Finding aid for the Elaine Mikels papers, 1967-2004 LSC.1954
Finding aid prepared by Stacy Wood, 2011; Sabrina Ponce, 2017; Eric Olsen, 2022; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline
Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 19 December 2022.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Business Number: 310-825-4988
Fax Number: 310-206-1864
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Elaine Mikels papers
Creator:
Mikels, Elaine
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1954
Physical Description:
1.6 linear feet
(4 document boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1969-2004
Abstract: Born in Los Angeles in 1921, Elaine Mikels spent her early life in California attending UCLA, UC Berkeley, and USC, later
receiving a Master's in Social Work. During this time, Mikels' struggles with expressing and living out her lesbian identity
began as she grappled with forming healthy relationships and finding queer community amid the conformist atmosphere of the
1940s, 1950s, and early 1960s. Documented by over two-hundred photographs in the collection, Mikel's political activism on
a national scale began in the late 1960s and continued throughout her life as she organized demonstrations for the anti-war
movement, created lesbian-feminist communities, and participated in pacifist and civil disobedience actions. The collection
includes materials related to the publication of Elaine Mikels' autobiography, as well as a copy of the final published version.
Also included are personal papers, journals, correspondence, and various personal materials.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Conditions Governing Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Provenance unknown.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Elaine Mikels Papers (Collection 1954). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processing Information
Processed by Stacy Wood, 2011. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Sabrina Ponce in 2017. Further
desciption enhancement by Eric Olsen in 2022.
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.
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We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating
existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit
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Biography
Elaine Mikels was born in 1921 in Los Angeles, and she spent much of her early life in California. Although raised Jewish,
she attended Flintridge, a Catholic boarding school. As a closested lesbian, Mikels spoke about her early relationships with
women who identified as straight and later went on to get married. Similarly to other closeted women living in the 1940s,
she had little concept of how to deal with her own relationships much less build community though shared interests. During
this period she suffered from depression and was hospitalized.
After WWII, Mikels worked in Germany with the Quakers through the State Department. She was expelled from the program because
of her psychiatric records naming her as a lesbian. She returned to the United States and settled briefly in New York, later
traveling for the next several years throughout Europe and the Middle East. In 1951 she settled in San Francisco and pursued
social work.
In San Francisco, she became active in the Mattachine Society and ONE magazine. It was also during this period, in 1959, that
she established the Conard House. The Conard House was the first halfway house in San Francisco, specifically conceived as
a transitional community for people with mental illness who were returning to San Francisco from Napa State Hospital.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Elaine Mikels underwent a period of politicization, "when I broke away from the system. I went
through an amazing personal transformation, not unlike many others during this time of civil strife and the war in Vietnam.
I was no longer afraid of authority figures." Afterwards, Mikels left her professional social work career for full-time activism.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Mikels help found lesbian-feminist communities, organized demonstrations for the anti-war movement,
participated in peace actions and walks, and documented lesbian events across the nation. Later in life, Mikels' activism
shifted focus to highlight the accomplishments and stories of older women through creating networks such as the Older Lesbians
Organizing for Change and publications such as the Older Women's Network. These organizations brought together older feminists
and lesbian women who share resources and support for activist goals, housing, employment, and networks of care. In the early
1990s, Mikels wrote the autobiography
Just Lucky I Guess: From Closet Lesbian to Radical Dyke which documents her life's struggles, accomplishments, relationships, and global travels.
Chronology
Missing Title
1921 |
Elaine Mikels born |
1951 |
Elaine Mikels moves to San Francisco |
1959 |
Elaine Mikels founds Conard House |
1976 |
Founding of OWN (Older Women's Network) |
1977 |
Women's Gathering in Ashland, OR. |
1981 |
Women's Pentagon Action |
June 12, 1982 |
Nuclear Disarmament Rally |
June 3 - July 4, 1983 |
PeaceWalk from Durham, N.C. to Seneca Peace Camp |
1983 |
Dyke Olympics |
1984 |
PeaceWalk from Gainesville, FL to Key West, FL. |
Scope and Content
The Elaine Mikels papers are comprised of photographs taken by Elaine Mikels in several different locations and with different
groups of people. Included are photographs of lesbian activist gatherings, lesbian social gatherings and sports clubs, lesbian
writing groups, and self-published newsletters. The collection also includes materials related to the publication of Elaine
Mikels' autobiography,
Just Lucky I Guess: From Closet Lesbian to Radical Dyke, as well as a copy of the final published version. Also included are personal papers, journals, correspondence, and various
personal materials. The pictures contained in the Mikels collection of
Feminary writers, producers, and supporters reflect a new political imperative in Mikel's work. The most prominent participant in
the
Feminary editorial collective was Minnie Bruce Pratt; photographs of her are contained within the collection. Also represented in the
collection are photographs documenting the Women's Pentagon Action, a two-thousand-woman protest that surrounded the Pentagon
in 1981. Eventually, Mikels settled in Santa Fe, but most of her photographic collection represents her time in Oregon and
North Carolina.
