Guide to the Harry and Lillian Pry Papers 1918-2008
Arrangement
Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Harry and Lillian Pry Papers
Creator
Pry, Harry (1910-2001)
Creator
Pry, Lillian McLellan (1913-1994)
Collection Number
MSS 788
Extent
3 linear feet(3 boxes)
Date
1918-2008
Abstract
Born on September 12, 1910 in McKeesport, Pa., Harry Clay Pry (1910-2001) was the son of Hugh and Bertha Pry, who were north Irish immigrants. In 1933, Pry began teaching English literature at his alma mater, McKeesport High School. Pry married a fellow McKeesport High School alumnus, Lillian McLellan, on August 2, 1934. Following her marriage to Harry Pry, Lillian began teaching third grade at White Oak Elementary School of the McKeesport Area School District. Together they had two children, Kay and Richard. Although married with two children, Pry chose to enlist in the U. S. Navy and served in World War II aboard the USS Sierra, a Dixie class destroyer tender. The Harry and Lillian Pry Papers consist of World War II correspondence, military papers and photographs, diaries, educational and professional papers, family photographs, and family business records.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Sierra Green.
Sponsor
This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
Born on September 12, 1910 in McKeesport, Pa., Harry Clay Pry (1910-2001) was the son of Hugh and Bertha Pry, who were north Irish immigrants. Mr. Pry had a twin named Henry, commonly referred to as Hugh.
Although initially desiring to pursue a career in engineering or dentistry, Mr. Pry was encouraged by his father to become a teacher. Consequently, Mr. Pry went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1933, he began teaching English literature at his alma mater, McKeesport High School. Mr. Pry married a fellow McKeesport High School alumnus, Lillian McLellan, on August 2, 1934. Together they had two children, Kay and Richard. Mr. Pry continued to teach at McKeesport until late 1943. Although married with two children, Mr. Pry chose to enlist in the U. S. Navy and was trained as a communications officer at Harvard University and Princeton University. Upon the completion of his training, Mr. Pry was sent aboard the USS Sierra, a Dixie class destroyer tender. As communications officer, Mr. Pry's chief responsibility was to intercept and decode messages sent by the Japanese fleet. While serving on the USS Sierra, Mr. Pry took part in the liberation of the Philippines.
While serving his country during World War II, Mr. Pry became interested in documenting the foreign cultures around him. Consequently, Mr. Pry fostered this interest by capturing footage of life and customs around him in these foreign lands, particularly Shanghai, China. In the decades following his return to America, Mr. Pry's interest in this footage did not fade.
Upon formal release from active duty in February of 1946, Mr. Pry returned to McKeesport High School, filling the position of guidance counselor. Although no longer an active duty naval officer, Mr. Pry chose to remain in the Navy Reserve, serving as a training officer at the McKeesport Naval Reserve Base. In 1949, Mr. Pry applied for and received a reprieve from this responsibility in order to pursue a Master's degree in education from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Mr. Pry went on to pursue and receive a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Following a short stint as principal of Har-Brack High School in Natrona Heights, Pa. beginning in 1957, Mr. Pry became principle of Wilkinsburg Senior High School starting in 1959. After serving in this post for one year, Mr. Pry resigned in order to take a position as associate professor of education and psychology at Westminster College in Wilmington, Pa. According to extant documentation, Mr. Pry taught on the topics of guidance counseling and education administration. In 1976, Mr. Pry retired from teaching at Westminster College. He died on April 18, 2001.
Lillian McLellan Pry was born on September 12, 1913, to John and Edith McLellan in McKeesport, Pa. Only five years after her birth, Mrs. Pry's father passed away suddenly from the Spanish Flu, leaving her mother a widow with two children. Edith McLellan remarried Carl Cozad. They were married on August 2, 1934. Mr. and Mrs. Pry had one daughter, Kay, and one son, Richard. Mrs. Pry received her teacher's certification in 1933 from the State Teachers College at Edinboro, now Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa. She was certified to teach kindergarten and primary level classes. Following her marriage to Harry Pry, Mrs. Pry began teaching third grade at White Oak Elementary School of the McKeesport Area School District.
Mrs. Pry died on December 3, 1994, after 61 years of marriage to Mr. Pry.
Hugh Pry (1883- 1964) was born in Seaforde or Clough, Count Down, Ireland. Upon his arrival to Allegheny County, Mr. Pry began work for the National Tube Division of the U.S. Steel Corporation. Over the 53 years he worked for U.S. Steel, Mr. Pry rose to the position of foreman.
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Scope and Contents note
The Harry and Lillian Pry papers primarily consist of materials relating to the personal and professional lives of Harry and Lillian Pry. While the correspondence and diaries in this collection speak to Mr. and Mrs. Pry's private lives, professional correspondence, newspaper clippings, and formal documentation pertain to Mr. and Mrs. Pry's careers as educators. This collection is also comprised of correspondence generated during Mr. Pry's service in the Navy during World War II. In addition, formal military papers, photographs, and film footage further document Mr. Pry's service in World War II. In addition, this collection also contains a small number of materials relating to other members of the Pry family, including Kay Pry, daughter of Harry and Lillian Pry, and Hugh Pry, father of Harry Pry.
Arrangement note
The Harry and Lillian Pry papers are housed in three boxes and arranged into three series, all of which have been further arranged into subseries. Each series pertains to different members of the Pry family, with Series 3 containing subseries that pertain to two other Pry family members. Generally speaking, the corresponding subseries are arranged according chronologically and according to their medium.
Series I. Harry Pry, 1932-2008
Subseries I. Military papers, 1944-1953
Subseries II. Diaries, 1932-1997
Subseries III. Education and professional papers, 1944-1961
Subseries IV. Later life, circa1933-2008
Series II. Lillian Pry, 1918-2008
Subseries I. Diaries, 1957-1990
Subseries II. Education and professional papers, 1926-1961
Subseries III. Personal papers and later life, 1918-2008
Series III. Pry family, 1940-2003
Subseries I. Hugh Pry, 1940-2003
Subseries II. Kay Pry, 1951-1956
Subseries III. New Wilmington house records, 1961-1973
Conditions Governing Access
None
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Kay Pry Zaborowski in 2009.
Archives accession #2009.0053
Preferred Citation
Harry and Lillian Pry Papers, 1918-2008 (bulk 1944-1955), MSS 788, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
Preliminary and detailed processing by Sierra Green inSpring 2012.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.
