Thelma Mills papers

The collection contains diaries, correspondence, manuscripts, travel mementos, postcards, and photographs.

The two diaries Mills kept during the period 1925-1927 when she was in China reveal only a few social and political observations. Most entries concern her friends, sister (who was the head of the Home Economics Department at Yenching University in Peking, China from 1922-1933), fellow teachers, school politics, travel, purchases, food, and social events. Included are entries regarding self-evaluations of her teaching, as well as student performance.

The diaries from Taiwan (1968-1971) reveal information about business matters, travel, social events, purchases, and reactions of the people in Taiwan. Observations of political events are also included. There are eleven total diaries for this period.

Correspondence is separated into incoming and outgoing sections.

Outgoing correspondence includes two notebooks entitled "War Letters" and contain information and impressions of the civil war in China. Photographs of Chinese soldiers are included. This section also includes letters to her family during 1925-1927.

Incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by organization title, last name, or first name of sender. There are also twelve incoming postcards.

Manuscripts consist of speeches entitled "China Today," and "I have known 2 China's, But There is a Third." Material includes reference material used, notes, photographs, articles, and maps. There is also a typed draft of a manuscript titled, Chinese New Year.

Miscellaneous material includes travel mementos, photographs, a list of addresses of "all American citizens in Tientsin, China in 1927," pages of expenses and receipts from China, ship passenger lists (1925; 1927), a school exercise notebook containing student essays, newspaper clippings, and postcards from Taiwan.

Also available are over 900 photographs, including photos from China.