Virginia in Her Private Sphere

Virginia and a young family at the Logan Library.

The 1950's was a time of domesticity. From the shadow of Cold War came the need to create order and stability in any way possible, and the new "cult of domesticity" was born in order to satisfy this need. The men went to work to provide for the family, while the women stayed home to cook, clean, and raise the children. The average marriage age was lower, the number of children was higher, and fewer women were graduating college and entering the workplace. This new "American Dream" for the middle class was a white picket fence and perfect little family, and was adopted widely across the era’s culture. Households like Virginia’s, with a woman at the head and no children, amounted to only 4.9% of American households by the 1980’s. [1]

Virginia Hanson never had her own children, but she was always surrounded by the younger generation and focused much of her life on the improvement of children's education. Her time as a teacher influenced the rest of her life, and she never stopped instilling a love of reading into everyone she met, especially with children. Her many youth programs and storytimes exhibit her devotion to learning, and also her devotion to the children withing her sphere of influence. 

Virginia Hanson journal page.

Much of Virignina Hanson's private life is shown through her extensive journals. An avid journal writer her whole life, she focuses on her day-to-day experiences, and illustrates her domestic activities such as shopping, cleaning, and cooking. She also shows her passion for baseball; many of her entries include the running scores of the World Series every fall. In many ways, her journals are the epitome of an American woman- domestic, interested in family, sports, church, etc. At the same time, Virginia adds her own sense of humor and quirkiness. For example, when the Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was married in 1949, Virginia's jounral entry read- "Kissinger Wedding. I was not invited".

Virginia and her siblings.

 Virignia's private sphere was also full of her family. She grew up in a large, LDS family, and remained close with her siblings throughout her entire life. Mae Hanson, her younger sister, also never married, and the pair spent much of their adult life working together and traveling the world. Many of Virignia's journal entries exhibit activites spent with her family, and dinner was often cooked to "serve 40". The importance of family was obvious in Virignia's life, even though she never had a "typical family" of her own.