Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Ruth Ellen Church Papers
- Dates:
- circa 1936-1990
- Abstract:
- The collection consists of materials related to Ruth Ellen Church's food and wine writing for the Chicago Tribune, cookbooks, photographs, résumés and other biographical information, and correspondence with foreign politicians and diplomats.
- Extent:
- 5 linear feet
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Ruth Ellen Church Papers, D-681, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Ruth Ellen Church papers contain a comprehensive collection of her food and wine writing for the Chicago Tribune, cookbooks, photographs, résumés and other biographical information, and correspondence with foreign politicians and diplomats.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Ruth Ellen Church was a food and wine columnist for the Chicago Tribune for 38 years, as well as an editor and published author of several wine books and cookbooks.
Church was born in Iowa in 1909 as Ruth Ellen Lovrien. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 1933 with a degree in home economics journalism. Her first job was as a society editor at a small daily newspaper in Iowa. She then returned to Iowa State for graduate school, from 1935 to 1936.
In 1936 she started working for the Chicago Tribune, first as a food columnist writing under the byline Mary Meade, then later as the paper's first wine columnist in 1962 (Ballou). Her column "Let's Learn About Wine" ran for nearly two decades, continuing after her eventual retirement in 1974.
As food and wine editor, Church tackled many different projects during her tenure. She ran a weekly recipe contest through the newspaper. She was influential in shaping the Tribune's test kitchen. She also directed the newspaper's food photography team to create step by step illustrations of recipes. She traveled extensively and wrote about her travels in special series such as "What's Cooking in Europe." In addition to her news columns, Church wrote 10 cookbooks and wine books, including "Mary Meade's Country Cookbook", and "The American Guide to Wines".
Church belonged to several associations and groups, such as the American Home Economics Association, La Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, Connoisserus International, and the International Wine and Food Society. In 1959 she was awarded the "Woman of Distinction for 1959" award by the Women's Advertising Club of Chicago. She won the Silver Spoon Award in 1973 from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, and the Wine and Health Writing Award in 1972, as well as the "America's Foremost Wine Journalist" award in 1975. In 1984 she was awarded the James W. Schwartz Award from Iowa State University, "the highest honor conferred by the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication" (James W. Schwartz).
In addition to all her professional work and accolades, Church also filled the role of a wife and mother of two boys. Continuing in her career after marriage was rather unorthodox in the 1930s and 1940s. Church married Freeman S. Church, an advertising executive, in 1936. She continued her career through the birth of her two sons, Carter and Charles, and found the time to be a Boy Scout den mother as well as a trustee of the Morgan Park Academy. Her cookbooks became somewhat of a family project with her husband even designing the covers for several of her cookbooks (Flynn, Voss).
Church died tragically on August 19, 1991, the victim of a home invasion. Her killer was caught and sentenced to eighty years in prison. Following her death, her legacy was honored by the Midwest International Wine Exposition who created an annual Ruth Ellen Church Award for outstanding contributions to wine and food journalism, which was awarded annually from 1991 to 1998.
Sources
Ballou, Jullianne. "The Library Acquires the Archive of Ruth Ellen Church, Longtime Food and Wine Writer and Critic at the Chicago Tribune." UC Davis Library, May 12, 2021. https://library.ucdavis.edu/news/acquisitions-announcement-ruth-ellen-church/.
Flynn, Carol. 2020. Trailblazing Beverly Editor Ruth Ellen Church helped America start celebrating holidays with wine. Chicago Tribune (Online) (Dec 17), https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/trailblazing-beverly-editor-ruth-ellen-church/docview/2470734137/se-2 (accessed August 28, 2025).
"James W. Schwartz Award." Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication Alumni. Accessed August 28, 2025. https://alumni.greenlee.iastate.edu/award/james-w-schwartz-award-winners/.
Wilgoren, Jodi and Haddix, Carol. "Ruth Ellen Church, Ex-Tribune Editor: NORTH SPORTS FINAL, C Edition." Chicago Tribune (1963), 1991.
Voss, Kimberly. "Home Economics at Iowa State University and The Story of Ruth Ellen Church." Cardinal Tales, October 6, 2020. https://isuspecialcollections.wordpress.com/2020/10/14/home-economics-at-iowa-state-university-the-story-of-ruth-ellen-church/.
Voss, Kimberly Wilmot. "Stirring the Pot in the Midwest: Adding the Story of Chicago Tribune Food Editor Ruth Ellen Church." Middle West Review, April 2, 2015. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/578229.
- Processing information:
-
Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda created a collection level finding aid with information provided by the donor.
Elizabeth Wood processed this collection and created the item level finding aid.
- Physical location:
- This collection is stored off-site at the Northern Regional Library Facility. Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections in advance.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-10-09 17:03:50 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], Ruth Ellen Church Papers, D-681, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library100 NW QuadDavis, CA 95616-5292, US
- Contact:
- (530) 752-1621