Catherine Cooper papers
Finding aid prepared by Katriona Lawrenson
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
800 North Dartmouth Ave
Claremont 91711
Email: spcoll@claremont.edu
URL: http://library.claremont.edu/scl/
© 2019
Claremont University Consortium. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Catherine Cooper papers
Dates: 1927 November 11 - 1976 January 24
Collection number: H.Mss.1108
Creator: Catherine Cooper
Extent:
5 Linear Feet
(2 records boxes, 1 document box, 1 oversized document box, 1 flat box)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library. Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: The Catherine Cooper Papers offer an in depth insight into the life of one woman living in the early 20th Century, preserving
her reflections on life, love, and education. Cooper was an avid writer from an early age who submitted essays to the Pioneer
Press paper and wrote short stories. She also kept detailed diaries from her teenage years and the letters she wrote to her
friends and families, which make up the bulk of the collection. There is also an abundance of ephemera she collected throughout
her life to remember her time as a student at the University of Minnesota and as a teacher at Marshall High School, Minnesota.
Physical Location: Please consult repository.
Language of Material:
English
Administrative Information
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Catherine Cooper Papers (Collection H.Mss.1108). Special Collections, The Claremont Colleges Library,
Claremont, California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Stewart S. Johnson, 2018.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processing Information
Processed in 2018 by Katriona Lawrenson in the Special Collections branch of the Honnold Mudd Library with assistance from
Sara Chetney. Materials have been rehoused in acid free folders and boxes. Materials have been organized alphabetically by
type, and then chronologically within each type.
Biographical / Historical
The Catherine Cooper papers came to the library though a donor who came across the materials while clearing out an old storage
unit. The collection begins with Catherine Cooper's diaries at the age of 12, in which she writes about her time at school,
her relationships with teachers, friends and family and her hopes for the future, including becoming a teacher and a writer.
The scrapbook of her essay submissions to the Pioneer Press newspaper also reflect this, as she enthusiastically contributed
to the competition in order to improve her writing. From there, she went on to study at the University of Minnesota in the
late 1930s. Her scrapbooks demonstrate she was actively involved in student life, both socially and politically, as well as
the theater department. Around 1940, she began working as an English teacher at Marshall High School in Minnesota, helping
to direct school plays. In April of that year, she was involved in a serious car crash which resulted in medical treatment
and a legal battle. When America joined World War II in 1941, Cooper exchanged letters with her past students, as well as
her brother Gus Cooper, who were all drafted, with her brother serving in North Africa. In that same year, her letters detail
how she fell in love with and eventually married a man called Arthur Raine. The rest of the collection mainly comprises of
their correspondence to each other and correspondence with his family. In January 1945, she suffered a miscarriage and had
to go into hospital, and she kept all of the letters she exchanged in that time. Into the 1950s and beyond, the collection
is sparser, but she kept newspaper clippings which discussed the involvement of school students in the Vietnam War protests
as well as a few letters and articles.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains materials related to the personal life of Catherine Cooper. The majority of the collection is comprised
of her diaries and correspondence between family and friends. There are also two scrapbooks, containing items laid-in such
as newspaper clippings and programs from productions at the University of Minnesota and Marshall High School, Minnesota. Other
folders also contain playbills, theatre programs and magazines, reflecting her interests. She collected assorted ephemera
from her life including newspaper clippings, postcards, photographs of friends, leaflets from her travels, tickets from transport
and shows, receipts and napkins. Also contains ephemera from her time as a teacher, including test papers, copies of students
work and announcements, and drafts of her own writing.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library’s online public access catalog.
Subject Terms
Women's studies
History
Genre and Form of Materials
Diaries
Ephemera
Newspapers
Pamphlets
Photographic postcards
Playbills
Scrapbooks
Correspondence
Box 1, Folder 1
Correspondence: Cooper, Catherine
1943 April 14 - 1944 March 29
Box 1, Folder 3
Correspondence: Raine, Arthur
1941 June 2 - 1941 June 30
Box 1, Folder 4
Correspondence: Raine, Arthur
1941 July 1 - 1941 August 4
Box 1, Folder 5
Correspondence: Raine, Arthur
1942 August 8
Box 1, Folder 6
Correspondence: Raine family
1943 February 27 - 1944 August 12
Box 1, Folder 7
Correspondence: Raine family
Box 1, Folder 8
Correspondence: Time in Hospital (1 of 2)
1945 Jan 13 - 1945 Jan 16
Box 1, Folder 9
Correspondence: Time in Hospital (2 of 2)
1945 Jan 16 - 1945 Jan 19
Box 1, Folder 10
Correspondence
1935 October 16 - 1939 September 30
Box 1, Folder 11
Correspondence
1940 February 1 - 1940 December 27
Note
Some of the correspondence arrived unopened and were opened by library staff. There is a note on the sling on the item indicating
as such.
Box 1, Folder 12
Correspondence
1941 February 14 - 1941 June 22
Note
Some of the correspondence arrived unopened and were opened by library staff. There is a note on the sling on the item indicating
as such.
