Title: Lucy Johnston Sypher Papers, 1977-2002

ID: OGLMC1473

Primary Creator: Sypher, Lucy Johnston (1907-1990)

Extent: 0.25 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 07/10/2003

Subjects: Literary, University of North Dakota - Alumni

Languages: English

Lucy Johnston was born on August 6, 1907, in Wales, North Dakota. She was the daughter of George and Caroline (Gale) Johnston. She attended the University of North Dakota, where she was active in Chi Omega, Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Sigma Rho, Kappa Psi Omnicron, and the Mortar Board. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in January 1927, followed by a diploma in education in June 1927. She also attended Tufts University, graduating with a Master of Arts degree in 1929.

She married Wylie Sypher in 1929, the same year she began a long career as an instructor in English and history at Lasell Junior College in Auburndale, Massachusetts. She published her first children's book, The Edge of Nowhere, in 1972. The story was set in a tiny North Dakota village in 1916. Sypher told Contemporary Authors Online that "it is autobiographical to a large degree, but beyond that was my desire to present a whole way of life that has now disappeared." She continued the story in Cousins and Circuses (1974), The Spell of the Northern Lights (1975), and The Turnabout Year (1976).

She received the University of North Dakota's highest honor, the Sioux Award, in 1977. She died in December 1990.

Source: Folder 1 of the collection

Literary
University of North Dakota - Alumni

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: Shirley Kulevsky, Grand Forks, North Dakota

Acquisition Method: Donation; Acc.#2004-2687

Related Publications:

Cousins and Circuses by Lucy Johnston Sypher. Illustrated by Ray Abel. New York: Atheneum, 1974. Call Number: PZ7.S9847 Co

The Edge of Nowhere by Lucy Johnston Sypher. Illustrated by Ray Abel. New York: Atheneum, 1972. Call Number: PZ7.S9847 Ed

The Spell of the Northern Lights by Lucy Johnston Sypher. Illustrated by Ray Abel. New York: Atheneum, 1975. Call Number: PZ7.S9847 Sp

The Turnabout Year by Lucy Johnston Sypher. Illustrated by Ray Abel. New York: Atheneum, 1976. Call Number: PZ7.S9847 Tu

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Lucy Johnston Sypher Papers.  OGLMC 1473, 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 November 2013.