Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from Janet L. Cameron Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech. Permission to use materials from individual publications in the collection must come from the copyright owner.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Alternate Form Available

Many of the photocopied photographs in this collection are available online through Virginia Tech's Imagebase at: http://imagebase.lib.vt.edu/browse.php?folio_ID=/culinary/camer .

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Janet L. Cameron Collection, Ms2011-021, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Janet L. Cameron Collection was donated to Special Collections in 2000.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Janet L. Cameron Collection was completed in March 2011.

Biographical Note

Janet L. Cameron was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1904. She began her college education at Georgia State College for Women, but later transferred to Columbia University. She worked as a home demonstration agent in New York, beginning in 1924. She graduated from Columbia in 1926. Following the completion of her Master's in Human Nutrition from Columbia University in 1931, she worked as a Foods and Nutrition Specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension until 1964. She died in 1986 in Florida.

Mary L. Thompson completed a Bachelor's degree from Harrisonburg State College in 1924. She later completed a Master's of Science at Columbia University. From 1924 to 1940, she served as a home demonstration agent in four different Virginia counties. In 1942, Thompson began work as a Food Specialist for the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. She continued with the Extension Service until her retirement in 1963.

Additional biographical information on both Cameron and Thompson is available as part of the collection.

Scope and Content

The collection includes biographical information about the life and career of Janet L. Cameron, a food and nutrition specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension from 1931-1964. Most of the collection consists of publications written by Cameron and others. There is also a folder of materials relating to Mary L. Thompson, a frequent co-author of Cameron's and the Virginia Home Economics Association.

A bibliography of the publications is listed at the folder-level in the " Contents List " below. Please note: The collection does NOT contain all the publications on the list in Box 1-Folder 3.

Arrangement

Please note: Materials in this collection were donated in a single binder. Although materials were removed from the binder for processing and long-term storage, the content was split into two series. Series I: Janet L. Cameron Materials remains in its original order. Series II: Publications, are in chronological order within each subseries.

Series I: Janet L. Cameron Materials includes a personal and professional biography written in 2001, photocopies of photographs of Cameron, and some of Cameron's publications from her tenure with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. It also contains copies of Cameron's obituary, memoirs by friends, and copies of poems written by Cameron for the retirements of colleagues, as well as Virginia Home Economics Association agendas and pamphlets.

Materials in this series are in their original order.

Series II: Publications consists of three subseries. Subseries I: Janet L. Cameron Publications includes a collection of pamphlets and publications written by Cameron between 1935 and 1962. Subseries II: Janet L. Cameron and Mary L. Thompson includes publications written by both women. Subseries III: Mary L. Thompson Publications contains several publications by Cameron's frequent co-author. Topics of publications in all three subseries include, but are not limited to, home demonstration, nutrition/food groups/diet, food economy (especially during World War II), holiday desserts, and entertaining. Most items in this series are Virginia Cooperative Extension bulletins, circulars, and pamphlets.

Publications are arranged in chronological order within each subseries.

Related Material

Ms2001-004, Ann A. Hertzler Collection. A finding aid for this collection is available online .

RG 26/2, Agricultural Extension Service (now Virginia Cooperative Extension Service) Records. A brief description of the materials in this University Archives record group is available online: http://spec.lib.vt.edu/archives/guide/rg26.htm .

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Cameron, Janet L., 1904-1986
• Faculty and staff
• History of Food and Drink