Lovetta R. Blanke Collection
Scope and Content
This collection documents Mrs. Blanke's career as a student, naval officer, school nurse, public health official, and philanthropist. In addition to her personal and professional papers, a selection of her awards and honors is included in this collection. Also included are a few documents from her husband's experiences as an army officer/ reservist, chemist, and pilot and copies of the birth certificates of her parents. The collection is divided into three series, but there is considerable chronological overlap among these series due to the chronological overlap between Mrs. Blanke's military and civilian life.
Series I: Student Career and Alumni Publications/Activities, 1936-1995, covers Lovetta Blanke's career as a student from high school, nursing school, college, and graduate school. For the sake of consistency, letters and publications sent from her various alma maters in subsequent years are also included in this series, as well documents related to planning her nursing school reunion and a program from her niece's graduation from Vanderbilt (which had subsumed Peabody College, Blanke's Alma Mater).
Series II contains active duty, training, and transfer documents from throughout Blanke's military career as well as photographs and portraits and one of Lovetta's Navy dress caps. It covers the years 1943-1979.
Series III consists of correspondence, publications, and clippings from Blanke's civilian professional life and personal life. It covers the years 1946-2012.
Series IV, Awards, consists of three dimensional artifacts (mostly plaques).
Dates
- Creation: 1934 - 2012
Creator
Restrictions on Access
There are no restrictions on accessing materials in this collection.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biography of Lovetta R. Blanke
Lovetta R. (Dixon) Blanke (1919-2012) was a member of the Navy Nurse Corps, school nurse, public health nurse, nurse educator Dayton philanthropist, patron of the arts, and advocate for the profession of nursing. She advocated for children's health, health education, and other issues relevant to school nurses, such as school nurse certification. In 2008, she was named Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Dayton Region Chapter. Born in Harrisburg, IL on Nov. 29, 1919, she graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing as an R.N. in 1941 and served as a Navy nurse during World War II. She earned a Bachelor of Science (1950) in Public Health Nursing from the Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, TN and her M.A. in the same discipline from University of Chicago in 1959. She joined the Academy of American Educators in 1973 andheld positions as a School Nurse and Supervisor of Nursing Services in Dayton Public Schools. She was instrumental in founding the Southwest Ohio School Nurses Association. She was also a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Ohio Nurses' Association, the American Nurses Association, the Dayton Schools Management Association, the Ohio School Nurses Association, the Ohio Education Association, the School Nurses Branch of the National Education Association. In addition to her two and a half years active naval service during World War II, she served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, retiring at the rank of commander in 1979.
She was a staunch supporter of nursing education and research. She served as Acting Director of Continuing Education for Wright State's College of Nursing and Health from 1976-1978. In the mid-2000s, she served on the external advisory board for the College of Nursing & Health. Mrs. Blanke and her husband, Bertram (whom she married in 1960), made financial contributions to Wright State University over the years, including the Blanke Research Fund (endowment) for the College of Nursing & Health. This fund supports a faculty research incentive grant, graduate student scholarly project recognition, and student research recognition. Mrs. Blanke participated in and/or contributed to several local civic organizations, including the Dayton Council on World Affairs and the Dayton Opera. She passed away on December 10, 2012 at the age of 93.
Extent
4.77 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Lovetta R. (Dixon) Blanke (1919-2012), RN, B.S., M.A., was a school nurse, public health nurse, nurse educator, Dayton philanthropist, patron of the arts, and advocate for the profession of nursing. She advocated for children's health, health education, and other issues relevant to school nurses, such as school nurse certification. In 2008, she was named Outstanding Philanthropist by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Greater Dayton Region Chapter. This collection documents Mrs. Blanke's career as a student, naval officer, school nurse, public health official, and philanthropist. In addition to her personal and professional papers, a selection of her awards and honors is included in this collection. Furthermore, the collection contains a few documents from her husband's experiences as an army officer/ reservist, chemist, and pilot. Also included is a copy of Bertram's death certificate and a copy of the death certificate of her mother Rose Dixon as well as copies of the birth certificates of both of her parents, Joseph Dixon and Rose (Ingram) Dixon.
Statement of Arrangement
The collection is arranged into four series.
- Series I: Student Career and Alumni Activities, 1936-1995
- Series II: Active and Reserve Military Career, 1943-1979
- Series III: Civilian Personal and Professional Life, 1946-2012
- Series IV: Awards, 1998-2008
Separated Material
The following book was separated from the collection because it is readily available in other libraries and did not fit the scope of the Special Collections and Archives Department's book collection: Swartz, Oretha D. Service etiquette. Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, 1988.
Bibliography
- "Appoint Community Education Director: 'We Want to Meet the Needs of Nurses'-Blanke." University Times. September 1976. [Box 7, Folder 8], MS-472, Lovetta R. Blanke Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
- Award Agreement, Wright State University Foundation, September 2009. [Box 3, Folder 4], MS-472, Lovetta R. Blanke Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
- "Blanke, Lovetta R." [News Death Notice. Published in Dayton Daily News from December 13 to December 14, 2012] http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dayton/obituary-print.aspx?n=lovetta-r-blanke&pid=161678669 . Accessed 24 May 2013.
- Dayton Public Schools application. [Box 2, Folder 9], MS-472, Lovetta R. Blanke Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
- "Nursing Receives Largest Gift in Its History". Tomorrow Takes Flight: Leadership Report. Fall 2003. Wright State University. [Box 3, Folder 2], MS-472, Lovetta R. Blanke Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
- [Proof from directory entry for the Academy of American Educators, 1973]. [Box 2, Folder 16], MS-472, Lovetta R. Blanke Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.
Processing Information
Many of the original text documents in this collection could not be retained. Most of the documents from Mrs. Blanke's high school career were mold-damaged or otherwise deteriorating and necessitated photocopying for preservation. Furthermore, the majority of original military and vital documents could not be retained due to the presence of social security numbers. These records were redacted and photocopied, and the originals were destroyed. Also, numerous newspaper clippings were photocopied for preservation.
Subject
- Blanke, Lovetta Ruth Dixon, 1919-2012 (Person)
- Blanke, Bertram Charles, 1917-2000 (Person)
- United States. Navy Nurse Corps (Organization)
- Wright State University. College of Nursing and Health (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Lovetta R. Blanke Collection (MS-472)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Ximena Chrisagis
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
