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VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

 Series
Identifier: 6

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Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Claudine Harris papers date from 1903 to 2022 and measure 4 linear feet. The papers are arranged in seven series: Biographical, Personal Writing, Family Writing and Recipe Books, Correspondence, Professional, and Volunteer Activities, and Valentine Maroni.

The Biographical series contains information and artifacts about Claudine Harris' childhood, education and social life primarily dating from the 1930s-1950s. Within this series are her baby book and her school records from grade school in France through her master's degree from Radcliffe College. Also included is her application for graduate school at Radcliffe in 1947, which contains a statement written by Harris about her educational interest in Nuclear Physics.

Much of the Personal Writing series is autobiographical in nature and reflects various periods of her life. A spectacular example of this is the one page she wrote describing her reaction and the reactions of her classmates to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Some of the material in this series and the Family Writing series, originally written in French, was translated into English by Claudine Harris. In addition, this series contains Claudine Harris's personal writing based in Iowa City. She participated in the Poetry in Public project in 2009, where her poem "Blue Jeans" was displayed on an Iowa City bus. Her essays, poems and photographs written during 2006-2010 are based Iowa City and include: Imaging Iowa City, Echospace and Gilbert Street and a Half-Ten Years Later.

The Family Writing and Recipe Books series is rich in information about the Maroni family as well as the family of Claudine Harris' husband, Jim Harris. Writings by Claudine Harris' parents and a collection of poetry and essays by Jim Harris' mother, Janet S. Harris, are included. Recollections, the memoirs of Claudine Harris' brother Yves Maroni, and Looking Over My Shoulder, the memoirs of Claudine Harris' mother Valentine Maroni, complement other biographical information in the collection. The World War Two experiences of Claudine Harris' brother, Jacques Maroni, are documented in his 1940 journal. This series also contains the handwritten recipe books of Claudine Harris' mother and her maternal grandmother Yvonne Meyer-May.

The Correspondence series consists mostly of letters written during World War Two. The letters to Claudine Harris from her mother span the period 1943 to 1946. Correspondence between Claudine Harris and her brother Jacques Maroni during his service in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 is included. This series also contains letters from Claudine Harris' great uncle Hippolyte Dreyfus to his family in France during his extensive travels in the Middle East and Asia from 1903 to 1925 on behalf of Baha'I causes and during travels to the United States and North Africa. A few of the letters were written by Hippolyte Dreyfus' wife Laura Barney.

The Professional series documents Claudine Harris' employment history from 1948 to 1999, including her job searches and freelance work. Copies of her resumes are contained in this series. A large part of this series pertains to Harris' employment at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The Volunteer Activities series relates primarily to Harris' involvement in the Johnson County and Iowa chapters of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI). Included are correspondence, newspaper articles, writings by Claudine Harris, the tenth anniversary history (1985-1995) of AMI of Iowa and advocacy information pertaining to NAMI of Johnson County and NAMI Iowa.

The Valentine Maroni series consists of documents from Harris's mother written in French and English, such as personal reflections, ideas for a peace settlement, and fraternity hazing. Also included are materials from Maroni's radio shows, which explored various topics related to international affairs.

Dates

  • Creation: 1903 - 2022

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 4.00 Linear Feet (Photographs in boxes 1 and 9.)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)