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James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
880 Madison DriveTiffany Cole
The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collections Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Irene Munson Rouse Papers, 1947-1948, SC 0298, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
This collection was donated by Mary Munson Rouse Root, daughter of Irene Munson Rouse, in May 2019.
Per a note from the donor, the items comprising this collection were removed from Rouse's scrapbook which was "ruined by several adversities befalling it."
Irene Florence Munson Rouse (1928-2017) was raised in Arlington, Virginia and graduated from Madison College in 1950 with a B.S. in Education. While a student, she was an active member of the YWCA, German Club, May Court, The Breeze, Sigma Phi Lambda, and Sigma Sigma Sigma. She was also selected to represent Madison College in the annual publication Who's Who Among Students In American Colleges and Universities . Rouse was an English teacher, children's librarian, and later went on to pursue a career as an antiquarian bookseller, successfully running bookshops in Northern Virginia and Virginia's Eastern Shore. Additionally, Rouse was an artist and poet. She hosted a poetry reading series, entitled "Positively Prince Street," in her Alexandria bookshop. Rouse married William Dashiell Rouse with whom she had five children.
The Irene Munson Rouse Papers, 1947-1948, comprise printed ephemera and photographs documenting Rouse's time as a student at Madison College. Programs related to the 1947 YWCA Cabinet Retreat, the 1948 Golden Anniversary Banquet of Sigma Sigma Sigma, May Day 1948, and Religious Emphasis Week 1948 are included. A 1947 invitation requests Rouse's attendance at a Big Roundup hosted by Sigma Sigma Sigma. Six black-and-white photographs primarily document Rouse's time as a student at Madison College. Three photographs document a group of students wearing paper "G" crowns. Two photographs depict unidentified men on campus. It is likely they are Madison College day students and/or suitors of female students. One photograph depicts Rouse with an unidentified man.
The collection is arranged into two folders according to item type.