Page 6 University Daily Kansan, February 10, 1982
True pioneer woman remains a mystery
By NEAL McCHRISTY Staff Reporter
The stereotypes of women settlers have ranged from invisible women to unliken ones, John Mack Faragher, assistant professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, said in a speech at the Kansas University yesterday.
About 80 people heard Faragher speak on "History from the Inside out: Writing the History of the West."
In his speech, Faragher said longheld views of pioneer women's roles are changing.
Faragher's speech was sponsored by the Women's Studies programs, the department of history and the Center for Humanistic Studies Faragher as a mentor. The book, *Overland Trail*, a book on the roles people who settled the western frontier.
"I think western movies are an interesting way to approach the subject of women in the west," he said.
He used as one of his examples movies starring Clint Eastwood—the solitary man who helped win the frontier.
"Important western movies of the 78s renewed with a vengeance that the West was a male preserve," he said.
Historians write from a male viewpoint, Faragher said, but there are documents that refute the aterotypes and descriptions of the norms and books about the frontier woman.
"Heartland," and "Butch Cassady and the Sundance Kid" are also examples in which women assume a background role, he said.
Faragher quoted letters from a 32-year-old woman who settled in Central Illinois in the 1830s. He said these letters, from Lucinda Castenhear to
Along with her husband and children, she settled on a farm in 1831.
mother in Kentucky, gave a true account of the life of a pioneer woman.
But she did, and the picture she painted to her mother was that of a woman struggling to be cheerful through hardship, Faragher said.
She had seven children, including a newborn girl, by 1833, he said. This woman settler said that with the children about and the newborn in her lap she often could not find the time to write.
"I have been distressed to think of my children not going to school, especially Louisa (the eldest)," Faragher quoted.
The children were needed at home to do the farmwork, he said. Five years later, Casteen had eight children, and
in February, 1839, when cholera was rampant, Louisa became ill.
Louisa died from a disease with no known cure and no physician present, but her family is deeply mourned.
"Women's material like Lucinda's, often more than so men's, evokes the qualities of everyday life." Faragher said.
"We need a history that is written from the inside out, as well as the bottom up."
"If we are to write the history of farm women—as well as farm men—we must find a way of linking the worlds of farmers and frontiersmen."
Views change, Faragher said, and perhaps a realistic portrayal of female, as well as male pioneer roles, is in the offing.
Efforts begin to update Med Center billing
By TOM HUTTON Staff Reporter
Miles of bureaucratic red tape previously encountered by patients at the University of Kansas Medical Center when paying their bills will soon be reduced through the use of a new computer network.
Keith Nitcher, KU director of business affairs, said this week that an initial $250,000 allocation from the university would go to Mesa Men. Center in booming,斌营 its
antiquated billing and admitting systems.
The previous system was completely outdated, University officials said when they asked for the appropriation of funds.
"It's really an antiquated set of systems that have been patched together, really just held together by manual effort," Richard von Ende, executive secretary to the University, said last fall.
Under the old system every bill, even those few that had been typed by a computer, had to have more information typed onto them. Additional charges for drugs, blood, tests or other special services had to be typed onto the patient's bill and tailled by the Med Center's computer department. This program has lengthy and inefficient, obsolete shell.
Under the new system, all billing and admission will be typed into computer terminals at the Med Center and carried to computers owned by a selected company. Nitcher said this phasing out of the Med Center's present computers should save the cost of upkeep and the cost of new computers.
A delay in bidding to find a suitable computer firm slowed the start of the program by one week. Tom Greecson, associate business affairs director, said yesterday. The contract is to be a work and award begun next week.
Total costs for the project may be more than $800,000.
"The original money was just to initiate the start of the program. It will cost much more than just that," Nitcher said.
Extra funding for the program will come from savings realized as the new year begins.
Rare, valuable books preserved with care
By DEBBIE DOUGLASS Staff Reporter
Spencer Library has the best possible environment for preserving materials in its Special Collections Library, Bill Mitchell, associate Special Collections librarian, said recently.
Special Collections has old, rare and very expensive books and materials such as Babylonian clay tablets, a page from the Gutenberg Bible, a European Renaissance Collection with books from 1450 to 1702 and Oriental literature written on palm leaves.
These books and materials require special treatment, Mitchell said.
"ENIVIRONMENTAL controls of temperature, humidity and light are the best things that could be done for any book," he said.
Mitchell said the rate of a book's chemical deterioration doubled with every 10 degree increase in temperature.
