Vivian Hall Papers

Summary

Creators:

Hall, Vivian

Abstract:

Vivian Hall, a resident of Irvine, California from 1968 until her death in 2008, was an educator, feminist, political and community activist, and grass roots organizer. The collection principally documents Hall's political and feminist activities during the 1970s, notably her years as First Vice Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus, appointment as a delegate to the National Conference for International Women's Year, and 1976 Congressional campaign. Hall also developed two of the first women's studies courses in the country for high school students, helped found two Orange County feminist groups, Women For: Orange County, and Women's Network Alert, and was a leading member in a coalition of Orange County women that brought about investigations into Senator William Campbell's sponsorship of an annual Conference on Women.

Language:

English.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection principally documents Hall's political and feminist activities during the 1970s, notably her years as First Vice Chair of the National Women's Political Caucus (Series I), appointment as a delegate to the National Conference for International Women's Year (Series II), and 1976 Congressional campaign (Series III). More recent activities in the 1980s can be found in the Subject File (Series V), Hall's participation in Women For: Orange County, and Women's Network Alert, and the coalition of Orange County women that caused investigations into Senator William Campbell's sponsorship of an annual Conference on Women (Series IV). Coverage of Hall's teaching career is almost exclusively from Westminster High School (Series VI) and includes the women's studies courses she developed. Some biographical materials and family documents can be found in the Personal Series (Series VII), but the collection is generally weak in this area, especially for the years prior to 1970.

Biographical / historical:

Vivian Hall (1922-2008) was an educator, feminist, political and community activist, and grass roots organizer.

Vivian Halpern grew up in Westchester County, a suburb of New York City. She attended Vassar College, graduating in 1944 with a major in English and a minor in Child Studies. In October of that same year, she eloped with Thomas Hall six weeks after meeting him. For several years after college, Vivian Hall worked in the field of early childhood education as a nursery school teacher and director, both in Colorado and California, and as education director for the Anti-Defamation League in Denver, Colorado. During this period, she earned a Master of Arts degree at the University of Colorado (1947), majoring in English (American Literature) and minoring in Philosophy. She also studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Irvine, and Denver University.

Holder of both an elementary and secondary credential from the State of California, Hall taught a range of grades from first through college. She participated in the state program for the gifted and was a master teacher for students from California State University at Long Beach. From 1968 through 1983, Hall taught a variety of subjects at Westminster High School in the Huntington Beach High School District. In addition to English and history she also taught mass media and was the first to teach Latin American history in the Huntington Beach district, where she wrote the course of study. She also initiated courses in Women in Literature and Women in History, which were among the first in the nation to be taught at the high school level.

Over the years Hall was involved in numerous professional and educational organizations, various library friends' groups, the Democratic Party, and numerous women's groups. The 1970s proved to be a very active decade for Hall in the arena of national politics and women's issues. After helping found the Orange County chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus in 1974, she was elected the First Vice Chair for the national caucus in 1976. Also in 1976, Hall ran (unsuccessfully) for Congress, and in November 1977, was an elected delegate to the national conference in Houston celebrating International Women's Year. In the 1980s Hall helped found two more Orange County women's groups: Women For: Orange County, and Women's Network Alert.

Vivian Hall and her husband Tom were married for over fifty years. They had two children, Lorna Beth and Douglas. Hall lived in Irvine, California from 1968 until her death in 2008.

CHRONOLOGY

Date	Event
1922	Born December 19th
1944	Graduated Vassar, degree in English, minor in child studies. Married Thomas C. Hall, October 28
1948	Completed Masters in English, University of Colorado, Boulder
1951	Birth of daughter, Lorna Beth, March 7
1958	Birth of son, Douglas, September 8
1964 -1968	Teacher, Malaga Cove Intermediate School, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif.
1968 -1983	Teacher, Westminster High School, Orange County, Calif.
1974	Founding member & first Chair, Orange County, Calif. Chapter of the National Women s Political Caucus (NWPC)
1975 -1977	National First Vice-Chair, NWPC
1976 -1980	Member, Democratic State Central Committee
1976	Democratic Nominee for Congress, 40th Congressional District, Calif.
1977 -1980	Member, National Advisory Board, NWPC
1977	Executive Board Member, California Coordinating Committee for International Women s Year (IWY) Delegate and Chair of Orange County Delegation, National Women s Conference, IWY (November)
1978	Elected Member, National Advisory Platform Committee, Democratic Party
1979 -1980	Coordinator of Women s Activities, Calif. Democratic Party
1979	Panel Member, National Convention, National Women s Studies Association, University of Kansas
1980	Elected Delegate, Democratic National Convention Member, California Platform Committee, Democratic Party Delegate, White House Conference on Families (July)
1981	Founding member, Women s Network Alert Founded CARE, Westminster High School
1983	Founding member and first president, Women For: Orange County
1983 -1988	Consultant/Lecturer, Huntington Beach Unified High School District
1990	Founded Jane Austen Reading Group, Orange County
1992	Founding member, W.A.G.E. (We Advocate Gender Equity)
2008	Died October 1.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Vivian Hall, 1995.

Physical description:

Number of containers: 18 document boxes, 1 record carton Linear feet: 8.5

Location of this collection:

UC Irvine, Orange County Regional History Collection

P.O. Box 19557

Irvine, CA , US

Contact:

(949) 824-3947

spcoll@uci.libanswers.com

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