Mildred Lucinda Reynolds papers

Format:

Other

Author/Creator:

Reynolds, Mildred L., 1890-1968, creator, photographer.

Contributor:

Caroline F. Schimmel Collection of Women in the American Wilderness (University of Pennsylvania)

Schimmel, Caroline F., associated name, former owner.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indigenous peoples--North America.

Indigenous peoples.

Off-reservation boarding schools.

Women teachers.

Brainwashing.

Women travelers.

Genre:

Photograph albums.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by McBride Rare Books, 2026 (Accession No.: 2026.000072)

Physical Description:

2 boxes (0.5 linear foot)

Biography/History:

Mildred Lucinda Reynolds (December 2, 1890-1968) was a teacher who taught at two different government boarding schools for Indigenous children in the early 20th century: the Crow Creek Agency school and the Tomah Indian Industrial School. Mildred Reynolds' parents were Alta Bee Reynolds (formerly Webster) and Emerson Reynolds. Her older brother, Westley, died when he was 16 and she was 12; he was shot while defending the bank he worked at from robbers. A page in the photo album is dedicated to pictures of and clippings about him.According to census records, in 1910 she lived with her mother and was a teacher in Manistee, Michigan. After Michigan, she worked at the Crow Creek Agency government boarding school in South Dakota; this school is variantly called Fort Thompson Indian School and operated from 1880-1920. By 1920, census records show Reynolds was a teacher at an “Indian school” in Tomah, Wisconsin. This would be the Tomah Indian Industrial School, an off-reservation government boarding school which was founded in 1893 and closed in 1941.The auction catalog record says she left Tomah in 1924 due to poor health. Indeed, clippings and unsent/drafted correspondence in the collection allude heavily to her receiving electroshock therapy at some point. By 1930 she had changed careers and was a telegraph operator living in Michigan; by the 1950s she was living in California, where she died in 1968. She was a telegraph operator for a railway company; her interest in trains is also represented in the clippings she collected. She never married. Her correspondence states explicitly that she heard “voices” and was either “brainwashed” or under the effects of “mind control” from outside parties. Her interest in the topic of mind control via electromagnetic waves is reflected in the comics and clippings she collected in the latter decades of her life, and which are tipped in on both pastedowns in the photo album.

Summary:

This collection is comprised of a photo album by Mildred L. Reynolds, plus some additional photographs, correspondence, clippings, and ephemera. The photo album contains pictures from her time as a teacher at both the Crow Creek Agency School and Tomah Indian Industrial School, plus clippings, poetry, and pictures of her family members and later travels. The pictures from the Crow Creek Agency depict the school building, the agency office, and other buildings and structures, including tipis. They show Reynolds with students, Reynolds alone, and pictures of Indigenous individuals, probably Crow Creek Sioux people who lived in the area. Sioux people in traditional dress are pictured at an outdoor gathering. There are several pictures of horses and horse riding, possibly a race. There are photographs of the Tomah Indian Industrial School building and buildings in the area; Indigenous men in American military uniform, in posed groups and actively drilling; plus students, community members, and school activities. Reynolds is pictured wearing a feathered headdress and blanket in one image. Damage to the schoolhouse building is documented. Some photographs of Indigenous people are captioned in Mildred’s hand (probably). Some names are abbreviated and some are not legible. The names in album captions are: Crow Man / Medicine Crow, Eagle Man, Joe (?) Bad Moccasin, Little Elk, Susie, Seneca, Mrs. Bone, Caroline Eagle Dog, Sam Different Horse, Cooke Bad Moccasin (also shortened to Cooke B.M.), Ohilly, Banks, Mrs. Koser, Louis Fogg, Mrs. Lincoln, Never Misses, “Walking Warrior Alex’s Other Grandfather,” Grey One, Geo. C. F., Hermione Flying Hawk Sazon (Sazor?). Two pages document a funeral, possibly the funeral of Alexander H. Smith, son of Bertah Smith Saul, 1899-1917, whose headstone is pictured. Later pages in the album document travels around the United States to destinations including Washington, D.C. and New York City. None are dated, and there are clippings and postcards depicting American cities throughout the album, so when this travel took place is unclear. The ephemera, clippings, and correspondence are largely from the last two decades of her life. It is possible they were at some point laid in to the album for eventual tipping in.

The 11 other folders in this collection are: 1. Photographs and negatives, mostly of Mildred Reynolds, friends, and family, some with handwritten captions. This includes one envelope of negatives and two cabinet cards, probably of family members. -- 2. Ephemera and other printed materials, including Reynolds' high school graduation invitation, USO meritorious service certificate, travel maps, and hospital map. The USO certificate is from 1958. The hospital map is a copy of a hand-drawn map; the cartographer and what Reynolds’ relationship is to this hospital are not known. -- 3. Railway employment, Reynolds' union cards, typewritten notes and telegraphs about. The union cards are both from 1966. Her employment by the railroad as a telegraph operator is sporadically documented here, but one gets a sense of the working life for railroad telegraph operators. -- 4. Correspondence to Mildred Reynolds, from various friends and at least one coworker. Senders largely sign off with only their first names. A letter from Reynolds’ cousin Mary Wildman about aging is paired with Wildman’s 1967 obituary because it was tucked into the envelope the letter came in, probably by Reynolds, and so this obituary is not in the Obituary Clippings folder. -- 5. Obituary clippings. People with Reynolds and Webster surnames, who would be relatives of Reynolds'. Additionally, two obituaries for a Professor Serge, Duke de Beauharnais von Leuchtenberg, a Russian language teacher who lived in the same area (Monterey, CA) as Reynolds. -- 5. Mental and physical health, unsent correspondence about, handwritten by Mildred Reynolds. Three drafts of a letter to family members “Russ + Nell” where Reynolds writes “I think every day of doing so [writing a letter] but psychological warefare and mind control being what they are it isn’t always possible.” An unsent letter addressed to the "director of the R.R.B." (probably Railroad Retirement Board) discusses her stress, perceived brainwashing and mind control, and avoidance of medical doctors. -- 6. "Control of the Brain" by Robert Caughlan, Life Magazine, 1963 March, excerpts copied by hand. -- 7. Clippings and cartoons, many about railways, rail telegraph operators, radio wave effects on the brain, and psychology. Mostly undated and reflect Reynolds’ interests. -- 8. Young Indigenous man, possibly Reynolds' student, photo portrait in suit with bow tie. The style of this photograph matches student portraits in the photograph album, but there is no identifying information. -- 9. Notes, in multiple hands, including poetry and one handwritten translation of Siouan names. Not all notes are legible. The Siouan names are: Zintkalaluta (Red Bird); Wakinyan Watakpe (Charging Thunder); Maga (Goose); Isna-la-wica (Lone Man); Chante Wanicha (No Heart). Who wrote out these names and why is not known. -- 10. Postcards, blank, undated. Nine postcards, some for holidays, others possibly souvenirs from travel destinations.

Notes:

Auction information laid in with photograph album (box 2).

OCLC:

1610781587