Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Certificate Series
Miscellaneous Series
Photograph Series
Scrapbook Series

These papers will prove invaluable to those doing research on the Little Theatre Club at Eastern or the American theatre in general during the 1920s-1940s.

Pearl Leigh Buchanan was born on December 21, 1893 in Virginia. Her parents were C.H. and Margaret Bassette Buchanan. Mr. Buchanan was a Methodist minister and Mrs Buchanan was a writer, who wrote under the pen name Maggie May. Her works were occasionally published in the Nashville Banner newspaper. They moved frequently during Miss Buchanan's early childhood, and was taught at home until she entered third grade at Southern Seminary for Young Ladies in Texas. She received a diploma from Mexia High School, Mexia, Texas

She was next enrolled in College for Young Females then in San Antonio Female College in Texas. She often remarked that she hated the word "Female" in reference to her schools. She received a Bachelor of Literature degree from San Antonio Female College in 1913. She then attended Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and was granted a B.A. degree there in 1915. In the following years she studied speech and drama at Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinios. In 1929 she graduated with a master's degree from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville.

Over the years she attended numerous workshops and conferences to keep abreast of changing methods. In 1957, she attended Edinburgh University where she studied speech. Miss Buchanan was a charter member and first president of the Kentucky Speech Association. She was also a charter member of the Southern Speech Association and active in the American Association of University Women.

Miss Buchanan was deeply involved in genealogy. Her folders contain a book giving copious notes on the Buchanan family. Her personal lineage is included. She was very proud of her inclusion in the Daughters of the American Revolution and United Daughters of the Confederacy. Miss Buchanan authored a book of poetry, A Late Lark (1972), which was published under the name Gwinette. Several of her short stories were also published.

For many years she served in various roles at the speech and drama festivals and clinics both locally and throughout the Commonwealth. Honors she received include being named the honorary page in the Kentucky House of Representatives as a Kentucky Colonel. She was also named an honorary citizen of Tennessee by Governor Frank H. Clement. A world traveler, Miss Buchanan visited forty-eight out of the fifty states, fifty-four foreign countries, and the Artic Circle. In her time she piloted a plane, a ship, and a locomotive. She was interested in the theater, dance, and music. Her collection of programs from these events show her deep interest in cultural activities. She taught at Eastern for forty-one years, 1923-64 and from 1923-1942, she was sponsor and director of the Little Theatre Club. During her term, emphasis was placed on Shakespearean drama, although light comedies were sometimes presented. Another of her duties was the supervision and selection of students who ushered at university functions. At Eastern, Miss Buchanan was an associate professor of English. She taught a variety of courses but favored her classes in interpretative reading.

In poor health, she retired in 1964. At that time it was suggested to President Martin by Evelyn Bradley that the Little Theater in the Keen Johnson building be renamed the Pearl Buchanan Theater. This was done in 1964. Her last months were spent at the Kenwood Nursing Home in Richmond. She died on December 19, 1983 and was interred in the Richmond Cemetery.

Description:
Ten diplomas or certificates are in this series. These are school diplomas, club certificates and declarations of honor for Miss Buchanan and her mother. The materials cover the years 1911 to 1963 and are arranged chronologically.

Inventory

Box 1

1.    Mexia High School diploma  2.    San Antonio Female College, certificate of proficiency in              Latin. 3.    San Antonio Female College diploma  4.    Pi Gamma Mu.  Pearl Buchanan 5.    Diploma from George Peabody College for Teachers             bestowing Master of Arts degree upon Pearl L.              Buchanan 6.    DAR Certificate:  Pearl Leigh Buchanan 7.    DAR Certificate:  Margaret Gwin Bassette Buchanan 8.    Certificate of Merit in Genealogy presented to Margaret             Buchanan.       9.    House of Representatives of Kentucky.  Certificate as             honorary page.  Requested by Clarence H. Bates 10.  Declaration of honorary citzenship in TN for Miss Pearl              Buchanan.  Signed by Frank Clement, Governor of              Tennessee.

May 26, 1911 undated May 5, 1913 September 14, 1926   August 24, 1929 November 7, 1931 July 7, 1933 December 27, 1938 April 12, 1956   1963

Description:
This series contains eight items, including the family Bible, handwritten notes by C.H. Buchanan and autobiographical notes by Miss Buchanan. Also included are her thesis and a painting by Maude Gibson. The materials cover the years 1886 to 1957 and are arranged according to size within the box.

