Lynch Family Letters

This collection documents the lives of two women, Dorothy Lynch and her sister, Faye Bell, over the course of five decades, as seen through their original correspondence. Most of the collection consists of letters from Dorothy Lynch to Faye Bell, though some of the files contain letters written by others, including Quitman (Jack) Lynch and the sisters' children and grandchildren. Topics treated in the collection include the complexities of family life; homemaking; child rearing; local news; economic privation; the local labor market for both men and women during the Depression and during World War II; the stress that lack of stable employment can cause; Dorothy's employment in the aerospace industry during wartime and in silver sales after the war; and Dorothy's husband Quitman's (Jack's) time spent living apart from the family in order to seek employment in other cities, primarily in the oil industry. The letters also discuss rationing and war and their effects on people; marital tension; Dorothy's interest in work outside the home as well as in learning and coursework; military service; medical and legal problems faced by the two sisters and other family members; travel along the West Coast of the United States as well as to Texas; and fashion. Along with these topics, the correspondence provides a view of the lives of other family members as well, including son John's study of art and entry into the art world.

This collection, which also includes photographs and news clippings, is a good source for researchers interested in exploring women's roles in the home and in the workplace; gender expectations concerning women's work outside of the home; job scarcity and economic difficulties during the Depression; the need to move or travel in search of work and the impact that this can have on family life; child rearing, especially as covered in letters from the 1930s and 1940s; perspectives on employment in the aerospace and oil industries in California; and fashion and body image. The collection includes letters relating to the 1933 Long Beach earthquake (Box 2, Folder 2), and correspondence describing Dorothy Lynch's personal experience of the February 24-25, 1942 incident known as the "Battle of Los Angeles," a case of "friendly fire" in which artillery rounds from anti-aircraft fire rained down on Long Beach in response to the perceived threat of Japanese air attack (Box 4, Folder 4). The correspondence decreases greatly from 1970 on.

Because he is referred to by the names Quitman and Jack, the Scope and Content notes for this collection refer to Dorothy's husband as Quitman (Jack). In the letters, John's name is often spelled as “Jon”; at times, he is referred to in the letters as Jack.