William Fifield Papers, 1891-2005

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Fifield, L. Wendell, Dr.
Title
William Fifield Papers
Dates
1891-2005 (inclusive)
1910-1980 (bulk)
Quantity
10.2 linear feet, (7 record cartons, 1 manuscript box, 1 flat box)
Collection Number
WCMss.098
Summary
William Fifield Papers contains publications, audio recordings, memorabilia, photographs, films and other materials from the collections of author William Fifield, his father Rev. L. Wendell Fifield, and other family members.
Repository
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Whitman College and Northwest Archives
Penrose Library, Room 130
345 Boyer Avenue
Walla Walla, WA
99362
Telephone: 5095275922
Fax: 5095264785
archives@whitman.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

William Fifield was a noted author of both fiction and nonfiction. He won an O.Henry short-story prize in 1942, and published In Search of Genius, a collection of interviews with people he considered geniuses, including Picasso, Cocteau, Miro, Dali and Robert Graves, He also published The Devil's Marchioness, a novel based on the life of a notorious seventeenth-century poisoner, the Marquise de Brinvilliers; The Sign of Taurus, a novel set in Mexico about a Jewish refugee; Modigliani, a biography with interviews with members of the artist's family. He also recorded conversations with such luminaries as Marcel Marceau and famed French artist Jean Cocteau, and wrote extensively for publication in magazines such as Harpers. He also wrote about 130 radio and television plays.

Born in Chicago in 1916, Mr. Fifield was raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Seattle, Washington. He was a magna cum laude graduate of Whitman College in 1937, serving as student body president and he won honors in extemporaneous speaking. While working in Hollywood as a scriptwriter, he began publishing short stories in national magazines. In 1950, he moved to Europe to become a full-time writer, and lived there for nearly forty years. He died in 1987 at the age of 71.

His father, the Rev. Dr. L. (Lawrence) Wendell Fifield was a pastor in the Congregational Church from 1927 to 1955, leading churches in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Seattle, Washington; and Brooklyn, New York. Known for his oratorical skills, his sermons were broadcast on radio and he attracted large crowds to public events. His first wife, Juanita, was the mother of his two sons, William and Robert. She died in 1935, and he married his second wife, June, in 1936.

Born in Benton Harbor, Michigan in 1891, Fifield graduated from Oberlin College in 1913 and from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1917. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree from Yankton College and a Doctor of Letters from Whitman College. He left the pastorate in 1955 at the age of 64 and spent his retirement years in Southern California. He died in 1964.

Other notable family members were William Fifield's first wife, actress Mercedes McCambridge, who won an Oscar in 1950 for best supporting actress for All the King's Men, and was nominated for another Academy Award for Giant in 1956. His second wife was Donna (Hamilton) Shor, a British-born actress and journalist, and his third wife, model Aaltje Guyt, now Aaltje Verhille, whom he met in Ibiza around 1967. William's daughter, Donnali Fifield, is also a published author and the literary executor of her father's work.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The William Fifield Papers, an archive of the works of William Fifield, including novels, non-fiction, audio recordings, short stories, and essays. Works by family members, included his former wives actress Mercedes McCambridge and Donna (Hamilton) Shor, as well as his daughter Donnali Fifield, are also included.

Family archives for his father, the Rev. Dr. L. Wendell Fifield, and relatives; correspondence, photos, films, audio recordings, inscribed books, sermons, books by Wendell Fifield and family members.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. for copyright not held by Whitman College.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by William Fifield in 1987 and Donnali Fifield in 2009. The accession number is 2009-001.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

1:  William Fifield Papers, 1916-1987Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
1: Sound Recordings
1971, undated
Box
1
Interview with Marcel Marceau.
