Maine Historical Society Coll Merriam, Doris B. Doris Blackman Merriam Collection

Transcription

1 Maine Historical Society Coll Merriam, Doris B. Doris Blackman Merriam Collection Accession #: Processed by: Emily Gendrolis, Intern, September - October 2014 Access: Unrestricted Copyright: Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the MHS Images Services Coordinator. Size: 9 linear feet Bulk Dates: Biographical Note: The Doris Blackman Merriam Collection is chiefly comprised of the diaries and day planners kept by Doris Merriam between 1949 and A Rockland native and resident for 88 years, Doris Merriam was born on December 8, 1914, to John A. and Olive Kalloch Blackman in Rockland. She graduated from Rockland High School in 1932, and married another Rockland High School graduate, Paul Merriam, in Paul Merriam, who was born in Belmont, Massachusetts, to Parker Small and Hattie Emery Merriam on February 3, 1912, grew up in Owls Head, Maine, and graduated from Rockland High School in 1930 before attending the University of Maine. The Merriams were very much a part of the community fabric of Rockland. Doris worked part-time at the Rockland Public Library before the arrival of her seven children, and returned to the library in 1961 where she served as Assistant Librarian until her retirement in Paul worked at the Rockland Post Office for 31 years, first as a clerk in the finance office and then as Assistant Postmaster until he retired, also in The first of their seven children, Paul (nicknamed Gil, or more affectionately in his mother s diaries as Gilly), was born in Gil was followed by Robert in 1937; Kendall (known commonly and affectionately in her diaries as Kenny) in 1942; Marshall, 1944; Fred, 1947; Joy, 1951; and Parker in Both Doris and Paul were active in their church, the First Baptist Church of Rockland, where Doris was also active in the MacDonald Sunday School. In their retirement they were able to devote more time to activities with the Mid-Coast Audubon Society, Shore Village Historical Society (now the Rockland Historical Society), Oyster River Bog Association, and the Owls Head Transportation Museum, as well as spending time with their children and grandchildren, occasions frequently detailed in her diaries. Doris died June 20, 2003.

2 Scope and Content: The collection is made up of Doris Merriam s day planners and diaries. She began keeping a daily calendar in 1949, and 1975 saw the first of her subsequent diaries in which she made entries every day. She recorded the daily activities of her children, her friends, her husband, and herself, as well as discussing any local and world news events that she was following. These daily journals offer a glimpse into life in Rockland spanning over five decades, and provide insight into social, cultural, and political movements local, national, and global within a personal context. Some of the journals have been transcribed and expanded about by Doris. Besides the day planners and diaries, the collection includes photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, ephemera, various printed materials, as well as a whistle that Doris used to call her children. There are also earlier materials which predate Doris Merriam, dating back to Provenance: Gift of Kendall A. Merriam of Rockland, Maine, son of Doris Merriam. Processing note: During the creation of each diary and day planner, Doris Merriam placed a variety of items in the leaves of the books. These items which range from newspaper clippings to personal letters to event flyers have been removed from the books for ease of use, and are housed in folders in the back of the box with their corresponding volumes. Folders are labeled by genre, and items are arranged chronologically. Container List: The collection is arranged into a total of 19 boxes, holding a total of ninety volumes and seventy-one folders. 2

3 Box 1 Volume 1: Day Planner, 1949 Volume 2: Day Planner, 1950 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1951 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1952 Volume 5: Day Planner, 1953 Volume 6: Day Planner, 1954 Volume 7: Day Planner, 1955 Volume 8: Day Planner, 1956 Volume 9: Day Planner, 1957 Inventory: Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 2: School Records, ca Box 2 Volume 1: Day Planner, 1958 Volume 2: Day Planner, 1959 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1960 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1961 Volume 5: Day Planner, 1962 Volume 6: Day Planner, 1963 Volume 7: Day Planner, 1964 Volume 8: Day Planner, 1965 Volume 9: Day Planner, 1966 Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings,

4 Box 3 Volume 1: Day Planner, 1967 Volume 2: Day Planner, 1968 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1969 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1970 Volume 5: Calendar for Engagements, 1971 Volume 6: Calendar for Engagements, 1972 Volume 7: Calendar for Engagements, 1973 Volume 8: Calendar for Engagements, 1974 Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Programs, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings, Box 4 Volume 1: Calendar for Engagements, 1975 Volume 2: Daily Journal, 1975 Volume 3: Daily Journal, 1976 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1976 Volume 5: Day Planner, 1977 Folder 1: Correspondence, Notes, Brochures, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings, Box 5 Volume 1: Diary, 1977 Volume 2: Diary, 1978 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1978 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1979 Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings, Box 6 Volume 1: Guest Book for Paul Merriam Park Opening,

