OHIO Archives

Ohio University Libraries Archives & Special Collections

The Ada Margaret Wilson Saviers scrapbook

By Greta Suiter, Manuscripts Archivist, Ohio University Libraries.

Cover of black scrapbook with gold details. William Saviers Collection MSS431

Within the William Saviers Collection of World War II materials there are a few items that belonged to his wife, Ada Margaret Wilson Saviers. One such item is a scrapbook she compiled that contains items from the 1920s to the 1940s. The scrapbook is large and falling apart. Letters, envelopes, photographs, and other ephemera, once lovingly glued into the book are now unsticking themselves. The pages are very acidic and crumble easily at the edges. It is difficult to open and flip the pages without contents escaping the original rigid composition. In the future we may disassemble the scrapbook so it is easier to use.

While looking at the scrapbook I began to get to know Ada Saviers. There are many pictures of family and students and it is obvious that she enjoyed learning and teaching. She grew up in Parkersburg, West Virigina, with four male siblings. She attended Ohio University in 1931 and graduated in 1935 with a degree in education, focusing on home economics and physical education. She taught at schools in Ohio and West Virginia for 20 years. Today there is an Ada Margaret Wilson Saviers scholarship named for her at OHIO. (1)

Below are some images taken while going through the scrapbook.

There are a few of these small pencils attached to small booklets used for autographs and notes.
The first page in the scrapbook, covered in snapshots, an elementary school report card, and a business card for her father’s business, A.H. Wilson, transfer and gasoline, oil and coal in Parkersburg, WV.
Patches from Red Cross and Ohio University groups.
Wilson’s Red Cross certificates while she was studying at Ohio University in 1934.
A page filled with snapshots of family and friends.
Portrait of Ada Wilson.
Girls basketball team, “Champs 1938” photo taken in Columbus, Ohio.
An outdoor picnic scene.
Love the fashion in this photo of a friend of Wilson’s.
Wilson and friend pointing at a plane behind them.
Letter notifying Wilson that she passed the WAAC mental alertness test. It seems she was interested in becoming a WAAC, but didn’t officially join the Army.
Pamphlet for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)

(1) The Patton College Athenaeum, August 31, 2011, https://issuu.com/pattoncehs/docs/athenaeum2009

Greta Suiter

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