June 28, 1971
1
Marcel Marceau Speaks by Times Two Publishing Company
1
Marcel Marceau Speaks in English
1
Jean Cocteau: A Self-Portrait A Conversation with William Fifield in French
2: Non-Fiction
1976, 1982
Box
1
Modigliani: The Biography. New York: William Morrow and Company
1976
1
In Search of Genius. New York: William Morrow and Company
1982
3: Fiction
1957-1960
Box
1
The Devil's Marchioness. 1st edition. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
A novel based on the life of a notorious seventeenth-century prisoner, "one of history's most evil women", Madeleine d'Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers (inscribed by the author)
1957
1
The Devil's Marchioness. New York: The Dial Press
1957
1
The Sign of the Taurus. 1st edition. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
A novel set in Mexico about a Jewish refugee forced to earn her living as a fortune teller
1959
1
The Sign of the Taurus. 1st edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston
1960
1
Matadora. 1st edition. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
A novel about a female bullfighter
1960
4: Wine Writings
1978
Box
1
The Sherry Royalty. Spain by Grafïbérica-Jerez: Sexta S. A. Jerez de la Frontera
A history of the great sherry-making families of Spain
1978
5: Essays
1967, 1974
Box
1
"Joyce's Brother, Lawrence's Wife, Wolfe's Mother, Twain's Daughter." Reprinted from The Texas Quarterly : 69 – 87.
Spring 1967
1
' Jean Cocteau' Columbia Essays on Modern Writers. New York and London: Columbia University Press
1974
6: Short Stories
1943-1944
Box
1
"The Fisherman of Patzcuaro". In O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1943, ed. Herschel Brickell and Muriel Fuller, 41 – 59. Garden City & New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company
Inscribed by the author to his father, November 8, 1943. Contains comments from the O. Henry Memorial Award judges. Biographical note on page 42 says Fifield "sold soap, watches, and cereal". According to Donnali Fifield's mother, he had said this jokingly, referring to his career in radio, in which the programs he announced or wrote for had ads for products. The person who wrote the note took it literally, and it then appeared in other publications that repeated the biographical note.
1943
1
"The Fisherman of Patzcuaro". In The Best American Short Stories 1944 and The Yearbook of the American Short Story, ed. Martha Foley, 101 – 116. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company
1944
7: Correspondence
1962
Box
1
Cocteau, Jean, personal letter to William Fifield
17 December 1962
8: Biographical
1939, 1987
Box
1
Ballard Talisman Newspaper
December 20, 1939
1
"William Fifield Dead; Prize-Winning Author". The New York Times
December 18, 1987
1
Whitman College alumnus folder
Contains information about William Fifield post-graduation from Whitman College
9: Books
1936-1937, 1962
Box
1
Whitman College yearbook
1936
1
Whitman College yearbook
1937
1
Cocteau, Jean. Le Requiem. 1st edition. France: Gallimard
1962
10: Photographs on DVD
1916-1939, 1960-1979
Box
1
Baby photographs
1916
1
Photograph with grandfather Reverend James W. Fifield Senior
1916-1917
1
Photograph at age 1
1917
1
Photograph at age 2
1918
1
Photograph at age 5
1921
1
Two photos mounted together age 1 and age 7 or 8
circa 1920
1
Age 13 or 14
Studio portrait
circa 1930s
1
Photographs of William Fifield as an adult
circa 1960s-1970s

2:  L. Wendell Fifield Papers, 1913-1994Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
1: Publications
1920-1994
Box Box
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell Moments with God: In Prayer or Meditation at Home, at Church, or Wherever You May Be. 1st edition. Los Angeles, California: The Altar Guild of the First Congregational Church
Included with the book are a clipping about the publication of the supplement, Moments of Meditiation, and a letter regarding the supplement from the Altar Guild to L. Wendell Fifield.
1959
3 4
Who's Who in America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women. Vol. 28. Chicago: Marquis - Who's Who
Contains biographies of L. Wendell Fifield and James Fifield
1954
3 4
Who's Who in the West. 7th ed. Chicago: Marquis - Who's Who
Contains biographies of L. Wendell Fifield and James Fifield
1960
3 4
Who was Who in America with World Notables 1961 - 1968. Vol. 4. Chicago: Marquis - Who's Who
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell. How to Use the Bible. New York: The Womans Press
Inscribed by the author to an unidentified friend
1920
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell. You Can't Escape History. In "Best Sermons 1944 Selection", ed. G. Paul Butler, 195 – 201. Chicago & New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company
Included with this packet is a newspaper clipping entitled "Fifield Writes on Religious Self-Help"
1944
3 4
The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. A Church in History: The Story of Plymouth's First Hundred Years Under Beecher, Abott, Hillis, Durkee, and Fifield. Brooklyn: Stefan Salter
1949
3 4
Rounder, Arthur A. Jr. The Congregational Way of Life. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Introduction by L. Wendell Fifield
1960
3 4
Rayner, Alice D. The Path We Came By: A History of Plymouth Congregational Church Seattle, Washington 1869 – 1937.
