Edith R. Solenberger Papers

Edith Gertrude Reeves was born in 1886 in South Dakota. She attended the University of South Dakota and graduated from Radcliffe College, earning an AB in 1907 and an AM in 1910, with an interest in "crippled children." Reeves married Edwin Solenberger of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania and moved to that community in August of 1913.

Within the Philadelphia community, Edith Solenberger had a notable impact on the treatment of children with physical disabilities. This crusade began as early as 1910 with her work with the International Society for Crippled Children in Elyria, Ohio, and lasted until1968.As Edith Reeves, she authored the semiunal volume of its day on this topic in 1911 entitled Care and Education of Crippled Children in the United States.. The Easter Seal Society for Crippled Children and Adults issued a Letter of Introduction describing Edith Solenberger as a Charter Member of the Society's Board of Directors. She was a pioneer in work on behalf of disabled children. In 1949, she visited post-war Europe inspecting hospitals institutional homes, schools and agencies for persons with orthopaedic handicaps.

Edith Solenberger was Co-Clerk of the Lansdowne Monthly Meeting, a founder of the Lansdowne-Upper Darby branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and an officer of the Delaware County WILPF Council. Her career included social work, writing, and public speaking. She was WILPF's referent on Native Americans in the 1950s.

Together with her husband, Edwin, Edith traveled to the 1955 Pacific Yearly Meeting as a representative of the Lansdowne Monthly Meeting. Other Quaker sponsored trips included those to Canada to learn about the Doukhobors, a Russian immigrant-based pacifist Christian group. Warm friendships developed as a result of her visits in 1951, 1955 and 1956.

In addition to her great interest in the Doukhobors, Edith Solenberger also paid much attention to Native American issues, especially concerning the Kinzua Dam Project from 1957 to 1964. Edith Solenberger sponsored a young Native American student with whom she corresponded from 1963 to1969.

Edith Reeves Solenberger's life journey ranged from a frontier childhood in the South Dakota Territory to international scholarly travel, and included family commitments, rearing four children, and spiritual and intellectual dedication to many diverse causes. She died at the age of 90 in 1976.