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Millspaugh, Louise (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This interview was conducted with Louise Millspaugh in her home in the Los Cerritos section of Long Beach. The audio quality of this interview is fair. At times, it is difficult to understand Millspaugh's words. 12/11/1985
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- 2021-08-31
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- *** File: uhlmillspaugh1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:13)... Brief introduction Millspaugh was born, raised and educated in Chicago, Illinois. She received a bachelors degree in history from the University of Chicago. Her mother was a graduate of Mt. Holyoke and a teacher. Her father was a city engineer. Millspaugh's first husband died and she has a son from this marriage. During WWII, she met her second husband in New York and they married a short time later. At that time, she became a full-time housewife and raised two children. (3:13-10:28)... In the 1930s, she and her husband moved to Long Beach, purchased a couple of airplanes and opened the KLM Flying School at the Long Beach Airport. When WWII began, he moved to Canada and joined the Canadian Air Force. He was transferred to the US Air Corps when the United States entered the war. Millspaugh and her husband were married in Florida while he was learning to fly B-17s. He was assigned to the 8th infantry, and, if not for an eye problem, he would have probably have died overseas with his fellow soldiers. He flew overseas, but never in a battle. During his training, Millspaugh and her husband lived in several different cities, including some in New Mexico and Texas. (10:28-16:03)... Following WWII, she and her husband returned to Long Beach and he worked for a number of flying schools. He ultimately was hired by Douglas Aircraft as an engineering test pilot. There was a close fraternity of pilots in Long Beach. Before her husband left for Canada to enlist, he closed his flying school and sold his 4 airplanes. He believed it would have been too costly to store them and too risky to allow other people to use them in his absence. (16:03-18:03)... When she and her husband moved to Long Beach, they purchased a home on the northern part of the city. She felt comfortable there because it reminded her of neighborhoods in Chicago. Their home was close to the Douglas Aircraft plant at Long Beach Airport and even after her husband retired in 1970, he continued to visit the plant to keep an eye on things. (18:03-27:12)... Her sons were educated in Long Beach schools and she was active in the PTA. She also was a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auxiliary and the Long Beach Museum of Art. She joined and eventually president of the Friends of the Long Beach Museum of Art. This organization was very successful in raising money and supporting the art museum. Many of the Friends members were women with children and scheduling meetings often was a problem. The Friends earned money by renting art works to individuals, businesses, and community groups. Membership in Friends was $5 a year, most of which paid for insurance. Later the Friends group was incorporated as the Museum Associates but their function did not change. (27:12-31:32)... She was membership chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auxiliary. Even though there was a Long Beach Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic was much larger and played more concerts. A friend of Millspaugh's, who was studying for an masters degree at Long Beach State, to help develop a community organization to support art programs on the campus. Although she didn't volunteer for the position, she became the first president of the new organization, which was called Fine Arts Affiliates. Carl McIntosh initially supported the group, but then became concerned that the activities of the Affiliates might be misunderstood by state officials and other colleges in the area. End of tape *** File: uhlmillspaugh2.mp3 (0:00-4:11)... Tape begins abruptly with a continued discussion on Fine Arts Affiliates. The reasons behind McIntosh's hesitancy to support the formation of the Fine Arts Affiliates are unclear. He did not stop the group from forming, but asked them to wait a year to get started. Faculty, particularly Dr. Lawrence Peterson, was involved in the early years. The group's initial meeting was held in the home of one of the members and almost 25 people, most of them women, attended. A faculty member also attended. The second meeting was held on campus in the faculty dining room. At that meeting, the Art Department faculty proposed sponsoring a sculpture symposium on the campus. The group started with about $100. Then they staged a successful membership drive that brought in more funds although dues were only $5. (4:11-7:40)... The main purpose of Fine Art Affiliates was to organize support for campus art programs in Long Beach and other surrounding communities. They encouraged people to attend student performances and they sponsored receptions when plays and art exhibits opened. They also organized fundraising events to raise money for scholarships and activities on the campus that were not covered by the state budget. Many of the women in Fine Arts Affiliates also were involved in activities at the art museum and had interests similar to her own. (7:40-11:31)... After Millspaugh's term as president, scholarship funds were established to help students. During her presidency, Fine Arts Affiliates was still getting started and didn't have enough money to begin awarding scholarships. The group started with 35 or 40 members, but soon increased to 100 members. (11:31-15:15)... Lawrence Peterson played significant roles in the Fine Arts Affiliates. If the group wanted something accomplished on campus, Peterson helped get it for them. The only conflict she encountered with Peterson involved his request that the Affiliates sponsor a concert to showcase a musician. Millspaugh disagreed with this suggestion because she believes it was an inappropriate use of public funds. McIntosh asked that faculty members serve on the board because he wanted liaisons between the Affiliates and the faculty to avoid any questions regarding the group's intentions. (15:15-23:22)... Fine Arts Affiliates played only a semi official role in the sculpture symposium. Fine Arts Affiliates organized social activities during the symposium and provided practical assistance to the sculptors, such as arranging housing. There was also at least one fundraiser during the event. The symposium had financial problems; it was under funded and once the sculptors began work, someone had to raise money money to pay the bills. The received contributions were received from Douglas Aircraft and North American Aviation, among others. Some of the sculptors were not well received their work was different from what many expected sculptors to produce. (23:22-29:35)... A Friends of the Library group was organized to support Long Beach Public Library when some community members wanted to censor some of its books. Blanche Collins, the City Librarian, encouraged the group's formation. It also became involved in the struggle to build a new main library building. Millspaugh served as the membership chair for the Friends and wrote the initial letter that invited people to join the new group. (29:35-31:38)... Millspaugh served several terms on the Fine Arts Affiliated board, but continued to participate in its activities when she didn't have a leadership role. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Louise Millspaugh was the founding president of Fine Arts Affiliates, a community support group for art programs at CSULB. In this single interview, she talks about coming to Long Beach with his husband who was a pilot. She joined local arts groups including the Los Angels Philharmonic Auxiliary and Friends of the Long Beach Museum of Art. She was one of the early members of the Friends of the Long Beach Public Library which was organized to fight attempts to censor library materials. She was also among the founders, as well as the first president, of Fine Arts Affiliates. That group raised money for scholarships and to bring performers to campus. In addition, she volunteered to help with the International Sculpture Symposium. This interview as conducted as part of a project to document the history of California State University, Long Beach. TOPICS - family background; education; marriage; husband; KLM Flying School; housing; volunteer work; Long Beach Museum of Art; Los Angeles Philharmonic Auxiliary; Carl McIntosh; and Fine Arts Affiliates;community organizations; Fine Arts Affiliates; Lawrence Peterson; Carl McIntosh; Virginia Waters; campus activities; International Sculpture Symposium; and Friends of the Long Beach Public Library;
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