]> pc_dreier_bmc_coll Finding Aid of the Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Black Mountain College Collection (Dreier BMC Collection), 1925 - 1988 Processed by the Special Collections professional staff, with the assistance of interns and volunteers Jennifer Davis, Terri Jones, Terry Moore, Rachel Roos; machine-readable finding aid created by: Fran Tracy-Walls with the assistance of Ashley Yandle, Gwen Mays, Kim Cumber, and intern, Lindsay Matson. Consultation by Mary Emma Harris as part of agreement with donors. &hdrNcDncsa; 2009 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: March, 2009 Description is in English Finding Aid of the Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Black Mountain College Collection (Dreier BMC Collection), 1925 - 1988 State Archives of North Carolina &tpNcDncsa; Descriptive Summary State Archives of North Carolina. Western Regional Archives. Dreier, Theodore, 1902-1997. Dreier, Barbara Loines, 1907-2006. Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Black Mountain College Collection (Dreier BMC Collection), 1925 - 1988 PC.1956 Materials in English 81 27 For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Western Regional Archives. Theodore (Ted) Dreier trained as an engineer at Harvard (A.B., 1923; S.B., 1925), and began working for the General Electric Company (GE). He and Barbara Loines Dreier (Bryn Mawr, A.B., 1928, Eng. Lit. and Art Hist.) were married in 1928 and initially lived in Schenectady, New York, GE headquarters. In 1930 Ted Dreier changed his career to education and took a faculty position in physics at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida. In 1933 John Andrew Rice was fired and a portion of faculty, including Dreier, either resigned or were dismissed during a controversy over academic freedom and tenure at the college. Several of the dissidents then agreed to found a college of their own, in part a response to poor prospects for employment during that bottom year of the Great Depression. At least equally significant, the founders, particularly Rice and Dreier, were inspired by the progressive educational ideals of John Dewey. They envisioned an intimate educational community that would learn, live, and work together (typically farming and later, building projects). Focus was on the development of the whole person and the quest for knowledge as part of a wider aim of learning to use knowledge and of living intelligently. As a reaction to the founders' experience at Rollins College, there would be no outside control via an administration or board of trustees. In essence, the creation of the college was a constructive criticism of higher education based on rigid methods and governance. Named Black Mountain College (BMC) and located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the college initially drew a small following of former Rollins students and a few recruited from the northeast. Early on the founders decided to stress the practice, not just the study of the arts and to raise the arts courses to full curricular status. Into this venture, Dreier brought his supportive wife, Barbara, and two young sons. (Another son and a daughter were born in 1937 and 1946, respectively.) The Dreiers remained at BMC until 1949, during which time Dreier taught and served variously as administrator, fund-raiser, treasurer, rector, and served continuously on the Board of Fellows, responsible for the finances of the college and hiring and firing of faculty. The Dreiers possessed and nourished a strong network of family, extended family, and friends, many of whom were highly influential and supportive in a variety of ways of the college and its ideals. From the founding of the college in 1933 until 1949, when the Dreiers departed, Ted Dreier brought to the college a remarkable spirit of adventure, enthusiasm, dedication, and discipline; and he contributed immeasurably to the community's tradition of independent thought and idealism. The Dreier Black Mountain College Collection represents a variety of papers created by or collected by Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier during their sixteen years at Black Mountain College (1933-1949), and for several years prior to and following their tenure at the college--as early as 1925 and as late as 1988. This collection contains papers and correspondence and other materials relating to Ted and Barbara Dreier, their extensive connections and network of family and friends; and it also documents the educational, administrative, and fund raising activities associated with Dreier's various positions within the college, including his role as one of the college's founders. Other than correspondence, the collection includes clippings, programs, and articles; class notes and papers; files on individuals with Black Mountain College connections and various topics such as music and art; manuscripts, mostly those of Ted Dreier; the personal professional files of Dreier as treasurer, Board of Fellows, faculty member; notes; official correspondence; college publications, and miscellaneous files, and special items such as Ted Dreier's scrapbook; Barbara Dreier's course notes; printed materials, from the college and those written about the college; a Gropius-Breuer portfolio; photographs and negatives of family at BMC, and various students and faculty. The bulk of the material dates from 1933 to 1949, though there are some papers dating from the time before and after the Dreier's marriage in 1928; some correspondence and materials dated during Ted Dreier's tenure as an assistant professor of physics at Rollins College (1930-1933); and there is some material, including correspondence during the period of post-Black Mountain College, as late as 1988, from individuals previously associated with the college. See the container list below for more detailed information about each series in the collection. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Available for research.

Copyright is retained by the authors of these materials, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law (Title 17 US Code). Individual researchers are responsible for using these materials in conformance with copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], PC.1956, The Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Black Mountain College Collection (Dreier BMC Collection), State Archives of North Carolina, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Received as a gift from Theodore Dreier, Jr., and Barbara B. Dreier, of Belmont, Massachusetts, and Fairfield, Iowa, respectively. Accessioned January 5, 2007. During March-April, 2012, these records were moved from the State Archives building in Raleigh to the Western Regional Archives, Asheville, N.C.

Processing Information

Processed by the Special Collections professional staff, with the assistance of interns and volunteers Jennifer Davis, Terri Jones, Terry Moore, Rachel Roos; 2008-2009

Encoded by Fran Tracy-Walls with the assistance of Ashley Yandle, Gwen Mays, Kim Cumber, and intern, Lindsay Matson; 2008-2009

Consultation by Mary Emma Harris as part of agreement with donors.

Historical Background on Black Mountain College

Black Mountain College was an experimental school located in Black Mountain, N.C. Established in 1933 by John A. Rice, Theodore Dreier, and others, the purpose of the college was to educate the whole person, with an emphasis on the role of the arts and creative thinking. Despite the fact that Black Mountain College could rarely offer faculty more than room and board, a number of important teachers, artists, writers, and musicians were drawn to the school as part of the regular faculty, as guest faculty, or to participate in the school's Summer Institutes. Josef and Anni Albers, Max Dehn, Joseph Fiore, Buckminister Fuller, Mary (Molly) Gregory, Walter Gropius, Edward Lowinsky, M.C. Richards, Xanti Schawinsky, Thomas Whitney Surette, were only a few of those who taught at Black Mountain College. Those following Theodore and Barbara Dreier's departure in 1949 included Robert Motherwell and Charles Olson. In addition, the success of several of the college's students helped further the college's reputation in the area of the arts. These included Ruth Asawa, Alexander Eliot, and Robert Bliss, students during the Dreier era; and Edward Dorn, Kenneth Noland, and Robert Rauschenberg in the period after 1949.

The character and focus of Black Mountain College shifted over time, according to the make-up of the faculty and students. Personal and ideological conflicts were common and sometimes lead to major changes in the college community. Lack of funds added to the stress of the situation, as did the school's physical isolation and its sometimes strained relations with the local population. Eventually, the student enrollment and available funds dwindled until the college was forced to close in 1956.

Biographical Note on the Dreier and Loines Families

Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier were commited to Black Mountain College as a means of improving and vitalizing education. As expressed in some of Theodore Dreier's correspondence, they believed in the power of education to enhance individual's lives and to foster a better society. As a couple and separately, the Dreiers possessed the confidence and idealism to venture boldly in founding with others an experimental college. They brought to this endeavor their own qualities, personalities, and talents, yet the influence and support of their respective families surely contributed to the strength of their efforts.

Born in 1902 in Brooklyn, New York, Theodore was part of a prominent family who were leaders in the arts, and in cultural, social, and civic affairs. Theodore's mother, Ethel Eyre Valentine Dreier, served for many years as president of the Women's City Club of New York, was head of the Women's Suffrage Party of Brooklyn, and was appointed to Advisory Council for BMC in 1933 and continued in that position into the 1940s. Her husband, Henry Edward Dreier, known as Edward, was a successful businessman with various commercial interests, including presidency of his father's iron import business and of the Lock Stub Company. In accord with his wife and sisters, Edward Dreier was a supporter of women's suffrage and was active in education and social reform.

Theodore's Dreier aunts and an uncle were notable leaders and philanthropists in their own right. Margaret Dreier Robins and Mary Elizabeth Dreier fought for women's suffrage and for improved conditions for the mentally ill, and were active in the Women's Trade Union League of New York. Margaret emerged as an international leader in the movement to improve the condition of women and children in industry during the first decades of the 20th century. Her husband was Colonel Raymond Robins, who had led the American Red Cross mission to Russia during the Russian Revolution of 1917-1918. Subsequently, the couple moved to Robin's 2000 acre estate in Florida, Chinsegut Hill, and in 1932 gave their property to the Federal Government as a Wildlife Refuge, Forest Preserve and Agricultural Experiment Station. Edward's two other sisters, Dorothea and Katherine Sophie Dreier, also championed women's sufferage and were active in settlement houses. They both studied painting in Europe in the early part of the 20th century, with Katherine eventually credited with bringing modern art to America. Along with Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray she founded the Societe Anonyme, which promoted much of the progressive artistic experimentation in the United States at that time.

