UMarmot » Oral history

Duckert, Audrey R.

rscox — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 20:54:52 +0000

Trained as a linguist, Audrey R. Duckert was a pioneer in the study of American regional English. Born in the small town of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin, Duckert took up the study of dialect while a student at the University of Wisconsin during the 1940s, and after completing her doctorate in linguistics at Radcliffe College in 1959, she joined the faculty at UMass Amherst, where she remained until her retirement forty years later. Among the highlights of her career, Duckert was a founding member of the Dictionary of American Regional English in 1965 and she became the first UMass woman admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. In addition to her linguistic work, Duckert developed an avid interest in local history and she was involved with a number of local historical organizations, including the Swift River Valley Historical Society in New Salem. On September 6, 2007, Duckert died in Hadley, Mass., at the age of 80.

The Duckert oral history collection consists of a series of 53 audiocassette tapes containing oral history interviews with persons displaced when the Swift River Valley was flooded in 1939 to create the Quabbin Reservoir. The histories include rich recollections of life in the towns of Greenwich, Enfield, Dana, and Prescott, with village life, education, family, and the changes that accompanied the inundation of the region. The original cassette tapes are the possession of the Swift River Valley Historical Society, which has allowed us to digitize the contents.

Memory Corps

rscox — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:08:11 +0000

Memory Corps was launched in 2011 to collect brief oral histories of the alumni of UMass Amherst. Interviews will include alumni from throughout the history of the university and center on memories of their experiences at UMass and their careers since.

Avakian, Arlene Voski

rscox — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:07:00 +0000

Arlene Avakian arrived at UMass in 1972 as a graduate student working on the social history of American women, but quickly became a key figure in the creation of the university’s new program in Women’s Studies. As she completed her MA in History (1975) and EdD (1985), she helped in the early organization of the program, later joining the faculty as professor and program director. Through her research and teaching, she contributed to an engaging departmental culture in which the intersection of race, class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality were placed at the center, building the program over the course of 35 years into the nationally-recognized Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Avakian has written and taught on topics ranging from the lives and experiences of Armenian American and African American women to culinary history and the construction of whiteness. She retired in May 2011.

Documenting the growth and development of Women’s Studies at UMass Amherst, the collection includes valuable material on the creation of the department (and Women’s Studies more generally), second- and third-wave feminism, and Avakian’s teaching and research. The collection includes a range of correspondence, memoranda, notes, and drafts of articles, along with several dozen oral historical interviews with Armenian American women. Also noteworthy is the extensive documentation of ABODES, the Amherst Based Organization to Develop Equitable Shelter, which established the Pomeroy Lane Cooperative Housing Community in South Amherst in 1994.

Loomis Communities

rscox — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:15:11 +0000

In 1902, a group of residents of Holyoke, Mass., secured a charter for the Holyoke Home for Aged People, wishing to do “something of permanent good for their city” and provide a “blessing to the homeless.” Opened in March 1911 on two acres of land donated by William Loomis, the Holyoke Home provided long-term care of the elderly, and grew slowly for its first half century. After changing its name to Loomis House in 1969, in honor of the benefactor, Loomis began slowly to expand, moving to its present location in 1981 upon construction of the first continuing care retirement community in the Commonwealth. In 1988, the Board acquired a 27-acre campus in South Hadley on which it established Loomis Village; in 1999, it became affiliated with the Applewood community in Amherst; and in 2009, it acquired Reeds Landing in Springfield.

The Loomis Communities Records offer more than a century perspective on elder care and the growth of retirement communities in western Massachusetts. The collection includes a nearly complete run of the minutes of the Board of Directors from 1902 to the present, an assortment administrative and financial records, and some documentation of the experience of the communities’ residents, with the bulk of materials dating from the 1980s to the present. An extensive series of oral histories with residents of Loomis Village was conducted in 2010.

Our Hideaway

dkovacs — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:42:50 +0000

Founded in Chicopee, Massachusetts in 1949 under another name, Our Hideaway was the oldest women’s bar on the east coast, offering the local lesbian community a safe haven in which to socialize for fifty continuous years. Before the bar was forced to close after losing its lease in 1999, it was home to a diverse community of women from those known as “old timers,” comprised of women patronizing the bar for upwards of 25 years, to college students new to the area.

