“In the eyes of the world, I am probably called a loner because my family wants no part of living in the hot spot of Yuma…” So writes Ruth Foster in a brief biographical statement written after a 33-year career teaching English at Yuma High School. She was born September 3, 1903 in Denver, Colorado – the eldest child of Isaiah W. Foster and Cora E. Mosteller. She graduated from Colorado State Teachers’ College in 1927 and came to Arizona in 1928 where she taught in the Duncan and Marana high schools before coming to Yuma. Ruth received a master’s degree from the University of Arizona in 1937. She was a highly regarded educator who maintained strong connections to leaders in education state and nationwide. One of her hobbies was writing which is reflected in her prolific correspondence.
This collection is remarkable for documenting the professional career and the community service life of an unmarried woman that begins in the late 1920s and ends with the women’s rights movement. In a diary entry, Ruth Foster mentions cleaning out her early files to make room for more recent works in progress. This may explain why the bulk of her correspondence dates from the 1960s despite lifelong friendships and close ties to her brother and sister-in-law. Because Ruth served in many professional and community leadership roles, the organizational work, community activism, and issue-based research are richly detailed. Original order is unknown.
This collection is arranged in four series and chronologically within. Series I: Personal (biographical material); Series II: Correspondence (general, personal, professional) Series III: Organizations; Series IV: Writings.
