Delphine Hurst Parsons papers

The Delphine Hurst Parsons Papers, 1923-1976, bulk 1923-1931, consist of one legal size half-Hollinger box containing folders of loose documents, two Hollinger boxes containing seven yearbooks from Maury High School and the State Teachers College, and three oversize flat storage boxes housing two scrapbooks and newspapers. Except for three yearbooks belonging to Nellie Cowan, this collection contains only papers created and collected by Delphine Hurst. The collection contains paper ephemera such as tickets, programs, calling cards, and nametags as well as correspondence, newspapers, and memorabilia acquired during Hurst’s time spent at Maury High School (Norfolk, Virginia) and the State Teachers College in Harrisonburg. As such, virtually all of the material contained within covers a time period from 1923 to 1931. Two items fall outside of this time period: one vinyl record of the Madison College Choir Concert of 1966 and a single photograph from a 1976 reunion of STC students featuring Delphine Hurst and Nellie Cowan alongside several other former classmates.

Much of the correspondence contained within pertains directly to club, sorority, and academic activities; there is little personal (i.e. non-school related) correspondence. The bulk of the papers from Hurst’s high school years (1924-1927) are contained in a green scrapbook. From her high school years, Hurst collected newspaper clippings covering Maury High School athletics, theater productions, debate club, and student academic activities. Hurst also collected postcards, brochures, and newspaper clippings pertaining to Camp Owaisa, a now-defunct YWCA camp in Virginia Beach. Loose and oversized items found within the front cover, back cover, and pages of the high school scrapbook were removed and placed within separate folders that are housed alongside the scrapbook in a flat storage box.

While attending the State Teachers College, Hurst collected dance cards from the Cotillion Club, score cards from the Debate Club, newspaper clippings covering the Glee Club, photos of campus and of classmates, notes and letters pertaining to student government, numerous playbills and programs from student theatrical productions, written feedback on her student teaching performance, letters relating to the Kappa Delta Pi honor society, and programs from university events such as alumnae banquets and the Wilson Hall dedication on 1931 (an event at which Hurst, the sitting senior class president, delivered an address). Most STC-related documents are secured within a blue scrapbook, while loose documents are organized by topic and housed within a single legal size half-Hollinger box.

The Hurst Parsons Papers also contains several issues of The Breeze from the years 1930 and 1931, as well as issues of the Baltimore American (5/24/1931), Norfolk Ledger Dispatch (5/27/1931), Daily News-Record (5/16/1931), and a special insert from the Alexandria Gazette (10/1931) dedicated to the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth. Newspapers are housed within a single flat storage box. The vinyl record of the Madison College Choir Concert of 1966 is housed with the newspapers.

Rounding out the Delphine Hurst Parsons Papers are four yearbooks from Maury High School, entitled The Commodore, as well as three Schoolma’am yearbooks from STC. As indicated by signatures within the yearbooks, Delphine Hurst owned the following: The Commodore 1925, 1926, and 1927 as well as the Schoolma’am of 1931. Nellie Cowan owned The Commodore of 1927 and the Schoolma’am of 1928 and 1929. These yearbooks contain the signatures of their owners as well as well-wishes of classmates. Though few loose items were found within the pages of these yearbooks, some are of note, including a pamphlet by John W. Wayland entitled A Bird’s-Eye View of the Shenandoah Valley with Map and a program from the State Teachers College commencement exercises of June 7, 1931.