MAYBELLE BREKKEN:
An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Brekken, Maybelle, 1894-1991, creator. | |
| Title: | Maybelle Brekken papers. | |
| Dates: | approximately 1900s-1991. | |
| Abstract: | Diaries (1911-1991), newspaper clippings, autograph book (1902-1904), photographs, class assignments and evaluations (1914-1953), school resource evaluation (1984-1985), and a video cassette (1986) relating to Maybelle Ida Jacobson Quarberg Brekken, a Minnesota teacher and housewife. She taught in Crookston and in rural Polk County schools, and later lived in Minneapolis. | |
| Quantity: | 1.0 cubic feet (1 box, including 25 volumes). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf location. |
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
Diaries (1911-1991), newspaper clippings, autograph book (1902-1904), photographs, class assignments and evaluations (1914-1953), school resource evaluation (1984-1985), and a video cassette (1986) relating to Maybelle Ida Jacobson Quarberg Brekken, a Minnesota teacher and housewife. She taught in Crookston and in rural Polk County schools, and later lived in Minneapolis.
The diaries (25 v.) record her daily activities: babysitting, television shows, shopping, friends' visits, phone calls, and similar activities. The videotape was recorded in May 1986, when the 92-year-old Mrs. Brekken spoke as an outside resource person at Jefferson High School in Bloomington. The papers are concentrated in three time periods: 1911-1917, 1934-1939, and 1970-1991. The diaries from the latter period record her experiences as an aged woman living in a nursing home.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Maybelle Brekken Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 13,818; 14,686
Processing Information:
Processed by: Bonnie Beatson Palmquist, 1992
Catalog ID number: 990017293350104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| 149.F.6.7B | Educational certificate and teaching assignments, 1914-1953. | ||||||||||
| Brekken as a resource person in the public schools, 1984-1985. | |||||||||||
| Evaluations of and by Mrs. Brekken as she spoke to elementary and secondary classes in the Minneapolis area. | |||||||||||
| Children's drawings. | |||||||||||
| Drawings given to Brekken. | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous personal papers, 1991. | |||||||||||
| An incomplete memoir by Brekken, a letter (Nov. 13, 1991) from a niece to Mary Ambrose (a friend of Brekken), and Brekken's obituaries. | |||||||||||
| Papers found loose in volumes, 1913-1981. | |||||||||||
| Photographs, approximately 1900-1987. 2 folders. | |||||||||||
| A class picture taken in Tracy (Minn.) approximately 1900, and three photographs of Brekken: as a young child, with her mother, and in 1987. | |||||||||||
| Video recording of class presentation, 1986. VHS cassette. | |||||||||||
| Recorded at Jefferson High School, Bloomington, when Brekken spoke to a class. | |||||||||||
| Volume 1. Scrapbook, approximately 1900s. 1 dismantled volume. | |||||||||||
| Volume 2. Autograph book, 1902-1904. 1 volume. | |||||||||||
| Diaries: | |||||||||||
| Volumes 3-6. Diaries, 1911-1917. 4 volumes. | |||||||||||
| These early diaries describe school activities in Crookston. Brekken graduated from high school and then started at normal school. In 1917 she began teaching at a school near Climax with four pupils. | |||||||||||
| Volumes 7-10. Diaries, 1934-1939. 4 volumes. | |||||||||||
| Maybelle was, during most of this time period, married to Oscar Quarberg and had two sons, Stuart and Russell; they lived on a farm near Crookston. Trips to Minneapolis, the World's Fair in Chicago, and a trip to the University Farm in St. Paul are described. Also includes notes on various organizations connected with farms and agriculture. She was living in Crookston in 1938-1939. | |||||||||||
| Volume 11. Diary, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1963. 1 volume. | |||||||||||
| The initial entry, for October 18, 1956, begins a trip to California. Maybelle was then married to Manley Brekken. The entries end in December. A few entries in October and December 1959 make no mention of Manley. The June 21, 1961 entry was made by a grandson. February 1963 begins a trip to Florida with her son Russ and his family. They returned to Minneapolis in April. | |||||||||||
| Volumes 12-25. Diaries, 1970-1991. 14 volumes. | |||||||||||
| Brekken was living alone in Minneapolis and she recorded her daily activities. There is a biographical sketch in the 1972-1973 diary. In 1974 she took a trip to Denver. Later diaries record her life in a nursing home. | |||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Aged women -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- Nursing home patients -- Minnesota.
- Rural schools -- Minnesota -- Polk County.
- Women -- Minnesota -- Social conditions.
- Persons:
- Quarberg family.
- Places:
- Crookston (Minn.).
- Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Social life and customs.
- Document Types:
- Autograph albums.
- Diaries.
- Video recordings.
- Photographs.
- Occupations:
- Housewives.
- Teachers.
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