Merrill papers, ca. 1913-1983. : Scope & Contents of the Collection

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Katharine Merrill Ahlbers Skog Papers consist of correspondence, writings, memorabilia, biographical information, and photographs. Of particular interest is Merrill's correspondence, 1924-1983, which chiefly consists of forty-three letters written from the Matsuyama Girls' School in Matsuyama, Japan, between 1924-1940. Most of these documents appear to be copies of letters that Merrill wrote for the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and sent to friends, mainly at Mount Holyoke College. The letters describe Merrill's life as a missionary teacher in great detail. She discusses the school and its summer camp; the surrounding city; Japanese customs; the daily and personal lives of her students and co-workers; visits to cities, temples, palaces, and shrines; and a trip to China in 1925. She also discusses political and economic events such as the Sino-Japanese conflict, World War II, and the worldwide economic depression in the 1930s. She frequently mentions Olive S. Hoyt, Principal of the Matsuyama Girls' School and an 1897 graduate of Mount Holyoke College, and two of the letters in the collection are written by both Hoyt and Merrill. Later letters mention travels in Japan in 1966 and 1971, and in France, Germany, and Switzerland in 1966 and 1978. She also describes her life and travels while living in Sweden from 1964-1983. The collection includes a few personal letters that Merrill wrote to Bertha E. Blakely, Mount Holyoke College Librarian, Dorothy ("Deed") Camp Nourse, a Mount Holyoke classmate, and Mount Holyoke's president, David Bicknell Truman, as well as a 1944 note from Mary Emma Woolley, former president of the College. Writings include published and unpublished articles by Merrill, 1926-1937, concerning her work in Japan, and her 1978 translation of an unpublished paper by Anne Sano-Gerber entitled "Getting to Know the Japanese." Memorabilia consists of programs, postcards, and documents, chiefly in Japanese, from the Matsuyama Girls' School, circa 1924-1941. Rounding out the collection are articles and other biographical information relating to Merrill, circa 1924-1968, and photographs, circa 1913-1968, chiefly of her in Japan and with her husbands.