OLIVE COOLIDGE Staff

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff
Olive Coolidge, Nurse Assistant, 1941-1942
Olive Dame Coolidge (1920-2008)
Correspondence
Photographs
Memorabilia

Olive Coolidge, c.1941.[coolidge_edited image00142.jpg]

TAGS: Olive Coolidge, Grace M. Rood, nurse assistant, Pine Mountain Settlement School worker, 1941-1942, Infirmary, Hill House, health care at PMSS, Wellesley College, letter of application for a PMSS position, sociology students, Robert Butman, Marcia Butman donation, Richard Coolidge, Olive Dame Campbell, John C. Campbell Folk School, publicity training, secretarial training, environmental awareness, Nantucket MA

OLIVE COOLIDGE Staff

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Nurse Assistant September 1941- February 1942

Applying for a PMSS Position

Olive Coolidge had just graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was looking for an interesting position. Her great aunt, Olive Dame Campbell nudged her toward Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan County, Kentucky. With some trepidation, she wrote a letter of application to PMSS Director Glyn Morris, dated June 22, 1941. She mailed her application for the Pine Mountain Settlement School worker position and waited.

In college Olive’s studies in sociology and publicity work had already prepared her for work as student head of the Wellesley College Press Board, which managed most of the Wellesley news releases, and at the Boston Herald where she was charged with processing college correspondence. She had also worked with children while in charge of sailing at a camp in Hawley, Pennsylvania, for two summers.

As a relative of Olive Dame Campbell, the wife of John C. Campbell the founder of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, Olive Coolidge was familiar with the Southern Appalachian region through studies and visits with her great-aunt and uncle, the Campbells. Olive Dame Campbell (Mrs. John C. Campbell), for whom Olive was named, and Miss Helen Dingman, a teacher at Berea College and who worked in Harlan County for a brief time, were often found in a circle of Appalachian social service advocates. These are women well-known for their pioneering work to professionalize social services and medical services in Appalachia and particularly in Eastern Kentucky.

Olive Dame Campbell was a close correspondent with Pine Mountain Settlement School Directors and it was a letter to Glyn Morris (Director 1939-1949), that led to the eventual hire of her grand-niece, Olive Coolidge. The critical need for assistance in the hospital and the strong influence of Dame Olive Campbell’s letter of recommendation led to an invitation to apply for the Pine Mountain Settlement School opening of a nurse assistant. Though Olive Coolidge had minimal nurse training, she had a strong folk school immersion and conversion and some experience with social service within settlement schools.

in 1925, Mrs. Campbell, the founder of the John C. Campbell Folk School, was focused on improving the quality of life of the mountain people and preserving their health and well-being and their craft heritage in Appalachia. She had been a voice for the Appalachian region for many years. When her husband, John C. Campbell, suddenly died of a heart attack, following their journey to Denmark to study the “Folk School” ethos, Olive Dame remembered that trip and her husband’s enthusiasm for an American Folk School in Appalachia. She borrowed a Pine Mountain worker, Marguerite Butler, to accompany her to Denmark to visit and study again at the leading Danish Folk School center. Over 95 years later, the John C. Campbell Folk School, located in Brasstown, North Carolina, continues its mission of “transforming lives through living and learning together,” a vision similar to that of Pine Mountain and rooted in the Settlement School Movement. Olive Coolidge was familiar with her aunt’s Folk School interests and while her educational training was a Bachelor of Arts, it was well rounded by her general degree and her familial connections at John C. Campbell.

The two settlement school models, the Pine Mountain Settlement School and John C. Campbell held many interests in common. They were most remarkably similar in operation, though their foundations were dissimilar. What they strongly shared were employees that found many interests in common — and values that came from a similar commitment to making lives better. It is unsurprising to find the two schools communicating directly in their early days. John C. Campbell was strongly influenced by the lessons learned at the earlier Pine Mountain School passed along by employees who came to work in North Carolina and who had a strong interest in pursuing the Danish Folk School model. Marguerite Butler was the primary influencer.

