Title: Mary Durling Papers, 1950-2000, n.d.

ID: RG 30/348

Extent: 4.6 Linear Feet

Predominant Dates: 1977-1997

Mary Durling (1935- ), artist, teacher, and civil activist, was born in Amherst, Ohio on June 16, 1935 to William Jacob (1897-1952) and Flora Evelyn (Hearn) Durling (1901-1989). William Durling served as superintendent of Clearview-Vincent School District for nearly 27 years. On December 29, 1952, he passed away from uremic poisoning at the young age of 55. His premature death left Flora Durling to raise Mary and her two sisters, Jane Claire and Susanne Hearn Durling (OC '54). The family relocated to Oberlin in 1954, where Flora was appointed as Assistant in the Bureau of Appointments (1954-1966) of Oberlin College.

After attending Amherst High School, Amherst, Ohio, Mary attended Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio in 1953 and, a year later, transferred to Oberlin College (1954-57). There she graduated from Oberlin with an A.B. degree in Art and Art Education in 1957. Later, she pursued graduate studies in the Humanities at Manhattanville College (1973-75, M.A.), Purchase, New York and in Engineering at Norwalk Saint Technical College (1975-77), Norwalk, Connecticut. While at Manhattanville in 1975, she wrote an unpublished master's thesis entitled: "Visual Thinking and Its Role in the Creative Process.” Making use of readings in the fields of art, education, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and religion, her thesis was that "the process of visualization was the relevant cognitive base of critical thinking." Manhattanville awarded her honors for this work.

After her divorce from James Fuller Fixx (1932-1984), Durling returned to Oberlin in 1978 and worked independently as a freelance artist for institutional and commercial clients, such as the Hayes Presidential Center (Fremont, Ohio) and the Firelands Association for Visual Arts (F.A.V.A.) in Oberlin. She served as Executive Director (1979-1981) and Gallery Chairman (1980-81) for F.A.V.A., and partook in several exhibitions as a juror and occasionally as a participating artist (1979-1980). She was also involved with the community as finance chairman of Christ Episcopal Church (1985-88), City chairman for the Pease for Congress Campaign (1984-87), Oberlin College's Class of 1957 class agent, and as a contributing artist to the Stocker Center Gallery at Lorain County Community College (1981-1982). In addition to these civic activities, Durling became increasingly interested in attaining a position on the administrative staff at Oberlin College, where she thought she could better utilize her skills and training. Based on five years of art teaching at public schools in Greenwich, Connecticut (1969-1974), Durling was able to acquire a non-tenured teaching position through Oberlin College's Upward Bound Program during the summer of 1979.

It was not until 1981, however, that Durling received an administrative position at Oberlin as acting assistant to the Vice President for External Affairs. In this capacity, she was mainly responsible for writing federal grant reports, for setting up of the Word Processing Center and for training its staff. She also produced a newsletter.

Subsequently, she became coordinator of the John Frederick Oberlin Society in 1983, and the staff coordinator for the Sesquicentennial Celebration Planning Committee (1982-83) for the College's Office of Development and Alumni Affairs. She was responsible for the planning and scheduling of concerts and symposia, and the graphics and printing for the year-long celebration. As part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, she was also coordinator for the inauguration of Oberlin College's twelfth president, S. Frederick Starr (1983-1994).

In 1985, she was appointed as acting assistant to Curator of Collections, Kimberlie Gumz Fixx (1985-1988), for the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM), in Oberlin, and as project director of The Oberlin College Bandstand Design Competition. In 1986, the College appointed Durling acting assistant to the Director of the AMAM, William J. Chiego (1986-1991). Included among her professional duties for the museum were budget management, supervising student personnel, community relations, coordinating newsletters and special activities, and fiscal planning for 1986-1987. In 1988, Durling joined the staff of Student Support Services as assistant to Dean Patrick Penn. While there she wrote the first grant application for the McNair and Mellon Programs, and served as Director of the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program from 1989 to 1993. Among the administrative staff of Oberlin College, her leading supporters were President S. Frederick Starr, and Art Department Professors Ellen H. Johnson (d. 1992), and Paul B. Arnold (OC '40). Durling retired in 1997 from her position as Assistant Dean of Students where she was coordinator of the Judicial Board and Student Honor Committee.

