Papers consist of Washburn/Young family genealogical history. The collection includes letters, publications, writings, and photo albums.

Winifred Washburn was raised on a dairy farm in Oakland hills where her parents, Olivia Rudolph Young and George Demming, homesteaded. She graduated from the College of the Pacific in 1941 with a Bachelor's degree in Religious Education. Her career in special education spanned 25 years and included writing a major teaching manual on mainstreaming special-needs children back into the classroom. Her husband, Charles Harrison "Harry" Washburn was a chaplain in WWII, was a prisoner of war (POW), and later became an ordained minister. While in active duty, he commissioned the "Nun's Flag" so that a United States flag would be displayed over a cemetery in Hamlein, Germany on the first Memorial Day following the surrender in Europe in 1945. Through their 62 years of marriage, Winifred and Harrygb dedicated their lives to service and the importance of spreading religious educational values. She was also an accomplished poet and published numerous works. Winifred's mother, Olivia Young, was an award winning poet and published various works of her own, as well as a poetry manual published in collaboration with Winifred.

4 linear feet

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Collection open for research.