; advises discussing possible board members (Dr. Wilson and Prof. Swift, Jr.) when visiting Miss Pettit and Mr. Manning in Lexington ; mentions the possibility that Mrs. [Celia C.] Holton may resign.

003 May 8, 1935. To “Evelyn” in London, OH, from Celia C. Holton, who is “grieved” to hear of Miss Bolles’ death, whom she admired. Holton hopes Kitty Russel Goddard will accept Board membership ; is amused that Mr. Manning refuses to “bring the Pine Mountain matter before the Berea Board.” ; mentions “Pine Mountain students broadcasting ballads from New York.”

004-004a March 31, 1935. Two-page letter to Morris from [unsigned, possibly Evelyn Wells], who provides background information concerning “this tempest in a tea pot concerning Berea’s taking over Pine Mountain, enclosing the excerpts from [trustees’] letters on the subject, as prepared by Mrs. Mattern.”

[Katherine] Pettit suggested to Wells that she send a letter to the trustees (in the place of Mr. Martin, who was ill) asking if they would approve a committee to make a survey of Pine Mountain for Berea. “Her idea was that, if Berea found conditions favorable, the trustees should then be asked if they wanted to turn the school over to Berea.” Mattern gathered excerpts of the board’s letters that were written in response to the question. As a current board member (whose term terminates in October), the writer gives his/her personal feeling: “I should like to see some sort of supervision exercised over Pine Mountain by Berea because I think it would make for more intelligent and effective work.” [004a] “After February 24 [when Martin recovered] I left the whole thing in Mr. Martin’s hands. [Attached transcription of a letter to “Evelyn” from “Celia”] She clarifies that she will serve this year and no longer. She mentions that Evelyn has a position on the Wellesley faculty; and how Miss Pettit’s letters “drive me wild.”

Mrs. Ball005 March 28, 1935. To “Mr. Martin and Celia,” cc: Mrs. Caryl Holton from [unsigned] in Summit, NJ,, who states that Morris may not know about Miss Petit’s suggestion to Dr. Hutchins that Berea take over Pine Mountain. Fearing that rumors may circulate in the community about this possibility, the writer asks that someone “settle Mr. Morris’ mind about it.” The writer then asks several questions about what is being done about the matter/

006 February 17, 1935. To “Celia” from [unsigned] in Summit, NJ. “I should be [loathe] to see Pine Mountain giving up her autonomy just now when Mr. Morris is getting into his educational stride, – a stride that seems to be taking us away from, rather towards Berea.” She asks why Miss Pettit was considering turning over the school to Berea. “If it is the matter of securing a full board of trustees, which is of course our greatest problem at present, I wonder if that could not be solved in some other way?”

007 February 12, 1935. To “Evelyn” from “Celia” on letterhead for “C.A. Holton…London, OH, Manager, The Cathcart-Holton Farms. She presents a timeline of the actions leading to Berea College suggesting that the PMSS trustees “invite a small committee to examine…the affairs of Pine Mountain and present a detailed report to the Board of Trustees. Such action would provide Dean Baird and Miss Dingman with all the necessary facts.” Celia asks for Evelyn’s opinion.

008 [CARBON COPY OF LETTER #002]

009 March 8, 1935. Carbon copy of letter to “Mrs. Holton” from “DDM” [Darwin D. Martin; cc. Pettit, Wells, Manning] stating his opinion concerning a possible takeover of PMSS by Berea, to which he agrees if Morris can remain on the job. He notes that an investigating committee has been formed by Mr. Manning.

010 April 8, 1935. To Wells from C. N. Manning, President of Security Trust Company, Lexington, KY. He is gratified “to know that Pine Mountain is being considered as a beneficiary under the will of a client of Guaranty Trust Co. of NY, Mr. Risley, who Manning knows. He offers to send Risley a letter. He agrees that small contributors should be kept informed and cultivated. About Berea possibly managing PMSS, Dr. Hutchins told Manning during a March 15th Berea board meeting that “he could not recommend such sponsorship to his board of Trustees.” [Handwritten notation in left margin: “Asked K. Wright, Apr 15, wrote CNN Apr 18. Wait.’]

011 February 15, 1935. Handwritten letter to Holton from J.S. Crutchfield on letterhead for Chicago & North Western Line. He agrees to “having our Berea friends make a survey of Pine Mt.”

