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Mae Dorsey Hicks Collection

 Collection
Identifier: RH-A-3894

Scope and Contents

Lillian Cobb Bechmann was born in Morenci, MI in 1883. She was married to John W. Bailey on July 14, 1910. She and Mae Dorsey Hicks were residents of Battle Creek, MI. In 1933 John W. Bailey was the mayor of Battle Creek. Hicks was married to James A. Hicks in Detroit on October 19, 1921. In January 1933 Hicks and Mrs. Bailey went on an 18-day cruise of the Caribbean aboard the S.S. Reliance. On their trip they took numerous photographs of what they encountered, and kept postcards, cruise schedules, meal menus, advertisements, tickets, and newsletters from the trip. Many of them pertain to life on board the S.S. Reliance. There are also numerous publications from the S.S. Reliance detailing activities on the ship and what was available at stops on shore.

Dates

  • Creation: 1933

Creator

Extent

1 Volumes

Language of Materials

English

Physical Description

The collection amounts to .50 cubic feet and is composed of one large book. The book is in good condition and all writing in it is legible. There is very little in the scrapbook that is handwritten. Most of it printed. The scrapbook has 25 pages, and on each page is glued programs, informational brochures, or photographs from the trip. Places visited included Cuba, Venezuela, the Virgin Islands, and numerous other points in the Caribbean. Inside the front cover the scrapbook is identified as belonging to Mae Dorsey Hicks, who lived at 129 College in Battle Creek, MI. The collection measures 12” x 11”. Hicks took the cruise to the Caribbean with Lillian Cobb Bailey, identified in newspaper clippings as “Mrs. John W. Bailey”, in January 1933. According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, shortly after her return from the trip, Bailey would journey to Washington, DC to attend the inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The book and its contents are remarkably well preserved for being as old as they are.

Provenance

The collection is composed of a scrapbook put together by Mae Dorsey Hicks. It is a collection of memorabilia from a cruise she and Lillian Bailey took around Central America, South America, and the Caribbean in January and February 1933.

Notes

The scrapbook was purchased with funds from the Starring Endowment.

Title
Mae Dorsey Hicks Collection Finding Aid
Author
Matt Decker
Date
1933
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository

Contact:
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490