Probably published by the church. Contains a chapter on the Fifield pastorate. Contains pictures of Fifield and the church
3 4
Rouner, Arthur A. Jr. The Congregational Way of Life
Introduction by L. Wendell Fifield
3 4
Andrews, Mildred Tanner. Seeking to Serve: The Legacy of Seattle's Plymouth Congregational Church. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
Includes information on L. Wendell Fifield. Mentions Juanita Fifield, Robert Edwin Fifield, and June Fifield
1988
3 4
The Committee on Free Church Polity and Unity. The report of a study by the committee on free church polity and unity to the general council of the congregational Christian churches of the united states.
L. Wendell Fifield was chairman of the committee that produced this
June 1954
3 4
Ballston Journal. Newspaper
Photocopy of a clipping of a tribute to June Fifield
April 14, 1993
3 4
Fifield, June. "What Can We Do for Our Elders? Part One". Advance
June 8 1953
3 4
Fifield, June. "What Can We Do for Our Elders? Part Two". Advance
June 22 1953
3 4
Fifield, June. "Congregationalist Gives College Chapel". Advance
On the construction and Congregational architecture of the Helen Hills Hills Chapel at Smith College
April 6 1955
3 4
Fifield, June. "The Magic of Dr. Mary". Advance
On Dr. Mary Cushman, who served as a Congregrational missionary and doctor in Africa for twenty years
May 4 1955
3 4
Fifield, June. "The Charlton Hestons". Advance
November 16 1956
3 4
Fifield, June. "How Will You Wear Your Crown?" The Congregationalist.
Advice to women and reflections on Christmas
December 1962
3 4
Fifield, June. "What to Do About Garden Snails". Let's Live
On her decision to cook the snails from her garden
August 1975
3 4
Fifield, June. Untitled. Claremont Courier
On Ditra Flame, the "woman in black" who left roses on Rudolph Valentino's grave each year
March 7 1984
3 4
Fifield, June. "Phantom Efficiency: How to Deal with Your Idiosyncratic Inadequacies in a Relatively Self-Sparing Manner without Sacrificing Your Individuality".
An unpublished humorous piece on clutter inspired by Ethel Kennedy
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. "High Tea Among the Packing Boxes".
On the day L. Wendell Fifield, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield moved to Brooklyn, New York after living in Seattle, Washington. Unpublished
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. "Please Pass the Salt".
A humorous piece on her family's habit of putting salt on toast. Unpublished.
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. "Miss Pingree's Blue Hat".
On a woman who stayed at Goose Cove Lodge in Maine, where June Fifield and L. Wendell Fifield sometimes went for the summer. Unpublished
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. "Lagniappe at the Louvre".
Her thoughts on the Mona Lisa and two paintings by Georges de la Tour
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. "The Peacock Feathers".
On her mother's decision to throw out peacock feathers she loved in order to change the family's luck after June came down with pneumonia
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. "The Winds of the Spirit".
On her feeling her parents' presence in the wind and in nature after their deaths
Undated
3 4
Five light articles by June Fifield
The first one has a reference to her "scholarly husband who had two left hands when it comes to repairs," it also mentions that she once had a chauffeur and a full-time maid (two photos of her maid included)
Undated
3 4
Ballard Talisman. Newspaper.
Seattle-area newspaper. Article on Christmas program with Robert Edwin Fifield mentioned as narrator
December 20 1939
3 4
The Polygon. Newspaper
Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, Brooklyn, New York. Robert Edwin Fifield referenced Enlistment in Air Force (page 2) Membership in school orchestra (page 2) Receiving a basketball varsity letter (page 3)
March 26 1943
3 4
Lakeside Tatler. Newspaper.
