Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Maude E. Wallace letter to Sarah Pitts must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Maude E. Wallace letter to Sarah Pitts, 1929, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Maude E. Wallace letter to Sarah Pitts, 1929, was donated to Special Collections in February 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Maude E. Wallace to Sarah Pitts was completed in February 2011.

Biographical note

Sarah Pitts, born 20 May 1902 in Clinton, SC, was the daughter of John H. and Jane C. Pitts. A graduate of Landers College and George Peabody College, she started working for the Virginia Cooperative Extension service in 1929 and was Home Demonstration Agent in Prince William County from 1930-36. Following her marriage in 1935 to J. Benjamin Johnson Jr., she had to resign her position with Extension, as was the custom of the time.

Maude E. Wallace, raised on a farm near Pontiac, IL, attended Illinois Women's College, Lewis Institute, and Columbia University. She came to Virginia in 1918 to participate in the Extension Service food conservation program. After 10 years as an assistant home demonstration agent in North Carolina, she returned to Virginia in 1929 as state home demonstration agent for the Agricultural Extension Service at Virginia Tech. In 1938, she became Assistant Director of Extension for home demonstration, a position she held until her retirement in 1958. In 1937, Ms. Wallace served as head of the Home Economics department at the university, and for two years was both department head and state agent. She died on 5 December 1972. Wallace Hall on the Virginia Tech campus is named in her honor.

Scope and Content note

This letter was written by Maude E. Wallace of Virginia Agricultural Extension Service, Blacksburg, VA, to Sarah Pitts of George Peabody College, Nashville, TN, on 14 August 1929. Ms. Pitts had been hired to work as an Extension agent, but had not yet begun her duties. The letter was written in response to an earlier letter in which Ms. Pitts asked for information about her upcoming position. Among the topics are: the county in which she might be placed, beginning as an assistant agent; salary; requirement to have a car; and probable start date. A further response from Ms. Pitts is written on the back of the second page of the letter in which she follows with several additional inquiries.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Virginia Cooperative Extension Service
• Women -- History