Lulu Bell Clough Haskell Papers

2 linear feet (1 half sized document box and 1 oversized box)

The majority of the materials are related to Haskell’s education from primary through graduate school, with additional items from her early career and retirement. The Correspondence Series contains her first teaching recommendation letter in 1915, a teaching appointment notice, and a few personal letters ending in 1954. The Grade Cards and Transcripts Series span her eighth grade year in 1909 through a master’s degree program in 1938. The Ephemera Series comprises dinner and event programs she attended in her early career from 1923-1939. The Clippings Series (1937-1955) cover a variety of topics, as well as coverage of the 1955 Trenton State College centennial. The Prints Series includes four etchings or reproductions of St. Petersburg Florida churches inscribed: “for Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Wilhelm” by Will Kay Hagerman (Kent Hagerman). The Certificates and Diplomas Series span from her primary school years in 1904 through 1946. They include, among other items, her Normal School diploma and bachelor’s degree, as well as membership certificates to honorary sororities, Red Cross volunteer service, and her marriage certificate to Josiah Haskell.

The collection is organized into 6 series: Correspondence, Grade Cards and Transcripts, Ephemera, Clippings, Prints, and Certificates and Diplomas. Within each series, the materials are arranged chronologically.

This collection is open for research.

The items in this collection may be used by patrons who abide by the Archives and Special Collections Use Policy of the R. Barbara Gitenstein Library at TCNJ.

Portions of the collection have been digitized and are available for viewing in the library on a provided computer, or this site.

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• English

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Abstract: Lulu Bell Clough Haskell was both a New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton graduate, class of 1915, and a long time administrator as the Registrar of the College, retiring in 1954. The majority of her papers pertain to her education, including grade information and certificates and diplomas from primary through graduate school. Also included are items of ephemera and correspondence from her early career and retirement.

Biographical information:
Lulu Bell Clough was born on July 18, 1895, to Lulu (also spelled Lula) Bell (1872-1959) from Pennsylvania and Ethan Earl Clough (1865-1952) from Maine. Her parents settled in West Trenton or Ewing, New Jersey in the 1890s. For several decades, her father worked in various jobs at the New Jersey State Hospital at Trenton (now Trenton Psychiatric Hospital), the state’s first hospital of its kind, founded by Dorthea Dix in 1848, in Ewing.

Haskell attended Dorothea Lynde Dix School (previously named Brookville School) where she received certificates for punctual and regular attendance, correct deportment, and diligent attention to study. The school mostly served the children of hospital employees, but it closed in the early 1900s. She then began attending Cadwalader Grammar School in 1908, where she made the honor roll. She went on to Trenton High School and graduated in 1913.

A few months later, she began the Commercial Course of study at the New Jersey State Normal School at Trenton. She was treasurer of the Normal Pedagogical Club and maintained good grades. Her final evaluation recorded in the Grade Books and Reports, Volume III, reads: “Rather immature but bright and original. Can interest a class well. Should develop into a good teacher.” Haskell graduated in June 1915.

Her first teaching assignment was at Caldwell High School in Essex County. She was a substitute teacher and clerk, but within a few years, she was back in Trenton working at the Normal School, first as a “Teacher - Clerk” in 1920, then as Assistant Registrar in 1923. She became Registrar in 1924.
She married Josiah “Jay” Eugene Haskell (c. 1879-1961) in July 1923. At the time, he was the general manager of the Hasco Teacher’s Agency, but later worked for the De Laval Steam Turbine Company in Trenton. They did not have children. According to census records, her mother lived with her and her new husband until at least 1930, while her father lived elsewhere, eventually returning to Maine.
In the mid 1920s into the 1930s, she attended college and graduate school, starting first at the University of Pennsylvania, then finishing with a Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University in 1930. She earned her Master’s of Education from Temple University in 1939. While at Temple, she received a life membership in the Iota chapter of Phi Delta Gamma, a national honor society for graduate women.
She remained in her position as Registrar at the Normal School as it transitioned into a four-year college, where she was credited in Time, the Great Teacher: a History of One Hundred Years of the New Jersey State Teachers College at Trenton, 1855-1955, by Rachel Jarrod. She was cited for her efficient work and ability to “steer the bewildered faculty” during this period, as well as during the school’s move from Trenton to Ewing. After over 35 years, she retired from the then Trenton State College in 1956.
During her retirement, she was active with the Trenton Kennel Club. She was one of the founders along with her husband and served as its president. The Haskells raised national award winning West Highland White Terriers.
In a Trenton Evening Times article announcing her retirement on June 28, 1956. She stated: “I don’t know when I made the decision to ‘teach,’” she said, “it seems as if I always knew that education would be my career.” She died on January 1, 1970.

DACS, ATT, LCSH

Processed by Kerin Shellenbarger, Project Archivist, May 2024.