Pratt, Gladys F.
Pratt papers,
ca. 1909-1986.
Manuscript Collection: MS 0707
2
boxes
Agency History/Biographical note:
Gladys Ford Pratt was born on January 16, 1892 in Westfield,
Massachusetts. She was the daughter of George F., a whipmaker, and
Erminia Ford Pratt. After graduating from Westfield High School, she
enrolled in Mount Holyoke College in 1910. She majored in English
Literature and history and was a Sarah Williston Scholar and a member
of Phi Beta Kappa. In her junior year, she composed the music to the
school's Alma Mater, which is still sung today. After graduating in
1914, she worked as an assistant in the College library. She
attended Simmons College in July and August 1916, then left Mount
Holyoke to enroll in George Washington University to study the
history of art. While in Washington, she was a cataloger at the
Smithsonian Institution Library. In February 1920, she became
librarian at the Women's College in Delaware. In 1922-1923, 1930,
and 1931 she studied library science at the University of Illinois,
receiving an M.A. in 1931. She was a cataloger at the University of
Illinois in 1922-23, an assistant at the Springfield, Massachusetts
library in 1923-24 and librarian at the State Teachers College in
Westfield, Massachusetts in 1924-1941. From 1941 to her retirement
in 1957, she worked as a librarian at the State Teachers College in
Framingham. From 1950-1978, she participated in the Framingham Heart
Study. She moved back to South Hadley, Massachusetts after her
retirement and worked part time organizing the library for the School
of Nursing at Holyoke (Massachusetts) Hospital. She died on November
18, 1986 at the age of ninety-four in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Scope and Content:
The Gladys Ford Pratt Papers consist of diaries, correspondence,
original writings, biographical information, memorabilia and
photographs dating from ca. 1909-1986. Of particular significance
are four diaries written while Pratt was a student at Mount Holyoke
College, 1912-1913, and during her travels in the United States,
Europe and the Caribbean dating from 1939-1967. The Mount Holyoke
College diary contains descriptions of daily activities, domestic
work, her studies, her thoughts on Sunday sermons, and her social
life. The travel diaries describe trips to the southern United
States in 1939, the western United States in 1954, Italy, Austria,
Switzerland, France, and England in 1964, and a Caribbean cruise in
1967. The last diary contains short daily entries from 1972.
Correspondence includes letters to Pratt from personal friends dating
from 1961-1979. A letter by Pratt is dated March 3, 1981. Pratt's
writings includes psalms, sermons, plays and the musical notes for
the Mount Holyoke "Alma Mater." The collection includes
correspondence and other documents reflecting Pratt's participation
in the Framingham Heart Study, 1950-1978. The biographical
information consists of a biographical note dating from 1924 and an
obituary from 1986. Photographs range from ca. 1909-1979 and include
formal portraits as well as informal photographs of Pratt alone and
with others. There is a photograph of Pratt while she was a student
at Mount Holyoke College, there are photographs of her at Mount
Holyoke College reunions.
Cite as: Gladys F. Pratt Papers, Mount Holyoke College
Archives and Special Collection, South Hadley,
MA.
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Series List:
- Diaries
, 1912-1972
, 4 folders
- Correspondence
, 1961-1981
, 1 folder
- Writings
, 1913-1970
, 1 folder
- Framingham Heart Study Participant Records
, 1950-1978
, 1 folder
- Biographical Information
, 1924, 1986
, 1 folder
- Memorabilia
, ca. 1914-1957
, 2 folders
- Photographs
, ca. 1909-1979
, 1 folder
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