Alice Blinn (April 18, 1889 – January 20, 1982) was an American educator, home efficiency expert, and magazine editor. Born in
Candor, New York
Candor is a town in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,172 at the 2020 census.
The Town of Candor has a village named Candor. The town is south of Ithaca.
History
Settlement of the town began around 1794 on land pur ...
, she attended the New York State
normal school
A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...
and became a teacher. After teaching briefly, in 1913, she entered
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
and earned a degree in
Domestic Science
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
. While in school, she founded and managed the ''Cornell Women's Review''. After graduation in 1917, she became a food conservation demonstrator for the
New York Extension Service and then returned after a year to teach and manage the publications office for the Extension Service at Cornell.
Moving to New York City in the early 1920s, Blinn became a research editor for ''
The Delineator
''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publis ...
'' and a designer for the Delineator Home Institute. She designed the kitchen remodel for
Dartington Hall
Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...
in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, England, though only part of her plan was utilized. In 1935 she became an associate editor with the ''
Ladies' Home Journal
''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' and remained with them until her retirement in 1952. A noted feature series she was involved in during her tenure was a project which remodeled and renovated kitchens of celebrities like
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
and
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
, and
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...
and Eugen Boissevain. In 1944, she became the sixth woman ever elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of Cornell and served through the early 1950s.
Early life and education
Alice M. Blinn was born on April 18, 1889, in
Candor
Candor or candour may refer to:
* Candor or parrhesia, the quality of speaking candidly in rhetoric
* ''Candour'' (magazine), a British far-right magazine
* "Candour", a song by Neck Deep from their 2014 album ''Wishful Thinking''
* Duty of cand ...
,
Tioga County, New York
Tioga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,455. Its county seat is Owego. Its name derives from an American Indian word meaning "at the forks", describing a meeting place.
Tioga Coun ...
, to Mary S. (née Kenyon) and Samuel E. Blinn. After graduating from
Candor High School, she attended the New York State Normal School in
Cortland. After completing her teacher certification, Blinn taught briefly before enrolling in the College of Home Economics at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
in 1913. While she was in school she met
Margaret Cuthbert
Margaret Cuthbert (12 May 1887 – 25 July 1968) was a Canadian-born pioneer radio woman in the United States. After earning a degree in fine art from Cornell University, she worked briefly at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., and at Corne ...
, who would become her life partner and in 1915, founded and served as the managing editor of the ''Cornell Women's Review''.
Career
After graduating in 1917 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree, Blinn worked for
Chenango County
Chenango County is a county located in the south-central section U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,220. Its county seat is Norwich. The county's name originates from an Oneida word meaning 'large bull-thistle ...
, as a food conservation agent. After one year, she became a teacher back at Cornell, for the
New York Extension Service, which was a partnership between the
US Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
and Cornell. From 1919, Blinn also headed the publicity and publication for the extension service and produced pamphlets for consumers. Though she remained in charge of the Office of Publications and News Service for the Extension until 1926, Blinn moved to New York City and worked as a consumer consultant with an advertising agency,
Barton Durstine and Osborne until 1925, Cuthbert, who had been working in Washington D. C., moved to New York around the same time, and the two women resumed their relationship, moving into an apartment together with Cuthbert, Cuthbert's mother, and a housekeeper.
In 1925, Blinn became an associate research editor with ''
The Delineator
''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publis ...
'' and a designer for the Delineator Home Institute. During that time, she served as the director of the Cornell Women's Club from 1927 through 1928 and then as a governor of the American Woman's Association from 1932 to 1940. In 1928, Blinn was contacted by
Leonard
Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname.
The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikiwikiweb:ΛÎων, Î ...
and
Dorothy Elmhirst
Dorothy Payne Elmhirst ( Whitney; January 23, 1887 – December 14, 1968) was an American-born social activist, philanthropist, publisher and a member of the prominent Whitney family.
Life and work
Whitney was born in Washington, D.C., the daug ...
to design a kitchen for
Dartington Hall
Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as "on ...
in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, England. The Elmhirsts had bought the derelict estate in 1925, with the idea of creating a model industrial village with a farm, school, manufacturing facilities, as well as entertainment venues for the arts and sporting events. Blinn prepared a report giving an overview of initiatives that could be implemented to improve the domestic activities of the village, including education, apprenticeship programs, a laboratory, as well as a modern kitchen, cafeteria, laundry, and lavatories, with modern equipment and plumbing, based on what was available in a modern American home. Unable to persuade Blinn to move to England and operate a training center, Elmhirst abandoned the plan of a demonstration kitchen. Because the wife of the headmaster did not like the efficient kitchen design, Blinn's recommended equipment was arranged in a typical English manner.
Blinn left ''The Delineator'' at the end of 1934 and joined the ''
Ladies' Home Journal
''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'' in 1935 as an associate editor. In addition to magazine work, she was a regular speaker to educational and women's groups. She was the director of the Federation of Cornell Women's Clubs from 1937 through 1939 and in 1941 joined the University Council as a representative of the College of Home Economics. She received the American Woman's Association's Anna W. Porter Memorial Award in 1939. In 1944, she was elected to the board of trustees for Cornell, as the second woman to serve on the board at that time.
When
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended, the ''Ladies' Home Journal'' did a series of articles on kitchens, traveling through Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They selected different home styles, from apartments to mansions to represent a broad section of American living and improved them by remodeling and renovation. They did feature articles on the kitchens of celebrities, like
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
and
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
. Blinn worked with the designer-decorator C. Eugene Stephenson to create the layouts and select the appliances. The series also designed the kitchen remodel of
Steepletop
Steepletop, also known as the Edna St. Vincent Millay House, was the farmhouse home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and her husband Eugen Jan Boissevain, in Austerlitz, New York, United States. Her former home and gardens a ...
, home of Blinn's friends
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...
and her husband Eugen Boissevain, which was featured in the magazine in 1947. Blinn and Cuthbert both retired in 1952 and moved to
Captiva, Florida
Captiva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. It is located on Captiva Island. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 318, down from 583 at the 2010 ce ...
. They wintered in Florida and spent their summers on
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
, until Cuthbert's death in 1968.
Death and legacy
Blinn died on January 20, 1982, in
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
,
Litchfield County, Connecticut
Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is the ...
. A collection of the letters she and Cuthbert exchanged with Millay, Boissevain, and their family members from 1924 to 1965 are housed at Vassar College. Blinn left bequests to the
Cornell Plantations
The Cornell Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden located adjacent to the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. The Botanic Gardens proper consist of of botanical gardens and of the F. R. Newman Arboretum. The greater Botanic Gardens ...
and established a book purchasing endowment for the Cornell Library Association in Cuthbert's name.
References
Citations
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blinn, Alice
1889 births
1982 deaths
People from Candor, New York
Cornell University alumni
American magazine editors
Women magazine editors
Schoolteachers from New York (state)
LGBT people from New York (state)
20th-century American educators
20th-century American businesswomen
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American women educators
LGBT businesspeople from the United States