As part of a project to research the lesbian bar as a social institution, Smith College student Heather Rothenberg conducted interviews of the women who frequented Our Hideaway. During the course of her research an unexpected announcement was made: the bar was closing. As a result, Rothenberg’s efforts to document Our Hideaway extended far beyond her original intent, and she was able to capture the final days of the bar as both a physical place as well as a community of women assembled over five decades. The collection consists of interview transcripts, emails, photographs and Rothenberg’s written reports. Transcripts of the interviews were modified to protect the privacy of the women interviewed; the original transcripts are restricted.

Archambault, Richard

scua — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:00:54 +0000

Richard Archambault conducted interviews of various citizens of Ashfield, Massachusetts, under the direction of Joel Halpern of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Anthropology Department. Contains copies of typed notes from interviews, as well as names of the citizens who were interviewed.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection consists of copies of typed notes on visits and interviews with various citizens of Ashfield, Massachusetts conducted during 1968 and 1969 by Richard Archambault under the direction of Joel Halpern of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Anthropology Dept. Some of the citizens interviewed were Mr. and Mrs. Peas, Mr. and Mrs. Steinmetz (minister), Mr. and Mrs. Harris (of the historical society), Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gray (farmer and teacher), and the Superintendent of Schools, as well as members of the school committee.

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Richard Archambault: Ashfield Oral Histories Collection (MS 42). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

History of the Collection

Acquired from Joel Halpern, 1985.

Processing Information

Processed by SCUA Staff.

Additional Information

Sponsor

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Language

English.

Barnard, Ellsworth, 1907-

rscox — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:00:10 +0000

Ellsworth “Dutchy” Barnard attended Massachusetts Agricultural College, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1928. Barnard began teaching college English in 1930 at Massachusetts State College. In the fall of 1957 he took a position at Northern Michigan University (NMU). As chairman of the English department, Barnard presided over a selection committee which brought the first African-American faculty member to NMU. During the 1967-1968 academic year, he led the faculty and student body in protesting the dismissal of Bob McClellan, a history professor. Although the effort to reappoint McClellan was successful, Barnard had already tendered his resignation at NMU and returned to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst for the 1968-1969 academic year. He ended his career at UMass as the Ombudsperson, the first to fill that office. Barnard retired in 1973 and lived in Amherst until his death in December 2003.

Barnard’s papers document his distinguished career as an English professor and author, as well as his social activism, particularly on behalf of the environment. They consist of course materials, personal and professional correspondence, drafts of essays, lectures and chapters, published works, a collection of political mailings, a number of artifacts both from the University of Massachusetts and other educational institutions and organizations, and a number of poems by Barnard and others.

Bates Family

scua — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:20:31 +0000

Generations of the Bates and Church families based in North Amherst and Ashfield, Massachusetts. Papers include deeds, a will, correspondence, account books (recording day-to-day expenditures on food, clothing, postage, housekeeping supplies, and laborer’s wages), diaries, an oral history, photographs, genealogical notes, and memorabilia related to the family.

Biographical Note

Nancy Alden Bassett Guilford, 8th generation descendant of
John and Priscilla Alden, lived her entire life in Ashfield,
Massachusetts. At the time of her death in 1931, she was the
oldest resident of Franklin County at the age of 102. Nancy’s
brother John died as an infant in 1825 and her other brother
William moved to Hammonton, New Jersey and operated a nursery
there.

Lucy Guilford Church married George Church. They had two
daughters Helen and Isabel and a son Frederick.

George B. Church, a native of Buckland, ran a farm in the
Baptist Corner section of Ashfield. He served as President of
the Board of Trustees of the Belding Memorial Library from
1918-1930 and was also a Selectman in the town in 1908.

Helen Church was a librarian at the South Ashfield
Library. Together with her sister Isabel she took care of her
parents, her grandmother Nancy, and her aunt Mary.

Isabel Church was also a librarian at the South Ashfield
Library. Together with her sister Helen she took care of her
parents, her grandmother Nancy, and her aunt Mary.

