NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG4563.AM: Agnes Schmitt Harrison, 1894-1966
Scrapbooks, etc.:
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.: Cosmetologist and civic leader
Size: 3 boxes; 1.5 cu.ft.
BACKGROUND NOTE
Agnes Schmitt Harrison was born in Beatrice, Nebraska, in 1894; the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gus Schmitt. She received her early education in the Beatrice schools, and in 1925 graduated from the Chicago Hairdressing Academy. Mrs. Harrison subsequently studied cosmetology in Paris at the School of Coffiture, as well as in Berlin and London. She later attended the Patricia Stevens School for Modeling in Chicago in 1933, and the Wilfred Academy of Hair and Beauty Culture in 1937.
For 38 years Agnes Schmitt was the operator of Agnes’ Beaute Shoppe at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1929 she was instrumental in the passage of the first laws in Nebraska governing cosmetology, and in 1930 was elected first president of the Nebraska State Board of Cosmetological Examiners, a position she was to hold for eleven years. In 1933 Mrs. Harrison was elected president of the Nebraska Association of Cosmetology and was also first president and principal organizer of the Quota Club International of Lincoln. In 1937 Mrs. Harrison became a member of the International Master Ladies Hairdresser’s Association of Copenhagen. During World War II she was active in War Relief Work and the Red Cross, and was an instructor of first aid at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.
Mrs. Harrison was also active in other civic affairs, serving on the Lincoln Municipal Code Commission in 1936, and was a charter member of the Women’s Division of the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. Governor Robert Crosby appointed Mrs. Harrison a member of the Lay Leadership Conference on Education in 1954, and during the same year, she served as Governor of the Seventh District of Quota Club International. Mrs. Harrison also served for many years on the State Board of the Interstate Council of Cosmetology, and was a trustee of the National Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association. Mrs. Harrison received the European Prize of Honor for hairdressing, in 1931, and a nomination for the Charles Award for Community Leadership in 1964.
Mrs. Harrison died in Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 21, 1966.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of three boxes of manuscript materials arranged in two series: 1) Scrapbooks and 2) Certificates and diplomas. The bulk of the collection consists of scrapbooks containing photographs, printed matter, clippings and memorabilia relating to Mrs. Harrison’s career as a cosmetologist. Also included are materials relating to her activities with various civic and service organizations, and a chronological record of Mrs. Harrison’s career.
DESCRIPTION
Boxes 1-3: Scrapbooks (4 volumes)
Certificates and diplomas (see oversize)
ADDED ENTRIES:
Cosmetology — Nebraska
Harrison, Agnes Schmitt, 1894-1966
JEP/cr 05-27-1969
Encoded TMM 04-22-2010
