Herman, Ruth Radford, Mrs., 1896-1976

Historical note

The origins of this collection cannot be determined with absolute certainty. However, approximately 150 postcards in the collection were posted, and all but a handful of these can be traced to two families.

The earliest postcards, of English localities and posted in 1906-1910, were addressed to Stella Radford, of Algoma, Wisconsin, and her niece, Ruth M. Radford (born 1896), of Mansfield, Louisiana, from C. Robinson. In 1926, Ruth Radford married Winfield Fabian Herman, MD, who was born in Seattle in 1901, and after receiving a BA from the University of Washington had earned his medical degree from Louisiana State University in New Orleans. The couple appears to have lived at first in Tacoma, Washington; Ruth took an extended trip to France and Britain without her husband in 1928. The couple moved to Glendale, California, in 1947, where Dr. Herman served on the staff of Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Verdugo Hills Hospital, and Glendale Memorial Hospital (where he became chief of staff in 1960). He entered private practice in 1968, and retired in 1983. Ruth died in 1976, and Dr. Herman in 1998. As the couple had no children they engaged in extensive philanthopy, including donating substantial sums for scholarships to Pomona College and the University of Southern California.

A number of postcards are addressed to Stella (Mrs. James N.) Sherman, who in 1929-1931 resided at 426 South Central Ave., Glendale, and later at 341 West Broadway, Glendale. While it is tempting to posit that she was formerly Stella Radford (who appears to have been living in Portland, Oregon, in 1928), and thus Ruth (Radford) Herman's aunt, none of the postcards addressed to her was written by Ruth.

The second family to which the majority of posted postcards can be traced to Dr. Nathaniel Green, his wife, Mary R., and their daughter Frances M. The Green family appears to have moved from Ashville, North Carolina, to Glendale in 1913, settling by 1920 at 1120 E. Windsor Road. Postcards addressed to Frances indicate she continued to reside at the Windsor Road address throughout the 1930s; between 1955 and 1969 she lived at 1314 N. Central Avenue, Glendale. (She is probably the Frances M. Green, born May 3, 1900, who according to the Social Security Death Index died in Glendale on January 15, 1974.) Frances Green was acquainted with Stella Sherman as early as 1929; between 1957 and 1967, Frances also addressed a number of postcards to Ruth (Radford) Herman.

It is not known how the Herman family postcards became merged with the postcards addressed to Stella Sherman and Frances Green, although it is possible that both Mrs. Sherman and Miss Green, dying before Ruth (Radford) Herman, left their collections to her. It is most probably through the Hermans' connection with Pomona College that these postcards found their way into the collections of Honnold/Mudd Library.

It should be noted that the collection has almost certainly suffered some disturbance since it came to Honnold/Mudd Library, as it now contains a postcard addressed to E. Wilson Lyon while a student at St. John's College, Oxford.

From the guide to the Herman-Green Postcard Collection., 1889-1969., 1906-1969., (Honnold/Mudd Library Special Collections)