Dakin, Janet Wilder.
Dakin papers,
1931-1995.
Manuscript Collection: MS 0674
1
box
Agency History/Biographical note:
Janet Frances Wilder was born on June 3, 1910, in Berkeley,
California to Amos Parker Wilder and Isabella Niven Wilder. Her
father was a consul general in China and then the editor of the New
Haven "Journal Courier." She attended high school in New Haven,
Connecticut. She then went to Mount Holyoke College from 1929-1933,
graduating magna cum laude with a degree in zoology. She earned her
M.A. in zoology from Mount Holyoke College in 1935 and her Ph.D. from
the University of Chicago in 1939. After graduating from the
University of Chicago, she returned to Mount Holyoke College as an
instructor of zoology. She retired from teaching in 1941 after
marrying Winthrop S. Dakin, a lawyer and later a trustee of Hampshire
College. She was very active in civic and alumnae organizations.
Dakin pushed for state and federal legislative action for the
preservation of open land for wildlife, and for recreational and
educational purposes. She was the first chairperson of the Blue
Start Highway, a beautification project for Route 1 in Massachusetts.
Dakin became interested in parliamentary process through her work
with the League of Women Voters and became a Certified Professional
Parliamentarian of the American Institute of Parliamentarians. She
served as parliamentarian for conventions of the League of Women
Voters and for the Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College. She
also served on the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center Steering
Committee. Dakin was a charter member of the Amherst Conservation
Commission from 1962-1974, which worked to preserve the Holyoke
Range. In 1970, she founded and served as Executive Director of the
Kestrel Trust, a private land trust which acquired land in
neighboring communities for conservation purposes as a part of the
Conservation Commission. Dakin also raised and rode horses, and in
the 1950s she wrote a series of articles for "Morgan Horse Magazine"
in which she described her experiences raising a Morgan horse. These
articles were published in 1990 as a book called "Jeffy's Journal."
In 1979 she raised $250,000 from private funds for the Equine Center
Project at the University of Massachusetts. The Dakins later donated
their Amherst home and the surrounding land to the University of
Massachusetts. In 1982 she founded Friends of Amherst's Stray
Animals. Dakin received many awards for her work, including the
Volunteer Achievement Award from the Mount Holyoke Alumnae
Association in 1975 and the Conservation Award from The Trustees of
Reservations in 1978. She died on October 7, 1994 in Amherst,
Massachusetts, at the age of eighty-four.
Scope and Content:
The Janet Frances Wilder Dakin Papers consist of course records,
writings, Christianna Smith Retirement Gift Fund Records,
Parliamentarian's Records for the Alumnae Association of Mount
Holyoke College, Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center Steering
Committee Records, biographical information, and photographs. The
course records reflect Dakin's course work as an undergraduate at
Mount Holyoke College. They are for courses in art and zoology,
taken 1931-1932, and they consist of studio work, notes, and
laboratory drawings. The course records from the University of
Chicago date from 1936-ca. 1939 and include a paper written by Dakin
and a notebook filled with data, charts, and graphs from Dakin's
research on elodea and yeast. Dakin's writings include several
published papers reflecting her studies of insect life, 1936-1940.
Her writings also include a book review, 1938, an autobiographical
sketch, ca. 1976, and a class letter written for the fiftieth reunion
of her Class of 1933 at Mount Holyoke College in 1983. The
Christianna Smith Retirement Gift Fund Records contain financial
records listing contributors' names, their donations, and expenses
and deposits for the fund, which was set up to honor a member of the
Mount Holyoke College faculty. The Parliamentarian's Records reflect
Dakin's work as Parliamentarian for the Alumnae Association of Mount
Holyoke College, 1967-1976, and include her reviews of various
Alumnae Association documents as well as a job description of Alumnae
Association Parliamentarian, probably written by Dakin. The Mount
Holyoke College Equestrian Center Steering Committee Records consist
of plans, progress reports, agenda, drafts, and correspondence
relating to the planning for and construction of an equestrian center
at Mount Holyoke College, 1983-1986. The biographical information
dates from 1933-1995 and chiefly consists of newspaper clippings
concerning Dakin's engagement, marriage, environmental work, awards,
donation of property to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst,
her book, "Jeffy's Journal," and her death. The photographs consist
of two copies of her senior photograph taken at Mount Holyoke
College, 1933, and a formal photograph taken in about 1975.
Cite as: Janet Wilder Dakin Papers, Mount Holyoke College,
Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley,
MA
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Series List:
- Course Records: Mount Holyoke College
, 1931-1932
, 3 folders
- Course Records: University of Chicago
, 1936-ca. 1939
, 3 folders
- Writings
, 1936-1940, ca. 1976, 1983
, 2 folders
- Christianna Smith Retirement Gift Fund
Records
, 1958
, 1 folder
- Parliamentarian's Records: Alumnae
Association of Mount Holyoke College
, 1967-1976
, 1 folder
- Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center
Steering Committee Records
, 1983-1986
, 1 folder
- Biographical Information
, 1933-1995
, 1 folder
- Photographs
, 1933, ca. 1975
, 1 folder
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