ca. 1878-2000
Guide to the Photograph Collection
Abstract
This collection contains photographs collected and taken by Lieutenant-Colonel Ruby Winslow Linn, U.S. Army dietician. These photographs span the years ca. 1878-2000 and depict many subjects, including Ruby's travels around the world, her family, and her work as a dietician in various places and hospitals in the United States.
Biographical Sketch
Lieut. Col. Ruby Zillah Winslow Linn, dietician with the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps (AMSC), was born in 1910 in Berkeley, Mass., the daughter of Lena Borden Macomber (1883-1970) and Edward Williams Winslow (1875-1966), stationmaster at the Myricks, Mass. depot for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Ruby graduated with a B.S. in Home Economics from Simmons College in Boston in 1932. She continued her studies at Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington, D.C., in the Dietetic Internship Program, 1932-1933. After graduating, she served there as a civilian staff dietician, 1933-1936. Her career continued at the Fort Sheridan Station Hospital in Chicago, 1936-1937, and at the Veterans Administration Hospital in the Bronx, 1937-1941. From the Bronx she traveled to Puerto Rico, serving at Rodriguez General Hospital in San Juan and the Station Hospital, 1941-1944. In the meantime, civilian dieticians were offered military status in Dec. 1942, and Ruby was sworn into the Army as a second lieutenant in April 1943. From Puerto Rico, she moved to the Dietician Branch of the Office of the Surgeon General, 1945-1946, and to Brooke General Hospital, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 1947-1950. Ruby obtained her Master's Degree in Institutional Management from Columbia University in June 1951 and served as Hospital Food Supervisor and Chief of the Food Service Division, Tripler Army Hospital, Honolulu, 1951-1954. After stints at Murphy Army Hospital, Waltham, Mass. (1954-1956) and the U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Benning, Georgia (1956-1958), Ruby returned to Walter Reed General Hospital as Chief of the Food Service Division and Director of the Dietetic Internship Program, 1958-1963. She was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in May 1959 and retired in Dec. 1963.
Ruby Z. Winslow married Col. LaVon Parker Linn (1911-1985) in 1966, and the couple made their home in Arlington, Virginia. LaVon Parker Linn retired from the military shortly before his marriage to Ruby in 1966, after a career of service that included tours of duty in World War II and the Korean War, as well as work with the North American Defense Command, NATO, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. LaVon was an active member of the National Sojourners, a fraternal organization of Masons who were also members of the military, and served as the organization's president in 1975. Upon the death of her mother in 1970, Ruby and LaVon inherited a considerable estate and established a second career as noted philanthropists.
Ruby had one brother, Gilbert Williams Winslow, born in 1915, a safety engineer and graduate of M.I.T. He and his wife Betty Lee (Moment) died in the tragic Coconut Grove Fire in Boston, 28 Nov. 1942.
Collection Description
This collection contains 4,147 photographs and 52 postcards collected by Ruby Winslow Linn. These photographs span the years ca. 1878-2000 and consist of loose photographs and photographs arranged in volumes (including 1 oversize volume).
Fifteen volumes of photographs date from ca. 1916-1981. Most contain photographs that depict Ruby Winslow Linn's travels to the Caribbean, Mexico, Africa, South America, Antarctica, the Arctic Sea, and the Galapagos, among other places, as well as various locations in the United States, from ca. 1940-1976. Other volumes contain photographs that depict Ruby Winslow Linn's childhood and family in Myricks, Mass.; her life and work in the Bronx, N.Y., ca. 1938-1944; and her and Lavon Parker Linn's involvement with the National Sojourners in 1972-1976 and with the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1980-1982. Most of the photographs in these volumes were taken by either Ruby Winslow Linn or LaVon Parker Linn. Please note that many of these volumes have been disbound due to preservation concerns and have been foldered and boxed in their original order.
There are also 4 boxes of loose photographs in this collection. These photos consist mainly of individual and group portraits (both formal and informal) of various Linn, Winslow, Macomber, and Pierce family members, among others. These portraits include many photos of Ruby Winslow Linn, taken between ca. 1911-2000. There are also a number of views of various places, including the Winslow family home in Myricks, Mass., as well as photographs pertaining to Ruby's professional work as a dietician with the U.S. Army, 1953-1964; her travels in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, the Middle East, and Europe, among other places; the organizations to which she and LaVon Parker Linn belonged; her philanthropic work; her life at the Fairfax in Fort Belvoir, Va. in the 1990s; and LaVon's service with the U.S. Army during World War II.
Photographers represented in this collection include Ruby Winslow Linn, LaVon Parker Linn, J. Frank Choicener of Taunton, Mass., and James E. Purdy & Co. of Boston, Mass., among many others. Many of the photographers in this collection are unidentified.
There are also 52 postcards collected by Ruby Winslow Linn in this collection, which are stored apart from the collection by format (Ruby Winslow Linn postcards, Postcard Coll. 16.2).
This collection includes cartes de visite, cabinet cards, tintypes, film negatives, and postcards. Included are both black-and-white and color photographs.
Acquisition Information
The Ruby Winslow Linn photographs were removed from the Ruby Winslow Linn papers (stored offsite), which were given by Col. Linn to the Massachusetts Historical Society in November 2000, with additions in May 2003.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Photographs in albums
Vols. 1-14 are arranged in chronological order. Vol. 15 is Oversize. Vols. 3-14 were disbound in Mar. 2004 due to preservation concerns; the album pages are stored in boxes in the order in which they originally appeared in the albums.
A. Myricks, Mass., ca. 1916-1920
This album contains snapshot photographs of Ruby Winslow Linn as a child at her home in Myricks, Mass., as well as photographs of friends and family. The photographer is unknown.
B. Camp Fire Girls, 1923-1925
This album contains snapshot photographs of Ruby Winslow Linn as a Camp Fire Girl in Myricks, Mass. from 1923-1925. Most of the photographs were taken by Ruby; the others were probably taken by friends.
C. Bronx, N.Y., ca. 1938-1943
This disbound album mostly contains snapshot photographs of Ruby Winslow Linn's time spent living in the Bronx, New York, ca. 1940-1944. Subjects of these photographs include views of the Bronx, as well as snapshots of attorney Alfred Holmes, Ruby's boyfriend at the time, in New York during 1940-1942 and as an Army private at Camp Roberts, Calif. in 1943. There are also a number of photographs of Lena Borden Macomber Winslow, Edward Williams Winslow, Gilbert Williams Winslow, and Betty Lee Moment Winslow at the Winslow family home in Myricks, Mass. Most of the photographs were taken by Ruby; other photographers are unknown.
D. Scrapbook of travels, ca. 1940-1944
This disbound scrapbook contains snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn while traveling in St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as Haiti. These may have been taken while Ruby was working at the Veterans Administration Hospital in the Bronx, New York, ca. 1940, or during her work at Rodriguez General Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, ca. 1941-1944. Also includes postcards and photocopies of the original album pages before the album was disbound.
E. Travels, 1944-1950
This disbound album contains both black-and-white and color snapshots of Ruby Winslow Linn's travels and work as a dietician around the United States and Mexico, 1944-1950. Among the subjects are dieticians and patients at the Pentagon in 1945; other views of Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, and Mexico City. There are also photographs of Ruby at a dude ranch in Banderas, Texas; at Simmons College in Boston, Mass.; at Gardner General Hospital in Chicago, Ill.; at Brooke General Hospital at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas; and visiting the Winslow family home in Myricks, Mass.
F. Africa, 1972
Disbound volumes.Two disbound albums contain color snapshot photographs, mostly taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn, of their travels in Africa from Mar.-Apr. 1972. Most of the photographs depict African animals that they saw while on safaris in Nairobi, Kenya, Uganda, the Serengeti, Tanzania, and around the area of the Nile River.
G. Travel, 1972-1974
This disbound album contains color snapshot photographs, mostly taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn, of their travels around the United States from 1972-1974. Among the destinations they visited and photographed in this album were Florida; Georgia; Iowa; Colorado; Utah; Plimoth Plantation, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Simmons College in Massachusetts; New Hampshire; and Chicago, Ill. Many of the photographs of the Western U.S. were taken by the Linns while they were participating in organized bus tours. There are also a number of photographs of the Linns' home in Arlington, Va.
H. National Sojourners meetings, 1972-1976
This disbound album contains color snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn of their travels to attend National Sojourners meetings at various places across the United States from 1972-1976, as well as in Jerusalem in 1973. There are also several photographs of the Linns attending the dedication of the Alabama Medal of Honor Grove at Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania in 1975.
I. Travels, 1973-1974
This disbound album contains color snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn during 1973 and 1974 of their travels to Israel and New York City, as well as of a voyage on the expedition cruising ship, Lindblad Explorer, to Argentina, Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands.
J. Travels, 1974-1975
This disbound album contains color snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn while traveling through the United States and abroad from 1974-1975. Subjects include Bermuda, Panama, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Massachusetts, and Nebraska. Many of these photographs are of visits and celebrations with friends and family, as well as photos of National Sojourners meetings across the country and of Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C. The Linns also visited and photographed a number of historic sites in the United States, including Old Mystick Village in Mystic, Conn.; Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass.; Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, N.H.; and The Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn. There are also a number of photographs of the Linns' home in Arlington, Va.