Lakeside School, Seattle, Washington. Robert Edwin Fifield mentioned Baseball prowess Participation in Christmas play Vice President of Lower School Gold Star Winner
June 15 1939
3 4
Fifield, June. Branch Rickey's day of decision.
January 1966
3 4
Fifield, June. The Bracelet.
About June's first Mother's Day after Robert Edwin Fifield's death. Tribute to Robert Edwin Fifield
May 1, 1980
3 4
Fifield, June. A prayer in time of war
Poem . Tribute to Robert Edwin Fifield
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June. Every laughing boy
Poem . Tribute to Robert Edwin Fifield
Undated
3 4
Fifield, June
Poem unpublished about June's first breakfast with her new husband, L. Wendell Fifield, after their marriage.
1980
3 4
Fifield, June. Other miscellaneous poems
Undated
2: Films
1936-1946
Box Box
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell and June Fifield. Washington State.
circa 1930s
3 4
Fifeld, L. Wendell and June Fifield. Oregon
circa 1930s
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell and June Fifield. En route, Seattle
1945
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell and June Fifield. Montreal
circa 1940s
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell. Plymouth Church and the Women's Guild
circa 1940s
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell. Cape Cod
1942-1943
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield. Mount Rainier and Vancouver
circa 1930s
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield. Seattle
1936-1941
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield. New York
1941-1946
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield. New York and San Francisco
circa 1940s
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell and June Fifield. Honeymoon, Honolulu
1936
3 4
Fifield family and relatives. San Francisco and Kansas City
1940
3 4
Fifield family and relatives. New York and Kansas City
1941
3 4
Fifield family and relatives. Christmases: New York.
1941 – 1946
3 4
Fifield family and relatives. Peconic, New York
1943-1945
Sub-Series 3: Sound Recordings
1940-1964
Box Box
3 4
KIRO Radio. Tribute to Reverend Doctor L. Wendell Fifield
On L. Wendell Fifield's leaving Seattle's Plymouth Congregational for Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn Heights
June 23, 1941
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell. Tenth Anniversary of L. Wendell Fifield's Ministry, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims.
Tapes may have been stored in reverse. In four separate small Audio Devices boxes
December 5, 1951
3 4
Reverend Doctor L. Wendell Fifield Memorial Service, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims
October 7, 1964
3 4
Reverend Doctor L. Wendell Fifield Memorial Service, First Congregational Los Angeles.
July 24, 1964
3 4
Fifield, L. Wendell, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield. Christmas Greetings
1941
3 4
Fifield, June and Margaret Fifield Brown. Golden Wedding (Anniversary?) / You're What I Want for Christmas
January 9, 1948
3 4
Fifield June, Robert Edwin Fifield, and June Downs. Tribute to June II and "Bluebirds Over the White Cliffs of Dover
Recording company marked the record as 'bad'
March 1942
3 4
Fifield, Robert Edwin and Joan Redden. For Me and My Gal
July 13, 1940
3 4
V – E Day, New York waterfront
May 8, 1945
3 4
Mellinger, Mabel and Rex Mellinger. What Shall I Say?
L. Wendell Fifield's family friends
November 11, 1945
3 4
Family Chatter
Voices of: Robert Edwin Fifield, Lydamar Hayward Reese, Mary Fifield Wilson, Mary Anne Wilson
circa 1940s
3 4
Hayward, Ema K Shephard. and Myron Bradley Hayward. Los Angeles Travelogue
June Fifield's parents
July 25, 1941
3 4
The Three Guesses [Millie, Margaret Fifield Brown, June Fifield]. Happy Birthday
June 26, 1941
3 4
Rodgers, Richard and Oscar Hammerstein II. Oklahoma! Selections from the Theatre Guild Musical Play. With Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts, Howard da Silva, Celeste Holm, and Lee Dixon. Records.
1943
3 4
Rossini, Gioacchino. William Tell – Overture. With Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. RCA Manufacturing Company
Undated
3 4
NBC's Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street. With Dinah Shore and Professor Sidney Bechet. RCA Manufacturing Company.
