Inez Puckett McEwen Papers

Inez Puckett McEwen Papers, 1885-1985

Overview of the Collection

Creator: McEwen, Inez Puckett
Title: Inez Puckett McEwen Papers
Dates: 1885-1985 (inclusive)
18851985
Quantity: 16 containers., (8 linear feet of shelf space.)
Collection Number: Cage 48
Summary: Diaries, correspondence, and manuscripts of Puckett's books.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research use.
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Inez Puckett McEwen, 1899-1987, was born in Oyens, Iowa. Her parents then moved to Wyoming, Idaho, and California while she was still a child. McEwen went to school in California, attending USC, Pomona, and Scripps, and earning a B.A. in dramatics and also winning an art scholarship. After her formal education, she became a newspaper reporter and feature writer, radio reporter and private speech instructor. She also taught school both in California and later in Alaska. In 1943 McEwen moved to a ranch in Idaho with her husband and it was there that she wrote the popularly acclaimed book, So This Is Ranching. She also wrote scripts for a serial program, "Hodgepodge," that ran on a Twin Falls radio station. McEwen also spent the early 1960s in Somalia, Africa from where she penned her impressions of a culture different from her own. Moving in circles with regional writers, McEwen became acquainted with Vardis Fisher, the Idaho novelist. Apparently the two became romantically involved, as suggested by correspondence included in the papers.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Izez Puckett McEwen consist largely of McEwen's writings, correspondence, journals, and memorabilia.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 48, Inez Puckett McEwen Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is organized in eight series: Career, Correspondence, Journals, Manuscripts, Miscellaneous, Newsclippings, Writings, and Added Materials (2010).

The Career series is one folder materials pertinent to McEwen's career as an author, particularly the promotion of So This Is Ranching.

The Correspondence series contains McEwen's letters including a group mailed from her African experience as well as some relevant to her relationship with Vardis Fisher.

The Journals are penned by McEwen and commence when she was still in her teens. These copious writings make up a large part of the collection inasmuch as McEwen chronicled her life well into her senior years.

The Manuscripts series is also lengthy and includes the professional writing that McEwen completed for both publication and radio broadcast.

The Miscellaneous series includes historic photographs from Idaho and also two photograph albums and one autograph album which belonged to McEwen's father Nelson Crowell Puckett.

The Newsclippings series contains miscellaneous clippings that McEwen complied and includes a file on Vardis Fisher. The Writings series includes work from both McEwen and several other individuals including her father Nelson Puckett, who penned his life story. McEwen's early prose is included in this series, as well as a limited verse.

The added material includes correspondence with Caxton Printers, Washington State University, and others, primarily concerning McEwen's writing; a folder of letters from McEwen to the Hicks family; and McEwen's journals from 1966 to 1985.

Acquisition Information

Inez Puckett McEwen donated her papers to Washington State University in three installments, in 1959, 1960, and 1968. Her daughter, Shannon M. Foster, donated additional materials in 1995 and 2010 (MS.2010.28), and her grandson, Craig Foster, donated additional materials in 2016 (MS.2016.28). In 2010, Joan English donated the letters from McEwen to the Hicks family (folder 91).

Processing Note

Jean Johnson processed the collection in 1995.

Related Materials

Related material is included in the Vardis Fisher Papers, 1922-1970 ( Cage 229).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series 1: CareerReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	Inez Puckett	1945-1958

Series 2: CorrespondenceReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	2	Caxton/Fisher/Etc.	1948-1970
1	3	Craig, La Vivd	1979
1	4	Fan Mail	1947-1952
1	5	Keeley, Henry (Educator in Southern California)	1945-1949
1	6	Miscellaneous	1941-1980
1	7	Somali	1960-1965
2	8	Washington State University	1960-1980

Series 3: JournalReturn to Top

Container(s)		Dates
Box	Folder
2	9	1913
2	10	1916
2	11	1917
2	12	1918
3	13	1918-1919
3	14	1919
3	15	1932-1933
3	16	1933-1934
3	17	1934
4	18	1935
4	19	1936
4	20	1936-1938
4	21	1938
4	22	1938-1939
4	23	1939-1940
4	24	1940
5	25	1941
5	26	1941-1942
5	27	1942-1943
5	28	1943-1944
5	29	1944
6	30	1945-1946
6	31	1946-1949
6	32	1950-1952
6	33	1952-1953
6	34	1953-1954
6	35	1955-1956
6	36	1956
7	37	1957-1958
7	38	1958-1959
7	39	1959
7	40	1960
7	41	1960-1962
7	42	1961
7	43	1961-1962
7	44	1962
8	45	1962-1963
8	46	1963
8	47	1963-1964
8	48	1964
8	49	1964-1965
9	50	1969
9	51	1970
9	52	1970-1971
9	53	1971
9	54	1972
10	55	1973
10	56	1973-1982
10	57	1975
10	58	1976
10	59	1982

Series 4: ManuscriptsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
		McEwen, Inez Puckett
Box	Folder
11	60	Hodgepodge	1954 and undated
11	61	Lend Me Your Ears	1956
12	62	Lend Me Your Ears, draft	undated
12	63	Love Comes But Once, or For Sinners Only, draft	undated
12	64	Miscellaneous	undated
13	65	Railroad Baby	1961
13	66	So This Is Ranching	1941

Series 5: MiscellaneousReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
13	67	Autograph Book, Puckett, Nelson Crowell	1885
13	68	Old-time South Idaho Pictures	1906-1955 and undated
		Photograph Album, Puckett, Nelson Crowell
Box	Folder
14	69		1916-1921
14	70		1918-1920

Series 6: NewsclippingsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
14	71	McEwen, Inez Puckett	1946-1955
		Miscellaneous
Box	Folder
14	72	on Vardis Fisher	1968-1978
14	73	1979 and undated

Series 7: WritingsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
15	74	Bryant, Rose	1932 and undated
		McEwen, Inez Puckett
Box	Folder
15	75	Editorial	1960
15	76	Miscellaneous	undated
15	77	Note of Old-time Telegraph Operator for Use in Railroad Baby	undated
15	78	Notes on Teaching at Clark County High School, Dubois, Idaho	1957-1958
15	79	Vardis Fisher As I Knew Him	undated
15	80	Verses	1915-1923
Box	Folder
15	81	Mildred	1975
		Puckett, Inez
Box	Folder
15	82	Sunshine and Shadows	1915
15	83		1911
Box	Folder
15	84	Puckett, Nelson Crowell	undated
		Smith, Bess Foster
Box	Folder
15	85	The Family Album	1968
15	86	Just Kid Talk	1981
15	87	Woman Talk	1978

Series 8: Added material (correspondence and journals)Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
16	88	Caxton Printers
16	89	Washington State University
16	90	Others
16	91	Letters from Inez Puckett McEwen to the Hicks family	1961-1985 and undated
16	92-98	Journals (7 volumes)	1966-1985

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