Betty Lee Hutchinson papers

The Betty Lee Hutchinson papers document the personal interests and civic activities of a woman with ties to Newark, Delaware, and the University of Delaware community. The collection consists of family photographs and correspondence, greeting cards and postcards, travel journals and Elderhostel materials, political and personal ephemera, maps, certificates of honor, and records of Betty Lee’s civic engagement with Newark, Delaware, as a City Council representative of the third district.

The collection is arranged in six series: I. Family and personal, II. Civic engagement, III. Travel, IV. Correspondence, V. Delawareana, and VI. Maps.

Notable records from the first series include family photographs and materials from Betty Lee’s parents’ families, the Cartes and the Trumans. Printed materials document her father’s World War I military enlistment while photographs show fashion and apparel from the era. These items also document the middle-class lifestyle of two central West Virginia families in the early twentieth century. Betty Lee’s public school records, and some of her college materials, are in the first series along with her husband Harry’s early materials. Some of Harry’s materials also include his correspondence with members of the University of Delaware faculty and administration, his curriculum vitae, his teaching honors from the university, and ephemera from university related events. Materials from Betty Lee and Harry’s children, David Hutchinson, Anne Clites Hutchinson, and Douglas Hutchinson, and grandchildren are also present in this series.

The second series documents Betty Lee’s involvement with the Newark City Council, including her city beautification efforts. The second series also contains materials related to her involvement with the Newark Free Library, the BBZ investment club, the Hidden Trail Committee, and the League of Women Voters of Greater Newark, Delaware.

Series II also includes a large collection of political ephemera, most notably a series of campaign posters, yard signs and bumper stickers from local, state and national candidates for elected office, including Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter; Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons; Governors Russ Petersen and Jack Markell, as well as posters for the League of Women Voters and six campaign buttons.

The third series documents the travel of Betty Lee’s family. The postcards and the travel journals not only document the trips, but also contain materials related to the Elderhostel program. Records of trips to England, France, Italy, Greece, and Barbados are also in this series. Trips to California and the American West are also located in this series.

The bulk of the collection is in correspondence, found in the fourth series. The greeting cards and letters exchanged between Betty Lee and her children, sister, mother, and friends document close relationships in the mid-to-late-twentieth century and early twenty-first century. Some correspondence is also located in the second series of the collection because of its political subjects. Letters from Senators Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and Thomas R. Carper include handwritten greetings to Betty Lee in response to her civic engagement in Newark, as well as her personal acquaintance with the politicians. She also exchanged correspondence with Shelley R. Moore, mother of West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito and wife of former West Virginia Governor Arch A. Moore.

The fifth series contains Delawareana and materials pertaining to nature and the environment in the state. This includes nature guide books, pamphlets about Wilmington, tourism materials Newark history and recreational opportunities, and local efforts to establish recycling programs and water-use awareness programs.

The sixth and final series contains oversized maps including Western Europe, South America, East Asia, constellations, the American Colonies, and Newark city planning.