Marguerite Butler, who began her career at Pine Mountain Settlement and Line Fork Settlement, (a satellite of Pine Mountain in its earliest years) established a friendship with Olive Dame Campbell and their shared ideas and interest in Danish folk-school models joined in both women. They wanted to know more about the Danish Folk School model. Marguerite knew Olive Dame through Katherine Pettit’s close association with the Campbells and the work of Campbell’s husband who was a leading figure in education in the Southern Appalachians. Also, visits to Pine Mountain and mutual friends kept the two schools and their employees in close communication.

Olive Dame was very taken by Marguerite’s skills and her interest in Denmark. Her invitation to take Marguerite along to Denmark following the death of John C. Campbell, was a turning point in the life of both women.

Marguerite accepted an invitation to accompany Olive Dame to Denmark and the two returned committed to the founding of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Marguerite did not return to Pine Mountain. She stayed on at Brasstown, NC, to assist Olive Dame and later her marriage to the School’s Danish farmer, George Bidstrup melded the agrarian interests of Pine Mountain Settlement with Folk School models and the two school models were woven together to form the foundations of the current John C. Campbell school.

Job Prospects and Duties

It was the close relationship of Dame Olive Campbell with Pine Mountain that brought her niece Olive Coolidge to the Kentucky Settlement School. Olive’s publicity experience also caught the eye of Pine Mountain’s Director (1931-1941) Glyn Morris. He foresaw a probable need for an enlarged publicity program at the School and Olive Coolidge’s record looked promising. He was also familiar with the remarkable work of Olive’s great-aunt at John C. Campbell Folk School and the need to retain a sound working relationship with similar progressive schools that were reorganizing social services in Appalachia. Further, Morris was contemplating a departure from Pine Mountain to join the war effort as a Chaplin. In fact, he departed in early 1942 to join the war — but, before his departure, he recommended the hire of Olive Dame’s niece, Oggy.

While Olive “Oggy” Coolidge’s studies and experiences did not exactly match the current position description that Pine Mountain needed and was desperately trying to fill her hire was approved with the understanding that she could grow into the role of an assistant to Grace Rood, a nurse in the School’s Infirmary, as part of her responsibilities. Olive brought other talents but she showed good potential to learn new skills.

When Pine Mountain increased its services to the community, Grace Rood’s nursing workload became difficult for one person to manage and that was ultimately where Olive ended up spending most of her time. Her work as an Office Assistant was soon eclipsed by her work as an assistant to Nurse Rood. She was approved to come to the School. [See the short stories written by the PMSS nurse Grace M. Rood, late in her life.] The School soon found it did not have the money to hire a second trained nurse but did have enough to hire a general assistant at $25 a month. Morris encouraged Olive’s application, assuring her that the work would be interesting and “of benefit not only to our school and the community but…would give you [Olive] excellent experience“. He also held out the possibility of working with publicity and with the students as well as Office duties.

The “Work Analysis for Untrained Work at Hospital,” a synopsis of the copy sent to Coolidge, describes the position as follows:

AIM: To help in simple nursing procedures so that the nurse may have more time for teaching. To help also with bookkeeping, ordering of supplies, mending, etc. To relieve at the hospital in the absence of the nurse in order to supervise the students and to have a person present with mature judgment, who will give confidence to any patient. …

NURSING PROCEDURES: If work has not had the Red Cross course in Nurse Aide, every effort will be made to give her as much knowledge as the student workers have. This includes bed-making, bed baths, simple treatments, assistance at deliveries, helping with accident cases.

General Housework – This is usually all taken care of during the work period in the morning, but the worker must be willing in the case of an emergency to pitch in and wash clothes, dishes, etc.

Supplies – This includes the ordering of weekly supplies as soaps, etc. , caring for the linens, checking on their condition, mending, or supervising the mending.

Bookkeeping – Keeping up the routine daily and weekly bills and etc.

