Helen L. Markell and Esther V. Martin
Sacramento Bee and KFBeeK Players collection
Alex Guilbert
Center for Sacramento History
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.
Sacramento, California 95811-0229
Phone: (916) 808-7072
Fax: (916) 264-7582
Email: csh@cityofsacramento.org
URL: http://www.centerforsacramentohistory.org/
© 2021
Center for Sacramento History. All rights reserved.
Helen L. Markell and Esther V. Martin
Sacramento Bee and KFBeeK Players collection
Collection number: MS0095
Center for Sacramento History
Sacramento, CA
- Processed by:
- Alex Guilbert
- Date Completed:
- 2012
- Encoded by:
- Kim Hayden
© 2021 Center for Sacramento History. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Dates: 1944-1998
Bulk Dates: 1950-1990
Collection number: MS0095
Creator:
Markell, Helen L. (1914-2005)
Creator:
Martin, Esther Virone (1918-2012)
Collection Size:
0.5 linear feet
(1 box)
Repository:
Center for Sacramento History
Sacramento, California 95811-0229
Abstract: The collection documents Helen L. Markell and Esther Virone Martin's work for the
Sacramento Bee and involvement with the KFBeeK Players. Material includes Markell's published columns and reader responses from the 1970s,
and draft columns from the 1990s; items related to Eleanor McClatchy; Martin's photographs and ephemera; KFBeeK Players productions
photographs and ephemera; history booklets documenting the Sacramento Civic Theater; and material pertaining to the
Sacramento Bee's employee library, Beeline Book Alley. Items date from 1944 to 1998, with the bulk from 1950 to 1990.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection is open for research use.
Publication Rights
All requests to publish or quote from private manuscripts held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted
in writing to csh@cityofsacramento.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron.
No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Helen L. Markell and Esther V. Martin
Sacramento Bee and KFBeeK Players collection, MS0095, Center for Sacramento History.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Joanne Virone, niece of Esther Virone Martin (accession number 2012/023)
Processing Information
Processing and finding aid by Alex Guilbert, 2012. Finding aid edited by Kim Hayden, 2021.
Biography / Administrative History
Helen L. "Marki" Markell was born in Portland, Oregon on March 15, 1914. Markell worked with Eleanor McClatchy at KFBK radio
and the
Sacramento Bee. She participated in the KFBeeK Players and directed many of their shows. She also operated the
Sacramento Bee's Beeline Book Alley, a library and reference center for the staff of the newspaper. She wrote numerous columns for the
Sacramento Bee from the 1970s into the 1990s. She passed away in Sacramento on July 3, 2005.
Esther Virone Martin was born in Sacramento on July 7, 1918. She worked as private secretary to Eleanor McClatchy at the
Sacramento Bee from early 1940s into the 1960s. She participated in the KFBeeK Players. She was married to Emil Martin until his death in
1991. She was very close friends with Markell and became executor of her estate. She acquired the material in this collection
upon Markell's death. Martin passed away on January 23, 2012.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection documents Helen L. Markell and Esther Virone Martin's work for the
Sacramento Bee and involvement with the KFBeeK Players. Material includes Markell's published columns and reader responses from the 1970s,
and draft columns from the 1990s; items related to Eleanor McClatchy; photographs and ephemera from KFBeeK Players productions;
history booklets documenting the Sacramento Civic Theater;
Sacramento Bee employee newsletters; photographs and ephemera; and material pertaining to the
Sacramento Bee's employee library, Beeline Book Alley. Items date from 1944 to 1998, with the bulk from 1950 to 1990.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Sacramento Bee (Newspaper)
KFBK
Sacramento (Calif.)--Theater
McClatchy, Eleanor, 1895-1980
Sacramento (Calif.)--Journalism
Sacramento (Calif.)--Publishing
Box 1, Folder 1
Markell personal papers
1957-1998
Mapcase 3:2, Folder 1
Markell retirement card from
Sacramento Bee staff
undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Markell columns, published and responses
1973-1979
General
Columns include "Why Not Impeachment" (1973); "Nixon's TV Memoirs: Capitalizing On Infamy" (1975); "Worry, Worry, Worry.
Wanted: A Reliable Guru" (1975); "50 Years of 'Talkies': Not Always The Sound Of Music" (1977); "How To Spend The Sunset Years:
How Does Hang Gliding Strike You?" (1979); "Anita And The Gays: Bigotry Or Christianity?"; "Phyllis Schlafly And The ERA:
‘She Made A Believer Of Me'"; "To Each Her Own: Musings About Ms."
