Finding Aid for the June L. Mazer papers 1929-1988 LSC.2136

Finding aid prepared by Stacy Wood, 2012 and Sarah Johnson and Jessica Tai, 2017; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Online finding aid updated 19 September 2017.


Title: June L. Mazer papers
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2136
Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 0.8 linear feet (2 document boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1929-1988
Abstract: June L. Mazer was born in Baltimore, MD in 1929. Her educational experiences combined with her tenure at the Children's Experimental Theatre in Baltimore, the Center for the Healing Arts in Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Psychodrama in Los Angeles led her to the practice of Psychodrama Therapy at several different medical institutions throughout the country. In 1970, Mazer moved to Los Angeles and soon became active in the lesbian activist community. After her death in 1987, the name of the West Coast Lesbian Collections was changed to the June L. Mazer Archives to commemorate her commitment to lesbian activism and historical preservation. The June L. Mazer papers include her personal writings, ephemera, as well as her publications and clippings.
Language of Materials: Materials are in English.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance through our electronic paging system using the "Request items" button.
Creator: Mazer, June L., 1929-1987

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance through our electronic paging system using the "Request items" button.

Conditions Governing Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], June L. Mazer Papers (Collection 2136). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Acquisition Information

Donated to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive by Bunny MacCulloch in 1991.
This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives,   the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW)   and the UCLA Library.  

Processing History

Processed by Stacy Wood, 2012. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Jessica Tai and Sarah Johnson in 2017.
The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive  at UCLA is an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW)  and the UCLA Library . These collections expand the pool of primary source materials available to researchers and to the community at large. This partnership was initiated by CSW and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to inventory, organize, preserve, and digitize more than eighty Mazer collections pertaining to lesbian and feminist activism and writings.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 7347923 

Biography/History

June L. Mazer was born in Baltimore, MD on July 7, 1929. In 1949 she received her Bachelor of Arts from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland where she served as the editor of the college newspaper. In 1952, Mazer gained the title O.T.R. (Occupational Therapist Registered) through the School of Occupational Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. In 1964, Mazer received her Master of Arts from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. with a focus in drama and social work. These educational experiences combined with her tenure at the Children's Experimental Theatre in Baltimore, the Center for the Healing Arts in Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Psychodrama in Los Angeles led her to the practice of Psychodrama Therapy at several different medical institutions throughout the country. During this time, Mazer contributed articles on her work to many professional journals.
Throughout her life, Mazer remained an active part of her community. In 1970 she moved to Los Angeles and soon became active in the lesbian activist community. She joined the Board of Directors of the Southern California Women/Whitman Radcliffe Foundation and remained active when it branched off and became the Southern California Women for Understanding (SCWU), an educational non-profit dedicated to the enhancement of quality of life for lesbians everywhere. In 1979, Mazer met Bunny MacCulloch, who would become her long-term partner until her death in 1987. Both Mazer and MacCulloch were passionate and consistent believers in the preservation of lesbian history. Together they were involved in, supported or belonged to a number of progressive organizations including: the American Civil Liberties Union, Connexxus Women's Center, the Gay and Lesbian Press Association, the International Gay and Lesbian Archives (IGLA), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Lesbian Rights Project and the Southern California Women for Understanding.
In 1985, Mazer was diagnosed with cancer and after a year and a half she succumbed to her illness on January 16, 1987. The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, an archive dedicated to preserving lesbian history that was formerly known as the West Coast Lesbian Collections, was named for her upon her death to commemorate her commitment to lesbian activism and historical preservation.

Scope and Content

The June L. Mazer papers contain her personal, professional and activist materials including photographs, journals, correspondence, artworks, ephemera, identification documents, and other personal materials. A portion of the collection is made up of professional literature in the field of occupational therapy and Mazer's publications on psychodrama and innovations in occupational therapy. Also included are newsletters for the Southern California Women for Understanding (SCWU) newsletter of which Mazer was an editor, as well as clippings from articles and reviews by Mazer. Also included is material relating to Mazer's illness and death including medical information, documentation of daily habits and feelings, letters of condolence, and diaries as well as obituaries and articles about Mazer published after her death.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically.

Related Material

Additional materials are contained in the Bunny MacCulloch papers (Collection 1959).  Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA.
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives.
Mazer, June L., 1929-1987 -- Archives.
Drama--Therapeutic use.
Lesbian activists--California--Archives.
Occupational therapy.

Box 1, Folder 1

Personal Documentation 1929-1987

Scope and Contents note

Includes Mazer's birth certificate, identification cards, membership cards and resumes.
Box 1, Folder 2

Photographs circa 1930s-1980s

Scope and Contents note

Contains photos of June throughout her life, some of her partner Marsha Brewster as well as Brewster's children.
Box 1, Folders 3-4

Publications and Writings 1945-1986

Scope and Contents note

Contains academic writing, journal articles related to occupational therapy, as well as several letters to and from the editor in various publications.
Box 1, Folder 5

Awards and Recognitions 1950-1983

Scope and Contents note

Includes articles about Mazer's achievements.
Box 1, Folder 6

Artworks 1954-1986

Scope and Contents note

Contains photocopies of artwork as well as original drawings by Mazer.
Box 1, Folder 7

Correspondence 1957-1986

Scope and Contents note

Letters to and from June L. Mazer's family members as well as letters from professional colleagues.
Box 1, Folder 8

Training and Workshop Materials 1962-1976

Scope and Contents note

Hebrew Home for the Aged (HHA) Volunteer Handbook, an issue of Training News from 1964, a training manual from the American Occupational Therapy Association and Inservice Materials from a course on sexism.
Box 1, Folder 9

Children's Theatre Association Materials 1966

Scope and Contents note

Draft of Mazer's speech at the Annual Luncheon for the Children's Theatre Association (CTA) as well as a clipping about the executive director and the program from the aforementioned Luncheon.
Box 1, Folder 10

Ephemera circa 1970s

Scope and Contents note

Contains Mazer's address book, a small knife, a silver butterfly necklace, an award ribbon for June and Bunny's dog and a small book on the "Springs of Friendship."
Box 2, Folder 1

Notes 1974-1975

Scope and Contents note

Contains notes labelled "Methods of Psychotherapy," "OT and Psychodrama" and "Staff Meeting : Workshop at Center for the Healing Arts."
Box 2, Folder 2

Astrology Reading January 15, 1976

Box 2, Folder 3

Southern California Women for Understanding (SCWU) Newsletters 1981-1983

Scope and Contents note

Newsletters from the SCWU, some complete, some clippings or chosen excerpts.
Box 2, Folder 4

Journal 1985-1986

Scope and Contents note

Mazer's personal journal. The book was a gift from Linda Wineland and chronicles Mazer's experiences with cancer, her relationship with Bunny, financial and work related anxieties. There are very few entries.
Box 2, Folders 5-6

Illness and Death 1985-1988

Scope and Contents note

Contains letters of condolence, articles and programs and proceedings of memorial events.