Barbara Loines Dreier, like her husband, was part of an affluent and protective family that also nourished independent, idealistic, and adventurous spirits. Born in New York City in 1907, Barbara spent her summers from infancy on at Martha's Vineyard. Her father, Russell Hillard Loines (1874-1922), a lawyer, helped start Dongan Hall, a girls' school on Staten Island. Devoted to poetry, he was involved in a number of publication projects and prize for poetry was established in his name at the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Barbara's mother, Katherine Hillard Loines, and her aunt, Elma Loines, wrote books based on family adventures stemming from travel to and life in China from 1829 to 1834. Barbara's grandmother, Mary Hillard Loines (1844-1944) was appointed as a teacher for the National Freedmen's Relief Association and later became a suffragette. As a student at Bryn Mawr, Barbara carried on the tradition of social service and independent thinking by changing the faltering Christian Association into a broader-based, more active social service organization. Barbara's younger sister, Margot performed in various off-Broadway and summer stock roles, and married Dwight Morrow, the brother and brother-in-law of Anne Morrow (1906-2001) and Charles Lindbergh. Within that family, Barbara developed a particularly strong relationship and a spiritual affinity with Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

A Brief Chronology for Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier 1902 Birth of Theodore in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Ethel Eyre Valentine Dreier and Henry Edward Dreier. 1907 Birth of Barbara in New York City to Katherine Conger Loines and Russell Hillard Loines. 1923 Theodore graduated with an A.B. from Harvard University. Pursued additional studies in engineering. 1928, May Barbara graduated from Bryn Mawr College with majors in English literature and the history of art. 1928, June Following their marriage, the couple resided in Schenectady, N.Y., where Theodore had been working as an electrical engineer for the General Electric Company. 1929 Birth of son, Theodore Dreier, Jr., (called variously Quintus, Kinny, Ted) 1930 In a career change from engineering to education, Theodore accepted appointment as assistant professor of physics at Rollins College, Winter Park, Fl. 1931 After months of treatment for a spinal condition, Barbara, with Quintus, joined Theodore in Winter Park. 1932 Birth of son, Mark Russell Dreier. 1933, Spring Theodore and Barbara left Rollins College, along with a third of the faculty following the firing of an outspoken professor, John Andrews Rice. 1933, Summer Theodore, along with Rice and a few other former faculty, founded Black Mountain College, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. 1937 Birth of son Edward (Eddie). 1941 Death of Mark, in a vehicle accident at BMC. 1946 Birth of daughter, Barbara Beate Dreier. 1949, Spring Theodore's resignation and family's departure from the college. 1949 Family embarked on an extended camping trip to the American west, as far as California, and ended the year living at Seven Gates Farm, Martha's Vineyard, in an old farmhouse remodeled by Barbara's mother. 1950s-1960s Theodore rejoined the General Electric Company. Projects included development of a power source for the first nuclear submarine. 1997 Death of Theodore in Fairfield, Iowa, at age 94. 2006 Death of Barbara in Fairfield, Iowa, at age 99. Collection Overview

The Dreier Black Mountain College Collection represents a variety of papers created by or collected by Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier during their sixteen years at Black Mountain College (1933-1949), and for several years prior to and following their tenure at the college--as early as 1925 and as late as 1988. This collection contains papers and correspondence and other materials relating to Ted and Barbara Dreier, their extensive connections and network of family and friends; and it also documents the educational, administrative, and fund raising activities associated with Dreier's various positions within the college, including his role as one of the college's founders. Other than correspondence, the collection includes clippings, programs, and articles; class notes and papers; files on individuals with Black Mountain College (BMC) connections and various topics such as music and art; manuscripts, mostly those of Ted Dreier; the personal professional files of Dreier as treasurer, Board of Fellows, faculty member; notes; official correspondence; college publications, and miscellaneous files, and special items such as Ted Dreier's scrapbook; Barbara Dreier's course notes; printed materials, from the college and those written about the college; a Gropius-Breuer portfolio; photographs and negatives of family at BMC, and various students and faculty. The bulk of the material dates from 1933 to 1949, though there are some papers dating from the time before and after the Dreier's marriage in 1928; some correspondence and materials dated during Ted Dreier's tenure as an assistant professor of physics at Rollins College (1930-1933); and there is some material, including correspondence during the period of post-Black Mountain College, as late as 1988, from individuals previously associated with the college. See the container list below for more detailed information about each series in the collection.

Collection Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Correspondence, 1930-1949 Barbara Loines Dreier Correspondence and Papers, 1927 - 1984, undated Theodore Dreier Correspondence and Papers, 1925 - 1988, undated Black Mountain College Publications and Printed Materials Dreier Family and Black Mountain College Photographs and Negatives Black Mountain College Related Oversize Materials, 1937 - 1940 Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Subject Terms Arts--Experimental methods. Art--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--20th century. Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.) College students--North Carolina--Social life and customs--20th century. College teachers--North Carolina--Social life and customs--20th century. Collective settlements--North Carolina--History--20th century. Dance--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--20th century. Drama--Study and teaching--North Carolina--History--20th century. Dreier, Barbara Loines, 1907-2006. Dreier, Theodore, 1902-1997. Dreier family. Education, Humanistic. Loines family. Music--Instruction and study. Universities and colleges--North Carolina--Curricula. Universities and colleges--North Carolina--Administration. Related Collections

Additional information on topics found in this collection may be found in the Manuscript and Archives Reference System (MARS) http://mars.archives.ncdcr.gov.

See also: List of Black Mountain College collections at the Western Regional Archives. Black Mountain College Records, 1933-1956, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, N.C. Martin Duberman Collection, 1933-1980, PC 1678, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, N.C. North Carolina Museum of Art, Black Mountain College Research Project, 1933-1973, Western Regional Archives, Asheville, N.C. Container List

Click on the links below for detailed information about each series.

Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Correspondence 4 boxes

The Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier Correspondence, 1930-1949 (series 1) contains the personal correspondence between Theodore (Ted) and Barbara Loines Dreier, beginning in 1930, approximately two years after their marriage in 1928, and continuing until 1949. They exchanged letters for a period when Ted took a position as a faculty member at Rollins College in 1930, and Barbara (Bobby) stayed behind in New York. The Dreiers also corresponded at various times when Barbara travelled north for medical treatment, and, more frequently, when Ted travelled to raise funds for Black Mountain College and to take courses at Harvard, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While much of the correspondence is of a personal nature, between husband and wife, and refers to various family members, there is much discussion of college matters. Overall, the correspondence is rich in descriptions, displaying a commitment to family and friends, to Black Mountain College, and revealing their strong love as man and wife. All of these materials are unrestricted and available for research.

The series consists of two subseries: Correspondence from Theodore Dreier to Barbara Loines Dreier, 1930-1949, undated Correspondence from Barbara Loines Dreier to Theodore Dreier, 1930-1949, undated

Barbara Loines Dreier Correspondence and Papers 19 boxes

The Barbara Loines Dreier Correspondence and Papers, 1927 - 1984 series (Series 2) includes correspondence letters to and from Barbara in the following main groups: the Loines family and associated members; the Dreier family and associated members; Black Mountain College students and faculty, faculty wives, and college visitors, and miscellaneous papers and notes of Barbara Loines Dreier (BLD), most of which were written during the Dreier's Black Mountain College (BMC) era, 1933-1949, though a few items date from years just before and after that time. Barbara's letters were all hand-written and only occasionally has a draft of a letter survived. Family members tended to save her letters, therefore the family correspondence subseries includes a proportionate share of her letters. The two series of correspondence with Black Mountain College faculty, students, and friends, Black Mountain College era and post-Black Mountain College era include only a few of BLD's letters, as these individuals did not tend to save, or to return her letters. In two of the series, the letters of John Evarts and Alexander (Bill/Alex) Reed are especially extensive. There are also a number of drafts of BLD's letters to Bill Reed.

The series consists of four subseries: Family Correspondence of Barbara Loines Dreier, 1927-1949, undated Correspondence of Barbara Loines Dreier with Black Mountain College (BMC) Faculty, Faculty Spouses, Students, and with Friends, BMC Era, 1933-1949 Barbara Loines Dreier Papers: Black Mountain College Era and Other Miscellaneous Papers, 1931-1977 Correspondence of Barbara Loines Dreier with Black Mountain College (BMC) Faculty, Faculty Spouses, Students, and with Friends, Post-BMC Era, 1950-1984

Theodore Dreier Correspondence and Papers 38 boxes

The Theodore (Ted) Dreier Correspondence and Papers series (Series 3) includes correspondence to family and extended family members; college correspondence to a variety of individuals Dreier communicated with in the course of his teaching, recruiting faculty, and serving variously as fund-raiser, treasurer, rector, and recruiting, communicating with, and meeting with the Board of Advisors and various organizations and institutions. During the course of the Theodore Dreier's (TD) time at BMC, he wrote many hundreds of letters to potential donors, to family, friends, and even to critics stating and explaining the college's, and at times dispelling rumors and misperceptions.

As an administrator, Dreier also established numerous files on subjects and topics essential to the running of the college, including its financial support. His personal life and his work and various connections were interwoven, hence his letters to and from family members were filled with references to college matters and events. Many of Ted Dreier's letters in this collection are carbon copies from typescript that he had filed in the college filing system.

The series consists of ten subseries within the Theodore Dreier Correspondence and Papers: Family Correspondence (Dreier and Loines and Extended Families), 1930 - 1974, Bulk: 1930-1948 (subseries 1) Personal Materials, 1925-1932 (subseries 2) Rollins College Materials, 1929-1934 (subseries 3) Black Mountain College Founding Documents and Founders' Files, 1933 - 1939 (subseries 4) Black Mountain College Administrative and Subject Files, 1933 - 1948, and undated (subseries 5) Black Mountain College Correspondence, 1933 - 1949 and undated (subseries 6) Black Mountain College Related Correspondence, Post BMC Era, 1949 - 1979 and undated (subseries 7) Black Mountain College Miscellaneous Materials, 1934 - 1980, and undated (subseries 8) Writings, Notes, Interviews, on Black Mountain College, Education, and Related Topics, 1935-1979 and undated (subseries 9) Black Mountain College Related Clippings File, 1934 - 1979 and undated (subseries 10)

Black Mountain College Publications and Printed Material 5 boxes

Black Mountain College Publications and Printed Material series (Series 4) includes original print materials published for or by Black Mountain College and printed materials, including articles, published about the college. Also various materials collected by the Dreiers about education and other related topics. These items were filed in various parts of the papers, including the college administrative files, or were collected by Theodore and Barbara Dreier, or were later given to the Dreiers.

This series includes Black Mountain College Bulletins, published from 1933 to 1944; Black Mountain College Newsletters, published from November 1938 to November 1942; Black Mountain College Bulletin/Bulletin-Newsletters, published between 1942 and 1956; Black Mountain College Community Bulletins, published from 1942 to 1947; Publicity Flyers and Brochures, published from 1933 to 1956; Picture Postcards, printed between 1940 and 1945; Catalogues and Annual Announcements, from 1933 to 1953; Miscellaneous Publications, About Black Mountain College, dated from 1937 to 1946; and Miscellaneous Publications, Various Subjects, 1933 to 1978.

The series consists of two subseries: Black Mountain College Publications Printed Material About Black Mountain College

Dreier Family and Black Mountain College Related Photographs and Negatives 2 boxes

Dreier Family and Black Mountain College Related Photographs and Negatives series (Series 5) includes photographic prints and negatives, circa 1933-1949. The images depict a wide variety of people, scenery, and activities at Black Mountain College and also relating to the lives of Theodore and Barbara Loines Dreier and a few other individuals outside the Dreiers’ involvement with the college.

The prints and negatives in this series were identified where possible by Mary Emma Harris and Ted Dreier, Jr., at various times during 2008 and 2009.

The series consists of two subseries: Photographs Negatives

Black Mountain College Related Oversized Materials 3 ovsz. boxes

Black Mountain College Related Oversized Materials series (Series 6) includes two Black Mountain College (BMC) scrapbooks, 1937-1938 and 1938-1939, and a Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer folio: Designs for the Lake Eden Campus, 1939-1940. Walter Gropius was an architect, educator, and founder of the Bauhaus. Chairman of Harvard University Department of Architecture for many years, Gropius was a member of the BMC Advisory Council from April 1940 until spring of 1949. The folio is a group of eight renderings and photographs of plans for proposed buildings. The five photographs are signed by Ezra Stoller, brother of BMC student Claude Stoller, and a major architectural photographer of the twentieth century. Though never constructed because of the college's financial difficulties, these buildings would have been the architects’ first major architectural project in the United States. The scrapbooks contain items apparently taken from the college bulletin boards and provide a remarkable glimpse of the daily life of the college, from the beginning of the semester each fall, ending with the semester just before summer.

The series consists of two subseries: Black Mountain College Scrapbooks, 1937-1939 Folio: Designs for the Lake Eden Campus, 1939-1940, by Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer, Associated Architects, Cambridge, MA.