Undated
3 4
Fifield, John Lawrence and the Plymouth Church Choir. Christmas 1946
3 4
Fifield, John Lawrence. Concerto and The Train.
March 23, 1945
3 4
Fifield, John Lawrence. A Biggg Train
March 23, 1945
3 4
Fifield, John Lawrence. Peter and the Subway.
March 23, 1945
3 4
Fifield, John Lawrence. Punk
March 23, 1945
3 4
Fifield, James W. Jr. and Helen Fifield (William Fifield and Mercedes McCambridge on reverse)
July 31 1941 and August 12 1941
3 4
Fifield, James W. Jr. and Mary Irene Fifield. Love Forever and Till We Meet Again.
August 23, 1941
4: Documents and Records
1937-1954
Box Box
3 4
Fifield, Mary Irene. Notarized birth certificate for L. Wendell Fifield
L. Wendell Fifield: born in Benton Harbor, Michigan on June 10 1891
1943
3 4
Fifield, June. Notarized birth certificate for June Fifield. 1954
June Hayward Fifield: born in Tacoma, Washington on June 26, 1911
1954
3 4
Robert Edwin Fifield's adoption papers.
Included is a cover letter from Dan Earle, the attorney for petitioner
September 16 1937
Box Box
1 1
5: Correspondence
1935-1943
Box Box
1 1
Correspondence from June Fifield to her parents while staying at Whistlin' Jack Lodge in Naches, Washington
August 31, 1937
1 1
Correspondence from June Fifield to Robert Edwin Fifield, from Lake Crescent, Washington
September 3. 1936
1 1
Correspondence from Robert Edwin Fifield to his brother William Fifield
William Fifield was at Whitman in the Beta House. Robert Edwin Fifield was 10 years old
May 4, 1935
1
Correspondence from Robert Edwin Fifield to his parents, June and L. Wendell Fifield
9 post cards Sunrise Lodge in Rainier National Park
August 21-26, 1937
1
Holiday correspondence from Robert Edwin Fifield to his parents, June and L. Wendell Fifield
7 Valentine's Day cards, 1 Christmas card, 1 Mother's Day (?) card
circa 1930s
1
Correspondence from Robert Edwin Fifield to his parents, June and L. Wendell Fifield, from Camp Orkila, Orcas Island, Washington
1938-1940
1
Correspondence from Robert Edwin Fifield to his parents, June and L. Wendell Fifield from Camp Parsons, Brinnon, Washington
1938-1940
1
Correspondence from Norman Beers to June Fifield regarding Robert Edwin Fifield's performance at Camp Orkila
July 15, 1940
1
Congratulatory correspondence for 8th grade graduation
Greeting card from the Krafts. Greeting card from Robert Edwin Fifield's grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Hayward
1939
1
Correspondence from Lydamar Hayward Reese to Robert Edwin Fifield
High school graduation congratulations sent from Tacoma, Washington
June 1, 1943
1
Correspondence from James W. Fifield, Jr. to Robert Edwin Fifield
High school graduation congratulations Note from the First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, California entitled "What is the War Doing to You?" sent from Los Angeles, California
June 2, 1943
1
Correspondence from Margaret Fifield Brown to Robert Edwin Fifield
June 3, 1943
1
Correspondence from June Fifield to Robert Edwin Fifield
June 11, 1943
Box
1 1
Correspondence from Bob Reese to Robert Edwin Fifield
Regarding entering the armed services sent from Los Angeles, California
July 18, 1943
1
Correspondence from June Fifield to Robert Edwin Fifield
Probably given shortly before Robert Edwin Fifield left for training camp. References a gift, likely hand-made by June Fifield
Undated
6: Memorabilia
1913-1962
Box
7
Ministerial Robes
7
Chasuble
7
Tie
4
Bachelor of Arts, Oberlin College
1913
4
Bachelor of Divinity, Chicago Theological Seminary
June 7, 1916
4
Fifield, L. Wendell. The basis of authority in religious thinking. Bachelor of divinity thesis, Chicago Theological Seminary
1916
4
Honorary Doctorate of Divinity, Yankton College
Signed by college president Henry Kimball Warren
June 10, 1925
4
Thank-you from the Plymouth Church in Seattle
For "having the idea of creating an anniversary fund" for the Plymouth Church 100th anniversary of the church was celebrated May 14 1947 Framed
June 19, 1947
4
Thank-you from the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles
October 2, 1958
4
"This Week in Seattle Guide"
Honored as Seattleite of the year: "He just naturally earned it."
