Clarissa Start Lippert donated her papers to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-St. Louis on September 30, 1985.
A native of St. Louis, Lippert was born March 28, 1917, to George Michael, a civil engineer, and Ada A. Huebel Start. She attended Cleveland High School in South St. Louis and received a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1936. After college, Lippert worked as a stenographer and catalog copy writer for Rice-Stix Dry Goods Company and occasionally submitted unsolicited free-lance articles to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In May 1938, Lippert married E. Gary Davidson, a lawyer who served as State Senator for the 15th District in St. Louis from 1952-1960.
In summer 1938 the Post-Dispatch hired Lippert to fill in for Dorothy Coleman, the Post's "Girl About Town" columnist vacationing in Europe. Lippert remained with the Post-Dispatch when Coleman resigned after the birth of her first child.
Lippert wrote columns, movie reviews, and feature articles for the Post-Dispatch's "Everyday Magazine." She interviewed entertainers visiting St. Louis, including Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Vincent Price, and Glenn Miller. She also interviewed political wives, including Pat Nixon and Ladybird Johnson. Lippert also wrote current affairs stories on trends in fashion and music, working women, women in politics, health, education, the high cost of living, and women's liberation. During World War II Lippert wrote about soldiers' activities and the lifestyles on military bases, the war's effect on families, part-time women Marines in St. Louis, and Red Cross civilian volunteer activities.
Lippert accepted an invitiation by the West German Republic to tour its country in the mid 1950s. She wrote a series of articles for the Post-Dispatch on West German churches and welfare programs. While in Germany, Lippert met World War II resister Bishop Martin Niemoller, who had spent eight years in a Nazi concentration camp for preaching anti-Nazi sermons. In 1959, Lippert published her first book, entitled God's Man: The Biography of Pastor Martin Niemoeller.
Lippert began writing a tri-weekly column entitled "The Little Woman" in 1955. This column became an immediate success with readers who identified with Lippert's personal approach to home life, marriage, raising children, working, and maintaining a family. Within six months of starting "The Little Woman," Lippert had received more mail than in all of her sixteen years of by-line feature writing. The column reflected Lippert's belief in the adage "write about what you know." She said of her readers, "They don't care who climbed the highest mountaintop and why; they're more concerned with what's going on in the house on the hilltop." Lippert's third book, Never Underestimate the Little Woman (1969), contained a compilation of her "Little Woman" columns.
In addition to writing, Lippert's activities included homemaking and raising her son, Bruce, born in 1951. She taught Sunday School for twelve years at the Webster Groves Congregational Church and held memberships in various women's and professional writing organizations, including Daughters of the American Revolution, Women's Advertising Club, Missouri Press Women, American Newspaper Guild, Missouri Writers Guild, St. Louis Chapter of Theta Sigma Phi, and the Missouri Commission on the Status of Women.
Lippert received "Woman of the Year" award from the St. Louis Women's Chamber of Commerce for her work in child welfare in 1955. Lippert's social work activities included chairing the Child Welfare Advisory Committee of St. Louis from 1955-1957 and membership in the Missouri Association for Social Welfare and the Missouri Council on Children and Youth.
In 1966, Lippert became a regular contributor to This Day, a monthly magazine published by Concordia Publishing House. Lippert wrote a column entitled "The Family Room" for This Day until it folded in 1971. Her July 1968 "Family Room" column won first place in the National Federation of Press Women in 1969.
Lippert's husband, E. Gary Davidson, died in 1967. In 1968, Concordia published Lippert's second book, When You're a Widow. Pyramid Publications republished the book as On Becoming a Widow in 1973.
The Missouri Writer's Guild gave Lippert its annual award in 1970 for Never Underestimate the Little Woman. She also received a top ten award in 1971 from the National Federation of Press Women, and in 1973 she received first place award from the Missouri Press Women for her fourth book Look Here, Lord, published in 1972.
Lippert retired from the Post-Dispatch in 1972 but continued contributing a weekly column, entitled "The Happy Gardener." In 1972 she also married businessman Raymond J. Lippert.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The collection is divided into three series: 1) Scrapbooks, 1936-1976, volumes 1-36 (4 microfilm rolls); 2) Articles, Advertisements, and Correspondence, 1942-1970 (folders 1-7); 3) E. Gary Davidson Papers, 1952-1965 (folders 8-13).
The bulk of the collection, the scrapbook series, contains a large sampling of what Lippert considered her best feature articles and columns written for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It includes the first story Lippert ever sold to the Post's "Everyday Magazine." This series also contains some correspondence between Lippert and members of various organizations which she featured in her articles. The scrapbooks appear on microfilm.
