Guide to the Lucile Lomen Collection SC0776
compiled by Heather Backman; updated by Jenny Johnson
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
February 2011
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
Note
This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines, Version 1.0.
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Lucile Lomen collection
creator:
Lomen, Lucile.
Identifier/Call Number: SC0776
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1920-2004
Abstract: This collection includes correspondence by, to, and about Lucile Lomen; legal materials such as case notes, briefs, and legal
decisions; newspaper, magazine, and journal clippings or excerpts; writings authored by Lomen; General Electric documents
and publications, including some on their nuclear aircraft propulsion program; and autobiographical letters, essays and interview
transcripts.
Information about Access
This collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least 48 hours in advance of intended use.
Ownership & Copyright
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research
and educational purposes.
Cite As
[Identification of item], Lucile Lomen Collection (SC0776). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford
University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Biographical/Historical Sketch
Lucile Lomen was born in Nome, Alaska on August 21, 1920, the second of five children of Alfred and Mildred (nee Lehmann)
Lomen. At least partially inspired by her grandfather, Gudbran J. Lomen, as a young girl, she decided that she wanted to become
a lawyer. Her family moved to Seattle in 1934, where she graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1937. She was awarded a
one-year scholarship to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, which she attended and from which she graduated with honors
in 1941. Upon her graduation from the University of Washington Law School in 1944, she was elected to the Order of the Coif.
A few months before her graduation from law school, Lomen was selected by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas to serve
as his law clerk for the October 1944 term. When she reported for duty in September 1944, she became the first woman to clerk
for a Supreme Court Justice.
After one busy year in Washington, Lomen returned to Seattle, where she worked in the Washington state Attorney General's
office. She remained at this job for three years, save for a trip to Europe with her maternal grandparents from the summer
of 1946 to early 1947. In 1948, Lomen left the Attorney General's office to work for General Electric. Initially employed
as a lawyer in Richland, Washington, Lomen served in many different capacities in several different states during her tenure
with the company. She retired in 1983 and remained on the East Coast, where she was then living, for a few years before returning
to Seattle, where she died on June 21, 1996.
Acquisition Information
This collection was given to the Stanford University Archives by Ann Sandstrom and Jennie Berry Chandra in 2005.
Description of the Collection
This collection includes correspondence by, to, and about Lucile Lomen; legal materials such as case notes, briefs, and legal
decisions; newspaper, magazine, and journal clippings or excerpts; writings authored by Lomen; General Electric documents
and publications, including some on their nuclear aircraft propulsion program; and autobiographical letters, essays and interview
transcripts. Correspondence addressed to Lomen is from Edith Allen, Walter Beals, Vera and Vern Countryman, William O. Douglas,
Tom Edwards, Judson F. Falknor, John M. Ferren, Helen Gaylord, Donald G. Graham, Eugene Gressman, Julia Benton Hopkins and
Helen Vincent Dolan, Mr. and Mrs. Thorulf Lehmann (Lomen's grandparents), Chester Maxey, William G. McLaren, Conrad Oberdorfer,
Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Smith Troy, and Mabel Walker Willebrandt.
Other materials of note in this collection include a single-page essay entitled "October Term 1944," about her experience
at the Supreme Court; her May 1991 Whitman oral history interview; and Lomen's outgoing correspondence during her trip to
Europe, 1946-1947. Also included in the collection is the correspondence of Jennie Berry Chandra, 2004, who assembled some
of the materials in this collection in the course of her research on Lomen.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Law clerks -- United States
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur
Countryman, Vern.
United States. Supreme Court.
Oberdorfer, Conrad W.
Beals, Walter B.
Lomen, Lucile.
Maxey, Chester Collins
Lomen, Lucile.
Gressmen, Eugene.
General Electric Company.
Ferren, John M.
Douglas, William O. (William Orville)
box 1, folder 1
Autobiographical/Biographical Materials
box 1, folder 4
Honors, Recommendations, Achievements
box 1, folder 5
Whitman Interview
1991 May
box 1, folder 6
Whitman Interview
1994 Jun
box 1, folder 7
Whitman Interview
1994 Oct
box 1, folder 8
Materials Relating to Lomen's Death
box 1, folder 9
Correspondence Relating to Douglas' Selection of Lomen
box 1, folder 10
Certificate of Appointment as Clerk
box 1, folder 11
Notes and Memos from Lomen's Time in Supreme Court
box 1, folder 12
Cases in Which Lomen Was Involved
1946-1949
box 1, folder 13
Habeas Corpus Memos
1946 Jul-1949 May
box 1, folder 14
Briefs -- Washington Cases 11827-29643
box 1, folder 15
Briefs -- Washington Cases 29934-30281
box 2, folder 1
Briefs -- Washington Cases 30461-30480
box 2, folder 2
Briefs -- Washington Cases 30486-30601
box 2, folder 3
Briefs -- Washington Cases in Which Lomen's Involvement Is Unclear
box 2, folder 4
Materials Related to Lomen's Hiring By GE
1948
box 2, folder 6
GE Evaluations, Paperwork, Other Papers about Lomen's Position/Work
box 2, folder 7
GE Nuclear Aircraft Propulsion Program
box 2, folder 9
Career -- General Learning Corporation, Elfun
box 2, folder 10
Application to Massachusetts Bar
box 2, folder 11
Application to New York Bar
box 2, folder 12
Douglas Letters of Recommendation
box 2, folder 14
Miscellaneous Career-Related
box 3, folder 1
Correspondence -- Incoming -- Author Unknown
box 3, folder 2
Correspondence -- Incoming from Douglas
box 3, folder 3
Correspondence -- Incoming
box 3, folder 4
Correspondence -- Outgoing
box 3, folder 5
Correspondence with Ray Pierre
box 3, folder 7
Correspondence from Europe
1946 Aug-Sep
box 3, folder 8
Correspondence from Europe
1946 Oct-Nov
box 3, folder 9
Correspondence from Europe
1946 Dec
box 3, folder 10
Correspondence from Europe
1947 Jan-Feb
box 3, folder 11
Miscellaneous Europe Correspondence and Papers
box 3, folder 15
Clippings
late 1930s-1945
box 4, folder 4
Speeches and Scholarly Articles Mentioning Lomen
box 4, folder 5
Sources Citing "Privileges and Immunities under the Fourteenth Amendment"
box 4, folder 6
Correspondence about Lomen
box 4, folder 7
Jennie Berry Correspondence
box 4, folder 8
Ann Sandstrom-Dean Roland Hjorth Correspondence
box 4, folder 10
Miscellaneous Library of Congress Photocopies
box 4, folder 11
William O. Douglas Correspondence
box 4, folder 12
Miscellaneous Whitman College Material
box 4, folder 13
Miscellaneous Documents Not Mentioning Lomen
Box 5
Clippings, interviews, articles, letters