Organization and Arrangement
Photographs arranged in chronological order are first in the collection. Thereafter, materials are arranged chronologically
with the exception of materials about
Just Lucky I Guess that, as a continuous project, are kept together.
Online Items Available
Related Materials
Old Lesbians Organizing for Change
records (Collection 2203).
Available at UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Papers of Cynthia Rich and Barbara
Macdonald
Available at Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Papers of Barbara Deming Available at Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographs.
Social workers -- California -- San Francisco.
Older lesbians -- United States -- Archives.
Lesbian activists -- United States -- Archives.
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA
Mikels, Elaine
box 1, folder 1
Older Women's Network (OWN)
1976 - 1982
Older Women's Network (OWN) 1976-1982
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
45 Miscellaneous photos of the Older Women's Network (OWN). Also includes a note from Elaine Mikels concerning the founding
of OWN.
box 1, folder 2
Women's Gathering
1977
Women's Gathering 1977
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
7 photos of the Women's Gathering in Ashland, OR.
box 1, folder 3
Carpentry Collective
1978-1980
Carpentry Collective 1978-1980
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
17 photographs of the women's carpentry collective in Eugene, OR, with some annotations.
box 1, folder 4
Softball League
1978-1980
Carpentry Collective Softball League 1978-1980
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
36 photos of the Carpentry Collective's softball league, in game and out.
box 1, folder 5
Eugene, Oregon
1978-1980
Eugene, Oregon - 1978-1980
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
26 photographs from Mikels' time in Eugene, Oregon.
box 1, folder 6
Feminary
1981-1984
Feminary
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
57 photographs of fundrasing activities, a costume party, candid group photos, and promotional photos for the publication
Feminary.
box 1, folder 7
Protests
1981-1982
Protests
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
5 photographs of protesters outside of the trial of the men accused of killing Ronald "Sonny" Antonevitch, Durham, N.C., 1981
April 17. 4 photographs of a rally in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, Raleigh, N.C.
box 1, folder 8
Women's Pentagon Action
1981
Women's Pentagon Action
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
35 photos of the Women's Pentagon Action.
box 1, folder 9
Nuclear Disarmament Rally
1982 June 14
Nuclear Disarmament Rally
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
11 photos of the Nuclear Disarmament Rally in Central Park in New York, New York.
box 1, folder 10
Peace Walk: Durham, North Carolina to Seneca Peace Camp
1983 June 3 - July 4
Peace Walk: Durham, NC to Seneca Peace Camp
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
5 photographs of the Peace Walk from Durham, N.C. to Seneca Peace Camp. Organized by Elaine Mikels and Mandy Carter.
box 1, folder 11
Dyke Olympics
1983
Dyke Olympics
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
55 photos of the Dyke Olympics outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. One-day, one-time event on a woman's land, lesbians
only.
box 1, folder 12
Peace Walk: Gainsville, Florida to Key West, Florida
1984
Peace Walk: Gainesville, FL to Key West, FL
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size
Scope and Contents note
53 photos of the Peace Walk from Gainesville, FL to Key West, FL.
box 1, folder 13
Note to Degania and photographs
circa 1984 - 1993
General Physical Description note: photographs of varying size, notes, cards
Scope and Contents note
1 note by Elaine Mikels to Degania detailing her intentions to donate materials to the archive, 27 photos, one flyer, and
one card.
box 1, folder 14
Published Photos
1969-1991
General Physical Description note: photos, photocopies
Scope and Contents note
Contains clippings, photos taken by Elaine Mikels, duplicate prints, publications in which her work was featured, and mock-ups.
box 1, folder 15
Personal notes
circa 1977 - 1992
General Physical Description note: handwritten and printed notes
Scope and Contents note
Personal notes about various subjects such as conferences, poetry, and gay pride.
box 2, folder 1
Our OWN
1977 October - 1981 Summer
General Physical Description note: stapled, photocopied pamphlets
Scope and Contents note
21 issues of the newsletter
Our OWN, the newsletter for the Older Women's Network.
box 2, folder 2
Published Materials : Lesbians in the Media
1981-1999
General Physical Description note: newsprint, printed paper, photocopies, magazine
Scope and Contents note
Various articles about lesbians in popular culture, the legal system, politics and activist communities.