Durling's commitments to the college and community were many. She is best recognized for her efforts in city planning and historic preservation, and for her enthusiastic participation in the Lorain County Democratic Party. As an active member of the City’s Historic Preservation Commission (1990-93), she held Kitchen Tours of Oberlin's historical and modern kitchens in May of 1990, and was also an influential voice in discussions concerning the demolition of the Gasholder House (1990-93). Her interests in architecture and city planning were influenced by the work of Professor Geoffrey Blodgett (d. 2001) and his course "The Social History of American Architecture.” In addition, she participated in the City Buildings Review Committee (1990-93), the Oberlin Improvement Corporation (1990-93), the Open Space Commission (1990-93) and the Strategic Planning Neighborhood Task Force (1990-91, n.d.). Her concern for the welfare of the town of Oberlin led to her Campaign for City Council in 1989. She was elected to City Council in 1989, and re-elected into the Council at Large position in 1991. Durling also served as Oberlin City Chairman for the 13th Congressional District Delegate to Democratic National Convention (Michael Dukakis) and worked on campaigns for Congressmen Don Pease (d. 2002) and Sherrod Brown.

Mary Durling married James Fuller Fixx (OC '57) on June 11, 1957 at Christ Episcopal Church in Oberlin, Ohio. At the time, Mr. Fixx was an assistant editor of the Oberlin-News Tribune. After living in Sarasota, Florida and Queens, New York, they settled in Riverside, Connecticut where they had raised four children: Paul (OC '79), John, Elizabeth and Stephen Fixx. Mary and James divorced 16 years later in 1973. James died of a heart attack while jogging in Hardwick, Vermont on July 20, 1984. In 1999, Mary married Douglas Harry Kirtz of Oberlin, a retired mechanical engineer and a graduate of Case Western Reserve. The two had met through mutual interests in the Democratic Party. They relocated to Vermont in June 2004.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Student Assistant May Tran interviewed Mary Durling, 10 May 2004, and Durling provided additional assistance for the biographical sketch. The staff file of Mary Durling, the papers of Mary Durling, and the Alumni Records folder of James F. Fixx (d. 1984) were also consulted.

Author: May Tran with assistance from Mary Durling

Forms of Material (links to similar genres)

Languages of Materials

Administrative Information

Scope and Contents:

The papers of Mary Durling primarily document her work as an artist, coordinator of special projects and exhibitions, and her civic activities within the community of Oberlin. A modest amount of materials relate to her teaching in the Oberlin College Upward Bound Program, and her work with other student achievement programs and the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.

Series IX. Special Programs Coordinator Files contains correspondence, notes, and other materials that detail her contributions to significant events at Oberlin College and in the community. The files relate to her participation in the Oberlin College Bandstand Competition and construction, 1985-87, the Oberlin Sesquicentennial Celebration, 1983, and the inauguration of Oberlin College’s 12^th president, S. Frederick Starr, 1983. This series also contains files relating to Durling’s service as the class agent for the Oberlin Class of 1957.

Durling’s interest in history and the historic preservation of Oberlin are evident throughout the collection. The miscellaneous subject files and the files relating to design concepts cover a wide range of projects and interests. Designs and drawings for storefronts along South Main Street in Oberlin, 1994, and her ideas for restoring the Gasholder House, 1990-93, illustrate her interest in preserving Oberlin's architectural significant built environment and the history of Oberlin, Ohio.

Evidence of her civic work can be found in the series relating to her campaign for a position on the Oberlin City Council, her work for Michael Dukakis and the Democratic National Convention, and for the election campaigns of Congressman Don Pease and Congressmen Sherrod Brown.

The Mary Durling Papers are divided into eleven (11) series: I. Biographical File, II. Design Concepts, III. Exhibitions Files (Miscellaneous), IV. Job Applications and Resumes (Miscellaneous) Restricted, V. Subject Files (Miscellaneous), VI. Oberlin City Council and U.S. Congressional Campaigns, VII. Personal Correspondence, VIII. Publications, IX. Special Programs Coordinator Files, X. Student Achievement Organizations and Development Office, XI. Photographs and one Oversize Box.

