Camille B. Power was a member of the faculty of Boise State University from its founding in 1932 until 1967. She was born in Taylorville, Illinois, to Fred C. and Estella Rockwell Barnett on May 6, 1900. A few years later her family moved to Cody, Wyoming, where she spent most of her childhood. In the fifth grade, she won a ten-dollar award for being the most outstanding student. The family moved from Wyoming to Monmouth, Illinois, in September 1914.
Power went to high school in Monmouth and later received her B.A. degree from James Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. She obtained her first teaching position at St. Margaret's School in Boise, Idaho, after her graduation from college in 1922. In 1923 she married Roland M. Power and moved back to Illinois. She was widowed when her son, Kent, was two years old. Power felt that she needed foreign study to be qualified to teach French. She took her son and went to study in Tours, France, for a year. When she returned to the United States, she still felt she was not ready to teach so she went to the University of Illinois and earned her Master's degree in French, with a minor in Spanish.
In the spring of 1932, in the midst of the Depression, there were almost no job openings. Power, however, received a letter from Bishop Middleton Barnwell asking whether she would be interested in a job at the new Boise Junior College. She had an interview with Bishop Barnwell in Chicago, but he did not offer her a job. After receiving a letter from the Bishop's secretary, a personal friend, Mrs. Power was relieved to discover that Bishop Barnwell wanted her to teach but was too embarrassed to offer her the dismal salary of $1200 a year. With little hesitation, Mrs. Power accepted the position teaching foreign languages at the junior college. She was the only foreign language student from the University of Illinois to receive a teaching job in 1932.
So after an absence of ten years Camille Power came back to Boise to teach in the same building, but for a new school. The 75 students in the first class of Boise Junior College and the dozen full-time and part-time faculty members were like a big family. Faculty meetings were spent putting together the first catalog and establishing rules and regulations for the new school.
Mrs. Power achieved a reputation for offering students high quality education. During her teaching years, she introduced new ideas and teaching methods that encouraged students to learn a second language. In 1936, Eugene Chaffee became President of Boise Junior College and asked Power to be the first Dean of Women. While serving in this position, she helped form a service club, the Valkyries, which functioned on campus until the 1960s. After a few years Power decided to go back to teaching.
During World War II, she was recruited to teach French to soldiers at the University of Idaho for a semester. This experience prompted her to offer an advanced Spanish class at BJC. The class met four hours each day and accomplished two years of work in one. She also established the first language laboratory at BJC so students could improve their conversation by listening to tapes. At lunch students practiced their conversation skill at the "Spanish Table" in the cafeteria. For two years in the 1950s she taught French and Spanish to children age five through seven at Campus grade school. Mrs. Power's success as a teacher stemmed from her enthusiasm and belief in the capabilities of her students.
One project that she started at BJC was the program of French and Spanish plays. The foreign language plays staged in 1933 were the first theatrical productions produced at Boise Junior College. She took on these projects because she felt it was an excellent way for her students to use and feel at home with the language. She did everything possible to give her students the opportunity to speak the language outside the classroom. In her biography (Box 1, Folder 10), she wrote "I have been very innovative, always striving to improve my methods and the scope of my teaching."
The
Camille B. Power's papers consist of diaries, letters, travelogues, foreign language and Basque study materials, and Boise Junior College history. Diaries cover Power's childhood in Cody, Wyoming, and Monmouth, Illinois, and student life at Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.). Later papers relate to Power's study in France (1930-1931), teaching career at Boise Junior College (1936-1967), and her interest in the French language, Basque culture, and the history of Boise State University. Family papers include papers of Power's grandfather, Charles Victory Rockwell (1833-1888), and mother, Estella Rockwell Barnett (b. 1872). Correspondents include Jon Bilbao and Martin de Ugalde.
The collection is arranged in eleven series: 1. Personal papers 2. Biographical 3. Diaries 4. Correspondence 5. Professional 6. Travel 7. Writings 8. Basque materials 9. Boise State University 50th anniversary 10. Photographs and 11. Videos.
Collection is available for research.
Gift of Mrs. Power, 1984, with additions from her son, Kent B. Power, 1992.
News articles have been photocopied for preservation reasons though a few unique items have been isolated and retained. Photocopies of the photographs remain in the appropriate files while the photos have been removed to Box 4.
The diaries and much of the correspondence are photocopies of papers still held by the Power family. See also three oral history tapes of Power describing her life at BJC and correspondence from Power to BJC President, Eugene Chaffee in MSS 30, Box 2.
[item description], Camille B. Power Papers, Box [number] Folder [number], Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.
This series contains documents of Power's family and her personal life. Included in the collection are letters written by Camille Power's grandfather, Charles Victory Rockwell (1833-1888), to his wife, a childhood journal of Power's mother, Estella (Rockwell) Barrett (b.1872), and other miscellaneous papers. All items are photocopies.
Power's applications for teaching positions and contracts are in Folder 4-6. Of special interest is her original 1922 contract with St. Margaret's School in Boise. Folder 7 contains financial records including a rental agreement for an apartment on Cambridge Square in London.
Power kept memorabilia from events she attended prior to World War I. Included in the folder is a program from the George M. Cohan Grand Opera House in Chicago, a flier from a wild west show, a program of a chautauqua of Taylorsville, and a handbill from a side show at a fair.