December 28, 1940
6
Villesvik, John. Plymouth Congregational Church, Seattle (not formally titled)
circa 1930s
6
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (not formally titled).
Pen and ink.
Undated
2
Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims (not formally titled)
Porcelain tinted tile
Undated
1
Calling cards
"Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Wendell Fifield" "Mrs. Lawrence Wendell Fifield" "Dr. L. Wendell Fifield"
1
Engraving plates for calling cards
"Mrs. Lawrence Wendell Fifield" "Mrs. L. Wendell Fifield"
1
Gavel
Ivory, Monogrammed "LWF"
4
Ink pen
4
"Puget Sound Views".
An album of nature photographs by Asahel Curtis of Mount Rainier given to L. Wendell Fifield and June Fifield by the Plymouth Congregational Church on June 27 1941.
4
First Congregational Church. Lent meditation program. March 23 1958
Led by June Fifield based on the themes of James W. Fifield, Jr.s' The Single Path.
4
Drawing of June Fifield as a girl
4
Bardue, Mary. Drawing of June. 1929
Mary Bardue was either a cousin or an aunt on Ema K. Shephard's side
4
Silhouette of June Fifield as a young woman
4
Claremont newspaper clipping. Probably 1961 or 1962
Regarding June Fifield's presidency of the local branch of the Motion Picture Council. Also with this clipping is another that mentions her re-election
1
Silver dollar bracelet
Corresponds to her short story, "The Bracelet"
4
Envelope of 17 miscellaneous photos 1930s
Photographs of Ema Kinsey Shephard Hayward and Myron Bradley Hayward Photographs of Ema Kinsey Shephard Hayward, Lydamar Hayward, and June Hayward Fifield on Bainbridge Island, Washington (Gazaam House, 1935)
4
Smith, Ethelynde. Two hand-painted cards for June Fifield
Included with a card from her to June; clipping about her in The Altadenan, Altadena, California, September 2, 1976
5
Air Force hat, World War II
4
Air Force tie pin, World War II
with a star and angel wings around the wings of a propeller
4
Air Force medallion, World War II
1
New Testament, with Psalms and a Devotional Guide for Servicemen
Pocket Bible with a handwritten dedication that it was given to him by the Board of Deacons of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims on August 2, 1943 with L. Wendell Fifield's signature. Gray leather case
1
New Testament
American Bible Society o issued to soldiers during World War II President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's signature printed on the first page
4
The Lakeside School brochure. 1939
Seattle, Washington. Notes on buildings and Lakeside people
4
The Doubting Shepherd. December 1938. Program
Robert Edwin Fifield listed as playing 'Joel', one of the shepherds. The Lakeside School, Seattle, Washington
4
The Lakeside School. Commencement Exercises. June 15 1939. Program
Robert Edwin Fifield listed as graduate of the 8th grade. Stephen B. L. Penrose commencement speaker
4
Spring Concert of Ballard High School, May 24 1940. Program
Robert Edwin Fifield listed as flutist
1
Rental contract, March 20 1939
From Hopper-Kelly Company for rental of flute to Robert Edwin Fifield
1
Mid-Winter Concert The Music Department of Ballard High School, January 24 1941. Program
Robert Edwin Fifield acknowledged. Robert Edwin Fifield listed as a flutist
4
Father's Dinner badge, December 10 1942.
