The Personal Papers of Kate Hettasch (1905-1987) and Elizabeth Marx (1908-1996)

     As I mentioned in my last blog, I have had the opportunity to work on several collections that  focused on missionaries.  The collections of Kate Hettasch (1905-1987) and Elizabeth Marx (1908-1996) are of us particular interest to me. Both of these individuals were the daughters of Moravian missionaries, Kate's parents in Labrador and Elizabeth's in Tibet (her brothers also were missionaries in South America and places throughout the world).  Their childhood experiences laid the foundation for their future work as missionaries. While it was difficult for woman to work as missionaries unless married, both Kate and Elizabeth were able to do so as teachers. Kate was placed in an English school in Labrador, while Elizabeth worked in Nicaragua at a Moravian school called the Colegio Morava.
     While working on Kate's collection I was struck by her artistic talents.  Kate is relatively famous in the Moravian community for her drawings of the children and life in Labrador, some of which were published in the form of greeting cards.  The collection contained several examples of not only the final product but also her initial sketches.  Below is an example of Kate's work, which can sometimes still be purchased from the Moravian Archives or found online.

     While Kate used her artistic ability to connect to the new world in which she taught, Elizabeth was forced to address not only the cultural but also the political environment in Nicaragua during her tenure.  Elizabeth was placed in Nicaragua not only during a period of internal strife but also an external one with the US. In 1979 a social revolution overthrew the dictatorship, which was replaced by a system based on Communism. Elizabeth’s personal papers document the anxiety she felt between maintaining her status as missionary and the fear she felt as an American outsider.

      During this period, Elizabeth also lacked the support of the Moravian Church, which was beginning to shift its focus away from missionary work. It is fascinating to see the interplay between the Moravian Church and the environments in which it operated.  All of this tension can be ascertained from reading the correspondence of a singular missionary in the field.
     Finally, I was struck by both Kate’s and Elizabeth’s dedication to their work and the lasting connections each had made to Labrador and Nicaragua, respectively. Both women were active in the field for over 35 years.  They returned to the United States as retirees only when their bodies demanded rest.  From their later correspondence and journals, it is evident that both women remained emotionally attached to the places where they had lived most of their lives.

                                                                                                -Katey Fardelmann