Lucy Lemmon Collection
Scope and Contents
Lucy's personal papers include her diaries, address books, birth certificate, funeral service information, 2006 daily calendar, Bibles, receipts from hundreds of chairitable donations, as well as birth and death information from her former partner, Betty Cooper. Additionally, there is funeral information that she saved from her friend Esther Bentley. The chairitable donations are divided by year (2002 and 2006) and organized into different subject-based categories when possible. Lucy's diaries range from 1932-1936 and chronicle her daily life. They also include occasional photographs that are attached with a paperclip.
Her photographs and albums include 14 photo albums and hundreds of loose film photographs and accompanying negatives, featuring primarily photographs from her travels, of her pets, partners, and friends and family. The loose photographs have been resleeved and organized chronologically. Many of the photo albums also include ephemera such as maps, guides, etc, paperclipped to the pages. These materials range from 1958-2005. Also in this section are plaques and awards that Lucy received for her community service and activism.
Lucy's correspondence (1942-2006) is made up of general letters, postcards from friends and family, holiday/greeting cards, and legal correspondence. Additionally, there is correspondence between Lucy and her friend Juliana Schmidt, who was also a lesbian. These materials are organized chronologically when possible.
Travel materials consist of hand-written travel itineraries from 1969-1995, maps and informational materials from trips to China, Alaska, the Galapagos,and other various locations.
Clippings and ephemera include lesbian books Lucy saved (one which includes pornography of nude women), memorabilia from her and Betty's family, stamps, newspaper clippings on women in jazz, and general music clippings. The music newspaper clippings are organized alphabetically by artist when possible.
Dates
- Creation: 1916-2007
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on the collection. The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or heir for permission to publish where the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives do not hold the copyright.
Biographical / Historical
Lucille (Lucy) Lemmon was born on May 30th, 1916, in Kelloggsville, Michigan. Lucy's mother, father, and older brother, Wayne, were all very musical, playing instruments together reguarly. She was fond of nature and spending time outdoors. After graduating high school, Lucy attended Junior College in Michigan, majoring in Journalism. Following that, she studied Social Work at Michigan State University on a Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) scholarship, which she attributed to FDR.
In 1941, Lucy drove from Michigan to California with a friend, where they both got jobs at Northrup Grumman.Her parents later moved out to California as well, and lived in Oceanside. Thanks to a Red Cross scholarship, Lucy attended USC where she received her Master's degree in Social Work. During World War II, she worked with families of Marines at the San Diego County Red Cross Home Service.
Following World War II, Lucy worked in a child welfare job in Los Angeles County for the Bureau of Adoptions for twenty years. Lucy became close with her boss at the Bureau, Betty Cooper, and in 1953, they moved into a home on Mount Washington in Northeast Los Angeles together. Lucy and Betty stayed together until Betty's death in 1994. While Lucy was not publicly out, many of her friends recognized her and Betty's relationship together, as is referenced in letters and photographs. She often references her relationships with Betty Cooper (and with Gloria Tyner, Lucy's partner after Betty) as "very close friends" in official/legal documents.
Lucy was passionate about travel, and she and Betty traveled often together, to places such as Niagara Falls, Zion and Bryce Canyons, the Shenandoah River, the Smokey Mountains, Seattle, Las Vegas, Alaska, and Florida. Many of these trips were in 18' camper vans that she named "Gloria I" and "Gloria II" after feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem. Lucy also traveled abroad, beginning in 1964 with a Eurail pass that she used to travel around Europe, as well as to the Peru, Chile, the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, China, Mexico, and Ireland. Many of her photo albums document these travels.
Apart from travel, Lucy enjoyed jazz and classical music, playing the flute, fishing, giving back to her community through volunteering with local elementary schools, clean-up crews, showing up at city council meetings, and participating in political campaigns, and environmental activism groups.
Lucy passed away in her sleep at Solheim Lutheran Home in Eagle Rock at the age of ninety.
Extent
10 Linear Feet (10 boxes, 4 flat file and 6 standard)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Lucille Lemmon (1916-2007) was a Michigan-born lesbian who lived in Northeast Los Angeles for most of her life. The bulk of the collection is photographs, which includes fourteen photo albums and hundreds of photographs that Lucy took during her life. Other materials in the collection include personal papers (which include Lucy's diaries) correspondence from her friends and family, travel materials, and various clippings and ephemera.
Arrangement
I. Personal Papers II. Photographs and Photo Albums III. Correspondence IV. Travel Materials V. Clippings and Ephemera
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donor information unknown.
- Title
- Lucy Lemmon Collection
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Isabel Aragon
- Date
- July 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives Repository