Gorrell Starke Clinger Diaries and Scrapbooks

Collection

Identifier: A3263

Staff Only

Scope and Content

The collection is comprised of 96 volumes including mostly diaries and nine scrapbooks dating from 1901 to 1965. There are no diaries or scrapbooks for the years 1904, 1905, 1908, 1918, and 1932. The diaries for 1922 and 1923 and the 1955 scrapbook are incomplete. The collection is arranged chronologically.

The diaries are a combination of daily activity journal and scrapbook. They include Gorrell’s daily notes on her activities and also many pasted newspaper clippings, programs, correspondence, greeting cards, a few photographs, and other similar items. The nine scrapbooks contain mostly newspaper clippings and date 1902, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, and 1955. Loose items that Gorrell tucked between pages in both the diaries and the scrapbooks are arranged chronologically and are in folders immediately following the volumes from which they were removed. Most of the volumes are published diaries bound in red cloth. The earliest, 1901 to 1917, were personalized with Gorrell’s name and the year printed on the binding. The 1929 to 1965 volumes are also large, cloth bound published diaries. From 1919 to 1928, Gorrell used composition books as diaries, which required three to four books per year. She also used these as scrapbooks from 1949 to 1953. Several of the large volumes have broken bindings which required dividing them into two to four pieces in folders. Gorrell Starke Clinger’s diaries record activities and events in her life while living in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1901 to 1965 and while she and Harry lived in St. Joseph, Michigan, from 1918 to 1921. Gorrell wrote about her family and Harry’s family, travelling to conferences or to visit family, her charitable work at Kingdom House, and her work with various religious committees and organizations. For example, on 29 January 1935, she added a letter and photo to her diary that she had received from a young girl in China who attended a school supported by the Cabanne Auxiliary. Gorrell also recorded events at the store she and Harry owned; health updates for herself and family; and pleasure outings such as shopping, theatre, and later movies. For the topics about which Gorrell did not write, she likely added newspaper clippings to her diaries. She increased the number of newspaper clippings in her diaries as she aged. The clippings cover a large array local, national, and international topics published in the St. Louis newspapers and some national publications. Examples of the topics include the 1904 World’s Fair, the 1927 tornado, St. Louis weather extremes such as flooding, presidential nominations and elections, Veiled Prophet balls and parades, golf, and the home front during WWI and WWII. Gorrell also saved ephemeral items such as performance and church programs, minutes of meetings, various announcements, greeting cards, and correspondence in her diaries. In August 1917, she kept a letter from J. T. Gibbs who had just arrived in camp at San Antonio as part of the 93rd Aero Squad at Kelly Field (B5/f.3). During WWII, Gorrell retained a pamphlet about how to participate in a blackout (B18/f.1). In her 1950 scrapbook (v.79), she saved a letter dated 3 April 1950 from Bing Crosby asking for donations to American Printing House for the Blind. For processing notes on diary entries, please consult with a member of the Archives Department staff.

Dates

1901-1965

Creator

Clinger, Gorrell Starke, 1882-1965 (Creator, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, quote from, or reproduce material in this collection, please contact the Archives Reference Desk at archives@mohistory.org. Copyright restrictions may apply. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright.

Biographical Sketch

Pauline Gorrell Lena Starke Clinger (“Gorrell”) was born on 8 March 1882 to Return Jefferson Starke (1846-1919) and Mary Poage Starke (1855-1945) in Rich Hill, Missouri. She had seven siblings: Leroy Bruce Starke (1874-1933), Leila Edgar Starke Hall (1876-1964), Dryden Poage Starke (1878-19--), Burton Gaines Starke (1880-1963), Ella Virginia Eugenia Starke Moser (1884-1969), Marion Elizabeth Starke Sisco (1886-1981), and Jessie Malcolm Starke Hardy (1888-1981). The family moved from Bates County, Missouri to St. Louis on August 17, 1898.

Gorrell graduated from Central High School in January 1903. She worked at the 314 Continental Bank Building (4th and Olive) in 1902 and then was employed by the Continental Co. (Spruce and 4th St.) in 1903. On 22 June 1907, Gorrell married Harry F. Clinger, from Indiana. The couple resided on Burd Avenue in St. Louis before they moved to St. Joseph, Michigan, sometime in 1918. In 1922, Gorrell and Harry returned to St. Louis. In 1932, they moved to an apartment at 323 Clara Avenue. Gorrell’s brother, Bruce Starke, and mother, Mary Poage Starke, also moved to this address. In 1954, her sister and husband, Lelia and Lee Hall, moved into 323 Clara Avenue. Gorrell resided at 323 Clara until she moved to the Carrie Elligson Geitner Home (5000 S. Broadway) for health reasons in 1962. Gorrell Starke Clinger died on 27 January 1966 of heart disease. Gorrell was a lifelong member of the Cabanne Methodist Church (5760 Bartmer) where she served on various committees and groups, including as a member of the Board of Stewards and as treasurer of the Women’s Society of Christian Service until 1959. She also wrote a column, “Around the World with Mrs. Clinger,” in the Cabanne Church paper. In 1922, she was selected as a delegate to the International Sunday School Convention held in Kansa City. While living in St. Louis and in St. Joseph, Gorrell was active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and its Young People’s Branch. She served as secretary in both St. Louis and St. Joseph and as treasurer in St. Louis. In St. Joseph during WWI, Gorrell was also active in the Michigan War Motor Corp until it disbanded in 1919. Throughout the 1920s, Gorrell continued to stay active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She also held offices and attended meetings of the Woman’s Missionary Society of the St. Louis Conference. In 1924, she began a long term affiliation with Kingdom House, serving as treasurer and later in various board positions. In addition to work and her religious interests, Gorrell was an avid golfer, as were other members of her family. She played while she lived in Michigan and obtained a permit to play at St. Louis public park golf courses, including Forest Park. Gorrell attended the 1922 Women’s Western Amateur golf tournament held at the Glen Echo Country Club. In 1936 Gorrell and Harry leased a building at 314 DeBaliviere and incorporated a business which they named Mary Poage Inc. On 1 October 1936, the Clingers opened their Busy Bee Store, an affiliate with Busy Bee Candies that operated in St. Louis from 1881 to 1959, with one bakery girl, one candy girl, one soda fountain girl, and a cook. On the night of 21 February 1947, Harry was robbed at gunpoint in the store. The Clingers closed the store in 1948. Then, Harry founded the C and O Catering Company at the location with a partner for a few months before filing for bankruptcy. Harry F. Clinger was born in Indiana on 2 November 1881. An accountant, he worked for Cole Brothers until 1917. After he and Gorrell ran their own businesses in the 1940s, he eventually retired from Fred P Rapp Inc. Grocery as an auditor in 1958. Harry Clinger died on 7 April 1970.

Extent

16.55 Cubic Feet ( (33 boxes [96 volumes], 1 oversize folder))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is arranged chronologically.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

There are no physical or no physical or technical restrictions.

Donor Information

The collection was donated by Jonathan P. Edwards in 2019 (accession number 2019-073).

Separated Materials

The following newsletters were transferred to the MHS Library: 1. Together, Metropolitan Church Federation of St. Louis: Vol.46, Nos.1-3 (Jan, Feb, Apr 1955). 2. Methome News, Methodist Children’s Home of Missouri, v.II, No.4 (Aug 1959).