IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
MURIEL ANNE DRYDEN (1911-1993)
PAPERS, 1935-1990
2.5 linear feet
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers
(donor no. 284) were donated by Jean Henderson in 1995. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers
are open for research. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In box 2 and oversize. |
|
PROCESSED BY: |
Heather Ritchie, 1995. |
Biography
Muriel Anne Dryden was born
on December 26, 1911 to Clifford and Grace Dryden. The eldest of four sisters, Dryden grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, and
graduated from East High in 1930. She
attended business college in Des Moines as well as communications school to
qualify for duty in World War II.
Dryden's professional career was spent in
governmental service. In 1944, she
joined the Office of War Information and continued her employment with the
United States government until her retirement in 1974. She spent twelve years in New York City
working in communications for the Office of War Information, the United States
Mission to the United Nations and the Voice of America (VOA). Most of her work during these positions
involved handling news desk copy. In
1956, she moved to Washington, D.C. with the VOA under the wing of the United
States Information Agency (USIA). She
transferred to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, taking a
position in a research library in 1962.
From 1969 to 1974, she spent five years at the White House during the
Nixon administration as a mail analyst in the Executive Office Building.
Throughout her professional career in Washington,
Dryden worked at the Washington bureau for several newspapers including Newsweek, The Christian Science Monitor,
and The Baltimore Sun. In these positions, she moonlighted as a
part-time teletypist responsible for minor editing on both government and
private-sector news items.
Upon retirement from the White House in 1974, Dryden
wrote but did not finish a book about Dr. George Lamsa and his translation of
the Holy Bible from the Aramaic language. The book remains unpublished.
Dryden passed away on December 14, 1993.
Scope and
Content Note
The Muriel Anne Dryden papers date from 1935 to 1990 and measure 2.5 linear feet. The
papers »are arranged in five series:
Personal, Professional, Writings, Newspaper clippings, and
Photographs. The bulk of the papers
document Dryden's personal life through photographs and memorabilia as well as
her work on a book about the translation of the Holy Bible from Aramaic and the
cultural history of the peoples of Kurdistan.
The Personal series
(1935-1990 and undated) contains family memoirs, personal correspondence, a
journal discussing Dryden's social and political views, school memorabilia and
travel logs from her journeys to England.
The personal correspondence provides insight into Dryden's political
views, especially in the "letters to the editor" correspondence. One noteworthy item is a draft of a letter to
Julie Nixon discussing Dryden's personal perspective of Watergate as "an
injustice of the entire show which is all it was" (Correspondence,
Personal, 1984-1990 and undated). This
appears to be the only place in the collection where Watergate is mentioned.
The Professional series (1944-1985 and undated) encompasses
Dryden's years as a government employee.
This series has abundant personnel records from her employment,
including a "Security Investigation" document. This series also contains some of the social
invitations she received from the White House and prominent Republican Party
politicians.
The Writings series (1958,
1976-1986 and undated) includes two written chapters of the book and copious
notes from which the manuscript would have been written. The notes cover a broad scope, ranging from
the Aramaic language, to Eastern thought and expression, to descriptions of
Assyria. This series also contains the
paper "Eastern Scriptures in Western Language" written by Dryden on
the subject she was expanding upon to create the book. This series also contains two unpublished
articles.
The
Newspaper clippings series (1960-1976 and undated) includes a few
articles written by Dryden as well as articles on her participation in notable
choral performances with Duke Ellington and for President Eisenhower at the
White House.
The Photographs series
(1938-1981 and undated) consists primarily of personal photographs of family
and friends, along with a few professional photographs of Dryden in various
places of employment. An autographed
photograph of President Nixon and his staff is also included.
Related
Collections
Pauline Lyon papers, Muriel
Anne Dryden's sister
Box no. Description
Box 1
Personal
Biography, 1981
Bradley, Jean (cousin’s
wife), memorial service, 1984
Correspondence
Personal, 1984-1990 and
undated (scattered)
Christmas greeting letters,
1969-1985 and undated
Eisenhower on board the
R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, 1963
Choral Performances
Duke Ellington concert, 1970
White House (Eisenhower),
1960
Family memoirs, undated
Journal, undated
Personal memorabilia, 1946
and undated
School memorabilia
School transcripts,
1935-1960 (scattered)
Graduation announcement
High School Reunions, 1970,
1984
Travel logs to England, 1963
and 1968 [oversize: in box 5]
Professional
Correspondence, 1976
Employment
Personnel records
Job transfers, 1944-1970
Performance ratings,
1944-1960
Recognition awards
United States Information
Agency job, 1960 and undated
Department of Health, Education
and Welfare, 1963, 1965 and 1968
Memorabilia, undated
Radio operator permit, 1944
Social invitations
White House, 1970-1973
Inaugural committee, 1973
White House
Memorabilia, 1985 and
undated
Retirement scrapbook,
1974 [oversize: in box 5]
Box
2
Writings
Articles, 1986 and undated
Unpublished book
Query letters for
publication, 1976-1978 and undated
Synopsis of authorship,
undated
Paper, "Eastern
Scriptures in Western Language," 1958
Manuscript and book notes,
undated
Preface and forward
Chapters one and two
Assyria
The Eastern Church
Aramaic language
Scriptures from the Peshitta
Greek influence on Eastern
thought
Eastern thought and
expression
Language and history of
Bible
Evangelical Missions
Aramaic and Semitic
languages
Box
3
Bibliography references
Biblical references, A-Z,
undated
Book references, A-Z,
undated
Box
4
Newspaper clippings
Articles written by Dryden,
1976
Choral performances
Duke Ellington concert, 1970
Eisenhower at the White
House, 1960
Henderson, Jean Lois (sister)
marriage, undated
White House mail analyst,
undated
Photographs
People
Bradley (paternal family)
and Dryden, early photographs, 1938, 1946 and undated
Dryden, Clifford M. and
Grace T. (father and mother), undated
Dryden, Muriel Anne, undated
Early family photographs,
undated
Friends and family,
identified, 1945-1963 and undated (scattered)
Friends and family,
unidentified, 1945-1981, scattered and undated
Henderson, Jean, wedding,
(sister), undated
Reinhold, Marjorie; Lyon,
Pauline; and Henderson, Lois Jean (sisters), 1961 and undated
Lyon, Pauline and James,
(sister and brother-in-law), 1940-1978 (scattered)
World War II and family,
undated
President Nixon and Prince
Charles of Wales, undated
Places
Minnesota, undated
New York, undated
Washington, D.C., 1955
Professional
Undated (President Nixon and
White House staff, [oversize: in box 5])
Box
5
Oversize:
Personal
Travel logs to England, 1963
and 1968
Professional
White House
Retirement scrapbook, 1974
Photographs
Professional
President Nixon and White
House staff, undated