The articles, advertisements, and correspondence series contains articles by and about Lippert which appeared in magazines and newspapers other than the Post-Dispatch, Lippert's "Family Room" columns written for This Day magazine, general correspondence, scrapbook correspondence, and letters of sympathy from Lippert's readers on the death of her husband E. Gary Davidson. It also contains "The Elephant Show," a script Lippert wrote in 1962 for a Jefferson Township Republican Club fundraiser, and a photograph of people rehearsing for the play.
Series 3, E. Gary Davidson Papers, documents Davidson's political activities during the 1950s and 1960s. It contains his 1959 Senate Manual and Committee Book, correspondence, and two 1952 issues of Cosmo Topics, the official publication of the Cosmopolitan International Club. A charter member of the Clayton, Missouri chapter of the Cosmopolitan International Club, Davidson became its first president in 1952.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
SERIES 1 - SCRAPBOOKS, 1936-1976, VOLUMES 1-36
Arranged chronologically. Includes feature articles and columns Lippert wrote for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, including her first story. Also includes correspondence between Lippert and members of organizations featured in her articles. This series appears on microfilm.
SERIES 2 - NEWSCLIPPINGS AND CORRESPONDENCE, 1938-1970, FOLDERS 1-8
Arranged alphabetically. Includes articles by and about Lippert which appeared in magazines and newspapers other than the Post-Dispatch; Lippert's "Family Room" column in This Day magazine; promotional ads for Post-Dispatch staff members; correspondence; letters of sympathy; the "The Elephant Show" script, and a photograph of people rehearsing "The Elephant Show."
SERIES 3 - E. GARY DAVIDSON PAPERS, 1952-1965, FOLDERS 9-14
Arranged alphabetically. Includes Davidson's Committee Book and Senate Manual from 1959; correspondence with local officials, politicians, members of the Council for Christian Social Action and the Missouri Council of Churches; newsclippings; two 1952 issues of Cosmo Topics; and the opinions of the Attorney General of Missouri from 1952 to 1960.
FOLDER LIST
BOX 1, VOLUMES 1-36, FOLDERS 1-8
SERIES I - SCRAPBOOKS
MICROFILM ROLL 1 (VOLUMES 1-9)
Volume 1. Articles and Correspondence, 1936-1939
2. Articles and Correspondence, March 1939 - July 1940
3. Articles and Correspondence, July 1940 - August 1941
4. Articles and Correspondence, April 1941 - September 1942
5.Articles and Correspondence, August 1941 - August 1942
6. Articles and Correspondence, July 1943 - September 1945
7. Articles and Correspondence, October 1945 - April 1947
8. Articles and Correspondence, April 1947 - August 1948
9. Articles and Correspondence, August 1948 - December 1949
MICROFILM ROLL 2 (VOLUMES 10-19)
10. Articles and Correspondence, January-July 1950
11. Articles and Correspondence, July-December 1950
12. Articles and Correspondence, January-July 1951
13. Articles and Correspondence, January-December 1952
14. Articles and Correspondence, January-December 1953
15. Articles and Correspondence, January 1954 - November 1959
16. Articles and Correspondence, 1954-1958
17. Articles and Correspondence, March 1955 - September 1957
18. Articles and Correspondence, October 1957 - November 1959
19. Columns, December 1959 - April 1961
MICROFILM ROLL 3 (VOLUMES 20-30)
20. Columns, January 1961 - December 1962
21. Features, 1960-1966
22. Columns, January-December 1963
23. Columns, January-December 1964
24. Columns, January 1965 - December 1966 and Features, 1965-1966
25. Columns and Features, January-August 1966
26. Columns, January-December 1967
27. Features, January-December 1967
28. Columns, January-December 1968
29. Features, January-December 1968
30. Columns, January-December 1969
MICROFILM ROLL 4 (VOLUMES 31-36)
31. Features, January-December 1969
