UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #245
McCANSE, JESSIE

McCANSE, Jessie (1897-1996)  
Wife of Ralph A. McCanse (Professor of English, Extension)

Interviewed: 1983	
Series: Faculty Wives
Interviewer: Laura Smail
Length: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Background; Teaching at Wisconsin High School; Teaching correspondence course; Developing assessments of radio and television program quality; American Council for Better Broadcasts.

Tape 1/Side 1  

00:00:04	Lincoln, Nebraska 1897.  Brought up in Missouri.  Father organizing School of 	Education at University of Missouri.  JM was educated by the practice teachers. 		More practical experience. Not note learning.  Her father became president.  	She was asked to run practice teaching system.  Father said no.  Went to 	California.  Taught in private school.  Studied one year in France.  Returned to 	U.S. and chose public school position in Glendale, California for 15 years. 

00:03:32	Had known husband in grade school but lost track.  He was at Madison as 	an English instructor.  She came to visit.  Same year as Helen White, 1933. 

00:04:53	She joined junior league of University League projects.  Met other faculty wives.  	Her husband liked it.  Took trips with him when he did substitute teaching for 	Extension.  How that came about.  Subsequently went into Extension 	Development.  Became head of freshman English extension.  People he taught 	by correspondence.  Very good at it.   She couldn't be hired as a teacher due to 	situation during Depression.  She would be taking a man's job, and she was an 	out-of-state teacher.  Two children born 1936 and 1938. 

00:09:01	Taught at Wisconsin High to replace someone's classes.  Teaching history--her 	subject.  Had her children in her class.  

00:10:31	Was board member of University League and Shorewood League, League of 	Women Voters and P.T.A.  Shorewood League held hearings on proposals, e.g.,		selling country club.  League of Women's Voters participation was minimal.    		Membership was very short. 

00:12:23	Organization of Extension League for wives.  No official social life.  Was 	President for both leagues.  One job she had was investigating family needs of 	crippled children.  Little Italy, a area in Madison, was major area she worked 	with.  The junior league contributed financial aid to these families.  Financed by 	dues and donations.  

00:15:59	Involvement with radio due to her husband's involvement with radio lecturing.  	Became member of the American Council for Better Broadcasts.  Grew out of a 	committee in the American Association of University Women which listed and 	published better radio programs in the Wisconsin State Journal.  Started as a state 	project, grew to a national organization.  This  committee was asked by WHA 	radio to begin a weekly program called "Broadcast on Broadcasts."  Established a 	committee in the state called "Look, Listen, and Pole".  AAUW help in 	establishing the national charter.  Leslie Spence's involvement.  JM involved for 	15 years, until 1971.  

00:21:49	University involvement.  Membership not limited, separate from University.  	Early period of television created greater involvement from parents who were 	concerned about effects of television on their children.  Later, became lost in the 	sea of educational problems.  Organization is attempting to revive  interest and 	participation in the committee.  Specialists are more involved now.  Problem 	with involvement from grade school teachers who were to busy to become 	involved in the committee.  Extension gives courses in this sort of thing but for 	college age only.  

00:27:15	Children were high school age during her broadcast committee involvement.  	Son became very interested in committee.  He is now an advertiser who makes 	commercials for television and radio.  Miss Brocher's speech class greatly 	influenced her son's interest in radio and broadcast.  Daughter much more 	interested in the literature field.  

00:30:30	JM taught at the University high school, Wisconsin High.   

Tape 1/Side 2  

00:31:27	Continuation on Wisconsin High teaching years.  Student body consisted of 	University children, students from outskirts of city and some foreign students.  	Wisconsin High School was an experimental school for the University 	Department of Education.  

00:33:30	Writing involvement--member of Penwomen, a national organization.  Their 	activities.  

00:36:58	Meeting husband's correspondence students.  His interest in state encouragement 	of writers.  Went to conferences with him.  

00:39:30	Enjoyed volunteer work.  Still very interested in organizations but no longer 	holding office positions. 

00:41:03	Involvement of other faculty wives.   

00:43:18	Perception of faculty women she knew.  

00:45:38	Involvement with correspondence teaching during WWII for USAFI; high 	school-level history and government teaching for 15 years.  Worldwide 	correspondence.

00:47:37	Relations with correspondence students.  All young men, no women. 

00:48:38	Wisconsin High disbanded around 1960.  Discusses this.

00:51:41	Her children at University of Wisconsin.  Parent's Day.  Honor Societies. 

00:54:12	Husband's work at home.  She wasn't a typist.  Not involved in editing or 	personal correspondence work for her husband.  Home life separate from 	University.  Entertainment along with the faculty members and visitors.  She 	enjoyed this very much.  

00:58:04	JM involvement with the School of Journalism. 

01:02:48	End of Tape 1  

Tape 2/Side 1  

00:00:03	Daughter addressing Phi Beta Kappa dinner.  

00:03:15	Husband's poetry.  Subjects he wrote on.   

00:07:03	Husband shared some of correspondence from his students with her.   

00:10:32	She had polio in college.  Unable to play the piano or paint.  Importance of her 	husband's involvement with the handicapped.

00:12:24	End of interview.   

END