Helen Lepper Diary, 1928-1931

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Lovin, Helen, 1909-2000.
Title
Helen Lepper Diary
Dates
1928-1931 (inclusive)
Quantity
0.05 cubic foot, (1 box)
Collection Number
MSS Lepper
Summary
The Helen Lepper Diary documents the daily activities of Lepper during her student years at Oregon State College. Helen Marie Lepper attended Oregon State from 1927 until 1930 and studied music.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Helen Marie Lepper, from Portland, Oregon, enrolled at Oregon State College in the fall of 1927 and studied music. Lepper was active in the Oregon State chapter of Euterpe, the honorary society for women in music. She withdrew in April 1930 and did not complete a degree at Oregon State. During her sophomore year, she met fellow student Clarence Lovin. They were married in 1931. Helen Marie Lepper was born in San Francisco on March 6, 1909; she attended St. Mary's Academy in Portland, where she graduated in 1927. Helen Lepper Lovin died in Portland, Oregon on August 31, 2000.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Helen Lepper Diary is a photocopy of a 5-year diary created by Lepper during her student years at Oregon State College. Daily entries begin in January 1928 and continue through June 1931. Lepper devotes much of the diary to describing her daily activities as a student, including dates with her future husband, Clarence Lovin; classwork; her musical performances and practices; social outings with other students; attendance at campus events; interactions with Music Department instructors; and living with her aunt and uncle in Corvallis. Lillian Petri, a piano instructor, and Helen Plinkiewisch, a fellow music student, are both mentioned in the diary. The end of the diary contains a "character sketch of me"; a list of the names cited in the daily entries; "important" events in 1928-1931; and a list of friends to whom Lepper sent Christmas cards.

The diary is a 5-year diary with a separate page labeled for each day of the year (such as January 1) and spaces for entries on that page for five years.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Helen Lepper Diary (MSS Lepper), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

This photocopy was donated to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2012 by James Marsh, the son of Helen Lepper Lovin.

Related Materials

The Oscar F. Cooke Family Papers at the Oregon Historical Society include additional materials documenting Helen Lepper Lovin's student years at Oregon State as well as her later activities. The Helen E. Plinkiewisch Papers, Lillian Jeffreys Petri Collection, and Music Department Records (RG 148) document music instruction at Oregon during this time period. The Special Collections & Archives Research Center's collections include numerous collections documenting student experiences at Oregon State. Of special note from the 1920s and 1930s are the Hope Chamberlin Newspaper Columns; the Spike Sister Scrapbooks; and the Effie L. Wagner Scrapbook of the Women's Debate Tour. Other student diaries include the Edmund R. Lyman Diary, 1889-1891; Milton O Stemmler Student Diary, 1891-1896; and Bernice Forest Diary, 1916-1917.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College environment--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Music--Instruction and study--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Student activities--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Women--Education (Higher)--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon State Agricultural College--Students.
  • Oregon State College--Students.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Diaries.