Westfield State College Archives
Collection Guide
Catherine A. Dower Collection, 1956 – 1990
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Catherine A. Dower was a vibrant member of the faculty at Westfield State College from January, 1956 until her retirement in 1990. She tirelessly served the college for 35 years. She taught music at the college and served on various boards and committees during her time here. She was named Professor Emerita at Westfield State College in 1991. She was founder and director of the Young Artist Concert Series in 1987.
Dr. Dower received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamline University, St. Paul, MN in 1945. She was asked to teach at the Westfield State Teachers College as early as 1948 by President Edward Scanlon. She declined the invitation because she felt that she was not qualified to teach at the college level at that time.
Catherine Dower returned to college to obtain her masters degree. She completed her graduate studies at Smith College in 1948. She received a degree of Master of Arts, majoring in music research. Catherine also received a bachelor's degree in liturgical music from the University of Montana, Gregorian Institute America in 1948. She was hired at Westfield State Teachers College in December of 1955 and began teaching as an assistant professor on January 23, 1956. She chaired the Music Department from 1956 until 1967.
Dr. Dower was director of the College Glee Club in the 1960’s. She took the club on trips to Washington, D.C. and New York. These were reciprocal concerts that brought the students from Washington, D.C. and New York to the Westfield State Teachers College.
The Glee Club held concerts on campus for many years. Musical events were an important part of student life. Some examples of the events that the Glee Club participated in are the commencement ceremony, the Cap and Gown Assembly, Class Day and the June Class Night Banquet. The June Class Night included a competition for the class song each year. This event was held during the last week of the college year.
Catherine received a degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. in 1968. She majored in Musicology. She was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 1969 and to full Professor in 1972. Catherine Dower spent the summer of 1969 researching at the Vatican Library in preparation for an article on Sistine Chapel choir books for MUSART and a follow up to the January – February and February – March 1969 articles on Sistine Chapel choir books at Catholic University. She studied at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, the University of California, the Pius X School of Liturgical Music, Solesmes Abbey in France and Tanglewood, the Berkshire Music Center. She researched the music of the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rican music, as well as Irish and Medieval music.
Dr. Dower served in various capacities for the community at large. She lived in Holyoke, Massachusetts and was involved in community groups in that city. She was chairwoman of the Greater Holyoke Council for Human Understanding. She won the Human Relations Award in 1981 from this group. She founded the Massachusetts chapter of the Irish American Cultural Institute in Holyoke, Massachusetts. She served on the board of directors for the Hispanic Institute of Holyoke. She served as President of the Friends of the Holyoke Public Library.
Dr. Dower retired from Westfield State in 1990.
Catherine A. Dower Gold passed away on February 17, 2017. She will be remembered for her many contributions to the Westfield State University community.
Provenance
The Catherine A. Dower Collection was donated by Dr. Dower over a number of years.
Description
The Catherine A. Dower Collection is primarily made up of notebooks that were donated to the Westfield State College Archives by Dr. Dower. These notebooks were used for her annual reviews during her career and include material from her 35 years of teaching at Westfield State Teachers College and later Westfield State College. Her accomplishments are well documented in the material that forms this collection. This is a unique collection of Manuscripts, ephemera, sound recordings, song books, newspaper clippings, certificates, correspondence, notebooks, scrapbooks and photographs that document her career. This material is contained in 13 Boxes, 2 LPs and one scrapbook.
Arrangement
The bulk of this material is arranged by date. Most of the material has been removed from the scrapbooks and placed in archival document boxes to preserve the material contained within them.
Access restrictions
Access to this collection must comply with the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. code). Photocopying of this material is governed under this law and one of the specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” Westfield State University reserves the right to reject a copying order, if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve a violation of copyright law.
Related
The Catherine A. Dower Performing Arts series was held at Westfield State College from 1986 through the 1990’s. This series includes the music faculty and various outside guest musicians.
Westfield Sings was edited by Catherine A. Dower in 1961. A second edition was published in1965.
Irish Music Manuscript Collection. This collection is comprised of photocopies of manuscript music by Irish composers as well as published works. This collection was assembled and used by Dr. Dower for her research on Irish Music. Please see the catalog in box 1 for this collection for a complete description of its contents.
Subject Headings
Dower, Catherine, 1924 – ; Women – Education (Higher) ; Women in higher education ; Education – United States
Container List
The bulk of this collection covers the time period from 1949 - 1990. Please note: The box numbers relate to the position on the shelf rather than the number in the collection.
Box 3:
Folder 1: Instructions from Catherin Dower regarding this collection.
