Manuscript Group 419

Carla Emery Papers

Papers, 1957-2000
4.0 cubic feet

Carla Emery donated her papers to the University of Idaho Library between 1988 and 2000. Marilyn Sandmeyer processed them in March 2007.

History

Carla (Carlotta Louise Harshbarger) Emery was born on January 19, 1939 in Los Angeles and died in Odessa, Texas, on October 11, 2005. Her family moved to a farm in Montana while she was still an infant. Carla became a firm believer in self-sufficiency and the “back to the land” philosophy. Throughout her life, she tried to live by a creed of organic gardening and old style homesteading skills.

In 1970, she began distributing segments of herself-published book, An Old Fashioned Recipe Book, which went through several editions throughout the 1970s. Her notoriety took her on the road where she distributed copies of her book and was featured on “Good Morning America,” The Mike Douglas Show,” and “The Tonight Show.” Bantam Books eventually published her book in 1977, then in its 7th edition.

Carla Emery opened the “School for Country Living” with her first husband Mike on property purchased in Kendrick, Idaho in 1976. Within a two-year period, the school became victim of a devastating flood, washing out the property and most of the outbuildings. Her first marriage ended in divorce in 1985. Carla married Donald DeLong in 2000 and moved to Arizona. She remained active in spite of health concerns and toured the country speaking about gardening, raising livestock, and environmental issues. She continued to write profusely, producing manuscripts, publishing articles and another book in 1998, Secret, Don’t Tell: The Encyclopedia of Hypnotism.

On her webpage, Carla wrote down how she would like to be remembered: “She was responsible. She loved a job. She loved being a wife, a mother, and a writer. She worked hard and did her best.”

Scope And Content

The records of Carla Emery span the years 1971 to 1998, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1971 to 1993.

Included in the records are correspondence, manuscripts, videocassettes, various editions of her Old Fashioned Recipe Book, and School of Country Living class schedules.

Arrangement and Description

Carla Emery began donating her papers to Special Collections in 1988. Until 2000, she continued to send groups of records. The arrangement of Emery’s manuscript group naturally fell into divisions as described below.

Series List

I. Correspondence	Box 1
II. School of Country Living	Boxes 1-2
III. Publications, Manuscripts, Film, and Audio tapes	Box 2-3
IV. Personal/Legal	Box 3

Inventory

I. Correspondence
Box	Folder	Description		Items
1	1	Biographical histories	2005-2006
	2	Family	1981-1982
	3	Family	1982
	4	Family	1982,
	5	Family, friends, publishers	1982, 1988, 1990
II. School of Country Living

	6	Form letters, class schedules, projects	1976-1977
	7	Newsletters	1976
	8	Old Fashioned Recipe Book – index, form letters, ordering information	1971-1974
III. Publications, Manuscripts, Film and Audiotapes

	9	Old Fashioned Recipe Book	1971
	10	Old Fashioned Recipe Book	1974
	11	Old Fashioned Recipe Book	1976
	12	Old Fashioned Recipe Book	1981
	13	Old Fashioned Recipe Book	1993
2	14	Old Fashioned Recipe Book, draft of 5th edition index	n.d.
	15	Old Fashioned Recipe Book, additional chapters	1971
	16	Bantam Books contract, correspondence, and schedules	1974-1987
	17	The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Part 1 (video cassette)	n.d.
	18	The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Part 2 (video cassette)	n.d.
	19	The Encyclopedia of Country Living, Master (video cassette)	n.d.
	20	Carla Emery masters of video cassettes (2)	1994
	21	Manuscript for “The Right One”	n.d.
	22	Manuscript for “In the End there’s a Beginning”	1990
	23	Manuscript for “A Woman’s Life”	1990
	24	Manuscript for “Journey I: The Lady In the Tower”	n.d.
	25	Manuscript for “Part I: The Lady In the Tower”	1992
	26	Manuscript for “Darker Than You Think”	1980-1989
	27	Manuscript for “The Address of Pi(e?)”	1989
	28	Manuscript for “Darker Than You Think” (folder 1)	1991
3	29	Manuscript for “Darker Than You Think” (folder 2)	1991
	30	“A Writer: The 3-in-1 Being”	n.d.
	31	Handwritten journals	n.d.
	32	Handwritten journals	n.d.
	33	List of manuscripts/journals by Emery	n.d.
	34	Articles and publications	1989, 1991, 1993
	35	Micro cassettes (5)	n.d.
	36	Audiotape “Pit Battle”	n.d.
	37	Photocopy of “Antisocial or Criminal Acts and Hypnosis” by Paul Reitter	1958
	38	Photocopy of “Hypnotism and Crime” by Dr. Heinz Hammerschlag	1957
	39	Photocopy of “Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control” by John Marks	1979
	40	Photocopy of “Operation Mind Control” by Walter Bowart	1978
	41	Photocopy of “The Control of Candy Jones” by Donald Bain	1976
	42	Manuscript for “Darker Than You Think”	1991
	43	Psychology class papers	n.d.
	44	Hypnotherapy office and letters of support	1990
	45	Charles Tebbetts Hypnotism Training Institute, Inc.	1990
	46	Cassette tape sets: “How To Prepare for the Year 2000”	1998
	47	Cassette tape sets: “The Writing Workshop”	n.d.
	48	Cassette tape: ”The Stories of My Life”	n.d.
	49	Cassette tape: “Trends In the Nation’s Food Supply”	n.d.
	50	Cassette tape: “How To Grow the Greatest Garden of Your Life”	n.d.
	51	Video cassette: “Trends In the Nation’s Food Supply”	n.d.
	52	Video cassette: ”The Stories of My Life”	n.d.
	53	Video cassette: “How To Grow the Greatest Garden of Your Life”	n.d.
	54	Video cassette: “Master Writing Workshop”	n.d.
	55	Video cassette: “Therapy Aspects of Criminal Hypnosis”	n.d.
4	56	Compact videos (7)	2000
	57	Book: Secret, Don’t Tell: The Encyclopedia of Hypnotism (2 copies)	1998
IV. Personal/Legal

	58	Family tree, will, drawings, negatives, and transcripts	1956-1992
	59	Newsclippings, legal papers, and conference material	1987-1993
	60	Copies of photographs and prints	n.d.

mg419.htm / March 2007