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Russell and Juanita Rosene slides, scrapbook, and videocassette
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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Russell and Juanita Rosene were international development workers.
Russell David "Russ" Rosene (1922-2014) was born to Carl and Mildred Rosene in Swampscott, Massachusetts. During his teenage years the family moved to Southern California, and when not abroad Russell remained based in that area for the rest of his life. During World War II he enlisted in the U.S. military as a radio operator and served in both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters. After the end of the war he married Juanita Haupt in 1946.
Juanita "Nita" Haupt Rosene (1927-) was the daughter of Horace and Claire Haupt. Though born in Oak Park, Illinois, she grew up in Los Angeles County, California, where her family moved before her third birthday. In 1946 she married Russell Rosene. The next year the couple undertook a cross-country tour of the U.S, hitchhiking from Maine to California. Their photographs from this trip were published in Life Magazine in 1948.
In 1949 the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) hired the couple as aid workers in the Gaza strip. For nearly a year Nita distributed food to refugees while Russ worked as a radio operator for the AFSC and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA). They left in 1950 and returned to California after sightseeing in Europe and visiting Russ's brother Ken in Chile.
The Rosenes continued to travel when possible. In 1957 they got a contract to make a film for the Los Angeles Schools in Central America. The Rosenes became Quakers while in Mexico. In 1960 they took on archaeological photography work in Chihuahua, and in 1961 they joined a Voluntary International Service Assignment (VISA) program run by the AFSC in Guatemala. Russ also worked for the Peace Corps, U.N. disaster relief, and Chevron. The couple divorced in 1973.
This collection documents Russell and Juanita Rosene's development work with the American Friends Service Committee in the Gaza Strip and in Guatemala. Color photographic slides make up the bulk of the material, but the collection also contains some black-and-white photo prints and negatives, a scrapbook, and a 1992 videocassette.
Materials are arranged chronologically.
Gift of Chris Rosene, 2018.
People
Organization
- Voluntary International Service Assignments
- American Friends Service Committee
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Subject
- Human rights -- Gaza Strip -- History -- Sources
- Volunteer workers in community development -- Developing countries -- History -- Sources
Place
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- James Truitt
- Finding Aid Date
- 2022 April
- Access Restrictions
-
This collection is available for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
The scrapbook includes letters to the Rosenes from the AFSC, writings by Palestinian refugees, newspaper clippings, minutes from staff council meetings, an informal welcome 'zine for UN relief workers, and other items documenting humanitarian work in Gaza.
8 photographic slides
147 photographic slides
about 240 photographic slides6 folders
about 52 photographic slides
47 photographic slides
54 photographic prints
Slides from Italy, London, France, and Switzerland.
Physical Description25 photographic slides
9 photographic slides
6 photographic slides
Photocopies of 3 pages of the AFSC Reporter containing articles discussing the Rosenes' work in Guatemala.
12 photographic slides
15 photographic slides
60 photographic slides
18 photographic slides
48 photographic slides
44 photographic slides
7 photographic slides
1 videocassette (8mm). From cassette label: "9/20/92. Gaza Reunion. Tape #2 of 2 (90 minutes). Russ Rosene. Includes James Akins' talk. W/ 2nd slide show."