Guide to the Patricia Parsons Kay correspondence, 1960-1963

Historical Note

Patricia Parsons Kay entered Bates as a freshman in the fall of 1960 and lived in Wilson House. After her freshmen year, she transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in part because of her parents' promise of a junior year abroad if she moved back to Wisconsin.

Patricia spent 1962-63 studying abroad with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's new junior year abroad program in Aix-en Provence, France. She and her former Wilson House roommate, Linda Rolfe Raiss (Bates class of 1964), became roommates again as Linda was spending her junior year abroad as an independent student studying at the Institute for Foreign Students in Aix-en-Provence.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1964 with a B.A. degree in history and French, Patricia earned a teaching certificate and, with her husband Stafford Kay, went to Kenya with the Peace Corps. They spent 2 1/2 years teaching high school before returning to the United States. Upon completion of her master's degree in library science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they returned to Kenya, where Patricia taught first grade and ran a makeshift library and her husband taught at Kenyatta University.

After leaving Kenya, they travelled to Australia where Patricia worked as a school librarian and her husband taught at Monash University in Melbourne. In 1980 they moved to Bethesda, Maryland and Patricia became the librarian at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC, retiring in 1997.

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Scope and Content Note

The collection contains 44 letters written by former Bates student, Patricia Parsons Kay, to her parents during her 1962-63 junior year abroad in Aix-en Provence, France. The program was offered through the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Included in the letters are descriptions of classes and coursework; living quarters and daily life; experiences with friends and roommates; and travels in France and Europe. Also includes several photographs of her Wilson House dorm mates taken during her freshman year at Bates College.

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Organization and Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

The collection is the physical property of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates College holds literary rights only for material created by College personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for material which was given to the College with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair use.

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Related Material

Esther Rosenthal Zellweger Papers, Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College, http:/www.bates.edu/muskie-archives/EADFindingAids/MC067.html

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Index Terms

These records are indexed under the following headings in the Bates College Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related materials should search the catalog under these index terms.

Personal Names:

Corporate Names:

Topical Subjects:

Geographic Subjects:

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Administrative Information

Acquisition and Custody Information

Gift of Patricia Parsons Kay, 2009. Accession No.: 2009-074.

Preferred Citation

Patricia Parsons Kay correspondence, Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, Bates College.

Processing Information

Processed by Elaine Ardia, July 2009.

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Series Description