The temperature on the two floors of Special Collections is kept at 70 degrees year round. For preserving books, the colder the better.
Chemical deterioration occurs when chemicals are added to a book's materials during the manufacturing process or when the book is externally affected by air pollution.
He said the Spencer Collection had
HUMIDITY IS also a very important factor in preserving books.
many books that had been in Chicago libraries during the 19th and early 20th centuries that were falling apart because of the air pollution in the heavy industrial area.
Without constant, moderate relative humidity, books with too much moisture sweat and those with enough moisture would tear apart.
"Ultra-violet light is also harmful to
books, so the library's flourescent
lights have filters on them and are
likely to be whenever possible."
Mitch said.
"Students might think we want them to work in the dark because the lights in Special Collections are always off, but we always turn the lights on when they go into the stacks."
The collection's librarians can only try to counter the books' deterioration process and keep them as near to their original state as possible, because there is not enough money to do anything more, he said.
Mitchell said the books in Special Collections were available to anyone who wanted to use them.
"The Special Collections library is used by the broadest range of people, from a kid who wants to read children's literature to some of the world's foremost scholars," he said.
zip and city:
ACADEMIC CAR RENTAL
a rental car for
$8.95/day
$60.00/wk
$225.00/mo
25 FREE miles per day
841.0101
808 W 24th
forecast Feb. 27
HOW TO ATTEMPT THE Losing Game
THE MOVIE
The Center it’s a Natural!
353 View Now Medical Center
TONIGHT IS PITCHER NIGHT at THE HAWK
Use Kansan Classified
LOW COST PENETR'S INSURANCE
LUW COST RENTER'S INSURANCE
Protect your valuable personal property
John E. Dudley
Prudential
TONIGHT CELEBRATE HUMP NIGHT AT
TIME OUT
25' DRAWS 7-10 PM
75' SCHOONERS ALL NIGHT
842 7870
843 8771
Luke Healthanner
THE PLACE TO PARTY
John E. Dudley
247 7610
Prudential
2408 IOWA
TIME OUT
Present This Coupon And Receive
AND VIDEO GAME CENTER
Now Playing
All New Ms. PACMAN! All New
COUPON
ANY SIZE PIZZA $¹⁰⁰ OFF
Nr.23627
Thats Right Ms. PACMAN!!
COUPON
Expires 2/28/82 Limit one coupon per person
- Entry Fee is one can of unopened racquetballs submitted with completed entry form.
Present This Coupon
And Receive Two
FREE VIDEO GAME PLAYS
Expires 2/28/02
- Play is available for men and women in three classes provided there are enough entrants: advanced, intermediate, and novice.
- Play begins Sunday, February 14. Entry forms are available in 208 Robinson. For more information call 864-3546.
OPEN DAILY 10 am-11:45 p.m.
SUN. Noon-11:45 p.m.
- Entry Deadline is Thursday, February 11,
5:00 p.m. 208 Robinson.
Regular Pizza Prices
LARGE Double Cheese '4.95
MEDIUM Double Cheese '3.95
SMALL Double Cheese '2.95
TINY Double Cheese '1.95
Additional Meat or Garden Topping
75' ea.
Large
65' ea.
Medium
55' ea.
Small
45' ea.
Tiny
Tie In With Us Recreation Services
Racquetball Singles Tournament
96
will conduct a seminar
he is a Senior Fellow on the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and former dean of the Jessie H. Jones Graduate School of Administration at Rice University and former Arthur Young Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas. Robert Sterling is a leading scholar in accounting theory and . . .
Satellite Union
Robert Sterling
The School of Business
announces the second speaker in its 1981-82 Colloquium Series
12:30 p.m., Friday, February 12
of Standard Selling in Accounting"
"The Role and Accomplishments
Southeast Conference Room
Satellite Uleiver
All faculty and students are welcome.
Contact Renate R. Mat Dalton (4-500) for additional information.
Nine third lines for the nine clue verses to help you win a vacation for 2 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
1. Is this geologist's dream
BUSCH CASSIDY RIDES AGAIN!
2. A close brush with a rope
4. With snow on the tow
5. He shares with his pet
3. Its beauty astounding
7. If the train you were tryin'
8. Says BUSCH* , "Water's the wors
9. Since there's no pretty 'maid'
(Look for another clue ad in this space next week.)
nth si
HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAINS
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Brewers of BUSCH Beer • St. Louis, Missouri, USA