Mountaingrove, Ruth

Ruth Mountaingrove (1923- ) is a photographer, writer and artist who moved to Oregon in 1971, settling in communes and eventually co-founding Rootworks, lesbian land in southern Oregon. She graduated from Kutztown State Teacher's College and later attended Humboldt State University, in Arcata, Calif., where she studied photography and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1990 at age 68. While in college Ruth gained experience as a photographer and began writing poetry. A central theme in Ruth's writings is feminism and lesbianism. Ruth and Jean Mountaingrove co-published WomanSpirit magazine from 1974 to 1984 and it became an influential feminist/lesbian magazine. Ruth has been photographing women in lesbian communities across the United States for many years and has been involved in the writing and publishing of many women's publications.

Born February 21, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ruth Mountaingrove is the daughter of Edith Shelling and Herbert Daniel Shook. She graduated from Kutztown State Teacher's College and later attended Humboldt State University, in Arcata, California, where she studied photography and received a Masters of Fine Arts in 1990 at age 68. While in college, Ruth gained experience as a photographer and began writing poetry. A central theme in Ruth's writings is feminism and lesbianism. Ruth and Jean Mountaingrove co-published WomanSpirit magazine from 1974 to 1984 and it became one of the most influential feminist/lesbian magazines of its time. It brought many women to Oregon who were seeking a collective way of life on women's land in the country. Ruth has been photographing women in lesbian communities across the United States for many years and has been involved in the writing and publishing of many women's publications.

Born February 21, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from a Pennsylvania Dutch background, Ruth Mountaingrove is the daughter of Edith Shelling and Herbert Daniel Shook. She graduated from Kutztown State Teacher’s College, now known as Kutztown University. Many years later Ruth continued her education at Humboldt State University, in Arcata, California, where she studied photography and received a Masters of Fine Arts in 1990 at the age of 68. She has lived on the West Coast since 1971.

The video tapes cover all aspects of Ruth's life, beginning from the time of her birth to the year she made the last video in 1997. Ruth takes the viewer through her childhood and her teenage years where she began her love of music, literature and photography. In junior high Ruth bought her first camera, a pivotal moment in her life. While in college, Ruth gained more experience as a photographer and began writing poetry.

In 1946, while living in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Ruth was a teacher, poet, and artist. During that period she published her first book of poetry, Rhythms of Spring . On December 27, 1946 she married Bern Ikeler. Together they had 5 children: Eric, Kim, Jeff, David, and Heather. Eric died shortly after birth and David died when he was a young man, while living in Southern Oregon.

A central theme in Ruth’s writings is feminism and lesbianism. Her feminism began after she read Betty Friedan's, The Feminine Mystique in 1963 during the rise of the Women's Movement. Ruth shares details about experiencing generations of family abuse. Ruth divorced her husband in 1965.

During this period when Ruth was changing her life and becoming a feminist, a momentous event occurred. She met and fell in love with her future lover and partner, Jean Mountaingrove. They met in 1970 while attending a conference in Wallingford, PA., at Pendle Hill, a Quaker Retreat Center. Ruth eventually moved to Oregon in 1971 to join Jean. Together they lived in several intentional communities: Mountain Grove (from which they took their last name), Golden, and Cabbage Lane. They co-published WomanSpirit magazine for ten years, from 1974 to 1984. With its national distribution, WomanSpirit became one of the most influential feminist/lesbian magazines of its time. It brought many women to Oregon who were seeking a collective way of life on women's land in the country.

In 1978 Ruth and Jean bought Rootworks, privately owned land near Wolf Creek, Oregon, where they continued to publish WomanSpirit magazine. A barn, called Natalie Barney, was built by a large crew of women, to provide for the growing needs of the publication. Rootworks was also the location for the Women Photographer's Ovulars, which were weeklong workshops for feminist photographers. These workshops took place annually for six years. The feminist photography magazine, The Blatant Image, which developed from the Ovulars, was also published at Rootworks.

After 12 years, Ruth and Jean's domestic partnership ended. Ruth had heard about free tuition at California colleges for people over 60, so she decided to continue her education in photography and art. She moved to Arcata, California to attend Humboldt State University where she received a degree in photography.

Throughout her life, Ruth has expressed her creativity through dance, writing poems, articles, and short stories, writing and singing songs, and by painting and taking photographs. She reads some of her poems and sings many of her songs, while playing her guitar, throughout the videos. She also tapes her performance art, many of her paintings and photographs, as well as her art studios and art exhibits.

Ruth has been photographing women in lesbian communities across the United States for many years and has been involved in the writing and publishing of many women’s publications, including Country Women magazine, Country Women’s Spirituality issue, WomanSpirit magazine, The Blatant Image, as well as her songbooks, Turned on Women, Country Songs and Women’s Songs

Ruth has had many one-woman exhibitions including those at Boston University; the University of Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. Her month long one-woman exhibition, at the University of Oregon Museum of Art in 1988, included mostly lesbian photographs, a lecture, and slide show presentation. She was also editor for OLOC, (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change) from 1994 to 1997.

At age 81, Ruth continues to live in Arcata where she is still active in the community and busy with her art and photography.

Ruth Mountaingrove was born February 21, 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Edith Shelling and Herbert Daniel Shook. Ruth graduated from Kutztown State Teacher’s College in 1945 with a BS in Education, majoring in Science with minors in Spanish and English. In 1946 Ruth married Bern Ikeler and together they had 5 children. Also in 1946, Ruth published her first book of poetry titled Rythyms of Spring. After nineteen years of marriage, Ruth divorced Bern in 1965. Many years later Ruth continued her education at Humboldt State University, in Arcata, California, where she studied photography and received a Masters of Fine Arts in 1990 at the age of 68.

During the 1960’s Ruth became aware of her feminism and lesbianism and in 1970 she met her future partner Jean. After a lengthy custody battle over one of her children, Ruth and several other women caravanned across the U.S. to southern Oregon, where Ruth joined Jean. Ruth and Jean took the last name of Mountaingrove after the intentional community Mountain Grove, where they had lived for several years after moving to Oregon. The Mountaingroves subsequently moved to Golden, a gay commune, where they began publishing WomenSpirit, a magazine about feminism and spirituality. In 1978, Ruth and Jean purchased their own land near Wolf Creek, Oregon, called “Rootworks.” The Mountaingroves lived together at Rootworks until 1985 when they separated and Ruth then moved to Arcata, California where she enrolled at Humboldt State University.

When Ruth moved to Oregon she began to document the daily life of the communities in which she participated. The photographs included in this collection cover a wide range of subjects, activities and moods in the lesbian intentional communities. They serve as a powerful visual record of both the mundane and the transcendent moments she shared with other women. A technically and artistically accomplished photographer, Ruth worked primarily in black and white, and was interested in exploring photography as an abstract artistic medium. Ruth also shared her love of photography with many of the women she met, especially through the Women’s Ovular Photography Workshops.

Ruth Mountaingrove is an artist and writer, a publisher of poetry, articles, songbooks, photography and women’s/lesbian magazines and circulars. She has held exhibitions of her photography in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Washington, and Oregon.

Ruth continues to live in Arcata, California where she is still active in the community and busy with her art and photography.