Interview with Thea D. Coburn
IntervieweeInterview with
Thea D. Coburn
(American, 1920 - 2009)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Bruce M. Stave
(American, 1937 - 2017)
InterviewerInterviewed by
Sondra Astor Stave
Date2006 November 10
Mediumdigitized audio cassette tape
DimensionsDuration: 39 Minutes, 33 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2009.85.12
DescriptionAudio cassette tape of an interview with Thea D. Coburn. She was interviewed on November 10, 2006 by Bruce M. Stave and Sondra Astor Stave at her home in Suffield, Connecticut.
Thea Coburn grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from College High School, a demonstration school at Montclair State Teacher's College in 1937. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Connecticut College in New London. In the Spring of 1939, the Auerbach Major was announced, and Thea was one of the students chosen for the program. Some of the other women in her class who joined the program were Elizabeth Burford Graham, Jan Harman, Betts Byrne Anderson, and Millie Loscalzo. This program was a special class for Economics majors. Chase Going Woodhouse was their advisor. During this program, Thea was able to write for The Go-Getter, the G. Fox employee newsletter. She was able to work in the Jewelry Department, with the delivery trucks, and with the Complaint Department. It was a two-year course, and Beatrice Fox Auerbach sponsored it for ten years.
After college, Thea was going through the G. Fox Training Program, and she was able to become the assistant to the woman who put on the fashion shows. The fashion shows were held in Centinel Hill Hall and were also put on at off-site locations. She was in this position from 1942-1944 while her husband was serving in World War II.
During the first year of the Auerbach program, she lived at the Heublein Hotel, then the Ann Street Y during the second year. She lived at the Broad Street Y after the program. She and her husband then lived on South Marshall Street. She shopped at G. Fox, Wise Smith, and Sage Allen.
In 1948, Thea began writing a Suffield column for The Hartford Times and did that for almost twenty years. She helped form the League of Women Voters and elected to the Suffield Board of Education.
Thea Coburn grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from College High School, a demonstration school at Montclair State Teacher's College in 1937. She was awarded a scholarship to attend Connecticut College in New London. In the Spring of 1939, the Auerbach Major was announced, and Thea was one of the students chosen for the program. Some of the other women in her class who joined the program were Elizabeth Burford Graham, Jan Harman, Betts Byrne Anderson, and Millie Loscalzo. This program was a special class for Economics majors. Chase Going Woodhouse was their advisor. During this program, Thea was able to write for The Go-Getter, the G. Fox employee newsletter. She was able to work in the Jewelry Department, with the delivery trucks, and with the Complaint Department. It was a two-year course, and Beatrice Fox Auerbach sponsored it for ten years.
After college, Thea was going through the G. Fox Training Program, and she was able to become the assistant to the woman who put on the fashion shows. The fashion shows were held in Centinel Hill Hall and were also put on at off-site locations. She was in this position from 1942-1944 while her husband was serving in World War II.
During the first year of the Auerbach program, she lived at the Heublein Hotel, then the Ann Street Y during the second year. She lived at the Broad Street Y after the program. She and her husband then lived on South Marshall Street. She shopped at G. Fox, Wise Smith, and Sage Allen.
In 1948, Thea began writing a Suffield column for The Hartford Times and did that for almost twenty years. She helped form the League of Women Voters and elected to the Suffield Board of Education.
Collections
Funding Note: In 2006, the Connecticut Historical Society received a grant from the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to support the collection of oral histories, the cataloging of G. Fox & Co. materials and Fox and Auerbach family materials, and the creation of web pages. Additional funding for the oral histories was provided by The Prospect Fund, The Brookside Fund, and The Maple Tree Fund. The Connecticut Historical Society gratefully acknowledges these generous supporters. Without such generosity, this project would not have been possible.
Status
Not on view
2022 July 8
2007 June 7