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Sky Island Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG4-121

Scope and Contents

This collection includes photocopies of Flora Pottenger's correspondence, refugee reports, job descriptions, and other documents. Taken together, the material presents an in-depth view of life at Sky Island during the summer of 1946. Of particular interest is a color photocopy of a photographic album by A. Mamonoff.

Dates

  • Creation: 1945-1947

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce items in this collection beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-RUU/1.0/.

Biographical / Historical

Sky Island was a refugee vacation hostel run by the American Friends Service Committee in cooperation with the American Christian Committee for Refugees from about 1938 until at least 1947. After two years in Aberdeen, New York, Sky Island moved to a large home in Nyack lent to the program by its owner, Viola Wertheim Bernard. Operating solely during the summer months, Sky Island accomodated a group of 30-40 refugees and provided a respite from the summer heat for those refugees who otherwise could not have afforded the expense of a vacation. The program relied on a mostly volunteer staff of 8-10 to direct, teach English, and provide an American atmosphere.

Flora E. Pottenger was a teacher from Warsaw, Indiana, who worked at Sky Island during the summer of 1946. She was born in 1890, and married Thurl Pottenger, a hardware store owner, about 1920; they had a son, Hal Walker Pottenger, who was a conscientious objector in World War II and served in Waldport CPS Camp, and a daughter, Peggy. Flora died in Michigan in 1980.

Extent

0.21 linear ft. (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Sky Island was a refugee vacation hostel run by the American Friends Service Committee in copperation with the American Christian Committee for Refugees from about 1938 until at least 1947. Flora E. Pottenger was a teacher from Warsaw, Indiana, who worked at Sky Island during the summer of 1946. Her Sky Island papers, all photocopies, include correspondence, reports, and photographs.

Physical Location

For current information on the location of materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Don Nagler, 2003 (2003-008)

Title
An Inventory of Sky Island Papers, 1945-1947
Author
FHL staff
Date
2009
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Find It at the Library

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