012 March 29, 1935. To Holton from [indecipherable signature, possibly Mattern]. “All of this trouble really started with sending Mr. Morris a copy of Mr. Martin’s letter to you dated February 24th,” regretting that she had sent it, but Martin insisted that she do so. She asks Holton and Wells to try to explain the situation to Morris. She encloses a set of papers on the subject, containing excerpts from letters, and will send a set to Well, also.

013 [DUPLICATE OF LETTER #009]

014 February 24, 1935. To Martin from Holton. Now that Martin has recuperated, she explains the Berea-PMSS situation and encloses the set of trustees’ responses to her request for approval to set up an investigating committee. All but one (Bolles), approved. She then asked Pettit and Manning to secure a committee. She suggests that Martin, Manning, and Pettit take over from now on.

015 February 21, 1935, To Holton from [unsigned, D.D. Martin], cc: Pettit and Morris. “Your suggestion to communicate with the Advisory Board at least annually is passed on to Mr. Morris…. I hope Dr. Hutchins will find it feasible for Berea to take over Pine Mountain.”

016 February 21, 1935. To Holdon from DDM [Martin]. [CARBON COPY OF LETTER #015]

017 January 12, 1935. To Martin from Holton, suggesting that the Board communicate with the Advisory Board at least once a year. She mentions Mrs. Ball’s “fruitless trip” to PMSS. She writes that she has “lost interest in [the School], that I think it has outlived its usefulness and that it is too expensive a charity for me to support.” She recalls that Dr. Alfred Lee Wilson was once on the Board “and resigned because he could not give sufficient time to the work. He is a very fine man.” Holton tells of Miss Pettit’s letter saying she had seen Dr. Hutchins in Lexington and had asked him if it would be possible for Berea to take over Pine Mountain, provided our Board would consent.” Hutchins said he would “think hard and give an answer in March.” Pettit asked Holton to pass this information on to Martin. She describes an impetigo outbreak at the School.

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TRUSTEES’ RESPONSES TO THE PROPOSAL THAT BEREA TAKE OVER PMSS
Gathered and excerpted by Celia Cathcart Holton, March 29, 1935

[BOT_corresp_1935_berea_001.jpg] through [BOT_corresp_1935_berea_004.jpg]

Page 1
February 11. To Holton from Pettit: Although reluctant to consider it, Dr. Hutchins wrote that Berea would give the proposition some thought.

February 17. To Holton from Wells: She hopes that “it would not be necessary,” [but] she does approve of “a report from Berea specialists on Pine Mountain’s present status…, [if] I felt it were leading us towards giving the school over to Berea.”

February. To Holton from Bolles: Although Bolles writes that she doesn’t know how to answer Holton’s question, she feels that Miss Pettit should [not] have proposed such a plan to Dr. Hutchins without consulting the other trustees.

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February 18 (continued). Bolles states that she feels Pine Mountain “fully justified its existence, and that given a little peace and freedom from trouble, Mr. Morris will make a fine school of it along vocational lines.” She worries that Pettit has low confidence in Morris and Manning “would always back Miss Pettit….” However, Bolles will not resist “if all the Trustees feel that it is for the ultimate good of Pine Mt. to turn it over to Berea,”

February 18, Holton from Mrs. [Mary Rockwell] Hook, who feels the idea is worthy of consideration and is “in favor of study on this point.”

February 24. To Martin from Holton, describing the actions that led to Manning and Pettit organizing an investigating committee. Holton turned over communication concerning this matter to Martin and Pettit.

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February 26. To Martin from Pettit, explaining the actions that led to her letter to Dr. Hutchins.
March 8. To Holton from Martin, supporting Morris’s work and knows that the Board would like him to continue. He doubts that Berea wants to take on the responsibility of PMSS. He would “be satisfied if they do if they will keep Mr. Morris on the job.”

February 21. To Holton from Martin, who states that “I hope Dr. Hutchins will find it feasible for Berea to take over Pine Mountain from an early date.”

March 11. To Martin from Morris, questioning the sentence in Martin’s letter to Holton, dated February 21 about his hope that Berea takes over Pine Mountain.

March 19. To Morris from Martin, who “cannot explain now my suggestion to Mrs. Holton….,” writing that the matter should rest until Dr. Hutchins makes a determination.

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March 26. To Martin from Pettit, asking Martin to explain the investigating committee. She asks his opinion of Dr. Hutchins’ letter to Pettit and whether he will respond.

March 28. To Pettit from Martin. “I am going to do nothing about Dr. Hutchins’ suggestion to you….”