Lalia Phipps Boone papers
Scope and Contents
The papers of Lalia Phipps Boone span the years 1950 to 1986, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1970 to 1985.
The material includes correspondence, maps, books, and other research material for her book on Idaho place names, and correspondence, publications and other items concerning her commitment to the teaching of English to elementary and secondary students. Also included are term papers, theses, and dissertations written under her direction.
Dates
- Creation: 1950-1986
Language of Materials
English
Biographical / Historical
Daughter of a minister and one of seven children, Lalia Phipps Boone was born April 19, 1907 in Tehuacana, Texas. She graduated from Westminster Jr. College in Tehuacana in 1925. From 1925 to 1944 she taught school first in Navaroo Co. schools, then at Wortham High School in Wortham, Texas. At the same time she was attending East Texas State College where she received her B.A. in English in 1938. She was principal of Wortham High School from 1944 to 1946. She continued her studies and received her M.A. in Medieval Literature and Linguistics in 1947 from the University of Oklahoma where she served as an instructor in the English Department from 1946 to 1949. She then became the first woman professor at the University of Florida where, in 1951 she became the first woman to receive a doctoral degree from that institution; again her emphasis was on Linguistics and Medieval Literature.
She continued teaching at the University of Florida, moving through the ranks from instructor to assistant, and finally to associate professor until 1965 when the accepted a position as Professor of English at the University of Idaho. She remained at the university until her retirement from teaching in 1973; her final year was as Professor of Education. Following her retirement she spent several years serving as a consultant to secondary schools in Idaho and Spokane, Washington.
Dr. Boone is the author of many books and articles including From A-Z in Latah County (1984), Idaho Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary (1985), Petroleum Dictionary (1951), "Post Offices of Latah County, Idaho," "Names of Idaho Counties" Names, XVI, No.1, March 1968 (reprinted in Congressional Record, June 4, 1970), plus many articles on the history of words and teaching language skills to children.
She was instrumental in organizing the Idaho Council of Teachers and served as its president for several years. She was also a member of the American Association of University Women, American Dialect Society, American Name Society, Modern Language Association, National League of American Pen Women, Idaho Council of Teachers of English, and the Idaho Educational Association. In 1966 she was named Penrose Fellow by the American Philosophical Society. She received the American Association of University Women's Idaho Golden Anniversary Endowment Award in 1982.
Following the completion and publication of her Idaho place name book she moved to Silver Spring, Maryland. She died there December 1, 1990.
Extent
12 cubic feet
Abstract
Correspondence, maps, books, and other research material relating to Boone's interest in Idaho place names and her career as a elementary and secondary school English teacher and university professor, including term papers and theses written under her direction.
Arrangement
The papers in this record group were in no naturally discernable order when received; therefore a series order was imposed during processing. The papers were easily separated into two groups, those concerned with her interest in Idaho place names, and those concerned with her interest in the teaching of English.
The Idaho Place Names Project began in 1966 as a personal hobby. She wanted to know why Idaho place names sounded strange to her southern ears and wanted to know what the names meant; her aim was to compile an Idaho place names dictionary. The project received early funding from the National Science Foundation, and in 1968 became one of two pilot projects in the American Name Society nationwide Place Name Survey. She began editing her work for publication in 1983, publishing first a volume on Latah County place names in 1984, and the state volume the following year.
The place name series contains two articles on Idaho place names written by Dr. Boone, one on Indian place names, the other on the names of Idaho counties which was reprinted in the Congressional Record in 1970 at the request of Senator Frank Church. The main correspondence file contains letters to and from informants, these are arranged chronologically. The remaining letters which were arranged by place name organizations also contain newsletters.
Dr. Boone applied for several grants to enable her to financially support the project; copies of these grants are included in the collection.
Items dealing with the volume of Latah County place names were separated and are listed under the Latah County subheading.
The Research materials include articles on counties, areas, cities, National Forests, and creeks and rivers. Also included are a few manuscript notes, newspaper clippings, and brochures published by various cities. The maps have been separated by type and are arranged alphabetically.
The file cards containing the assembled data were originally in metal file drawers. The cards were removed and placed in archival boxes, two rows to a box; therefore, the folder numbers in boxes 4-8 actually refer to rows rather than folders. Many of the place names on these cards do not appear in the final edition of the Idaho Place Names book.
The final items in this series are books which she used in gathering information. Many of these books which are arranged alphabetically by main entry are marked up, and several have entries cut out. All of these books are also available in the Special Collections Library.
The second series contains correspondence of a general nature, including a 1974 letter from Alma Keeling in which she discusses the trials of writing and editing and publishing her book The Uncovered Wagon. The correspondence is in chronological order. Other materials are related to the teaching of English at the elementary and secondary level and include correspondence, publications, study guides, and typed copies of stories written by early elementary school children near Moscow; this may be part of the thesis research done by one of Dr. Boone's graduate students. There is one sheet of paper which compares Johnson's Dictionary to that of Nathaniel Bailey; this was the label for a box of index cards which was discarded. There is no evidence that Dr. Boone ever published an article on this topic. Tetsumaro Hayashi was a student of Dr. Boone's at the University of Florida. He continued to correspond with her and send her reprints of his articles and copies of a journal he edited on John Steinbeck. This material is contained in one folder. The University of Idaho folder contains memos and a bibliography of Publications on Idaho Folk Traditions.
Thesis, dissertations, and term papers directed by Dr. Boone are in alphabetical by author order near the end of this series. The final items include index cards and tape recordings pertaining to folklore, and index cards noting the dialect used in Marjorie Rawlings' books.
In addition to the index cards for the Johnson's Dictionary project, duplicate copies of computer print outs of the Idaho Place Names book were discarded as were the final index cards from which the book was compiled. In all the bulk was reduced by 1.5 cubic feet.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers of Lalia Phipps Boone were donated to the University of Idaho Library by Dr. Boone in October 1986 and May 1989.
- Title
- Lalia Phipps Boone Papers 1950-1986
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Judith Nielsen
- Date
- ©1990
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository