Original 1960s-1970s Collection of Diaries by Doris Cuthbert Metzler of Michigan

On offer are five diaries written by Doris Cuthbert Metzler of Michigan between 1968 and 1978. She was 57 years of age at the time the first of these diaries was written.

In her diaries, Metzler details her family’s daily life, as well as specific medical issues that she and her husband, Richard A. Metzler (Dick), as well as other family members, faced over the years.

The 1968 diary is replete with medical references, especially regarding her mother Minnie (age 82 at the time). They detail the type of care that was offered to this elderly woman who would, in fact, pass away the next year. 

“M. went for walk and stumbled over rise in sidewalk by tree in front of our house. Fell flat, skinning her knee and banging the side of her head on ground. Well padded. Getting lame in evening so took hot bath and to bed at 9:45” (December 23, 1968). 

“V. bad night. Lost about 4 hrs sleep, hrd to get breath, pain severe. Didn’t call me. Young Dick came in about 12:30 and they talked, so thought she was ok. Slept toward morning. V groggy today” (June 18, 1698).

“DEA Sports night (volleyball & swim). Organ lesson. CU meeting Dick boat meeting” (October 15, 1968).

There is a six year gap between the 1968 diary and the next one written in 1974. In that time, there has been a decline in Doris’s husband Dick’s health. She makes a number of references to Alpha Delta Kappa, the education sorority she belongs to, as well as the Credit Union, on whose board she serves. 

“Wet. Did not bike to ch. Dick a little off color. No appetite. Some chest tightness. Dug up some plants” (September 29, 1974). 

“Money for ADK Init. On Nov 23. Must be to Vicki Ridge today (5:50)” (October 24, 1974). 

The three remaining diaries continue in the same vein: general observations about Doris’s life and work, increasing details about her husband’s health, and information about Doris’s community activities in the credit union and sorority.

“Merve & Harriett dinner here w/Gladys, Ann, Les & Val – had baked stuffed chinook and roast venison. V.g” (November 9, 1975).

“Trainable Speech picnic w/ Maxine & her kids” (May 1, 1976).

“Dick still not feeling too well. Heart irreg. No appetite. Gets very tired with little exertion” (December 11, 1978).

Metzler taught Speech and Language Pathology in the Dearborn Public School system for thirty four years. Her obituary notes that parents of her students referred to her as "the teacher with the wonderful smile." She was an early member of an honorary sorority of teachers called Alpha Delta Kappa. 

Each diary measures 5 inches by 3 inches, contains 183 pages, with cover, binding, and pages all in good condition. The 1968 diary is 90 percent complete, the 1974 diary is 85 percent complete, the 1976 and 1976 diaries are 70 percent complete, and the 1976 diary is 75 percent complete.

Metzler’s diaries offer an excellent look into the world of middle-class America at a time of tremendous growth in the United States, and provide a very clear picture of how the role of women in American society had evolved. The diaries also hint at various approaches and treatments to medical ailments of the time.