The Ward M. Canaday Center

for Special Collections

The University of Toledo

Finding Aid

Helen Scarlett Kershaw Papers, 1928-1945

MSS-270

Size: 1 linear foot

Provenance: Gift of Marilyn Kershaw Williams, Mooresville, North Carolina, 2013

Access: Open

Collection Summary: Graduate of Scott High School, 1931, and the University of Toledo, 1935.
The papers of Helen Scarlett Kershaw document her life as a student at both Scott High School and the University of Toledo. The papers include correspondence, memorabilia, newspapers, and school documents.

Subject(s): Education and Schools, Women

Related Collections: LUCILLE KOCHER BUX SCHOOL PAPERS, 1905-1918, SCOTT HIGH SCHOOL PAPERS, 1944-1992.

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s) responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Kayla Utendorf, 2013

Biographical Sketch

            Helen Scarlett was born August 2, 1913. She grew up in Toledo, graduating from Scott High School in 1931. She attended the University of Toledo and graduated in 1935 with a degree in sociology. She was active in many extracurricular activities at UT, including Y.W.C.A., Women’s Athletic Association, student government, a social work student organization, and a Spanish-language newspaper. Helen Scarlett Kershaw passed away March 12, 1997, in Mecklenburg, North Carolina. 

Scope and Content Note

This collection documents Helen Scarlett Kershaw’s school activities at both Scott High School and the University of Toledo. It consists mainly of newspaper clippings which mention either Kershaw or the organizations she was involved in, yearbooks, school newspapers, programs of events she attended, and correspondence. Some of the newspaper clippings are brittle, so researchers are directed to use the preservation copies rather than the originals. The collection also contains her letterman’s patches from both Scott High School and the University of Toledo, and her identification cards from both schools. The collection will prove helpful to researchers studying the social lives of students in the 1920s and 1930s. There is somewhat less information that would assist the researcher studying the history of education, but a few materials may prove useful. .

Series List

As the collection was already divided into documents from Scott High School and the University of Toledo, this division was maintained as two series. Within these series, however, there was no apparent original order so order was imposed.
S1: Scott High School
            Subseries 1: Correspondence consists of one folder of incoming correspondence, mostly related to clubs and organizations, and blank stationary. Correspondence is arranged chronologically.
            Subseries 2: Publications and Printed Material contains nine folders of newspapers, newspaper clippings mentioning Kershaw, yearbooks, and programs from events that she attended. There is also a folder containing copies of the clippings, which researchers should use instead of the originals for preservation purposes. Clippings are organized chronologically, but many are undated. Programs are organized alphabetically.
            Subseries 3: School Records consists of one folder containing class schedules and report cards.
            Subseries 4: Miscellaneous contains two folders of letterman’s patches, club membership cards, and Kershaw’s high school diploma and senior class photograph.
S2: The University of Toledo
            Subseries 1: Correspondence consists of one folder of incoming correspondence, mostly related to organizations, and blank stationary. Correspondence is arranged chronologically.
            Subseries 2: Publications and Printed Material consists of five folders containing newspapers, newspaper clippings mentioning Kershaw, and other publications. There is also a folder containing copies of the clippings, which researchers should use instead of the originals for preservation purposes. Newspapers and clippings are organized chronologically, however many clippings are undated. Other publications are organized alphabetically.
            Subseries 3: School Records contains one folder of report cards, a schedule, and official messages concerning activities at the University of Toledo (such as the schedule for Baccalaureate Services.)
            Subseries 4: Miscellaneous consists of two folders containing letterman’s patches, student identification cards, lyrics to school songs in English and in Spanish, class projects, and speeches, including a speech written for the ten year class reunion in 1945.

Folder List

Box Folder Item
- - S1: Scott High School
­- - Subseries 1: Correspondence
1 1 Correspondence
- - Subseries 2: Publications and Printed Material
1 2 Newspaper Clippings
1 3 Newspaper Clippings: Copies
1 4 Scott High Thistle Newspaper
1 5 Scott High Thistle-Literary Journal
1 6 Other Publications
1 7 Scottonian: Scott High School Yearbook, 1928
1 8 Scottonian: Scott High School Yearbook, 1929
1 9 Scottonian: Scott High School Yearbook, 1930
1 10 Scottonian: Scott High School Yearbook, 1931
- - Subseries 3: School Records
1 11 School Records
- - Subseries 4: Miscellaneous
1 12 Letterman’s Patches
1 13 Club Membership Cards
- - S2: The University of Toledo
- - Subseries 1: Correspondence
1 14 Correspondence
- - Subseries 2: Publications and Printed Material
1 15 Newspaper Clippings
1 16 Newspaper Clippings: Copies
1 17 The Campus Collegian
1 18 Publications A-I
1 19 Publications J-Z
- - Subseries 3: School Records
1 20 School Records
- - Subseries 4: Miscellaneous
1 21 Letterman’s Patches
1 22 Miscellaneous School Papers

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 6/27/22