Bertha Kate Gaddis diaries

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSS 21

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Includes 18 diaries written by Bertha Kate Gaddis, a long-term teacher in the Lafayette area and sister to Lella Gaddis, Indiana's first state leader of Home Demonstration. The diaries contain detailed accounts of Kate and Lella's lives, interactions, and activities of important persons at Purdue University, and events and the changing landscape in both Lafayette and the United States. Also includes the shoebox where the diaries were kept.

Dates

Creation: 1906-1937, 1945-1946

Creator

Riley Epple-Heath, Miriam K. (Donor, Person)
Gaddis, Bertha Kate (Person)

Access Information

Collection is open for research.

Copyright and Use Information

Copyright held by Purdue University. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.

Biographical Information

Bertha Kate Gaddis was a lifelong teacher and taught in the Lafayette area for fifty years.

Bertha Kate Gaddis was born in Rossville, Indiana to William and Margaret (Reed) Gaddis in 1878, the second of four children, Mamie, John Clyde, and Lella. Their family moved from their farm in Rossville to the Lafayette area after their last child, Lella, was born.

Kate dedicated her life to teaching and taught at schools in Lafayette for fifty years. She started her career as a teacher in 1888, first serving at Columbian School and later Washington School in Lafayette.

Kate remained unmarried and lived with her younger sister and home demonstration agent, Lella Gaddis, in West Lafayette, Indiana, where they frequently hosted boarders, including many Purdue students, and important persons through Lella’s connections with Purdue University.

Kate continued her career as a teacher until her retirement in June 1939. Due to numerous health issues, Kate lived the latter part of her life in a wheelchair. She died on June 6, 1947.