Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Mary Frances Penick diary
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Mary Frances Penick diary
- Date
- 1932 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Penick, Mary Frances, 1915-1981
- Extent
- 0.05 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Alcohol
- Man-woman relationships -- United States -- 20th century
- Teenage girls -- Kentucky
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0203: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Mary Frances Penick diary, 1932, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Mary Frances Penick (1915-1981) was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Pilson Smith Penick (1885-1962) and Minnie Ethel Hawks (1886-1933), the family later moved to Greensburg, Kentucky. She attended Northwest Junior College in Senatobia, Mississippi in the early 1930s. In 1938, she married John T Rhea (1908-1987), but later divorced. In 1962, Mary remarried to Harold Taylor Anderson (1916-1987) who she stayed with for the remainder of her life.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Mary Frances Penick diary (dated 1932; 0.05 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one diary that documents the experiences of Mary while attending Northwest Junior College in Mississippi and at home in Kentucky in 1932. She detailed her often rebellious adventures as a 17-year-old, sneaking out at night while living on campus and nights spent drinking with friends and various boys, along with completing schoolwork, participating in extracurricular activities, and trips with friends and family. The most commonly recurring theme in the diary is dating and her turmoil over looking for love, over the course of the year she describes the dates she went on with a variety of boys, lover's spats, breakups, and reconciliations.
- The Mary Frances Penick diary is part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Diary, 1932
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
