Computer Irony
For most of her career, she wrote using an IBM Selectric typewriter. Erma liked to see the paper in front of her as she crafted each column. When her son, Matt, tried to get her to use a computer, the printer jammed. “See, I told you so,” she said. “These things never work. While Erma avoided using computers, it's computers that are making her life accessible to fans around the world. Two years after the Bombeck family donated Erma's papers and artifacts to her alma mater, the University of Dayton, the University is sharing them via the Internet and the Erma Bombeck Online Museum (www.ErmaMuseum.org). The University of Dayton, run by the Marianists, is Ohio's largest independent university and one of the nation's 10 largest Catholic universities. Erma converted to Catholicism while attending the University.
Since the online museum opened on February 21, 2002 — what would have been Erma’s 75th birthday — more than 5,000 people from around the world have visited it. One visitor called the museum “An oasis in the desert of the Internet.” “The internet is saturated with millions of websites, but few are as wonderful as this one,” said another. Paul Harvey recently featured the museum on his nationally syndicated radio program.
See It, Hear It, Read It.
ErmaMuseum.org contains 45 photographs, including Erma at age nine in a tap-dancing outfit, at a meeting of President Carter's Advisory Council for Women, shopping with Phyllis Diller on Rodeo Drive and talking with Pope John Paul II. Samples of Erma's writing in the museum include the note cards she used to make remarks when she received an honorary degree from UD in 1981, her type-written remarks from UD's 1982 writers' workshop and eight columns from when she was a student at the University. More than 20 audio and video clips reside in the museum. They include memories shared by Erma's family and friends, such as Phil Donahue, Bil Keane, Mike Peters and Liz Carpenter, among others. There is even an audio clip of Matt Bombeck telling the story of how he tried to get his mother to use a computer.
At the heart of the museum are 11 Web pages that chronicle Erma's life. Each page includes excerpts from the biography, “Erma Bombeck: Writer and Humorist,” written by Lynn Hutner Colwell. The book, published in 1992 by Enslow Publishers, is currently out of print. Colwell donated the excerpts to the museum project.
“Erma only agreed to be interviewed because the book was for young people,” said Colwell, in a phone interview from Post Falls, Idaho. “She wasn't interested in having her biography written.”
Regarding Erma’s conversion to Catholicism, Colwell wrote,“It was an independent act, but not a defiant one. The rituals of the Catholic Church moved her. She wanted to be part of a religion rich in culture and history.” Erma’s faith was an important part of her life.
Marianist Influence
Erma credited the University of Dayton with preparing her for life and work, for making her believe she could write. She graduated in 1949 with a degree in English and never forgot that she got encouragement as a writer at the University of Dayton.
According to the biography by Colwell:
“During her sophomore year at Dayton, Erma finally found someone who believed in her talent and restored some of her shattered self-confidence. Brother Tom Price had read some articles she had produced for the school newspaper and asked her to write for the university's magazine, ‘The Exponent.’ At night, when she returned from work, she'd sit at the typewriter and crank out the copy. Psychology and philosophy courses expanded her understanding of the people she observed and gave her writing more depth and sensitivity.
One day, after reading one of her articles, Brother Tom Price turned to Erma and said the three words that would sustain her for the rest of her career. ‘You can write,’ he said, ‘you can write.’”
A video clip of Erma telling the story of Brother Tom Price is included in the museum.
Bombeck gave back to the University in numerous ways. She served on the board of trustees from 1984 to 1987; co-chaired with her husband the National Alumni Challenge Campaign during the University's capital campaign in the 1980s; spoke at events on campus, including a writers' workshop; and participated in advertising and direct-mail campaigns to help broaden the University's image and recruit students. In 1981, she received an honorary doctorate from UD, and she was named an honorary trustee in 1988. Every other year, the University honors Erma by hosting the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop (www.erma.udayton.edu).
The online museum, funded with a grant from the University's National Alumni Association, was created by the UD Research Institute Web Development Center in conjunction with the Office of Public Relations and the UD Archives Collection. ErmaMuseum.org is one gallery in the Plethoreum (www.plethoreum.org), a collection of online exhibits created by the Web Development Center.
To visit the museum, go to: www.ErmaMuseum.org
To subscribe to Tim’s Bete's humor column or read more of his work, visit his Web site at homepages.udayton.edu/~bete.
