Deborah Meader was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1895. Upon graduating from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, Meader married Amos Kingsley Meader in 1919. The family settled in Saint Paul in 1927. With the onset of the Great Depression and the prolonged illness of Amos, Meader took to making puppets and producing plays for wealthy families as a means of financial survival. Following her stint with the WPA, the Meader family left Minnesota in 1942.
Deborah Simmons Meader was a driving force in the educational use of puppets throughout Minnesota and the Midwest during the 1930s and 1940s. The technical innovations Meader introduced in the early 1930s, such as the "semi-transparent back drop" and the "miniature puppet theatre," helped make puppetry a more accessible art form. Through the programs of the New Deal, Meader taught courses on puppetry and staged shows for the Work Projects Administration. Meader's belief in the egalitarian nature of puppetry meant that a wider variety of people could be afforded an important educating and entertaining experience.
From the guide to the Deborah Meader papers., 1920-[199-] (bulk 1931-1940)., (Minnesota Historical Society)