Folder 2: Catherine Dower (contains correspondence and an account of Dr. Dower’s first interview at Westfield)
Folder 3: Catherine Dower 1955 (Clipping)
Folder 4: Catherine Dower 1956
Folder 5: Catherine Dower 1957
Folder 6 – 9: Catherine Dower 1958
Folder 10 – 12: Catherine Dower 1959
Folder 13 – 21: Catherine Dower 1960
Folder 22 – 28: Catherine Dower 1961
Folder 29 – 30: Catherine Dower 1962
Folder 31 – 32: Catherine Dower 1963
Folder 33: Catherine Dower 1964
Folder 34: Catherine Dower 1965
Folder 35 – 41: Catherine Dower 1967
Folder 42 – 43: Catherine Dower 1968
Box 4:
Folder 44 – 47: Catherine Dower 1969
Folder 48 – 50: Catherine Dower 1970
Folder 51 – 54: Catherine Dower 1971
Folder 55A – 55E: Catherine Dower 1972
Folder 56 – 58F: Catherine Dower 1973
Folder 59 – 61K: Catherine Dower 1974 (13 folders)
Box 5:
Folder 62 – 66K: Catherine Dower 1975 (15 folders)
Folder 67A – 67M: Catherine Dower 1976 (13 folders)
Folder 68 – 72: Catherine Dower 1977
Folder 73 – 80: Catherine Dower 1978 - 1979
Individual Items:
Please note: These are recordings
Item Number 6: LP number 1: Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of Dr. Edward J. Scanlon, President, Westfield State College. Sung by the Westfield State College Glee Club, Catherine Dower, Director. Recorded Publications laboratory, Camden, NJ, no date. [33 1/3 RPM recording, 12 in.]
Item Numbers 7 – 9: LP number 2: Favorite Songs of Our College Glee Club
Box 10:
Folder 81 - 95: Catherine Dower 1978 – 1979 continued
Folder 96 – 101: Catherine Dower 1979-1981
Folder 102 – 120: Catherine Dower 1980s
Box 11:
Folder 121 - 129: Catherine Dower 1980s (continued)
Folder 130 – 131: College Activities 1980s
Folder 132: Research and Publications 1980s
Folder 133 – 139: Professional Activities 1980s
Folder 139B: Brookings Banner, March 1981
Folder 139C – 139F: 1982 Professional Activities (4 folders)
Folder 140 – 148: I. Contributions to the College
Folder 149 – 158: II. Research and Publications
Box 12:
Folder 159: II Research and Publications (continued)
Folder 160 – 166: III. Professional Activities
Folder 167 – 170: III. Professional Activities
Folder 171 – 190: IV. Community Activities
Folder 191 – 194: 1989 Irish American Cultural Institute
Folder 195 – 196: Catherine Dower, 1990s
Folder 197: Fifty Years of Marching Together (book about the Holyoke St. Patrick Parade)
Box 13:
Folder 198: Catherine Dower Glee Club Recording
Folder 199: Yella Pessl, c1986
Folder 200: Westfield Sings
Folder 201: Actividades Musicales en Puerto Rico
Folder 202: Conference Programs
Folder 203:
Items 1 – 3: Catherine Dower Scrapbooks 1950s and 1960s
Box 14:
Folder 1: Human Relations Committee, 1990-1991
Folder 2: Membership of the Human Relations Committee 1990-1991
Folder 3 – 11: Human Relations Committee 1990-1991, Notes of Meetings
Folder 12 – 18: Human Relations Committee 1990-1991, The Questionnaire (1991)
Folder 19 - 23: Human Relations Committee 1990-1991, Comment Sheets from the Questionnaire (1991)
Folder 24 – 33: Partial Reading Material of the 1990-1991 Human Relations Committee
Box 15:
Folder 1: Catherine Dower 1992, 1993, 1897
Folder 2: Catherine Dower 1991, 1985
Folder 3: Catherine Dower 1991, 1985
Folder 4: Catherine Dower 1946, 1984, 1985
Folder 5: Council for Human Understanding, Catherine Dower, 1982
Folder 6: Council for Human Understanding, Catherine Dower, 1983
Folder 7: Council for Human Understanding, Catherine Dower, 1983
Folder 8: Council for Human Understanding, 1983
Folder 9 – 11: Catherine Dower 2, 1982, 1983, 1984
Folder 12: Catherine Dower 2, 1982 - 1983
Folder 13: Catherine Dower 2, 1982 – 1983
Folder 14 - 22: Catherine Dower 1978
Folder 23 - 24: Catherine Dower Articles & Letters
Folder 25 - 33: Catherine Dower Pages From Scrapbook (1982)
Folder 34: Catherine Dower, Catalog of Irish Music
Folder 35: Catherine Dower, Correspondence, Francis J. Pilecki
Box 16:
Folder 36: Catherine Dower, Miscellaneous Contributions to WSC Book 5
Folder 37: Catherine Dower, Application for Distinguished Service Award
Folder 38: Catherine Dower, Research and Publications Book 6
Folder 39: Catherine Dower, Professional Activities Book 7
Folder 40: Catherine Dower, Programs
Folder 41: Catherine Dower, Programs
Folder 42: Catherine A. Dower, Letters, Programs, etc.