This series includes reminiscences of Power's early days at Boise Junior College. These reminiscences were collected for Maude L. Cosho for inclusion in her book,
Power's diaries (in photocopy form) depict her life before her move to Boise in 1922. Camille began the diaries at ten years of age. They describe a life of school work, childhood activities, and her love of books. The later entries are of her college experience at James Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. Camille participated in many student activities and played on the women's basketball team.
The first file contains a letter describing Power's work as the personal secretary to businessman and collector, Albert M. Todd, in 1924. The next several folders contain photocopies of letters Power wrote in 1930-1931 to her family as she traveled to and studied at the French Institute in Tours. Each letter details her life for the year, the schooling, the food, and new friendships. Camille writes of the adjustments necessary to sharing a home with a French family. Much of the text within letters pertains to her four-year-old son, Kent, who accompanied her to France.
While traveling in Mexico and Guatemala in 1947, Power wrote letters home describing her stay in the Guatemalan ambassador's home in Mexico City and the dinners and parties she attended in Guatemala City with the country's President.
Several of Power's students and colleagues wrote to her with thanks and praise for her excellent instruction. Her knowledge of the Spanish language initiated her interest in the Basque Country. Her interest coincided with her growing friendship with Jon (Juan) Bilbao, whom she met while helping with BJC registration in 1939. A refugee of the Spanish Civil War, Bilbao eventually became professor of Basque studies at the University of Nevada. His correspondence with Power (Folder 8 and 9) is primarily in Spanish. Power also corresponded with Martin Delegalde concerning the possibility of translating his history of Basques from Spanish into English (Folder 16). This file is also in Spanish.
Camille Power was the first instructor of foreign languages at Boise Junior College. As part of her Spanish and French curriculum she produced the first theatrical plays on campus. The one act plays soon turned into a tradition, "Romance Language Night." Power served as the first Dean of Women at Boise Junior College. In this capacity, she planned and attended various social functions as publicized in the clippings found in Folder 13.
Preferring the teaching of foreign languages to the duties of Dean, and after a leave of absence, Power returned solely to the classroom in 1954 until her retirement in 1967. In 1982, during a budget crisis, Boise State University eliminated the foreign language program as a separate department at the school. Folder 14 contains comments from Mrs. Power and others concerning the action. Power was active in many community activities. Her academic and civic endeavors meshed in her participation in The Boise Valley Foreign Affairs. Her knowledge of foreign languages frequently established Power in the position of hosting foreign dignitaries visiting the area.
The last two folders of this Series contain articles of interest to Power. A unique publication,
During her life, Power traveled extensively in Europe and Central America. This series contains her journal of a trip to Mexico in 1938, and news articles of her trips to Mexico in 1939 and 1947. Included, also, are narratives of her trips to Europe in 1958 and again in 1968.
Power delivered the salutatory oration at her high school commencement in 1918. Her topic was "America's New Womanhood." In the address, she explained how the war gave women increased opportunities and a greater "feeling of democracy" in America. Power stated it was time for equal suffrage for "the new robust class working and thinking women."
Following her year of study in Tours, Power returned home to obtain a master's degree at the University of Illinois. As part of the requirements, she wrote French Opinion of America in the
Power taught foreign languages for the military and incorporated many methods into her techniques for teaching college students and elementary ones as well. The Marriage of Condé illustrates Power's ability to translate French, for both the original and the translation are in Folder 6. She translated an article written by President of Guatemala to English, with hopes that his views would be published in the United States (Box 3, Folder 9). Her interest in the Basque people is evident in her articles, "Basque Culture" and "Toward a Cultural Revival with the American Basque."
Power's interest in Basque people and culture is found in the collected materials in this series. Of primary interest to her was the relationship of the United States government to the Basque citizenry as they attempted to gain autonomy. Her interest in the preservation of Basque culture is at the forefront of the series. See also Power's Correspondence files in Box 2 for more correspondence with Jon Bilbao, and the Basque Studies Program at the University of Nevada.
In 1982 Boise State University celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary. Power served of the program committee. She corresponded with several alumni and faculty members whose letters can be found in Folder 23. Folder 24 contains the master list for participants in the anniversary celebration.
Related materials can be found in Manuscript collection 50 (MSS 50): 50th Anniversary Slide Presentation, and in the University Archives, RG 135.2.
Both posed and formal photographs of Camille as a child and as an adult are found in Box 4. Photos of her childhood include pictures with her brother, a tea party, with other children, and pictures posed with her many china dolls. In the collection are negatives of her son, Kent Power, taken in the 1930s.
The photos in this collection document Power's academic career. The collection contains a negative of her office at BJC, a publicity photo for the Idaho Statesman, a photo of the women faculty of St. Margaret's Hall in 1932 and one of a BJC Women's Association Tea in 1937. Photos of the Language Department's one act plays are evidence of the melodrama used to convey the action since many audience members were unable to understand the dialog. A photo of the Spanish Club's float for Homecoming (1950s?) is also in Box 4. Two photos of the Basques are indicative of her interest in the culture. Photos of a visiting Venezuelan delegation are also part of the collection.
Camille Power donated with the collection six 8mm films of her personal home movies. The movies have been converted to VHS. The movies include activities of Camille and her family and friends as well as Boise Junior College. Included in the scenes of BJC is the first commencement in 1934, Homecoming 1949, and general early campus views. Both the original films and the tape can be found in Box 5.