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Nancy Vestal Wrenn Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0645

Dates

  • 1945-2005

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Nancy Vestal Wrenn (1922-2017), of Wilkes County and Southern Pines, North Carolina, served in the American Red Cross from 1945-1947. Nancy Vestal Wrenn was born 11 February, 1922 to Clement and Lyla Wrenn in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Wrenn graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina in 1943.

In 1945 she joined the American Red Cross where she met Ruth White, another American Red Cross trainee, who became her life partner. They both were assigned to Okinawa, Japan until 1947. In 1947, Wrenn and White returned to the United States and the settled in the Swannanoa Valley near Asheville, North Carolina. In 1948, Wrenn began teaching at Swannanoa High School, now Owen High School, where she taught social studies, history and English for thirty-four years. During those years, she also developed and taught a basic course in aero science.

In 1965, Wrenn began taking flying lessons and ultimately earned her private license and ASEL commercial certificate. She was a member of the Carolinas Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, Inc., an international organization of women pilots, where she served in all levels of the chapter offices and several Southeast Section committee chairs. Wrenn also was a Charter Member of the Western N.C. Pilots Association. In 1952, Wrenn and White opened a summer camp for girls on the property where they also had built a home. The camp operated for one month each summer until 1973 and was named Awa-niko (Okinawa backwards). White died on 21 December 2017.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (7 folders, 2 oversized scrapbook boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Matthew McCarthy.

Title
Nancy Vestal Wrenn Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Matthew McCarthy
Date
2022 April
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246