K. Travels, 1975-1976
This disbound album contains color snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn during their travels around the world on the expedition cruising ship, Lindblad Explorer, between Aug. 1975 and May 1976. On this trip, the Linns visited and photographed Iceland, Norway, Greenland, the Arctic Sea, the Galapagos, Ecuador, and Columbia.
L. Travels, 1976
This disbound album contains color snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn while traveling in the expedition cruising ship, Lindblad Explorer, along the eastern and southern coasts of Africa in 1976. Among the places they visited and photographed were the Seychelles Islands, Glorioso Islands, Madagascar, and South Africa. Some of these photographs were also taken by Thelma McDonald, a friend of the Linns.
M. Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) scrapbook, 1980-1982
This disbound scrapbook contains color snapshot photographs taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn of Ruby's involvement with various Washington, D.C.-area chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) during 1980-1982. Also includes programs and memorabilia from various D.A.R. meetings, as well as letters to the Linns regarding the D.A.R. Also includes photocopies of the original album pages before the scrapbook was disbound.
N. Honeymoon scrapbook, 1966
This oversize scrapbook contains photographs, postcards, and clippings relating to Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn's honeymoon in October 1966. The pair began their honeymoon in Washington, D.C. and New York and then sailed on the cruise ship, SS Homeric, to the Caribbean, visiting Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Martinique, Curaçao, and Jamaica. Most of the photographs appear to have been taken by Ruby and LaVon, as well as by other travelers on the SS Homeric.
II. Loose photographs
A. Portraits, ca. 1878-1998
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
This subseries contains individual and group portraits, mostly of various Linn, Winslow, Macomber, and Pierce family members, as well as friends and family, taken between ca. 1878-1998. Subjects include Ruby Winslow Linn, LaVon Parker Linn, Edward Williams Winslow, Lena Borden Macomber Winslow, and Gilbert Williams Winslow, among others. Photographers include J. Frank Choicener (Taunton, Mass.), James E. Purdy & Co. of Boston, Mass., Gay's Gallery of Art of Fall, River, Mass., and the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Most of the photographers are unidentified. Included are both color and black-and-white photographs.
Individuals
Includes 5 copy photographs.
Same sitting as Photo. #38.3383-3384.
Taken at Linn's graduation from Simmons College in 1932, but inscription on front of photograph reads "1931."
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
Taken at Linn's graduation from Simmons College in 1932.
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
Taken at Linn's graduation from Simmons College in 1932.
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
2 photograph Christmas cards.
Army identification photo (Linn in second lieutenant's uniform).
Army identification photo (Linn in first lieutenant's uniform).
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
Includes 2 manuscript notes.
Includes 4 duplicate photographs.
Includes some duplicate photographs.
Inscription on back of photograph: "Ruby Linn donor [Huddlesn?] / How I looked Oct. 1998."
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
Includes 2 duplicate photographs.
Groups
Includes some duplicate photographs.
Photograph of framed photo in Linn home.
Clipping enclosed.
B. Views, ca. 1880-1995
Arranged alphabetically by place.
This subseries contains views of various places in the United States of importance to Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn. Subjects include Simmons College in Boston, Mass.; the Winslow family home in Myricks, Mass.; the Collingwood Library & Museum on Americanism in Alexandria, Va.; and the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton, Mass., among other places. Most of the photographers are unknown.
Includes duplicate photographs. Also includes photos of Mary T. Pierce Macomber (b. 1854) and George Waterman Macomber (b. 1843).
Includes 1 duplicate photograph.
Includes card from Ardis [ ] to Ruby Winslow Linn.
C. Professional work, 1953-1964
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains photographs relating to Ruby Winslow Linn's professional career as a dietician with the U.S. Army. Subjects include the American Dietetic Association's 1953 convention in Honolulu, Hawaii; Thanksgiving preparations at the Food Service Division of Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C. in Nov. 1958; the ceremonies marking Ruby's retirement from the Army in Dec. 1963; and a 1963-1964 brochure of photographs depicting the Army Dietetic Internship at Walter Reed. Photographers include the U.S. Army Signal Corps, among others.
Includes duplicate photographs.
Disbound; includes photocopy of original bound brochure.
D. Travel, 1922-1990
Arranged alphabetically by place.
This subseries contains snapshot photographs, mostly taken by Ruby Winslow Linn, of her travels to Nova Scotia in May-June 1938, through Puerto Rico during her work there in 1941-1944, of her travels to Turkey, Greece, Syria, and Israel in 1944, and also of Germany, Austria, and Italy in 1990. There is also one photograph of an automobile trip to Cape Cod in 1922. Most of the photographs are black and white; the photographs from her 1990 trip are color. Most of the photographs were taken by Ruby Winslow Linn.
