Annotated transcript of Rita Bernstein diary and related images
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of a typed transcript of a diary that Rita Bernstein (later Rita Wodinsky) kept from February to December 1945, and related images. In the diary, Bernstein describes moving from New York to Vanport, Oregon, her work as a preschool teacher in Vanport, and her other activities. Some entries also mention current events such as the death of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the end of World War II in Europe and in the Pacific. The transcript includes 27 footnote annotations written by the transcriber, Bernstein's daughter, Erika Wodinsky. These footnotes explain, to the best of Erika Wodinsky's knowledge, the meanings of abbreviations and the context of references to specific people and locations mentioned in the diary entries.
The images in the collection consist of photographs of the original diary pages for April 12, 1945, and August 14, 1945; an image of the original diary's cover, with food ration stamps laid on top of it; and a photograph of Bernstein taken around the time she wrote the diary.
Dates
- Creation: 1945; 2024-2025
Creator
- Wodinsky, Rita, 1925-2019 (Author, Person)
- Wodinsky, Erika (Transcriber, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.
Biographical Note
Rita Bernstein was born in 1925 in Jamaica, New York. She studied at Queens College, where she was student body president. After graduating, she moved to Vanport, Oregon, in 1945, and worked as a preschool teacher for the children of shipyard workers. In 1951, she moved to Iowa City, Iowa. There, she met Dr. Abraham Wodinsky. They married in 1953, and had five children. After marrying, the Wodinskys moved to Claremont, California, where Rita Wodinsky worked as a teacher and then as a volunteer coordinator at the Claremont Colleges Office of the Chaplains. She was also a founding member of the Sharon Chapter of Hadassah, a Jewish women's organization. Rita Wodinsky died in December 2019.
Source: Obituary in the Claremont Courier, January 23, 2020 (accessed November 2025), https://claremont-courier.com/obituaries/t35231-wodinsky-29547
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet (2 folders in shared box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Transcript of a diary that Rita Bernstein (later Rita Wodinsky, 1925-2019) wrote while working as a preschool teacher in Vanport, Oregon, in 1945. The transcript, written by her daughter, Erika Wodinsky, includes footnote annotations. The collection also includes images of two pages of the original diary, an image of the diary's cover with food ration stamps, and a photograph of Bernstein.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Erika Wodinsky, March 2025 (RL2025-020).
Subject
- Wodinsky, Rita, 1925-2019 -- Diaries (Person)
- Wodinsky, Rita, 1925-2019 -- Photographs (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the annotated transcript of Rita Bernstein diary and related images
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jeffrey A. Hayes
- Date
- 2025
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org