5 Volume 2: Diary, 1980 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1980 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1981 Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 3: Owls Head Transportation Museum, Box 7 Volume 1: Diary, 1981 Volume 2: Diary, 1982 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1982 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1983 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 3: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 4: Newspaper Clippings, 1983 Folder 5: Owls Head Transportation Museum, Box 8 Volume 1: Diary, 1983 Volume 2: Diary, 1984 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1984 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1985 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 3: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 4: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1985 Box 9 Volume 1: Diary, 1985 Volume 2: 50 th Anniversary Guest Book,

6 Volume 3: Diary, 1986 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1986 Folder 1: 50 th Wedding Anniversary Materials, 1985 Folder 2: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, 1986 Folder 3: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, 1986 Folder 4: Newspaper Clippings, 1986 Folder 5: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1986 Box 10 Volume 1: Appointment Book, 1987 Volume 2: Prayer Journal, 1987 Volume 3: Diary, 1987 Volume 4: Prayer Journal, 1988 Volume 5: Day Planner, 1988 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, 1987 Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 3: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 4: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1988 Box 11 Volume 1: Diary, 1988 Volume 2: Prayer Journal, 1989 Volume 3: Diary, 1989 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1989 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, 1989 Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 3: Newspaper Clippings, 1989 Folder 4: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1989 Box 12 Volume 1: Diary,

7 Volume 2: Day Planner, 1990 Volume 3: Prayer Journal, Volume 4: Diary, 1991 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, 1990 Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 3: Flyers and Event Notices, 1990 Folder 4: Newspaper Clippings, 1990 Folder 5: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1990 Box 13 Volume 1: Day Planner, 1991 Volume 2: Diary, 1992 Volume 3: Day Planner, 1992 Volume 4: Diary, 1993 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, 1992 Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 3: Flyers and Event Notices, Folder 4: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 5: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1992 Box 14 Volume 1: Day Planner, 1993 Volume 2: Art Calendar, 1994 Volume 3: Diary, 1994 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1994 Volume 5: Diary, 1995 Volume 6: Art Calendar, 1995 Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 3: Owls Head Transportation Museum,

8 Box 15 Volume 1: Weekly Minder, 1995 Volume 2: Art Calendar, 1996 Volume 3: Diary, 1996 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1996 Volume 5: Art Calendar, 1997 Volume 6: Diary, 1997 Volume 7: Day Planner, 1997 Folder 1: Correspondence, Invitations, Announcements, Notes, Notices, Flyers, Folder 2: Newspaper Clippings, Folder 3: Owls Head Transportation Museum, 1995, 1997 Box 16 Volume 1: Art Calendar, 1998 Volume 2: Day Planner, 1998 Volume 3: Art Calendar, 1999 Volume 4: Day Planner, 1999 Volume 5: Diary, 2000 Volume 6: Day Planner, 2000 Folder 1: Church Flyers and Religious Papers, Folder 2: Correspondence, Invitations, Notes, Folder 3: Flyers and Event Notices, Folder 4: Newspaper Clippings, Box 17 Volume 1: Day Planner, 2001 Volume 2: Art Calendar, 2002 Volume 3: Day Planner, 2002 Folder 1: Correspondence 1952 Obstetrics Claim Folder 2: Correspondence, Flyers, Notes, Folder 3: Kendall Merriam and Doris Merriam Correspondence, June 1964 December

9 Folder 4: Parker Merriam II, Folder 5: Miscellaneous Correspondence, Notes, Newspaper Clippings, Poetry, Box 18 Folder 1: Journal of the Paul D. Merriam Family of Rockland, Maine (Typed in 1975) Folder 2: Merriam Journals, Transcribed 1975 Folder 3: Merriam Journals, Transcribed 1975 Folder 4: 1959 Merriam Journal, Transcribed 1976 Folder 5: 1959 Merriam Journal cont d, Transcribed 1976 Folder 6: 1960 Merriam Journal, Transcribed 1976 Folder 7: 1960 Merriam Journal cont d, Transcribed Folder 8: Notes, Box 19 Folder 1: Family Photographs, ca s Folder 2: Family Photographs, ca. 1970s 2000s Folder 3: Whistle 9