Biographical Information:
Scope and Contents
Conditions Governing Access:
Conditions Governing Use:
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation:
Processing Information:
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Lotus H. Loudon Collection
Creator:
Loudon, Lotus H.
Identifier/Call Number: URB.LHL
Extent:
0.42 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1931-1941
Abstract: Lotus H. Loudon was a newspaper
publisher and member of the board of directors and paroles of the California Institution for
Women at Tehachapi in the 1930s and early 1940s. The Lotus H. Loudon Collection documents
his work in this capacity and the work of parole officer Emily D. Latham through
correspondence and reports.
Language of Material: English
Biographical Information:
Lotus H. Loudon was born in Salem, Indiana in 1892, but moved to Southern California when
he was still a child. He grew up in Whittier and attended the University of Southern
California. He got his start in the newspaper business as a printer on the
Whittier News, then as a makeup printer at the
Los Angeles Chronicle, before becoming business manager of an Ocean
Park daily. Loudon established the
Anaheim Bulletin after he
and his wife Hazel Del Baker moved to Anaheim. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of
Directors of the California Institute for Women in December 1937. The prison originally
opened in 1932 as the Women's Department at San Quentin, Tehachapi, and would later be
referred to as Tehachapi Women's Prison. Loudon served for seven years on the parole board.
He had two unsuccessful bids as the Republican party candidate for the 19
th and 22
nd congressional districts. In
local politics, he was active on the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, serving as the president
from 1930 to 1931, and was also involved in the Elks and Boy Scouts. He died of a heart
attack in 1951.
Scope and Contents
The
Lotus H. Loudon Collection includes correspondence, notes, reports, and
other records documenting the operation of the California Institution for Women at Tehachapi
during Loudon's term as a member of the board of directors and paroles. The correspondence
is primarily related to Loudon's appointment to the position and the advocacy of friends and
family on behalf of specific women seeking parole. Operational records include those that
relate to personnel, such as applications for work, prison statistics, budget reports, and
institutional rules. These document how much it cost to operate Tehachapi, who was employed
there, and rules for those paroled. Parole reports were primarily created by State Parole
Officer Emily D. Latham. Latham's practical assessments of paroled women's experiences
provide insight into the motivations and contexts for women committing crimes in 1930s
California, including economic and substance abuse factors. The collection also includes
documentation of Latham's attendance at the National Parole Conference, and contemporary
attitudes toward imprisonment, women in prison, and parole. Materials are arranged
chronologically.
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Stanley and Jeanette Loudon, 07/25/2017
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style
manual, or see the
Citing Archival
Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Mallory Furnier, 2019
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents