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Title: Emma Barth Diaries
Record Family: SWE
Type: Diaries
Date: Bulk Dates 1939-1979
Location: 4W-A-3(5)
Size: 3 Manuscript Boxes, 5 Storage Boxes
ID #: 1539-barth
©Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs
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History
The Emma Barth Diaries were deposited to the Society of Women Engineers archival collection in May of 1999, and opened for research in June 2003.
Mechanical engineer Emma C. Barth, PE, was part of the 20th-century generation of women who faced unprecedented employment opportunities as a result of World War II. Wartime circumstances created new organizations and programs specifically designed to recruit women into service, and in the call for womanpower, science and engineering played a central role. It was in this atmosphere that Emma Barth capitalized on her interest in engineering.
Prior to the war, during the Depression years, she received her education from the University of Pittsburgh, earning both a B.A. (1931) and an M.A. (1937) in German, and an M.A. in Education. Employment at that time, however, was scarce: the only teaching work available was part-time work in evening and summer schools. Anxious for full-time work, and interested in engineering because that was her brother’s field of study, Barth enrolled in drafting courses at the Pittsburgh Aeronautics Institute in 1942. She secured a job as a draftsman for the H.J. Heinz Co. that same year.
For both women educated in engineering before the war, and women like Barth who took courses as part of a wartime training program, wartime labor shortages created opportunities to apply technical skill in the workplace. As a draftsman for Heinz, Barth worked in the canning plant, which was temporarily converted into a drafting office, and there she drafted wooden wings for gliders. Following her position at Heinz, she joined Westinghouse Electric as a draftsman in 1944, in the Turbine Generator Division at Westinghouse’s East Pittsburgh Office.
Emma Barth’s experience as a draftsman for Westinghouse, working in industry, inspired her to pursue a degree in engineering, in the hopes that she could remain employed in the field. When she began her job in 1944 there were 18 women in her department—which she believed was a fairly common number of women in drafting at the time. Barth, however, had hopes for advancing out of the women’s drafting department. On the advice of a friend in the engineering department, she enrolled in engineering classes at the University of Pittsburgh in 1944. Paying for the classes herself, she went to school in the evening for seven years and in 1951 graduated with a B.S. in General Engineering—the only female in her class and the first woman to graduate in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh Evening School.
An ambitious engineer, Emma Barth was committed to professional development. She was a founding member and later president of the SWE Pittsburgh Section, and was also the first editor of the SWE Newsletter. In 1952, she became an engineer-in-training and joined the Society of Professional Engineers. She obtained her Pennsylvania Professional Engineers License in 1961, and after she retired in 1977, she became a PSPE life member. For her years of service and encouragement to young women, she received the Westinghouse Community Service Award in 1977, the first woman to receive that award. Engineering wasn’t her only passion, however; she was a serious drama student, who practiced voice exercises daily and participated in a local theatre group.
Scope and Contents
The Emma Barth Diaries chronicle the daily life of a woman engineer, 1939-1979 (not all years are covered). Series 1, arranged chronologically, consists of the original preserved diaries. A separate collection of user copies—photocopied and enlarged pages of each diary—is available as Series 2 of this collection.
Please note: for general use, researchers are first directed to user copies in Series 2. Original diaries are available for special use only, please see reference archivist for more information.
Emma Barth Diaries—Container List
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Series 1: Original Diaries
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BOX 1
Folder
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Contents
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| 1 |
February 1939; Diary 129
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| 2 |
October 1951; Diary 281
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| 3 |
April 1954; Diary 311
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| 4 |
June 1954; Diary 313
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| 5 |
July 1954; Diary 314
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| 6 |
September 1954; Diary 316
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| 7 |
October 1954; Diary 317
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| 8 |
November 1954; Diary 318
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| 9 |
December 1954; Diary 319
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| 10 |
January 1955; Diary 320 |
| 11 |
February 1955; Diary 321
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| 12 |
March 1955; Diary 322
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| 13 |
April 1955; Diary 323
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| 14 |
May 1955; Diary 324
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| 15 |
June 1955; Diary 325
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| 16 |
July 1955; Diary 326; mostly written in shorthand
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| 17 |
August 1955; Diary 327; mostly written in shorthand
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| 18 |
September 1955; Diary 328; mostly written in shorthand
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| 19 |
October 1955; Diary 329; mostly written in shorthand
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| 20 |
November 1955; Diary 330; mostly written in shorthand |
| 21 |
December 1955; Diary 331; mostly written in shorthand
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| 22 |
January 1956; Diary 332; mostly written in shorthand
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| 23 |
February 1956; Diary 333; mostly written in shorthand
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| 24 |
March 1956; Diary 334; mostly written in shorthand
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| 25 |
April 1956; Diary 335; mostly written in shorthand
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| 26 |
May 1956; Diary 336; mostly written in shorthand
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| 27 |
June 1956; Diary 337; mostly written in shorthand
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| 28 |
July 1956; Diary 338; mostly written in shorthand
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| 29 |
August 1956; Diary 339; mostly written in shorthand
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| 30 |
September 1956; Diary 340; mostly written in shorthand |
| 31 |
September and October 1957; Diaries 352 and 353; mostly written in shorthand
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| 32 |
November and December 1957; Diaries 354 and 355; mostly written in shorthand
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| 33 |
April 1958; Diary 359; mostly written in shorthand
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| 34 |
May 1958; Diary 360; some shorthand
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| 35 |
July 1958; Diary 362; some shorthand
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| 36 |
August 1958; Diary 363; some shorthand
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| 37 |
September 1958; Diary 364; some shorthand
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| 38 |
October 1958; Diary 365; some shorthand
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| 39 |
November 1958; Diary 366; some shorthand
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| 40 |
December 1958; Diary 367 |
| 41 |
January 1959; Diary 368
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| 42 |
February 1959; Diary 369
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| 43 |
March 1959; Diary 370
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| 44 |
April 1959; Diary 371
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| 45 |
May 1959; Diary 372
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| 46 |
June 1959; Diary 373 |
BOX 2
Folder |
Contents |
| 47 |
July 1959; Diary 374
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| 48 |
August 1959; Diary 375
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| 49 |
September 1959; Diary 376
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| 50 |
October 1959; Diary 377
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| 51 |
November 1959; Diary 378
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| 52 |
December 1959; Diary 379
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| 53 |
January and February 1961; Diaries 392 and 393
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| 54 |
March and April 1961; Diaries 394 and 395
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| 55 |
May and June 1961; Diaries 396 and 397
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| 56 |
July and August 1961; Diaries 398 and 399
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| 57 |
September and October 1961; Diaries 400 and 401
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| 58 |
November and December 1961; Diaries 402 and 403
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| 59 |
January and February 1962; Diaries 404 and 405
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| 60 |
March and April 1962; Diaries 406 and 407
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| 61 |
May and June 1962; Diaries 408 and 409
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| 62 |
July and August 1962; Diaries 410 and 411
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| 63 |
October 1962; Diary 413
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| 64 |
November 1962; Diary 414
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| 65 |
December 1962; Diary 415
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| 66 |
January and February 1963; Diaries 416 and 417
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| 67 |
March and April 1963; Diaries 418 and 419
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| 68 |
May and June 1963; Diaries 420 and 421
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| 69 |
July and August 1963; Diaries 422 and 423
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| 70 |
September and October 1963; Diaries 424 and 425
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| 71 |
November and December 1963; Diaries 426 and 427
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| 72 |
November and December 1964; Diaries 438 and 439
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| 73 |
July and August 1969; Diaries 494 and 495
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| 74 |
September and October 1969; Diaries 496 and 497
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| 75 |
November and December 1969; Diaries 498 and 499
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| 76 |
January and February 1970; Diaries 500 and 501
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| 77 |
March and April 1970; Diaries 502 and 503
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| 78 |
May 1970; Diary 504
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| 79 |
June 1970; Diary 505
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| 80 |
July and August 1970; Diaries 506 and 507
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| 81 |
September 1970; Diary 508
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| 82 |
October 1970; Diary 509
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| 83 |
November 1970; Diary 510
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| 84 |
December 1970; Diary 511
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| 85 |
January and February 1971; Diaries 512 and 513
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| 86 |
March 1971; Diary 514
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| 87 |
April 1971; Diary 515
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| 88 |
May 1971; Diary 516
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| 89 |
June 1971; Diary 517
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BOX 3
Folder
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Contents
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| 90 |
July 1971; Diary 518
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| 91 |
August 1971; Diary 519
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| 92 |
September 1971; Diary 520
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| 93 |
October 1971; Diary 521
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| 94 |
November 1971; Diary 522
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| 95 |
December 1971; Diary 523
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| 96 |
January 1972; Diary 524
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| 97 |
February 1972; Diary 525
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| 98 |
March 1972; Diary 526
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| 99 |
April 1972; Diary 527
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| 100 |
May 1972; Diary 528
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| 101 |
June 1972; Diary 529
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| 102 |
July 1972; Diary 530
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| 103 |
August 1972; Diary 531
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| 104 |
September 1972; Diary 532
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| 105 |
October 1972; Diary 533
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| 106 |
November 1972; Diary 534
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| 107 |
December 1972; Diary 535
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| 108 |
January 1973; Diary 536
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| 109 |
February 1973; Diary 537
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| 110 |
March 1973; Diary 538
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| 111 |
April 1973; Diary 539
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| 112 |
May 1973; Diary 540
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| 113 |
June 1973; Diary541
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| 114 |
July 1973; Diary 542
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| 115 |
August 1973; Diary 543
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| 116 |
September 1973; Diary 544
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| 117 |
October 1973; Diary 545
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| 118 |
November 1973; Diary 546
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| 119 |
January 1974; Diary 548
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| 120 |
February 1974; Diary 549
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| 121 |
March 1974; Diary 550
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| 122 |
April 1974; Diary 551
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| 123 |
May 1974; Diary 552
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| 124 |
June 1974; Diary 553
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| 125 |
July 1974; Diary 554
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| 126 |
August 1974; Diary 555
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| 127 |
September 1974; Diary 556
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| 128 |
December 1974; Diary 559
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| 129 |
January 1975; Diary 560
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| 130 |
March 1975; Diary 562
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| 131 |
April 1975; Diary 563
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| 132 |
May 1975; Diary 564
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| 133 |
July 1975; Diary 566
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| 134 |
August 1975; Diary 567
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| 135 |
December 1975; Diary 571
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| 136 |
January 1976; Diary 572
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| 137 |
February 1976; Diary 573
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| 138 |
March 1976; Diary 574
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| 139 |
June 1976; Diary 577
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| 140 |
July 1976; Diary 578
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| 141 |
August 1976; Diary 579
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| 142 |
May 1979; Diary 612
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Series 2: User Copies
Box 4
Diaries 1 – 33
Box 5
Diaries 34 – 61
Box 6
Diaries 62 – 85
Box 7
Diaries 86 – 114
Box 8
Diaries 115 - 142