The collection contains letters and photographs pertaining to Walter Herman Bell and his relationship with Mr. and Mrs. Cecil B. Smith.
Open to researchers without restriction.
Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, and the holder of the copyright, if not Old Dominion University Libraries.
Walter Herman Bell
Gift. Accession #A77-81
Oral Histories in the Perry Library:
[Identification of item], Box [insert number], Folder [insert number and title], W. Herman Bell Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
The finding aid was created by Kathleen Smith, Special Collections Metadata Specialist, in 2014.
Walter Herman Bell was born on July 9, 1900 in Clark County, Virginia. Bell attended Randolph-Macon College majoring in Latin and minoring in French. After graduating in 1922, he attended the Graduate School of Romance Languages at John Hopkins University on scholarship. Bell's first teaching job was professor of modern languages at Hampden-Sydney College, a position that he held for twenty years.
During World War II, Bell served as an American Red Cross Field Director with the Second Infantry Division in Europe. After the war, Bell moved to Norfolk to head the Norfolk Regional Consultations Service, a counseling service for adults who were mostly veterans. In 1952, he became the Director of Guidance for the Portsmouth School System. Five years later, Bell accepted the post of Assistant Professor and Director of Counseling at the College of William and Mary in Norfolk (later Old Dominion College) and held this position till 1967, when he became Professor of French. Bell retired from academic service in 1970.
Walter Herman Bell passed away on September 27, 1982.
Note written by Kathleen Smith
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 1, Letter, 1962 February 25, Walter Herman Bell Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 2, Two Page Letter on Excavations at South Cadbury Castle, 1966-1970, Walter Herman Bell Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 3, Letter With Two Unidentified Photographs, 1962 September 7, Walter Herman Bell Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.
[Identification of item and date], Box 1, Folder 4, Four Photographs and One Negative of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil B. Smith, undated, Walter Herman Bell Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, Old Dominion University Libraries.