32. Columns, January 1970
33. Features, January-December 1970
34. Columns, January-December 1971
35. Features, January-December 1971
36. Features, 1972-1976
SERIES 2 - NEWSCLIPPINGS AND CORRESPONDENCE
Folder 1. Articles by and about Lippert, 1944-1967
2. Correspondence, 1938-1939
3. Correspondence, 1940-1966
4. Jefferson Township Republican Club--"The Elephant Show" script, 1962
5. Post-Dispatch staff members' promotional ads, 1958- 1963
6. Sympathy correspondence on the death of E. Gary Davidson, March 8-28, 1967
7. Sympathy correspondence on the death of E. Gary Davidson, March 29 - April 14, 1967
8. This Day Magazine, 1966-1970
BOX 2 - FOLDERS 9-14
SERIES 3 - DAVIDSON, E. GARY, (1912-1967), PAPERS
9. Committee Book and Senate Manual, 1959
10. Correspondence, 1952-1964
11. Cosmo Topics, official publication of the Cosmopolitan International Club, May-August 1952
12. Council for Christian Social Action and Missouri Council of Churches, 1961
13. Newsclippings, 1962-1965
14. Opinions of the Attorney General of Missouri, 1952-1960
INDEX
Akins, Zoe, v. 3, 15
Alpha Kappa Alpha, v. 15, 21
Armstron, Louis, v. 3
Berlin Refugees, v. 15
Billups, Ken, v. 15
Bumbry, Grace, v. 21
Busch, Adolphus Family, v. 8
Calloway, Cab, v. 6
Chaney, Lon, v. 9
Children, v. 3-7, 9, 13-14
Children's Aid Society, v. 3
Cook, Fannie, v. 3
Cosmopolitan International Club, f. 11
Czechoslovakians in St. Louis, v. 15
Davidson, E. Gary, f. 1-14
Davis Street Ferry, v. 6
Dean, Dizzy, v. 3
Equal Rights Amendment, v. 33
Fashion, v. 1-36
Family Service Day Nursery, v. 8
First Congregational Church, Webster Groves, f. 12
Fontbonne College, v. 5, 15
Forest Park Highlands, v. 5
Gellhorn, Edna, v. 14, 21, 35
Girl Scouts, v. 5-7, 9, 15, 21
Goins, Howell B., v. 27
Goodman, Benny, v. 2
Hempelmann, Clara, v. 6
Horne, Lena, v. 9
Italians in St. Louis, v. 4
Japanese in St. Louis, v. 14, 21
Juke Boxes, v. 1, 3, 5
Laurel and Hardy, v. 3
League of Women Voters, v. 13, 15-16
Lincoln Society, v. 4
"The Little Woman," v. 16-19
Mark Twain Institute, v. 15
May, Mrs. Morton D., v. 21
McDonnell, James S. v. 31
Metropolitan Church Federation, v. 16
Missouri Association For Mental Health, f. 12
Missouri Council of Churches, f. 12, 13
Mostel, Zero, v. 6
National Association of Negro Musicians, v. 16
National Council of Jewish Women, v. 15
National Headline Award, v. 16
National Hotel (3rd & Market), v. 9
Nixon, Pat, v. 21
Polio Victims, v. 15, 16, 21
Price, Vincent, v. 2
Rice-Stix Dry Goods Company, v. 1, 26
St. Louis A Capella Choir, v. 3
St. Louis Armory, v. 8
St. Louis Flag, v. 15
St. Louis Municipal Opera, v. 1-36
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, v. 1-36, f. 1, 2, 5
St. Louis Rationing Board, v. 5
St. Louis Sub-Debs, v. 2, 4, 5
St. Louis Tip Toppers, v. 5, 25
Salvation Army, v. 7, 8
Scruggs-Vandervoort-Barney, Inc., v. 1, 4
Sebago Club, v. 15
Shaw, Artie, v. 1
Smedley, Agnes, v. 1
Teenagers, v. 6, 7, 13, 15, 25
Theatre, v. 1-36
This Day Magazine, f. 8
Thomas, Danny, v. 9
Tucker, Mayor Raymond, f. 10
Union Station, v. 6
United Nations Association v. 15, 21, 29
Vaughn, Robert, v. 6
Washington University, v. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 29
Washington University Nursery, v. 9
Webster College, v. 3, 9, 25
Webster Groves, v. 36
Women--Athletes, v. 1-36
Women--Aviators, v. 3, 5, 8, 21
Women--Farmers, v. 4, 5, 7
Women--Marines, v. 15
Women--Peace, v. 1-36
Women--Politicians, v. 1-36
Women--Working Women, v. 1-36
Women--World War II, v. 4-7
Women's Achievement Association,v. 30
Woods, Harriett B., v. 21
World War II, v. 3, 4, 8, 9, 13
Young Men's Christian Association, v. 27
Zonta International, v. 21
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-ST. LOUIS
222 THOMAS JEFFERSON LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
ONE UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD
ST. LOUIS, MO 63121
(314) 516-5143