Inventory

Box 2

1.  Stenographer's notebook containing autobiographical notes           by Charles H. Buchanan in his handwriting. n.d. 2.  The Polyglot Bible belonging to Rev. C.H. Buchanan.  3.  Notebook containing genealogical information of the            Buchanan family. 4.  Thesis:  Pearl Leigh Buchanan.  An Experiemental Study of            Adult Reading Abilities."  George Peabody College for           Teachers.   5.  Lineage.  Miss Buchanans direct line. 6.  Short autobiography of Miss Buchanan's Clipping from            Eastern Progress student newspaper.   7.  Water color of rose by Maude Gibson.  8. The Lord's Prayer in Chinese, given to Miss Buchanan by            Kuo Chou Wu in 1950

1886       Aug 1929   1957 1951

Description:
The Photograph Series consists of one box of black and white prints of personal photographs belonging to Miss Pearl Buchanan. There are eleven folders of photographs of Miss Buchanan and her parents, professional actors, members of the Little Theatre Club, and pictures of certain plays in progress which Miss Buchanan directed. These prints cover a period from 1878 to 1956. All photographs are filed in acidfree folders, interleaved with acid-free paper, and are numbered consecutively per folder.

Inventory
Folder 1

Individual photographs of Pearl Buchanan, numbers 1-27      1-5:    Miss Buchanan as an infant and young child       6-10:   Miss Buchanan as a young women.        11-18:  Miss Buchanan after college.       19-22:  Miss Buchanan as maturing woman at Eastern       23-27:  Miss Buchanan before her retirement.

1894-1956 1899-1900 1908-1914 1920-25 1930-40 1950-56

Folder 2

Margaret Bassette Buchanan and Charles Buchanan        1-4:    Margaret Gwin Bassette Buchanan       5:      Charles H. Buchanan

1878-1889 1878-1889 1880

Folder 3

Unidentified play given in Hiram Brock Auditorium, numbers 1-9      1-9:    Unidentified photographs.

ca. 1930 ca. 1930

Folder 4

Pioneer Play, unidentified, n.d., numbers 1-3      1:  Photograph of cast      2:  Slide of photo      3:  Guide to names of cast members

Folder 5

Twelth Night.  ca. 1938, numbers 1-27      1-10:   8" x 1011 photographs      11:   5" x 7" photographs      12-20:   3" x 5" photographs      21-27:   2" x 4" photographs

Folder 6

Romeo and Juliet, numbers 1-23      1-2:   Unidentified 8" x 10" photographs      3-19:   Unidentified 5" x 7" photographs      20-23:   Unidentified~4'1 x 6" photographs

1938

Folder 7

Merchant of Venice, numbers 1-13 1-7:    8" x 10" photographs 8-13:   5" x 7" photographs

ca. 1938

Folder 8

Little Theatre members.  ca. 1930s, numbers 1-36 1      Lenorne Caywood 2      Marguerite Henzmann 3      Margaret Hubbard (2 copies) 4      Curtis Burman 5      Luther C. Jones 6      Sue Toadvine (2 copies) 7      Jack Hughes 8      Barbara Congleton 9      Unidentified woman 10     Jim Hart 11     May Agnes Finneran 12     Oscar Estes 13     Francis Mason 14     Donald Dorris 15     J.A. McCord 16     Carolyn Moores 17     Sara White 18     Garnett Hanshaw 19     Frances Little 20     Raymond Van Winkle 21     Leonard Stafford 22     Willie McKee 23     Jack Hughes 24     Opal Hanshaw 25     Elizabeth Elmore 26     Ann Stigertz 27     Ann Ingels 28     Louis Kendall 29     Maude McLaughlin 30-33  Unidentified woman 34-36  Unidentified man

Folder 9

Miscellaneous. n.d, numbers 1-2           1-2    Copies of young women in evening dresses

Description:
The Scrapbook Series consists of eight large scrapbooks filled with newspaper clippings and programs from the many dramatic presentations Miss Buchanan attended. Some family news is recorded as well as certain programs for events taking place at Eastern. Dates range from 1902 to 1940.

Inventory

Wrapped Packet 1:  Scrapbook:        Postcards of WV and VA, including Thomas Jefferson's       home.  Wrapped Packet 2:  Scrapbook:        Newspaper/magazine clippings of Katherine Cornell and      Helen Hays.  Wrapped Packet 3:  Scrapbook:        Clippings of professional dancers and opera companies. Wrapped Packet 4:  Scrapbook:        Clippings about presentations of Shakespearean plays Wrapped Packet 5:  Scrapbook:        Clippings of reviews and articles about Little Theatre Club,       various university news, obituaries; and feature articles about       friends of the Buchanan family, family news and reviews of       the book Miss Buchanan S father, the Reverend C.H.       Buchanan, notices, poetry columns. Wrapped Packet 6:  Scrapbook:        Programs of plays and concerts presented at Eastern      Kentucky University and theaters in Berea, Lexington,       Cincinnati, and New York Wrapped Packet 7:  Scrapbook:        Mrs. C.H. Buchanan's Scrapbook.  Clippings concerning      family events, obituaries, etc. and news items of the day and       church happenings.  Wrapped Packet 8:  Scrapbook:        Programs of plays presented by the Little Theatre Club and      programs of plays which Miss Buchanan attended.  Some of       these are from Madison High School in Richmond,       Kentucky. Also represented are commencement programs,       notices of musicals, Founder's Day programs, and       miscellaneous material concerning Eastern.

undated   1931-1940   1934-1939 1921-1940 1902-1958         1922-1936     1918-1938     1922-1939

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