Interview with Jean Anderson about Jeanne Voltz

Today I interviewed Jean Anderson, author of more than 20 celebrated cookbooks, about food editor Jeanne Voltz. This is Anderson's website.

She was helpful in providing background on Jeanne who went from the food editor of the L.A. Times to the food editor of Woman's Day Magazine. Jean said of Voltz: "She taught me the nuances of North Carolina BBQ."

They did not know each other in the NYC years but became friends during Jeanne's retirement in North Carolina. Jean said of Voltz: "She was always game to do something."

I am working on Voltz's newspaper years at this point of revision.

Carol Sutton's birthday

Born on this day in 1933: Carol Sutton. She was the first woman to be named managing editor of a metro daily newspaper – at the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1974. It was major news at the time and she was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1975.

She went on to champion minority recruitment and journalism ethics at her newspaper.

She was the women’s page editor prior to her promotion to M.E. She worked to transform the women’s page into a progressive session and included early coverage of the women’s liberation movement.

Carol was a true trailblazer. She died in 1985.

My article about her is in the Winter 2010 issue of American Journalism.

Vivian Castleberry honored

I was pleased to learn that Dallas women's page editor and peace activist Vivian Castleberry was honored by Women's Enews. I used to write for the group a few years ago.



She was named one of seven women who are reinventing the future. Here is more about it. She is quite deserving of this honor. I am in the process of writing a book about her.

Working mothers & women's pages

This week, I received a copy of the 1966 book by Lois Benjamin, So You Want to Be Working Mother. The book took on a topic that controversial at the time and the book was widely reviewed. The book begins:

"Like the weather, working mothers are now a fact of life that almost anyone can talk about, and often does. Also like the weather, we are something nobody knows quite what to do about, beyond recognizing, a little uncomfortably, that we seem to be here to stay."

An article about the book led to a debate about the issue in the "Column with a Heart" which ran in the women's pages of the Miami Herald in the 1950s and 1960s. The fight to keep women in the home was a strong one and readers were quick to write in. I wonder what the columnist Eleanor Hart thought - she was the mother of two and a longtime journalist.

I am finishing up a conference paper on Eleanor Hart's column.

Criticism of women's pages

This week, Ms magazine's blog included the post: The “Women’s Pages” Go Online: Good or Bad News?" In it, Ruth Rosen (a great author) dismisses the women's pages.

She wrote: "Forty years ago, feminists demanded that special “women’s pages,” which featured fashion, society and cooking, be banished from newspapers. Instead, they insisted, newspapers should mainstream serious stories about the lives of women throughout their regular news.

Forty years later, the new media have re-segregated women’s sections. The good news is that they are no longer about society, cooking and fashion. Most are tough, smart, incisive, analytic and focus on events, trends or stories that the mainstream online news still ignores. The bad news is that they are not on the “front page” where men might learn about women’s lives."



The Women's Media Center describes the Ms column as: "The New Gender Apartheid of Online News Magazines."

I hate when media critics and historians dismiss the women's pages as fluff. The content of women's pages was complex - and often included progressive content. Dismissing women's pages marginalizes women's work.

Interview about Jeanne Voltz

This morning I interviewed the Charlotte Observer food editor Kathleen Purvis about Jeanne Voltz. Kathleen had profiled legendary food editor Jeanne and met her several times.

Here is quote I liked from a column Kathleen wrote after Jeanne died:
"And then there was Voltz's determination that we get our food facts right. When I called her colleagues for quotes for her obituary, they all brought it up, with laughter and fondness. Voltz wasn't valued for her sweetness. Her flavor was pepper and vinegar."

Kathleen was very helpful - especially about providing perspective on the importance of food journalism.

I am finishing up my article about Jeanne who got her start in the women's pages of the Miami Herald in the 1950s and then went on to become the food editor at the L.A. Times.

Koky Dishon article is published

I is so excited that my article about Colleen “Koky” Dishon has been published in Timeline, the Ohio Magazine of History. She was the first woman on the masthead of the Chicago Tribune. She created more than 15 new sections – and they were quickly copied across the country. Said Ann Marie Lipinski: “Whether you have ever worked for Koky, or ever heard her name, you are a beneficiary of her genius.”

Beverley Morales and Atome

On Friday, I received several copies of the Native American newspaper Atome. It was edited by women's page editor Beverley Morales. (At the time, she was using the name Beverley Geary.) It is an amazing piece of journalism. The copies are from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Special Collections.

Beverley had an amazing life that is taking time to document - from her early years as a society editor in Mexico City to a women's page editor in Florida and Ohio to her work in the Northwest.

Vivian Castleberry book chapter

I am writing a chapter for my book about Dallas women's page editor Vivian Castleberry. She was the first woman on the editorial board of the Dallas Times-Herald. Above is one of the editorials she wrote. It is above the impact of war and the need for peace. In later years, Vivian played a major role in the Dallas peace movement.

I hope to have the book written in the next six months.

