Beverly Hickok (October 31, 1919 – October 9, 2014), sometimes written as Bev Hickock, was an American librarian, founder and head of the Transportation Library at the University of California, Berkeley. She was also a prominent early member of gay rights and lesbian community organizations in the San Francisco area.

Bev Hickok
Newspaper photograph of a middle-aged white woman wearing cat-eye glasses
Bev Hickok, from a 1957 newspaper, photograph by Cecil Davis
Born
Beverly Hickok

October 31, 1919
San Francisco, California
DiedOctober 9, 2014
Other namesBev Hickock
Occupation(s)Librarian, activist

Early life

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Hickock was born in San Francisco, California, the only child of Clifton Ewing Hickok (1880 –1954)[1] and Adelaide Valentine Cutler Hickok (1887–1987). Her father, a civil engineer from Missouri, was a city official in Alameda.[2] She attended the University of California, Berkeley as an undergraduate,[3] and earned a master's degree in library science.[4]

Career

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Hickok taught as a young woman. She was a riveter at a Douglas Aircraft plant in Santa Monica,[5] and a member of the United States Navy WAVES during World War II. She created the Transportation Library at the University of California, Berkeley in 1948,[6] and was head of the collection.[7][8] She compiled and published several specialized bibliographies and research guides for transportation engineers.[9][10] She was president of the San Francisco Bay chapter of the Special Libraries Association.[11][12] In 1982, she received the first Professional Achievement Award from the Transportation Division of the Special Libraries Association, in the year of her retirement from Berkeley.[13]

Hickok was an early member of gay rights organizations in San Francisco, including the Daughters of Bilitis,[14] Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC) and Lavender Seniors. A story by Hickok, "The Gay Party", was published in The Ladder. She wrote a book, Against the Current; Coming Out in the 40s (2003).[15] She gave oral history interviews in 1994, to the GLBT Historical Society,[16] and in 2003, to the Old Lesbians Oral History Project.[4]

Personal life

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Hickok's first long-term partner was photographer Cecil (Cece) Davis; they were together 41 years before Davis died in 1988.[17] Her second long-term partner was Doreen Brand; they legally married in 2008, after 18 years together.[18] Hickok died in 2014, aged 94 years.[15][19] Her papers are part of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives at UCLA.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Hickok (obituary)". Oakland Tribune. 1954-10-11. p. 38. Retrieved 2021-06-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Mason, Matthew Daniel. Guide to the Clifton Ewing Hickok Papers, Beinecke Library, Yale University.
  3. ^ Cassell, Heather (June 25, 2014). "LGBTs share World War II home front stories". The Bay Area Reporter. Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2021-06-07.
  4. ^ a b "Beverly Hickock". The OLOHP. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  5. ^ Cengel, Katya (2014-06-12). "Rosie the LGBT Riveter". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2014-06-13. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  6. ^ "Transportation Library Named for Harmer Davis". University of California, Berkeley. May 8, 1996. Archived from the original on 2001-04-22. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  7. ^ a b "Bev Hickok". June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  8. ^ Cartier, Marie (2014-09-11). Baby, You are My Religion: Women, Gay Bars, and Theology Before Stonewall. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-54471-5.
  9. ^ Hickok, Beverly (1962). Sources of Highway Transportation Information. Institute of Transportation and Traffic Engineering, University of California.
  10. ^ Hickok, Beverly; Cortelyou, Catherine (1979). Transportation Systems Management: A Selected Bibliography for Transportation Planners and Engineers. Vance Bibliographies.
  11. ^ "Libraries Group Plans Convention for 1961". Oakland Tribune. 1957-07-10. p. 30. Retrieved 2021-06-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Miss Beverly Hickok". The San Francisco Examiner. 1957-12-01. p. 208. Retrieved 2021-06-06 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Professional Achievement Award - Transportation". Special Libraries Association. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  14. ^ Barmann, Jay (2020-04-09). "SF Lesbian Pioneer Phyllis Lyon Dies at Age 95". SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports. Archived from the original on 2020-04-12. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  15. ^ a b Morris, Sandy (December 18, 2014). "A Memorial Ice Cream Party: Remembering Bev Hickok". San Francisco Bay Times: 10.
  16. ^ "Bev Hickock and Doreen Brand, Berkeley CA, Interviewer Sharon Lutz". Calisphere. October 5, 1994. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  17. ^ Hickok, Beverly (2005). The Life and Loves of Beverly Hickok. B. Hickok.
  18. ^ Meron, Shelly (2008-07-18). "El Cerrito women, 88 and 80, finally able to tie the knot". East Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  19. ^ Nugent, Michael (December 17, 2016). "Groundbreaking National Park Service LGBT Exhibit Opens in SF". The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-06-06.