A pioneer may, in fact, be someone who does not or did not garner very much attention at all. It could be a person who, though not necessarily a leader or prominent individual, nevertheless made notable contributions or advancements in his or her field.
Leila Fern Thompson was such a person.
While working from the late 1930s to the late 1940s as a librarian at the Pan American Union, she wrote or edited a number of books and monographs that were published by that same institution. She also contributed articles to several journals, such as Notes, the quarterly journal of the Music Library Association.
One could argue that she was simply complying with the directives of the Pan American Union, which, after all, was her employer. Furthermore, much of her published material mainly consists of bibliographies, song books, or other sorts of reference materials.
However, she would occasionally reveal her very strong support for the ideals and objectives of musical Pan-Americanism. For example, in a 1947 report on that year’s concerts at the Pan American Union, she concludes:
It is anticipated that the facilities of peacetime travel and peacetime enterprise will reopen channels of music interchange between the Americas to an even greater degree than has been accomplished since the war. Thus there can be expected an ever increasing flow of musicians—students, teachers, composers, performers and conductors—contributing to close cultural unity and understanding.[1]
Today, we are proud to recognize Leila Fern Thompson, and though unsung, she was a pioneer of musical Pan-Americanism.
Leila Fern was born on October 11, 1906, in Dunkirk, New York. While still in high school, she worked as a deputy city clerk, and later, as an assistant at the Dunkirk library. At the same time, she showed an early interest in music, learning to play piano and attending concerts in nearby Buffalo, New York.
In 1924, she received a commercial diploma from Dunkirk High School. In November of that same year, she passed the examination for stenographer in the city clerk’s office. Six years later, after having worked for several years as an assistant at the Dunkirk library, she left for Washington, DC, where in 1936 she earned a bachelor’s degree at George Washington University in library science. Later that fall, Leila Fern participated by instructing members of the Washington International Club in dancing, “including the folk dances of the 30 countries represented in the membership.”[2]
The following year, the Evening Star reported that Leila Fern was among a group of attendees at a luncheon held at the Pan American Union in honor of its assistant director, Dr. Pedro de Alba.[3] This perhaps marks the beginning of her association with that organization, which lasted until 1947.
During this period, Leila Fern met Rev. Donald A. Thompson (1906-1985), who at that time was the chief of the historical branch of the office of the US Army Chief of Chaplains. In his role as assistant archivist in charge of church archive inventories, he either reviewed or provided editorial assistance to numerous catalogs and surveys across the nation, such as the Inventory of the Church Archives of New Jersey, Congregational Christian Churches, which was published in 1941.
The two married in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 27, 1947. That fall, Donald became a professor of education and religion at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. By the early 1950s, the couple relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where Donald took up work as the pastor of All-Souls Universalist Church in that same city.
The following year, the couple moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, and its Universalist Church, where Donald became minister.
In 1956, Leila was appointed as a senior librarian at Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana State University). Beginning in 1957, Leila sought and received consecutive summertime leaves of absence in order to pursue graduate studies at the University of Illinois, where, in 1962, she received a master’s degree in library science.
However, during the summer of 1963, her husband secured a position as minister of the First Unitarian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, thus effectively terminating Leila’s career as a librarian. Although it had been curtailed, by that time she had nevertheless helped to produce an impact within the field of musical Pan-Americanism that was felt not only by her colleagues, but also, by the general public around the world: “Not infrequently the average reference librarian, faced with inadequate materials [about Latin American music], would be doing their reader a favor by presenting them with a copy of Miss Leila Fern’s [1944] article. Nine times out of ten, the reader would find therein a publication which could be purchased for anything from ten cents to a dollar which would answer his question fully.”[4]
As a lifelong liberal, Donald would often preach about progressive issues, such as his sermon on November 9, 1963, “The Struggle for Women’s Rights.” Nevertheless, a certain segment of the population in Jackson seemed not to agree with his positions, and in particular, his decision to desegregate his church.
Consequently, on August 22, 1965, Donald “was ambushed with a shotgun, and seriously wounded … shortly after taking a Negro church member home. The Rev. Donald A. Thompson, 59, caught the full load of 12 slugs of buckshot in his shoulder and back as he walked from his car to the apartment building where he lived.”[5]
The couple remained in Jackson until November, when “a white woman called to warn urgently that he would not live through another night in the city… The minister hastily boarded a plane for the North. His wife, Leila, spent the night with friends and joined him the next day.”[6]
The couple settled in the Boston area. Donald continued his work as a Universalist minister until 1979. He died on June 22, 1985. Two years later, Leila published a brief tribute to her husband, writing, “for 38 years he enriched my life; the memory is precious. I still feel his dear presence.”[7] She was also a supporter of the Boston Symphony.
Leila passed away on May 22, 2000, in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Selected Writings
Leila Fern, Selected List of Latin American Song Books and References for Guidance in Planning Fiestas, 2nd edition (Washington, DC: Pan American Union, 1942).
Leila Fern, “Origin and Functions of the Inter-American Music Center,” Notes vol. 1 no. 1 (December 1943), 14-22.
Leila Fern, ed. Selected References in English on Latin American Music, A Reading List (Washington, DC: Pan American Union, 1944).
Leila Fern Thompson, “Concerts at the Pan American Union, 1946-1947.” Bulletin of the Pan American Union vol. 81 no. 12 (December 1947), 679-688.
Leila Fern Thompson, Partial List of Latin American Music Obtainable in the U.S., and Supplement, 3rd edition, revised and enlarged. (Washington, DC: Pan American Union, 1947).
Leila Fern Thompson, “Villa-Lobos, Heitor,” Collier’s Encyclopedia with Bibliography and Index, vol. 23, Louis Shores, ed. (Crowell-Collier Publishing Co, 1962), 142.
—John L. Walker
[1] Leila Fern Thompson, “Concerts at the Pan American Union, 1946-1947,” Bulletin of the Pan American Union, LXXXI/12 (December 1947), 688.
[2] “Tuttle to Discuss American Theater,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC), 11 October 1936.
[3] “Dr. Leo Rowe Host at Lunch for Assistant,” The Evening Star (Washington, DC), 2 March 1937.
[4] “Notes for Notes,” Notes, vol 1 no 2 (March 1944), 45.
[5] “Pastor Seriously Wounded by Nightriders in Jackson,” The Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, MS), 23 August 1965.
[6] “Civil Rights Cleric Now Serves Nearby,” The Recorder (Greenfield, MA), 26 November 1966.
[7] “In Memoriam,” The Boston Globe, 15 June 1987.