box 2, folder 3-6
Journals
1984 Christmas - 1988 September 7
General Physical Description note: bound jounral
Scope and Contents note
Elaine Mikels' personal journals, given as a gift to "Elana." Mikels was sometimes known as "Elana" and "Elana Freedom." Six
journals included.
box 3, folder 1
Assorted programming materials
circa 1987 August - 1999 Summer
General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies, clippings
Scope and Contents note
Assorted flyers, brochures, postcards, and programming materials.
box 3, folder 2
Address books
circa 1989 - 1995
General Physical Description note: four bound address books
Scope and Contents note
Four bound, differently sized address books containing personal, professional, and activist contacts.
box 3, folder 3
Correspondence: Publishers
1989 March 8 - 1993 March 2
General Physical Description note: typewritten letters
Scope and Contents note
Letters from and to publishers concerning the publication of
Just Lucky I Guess, Elaine's autobiography.
box 3, folder 4
Profiles and Coverage of Elaine
1989 May - 1999
General Physical Description note: newspaper clippings
Scope and Contents note
Profiles and articles about Elaine Mikels, mostly focused on her lifelong activism.
box 3, folder 5
Correspondence: Elaine and Jean
1990 October 30 - 1993 November 7
General Physical Description note: typewritten letters, handwritten letters
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence between Elaine and her good friend Jean.
box 3, folder 6
Sonia Johnson materials
1991 August 10 - 1994 February
General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies
Scope and Contents note
Materials related to Reactionary Lesbianism theorist Sonia Johnson, including editorials, opinion pieces, promotional materials.
box 3, folder 7-8
Just Lucky I Guess: Notes and drafts
circa 1984 - 1993
General Physical Description note: handwritten notes, printed paper
Scope and Contents note
Notes and drafts of
Just Lucky I Guess, Elaine Mikels's autobiography.
box 3, folder 9-10
Just Lucky I Guess: Production
1991 August - 1994 March 22
General Physical Description note: receipts, printed paper
Scope and Contents note
Documentation regarding the production of
Just Lucky I Guess. The first folder contains printing and binding costs and receipts while the second folder contains distribution information.
box 4, folder 1
Just Lucky I Guess: Copyright information
1993 April - 1994 March
General Physical Description note: printed paper
Scope and Contents note
Documents related to copyright and attributions related to
Just Lucky I Guess.
box 4, folder 2
Just Lucky I Guess: Published copy
1993
General Physical Description note: bound book
Scope and Contents note
Final published, bound copy of
Just Lucky I Guess.
box 4, folder 3
Just Lucky I Guess: Book reviews
1993 March 2 - 1995 May
General Physical Description note: printed paper, photocopies, clippings
Scope and Contents note
Reviews of
Just Lucky I Guess from various publications.
box 4, folder 4
Just Lucky I Guess: Promotional materials
1993 March 2 - 1994 March
General Physical Description note: printed paper, flyers
Scope and Contents note
Promotional materials for the book
Just Lucky I Guess, including materials related to readings and signings.
box 4, folder 5
Just Lucky I Guess: Manuscript
undated
General Physical Description note: bound printed paper with handwritten notes
Scope and Contents note
Manuscript and acknowledgements page of
Just Lucky I Guess.
box 4, folder 6
Submissions
circa 1992 - 1994
General Physical Description note: printed paper
Scope and Contents note
Materials submitted to different journals and newspapers for publication.
box 4, folder 7
Workshop materials
circa 1993 - 2001
General Physical Description note: printed paper, handwritten notes
Scope and Contents note
Questionnaires, articles, exercises designed for meditation, and materials on self-help workshops.
box 4, folder 8
Journal: Costa Rica
1995 March - April
General Physical Description note: individual handwritten sheets of paper, envelope
Scope and Contents note
Personal journal documenting Elaine Mikels' travels in Costa Rica and photocopy of the envelope in which it was contained.
box 4, folder 9
Clippings
circa 1995 September - 1997 July
General Physical Description note: newsprint, photocopies, printed paper
Scope and Contents note
Clippings of Elaine Mikels' editorials, articles, and other writings.
box 4, folder 10
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe, New Mexico
2000-2002
General Physical Description note: printed paper, flyers, bound directories
Scope and Contents note
Church directories, programs and other information for the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Fe, New Mexico, of
which Elaine Mikels was a member.
box 4, folder 11
Obituaries
2004 February - March
Scope and Content
Programs for the funeral services for Elaine Mikels and Selma Mikels Lofgren.