Frederick Church grew up on a farm in Ashfield,
Massachusetts and graduated from the Massachusetts
Agricultural School in June 1902. From 1902-1905 he worked at
the School in the Agricultural Department of the Experiment
Station conducting experiments dealing with fertilizers. From
April 1906-November 1907 he worked as head farmer at the
Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York. He left
employment there in 1907 due to a change in farm plans made
necessary by the taking of land by New York City for an
aqueduct. He later worked as a traveling salesman for Lucius
Sanderson Fertilizer Company. He was killed in March 1910 in
an accident at a train station on Long Island, New York.

Lucia Grover Church was born in Prescott, Massachusetts on
December 16, 1877. She worked as a secretary at the
Massachusetts Agricultural School from 1897-1904 and then as
secretary to the director of the experiment station at the
School from 1911 until her death in 1943. She and her three
daughters lived at 33 Pine Street in North Amherst.

Cora Grover, sister of Lucia Church, lived with Lucia and
her daughters in North Amherst. She was employed as a
secretary at the West Experiment Station of the Massachusetts
State College from 1913-1957.

Cornelia Church was born on July 21, 1906 in New Paltz,
New York, graduated from Amherst High in 1924 and from
Massachusetts State College in 1928. She worked at the
Worcester Free Library, Greenfield Regional Library, and
later was director of the Western Massachusetts Regional
Library with an office in Springfield.

Gertrude Church Salter was born in Ashfield on November
12, 1910 and graduated from Amherst High School and
Massachusetts State College in 1932. She married Leonard
Austin Salter (also class of 1932) on June 23, 1934. Gertrude
and Leonard lived in Eaglesville, CT while Leonard taught and
pursued his Masters degree at Connecticut Agricultural
College. They later lived in Wisconsin when Leonard taught in
the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of
Wisconsin. Gertrude, Leonard, and their son Leonard 3rd were
killed on June 5, 1946 in the LaSalle Hotel Fire in
Chicago.

Marcia Church Bates was born on April 17, 1908. She
graduated from Amherst High School and North Adams State
College and taught in Sunderland and Buckland before her
marriage to Raymond Bates in 1930. She and her husband ran
the Bates store on the corner of Meadow and North Pleasant
Streets in North Amherst from 1928-1960.

William Luther Bates, father-in-law of Marcia Bates, was a
motorman for the Amherst and Springfield Railway and later
for the Holyoke Street Railway Company. He and his wife
Esther operated the Bates Inn at the corner of North Pleasant
and Pine Streets in North Amherst from 1925-1944.

Genealogy Charts of Families attached.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Marcia Church Bates Family Papers, 1712-1999,
collected by family members over two centuries, is a
collection rich in the local history of North Amherst and
Ashfield, Massachusetts.

The Bates family ran two of the businesses in North
Amherst: William Bates and his wife Esther operated the Bates
Inn from 1925-1944, and Raymond Bates and his wife Marcia
operated the Bates Store from 1928-1960. Marcia Bates’
letters reveal the difficulties of keeping a business running
during the Great Depression and later during the war years of
the 1940s. Her letters also indicate some of the daily tasks
involved with running the store and the lengths to which she
and her husband went in order to maintain financial
stability.

The Church family ran a farm in Ashfield, also subject to
economic fluctuations. Clearly, the financial constraints
that families had to endure during the 1920s-1940s are
evident in the materials in this collection. Money is a
frequent topic, whether it is discussed in the
correspondence, legal documents, account books, or
diaries.

This collection also depicts details in the lives of
several generations of women, many of whom were
college-educated, who worked, lived long and endured family
tragedy. In a letter to her aunts, Marcia Bates writes,
“Mother rejoices that we were brought up poor and with the
knowledge that if we wanted anything done we would have to do
it ourselves.” Lucia Church, a single mother after her
husband Frederick was killed, raised her three daughters in
North Amherst and ensured that each of them went to
college.

Lucia’s daughter Cornelia became a librarian and worked at
the Worcester Free Library in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Cornelia’s letters to her mother often discuss her work at
the library. Cornelia’s aunts, Helen and Isabel Church, were
librarians at the South Ashfield Library, and her
grandfather, George, served as President of the Board of
Trustees of the Belding Memorial Library from 1918-1930.
Therefore, libraries and librarianship are topics of note in
this collection.

