Avis Dungan Carlson donated her papers to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri-St. Louis on November 20, 1981. The papers complement collection number 419, which contains Carlson's daybooks, loaned to this repository in 1980 for microfilming.
Born in Moline, Kansas, Avis Dungan graduated from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. The summer after graduation, she married Harry G. Carlson, who she had met in college. They moved to Urbana, Illinois where both attended the University of Illinois. There Avis Carlson studied for a master's degree in English, and Harry Carlson obtained a law degree.
Harry Carlson's career as a lawyer took the family to Kansas, Washington, D.C., and to Missouri. After her arrival in St. Louis in 1946, Avis Carlson took an active role in community affairs. She served on the Citizens' Committee on Public Housing and Social Services, the St. Louis Human Rights Commission, and the Citizens Supervisory Bond Issue Committee. From 1953-1955, Avis Carlson served as president of the League of Women Voters. While a member of the Adult Education Council of Greater St. Louis in the 1960s, she organized reading and mathematics classes in the city's public housing areas.
Avis Carlson began writing poetry and articles in the 1920s. She contributed regularly to Harper's, Woman's Journal, Nation, Better Homes and Gardens, Reader's Digest, and the New Republic. In the early 1970s, Carlson wrote her first book, Small World -Long Gone (1975), describing her childhood in southwestern Kansas. Two years later, she completed In the Fullness of Time (1977), a book about aging. From 1982-1986, Avis Carlson's weekly column, "A Little Old Lady Speaks Up," apppeared in the Everyday section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Carlson died on January 2, 1987 after a brief illness.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The Avis Dungan Carlson Papers are arranged in alphabetical order. First drafts of her books, Small World - Long Gone (1975) and In the Fullness of Time (1977), make up the bulk of the
material. Small World's drafts (f. 13-19) contain autobiographical material covering the period from early childhood through Avis Dungan's wedding to Harry Carlson. Drafts for In the Fullness of Time (f. 21-31), entitled That Specter, Old Age and That Crown of Glory, discuss the process and effects of aging. The collection also includes articles on St. Genevieve, education, family and the St. Louis League of Women Voters. An appointment book, a family
genealogy, and newsclippings comprise the rest of the collection.
Avis Carlson's microfilmed daybooks comprise collection number 419. The roll contains eight volumes covering her life from 1923-1943.
FOLDER LIST
BOX 1, FOLDERS 1-26
1. Appointment Book, 1953
2. "Christmas Recollections" in St. Louisan, p. 65, December 1976
3. Diary Notes, 1953
4. "Educating the Undereducated Won't be Easy," Speech to Missouri State Adult Education Association, early 1960s
5. A Goodly Heritage, 1962
6. "A Head for My Family," n.d.
7. "The Human Family: A Way of Thinking," c.1960
8. "Laurels for the League," The Greater St. Louis Magazine, p. 29, January 1969
9. Letter about Avis Carlson's story on Edna Gellhorn, 1968
10. "Missouri is also Romantic!" (St. Genevieve), c.1950
11. Newsclippings, 1975-1976
12. "Old St. Genevieve," c.1960
13. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, "The Child," c.1975
14. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, "The Family," c.1975
15. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, "The Farm," c.1975
16. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, "The School," c.1975
17. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, The Church," c.1975
18. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, "More School," c.1975
19. Small World - Long Gone, first draft, The Wedding," c.1975
20. "Sweet are the User" in American Magazine, late 1940s
21. The Crown of Glory, first version, pp. 1-32, 1970s
22. That Crown of Glory, first version, pp. 33-63, 1970s
23. That Crown of Glory, first version, pp. 64-96, 1970s
24. That Crown of Glory, first version, pp. 97-130, 1970s
25. That Crown of Glory, first version, pp. 131-171, 1970s
26. That Crown of Glory, first version, pp. 172-215, 1970s
BOX 2, FOLDERS 27-35
27. That Specter, Old Age, pp. 1-45, 1970s
28. That Specter, Old Age, pp. 47-96, 1970s
29. That Specter, Old Age, pp. 97-130, 1970s
30. That Specter, Old Age, pp. 131-164, 1970s
31. That Specter, Old Age, pp. 165-218, 1970s
32. "Tips from a Retiree," Speech to Methodist Ministers' Conference, 1978
33. "A Woman and Her Vote," 1940s
34. The Woman's Journal, November 1928
35. "Working with People - What it Involves" by Rose Cologne and Avis Carlson, c.1947
INDEX
Aging, f. 21-22
Carlson, Avis Dungan, f. 1-35
Children, f. 2, 13-18
Dubinsky, Ed, f. 3
Dubinsky, Phyllis, f. 3
Education, f. 4
Gellhorn, Edna, f. 8-9
A Goodly Heritage, f. 5
The Greater St. Louis Magazine, f. 8
Journalism, f. 1-35
Kansas, f. 2, 13-19
"Laurels for the League," f. 8
League of Women Voters, Metropolian St. Louis Chapter, f. 1, 3, 8
Missouri State Adult Education Commission, f. 4
St. Genevieve, Missouri, f. 10, 12
Small World - Long Gone, f. 11, 13-19
Stix, Mrs. Ernest, f. 8
That Crown of Glory, f. 21-26
That Specter, Old Age, f. 27-31
The Woman's Journal, f. 34
Tucker, Mayor Raymond, f. 3
Werner, Margaret, f. 3
Women Authors, f. 1-35
Women--History, f. 1-35
Women--Journalists, f. 1-35
Women--Suffrage, f. 1, 3, 8, 9, 33, 34
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-ST. LOUIS
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ST. LOUIS, MO 63121
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