Polytechnic Preparatory School, Brooklyn, New York. Robert Edwin Fifield's teachers noted on reverse
1
SAT College Entrance Examination Board Ticket, January 9 1943
Columbia University, New York, New York
4
Certificate of Graduation, June 4 1943
Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School
4
Invitation to Robert Edwin Fifield's graduation ceremony, 1943
Polytechnic Preparatory country Day School
1
Brochures for Camp Orkila, 1938, 1939, 1940
4
Girard, Adele and Joe Marsala. Little Sir Echo. New York: Bergman, Vocco, and Conn,1917
Sheet music and lyrics
1
Badge from General Council Congregational and Christian Churches for associate membership, August 13 – 20 1940
4
Baseball glove
Robert Edwin Fifield's name written on the side. Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School
4
Advertisement for a shoe shine service Bob offered to his neighbors in Blue Ridge, Seattle, Washington, probably 1937 or 1938
4
Silhouette of Robert Edwin Fifield as a boy
1
Oberlin College pin
7: Books
1908-1977
Box
4
Kennedy, Charles Rann. "The Terrible Meek". New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers
1912
1
Van Loon, Hendrik Willem. 1st edition. "The Message of the Bells or, What Happened to Us on Christmas Eve". New York
1942
1
Asch, Sholem. "The Nazarene". New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons
Inscribed by the author to L. Wendell Fifield (1940). Front cover missing. Included with the book is a letter by Sholem Asch to L. Wendell Fifield
1939
1
"A Service Book", revised, 3rd edition. Chicago: The National Selected Morticians
Contains words for burials, etc. "L. Wendell Fifield" engraved on the cover "In My Father's House" by Robert Freeman (page 121) marked by L. Wendell Fifield
1940
3
Durant, Will. "The Story of Philosophy The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers". 11th edition. New York: Simon and Schuster
1926
3
Ives, Burl. "Wayfaring Stranger: An Autobiography". New York & Toronto: Whittelsey House
1948
3
Whittelsey, Delia Taylor. "Thoughts by the Way". Seattle, Washington: Frank McCaffrey
1933
1
Dorris, Anna Verona. "When My Heart Sings". 1st edition. New York: Exposition Press
1959
3
Lott, Elsie Moore. "Wagons Rolled West". Salt Lake City, Utah: Stevens & Wallis
1955
4
Moore, Marianne. "Collected Poems". New York: The Macmillan Company
1953
1
Cushman, Mary Floyd. "Missionary Doctor: The Story of Twenty Years in Africa". New York & London: Harper & Brothers
1944
1
King, Julius. "Wild Flowers at a Glance". Cleveland, Ohio: The Harter Publishing Company
Gift from his grandfather, James W. Fifield Senior, on his 13th birthday, December 3 1937. Inscription from James W. Fifield Senior to Robert Edwin Fifield
1935
4
Davis, Royal G. "Light on a Gothic Tower". Los Angeles, California: First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
1967
1
Seelye, B. B. "A Brief History of the First Congregational Church Kansas City, Mo. 1866 – 1909". Kansas City, Missouri: Hailman Printing Company
1909
4
Central High School Yearbook, Kansas City, Missouri
1908
3
Field, Eugene. "Some Poems of Childhood." New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
1931
1
Collodi, C. "Pinocchio: The Story of a Puppet". New York: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers
Undated
3
Fifield, James W. Jr. "The Tall Preacher: Autobiography of Dr. James W. Fifield, Jr. With Bill Youngs". California: Pepperdine University Press
1977
3
Fifield, James W. Jr. "The Single Path". Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
A guide to moral and mental health. Included with this book is a newspaper clipping entitled "Fifield Writes on Religious Self-Help"
1957
3
Oberlin College Yearbook
The 1914 Hi-Oh-Hi
1913
8: Photographs
1919-1959
Box
2
Plymouth Church pulpit
Undated
2
L. Wendell Fifield with plaque recognizing him as the First Citizen of Seattle, 1940
January 1941
2
Shutter, Michael. (Untitled) Studio portrait of L. Wendell Fifield, June Fifield, and Robert Edwin Fifield
1943
2
Home at 10815 Valmay Avenue NW, Seattle, Washington
Various photographs, some published in Sunset magazine in 1938.