Box 1, Folder 13
Correspondence
1954 December 20 - 1973 November 6
Box 1, Folder 14
Correspondence
Note
Some of the correspondence arrived unopened and were opened by library staff. There is a note on the sling on the item indicating
as such.
Box 2, Folder 1
Diary
1927 November 5 - 1928 March 3
Note
Contains delicate flowers which require care when turning the page.
Box 2, Folder 2
Diary
1928 March 3 - 1928 July 3
Note
Contains delicate flowers which require care when turning the page.
Box 2, Folder 3
Diary
1928 July 5 - 1928 December 31
Note
Contains delicate flowers which require care when turning the page.
Box 2, Folder 4
Diary
1929 June 9 - 1929 December 13
Note
Contains delicate flowers which require care when turning the page.
Box 2, Folder 5
Diary
1929 December 19 - 1930 January 10
Box 2, Folder 6
Diary
1930 January 17 - 1930 February 20
Box 2, Folder 7
Diary
1930 February 20 - 1930 March 15
Box 2, Folder 8
Diary
1930 March 16 - 1930 May 19
Box 2, Folder 9
Diary
1930 May 19 - 1930 July 1
Box 2, Folder 10
Diary
1930 July 12 - 1930 September 2
Box 2, Folder 11
Diary
1930 September 2 - 1930 December 1
Box 2, Folder 12
Diary
1930 December 25 - 1931 May 29
Box 2, Folder 13
Diary
1931 May 31 - 1931 September 12
Note
Contains delicate items which require care when turning the page.
Box 3, Folder 1
Diary: Memories of School Days
Note
Contains delicate flowers which require care when turning the page.
Box 3, Folder 2
Diary: Scribble-In Trade Mark Book
1940-1941
Box 3, Folder 3
Diary, items laid in: (1 of 3)
1928 July 5 - 1938 July 22
Box 3, Folder 4
Diary, items laid in: Memories of School Days and Scribble-In Trade Mark Book (2 of 3)
1940 October
Box 3, Folder 5
Diary, items laid in: Scribble-In Trade Mark Book (3 of 3)
1941 January 22 - 1941 September 27
Box 1, Folder 15
Magazines and Pamphlets
1944 January - 1971 November
Box 1, Folder 16
Newspaper Clippings: 'An American Family' (1 of 2)
1973 February 17 - 1973 March 15
Box 5, Folder 7
Newspaper Clippings: 'An American Family' (2 of 2)
1973 February 18
Box 1, Folder 17
Newspaper Clippings: Kelly Cherry
Box 1, Folder 18
Newspaper Clippings: Personal (1 of 5)
1940 April 5 - 1976 January 24
Box 5, Folder 2
Newspaper Clippings: Personal (2 of 5)
1972 February 4
Box 5, Folder 3
Newspaper Clippings: Personal (3 of 5)
Box 5, Folder 4
Newspaper Clippings: Personal (4 of 5)
Box 5, Folder 8
Newspaper Clippings: Personal (5 of 5)
1971 September 29
Box 1, Folder 19
Newspaper Clippings: Political (1 of 3)
Box 5, Folder 5
Newspaper Clippings: Political (2 of 3)
Box 5, Folder 9
Newspaper Clippings: Political (3 of 3)
1973 February 25
Box 1, Folder 21
Personal Papers: Travel (1 of 2)
1940 August 2 - 1940 August 7
Box 1, Folder 22
Personal Papers: Travel (2 of 2)
Box 1, Folder 23
Personal Papers: University of Minnesota
Box 1, Folder 25
Personal Records: Car Crash
1940 April
Box 1, Folder 26
Photographs and Postcards
Box 1, Folder 28
Publications: Playgoer Magazine
Box 5, Folder 6
Publications: Radio City Music Hall
Box 1, Folder 30
Publications
1941 January 3 - 1941 June
Box 4, Folder 1
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Correspondence
1935 December - 1936 February
Box 4, Folder 2
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Ephemera (1 of 3)
Box 4, Folder 3
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Ephemera (2 of 3)
Box 4, Folder 4
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Ephemera (3 of 3)
Box 5, Folder 1
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Newspaper
1936
Box 4, Folder 5
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Newspaper Clippings
1935 - 1936 February
Box 4, Folder 6
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: Programs
Box 4, Folder 7
Scrapbook, University of Minnesota, items laid in: University of Minnesota Ephemera
1936 January - 1936 June
Box 4, Folder 8
Scrapbook: Pioneer Press
1925 December 14 - 1926 November 7
Note
Page numbers written in by library staff.
Box 4, Folder 9
Scrapbook: University of Minnesota (1 of 2)
Note
Contains delicate clippings which require care when unfolding. Page numbers written in by library staff.
Box 4, Folder 10
Scrapbook: University of Minnesota (2 of 2)
Note
Contains delicate clippings which require care when unfolding. Page numbers written in by library staff.
Box 1, Folder 31
Teaching Records: (1 of 2)
Box 1, Folder 32
Teaching Records: (2 of 2)
