MARY FRANCES REGER-WILKINSON
(1909-2006)
PAPERS, 1942-2002
5 linear inches
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ACQUISITION: |
The Mary
Frances Reger-Wilkinson papers
(donor no. 869) were donated by Mary Frances Reger-Wilkinson in 2002. |
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ACCESS: |
The papers are open
for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa. |
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PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In |
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PROCESSED BY: |
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Biography
Mary
Frances Reger was born in
Mary
Frances Reger began school a year early so that she could share the same bench
and textbook with her brother. Anxious
for their children to have a good education, Georgia and Francis Reger packed
all their belongings in a freight car and moved the family to
While
her husband served in the South Pacific in World War II, Reger-Wilkinson joined
the American National Red Cross, Military and Naval Welfare Department. Reger-Wilkinson served as the director of
social and recreational programs both in the field and in hospitals. This duty took her from the Midwest to
Following
her retirement, Reger-Wilkinson divided her time between classes at
Bernard
Wilkinson, Reger-Wilkinson’s husband, died in 1962. Their son, George, died in 1993.
Scope and
Content Note
The Mary Frances Reger-Wilkinson papers date from 1942 to 2002 and measure 5
linear inches. The papers are organized
into several folders. Biography includes an autobiographical essay
Reger-Wilkinson wrote in 2002, a 1983 article about Reger-Wilkinson from California
Senior Citizen and obituaries for Reger-Wilkinson’s brother and
sister-in-law, Charles Kenneth Reger and Marjorie Frazier Reger. The American Red Cross folder contains
general information about the organization that Reger-Wilkinson collected
between 1945 and 1997, including newspaper articles, brochures and The Red
Cross Courier. Also included are two
small plaques Reger-Wilkinson received in appreciation for her service to The
American Red Cross.
The bulk of the Reger-Wilkinson
papers consists of her World War II diary and scrapbook. In later life, Reger-Wilkinson would regret
that she did not keep a detailed journal during the war years, however she did
maintain a minimal record of her days in a diary titled “My Life in the
Service,” that was clearly designed for a male soldier. She also saved newspaper articles and
photographs. From the 1970s through the
1990s, Reger-Wilkinson recounted her experiences during World War II in a
series of essays and short reminiscences.
She combined these essays with the photographs and newspaper articles to
create a scrapbook, “World War II – Mary Frances (Reger) Wilkinson and the
American National Red Cross-Military and Naval Welfare.” Because of its fragile condition, the
scrapbook was photocopied and photographs and artifacts were placed in separate
folders. The original pages of the
scrapbook are in ten folders that follow Reger-Wilkinson’s original order. The photocopied scrapbook, the photographs,
and the artifacts follow. Of particular
interest is information about the hospital program Reger-Wilkinson designed in
her capacity as assistant field director with the American Red Cross, her
memory of visiting a Japanese internment camp, descriptions of both her trip
from Iowa City, Iowa to Los Angeles California via train and her husband
Bernard Wilkinson’s same trip via automobile on Route 66, and the final
narrative report Reger-Wilkinson wrote upon dismantling Camp Callan in 1945.
Photographs
consists of both personal and occupational photographs taken during World
War II. There are several of Reger-Wilkinson
and her brother Charles Kenneth “Kenny” Reger, and Reger-Wilkinson with other
family members and friends. The only
photograph of Bernard Wilkinson, Reger-Wilkinson’s husband, was taken at their
residence following the end of the war.
Apparently Reger-Wilkinson took the photograph herself. Many of the
photographs are of American Red Cross staff and volunteers Reger-Wilkinson
worked with at the various camps where she was stationed. Artifacts include American Red Cross
buttons, badges and pins and Reger-Wilkinson’s dog tags.
Box no. Description
The American Red Cross, 1945-1946, 1996-1997 and undated
Correspondence, 1942 and 1999
Newspaper clippings and articles, 1995-2002 and undated
World War II diary, 1942-1947
World War II scrapbook, 1942-1946 (10 folders)
Table of contents and introductory material
The
trip to
Port of
Letters of Commendation, 1944-1945
The War is Over
World War II Experience-Reflections
World War II scrapbook, 1942-1946 [photocopy]
Photographs, 1942-1946, 1994 and undated
Artifacts, 1940s