Macmillan's Pocket Classics ~ A history lesson on the life of Lenore Catherine Broome

This time of year, it is common to be on the hunt for engaging books to read, and the Macmillan's Pocket Classics are always top of the search list. This year I found six books (shown in the photo above) from an Ebay seller in California. The seller states that they purchased these books from an estate sale, and are not related to the books previous owners.

Like a lot of books, these have been inscribed by their previous owners, and in this case, these appear to be the original owners. Five of these books were inscribed by Lenore Broome, and the sixth book by Westel Wallace, all of them from Monte Vista Colorado. The publish dates on these books are 1908, 1909, and 1910.

Normally we receive as gifts or purchase the Macmillan’s Pocket Classics one at a time, so to have six arrive at once, five of which from the same owner, the same place, and with similar publish dates got me to thinking… I put my googlefu to work, and am completely fascinated by what I found!

In the 1906-1907 school year for the State Normal School of Colorado, as posted in the quarterly bulletin series VII No. 1 on page 193, Lenore Broome is listed as being a junior from Pueblo Colorado.

In the September 1910 edition of The Colorado School Journal, Denver Colorado page xliv (page 40 at the beginning) it reads: “U. OF C. Of those who graduated from the College of Education, University of Colorado, in 1910, the following are some of those who are teaching in high schools : Lenore Broome , Monte Vista…”.

The University of Colorado Bulletin Vol. XXI No. 10 General Series No. 175 Directory Officers and Graduates 1877-1921 published in Boulder, Colorado August 1921, on page 82 lists: Broome, Lenore Catherine, A. B. (Mrs. Westal Wallace). Monte Vista, Colorado.

On an aside an A. B. degree the abbreviation of “artium baccalaureus,” which is the Latin name for the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.

Next up comes the most in-depth information about Lenore Broome that I uncovered. The History of Colorado Biographical Volume IV published by the Linderman Co., Denver Colorado 1927 on page 357 reads:

“Westel Bruce Wallace, vice president of the Wallace State Bank, at Monte Vista, Rio Grande county, was born in Denver, March 4, 1891, and is a son of Robert Bruce and Lulu (Love) Wallace, the former of whom is a graduate of Wooster College, Wooster, Ohio. Our subject is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and also belongs to the Monte Vista Rotary Club. His religious affiliation is with the Presbyterian church. On November 19, 1912, at Pueblo, Colorado, Mr. Wallace was united in marriage to Miss Lenore Broome, who is now deceased, and to them were born two children, Patricia Joyce and Westel Bruce, Jr.”

Searching for just a bit more information to round out this story; it seems that Lenore Broome Wallace died in 1924. As for Westel Bruce Wallace, he received an education at the University of Colorado, seemed to have an engaging work career, and remarried in 1936 to Mildred Crooks. This information is from the Prabook website. However the marriage date of Westel and Lenore is incorrect on this page. Their marriage day was in fact November 19, 1912 and it can be verified from the Denver Public Library Digital Collection - Colorado marriages, 1858-1939 page 1627. Worth noting that here Catherine is listed as her first name. The joys of genealogy even if its not your family.

The last bit of interesting information is that their daughter Patricia Wallace came to be known as Mistress William F. Rapp. Why is this interesting? There is a leg of my family tree that is from Colorado, and they had friends in the 1950’s with the last name of Rapp. Further research is required to connect these dots, and perhaps discover how these books migrated from Colorado to California, but for now, its time to get reading.

These are beautiful books and will be enjoyed in our home as winter covers the view out the window. May your winter days be filled with joy and contentment.

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