If time and interest permit, worker may attend some of the doctor’s clinics.

Besides the regular routine duties, there are many things of interest which a person may do, from making studies of medical work in the mountains to simpler studies of family life. There are many opportunities for learning about people, how the people in the mountains are born, live and die.

[Source: 173 Olive Coolidge Correspondence. [image00173-scaled.jpg]

Recommendations

All of Olive’s references described her in highly favorable terms. A former supervisor wrote to Morris: “She is a splendid person with a healthy social conscience and an extraordinary interest in people.” Another wrote, “Alive to new ideas, situations and points of view.” Also, “I found her cooperative, full of zest for the task at hand and a good leader… [and] worked easily with people older than she.” Her Aunt Olive Dame Campbell also wrote of her fondness for her niece and praised Olive’s abilities and training in her letter of recommendation.

After a review of Olive’s application, references’ responses, and credentials, Morris and the School’s trustees agreed that Olive would be able to handle the job. According to an official memorandum, she was hired “for the school year of 1941-1942 as an assistant to the school nurse [Grace M. Rood] at $25 a month plus [paid for] maintenance and laundry.” She was entitled to two weeks’ vacation with pay during the Christmas holidays.

OLIVE COOLIDGE At Pine Mountain

Although first working full-time as a nurse’s helper, Olive found time to serve on the staff of The Pine Cone, a school and community newsletter published monthly by PMSS students. Working on publicity for The Pine Cone, she was able to draw upon her previous studies and experiences in publishing and publicity.

Olive’s letters and notes to Morris during her employment indicated that she was dedicated to helping Miss Rood but sometimes she balked at the enormous demands. A conscientious worker, she was concerned when she had to end her position earlier than planned. Also, she had grown to like her new skills and work.

Grace Rood, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, had extensive experience and a very long tenure at Pine Mountain and was a demanding supervisor. Though tough, she was instrumental in steering many students into nursing careers and inspiring them with her work ethic. A look at Grace Rood Stories graphically describes Rood’s work ethic and time at Pine Mountain and gives some sense of her amazing impact on the lives of the people in the community and those who were under her supervision at the School … and on Olive.

Olive stayed much longer than she first expected. While visiting her family on her Christmas vacation in 1941, Olive wrote to Morris on January 6, 1942, that she had contracted the “grippe” and was not able to return to Pine Mountain until February. At that time she also wrote, “I do not feel I can stay through to June at Pine Mountain. I do plan to be married earlier and so would like to be here for most of the spring.” As she indicated, she left before the June date for a more important one … Robert Butman, her future husband.

The correspondence with Robert Butman and Olive’s family is a very large portion of her recently donated record. Her grandniece, Marcia Butman, has generously shared digital copies of letters that paint an intimate portrait of Olive “Oggy” Coolidge. While largely a correspondence of two sweethearts, the emotional struggle as described in their correspondence as they negotiated the long-distance emotional roller coaster of love and planning for careers and marriage, is instructive. The correspondence reveals much of the life, dreams, and fears of young adults during the war years. Their world was one marching rapidly toward WWII tensions and uncertainties. The emotions were high and planning was complicated by uncertainty. The letters graphically capture the early 1940s emotional roller-coaster.

OLIVE COOLIDGE BUTMAN After Pine Mountain

In 1942 Olive left Pine Mountain. On August 28, 1942, Olive married Robert Butman, whom she had known since third grade. They had three children: a daughter, Marcia Butman, a teacher and writer, and two sons, Dr. Bradford Butman, an environmental scientist, and John Butman, a creative director in the performing arts and owner of Butman Co., Boston.

Late in life, in 1968, Olive earned her master’s degree in education from Tufts University, Medford, MA. She joined the Littleton (MA) Public School system as a guidance counselor, and, from 1968 to 1984, helped students and supported teachers at the Shaker Lane Elementary School in Littleton, MA.

