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Inventory of the papers of Edith G. Oldham, ca. 1808-1992
klgar92-106 Inventory of the papers of Edith G. Oldham, ca. 1808-1992 University Archives and Records Center University of Louisville Ekstrom Library Louisville, Kentucky 40292 USA Phone: (502) 852-6674 Fax: (502) 852-6673 Email: archives@louisville.edu URL: http://louisville.edu/library/uarc/ University Archives and Records Center Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, ENG Inventory of the papers of Edith G. Oldham, ca. 1808-1992 Contact Information University Archives and Records Center University of Louisville Ekstrom Library Louisville, Kentucky 40292 Phone: (502) 852-6674 Fax: (502) 852-6673 Email: archives@louisville.edu URL: http://louisville.edu/library/uarc/ Processed by: Staff Date Completed: n.d. Encoded by: Apex Data Services Copyright 2000 University of Louisville. All Rights Reserved. Oldham (Edith G.) Papers, ca. 1808-1992 92-106 Oldham, Edith G. University Archives and Records Center Louisville, Kentucky 40292 Open to researchers Copyright has been transferred to the University of Louisville. Access to family correspondence requires the permission of the donor during her lifetime. [Identification of item], Edith G. Oldham Papers, ca. 1808-1992, University Archives and Records Center, University of Louisville, Louisville. EDITH G. OLDHAM PAPERS Teacher, author, poet, and prolific letter-writer, Edith George Oldham was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 3, 1923, the oldest child of Robert Bruce and Lessie May Rogers Oldham. Her father (January 21, 1889 - April 23, 1970) worked for the L & N Railroad and had served in World War I. He married Edith's mother (January 16, 1894 - August 13, 1993) who was from Columbus, Ohio, on November 17, 1921. Besides Edith, they had four other children: Robert Bruce II, Roger Lee, Jeanne Elizabeth, and Richard Presley. Edith Oldham graduated from Southern Junior High School, Louisville Girls High School (1941), Campbellsville Junior College (1944), and the University of Louisville (1946), as well as attending Southern Baptist Seminary from 1948-1954. She became a teacher for the Louisville Public School System in 1946, teaching at Roosevelt, Tingley, Engelhard, Emerson, and Semple elementary schools before retiring due to a medical disability in 1975. She was a member of the National Education Association, Kentucky Education Association, Jefferson County Teachers Association, National Retired Teachers Association, and Highland Baptist Church. Oldham was a prolific writer, sending over five hundred letters to the editors of various newspapers and periodicals and corresponding with hundreds of pen-pals. She also wrote poetry, essays, articles and short stories. She had a regular column in the Pikeville News-Express, the Senior Citizens East Senior Life & Times. Her work was also published in Wind, Twigs, the Cumberland, Women's Household Magazine, Women's Circle, The Upper Room, The Western Recorder, The Record, Unity Magazine, and Heartland, among others. From 1975 on her disability kept her confined to her small apartment in the Highlands area of Louisville. Her writing then served as both her creative outlet and her connection with the outside world. The papers of Edith George Oldham include genealogical information and photos that pre-date her birth in 1923 and extend through 1992. Consisting mainly of her literary output, this small collection tells quite a bit about her because her writings reflected her life and personality. The bulk of the material covers the years after Oldham's retirement from teaching in 1975 when writing became her outlet and means of communicating with the world. The collection has been divided into six series, five of which contain only one or two folders. Literary productions then fills fifteen folders and two large scrapbooks. Container List I. Biographical This series consists of one folder of biographical information about Edith Oldham and genealogical information dating to 1808 about her family. (1) 1. Biographical and Genealogical Information II. Literary Production This series, the largest in the collection, consists of the writings of Edith Oldham, including letters to the editor, articles, essays, short stories, poems, and observations. It is arranged in chronological order by category, followed by anthologies, collections, and other published sources of her work. It also includes two scrapbooks which contain her writings (and a few other items of ephemera) in no particular arrangement. (1) 2. Articles, Essays, Stories - n.d. (1) 3. Letters to Editors - n.d. (1) 4. Poetry - n.d. (1) 5. Misc. writings - 1970s (1) 6. Articles, Essays, Stories - 1980s (1) 7. Letters to Editors - 1980s (1) 8. Poetry - 1980s (1) 9. Article, Essays, Stories - 1990-1992 (1) 10. Letters to Editors - 1990-1992 (1) 11. Poetry - 1990-1992 (1) 12. Scrapbook (1) 13. Scrapbook (1) 14. Echoes, privately published, 1976 (1) 15. Twigs, Vol. XII, Spring 1976. " Splendor" on p. 63. (1) 16. Wind, Vol. 6, 1976. " Transposed" on p. 82. (1) Wind, Vol. 7, 1977. " Surrender" and "Plea for Plants" on p. 43. (1) 17. Women: A Poetry Reading About Women, University of Louisville Women Studies Program, April 15, 1976. " Crazy Woman" (1) 18. Heartland Journal, Vol. 5, Spring 1987. " Camaraderie" on p. 38. III. Photographs One folder of photographs of Edith Oldham, her family, and some of her school classes complete this series. (1) 19. Photographs - 1920-1969 IV. Yearbooks Yearbooks from Oldham's school days at Southern Junior High School (1938) and Louisville Girls High School (1941). (1) 20. Southern Jr. High School - 1938 (1) 21. Louisville Girls High School - 1941 V. Certificates Edith Oldham's high school and college diplomas and various certificates of honor that she has received are the contents of this series. (1) 22. Diplomas (Louisville Girls High School, Campbellsville College, University of Louisville.) (1) 23. Certificates (Jefferson County Board of Education, Kentucky Colonels) VI. Misc. The one folder of this series consists of writings by other people about Edith Oldham and items she had clipped and saved. (1) 24. Misc. clippings, etc. I Supplemental. Biographical and Personal Writings (2) 1. Biographical and Genealogical Information (2) 2. Letters to and about Family - 1986-1994 - RESTRICTED ACCESS II Supplemental. Literary Production (2) 3. Articles, Essays, Stories - Unpublished (2) 4. Letters to Editors - 1983-1995 (2) 5. Poetry - 1940-1996 (2) 6. Charcoal Drawings - 1991 (2) 7. Newsletters to Pen Pals 1979-1996 (2) 8. Free Verse - 1941 (2) 9. Unpublished Letters to the Editor - Undated (2) 10. Published Letters to the Editor, Columns, Articles - ca 1979-1996 (2) 11. Twigs, Vol. XI, Fall 1974 - " Tryst to Triumph" on pg. 57 III Supplemental. Photographs (2) 12. Photo Album - c1900-1985 (2) 13. Studio Portrait - 1965 V Supplemental. Certificates and Honors (2) 14. National Honor Society Pin - 1939 (2) 15. ElderServe - Legacies Contest - 31Oct1995 II Supplemental. Literary Production (2) 1. Letters, 1998-1999 (2) 2. Poetry and article, 1980, 1998-1999 (2) 3. Senior Citizens East Writers Contest, January 1999 VI Supplemental. Ephemera (2) 4. Louisville Girls High School Alumnae Club Newsletters, March and June, 1999