The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Emma Bickham Pitcher Papers 1930s-2010
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| Title: | Pitcher, Emma Bickham. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1930s-2010 |
| Size: | 0.25 linear feet (1 box) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Emma Bickham Pitcher (1915-2010) University of Chicago Administrator and Naturalist. Papers contain family correspondence, writings, and documentation of Pitcher’s work as a naturalist and conservationist. |
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Pitcher, Emma Bickham. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Emma Bickham “Bickie” Pitcher was born on September 20, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois, to Edith (Reid) and Martin Hayes Bickham. Her father was a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and an influential figure in urban affairs. Emma graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, and spent two years at Grinnell College, Iowa, before graduating from the University of Chicago in 1937. A year later, Emma married W. Alvin Pitcher, a professor, minister, and social justice activist in the south side of Chicago. They had four children, Hugh Carol, Betsy, Charles Rhoda, and Cathy Cameron.
After ten years away from Hyde Park, the family returned to the University of Chicago, where Alvin pursued a professorial career at the Divinity School. In 1964, Emma began working as a secretary for the university. The couple divorced in 1971.
Ten years later, Emma retired from the University of Chicago as Dean of Students for the Graduate School of Business. After retiring, Emma moved to Michigan and began pursuing her lifelong interest as a naturalist. In June of 1987, Emma published Up and Down the Dunes with the publisher Shirley Heinze Environmental. Later, Emma would publish two other books, Off the Woods and Other Things (1996) and Ramblings: Reflections on Nature (2001), both with Beech Leaf Press. Emma passed away in 2010 at the age of ninety-four.
The Emma Bickham Pitcher Papers contain family correspondence, Pitcher’s writings, and other documentation of her work as a naturalist and writer. Letters from 1946 to 1954 are written by Emma Bickham Pitcher and her children Hugh, Betsy, and Charles wrote to their husband and father W. Alvin Pitcher while he pursued graduate education at the University of Chicago.
Martin Hayes Bickham. Papers
W. Alvin Pitcher. Papers
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Family correspondence, 1946-1949 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Family correspondence, 1950 |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Family correspondence, 1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Family correspondence, circa 1946-1954 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Christmas letters, 1952, 1961 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | “Nature’s Way,” newspaper columns, 1999-2002 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Awards, 2002-2009 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | The Woods at Friendship Village, Kalamazoo, MI, 2008 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Articles about Emma Bickham Pitcher, 1930s, 1992-2010 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Notes and writings, 1954-2007 |