Lorraine W. Benner Papers, 1956-1995.
General International Standard for Archival Description
Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
Finding aid generated in MARC format from database, then encoded using Perl scripts and XSL stylesheet. 2004-04-06
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Lorraine W. Benner Papers
Benner, Lorraine W., 1906-1995.
Biographical History for: Lorraine W. Benner Papers
Biographical Note Lorraine Wineow Benner was born July 30, 1906 in Schenectedy, New York, and served on the faculty of Mount Holyoke College from 1951-1972 in the Department of Psychology and Education. Benner received her diploma from the Illman Kindergarten-Primary Training School in Philadelphia, and taught kindergarten in Longmeadow, Massachusetts from 1929-1943. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education in 1941 from Boston University and her Master of Arts degree in Child Development in 1945 from Teachers College at Columbia University. During her leave of absence in 1940-1941 from her position as a kindergarten teacher in Longmeadow, Benner received the one fellowship awarded annually by the Association for Childhood Education International and worked as a staff member at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. She remained actively involved with the Association thereafter. Benner taught Education at Wheelock College and Smith College between 1943 and 1951. In 1951 she was hired to teach in the Psychology and Education Department and to direct the Gorse Child Study Center at Mount Holyoke College. Benner received a Fulbright grant in 1957 to be a visiting lecturer in Child Development and Family Relations at Ochanomizu Women's University in Tokyo, Japan. In 1964-1965, Benner taught at Women's Christian College in Madras, India, as one of five American professors selected to participate in the newly established US-India Women's College Exchange Program. On sabbatical from Mount Holyoke College in 1966 and 1967, she used a faculty grant to study children in the Himalayan Mountain Region. In addition to her responsibilities at Mount Holyoke, Benner was involved with many communities and organizations related to child development and early childhood education. She consulted with Head Start, an early education teacher training program, and lectured abroad and regionally. Following her retirement in 1972, she remained active in local and regional organizations relating to her academic field until her death on February 10, 1995 in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Lorraine Wineow Benner papers are made up of correspondence, travel diaries, biographical material, and photographs. Her correspondence consists of several letters by Benner and numerous letters from former host family and students at Ochanomizu Women's University, Tokyo, Japan (1958-1960). Twelve diaries reflect her experiences as a teacher and traveler in Europe (1956), Japan (1958), Scandinavia (1961), India (1964-1967), Germany (1971), and Greece (1973). Biographical material includes a resume, articles and clippings, sketches, and documents relating to her memorial service. The collection concludes with two undated photographs.
College teachers - Massachusetts - South Hadley.
lcsh
College students - India.
College students - Japan.
Women college teachers - Massachusetts.
Women college students - India.
Women college students - Japan.
Voyages and travels.
Women travelers.
Early childhood education - Study and teaching.
Ochanomizu Joshi Daigaku.
lcnaf
Women's Christian College (Madras, India)
Himalaya Mountains Region - Description and travel.
aat
series
Correspondence, 1957-1965
This series contains letters to Lorraine Benner (many written on rice paper) between 1958 and 1960 from host family, Hatsuko Kato, and former students Benner taught while on a Fulbright grant at Ochanomizu Women's University, Tokyo, Japan. Most letters from students are written in English, those from host are written in Japanese and translated by Mount Holyoke student Reiko Tochih Correspondents include Sumiko Uike Yamashita, Class of 1953, Reiko Tochihara, Hatsuka Kato, Etsuko Nakamura, Mineku Kiku, Masako Kagihora, and Makoto Tsumori. The letters are chiefly formal and include letters of welcome and letters documenting daily activities. This series also includes two letters by Benner to Elaine Weygand, Secretary to the President of Mount Holyoke College. These letters, written from India in 1964 and 1965, relate to Benner's work at the Women's Christian College in Madras.
Unrestricted
Travel Diaries, 1956-1973
This series contains twelve travel diaries of Lorraine Benner from 1956-1973. The format for all is similar: date, location, and weather are all indicated. Writings are generally concise and descriptive accounts of her day, including names of people and places seen or visited, meals, and activities. Four diaries recount vacation travels: to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth (1956), Scandinavia (1961), Germany (1971), and Greece (1973). Three diaries document her year in Japan (1958). Five diaries document her time in India (1964-1965, 1967).
Biographical Material, circa 1954-1995
This series consists of a resume; sketches, articles, and newspaper clippings documenting Benner's career as a professor of education, including her work in Japan; her obituary; and a program of the tribute from the memorial service held in her honor in 1995.
Photographs, Undated
This series contains two photographs from the Public Relations Office at Mount Holyoke College. The first is a photograph. The second is of Benner in her role as College Marshall leading a procesion at a college ceremony.
Correspondence, November 1957-September 1958
Correspondence, October-December 1958
Correspondence, 1959
Correspondence, 1960, 1964-1965
Travel Diary, Europe, 1956
Travel Diary, Japan, 1958
Travel Diary, Scandinavia, 1961
Travel Diary, India, June-December 1964
Travel Diary, India, December 1964-May 1965
Travel Diary, India, May-June 1965
Travel Diary, India, 1967
Travel Diary, Germany, 1971
Travel Diary, Greece, 1973