MS-8 Carol Cline Papers

Introduction

The Carol Cline Papers cover the years 1939-1965. They were donated to the Wright State University Archives on January 23, 1981 by Carol Cline.

Linear feet of shelf space occupied: .21
Approximate number of items: 359

The letter of gift imposes no restrictions to literary or publishing rights on materials in the collection.

Biography

Carolynne H. Cline was borne and raised in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of Harriette and Joe Cline. She graduated from Cornell University in June, 1937 with a B.A. degree in English, Public Speaking, and Drama.

Between 1937-1965, she was affiliated with a Dayton public relations firm, Miriam Rosenthal and Associates, involved in organizing civic, social and cultural events, and in coordinating fund-raising campaigns. She attended the New York University Television and Radio Summer Workshop in1953, later becoming Director of Public Affairs at WLW-D, between 1954 and 1956.

From January 1962 to May 1964, Cline hosted a daily radio interview show, Carol’s Corner, for WKET-FM 99.9. She was known for interviewing a spectrum of celebrities engaged in politics, sports, entertainment, science, education, and literary endeavors.

Extensive travels include the continental United States, Mexico, Canada, Central America, Europe, and Soviet Block countries. Some accounts of her travels kept in diaries have been published in local newspapers like the Dayton Daily News.

Cline is acknowledged for her community involvement. She was also a Home Service Visitor with the Red Cross for six months during the Second World War. She is a member of various local clubs and civic associations, having been honored in numerous testimonials for her devotion and achievement.

Scope and Content

The Carol Cline Papers 1939-1965, document her interest and acclaim in the Dayton radio community and the public relations industry as well as her international travels and civic commitment. The materials are arranged chronologically within two primary categories – Television and Radio and Public Relations Career. This also includes Travels and is supplemented with a Miscellaneous series. These papers include correspondence, notes, newsclippings, photographs, and a scrapbook.

The collection contains a substantial file of notes and handouts on the 1953 NYU Summer Workshop in Television and Radio, which documents guest lectures on topics ranging from an introduction to television production techniques to Radio-Television writing and studio operation. The Carol’s Corner scrapbook includes newspaper clippings, critiques, daily radio schedule listings, fan letter appreciation, news releases, and notes on future interviews for the period between May 1962 and May 1964. Also posted are miscellaneous items, such as a few publicity photographs with entertainment personality, Sterling Hayden, and Dayton summer theater programs. The scrapbook provides the supportive documentation for the WSU Archives’ collection of over 200 unedited, 15-minute interview tapes conducted by Cline throughout the country during the 1960’s. Other TV-Radio materials collected are a “Barbour Family Scrap Book” that is a 1946 promotional literature for Radio show, and “One Man’s Family” which was distributed by Standard Brands Incorporated (Fleischmann’s Yeast); and ten captioned publicity stills of the cast of the TV show, “Rin Tin Tin”, dated 1955.

The Travel series is comprised of published articles, diaries, and other notes of Cline’s world tours, and also those of her parents. These describe three major trips: her parents visit to Africa and Australia in Spring, 1958; her tour of Europe in Summer, 1958; and her reactions to the Iron Curtain countries in Summer, 1962. The accounts are written for the tourist point of view, and tend to be judgmental of cultural differences particularly reflective of the Cold War era orientation.

Prominent among the Miscellaneous items is a small series of publicity clippings and correspondence concerning the Cornell Glee Club Christmas Tour of 1939-1940, which passed through Dayton via the sponsorship of Council alumni. Two note pads containing World War II vintage Red Cross First Aid course notes are also contained, as well as Cornell alumnus names and plans for senior meetings possibly designed for student recruiting. One personal document is included, which is a letter from Cline’s father, dated March 5, 1965, advising her on stock investment.

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