The local weather is also mentioned frequently. The
effects of the March 1936 flood on the local communities are
detailed as well as the devastation of the September 1938
Hurricane. In addition, the Church family diaries describe
the daily weather conditions in Ashfield.

The collection is organized into seven series, including:
I. Correspondence, II. Legal Documents, III. Account Books,
IV. Diaries, V. Oral History and genealogical material, VI.
Photographs, and VII. Memorabilia.

This collection is organized into seven series:

Series 1. Correspondence, 1837-1967; n.d.
Series 2. Legal Documents, 1712-1867; n.d.
Series 3. Account Books, 1828-1955
Series 4. Diaries, 1871-1956
Series 5. Oral History and genealogical material, 1999;
n.d.
Series 6. Photographs, n.d.
Series 7. Memorabilia, 1849-1967 n.d.

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Marcia Grover Church Bates Family Papers (MS 424). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

History of the Collection

Acquired from William and Nancy Bates, 2001

Processing Information

Processed by Sara F. Hagenbuch, 2002.

Additional Information

Sponsor

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation.

Language

English.

Series Descriptions


Series 1: Correspondence	1837-1967; n.d.
Since most of the correspondents were related by birth or marriage, the letters in this series are often about family members or mutual acquaintances. The letters also often talk about life in Amherst, Ashfield, and Worcester, Massachusetts. Folder 8 holds letters of reference written for Frederick Church by William Brooks, James Paige, and J.B. Lindsay of the Massachusetts Agricultural School and Albert Smiley of Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York. Letters to Lucia Church represent a large segment of this series. Most of the letters are from her daughter Cornelia during the years 1932-1937 when Cornelia worked as a librarian at the Worcester Free Library. These letters discuss Cornelia’s work at the library and life in Worcester. Many of the other letters sent to Lucia Church are from her husband’s family in Ashfield. Folder 25 contains letters of sympathy written to Gertrude Church Salter’s husband’s parents upon the death of Gertrude, Leonard, and Leonard 3rd in the LaSalle Hotel Fire in Chicago, in June 1946. The majority of these letters are from Leonard’s colleagues at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota. This series is arranged alphabetically by recipient of the letters and within each folder the letters are arranged chronologically.


Series 2: Legal Documents	1712-1867; n.d.
This series contains deeds, a will, a map and mortgage forms relating to the migration of various members of the Bassett Family from Cape Cod to Ashfield, Massachusetts and the subsequent settlement of different generations of the family in Ashfield. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject and material is arranged chronologically within each folder.


Series 3: Account Books	1828-1955
The account books record day-to-day expenditures of the various family members. Among the subjects recorded are amounts spent on food, clothing, postage, housekeeping supplies and laborer’s wages. Folder 21 holds an account book kept by George Church of orders from his nursery in Ashfield for the years 1912-1914. The folders in this series are arranged alphabetically by the name of the individual who kept the account book and chronologically by date.


Series 4: Diaries	1871-1956
The majority of these diaries depict details of the lives of the members of the Church Family of Ashfield, Massachusetts. On several occasions, writing in the diary was taken over by another family member if circumstances prevented the diarist from writing. For example, a note on March 12, 1921 in the diary summaries of George and Isabel Church indicates that Isabel takes over the diary from her father. Also, while Isabel is in the hospital in 1936, her sister Helen records entries in her diary. Finally, after Isabel’s death in 1951, Helen continues to write in Isabel’s 5 year diary of 1848-1952. Topics covered include the weather, gardening, family news, and letters sent and received. The diary summaries in this series consist of matters of interest that were copied from George Church’s diaries by his daughter Isabel. This series also contains several diaries of William Luther Bates who was a motorman for the Amherst and Springfield Railway and later for the Holyoke Street Railway Company. His 1913 diary contains timetables for the local schedules that he ran. Also included is a transcription by Bernice Allen MacDonald of a diary kept by her grandfather Henry Grover (Lucia Church’s father) in Montague, Massachusetts in 1873. The diaries are arranged alphabetically by the name of the diarist and then chronologically by date.


