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Bertha M. Rice

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Bertha M. Rice
A smiling middle-aged white woman, light hair in a wavy bouffant updo, wearing a lace blouse or dress with a high collar, and a brooch pinned to the throat
Bertha M. Rice, from a 1921 publication
Born
Bertha May Davison

February 20, 1872
New Hampton, Iowa
DiedJune 27, 1962 (aged 90)
Santa Clara, California
Occupation(s)Writer, clubwoman, conservationist, philanthropist

Bertha Marguerite Rice (February 20, 1872 – June 27, 1962) was an American writer, philanthropist, conservationist, and clubwoman based in Santa Clara County, California.

Early life

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Bertha May Davison was born in New Hampton, Iowa, the daughter of Lorenzo Benjamin Davison and Esther Jane Anibal Davison. Her brother, Charles W. Davison, was mayor of San Jose from 1908 to 1910.[1][2]

Career

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Rice, an active clubwoman in San Jose, volunteered to work with children in refugee camps after the 1906 earthquake.[3][4] As an extension of that work, she became founder and director of the 80-acre Boys' Outing Farm[5] in the Santa Cruz Mountains, initially to serve earthquake refugees[6] and later as a fresh-air experience for disadvantaged boys from San Francisco.[7] The camp also offered a convalescent program for "the little ones who are not strong enough to avail themselves of the privileges of the farm."[8][9] The camp was open from 1907 to 1938,[10][11] though there was an unsuccessful petition for her resignation as the camp's director in 1912,[12] citing her "incompetency and inefficiency".[13]

Rice founder and president of the California Wild Flower Conservation League,[14] and co-director of the annual State Exhibit of California Wildflowers.[15][16] "Mrs. Bertha Rice and her son Roland Rice are to the flowers of California what John Muir was to the trees," commented one writer in a 1920 book review.[17]

Rice was involved in women's suffrage work in California.[18] She co-founded the Santa Clara County Historical Society and the local chapter of the Audubon Society.[11] She was an officer in the local chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.[19] She was a member of the San Jose Consumers' League[20] and of the California Library Association.[21] She was active in the work of the People's Place settlement house in San Francisco's North Beach.[22] In 1912 she arranged a concert by Ernestine Schumann-Heink for the children of San Jose.[23] During World War II, she organized the San Jose Garden Forum to encourage home gardening.[24]

Rice wrote several books, including Tales of the Pioneer Mothers of California (1904),[25] Popular Studies of California Wild Flowers (1920, with Roland Rice and illustrator Myrtle Hill McQuarrie),[26] The Women of Our Valley (2 volumes, 1955, 1956),[27] The Builders of Our Valley (1957),[28] and the introduction to a photography book about Stanford University.[29] She also wrote a column on flowers for the Oakland Tribune, was society editor for the San Jose Mercury,[30] and contributed articles for national periodicals including the Sierra Club Bulletin, The Volta Review[31] and Overland Monthly.[32]

Personal life

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Bertha M. Davison married Warren M. Rice in Iowa in 1892, and had a son, Roland Davison Rice (1895–1962) before they divorced in 1898.[33] She lived with Roland in San Jose for many years,[34] and died in 1962, aged 90 years.

References

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  1. ^ "Judge Davison to be Honor Guest this Afternoon". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. 1938-10-14. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Judge Davison is Called by Death". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. 1941-04-25. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Playthings are Asked for Refugee Children". San Francisco Call. July 11, 1906. p. 9. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  4. ^ "Seeking Homes for Waifs". San Jose Daily Mercury. August 2, 1906. p. 7. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  5. ^ "Outing Farm Directors Discuss Future Plans". San Jose Daily Mercury. April 1, 1908. p. 9. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Patrick Beveridge; Rice, Roland (1917). "The Boys' Outing Farm". Annotated List of the Wild Flowers of California. Levison Print. Company. p. 10.
  7. ^ "22 Tiny Tads Enjoying Life at Outing Farm". San Jose Mercury and Herald. June 20, 1909. p. 7. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  8. ^ "Convalescent Home for the Boys' Outing Farm". San Jose Daily Mercury. November 25, 1908. p. 13. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  9. ^ "Boys' Outing Farm Convalescent Home". San Francisco Chronicle. 1908-11-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "County Board Approves Outing Vacation Home". San Jose Mercury and Herald. February 17, 1907. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  11. ^ a b "Saratoga's Women's History". Saratoga Historical Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  12. ^ "Bitter Attack on Manager". Santa Cruz Sentinel. 1912-04-05. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "'Quit, Mrs. Rice' Says Petition. Reply: 'Never'". San Francisco Call. March 6, 1912. p. 5. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  14. ^ "Bertha M. Rice Summons Lovers of Wild Flowers". Oakland Tribune. 1924-01-13. p. 85. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Dunn, Harry H. (May 27, 1922). "Conservation of California's Wild Flowers". Dearborn Independent: 10.
  16. ^ "Mrs. Rice to Address Audubon Association". San Francisco Call and Post. November 12, 1919. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  17. ^ "Book Reviews". The Western Journal of Education. 26: 10. November 1920.
  18. ^ "Mrs. Rice Invited to Park to Honor Suffrage Leader". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. 1938-06-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Woman's Christian Temperance Union of California (1899). Minutes of the Annual Convention ... with Reports. p. 93.
  20. ^ "News of the Women's Clubs". San Francisco Chronicle. 1902-12-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting of California Library Association". Western Journal of Education. 25: 8–9. June 1919.
  22. ^ "San Jose Woman Aids in S. F. Organization". San Jose Daily Mercury. September 22, 1910. p. 7. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  23. ^ "Mme. Schumann-Heink to Sing for Young Folks". San Jose Daily Mercury. February 17, 1912. p. 3. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  24. ^ "Garden Forum to Celebrate Fourth Anniversary". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. 1944-10-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Tales of the Pioneer Mothers of California; Valuable Book by Talented Authoress of this City". San Jose Daily Mercury. November 26, 1903. p. 9. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  26. ^ Rice, Bertha Marguerite (1920). Popular studies of California wild flowers. San Francisco, Cal. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t10p0xm1p.
  27. ^ Rice, Bertha Marguerite (1955). The Women of Our Valley.
  28. ^ "West Valley People Chronicled". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. 1958-01-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Davey, Frank; Rice, Bertha M. (1906). Leland Stanford Jr. University, Palo Alto, California, before and after the earthquake of April 18, 1906. San Jose, Cal. hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t4zg7jt7t.
  30. ^ San Jose City Directory Including Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties. Mrs. F.M. Husted. 1901. p. 373.
  31. ^ Rice, Bertha M. (November 1922). "The Disadvantages of Soundless Speaking". The Volta Review. 24: 395.
  32. ^ Rice, Bertha M.; Rice, Roland (February 1922). "Toyon or Christmas Berry". Overland Monthly. 79: 15–16.
  33. ^ "Referred to Commissioner". San Jose Daily Herald. February 11, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  34. ^ "'Doing' is Life Theme of Former Saratogan". Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer. 1952-08-29. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-09-01 – via Newspapers.com.
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