Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Shade (Autumn) Papers
0034
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Autumn Shade Papers
Creator:
Shade, Autumn
Identifier/Call Number: 0034
Contributing Institution:
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Special Collections and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.42 Linear Feet
(3 boxes)
Date: circa 1915-1965
Abstract: Autumn Shade was a resident of Riverside, California, who was involved with the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch in the 1930s.
In addition to riding Kellogg horses, Shade was heavily involved with the Delta Theta Chi sorority. The collection includes
materials that document her life and activities in the 1930s and 1940s.
Advanced notice required for access.
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository
and the copyright holder.
[Box/folder# or item name], Autumn Shade Papers, Collection no. 0034, W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections
and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona by Autumn Shade's daughter Franci Allen in 2017.
Autumn Shade was born on September 8, 1913 in a cabin in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada. Her father, Loren Shade, was a
traveling salesman of Dutch descent and her mother, Nell Burdell Johnson, was an Illinois native who came from the "Cranston"
ancestral line of the "Americans of Royal Decent." Shade and her family eventually came to Riverside, California where she
received her secondary education. She received her high school diploma from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 1931 and
she received an Associate of Arts from Riverside Junior College in 1933.
In terms of her history of horse riding, Shade rode at the W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch in the 1930s, and had a lasting
connection with Kellogg until 1941. Shade also helped organize and run Girl Scout horse show programs on Kit Carson Ranch
in Riverside in the early 1940s. Shade even had her own horse whose name reflected his triumphant and unlikely origin from
France: Sir Winsom.
Alongside her passion for horses, Shade was deeply involved with her sorority, Delta Theta Chi, in the 1930s and 1940s. Delta
Theta Chi was, and still is, a non-profit fraternal corporation with the goal of cultivating good citizenship and individual
development. Shade was elected President of the Riverside chapter of Delta Theta Chi in 1940. Shade also helped organize numerous
Delta Theta Chi events at the iconic Mission Inn located in Riverside, and was a prominent individual from the Riverside chapter.
Shade was not alone in her endreavors with her sorority; her sister Audrey Shade shared her passion for Delta Theta Chi. Audrey
Shade was elected vice president of Delta Theta Chi in 1938 and was even elected state president in 1941.
In 1950, Shade became Mrs. Freeman when she married John Norman Freeman. John was an early pioneer of the "Jet Age" and was
a fly-along photographer on the first jet flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base in California in the early 1950s. John Norman
Freeman Jr., the only son of Autumn and John, was a restoration mechanic and considered to be one of the West Coast's leading
experts on North American P51 Mustangs.
Autumn Shade passed away September 15, 1986.
The collection includes correspondence, programs, and ephemera that document Autumn Shades' time at Riverside Polytechnic
High School, her involvement with the Delta Theta Chi sorority, and other activities.
The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title in the finding aid but does not reflect physical arrangement.
The Freeman Family Collection. Museum of Flight.
Kit Carson Ranch Records, Collection no. 0037, W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library, Special Collections and Archives, University
Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
The collection was processed by Jose Quirarte under the supervision of Alexis Adkins in 2020.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Horsemen and horsewomen
Delta Theta Chi Sorority
Dance Cards