ELIZABETH KLEIN BRIDGEMAN:

Elizabeth "Betty" (Klein) Bridgeman was born on August 30, 1915. She attended West High School in Minneapolis and graduated from Hamline University (St. Paul, Minn.) in 1936 with a degree in English literature. She also attended King's College, the University of London and the University of Minnesota. She married Donald Elliott Bridgeman, a lawyer, in 1937 and had six children.

Ms. Bridgeman was a well known writer and instructor of English. From 1957 to 1964 she was an adjunct lecturer at Hamline in the English department. During World War II, Ms. Bridgeman wrote three one-act plays supporting the purchase of war bonds, published by the U.S. Treasury Department. Even though her writing spanned many genres, Ms. Bridgeman was best known for her poetry.

Beginning in 1940, Ms. Bridgeman began to sell her poetry to newspapers and magazines across the county. Her poems were published in Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Parents' and Writer's Digest. She had two books of her poetry published in the 1950s: This is Minnesota and Pioneers in Progress: Chorus for American Women. Ms. Bridgeman was active in writers' conferences and workshops, and often spoke to school-aged children about the importance of writing.

In addition to her writing career, Ms. Bridgeman was a strong supporter of the Republican Party in Minnesota and a member of the Morningside Republican Committee. She was often the writer of newsletters and letters to the editors of the local papers regarding the views and activities of the Republican Party. Ms. Bridgeman died on July 18, 1999, at the age of 83.

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The materials in the collection are predominately associated with Bridgeman's activities in the Minnesota Republican Party and the Morningside (Edina) Republican Committee. The collection contains newsletters, committee minutes, brochures, speeches, press releases, and materials for the Nixon-Agnew and Alf Bergerud campaigns. Materials regarding her participation in Republican organizations, such as GROW (Grassroots Organization for Women) and Neighbor-to-Neighbor, are also represented in the collection.

In addition, the collection includes biographical information about Ms. Bridgeman and writers' conference materials (1968-1993), in which she was an active participant and instructor.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here] Elizabeth Klein Bridgeman Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,737

Processing Information:

Processed by: Karen Spilman, February 2005

Catalog ID number: 990036954680104294

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Includes flyers and newsletters regarding candidates and elections, letters, newspaper clippings, meeting agendas, and the Morningside Republican Handbook. There are also legal documents pertaining to the proposed annexation of Morningside Village from Edina (1966).

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Includes papers regarding the Neighbor-to-Neighbor fundraising campaign, political speeches, papers on Ms. Bridgeman's involvement in the Nixon-Agnew and Alf Bergerud campaigns, as well as papers on other miscellaneous campaigns. Papers regarding the Republican Women's Conference and GROW (Grassroots Organization of Women) are also included.

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Included are papers on the writers' conferences participated in by Ms. Bridgeman and biographical information.

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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:

Political campaigns -- Minnesota.

Political parties -- Minnesota.

Women -- Political activity -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Women political activists -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Bergerud, Alf.

Bridgeman, Elizabeth Klein, 1915-1999.

Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994.

Organizations:

Grassroots Organization of Women.

Morningside Republican Committee.

Republican Party (Minn.) -- Party work.

Places:

Edina (Minn.).

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