Gretta Moll Dewald papers

Collection

Identifier: W069

Staff Only
Not requestable

Scope and Contents of the Papers

The majority of the Gretta Moll DeWald papers span from 1977-1980, reflecting Dewald’s role as Chair of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee during the Jimmy Carter presidency. The papers are comprised of articles, agendas, briefings, legislation, newspaper and magazine articles, memos, minutes, correspondence, reports, and pamphlets, all surrounding Dewald’s career working in a grassroots capacity to ratify ERA in the South, Midwest and New England. The collection of papers is broken down into five series: Carter Administration, Democratic Party Politics in Georgia, Subject files, Photographs and Textiles and Artifacts. The following series are artifacts, textiles and other paraphernalia, tangible illustrations of the many political and social movements that Dewald played as an active participant.

This finding aid reflects the only a portion of the Dewald papers. The bulk of the collection remains unprocessed. Consult archivist for more information about the papers.

Dates

Creation: 1932-2000
Creation: Majority of material found within 1977 - 1980

Creator

Dewald, Gretta Moll, 1929-2006 (Person)

Restrictions on Access

Collection is open for research use.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Georgia State University is the owner of the physical collection and makes reproductions available for research, subject to the copyright law of the United States and item condition. Georgia State University may or may not own the rights to materials in the collection. It is the researcher's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and obtain permission from the copyright holder before publication, reproduction, or display of the materials beyond what is reasonable under copyright law. Researchers may quote selections from the collection under the fair use provision of copyright law.

Biography of Gretta Moll Dewald

Gretta Moll was born in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, in 1929. She graduated from Atlanta Girls High School in 1946 and from Agnes Scott College in 1950, and married Charles Dewald in 1951. She worked as an elementary and high school teacher and was active in PTA and Girl Scouts. She was also very active in North Decatur Presbyterian Church, teaching Sunday School, organizing children's choirs, and eventually became an Elder -- only the second woman to be chosen by her congregation for that position. Taking an interest in politics, Dewald was involved with several local campaigns, helped organize the Democratic Women of DeKalb, and rose to the presidency of the Democratic Party of DeKalb County in the late 1960s. In 1970, Dewald worked on Jimmy Carter's gubernatorial campaign. In 1972, despite not having been nominated by Governor Carter, she won place as a Georgia Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Miami. During Carter's presidential campaign in 1976, Dewald worked as a grassroots campaigner in the South, in the Midwest, and in New England. After Carter's inauguration, she was asked to work as Chair of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee and to serve on the President's Advisory Committee. In 1980, upon Carter's failed bid for re-election, Dewald returned to Atlanta to work for DeKalb County's CEO, Manuel Maloof, as Executive Assistant/Chief of Staff. Serving from 1981 through 1989, she was the only female Executive Assistant in DeKalb County's history. In 1989, Dewald organized the DeKalb County pretrial release program, and managed the system until her retirement in 1994. She died in 2006.

Extent

34.8 Linear Feet (in 50 manuscript boxes; 12 textile boxes and 4 artifact boxes; 1 oversized)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Gretta Moll Dewald (1929-2006) was involved with the Democratic Party of DeKalb County and of Georgia in the late 1960s. She worked on Governor Jimmy Carter's campaign for president in 1976 and served as Chair of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee and on the President's Advisory Committee on Women during his administration. Subsequently, she was Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff for DeKalb County CEO Manuel Maloof. Her papers include correspondence, minutes and agendas, reports, printed material, and artifacts, primarily reflecting her state and national political involvement.

Arrangement Note

Organized into 6 series: I. Carter Administration, 1945-2000; II. Democratic Party Politics, Georgia, 1968-1989; III. Subject Files, 1939-1981; IV. Personal, 1932-1980; V. Photographs, 1966-1978; VI. Textiles and Artifacts, 1972-1993.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Charles and Gretta Dewald in 3 accessions, 2004-2007.

Related Archival Materials Note

Related materials in other repositories

Equal Rights Amendment Campaign Archives Project (ERACAP) Records, 1970-1985, MSS. 310, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Equal Rights Amendment Coalition Records, Accession 183, Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections, Winthrop University, Rock Hill. SC

Separated Materials

During Processing, books and periodicals were separated to other Women's Printed Collections. For books, consult Special Collections or the University Online Library catalog for access. For periodicals, see the Women's Printed Collection: Periodicals finding aid or the library catalog for access.

Separated to Special Collections Books

Ascher, Carol; DeSalvo, Louise A; Ruddick, Sara, Between Women: Biographers, Novelists, Critics, Teachers, and Artists Write About Their Work on Women (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1984)
Bird, Caroline, The Two-paycheck Marriage: How Women at Work Are Changing Life in America: An In-depth Report on the Great Revolution of Our Times (New York, NY: Rawson, Wade Publishers, 1979)
Burke, Mary P., Reaching for Justice: the Women's Movement (Washington, DC: Center of Concern, 1980)
Calkin, Homer L., Women in American Foreign Affairs (Washington, DC: Department of State, August 1977)
Carlson, Dale Bick, Girls are Equal Too: the Women's Movement for Teenagers (New York, NY: Atheneum, 1973)
Davison, Jane, The Fall of a Doll's House: Three Generations of Women and the Houses They Lived In (New York, NY: Avon Books, 1982)
De Pauw, Linda Grant, Founding Mothers: Women in America in the Revolutionary Era (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975)
Dowling, Colette, The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence (New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1982)
Durr, Virginia Foster; Hollinger F.Barnard, Outside the Magic Circle: The Autobiography of Virginia Foster Durr (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987)
Editors of the World Almanac, The Good Housekeeping Woman's Almanac, (New York: Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1977)
Eisler, Riane Tennenhaus, The Equal Rights Handbook (New York, NY: Avon, 1978)
Federation of Organizations for Professional Women (US), Washington Women: A Directory of Women and Women's Organizations in the National Capital (Washington, DC: The Federation, 1978)
Figes, Eva, Waking (New York, NY: Pantheon, 1981)
Firestone, Shulamith, The Dialectic of Sex; The Case for Feminist Revolution (New York, NY: Morrow, 1970)
Foxworth, Jo, Boss Lady: an Executive Woman Talks About Making It (New York, NY: Warner, 1979)
Fraser, Antonia, The Weaker Vessel (New York, NY: Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1984)
Gerberg, Mort, Right On, Sister! (New York, NY: Grossett [sic] & Dunlap, 1971)
Gorfinkel, Claire, Women and the Federal Budget: How It Affects Us, How We Can Affect It (Philadelphia, PA: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1980)
Grau, Shirley Ann, Nine Women: Short Stories (New York, NY: Knopf, 1986)
Greenberg, Selma, Right From the Start: A Guide to Nonsexist Child Rearing (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978)
Grune, Joy Ann, Manual on Pay Equity: Raising Wages for Women's Work (Washington, DC: Committee on Pay Equity, Conference on Alternative State and Local Policies, 1980)
Hill, Patricia Kneas, The Oglethorpe Ladies and the Jacobite Conspiracies (Atlanta, GA: Cherokee Pub. Co., 1977)
Hollander, Nicole, "Mercy, It's the Revolution and I'm in My Bathrobe": More Sylvia (New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1982)
Irwin, Inez Haynes, The Story of Alice Paul and the National Women's Party (Fairfax, VA: Denlinger's Publishers Ltd., 1977)
Jong, Erica, Fanny: Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones: A Novel (New York: New American Library, 1980)
Lloyd, Trevor Owen, Suffragettes International: the World-wide Campaign for Women's Rights ([New York, NY]: American Heritage Press, 1971)
Lumpkin, Katharine Du Pre, The Making of a Southerner (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1981)
Madden, Tara Roth, Women vs. Women: The Uncivil Business War (New York, NY: American Management Association, 1987)
Mandel, Ruth B., In the Running: The New Woman Candidate (New Haven, CT: Ticknor & Fields, 1981)
Miller, Casey; Swift, Kate, Words and Women (Garden City, NY: Anchor Press, 1977)
National Education Association of the United States, Status of the American Family: Policies, Facts, Opinions, and Issues (Washington, DC: National Education Association, 1979)
O'Neill, William L., Women at Work, Including The Long Day, the Story of a New York Working Girl by Dorothy Richardson & Inside the New York Telephone Company by Elinor Langer (New York, NY: Quadrangle, 1975)
Paizis, Suzanne, Getting Her Elected: a Political Woman's Handbook (Sacramento, CA: Creative Editions, 1977)
Plath, Sylvia, Ariel: Poems (New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1966)
Pletcher, Barbara A., Saleswoman: A Guide to Career Success (Homewood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin, 1978)
Rubins, Jack L., Karen Horney: Gentle Rebel of Psychoanalysis (New York, NY: Dial Press, 1978)