The files within each series are arranged alphabetically.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Series I. Biographical File, 1952, 1985, 1987-88 (1f)

The biographical file consists of articles and newspaper clippings concerning the professional activities of Mary Durling. Resumes of Mary Durling are filed in Series IV. (Restricted.)

Series II. Design Concepts, 1979-81, 1983-85, 1987-88, 1994-95, n.d. (21f)

This series contains photographs, design proofs, pamphlets, and drawings created by Mary Durling for the designs of logos, letterheads, storefronts, and signs for Oberlin businesses, Oberlin College, Oberlin City government, and other local groups. (See also the oversize box.)

Series III. Exhibitions Files (Miscellaneous), 1983, 1985-97, n.d. (18f)

The exhibitions files consist of associated financial records, correspondence, notes and printed matter related to exhibitions and events held at the Allen Memorial Art Museum and an Oberlin pictorial history exhibit displayed in the lobby of the Carnegie building, Oberlin College. Also contained within this series are photocopies of photographs from some of those events.

Series IV. Job Applications and Resumes (Miscellaneous), 1956-57, 1963, 1970-81, 1984, 1986, 1988-89, 1997, n.d. (7f) (Restricted)

This series consists of contracts, applications, and resumes that provide detail of the employment history of Mary Durling. Access to this series by permission of the College Archivist.

Series V. Subject Files (Miscellaneous), 1987, 1989-93, n.d. (12f, one catalogue, and one notebook)

The miscellaneous subject files contain notes, catalogues, financial records, and correspondence relating to Durling’s work with city planning committees (i.e., Buildings Review Committee) and the historic preservation group that worked to preserve the Gasholder House in the city of Oberlin. Also included are her class notes, papers and syllabus for "The Social History of American Architecture" course taught by the late Geoffrey Blodgett (d. 2001) in the fall of 1989.

Series VI. Oberlin City Council and U.S. Congressional Campaigns, 1988, 1993, 1999-2000, n.d. (5f)

This series contains financial records, correspondence, clippings, and printed matters from Durling’s political campaigns for Oberlin City Council. Also included are correspondence, financial records, and printed matter relating to Durling’s involvement with the campaign of Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown (13^th District).

Series VII. Personal Correspondence, 1983-97, n.d. (3f)

The personal correspondence includes letters of appreciation from individuals who attended events managed by Durling. Also included is correspondence with Margaret Rice Egeland (d. 1994), a friend of Durling.

Series VIII. Publications, 1983-84, 1986-87, 1989, n.d. (3f)

These published articles written by Durling primarily concern events such as the Oberlin Sesquicentennial Celebration, coeducation, and other Oberlin topics. Some associated correspondence is included in this series.

Series IX. Special Programs Coordinator Files, 1957, 1962, 1978-95, n.d. (25f and 2 notebooks)

The special programs files contain correspondence, notes, and associated planning materials that document Durling’s role as coordinator for special projects including the Bandstand Competition (1985-87) in Tappan Square and the 1983 Sesquicentennial Celebration of the city of Oberlin. Included are photographs and slides of the various events. Correspondence, letterhead design, and reunion materials for the Oberlin Class of 1957 are also contained in the series (class agent files). (See also the oversize box.)

Series X. Student Achievement Organizations and Development Office, 1979, 1981-84, 1988-93, 1995, n.d. (6f)

This series contains correspondence and notes related to Durling’s responsibilities as acting assistant to the Vice President of Development of Oberlin College, teacher in Upward Bound Program, and her work with other student programs.

Series XI. Photographs, 1950, c. 1960-65, c. 1970s, 1984-85, 1989, 1991, n.d. (1f)

Consists of fourteen (14) photographs of her immediate family and friends, and a sheet of proofs for Durling's promotional photographs. Other photographs related to Durling’s work are filed with the textual materials in order to maintain the integrity of the record (i.e. Bandstand Competition, Gasholder House, etc.).

Download Box / Folder List (pdf)