Archive rankings

Reflections from our archive trips (2003-2009) collecting information about women's page journalists:
• Most helpful collections at an archive: Western Historical Manuscript Collection at University of Missouri
• Most annoying to work with archive: New York Public Library
• Most intimidating archivist: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• Most efficient collections at an archive: (tie) Schlesinger Library, Harvard University and University of Texas, Austin
• Most laid-back archive (tie) University of South Florida and South Florida Historical Society
• Most interesting campus neighborhood near an archive: (tie) Southern Methodist University and University of Miami
• Most exciting city near an archive: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Most helpful archivist: (tie) Texas Woman’s University and University of Nevada, Reno
• Most beautiful scenery from an archive collection room: Bentley Library at the University of Michigan
• Most difficult to get to archive: American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming

Typewriter

Lance and I found this typewriter at a Sanford antique shop. It's a Quiet Deluxe from the 1940s. We got a great deal on it. It reminds me of the photo below.



This photo is from the 1940s newsroom of the Michigan News. It includes future women's page editor Dorothy Jurney. The image can be found in Dorothy's papers at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri.

More food section research

I am continuing my work on food sections - an important part of women's pages. I am in the process of joining the Southern Foodways Alliance. My research subject Jeanne Voltz was a founding member of the group.

I am hoping to set up an interview with the food editor of the Charlotte Observer. She interviewed Jeanne many years ago. The interview is referenced in this article which I just ordered through ILL.

Jeanne wrote one of the most significant books about BBQ after her years as a newspaper food journalist. I am curious to explore how Jeanne exercised her expertise - especially in an area that did garner much culinary respect at the time.

Vivian Castleberry book proposal

I just sent off a book proposal about Vivian Castleberry. I wrote an earlier bio on Vivian for the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. This proposed book looks further into her career as a Dallas women’s page editor and her important work in the peace movement.

Dorothy Kincaid

I just received this Milwaukee Sentinel recipe book that was edited by Dorothy Kincaid. She came to the Sentinel in 1962 after earning a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota. She was the Sentinel women’s page editor from 1966 to 1974. She then became a reporter in the Trend section. In 1982, she became the food editor. Here is one of her stories.

Here is her obituary. In it, the reporter noted Dorothy being banned from the press box during the 1963 Rose Bowl.

I am looking into the Sentinel’s creation of the Trend section – it replaced the women’s section.

D-Day

In honor of D-Day, I thought I would post about Robert "Bob" Dishon. He was drafted into World War II and landed on the beaches of Normandy. He would return home and become an Ohio journalist - meeting and marrying women's page journalist Colleen "Koky" Dishon. The two would move from newspaper to newspaper over the years. Today, a journalism scholarship is given out in their name. Here is information about the scholarship. The press release also includes information about his military service.

Interview with Carol DeMasters

Yesterday I interviewed former Milwaukee Sentinel food editor Carol DeMasters about food sections in the 1970s. She, along with Peggy Daum, helped form the Association for Food Journalists. She is now the group's executive director.

Here is a news story about the initial formation of the group.

Thanks to Carol's insight, I am beginning a new paper about ethics and food journalists.

More Eleanor Hart Research

I have begun the analysis of a collection of entries from "A Column With Heart." The advice column, written by Eleanor Hart, ran in the women's section of the Miami Herald in the 1950s and 1960s.

One of her most direct address to gender roles was in relation to an October 5, 1966 from reader, C.M.R. He identified himself as the husband of a stay-at-home wife with six children. He wrote:

I read the series by Lois Benjamin about the so-called ‘working mother’ I say that because the mother who really works is the one who stays at home and cares for the needs of her children and her husband. The mother who seeks employment outside of the home, unless her husband is physically or mentally unavailable to work, should have the title of mother denied her. Perhaps these are harsh words. Yet, can’t a great proportion of the ills plaguing our society be attributed to the breakdown in family life?

He went on to write: “She’s just lazy. Isn’t it easier going to an air-conditioned office or store than doing housework, attending to the needs and wants of her children?”

Hart’s immediate response was: “When you hit, you hit hard, don’t you? The “good old days” when only spinsters and widows went to work are gone forever, and not likely to return. More than 2.5 million women whose children are under six are in the labor force, according to the National Manpower Council. And that a lot of “chain-smoking frustrated females!” She goes on to cite a sociologist from Washington State College who noted that a working mother might strength the family.

She concluded in bold: “The working mother lazy? She works doubly hard because she has two jobs instead of one. Hew of her ilk spend lavish amounts on maid service, gold-plated lunches and fancy clothing. Her biggest money expenditure is competent day care.”

Eleanor Hart Paper

Today I am working on a conference paper about columnist Eleanor Hart. She worked in the women's pages of the Miami Herald in the 1950s and 1960s. I went through her papers at the South Florida Historical Society last year.

Sadly, I came across the death of her young daughter, Mary.


Eleanor used her experience to help other parents who lost their children.


Eleanor made a significant difference in her community.

L.A. Times Food Editors and Writers

Above is video of Betsy Balsley, Donna Deane, Rose Dosti and Barbara Hansen, "The L.A. Times Food Section Gals." Jeanne Voltz - a favorite research subject - is mentioned. (Voltz was the Times food editor from 1960-1973. I have written a conference paper on those years.) The 1960s and 1970s were an important time for food sections - a part of the women's pages.

Here is a blog post by someone who attended the event.

Here is more about the group, Culinary Historians of Southern California.