Iowa Women's Archives
MARJORIE MASON (1913- ) PAPERS, 1960s-1995
BiographyMarjorie Walker Mason was born December 13, 1913 in Mound City, Missouri, the daughter of John and Lora Walker. She was the fourth daughter and was followed by one brother. Her father was a Methodist minister and because of his profession, the family moved to a new community every two to four years. The longest they lived in any town was five years spent in Rolf, Iowa. The family was very close-knit and worked hard to provide themselves with food and clothing during the Great Depression and war years. The women of the family were active in the Ladies Aid and other church organizations. Lora Walker often took the pulpit and preached for her husband when he was sick. When Marjorie Walker was fifteen the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where she graduated from East High School in 1930. Marjorie Walker received her bachelor’s degree and her certificate in teaching from Morningside College in Sioux City and then taught third through fifth grades and high school English, speech and music in Harcourt, Iowa. This proved to be very stressful and she decided to leave public teaching and attend business college for eighteen months in Sioux City. At twenty-five, Marjorie Walker met and married Elmer Mason in Des Moines. Because of her poor health following the birth of two sons, her doctor advised the family to move to Texas. In Texas the family adopted a son. Elmer Mason worked driving trucks and Marjorie Mason held various jobs. She worked as a dressmaker, for an insurance company, and as a secretary/bookkeeper at a cotton press for fifteen years, and taught English at Laredo Junior College. Marjorie and Elmer Mason converted to the Mormon Church in 1964. After her retirement from Laredo, Marjorie Mason attended classes and received her master’s degree, continuing to teach while she wrote her master’s thesis. The Masons eventually moved to Zapata, Texas, where Marjorie Mason wrote a column called “Etcetera” for the Zapata County News. A few years later, the Masons retired to Iowa, where Marjorie Mason concentrated on writing poetry. Scope and Content NoteThe Marjorie Mason papers date from the 1960s to 1995 and measure seven linear inches. The papers are arranged in the following series: Photographs, Interview, Family Essays, Newspaper Columns, Poems, Short Stories, and Books. There are two undated Photographs of Marjorie Mason. The Interview series consists of a 1995 interview by Helen Gunderson with Marjorie Mason. Mason talks to Gunderson about her childhood as a minister’s daughter, her faith, and her writing. The Family Essays series consists of twelve essays written about various members of Mason’s family, including her mother, father, aunt, sisters, and ancestors. Included is a memoir written by her sister Charlotte Walker Baker and a newspaper clipping of her brother Harvey Walker. The essays include the history of her family, and the impact of the Great Depression and World War Two on her family’s life and work. The Newspaper Columns (1981-86) consist of Mason’s weekly columns in the Zapata County News, in Zapata, Texas. Her column, “Etcetera,” contained an eclectic mix of humor, advice, life stories, and discussion of various issues. The Poems series consists of poems and limericks written by Mason about a wide variety of topics, including Texas, family, music, nature, and religion. The Short Stories include short fiction and children’s stories, mostly written while Mason was attending graduate school. Two Books complete the collection: Easy Lessons in English, a workbook written by Marjorie Mason to aid in the teaching of basic English grammar, and The Brewer of Old What and Other Poems , a book of poetry, letters, and other writings by Mason’s grandmother Emma Bassett Hennessey edited by Marjorie Mason.
general information | history and mission | collections | reference services | news and events | home For more information about this collection contact the Iowa Women's Archives. Iowa Women’s Archives, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City IA 52242. Page created April 2007. |
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