Series 5: Oral History and genealogical material	1999; n.d.
An oral history conducted with Marcia Church Bates and family genealogical material make up Series 5. The oral history was conducted in 1999 as part of the Amherst Oral History Project which was sponsored by the Amherst Historical Society. Folder 78 contains an audio tape of the interview along with an information sheet and notes. On the audio tape, Marcia speaks about growing up in Amherst, frequently visiting family in Ashfield, teaching in a one room schoolhouse and running the Bates Store with her husband. The genealogical material in Folder 79 includes obituary notices of various family members and handwritten family genealogical notes.


Series 6: Photographs	n.d.
Series 6, Photographs, is arranged into two folders. Folder 80 includes photographs of various members of the Church family. Photographs of note are: George Church in his peach wagon at the 150th anniversary celebration of Ashfield, Fred Church’s high school portrait, Lucia Church in Prescott, and Lucia Church in front of Thompson House on the campus of the Massachusetts Agricultural School. Folder 81 consists of photographs of family members other than the Churches.


Series 7: Memorabilia	1849-1967 (bulk 1905-1967)
Folder 82 holds miscellaneous memorabilia related to the family, including: a brochure for the Mohonk Mountain House, a leaflet from the dedicatory ceremony at the Belding Library in Ashfield and a reunion notice from Sanderson Academy. Folder 83 contains memorabilia relating to Massachusetts Agricultural College (later, University of Massachustts). Included are commencement programs for the Class of 1902 (Frederick Church) and the Class of 1932 (Gertrude Church Salter). The folder also contains a poem which was written (ca. 1948) for the seventieth birthday of Alexander MacKimmie, a professor at the School and a neighbor of the Churches on Pine Street. Folder 84 contains writings by various family members. Included in this folder are stories about Prescott, Massachusetts (one of the towns that was taken for the Quabbin Reservoir) and several issues of a fictional newspaper that was created by the Church children. This series is arranged in folders by type of material and then chronologically by date within folders.

Contents List


Series 1. Correspondence	1837-1967; n.d.
Bassett, Issac, Letters	n.d.	Box 1:1
Bassett, Mary, Cards	1906-1948	Box 1:2
Bassett, Mary, Letters	1873-1930	Box 1:3
Bassett, Mary, Letters	1931-1948	Box 1:4
Bassett, Mary, Postcards	1908-1948; n.d.	Box 1:5
Bates, Marcia Church, Letters	1920-1937; n.d.	Box 1:6
Church, Cornelia, Letters	1924-1937; n.d.	Box 1:7
Church, Frederick, Letters	1905-1909	Box 2:8
Church, George, Letters	1910-1922	Box 2:9
Church, Helen & Isabel, Letters	1920-1951	Box 2:10
Church, Lucia, Letters	1913-1929	Box 2:11
Church, Lucia, Letters	1930-1932	Box 2:12
Church, Lucia, Letters	1933-1934	Box 2:13
Church, Lucia, Letters	1935	Box 2:14
Church, Lucia, Letters	1936-1938; 1942	Box 3:15
Church, Lucia, Letters	n.d.	Box 3:16
Grover, Cora Letters	1927-1959	Box 3:17
Guilford, Nancy, Letters	1880-1930	Box 4:18
Lilly, Hattie, Letters	1869-1931	Box 4:19
Lilly, Hattie Postcards	1910-1932; n.d.	Box 4:20
Miscellaneous family cards	n.d.	Box 4:21
Miscellaneous family letters	1837-1967; n.d.	Box 4:22
Miscellaneous family postcards	1906-1959; n.d.	Box 4:23
Salter, Gertrude Church, Letters	1927-1934; n.d.	Box 4:24
Salter, Leonard Sr., Letters	1946	Box 4:25


Series 2: Legal Documents	1712-1867; n.d.
Bassett Family Deeds	1712-1867	Box 4:26
Guilford, Mary, Will	1916, 1917	Box 4:27
Map of Dennis, Massachusetts area	n.d.	Box 4:28
Mortgage forms	1813-1858; n.d.	Box 4:29