Her obituary describes her as a “lifelong summer resident of Nantucket…and ardent conservationist.” As a lover of the outdoors, she enjoyed ice skating on the Concord’s rivers, skiing at Pukatasset and sailing, hiking and camping with family and friends. Her ability to “bring people together around family, political and social causes” was considered exceptional by all accounts.

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Olive Dame Coolidge, known since childhood as “Oggy” and as “Coolly” by her PMSS co-workers, was born on January 26, 1920, in Medford, Massachusetts, joining her only sibling, William Bradford Coolidge, who was born four years earlier. Her parents were Ruth Dame Coolidge and Richard Bradford Coolidge, a lawyer, who traced his family line to William Bradford, long-serving governor of the Plymouth colony and later by marriage to the Thomas Jefferson family.

After a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease, Olive Coolidge died on May 23, 2008, in Lexington, MA, at the age of 88 but her essence is strongly captured in the remarkable body of letters that were provided by the family to Pine Mountain Settlement Scool to be shared and to instruct.

Title	OLIVE COOLIDGE
Alt. Title	Olive D. Coolidge ; Olive Dame Coolidge ; Mrs.Olive Dame Coolidge Butman ; Mrs. Robert Butman ; Olive “Oggy” Coolidge ; Olive “Coolly” Collidge ;
Identifier	https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=71551
Creator	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Alt. Creator	Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ;
Subject Keyword	Olive D. Coolidge ; Olive Dame Coolidge ; Mrs.Olive Dame Coolidge Butman ; Mrs. Robert Butman ; Olive “Oggy” Coolidge ; Pine Mountain Settlement School ; Olive Dame Campbell ; John C. Campbell Folk Schoo ; Helen Dingman ; Grace Rood ; nurses ; Infirmary ; The Pine Cone ; publicity ; grippe ;
Subject LCSH	Coolidge, Olive Dame, — January 26, 1920 – May 23, 2008. Pine Mountain Settlement School (Pine Mountain, Ky.) — History. Harlan County (Ky.) — History. Education — Kentucky — Harlan County. Rural schools — Kentucky — History. Rural Medicine — Kentucky — Harlan County Hospital service Medical Care — Kentucky Hospital service: Medical care; Rural medicine Schools — Appalachian Region, Southern.
Date	2020-06-29 aae ; 2024-02-10 hhw ; 2024-02-24 hhw ;
Publisher	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Contributor	n/a
Type	Collections ; text ; image ;
Format	Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet
Source	Series 09: Biography – Staff
Language	English
Relation	Is related: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: Biography – Staff/Personnel.
Coverage Temporal	1920 – 2008
Coverage Spatial	Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Medford, MA ; Nantucket, MA ; Brasstown, NC ; Lexington, MA ; Littleton, MA ; Berea, KY ;
Rights	Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Donor	n/a
Description	Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of Olive Dame Coolidge ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Olive Dame Coolidge ;
Acquisition	n/d
Citation	“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.
Processed By	Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ;
Last Updated	2020-08-28 aae ; 2024-02-05 hhw ; 2024-02-13 hhw ; 2024-03-30 aae ; 2024-07-06 aae ; 2024-07-26 hhw ; 2024-11-29 hhw;
Bibliography	Sources “Olive Coolidge,” Series 09: Biography. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. Internet resource. “United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQP6-F16 : accessed 29 June 2020), Olive D Coolidge in household of Richard B Corbridge (sic), Medford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002. Internet resource. “Olive Coolidge Butman died Friday, May 23, 2008, at Pine Knoll Nursing Center in Lexington.” Obituary, Wicked Local Concord: The Concord (MA) Journal. Internet resource. “Olive ‘Oggy’ Butman.” Obituary, The Boston Globe. Internet resource. “United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK5R-6T79 : accessed 30 June 2020), Mrs Olive Dame Coolidge Butman, Massachusetts, United States; from “Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 – Today),” database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Lexington Minuteman, born-digital text. Internet resource. For more family information and a family visit to John C. Campbell Folk School, see: https://www.folkschool.org/2015/07/03/a-special-visit-from-the-dame-family/