Yorba Linda History


Historic Documents

Search for specific termsBrowse alphabetical list of titlesBrowse by subject category

close this bookJessamyn West Collection
View the documentJessamyn West McPherson Wins More Literary Laurels With Quaker Stories
Yorba Linda Star December 29 1944 page 3
View the documentJessamyn West most published story writer
Yorba Linda Star July 20 1945 page 1
View the documentJessamyn's first book out soon
Yorba Linda Star October 12 1945 page 1
View the documentJessamyn West's new book is among those offered at Yorba Linda Library
Yorba Linda Star November 23 1945 page 2
View the documentJessamyn West sells movie rights to book
Yorba Linda Star April 19 1946 page 3
View the document"Those Good Old Days" by One Who Can Really Tell It
by Jessamyn West McPherson,
Yorba Linda Star October 17 1947 page 1
View the documentJessamyn West Reminisces On Early Days in Yorba Linda
by March Butz,
Yorba Linda Star October 24 1957 page 3
View the documentFormer Residents Gain National Fame
Yorba Linda Star August 23 1967 page 2
View the documentJessamyn West is city's other famous resident
by Gisela Meier,
Yorba Linda Star January 6 1979 page 2
View the documentJessamyn West comments on Star's article about her
Yorba Linda Star January 27 1979 page 2
View the documentJessamyn West dies of stroke at age 81
Yorba Linda Star March 7 1984 page 5

Jessamyn West McPherson Wins More Literary Laurels With Quaker Stories

Yorba Linda Star December 29 1944 page 3   Open this page in a new window

Jessamyn West McPherson, by long odds the most distinguished literary figure who has ever lived for any length of time in northern Orange County, has added this fall considerably to her literary fame.

She has run her score of stories published in the Atlantic Monthly to three since July, she has a story in the December number of the swank style magazine, Madamoiselle, she soon will have a story in Harper's, one of her stories has been selected by Martha Foley for her "Best Short Stories of 1944" and she will soon have a collection of her stories published in book form.

Her story in the current issue of Madamoiselle has a specific Yorba Linda setting. The description -- "the brown, cactus-covered foothills, the open sky, the rolling orange orchards" -- are unmistakable.

Mrs. McPherson, who writes under her maiden name, is the elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eldo West. Mr. West will be remembered by all older residents of Yorba Linda as superintendent for several years of the Yorba Linda Water company.

Through both her father and her mother she is a birthright Friend, her grandfather Milhouse, having been one of the early backers of the Yorba Linda Friends church. This Quaker background gives all Mrs. McPherson's stories their peculiar flavor, but the wide-spread recognition she has had in a few short years, indicates her stories have merits other than a quaint background.

Mrs. McPherson was "knocked down by tuberculosis" while studying for a doctor's degree and made, she says, a "horizontal approach" to literature.

Her husband, Dr. Maxwell McPherson, is superintendent of the high school and junior college at Napa.

to previous section to next section

Top of page