Ridenour, Mildred Daum, 1900-1997

Rridenour, an Evansville native, was born Mildred Valeda Daum in 1900. She graduated from Evansville High School in 1918 and attended Lindenwood College (1918-1919) and Indiana University (1919-1922). After graduation, she spent a year at home and then taught English in Petersburg and Evansville (1923-1926). Daum married W.W. Ridenour in June 1926. They lived in Petersburg, Fort Wayne, and Bluffton and had two sons. Mildred Daum Ridenour died in 1997.

From the description of Mildred Valeda Daum diary and scrapbooks, 1919-1924. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 759843176

When Mrs. Ridenour’s son, W. W. Ridenour, donated these items to the archives, he included this writeup about his mother and the people represented in the diary and scrapbooks:

Mildred Valeda Daum, IU 1922, was born in Evansville, April 2, 1900. Her parents were Charles and Elizabeth Daum. Their home was at 420 Washington Ave. (When Mildred lived there it was 510 Washington Ave.) Mildred graduated from Evansville High School in 1918, with the last class to graduate from Evansville H.S. She attended Lindenwood College 1918-1919 and began at Indiana University in 1919, and lived in Alpha Hall.

After her graduation from IU Mildred was at home for a year and in the fall of 1923 she began as an English teacher in Petersburg High School. Another beginning teacher at Petersburg HS at that time was W.W. Ridenour from Mount Vernon. From 1924 to 1926 Mildred was an English teacher at Central high School, Evansville. In June 1926 Mildred Daum and W.W. Ridenour were married. They lived in Petersburg and Fort Wayne and Bluffton. From 1930 to 1938 they lived in Seymour. From 1938 for the rest of their lives they lived in New Albany and neighboring Clarksville. They had two sons, W.W. Ridenour, Jr. IU class of 1950, now of Oxford, Ohio and Charles J. Ridenour, Sellersburg, Indiana. MDR died 4-13-1997.

About some of the people in the diary

Helen Sheridan and Brownie Rea, Anna Brown Rea were classmates in Evansville High School.

Jinnie and also Jinny is Eugenia Roth of Boonville. She went to a women’s college in the eastern part of the U.S. She and Audrey Bolton of Dorchester, Mass., a classmate at that college came to Indiana University for year. I think that was their version of the junior year abroad. They lived in Alpha Hall.

Gertrude Wollenberger was my Mother’s dearest girlhood friend.

Marjorie Buchanan and her mother was a widow, of Sumner, Illinois, west of Vincennes, moved to Evansville so that Marjorie could go to high school in a city. Marjorie was a year behind my mother in school but they became strong friends and remained friends for the rest of their lives.

Aunt Mamie and Uncle Charlie Lutz were my grandparents’ closest friends. Carl Lutz was their only child. About 1950 Carl Lutz and Marjorie Buchanan were married. Both had been married before.

Doris Groan married William D. Thornbury, Professor of Geology at IU.

Wilbur Dunkel was the son of J. Ambrose Dunkel, the minister of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis.

From the guide to the Mildred Valeda Daum diary and scrapbooks, 1919-1924, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)