Item Detail
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Tarlock, Fay Ollerton
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1897-1989
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MSS SC 1720
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Biography, photograph
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Fay Ollerton Tarlock was born on February 5, 1897 in Parowan, Utah. She was the seventh child and fourth daughter of James and Mary Emma Adams Ollerton. She attended elementary school and graduated from the eighth grade when she was thirteen. She lost a year of school thereafter, however, because her parents thought her too young to send away from home. Afterwards, she attended Murdock Academy in Beaver, Utah for two years. After finishing high school, she attended Brigham Young University for a year and then taught in the Provo Public Schools for another year. Because the pay was so low, however, Fay returned to BYU as a sophomore. In 1917, it was found that her father had terminal cancer, and she returned to the farm in Arizona. Although Fay missed some time in school, she returned to BYU the following fall after her father's death and completed her junior year in 1920. She later accompanied her brother to California in order to attend the University of California. Her credits were not sufficient for a degree, however, so she returned to BYU to receive her A.B. in the spring of 1921. Following, she taught high school in Driggs, Idaho. Owing to the Depression, she was forced to move around, and she taught in Beaver, and then in Milford. In 1925, she decided to go to Columbia University in New York City for a master's degree with her older sister. While attending school, she worked for the D.C. Health Publishing Company, writing advertising and reviewing books. After she received her degree, she decided to go to Arizona, where she was a part-time substitute teacher. During the winter of 1928, Fay taught a class in MIA where she met Golden Kimball, with whom she became good friends. They formed a stock company and put on plays in Arizona and New Mexico. It wasn't successful, however, so Fay went to San Francisco to work for the D.C. Health Company there. From 193435, she taught literature at BYU, and the year after, traveled to Europe. In 1837, she married Anthony J. Tarlock. Because of his work, the family lived for two and a half years in Mexico. When they returned to California, they lived near Danville although they continued to travel after Fay's husband, Tony, became president of the California Walnut Growers company. They later sold their home in Danville and bought a house in Hillsborough. She died February 3, 1989.
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This is a two-leaf typewritten biography of Fay Ollerton Tarlock, written by her sister, Sadie Ollerton Clark in 1976. A small black and white photograph is included on the first page, presumably of Fay. At the end of the biography, Sadie includes a more personal description of her sister, describing her as a 'gifted writer,' having published many stories and articles. In Fay's later years, she read and maintained the home, while keeping up with modern politics, she and Tony being staunch Democrats. Sadie also describes Fay as being a marvelous cook and food connoisseur.
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1920-1953