Series 3: Account Books	1828-1955
Bassett, Mary	1937-1949	Box 4:30
Church, George	1912-1914	Box 4:31
Church, Helen	1933-1950	Box 4:32
Church, Helen	1952-1955	Box 4:33
Church, Isabel & Helen	1931-1948	Box 5:34
Church, Isabel & Helen	1933-1946	Box 5:35
Lilly, Henry Samuel	1828-1847	Box 5:36
Shaw, Charles	1890	Box 5:37


Series 4: Diaries	1871-1956
Bates, William Luther	1906	Box 5:38
Bates, William Luther	1907	Box 5:39
Bates, William Luther	1909	Box 5:40
Bates, William Luther	1910	Box 5:41
Bates, William Luther	1913	Box 6:42
Church, George	1871	Box 6:43
Church, George	1872	Box 6:44
Church, George	1873	Box 6:45
Church, George	1885	Box 6:46
Church, George	1888	Box 6:47
Church, George	1895	Box 6:48
Church, George	1902	Box 7:49
Church, George	1904	Box 7:50
Church, George	1905	Box 7:51
Church, George	1908	Box 7:52
Church, George	1909	Box 7:53
Church, George	1910	Box 7:54
Church, George	1911	Box 7:55
Church, George & Church, Isabel	1921	Box 8:56
Church, George, Diary Summaries	1906-1914	Box 8:57
Church, George & Church, Isabel, Diary Summaries	1914-1924	Box 8:58
Church, Helen	1918	Box 8:59
Church, Helen	1919	Box 8:60
Church, Helen	1953	Box 8:61
Church, Helen	1954-1955	Box 8:62
Church, Helen	1956	Box 8:63
Church, Isabel Diary Summaries	1926-1931	Box 8:64
Church, Isabel	1932	Box 9:65
Church, Isabel	1933	Box 9:66
Church, Isabel	1934	Box 9:67
Church, Isabel	1935	Box 9:68
Church, Isabel	1936	Box 9:69
Church, Isabel	1937	Box 9:70
Church, Isabel	1938-1942	Box 10:71
Church, Isabel	1943-1947	Box 10:72
Church, Isabel & Church, Helen	1948-1952	Box 10:73
Grover, Henry, Diary Transcription	1873	Box 11:74
Lilly, Hattie	1919-1922	Box 11:75
Unidentified diary	1917	Box 11:76
Unidentified diary fragments	1874, 1877, 1923	Box 11:77


Series 5: Oral History and genealogical material	1999; n.d.
Marcia Bates Oral History	1999	Box 11:78
Genealogical material	n.d.	Box 11:79


Series 6: Photographs	n.d.
Church family photographs	n.d.	Box 11:80
Other family photographs	n.d.	Box 11:81


Series 7: Memorabilia	1849-1967 (bulk 1905-1967)
Miscellaneous memorabilia	1905-1930; n.d.	Box 11:82
University of Massachusetts related memorabilia	1906-1966; n.d.	Box 11:83
Writings	n.d.	Box 11:84
Christian Register (single issue)	1849	Box 11:85

Brown, Robert E.

scua — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 18:00:32 +0000

Transcripts of oral histories and profiles of families who participated in Robert Brown’s study of ethnic families in Southbridge, Massachusetts, during the 1970s. Brown conducted interviews of families of various ethnic backgrounds — Albanian, Greek, Polish, Italian, Puerto Rican, and Southbridge’s only Black family — and published stories about these families in local newspapers. Brown eventually collected the stories and published them in a book entitled The New New Englanders (1980), which examined the essence of ethnicity in a typical industrial town in America during the latter part of the 20th century.

Craig, Edward Gordon

scua — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 16:20:46 +0000

Born in 1872, Edward Gordon Craig was the illegitimate son of architect Edward Godwin and actress Ellen Terry. Craig worked as an actor, producer, director, and scenic designer throughout Europe, and is known for his innovations in staging and lighting.

Reel to reel audio tapes of Edward Gordon Craig including his reminiscences of Ellen Terry, Isadora Duncan, the old school of acting, celebrities he met, and how he played Hamlet in Salford, Lancashire.