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Mary Bye papers
Mary Bye (1913-2002) was a Quaker activist who lived in rural Bucks County. She became involved in the anti-war movement during the 1960s. She was also active in causes relating to social justice and the environment. During the 1970s she became involved with anti-nuclear activism, and was a princ...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Collection: | Mary Bye Papers |
| Collection Number: | 3202 |
| Format: | Manuscript |
| Language: | English |
| Subjects and Genres: | |
| Online Access: | Link to finding aid |
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| Item Description: |
Processing Information: The Mary Bye papers originally consisted of ten linear feet of documents. The majority of these were housed in rough folders or envelopes gathered together by general topic, some obviously by Mary Bye herself, others probably not. They included direct mailings and solicitations from a number of organizations of every type, many of them unopened, requesting donations and including in their mailings newsletters, information brochures, photocopied news clippings, and petitions. Most of this material was duplicated many times over. A sampling of the direct mailing was kept with the collection, either in a miscellaneous file by series, or when appropriate with the organization file concerned. Informational material from the direct mailings was sometimes extracted by Bye and kept in a separate file, often with annotations added in the margins. These have been maintained in the arrangement in which they were found. Duplicated and repetitive mailings have been discarded, including most national newsletters and magazines. All documents concerning Mary Bye or any of the organizations or direct actions in which she was involved have been kept, including newsletters, as well as all documents connected in any way with local organizations and Friends groups. |
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| Physical Description: |
5.6 Linear feet ; 15 boxes, 4 flat files |
| Access: |
Open to researchers without restrictions. |
| Summary: |
Mary Bye (1913-2002) was a Quaker activist who lived in rural Bucks County. She became involved in the anti-war movement during the 1960s. She was also active in causes relating to social justice and the environment. During the 1970s she became involved with anti-nuclear activism, and was a principal opponent of efforts to expand the nuclear facilities at Limerick, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. Late in life she became increasingly concerned with environmental protection, famously attempting to save a stand of oak trees near her home from destruction. Her other major causes included Native American rights and a continuing devotion to the anti-war movement. She was a Convener of the Friends Environmental Working Group, a leading figure in the Central Bucks Clean Energy Collective and the Movement for a New Society, and a supporter of numerous local and national activist organizations.
The Mary Bye papers consist of 5.6 linear feet of textual documents recording Mary Bye’s activist career from 1969-1992 (bulk 1974-1991). The documents in this collection relate primarily to her activity in opposition to nuclear energy and her efforts and concern for environmental protection. Of particular importance are documents relating to numerous local organizations in the form of newsletters, meeting notes, and correspondence, as well as a significant collection of documents relating to the nuclear facilities at Limerick, Pennsylvania, and the related Point Pleasant Pumping Station, a facility 30 miles to the east designed to bring water as coolant from the Delaware River to the Limerick station. Other topics include the American Indian Movement and the anti-war activities of the Plowshares Eight. The Mary Bye papers comprise 5.6 linear feet of textual documents with additional flat and object files related to the political, social and environmental activities of Quaker activist Mary Bye, from 1969 to 1992 (bulk 1974-1991). The documents include correspondence, direct action planning documents, informational mailings and solicitations, organizational newsletters, meeting notes, and newspaper clippings. The collection contains documents directly related to Bye, as well as organizational mailings intended for a general readership that Bye kept for her own use, often with personal annotations and comments in the margins. The files are especially useful in documenting the activities of local activist organizations, many of which appeared as ad hoc groups for specific purposes, some continuing for several years, others later repurposed or defunct. The papers in this collection reflect a general repositioning of Mary Bye’s activist career away from her early efforts in the anti-war movement of the 1960s and early 1970s toward a more concerted activism in support of environmental protection, and in opposition to nuclear energy. Personal and family papers are not well represented in the collection. The collection is divided into nine series: Series 1. Activism, including general topics of social and political activism; Series 2. Native Americans, concerned mostly with Bye’s activities in support of the Native American Movement; Series 3. Peace Activism, including the activities of various Friends and other peace organizations; Series 4. Anti-Nuclear Activism, documenting Bye’s activities with various activist groups, demonstrations and direct actions, especially involving the Limerick Nuclear Reactor; Series 5. Energy, focusing on alternative sources of energy, especially solar; Series 6. Environment, concerned with environmental protection, clean air and clean water; Series 7. Animal Rights, protection of wildlife and the humane treatment of animals; Series 8. Friends/Religion, including documents related specifically to Friends’ religious concerns and spirituality; and Series 9. Personal, a collection of strictly personal letters and documents. Researchers should note that Mary Bye’s name appears in a bewildering confusion of forms, misapplications and misspellings. For the record, her full unmarried name was Mary DuBois McCarty. Her full married name was Mary McCarty Bye (sometimes Mary DuBois McCarty Bye). This collection contains two forms of her printed letterhead, Mary McCarty Bye, and simply Mary Bye. |