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Kathleen Yerger Johnstone

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Kathleen Yerger Johnstone
A young white woman with short wavy dark hair, in an oval frame
Kathleen Yerger Johnstone, from the 1927 yearbook of the Mississippi State College for Women
BornAugust 19, 1906
Mobile, Alabama
DiedJune 19, 1996 (aged 89)
Occupation(s)Writer, dance educator, conchologist

Kathleen Yerger Johnstone (August 19, 1906 – June 19, 1996) was an American nature writer, dance educator, and "Alabama's most famous conchologist".[1] Alabama's state seashell, Johnstone's junonia, is named in her honor.

Early life and education

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Kathleen Yerger was born in Mobile, Alabama, the daughter of Arthur Warren Yerger and Kathleen Hughes Williamson Yerger. Her father, a traveling salesman, died in 1912.[2] She graduated from the Mississippi State College for Women in 1927, and pursued further education at Columbia University. She trained as a dancer with the Art Students League of New York and the Denishawn School.[3]

Career

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Yerger taught dance classes at the Lausanne School in Tennessee and at Arlington Hall in Virginia, as a young woman. She was an enthusiastic birder and seashell collector, and wrote two books about seashells later in life. "This is the kind of book that makes the hobbyist's mouth water," noted one 1957 review of her first book, Sea Treasure, "and reawakens the urge to be off to the coast and digging, dredging, or just wading."[4]

The official state seashell of Alabama,[5] the Scaphella junonia jounstoneae, was named for Johnstone by William J. Clench, in recognition of her work on improving public awareness and knowledge about seashells.[6][7] (Another gastropod, Melongena corona johnstonei, is named for her husband.)[8]

Johnstone was president of the Junior League of Mobile, and promoted the city's public art and architectural features.[9] She wrote an essay for the Junior League's national magazine in 1945, proposing increased wages, shorter hours, and other improved conditions for domestic workers after World War II.[10]

Publications

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  • "Iron as Ornament" (1944)[9]
  • "Will Your Maid's Room Remain Maidless?" (1945)[10]
  • Sea Treasure: A Guide to Seashell Collecting (1957)[4][11]
  • "An Albino Robin near Mobile" (1965)[12]
  • Collecting Seashells (1970)[13][14]

Personal life

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Yerger married architect Henry (Harry) Inge Johnstone in 1930. They had three sons. Their son Yerger Johnstone became a vice president at Morgan Stanley.[15] Their son Douglas Inge Johnstone became a justice on the Alabama State Supreme Court.[16] Her husband died in 1991,[17] and she died in 1996, at age 89.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "COA Convention 2006". American Conchologist. 33 (4): 30. December 2005 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "Believe Suicide is a Mobile Man; Yerger Recently Drew Considerable Money from His Bank". Birmingham Post-Herald. 1912-08-22. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Kathleen Yerger Johnstone, 1906-1996; Alabama Authors, at University of Alabama Libraries". Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  4. ^ a b Mahoney, Esther R. (1957-02-03). "A Mobilian's Grand Book on Shells". The Montgomery Advertiser. p. 44. Retrieved 2023-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Alabama. Legislature (1990). Journal of the Alabama House of Representatives, 1990, volume 3. pp. 2412–2413 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Johnstone's Junonia". State Symbols USA. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  7. ^ "Mobile senator makes push to get an official state shell/Frank Bruer". Birmingham Post-Herald. 1990-01-11. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Correction". American Conchologist. 18 (3): 18. September 1990 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ a b Sledge, John Sturdivant (2006). An Ornament to the City: Old Mobile Ironwork. University of Georgia Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-8203-2700-6.
  10. ^ a b "Home Timetable Asked to Help Keep Maids; Pay Standards, 54-Hour Week Proposed; The Family Wash on Mondays 15 Minutes Allowed for Meals". The New York Times. 1945-11-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  11. ^ Johnstone, Kathleen Yerger (1957). Sea Treasure: A Guide to Shell Collecting.
  12. ^ "An Albino Robin Near Mobile". Alabama Bird Life. 1965. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  13. ^ Johnstone, Kathleen Yerger (1970). Collecting seashells. Internet Archive. New York, Grosset & Dunlap.
  14. ^ Buckley, Dan (1970-07-26). "Harvesting the Shore". The Sacramento Bee. p. 123. Retrieved 2023-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Wedding Held For Miss Rule". The New York Times. 1975-09-20. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  16. ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (2003-08-22). "Thou Shalt Not, Colleagues Tell Alabama Judge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  17. ^ Alabama Legislature (1992). Alabama legislative acts. pp. 69–70 – via Internet Archive.
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