Scarf, Maggie, Unfinished Business: Pressure Points in the Lives of Women (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980)
Schechter, Susan, Women and Male Violence: the Visions and Struggles of the Battered Women's Movement (Boston, MA: South End Press, 1982)
Sherr, Lynn; Kazickas, Jurate, The American Woman's Gazetteer (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1976)
Smeal, Eleanor, Why and How Women Will Elect the Next President (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1984)
Sprung, Barbara, Non-sexist Education for Young Children: A Practical Guide (New York, NY: Citation Press, 1975)
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Enforcing Title IX (Washington, DC: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, October 1980)
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, A Guide to Federal Laws Prohibiting Sex Discrimination (Washington, DC: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, June 1974)
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, More Hurdles to Clear: Women and Girls in Competitive Athletics (Washington, DC: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, July 1980)
U.S. Congress: Joint Committee on Arrangements for the Commemoration of the Bicentennial, Women in Congress, 1917-1976 ([Washington, DC: U.S. Govt. Print. Office], 1976)
U.S. Dept. of Commerce, The Guide to the U.S. Department of Commerce, for Women Business Owners (Washington, DC: The Dept. of Commerce, 1980)
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Facts About Women Heads of Households and Heads of Families (Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Office of the Secretary, Women’s Bureau, 1979)
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Women's Bureau Outreach Projects 1978-1980 (Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Labor, Office of the Secretary, Women’s Bureau, 1980)
U.S. Dept. of Labor, Young Workers and Families: a Special Section (Washington, DC: Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1980)
U.S. National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, The Spirit of Houston: the First National Women's Conference : An Official Report to the President, the Congress and the People of the United States (Washington, DC: National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, March 1978)
U.S. National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, " ... To Form a More Perfect Union ...": Justice for American Women: Report of the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year ([Washington, DC: Dept. of State], 1976)
U.S. President's Advisory Committee for Women, Voices for Women: 1980 Report of the President's Advisory Committee for Women ([Washington, DC]: President's Advisory Committee for Women, 1980)
U.S. President's Interagency Task Force on Women Business Owners, The Bottom Line: Equal Enterprise in America: Report of the President's Task Force on Women Business Owners (Washington, DC: President's Interagency Task Force on Women Business Owners, 1978)
U.S. Women's Bureau, Employment Needs of Women Offenders: a Program Design (Washington, DC: U.S. Women's Bureau, 1977)
Walker, Alice, Meridian (New York, NY: Washington Square Press, 1977)
Wider Opportunities for Women, Inc., National Directory of Women's Employment Programs: Who They Are, What They Do (Washington: WOW)
Williamson, Jane; Winston, Diane; Wooten, Wanda, Women's Action Almanac: A Complete Resource Guide by the Women's Action Alliance (New York: Morrow, 1979)
Women's Studies Program and Policy Center at George Washington University; Women's Research and Education Institute of the Congresswomen's Caucus, Older Women: the Economics of Aging (Washington, DC: Women's Studies Program and Policy Center at George Washington University; Women's Research and Education Institute of the Congresswomen's Caucus, 1980)

Separated to Women's Printed Collections: Periodicals

Journal of Reprints of Documents Affecting Women (Washington, D.C.: Today Publications & News Service): Vol.1, No.1, July 1976, Vol.1, No.2, October 1976
Life (Chicago), “Remarkable American Women, 1776-1976” ([Chicago]: Time, 1976)
Psychology of women quarterly: Vol.1-4, 1976-1980
Spokeswoman (Washington Women's News Service): Vol. 11, No.2-4, February-April 1981, Vol. 11, No.8, August 1981
Who's Who of American Women (Chicago, IL: Marquis Who's Who, Inc.: 9th edition, 1975-1976, 10th edition, 1977-1978, 11th edition, 1979-1980

Processing Information

Processed by Rahna Carusi 2011-2012; Hilary Morrish 2016-2017. Papers are inventoried at the file level. Five folders added to Series I by William W. Hardesty, January 2023.