MARGARET FROST TWICHELL Correspondence

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY
Margaret Frost Twichell Correspondence
Nurse Assistant, Infirmary, 1942-1943

MARGARET FROST TWICHELL Correspondence, 1942 – 1955

TAGS: Margaret Frost Twichell correspondence, Mrs. Henry S. Mowbray, Glyn Morris, application for nurse assistant position, references, donations, Kiwanis Camp, Arthur W. Dodd, Western Union telegrams, H.R.S. Benjamin, Mrs. Berdina Bishop

CONTENTS: Margaret Frost Twichell Correspondence

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

1942

00015 (1) February 18, 1942. Western Union telegram to Glyn Morris from Margaret F. Twichell in Ojai, CA, who wishes to consider his offer of nurse assistant and is sending her application via air mail.

00015 (2) February 25, 1942. To Mrs. Bettina Jones, Secretary, at New Haven (CT) Hospital from [unsigned]. Asks Mrs. Jones to complete the enclosed sheets by indicating which statements most accurately characterize Miss Twichell.

00015 (3) March 3, 1942. Typewritten letter to Mr. Morris from Condelia Kingman on “The Ojai Valley School” letterhead. “The Pine Mountain Settlement School has been of interest to me since the days of Cecil Sharp, as I have been a member of the E.F.D.S. of America for many years and have known Miss Welles (sic) and Kay Wright as well as Miss Karpeles, Douglas Kennedy and, of course, May Gadd, in connection with the Folk Dance School at Amherst and Long Pond. So it is with pleasure that I can recommend Miss Twichell….” Kingman describes Twichell’s time at Ojai Valley School since third grade and after college, mentioning her “integrity and dependability.”

00015 (4) April 4, 1942. To Miss Margaret F. Twichell in New Haven, CT, from [unsigned, likely Morris]. Notation at bottom of page: “AIR MAIL.” Suggested a meeting in Prof. Swift’s office in Union Theological Seminary in NYC.

00015 (5) April 6, 1942. Address side of postcard to Prof. Arthur L. Swift, Union Theological Sem., New York, NY.

00015 (6) April 4, 1942. Handwritten note on postcard to Mr. Swift from Margaret F. Twichell, who asks him to tell Morris about meeting in Swift’s office.

00015 (7) April 13, 1942. To Miss Barbara Gates, Smith College, Northampton, MA, from [unsigned, possibly Morris], who asks her to provide “an opinion about her in the light of your understanding of Pine Mountain…”

00015 (8) Handwritten two-page letter from “Barbie” to [IMAGE OF PAGE 1 IS MISSING]. Page 2. Letter of recommendation for “Peg” who “comes from a wonderful family who lives in New Haven and often goes to Keene Valley…in the summer. She has one sister and two brothers and they have a catching family spirit about them. I’m all for Peg being at Pine Mountain….Peg is very talented artistically.”

00015 (9) April 21, 1942. To Miss Barbara Gates, Smith College, Northampton, MA, from [unsigned], thanking her for sending a $10 check (in addition to her usual gift of $25) and for her “careful appraisal of Margaret Twichell…[It] is especially valuable because you know Pine Mountain and can see her in relation to it.” He plans to invite Twichell to the Kiwanis Camp to see if she likes PMSS; mentions that Mrs. [Berdina] Bishop may be in charge of the camp.

00015 (10) Handwritten two-page letter to [IMAGE OF PAGE 1 IS MISSING] from Peggy Twichell. Page 2. Asks if Mrs. Bishop can advise her about clothing to bring.

00015 (11) May 4, 1942. To Miss Twichell from [unsigned], who is glad she “will come to Pine Mountain this summer as a counselor in our camp.” Mrs. Bishop, camp director, will be writing to her.

00015 (12) – DUPLICATE OF (11)

00015 (13) June 23, [1942]. N.D. Two-page handwritten letter to Arthur W. Dodd from Peggy Twichell in New Haven, CT, who [Page 1] thanks him for his letter and agrees to come to PMSS next September as nurse assistant. Asks if she needs to take any courses. 00015 (14) [Page 2]. She will be taking the Red Cross Nurse’s Aid course.

00015 (15) June 26, 1942. To Miss Twichell from [unsigned, Arthur Dodd], Acting Director, who is glad she is still interested in the position; awaiting approval of the appointment by the Board of Trustees. No previous nursing courses are required but “it is fine that you are taking the Red Cross Nurses’ Aid course.

00015 (16) July 17, 1942. To Miss Twichell from [unsigned, Arthur Dodd], Acting Director. Thanks her for her July 14th note; clarifies that the salary will be $25 per month, and maintenance (board, room and laundry). Asks her to send arrival time in Harlan on September 1st.

00015 (17) Western Union telegram. September 3, 1942. To Arthur Dodd from Burton P. Twichell. “No word from my daughter. Please wire collect whether she arrived Tuesday, September first, as per schedule.”

1944

00015 (19) February 11, 1944. To Peggy Twichell from [indecipherable signature, likely Arthur Dodd]. Thanks her for the album of Square Dances; will use that at the book party. “We have been trying to get more Quadrille records similar to the ones we have….” Tells about his young daughter Elizabeth. “The draft situation has everyone guessing. At present Rogers, Wilder, Hayes, and Dodd are classified 1-A. We are not expecting to lose any of the men before summer, however.”

1945

00015 (24) October 19, 1945. Typewritten note to “Dorothy” from [unsigned]. Encloses money for a copy of “One Man’s Cravin’” to be sent ℅ Swarthmore (PA) College. Enjoyed the co-op report, stating “I would very much like to see co-op theory taught more generally and it was interesting to me to read of Pine Mt’s approach to this problem.”

00015 (25) – DUPLICATE OF (24)

1946

00015 (20) July 23, 1946. To Miss Margaret F. Twichell in New Haven, CT, from H.R.S. Benjamin, who thanks her for her annual gift of $10. Tells about students who remain at school during the summer to work at various tasks (“housecleaning, painting, canning, and farming”) to pay “part of their tuition and have a direct share in the preparations for the coming year.”

1955

00015 (21) March 23, 1955. To “Peggy” (Mrs. Henry S. Mowbray) in Washington, DC, from Burton Rogers, Director, who appreciates her “truly generous contribution.” He tells about “discouragements,” including railway and telephone strikes; wishes that she would visit; and expresses interest in the “development of your former home in New Haven as the International Student Center…[T]hat particular cause is very close to my heart….”

NO DATE

00015 (18) Handwritten three-page letter to [IMAGES OF PAGES 1 & 2 ARE MISSING] from Peggy Twichell in New York, NY. Page 3. Describes difficulty in reaching [?]; asks how Georgia and Elizabeth Dodd are and sends her best to them and the staff.

00015 (22) September 4 [no year]. Handwritten note to “Burton” from Peggy Mowbray, apologizing for not writing. “Busy year, children well.”

00015 (23) N.D. Handwritten note: “Margaret F. Twichell (applicant for position as nurse’s assistant) 5:00 P.M. (train)”

See Also: MARGARET FROST TWICHELL Staff – Biography