Box 1, Folder 3
Markell columns, drafts
1992
General
Columns include: "Great Decisions. Politics as Usual." (1992); "Who Is Calling Whom – What? RE: ‘Hachet Job on Reagan'";
"Didionitis"; "Is There Any Wonder… Why There Are Hesitations and Delays Over the Bush Clinton Debates?"; "Who's Fooling Whom?";
"A Word from Helen L. Markell"; "Draft Dodgers… Truth Dodgers"; "We Must Do This More Often; or, Tell Me All About Yourself,
Dear"; "News a la Carte"; "So We Are Going to War to Maintain Peace and Build a New World Order"; "The Home Stretch. Dan Quayle
- Ready or Not, Here I Come: A Review of His Performance"; "Dan Quayle - Running on Empty"
Box 1, Folder 4
Markell script: "Oh Beautiful – Beautiful Friendship"
undated
Folder 2012/023
Markell photographs
undated
General
Some photographs are related to a performance at a U.S. Army base
Box 1, Folder 5
Eleanor McClatchy personal family history/genealogy of Feeney
undated
Box 1, Folder 6
Eleanor McClatchy obituaries and eulogy
1980-1982
Box 1, Folder 7
Eleanor McClatchy speech presented to UNIVAC
undated
Box 1, Folder 8
Eleanor McClatchy - Sacramento History Center
1985
Folder 2012/023
Eleanor McClatchy Photographs
undated
General
Photographs are related to a performance at a U.S. Army base and note that Eleanor McClatchy was part of the makeup crew.
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "Family Album" photographs
undated
General
Photos show cast and set at Southside Park.
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "Lost in the Stars"
1967-1968
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "My Sister Eileen" photographs
1945
General
Photos show cast and crew members, including Albert J. "Al" Bastian, Evert S. "Pete" Peterson, Ann Smith, and Ruth Ward;
an awards night; and other images related to the production.
Box 1, Folder 9
KFBeeK Players - "My Sister Eileen" ephemera
1945
General
Includes a playbill and
Sacramento Bee/KFBK congratulations.
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "Night Must Fall" photographs
undated
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "On Borrowed Time" photographs
1948
General
Photos show cast, crew, and production. Cast members shown include Frank McPeak and Ann Smith.
Box 1, Folder 10
KFBeeK Players - "On Borrowed Time" ephemera
1948
General
Includes a playbill and a letter from the Oakland Veterans Administration Hospital to the KFBeeK Players.
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "Prime Play" photographs
undated
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "Suds in Your Eyes" photographs
ca. 1947
General
Photos show cast, crew, and production. Cast members shown include Betty Maloney and Claire Peterson.
Box 1, Folder 11
KFBeeK Players - "Suds in Your Eyes" ephemera
ca. 1947
General
Includes correspondence between Markell and the Dramatists Play Service.
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - "You Can't Take It with You" photographs
1944
General
Photos show cast, crew, and production. Cast members shown include Clara Guilberce, Myron "Max" Depew, Ruth Ward, Leta, Bob,
and Phyllis.
Box 1, Folder 12
KFBeeK Players - "You Can't Take It with You" ephemera
1944
General
Includes a playbill, clipping, and handwritten notes to cast by Markell.
Folder 2012/023
KFBeeK Players - photographs from unidentified productions
undated
General
Photos show unidentified productions. People identified in photos include Markell, Frances F., L. R. Matushak, Dick Rodda,
and Myron "Max" Depew.
Box 1, Folder 13
Sacramento Civic Theater history booklets
1966-1976
Folder 2012/023
Sacramento Bee Beeline Book Alley photographs
1955-1986
General
One photograph shows Dr. John McKibbin.
Box 1, Folder 14
Sacramento Bee Beeline Book Alley spiral stenographer's notebooks
1955-1986
Box 1, Folder 15
Sacramento Bee Beeline Book Alley ephemera
1985-1986
Folder 2012/023
Unidentified photographs
1966
Folder 2012/023
Martin photographs
1943-1977
General
Included are photos of a 1943
Sacramento Bee Christmas party featuring Eleanor McClatchy, Gladys Cunningham, Mila Landis, and Esther Virone Martin; President John F.
Kennedy; Walter P. Jones; an NBC convention; Martin and her husband Emil; and a "25-Year Club" party.
Box 1, Folder 16
Martin ephemera
1945-1971
General
Includes an invitation from Eleanor McClatchy to a luncheon to welcome new members to the 25-Year Club; a 1971 issue of Beelines,
the McClatchy Newspapers employee magazine; and 1945 memos from Eleanor McClatchy to
Bee staff announcing a gift of war bonds to the staff and staff cost-of-living wage adjustments.