Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Guide to the Vesta Muehleisen Papers
MS 142
MS 142
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Vesta Muehleisen Papers
Identifier/Call Number: MS 142
Contributing Institution:
San Diego History Center Document Collection
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.5 Linear feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1926-1948
Abstract: The collection contains materials on Vesta Muehlesisen's educational activities from the 1920s to 1940s.
creator:
Muehleisen, Vesta
This collection is open for research.
The San Diego History Center (SDHC) holds the copyright to any unpublished materials. SDHC Library regulations do apply.
Collection processed by Alison Hennessey on December 1, 2011.
Collection processed as part of grant project supported by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) with generous
funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Vesta Muehleisen Papers, MS 142, San Diego History Center Document Collection, San Diego, CA.
Biographical / Historical Note
Vesta Muehleisen (August 7, 1887-October 19, 1973) was a San Diego citizen actively involved in the educational system through
the 1940s. Muehleisen, graduate of San Diego State Teachers College in 1907, was the first Alumni Association President in
1931. She served on the San Diego City Board of Education from the late twenties through the thirties for a number of years
. She also served as Director of Education for the California Pacific Exposition from 1935-1936 and for the Golden Gate Exposition
from 1939-1940. She was a member of the Advisory Council for San Diego State College from 1925-1934. She founded the Hall
of Education Association in February 1937 and served as its first President. She was also a longtime member of the National
Congress of Parents and Teachers and the 9th District Congress of Parents and Teachers. During her time serving on the San
Diego City Board of Education, Muehleisen was involved in the lawsuit between the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) vs.
the Board of Education, based on rumors that the ACLU had ties to the Communist Party, making them unfit to use public schools
to hold meetings.
The materials in the collection reflect Vesta Muehleisen’s educational activities through her involvement with San Diego State
Teacher’s College, as a member of the San Diego Board of Education, as Director for Education for the California Pacific International
Exposition and as the founder of the Hall of Education Association. Vesta Muehleisen’s role in the relocation of the San Diego
State College to its current location in East San Diego is detailed in correspondence and newspaper clippings. The collection
contains City of San Diego Board of Education Meeting Minutes and Resolutions related to the issue of Communist and Communist-related
organizations requesting use of public schools to hold meetings. The collection also contains the court documents and correspondence
on the lawsuit the ACLU brought against the San Diego City Board of Education for denying them access to public schools for
their meetings. In addition, there is general correspondence, political ephemera, published articles and other documents related
to Communism and Communist activities. Also included are documents and correspondence regarding activities of the Palace of
Education during the California Pacific International Exposition in 1935-1936. Documents and correspondence pertaining to
the founding and activities of the San Diego Hall of Education Association are included in the collection as well as an agreement
and correspondence regarding property Blanche La Garde left with the Hall of Education Association.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number 950407.
The collection is arranged into five series:
Series I. San Diego State Teachers College
Series II: San Diego City Board of Education and Communism
Series III: Palace of Education at California Pacific International Exposition
Series IV: San Diego Hall of Education Association
Series V: Miscellanea
Items within each series are arranged by subject.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
American Civil Liberties Union.
California Pacific International Exposition (1935-1936 : San Diego, Calif.).
Golden Gate International Exposition (1939-1940 : San Francisco, Calif.).
Hall of Education Association.
Muehleisen, Vesta
San Diego (Calif.). Board of Education.
San Diego State College Alumni Association.
Schweigardt, Frederick
State Teachers College of San Diego.
Anti-communist movements
Balboa Park (San Diego, Calif.)
Communism
Education
Hall of Education (San Diego, Calif.)
Propaganda, Anti-communist
Propaganda, Communist
San Diego (Calif.)