Use Restrictions

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).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for 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.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Pearl Haldeman Stickley Papers, 1910-1962 (bulk 1910-1915), SC 0295, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated in June 2019 by William M. Beck, great nephew of Pearl Haldeman Stickley.

Bio/Historical Note

Anna Pearl Haldeman Stickley (1892-1991) was born to Jacob Shem Haldeman and Anna Metz Haldeman at Evandale, near Winchester, Virginia. She matriculated at the State Normal and Industrial School at Harrisonburg in 1909 and graduated in 1912 after completing the kindergarten training curriculum. During her time at the Harrisonburg Normal School, Pearl was a member of the Pinquet Tennis Club, Senior Basketball Team, Glee Club, Kindergarten Club, Lee Literary Society and YWCA, serving as its secretary from 1911-1912. Pearl married Claude Benjamin Stickley in 1921. She received her M.A. from Columbia University and was a teacher and librarian. She was an active alumni and returned to campus many times after graduation as is documented in this collection. Pearl's sister, Emily Haldeman Beck, and sister-in-law, Marguerite Goodman Haldeman, also graduated from the State Normal School.

Scope and Content

The Pearl Haldeman Stickley Papers, 1910-1962 (bulk 1910-1915), document Stickley's time as a student at and alumni of the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg.

Two scrapbooks, referred to by Pearl as a Memory Book and Good Times Book respectively, include concert and recital programs, theater programs including Shakespeare performances by the Coburn Players, commencement programs, student handbooks, program and report cards, cards and letters, invitations, ticket stubs, napkins, materials related to the Harrisonburg Presbyterian Church, newspaper clippings, and other assorted ephemera. Many of the items are annotated with funny musings by Pearl. Some of the printed ephemera is from Winchester, Pearl's hometown, and likely documents events she attended while visiting friends or family while a student in Harrisonburg and also after she returned home after graduation. Programs from the Fort Loudon Seminary and Empire Theater are included.

Items of interest include a list of senior class privileges dated October 23, 1911, located in the 1910-1912 scrapbook. Additionally, the 1912-1914 scrapbook, which post-dates Pearl's graduation and primarily documents as an alumni, includes a shard of glass from the bottle that was used to christen Dormitory No. 1 in June 1913. This christening was part of the ceremony changing the name of Dormitory No. 1 to Burruss Hall. Julian Burruss objected to the name, asserting that campus buildings should not be named honorifically after a living person, and the dorm was named Jackson Hall in 1918. This same scrapbook includes a program documenting the June 8, 1914 laying of the corner stone for the Student's Building (Harrison Hall). Pearl noted in her scrapbook that the sun was particularly hot that day, but attendees were not allowed to wear hats or hold parasols. Pearl returned to campus in 1915 and, as a representative of the class of 1912, gave her personal reminiscences as part of the June 7 Alumnae Banquet. The banquet program and Pearl's speech are included. Materials related to Pearl's involvement in the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), including her membership card, are also located in the 1912-1914 scrapbook.

A folder of loose ephemera comprises photographs (including a portrait photograph of Pearl Haldeman Stickley), correspondence, event programs, and other sundry ephemera.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Separated Material

Four copies of The Schoolma'am , 1910-1913, were removed and added to Special Collections yearbook holdings. One copy of the 1912 Normal Bulletin was removed and added to Special Collections' holdings. Jacob Metz and His Descendants (1974) was removed from the collection and cataloged separately as part of Special Collections rare book holdings.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Beck, William M.
• Concert programs
• Harrisonburg (Va.) -- History
• James Madison University -- Students -- History
• Letters (correspondence)
• Photographs
• Printed Ephemera
• Programs (documents)
• Report Cards
• Scrapbooks
• State Normal and Industrial School for Women (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- Alumni and alumnae
• State Normal and Industrial School for Women (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- Buildings
• State Normal and Industrial School for Women (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- History
• State Normal and Industrial School for Women (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- Students
• State Normal and Industrial School for Women (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- Students -- Social life and customs
• Theater programs