Folder 43 – 51: Catherine A. Dower, Letters, Programs, etc., 1980s
Books written by Dr. Dower
Fifty Years of Marching Together
Articles written by Dr. Dower
Notes: The Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association. vol. 36, no. 3
(March 1980) 557-812. [(23 cm.)] note: Dower, Catherine A., "Cappella Sistina
Codices in the Catholic University of America Library" 615-624.
Songbooks and Music
Westfield State College songbook, Westfield sings, edited by Catherine A. Dower. [1960] [booklet, 56 p. (25 cm.)]note: 2 copies.
Westfield State College songbook, Westfield sings, edited by Catherine A. Dower, revised edition. [1961] [booklet, 40 p. (25 cm.)]
Westfield State College songbook, Westfield sings, edited by Catherine A. Dower. Reproduced and bound by Independent Music Publishers, NY. [1960]
[booklet, 56 p. (25 cm.)]note: 2 copies. These copies are in a plastic binding.
Dower, Catherine A., ed. Westfield Sings: the Westfield State College Song Book. Ohio: Gregorian Institute of America, 1961. [56 p. (26 cm.)]note: 2 copies. Second edition of college song book with information on occasions that were a tradition until 1968.
All hail Massachusetts!, by Dr. Catherine A. Dower. [lyrics and sheet music, 2 sheets, folded (22 cm.)]note: 7 copies.
Recordings
Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of Dr. Edward J. Scanlon, President, Westfield State College. LP
Favorite Songs of Our College Glee Club. LP
Photographs
Candid photographs taken of the Westfield State College Glee Club visiting the Lebanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., led by Catherine Dower. 1967. [8 color prints (7 x 8 cm. to 9 x 13 cm.)]
Candid photographs taken of the Westfield State College Glee Club visiting District of Columbia Teachers College, led by Catherine Dower. 1967. (2 different views) [2 color prints (9 x 13 cm.)]
Candid photograph taken of members of the Westfield State College Glee Club and Catherine Dower waiting in line to visit the White House, Washington, D.C. 1967. [color print (9 x 12)]
Candid photographs taken of the Westfield State College Glee Club at Rockefeller Center, New York City, led by Catherine Dower. 1962. [color prints (9 x 13 cm.)]
Candid photograph of unidentified man and woman exchanging gifts. (Washington D.C. tour, WSC Glee Club, 1967?) [color print (7 x 8 cm.)]
Candid photographs of a television set showing the WSC Concert Choir, led by Catherine Dower, on Channel 22 TV. [n.d.] [2 b&w prints (9 x 11 cm.)]
WSC Glee Club at Washington, D.C. Teachers College. 1961. [ black and white (26 x 21 cm.)]
Edward M. Kennedy. n.d. [black and white (26 cm.)]note: signed by Edward M. Kennedy for Catherine Dower.
WSC Glee Club at Rockefeller Center, New York. March 26, 1961. [black and white (26 cm.)]
C.A. Dower, Cong. Conte, Wayne Holmes and WSC Glee Club. n.d [black and white (26 cm.)]note: Signed by Silvio O. Conte.
WSC Glee Club at Rockefeller Plaza. 1962. [black and white (26 cm.)]
WSC Glee Club at Rockefeller Center. December 16, 1961. [black and white (26 cm.)]
WSC Glee Club at Rockefeller Center. December 16, 1961. [black and white (26 x 21 cm.)]
Washington D.C. Teachers College Choir and WSC Glee Club at D.C.T.C. (Washington D.C. Teachers College). 1967. [(26 x 21 cm.)]
WSC Glee Club. n.d. [black and white (26 x 21 cm.)]
Catherine Dower. n.d. [1 sheet (13 cm.)]
Materials Donated by Lisa McMahon that were displayed at Dr. Dower's Celebration of Life that was held in the Spring of 2017.
Updated by K. Canary 8/21/2017
