Title: Verlie Aird Papers, 1951-2006

ID: OGLMC1525

Primary Creator: Aird, Verlie (1918-2007)

Extent: 5.5 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 04/15/2007

Subjects: Women's History

Languages: English

The Verlie Aird Papers consist of handwritten diaries beginning in 1951 and ending in 2006. With the exception of 1959 and 1960, Verlie Aird wrote everyday. In the earlier diaries she wrote mostly about everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning, work, and what she was wearing. She also wrote about visits she had with her friends, coworkers and family. She also wrote some stories about what her students said in the classroom. In these earlier diaries the sentences were very short and precise. As the diaries progress the sentences become longer and more involved. As she ages her diaries become more personal and story-like rather than a record of what occurred during the day. In later years, her diaries relate many visits with her children and grandchildren. Also in the later diaries Verlie Aird wrote about her trips to Bingo and senior dinners with her friends and husband.

Verlie Aird commented on the weather but would only state the temperature and report if the sun was out. She also wrote some comments on current/political events such as the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan, the freeing of the hostages in Iran, and September 11th. Those entries, however, were very short and not very in depth. Also, throughout the diaries she wrote notes to self, resolutions, and also included inspirational newspaper clippings. In the later diaries she included an index of the year which consisted of a list of days and the main event from that day.

Verlie Wayanne Fisher was born on January 14, 1918, to Thomas and Anna Fisher near Dickinson, North Dakota.  She graduated from high school in Dickinson in 1936, after which she attended Dickinson State University.  She graduated from DSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education.  She married Maurice Aird on June 1, 1940.  The Airds had five sons: Douglas, Thomas, Maurice Jr., Dan and Lowell.  Verlie Aird taught at several elementary schools in North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota.  Following her retirement in 1981, she was an active member of several organizations in Rolette County, including the Order of the Eastern Star, St. John Presbyterian Church, the Tri-Home Health Board, and the Rolette County Historical Society.

Maurice Aird died August 20, 1994.  Verlie Aird then married Lyndon Clark, a mutual friend of Maurice’s, on February 2, 1996. Clark died two years later, on April 9, 1998.  She lived the last of her years in Rolla and died on March 7, 2007, at the age of eighty-nine.

Women's History

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Source: Dan Aird, Kindred, North Dakota

Acquisition Method: Donation; Acc.# 2007-2919

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Verlie Aird Papers.  OGLMC 1525, Box #, Folder #.  Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid migrated to Archon in June 2013.