Automobile trip around Cape Cod from Pembroke, Mass.
E. Organizations, 1977-ca. 1990
Arranged alphabetically by organization.
This subseries contains color snapshot photographs of the events and meetings of the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) and the National Sojourners, the two organizations in which Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn were involved. These photographs were taken between 1977-ca. 1990s. Some of the photographs were taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and LaVon Parker Linn; most of the photographers are unknown.
Most photographs are undated.
Most photographs are unidentified.
Most photographs are unidentified.
F. Philanthropy, 1986-ca. 2000
Arranged chronologically.
This subseries contains color snapshot photographs pertaining to the philanthropic work in which Ruby Winslow Linn was involved between 1986-ca. 2000. Subjects include Simmons College in Boston, Mass.; exhibitions sponsored by Ruby at the Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton, Mass. and the Berkeley Historical Society in Berkeley, Mass.; and the Ruby Winslow Linn Home Management Cottage at the Tamassee D.A.R. School in Tamassee, S.C. Photographers include David F. Gouveia, Bob Wyatt, and Gail Terry, among other unidentified photographers.
Includes letter from Molly Kinhara to Ruby Winslow Linn.
Include typewritten description of exhibit.
Includes letter from Mary Ellen Collins, Office of Development, Simmons College to Ruby Winslow Linn. Also includes program for the Dedication.
Includes letter from Barbara Anne Wyatt to Ruby Winslow Linn.
Includes card from Gail Terry, President of the Berkeley Historical Society, to Ruby Winslow Linn.
G. The Fairfax, 1990-ca. 2000
This subseries contains color snapshots taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and other unidentified photographers of the Fairfax in Fort Belvoir, Va., a planned community developed for retired officers of the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses. Ruby moved to the Fairfax in 1990. The photos depict the grounds of the community, as well as its residents. There are also photographs of Ruby Winslow Linn at Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations at the Fairfax in 1990, shortly after she moved in. Some of the photographs were taken by Ruby Winslow Linn and Francis May; other photographers are unidentified.
H. LaVon Parker Linn photographs, 1933-ca. 1940
This subseries contains photographs owned by LaVon Parker Linn that relate to his service with the U.S. Army, 1933-ca. 1940. Some of the photographs depict Col. Russell Reeder's visit to Fleet Air Base in Panama in 1933, taken by an unknown photographer. These photos include attached annotations and descriptions in LaVon's hand. The rest of the photographs relate to LaVon's military service in Japan in the 1940s. These photos depict LaVon on an unidentified military base with Japanese citizens, as well as portraits of various Japanese people and unidentified views of Japan. Some of these photographs may have been taken by LaVon Parker Linn, but the photographer is unidentified.
I. Miscellaneous copy photographs
This subseries contains two copy photographs, one of a wooden chest and the other of four family photographs belonging to Ruby Winslow Linn. The photographers are unknown.
J. Oversize loose photographs
This subseries contains oversize loose portraits and views. Includes one portrait of Ruby Winslow Linn in her U.S. Army lieutenant's uniform, ca. 1943; one portrait of Ruby and LaVon Parker Linn, taken ca. 1975; and one photograph of the railroad depot in Myricks, Mass., ca. 1880. Also included are three photographs, mounted on a board, of Edward W. Winslow, Ruby Winslow, and Lena Macomber Winslow, taken in 1911. Photographs in this subseries were taken by various photographers, some unknown.
III. Negatives
This series contains one loose safety-film photonegative of a portrait of Ruby Linn, taken ca. 1950 by an unknown photographer, as well as loose 35mm color film photonegatives taken ca. 1980s. These negatives correspond to photographs within the collection.
IV. Postcards
NOTE: These postcards are stored apart from the collection by format, in the Ruby Linn postcard collection (Postcard Coll. 16.2).When requesting postcards, please use these call numbers, NOT Photo. Coll. 38.
This series includes 52 postcards collected by Ruby Winslow Linn of various hotels and sights visited on her travels in Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia, as well as a number of postcards of the Tamassee D.A.R. School in Tamassee, S.C. and of various rooms at Memorial Continental Hall, National Society D.A.R. in Washington, D.C. There are also a number of postcards of views of Japan, probably collected by LaVon Parker Linn.
Includes postcards of Memorial Continental Hall, National Society D.A.R.
Preferred Citation
Ruby Winslow Linn photographs, Photo. Coll. 38, Massachusetts Historical Society Photo Archives.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.