circa 1930s-1940s
2
Brooklyn Heights Home
1941
2
Peconic, Long Island, New York Home
circa 1940s
2
Home at 777 Plymouth Road, Claremont, California
circa 1950s
2
Photocopy of circular photograph portrait of June Fifield, Lydamar Hayward (June's sister), and Ema K. Shephard Hayward (June's mother)
Undated
2
Class photographs
Probably Lincoln School, Olympia, Washington
1919
2
Photographs of June Fifield, alone or with friends
circa 1930s-1950s
2
Shutter, Michael. Untitled studio portrait of June Fifield
1943
2
Negatives
Three envelopes of negatives
Undated
2
Photos taken on Orcas Island, Washington at Camp Orkila
1938-1939
2
Team photos from Polytechnic Preparatory Country Day School, Brooklyn, New York
circa early 1940s
2
Robert Edwin Fifield playing soccer
circa early 1940s
2
Lawrence Wendell Fifield Family Album
1925-1936

3:  Works by and about other Fifield Family Members, 1940-2008Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
1: Mercedes McCambridge
1981-1982, 2005
Box
2
McCambridge, Mercedes. The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography. 1st edition. New York: Times Books
Contains photographs, numerous mentions of John Lawrence, and gives a general description of her two husbands (page 78).
1981
2
McCambridge, Mercedes. "The Quality of Mercy: An Autobiography". 2nd edition. New York: Berkley Books
1982
2
Lackman, Ron. "Mercedes McCambridge: A Biography and Career Record." 1st edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company
Contains a complete list of Mercedes McCambridge's work, several references to William Fifield and John Lawrence, and a photograph of John Lawrence as a young man. Included with the book is a biography of Ron Lackman from Internet Movie Database
2005
2: Donna Hamilton Shor
1940-2008
Box
2
Haspiel, James. Young Marilyn: Becoming the Legend. New York: Hyperion
Contains images of Donna Shor with Marilyn Monroe (page 18) and a reference to her (page 19).
1994
2
Beard, James. Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles: Letters to Helen Evans Brown, ed. John Ferrone. 1st edition. New York: Aracde Publishing
1994
2
Powell, Violet. The Departure Platform: An Autobiography. London: Random House
Contains references to William Fifield, Donna Fifield, and their children (pages 130 – 132).
1998
2
McLellan, Diana. The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood. New York: St. Martin's Press
Contains acknowledgement to Donna Shor (page XII)
2000
2
Photographs
10 photos. Marilyn Monroe William Fifield Mike Fanning DVD
circa 1940s-1960s
2
Shor, Donna. "Trump and the Turks: Whether by jet a la Donald or by Western Union, getting around town is a must." Washington Life
April 2008
3: Donnali Fifield
1954-2006
Box
2
Jacquet, Luc. March of the Penguins, trans. Donna Fifield. Washington D.C.: National Geographic
2006
2
Photographs
Over 30 photos Donna Hamilton Shor Fifield, Brian Fifield, William Fifield. DVD
1954-?
4: Kyle Freeman
2003
Box
2
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. "The Complete Sherlock Holmes", ed. Kyle Freeman. Vol. I. New York: Barnes & Nobles Classics
Introduction and notes by Kyle Freeman
2003
2
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. "The Complete Sherlock Holmes", ed. Kyle Freeman. Vol. II. New York: Barnes & Nobles Classics
2003
5: Jane Fifield Flynn
1992
Box
2
Flynn, Jane Fifield. Kansas City Women of Independent Minds. 1st edition. Kansas City, Missouri: Fifield Publishing Company
Included with book is a photocopy of a newspaper article on Jane Fifield Flynn (August 23 1996). Inscribed by Jane Fifield Flynn to June Fifield
1992
2
Flynn, Jane Fifield. Kansas City Style. 3rd printing. Kansas City, Missouri: Fifield Publishing Company
Inscribed by the author
1992

Unprocessed accession, 1950-1981Return to Top

Container(s): Box 8, Box 9

2 linear feet, (2 boxes)

The boxes include articles, books, and documents on William and Donna Fifield's food and wine career in Europe. Also included are vinyl recordings and records, movies (DVD, VHS), CDs, photographs, magazines, and books owned by the Fifields.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Fifield, L. Wendell, Dr.
  • Fifield, L. Wendell, Dr.
  • McCambridge, Mercedes