Juanita Montgomery Collection

Portrait of Juanita Lynn (Montgomery) Gilbert (1913-1997), circa 1940

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The Juanita Montgomery Collection contains materials donated by Kathy Fowler which she inherited and personally collected. Most of the materials belonged to her cousin, Juanita Lynn Montgomery Gilbert, who was a well-known artist. Juanita was born in 1913 and started studying art as a child. She continued her studies at Texas Christian University where she earned a degree to teach art. Her impressive work as a young artist got her accepted as a student member of the Fort Worth Artists’ Guild. Juanita was an art teacher and successful practicing artist when World War II broke out. When the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation opened a bomber plant in Fort Worth in 1942, she got a job there illustrating aircraft instruction manuals for mechanics and pilots. After the war, she continued working at Consolidated Vultee while creating and selling her own artwork.

Kathy’s father, Master Sergeant Howard Wendel Helms, was from Wisconsin, and her mother, Billie (Sanford) Helms, was from North Texas. Her father’s military career moved the family around the county when she was young, but her parents eventually settled in Fort Worth near her mother’s family. Various members of the Sanford family were involved in local businesses, law enforcement, and the military. Ruth (Sanford) Little, was a bailiff in the 1960s, and Ruth’s husband, C. David Little, was a Tarrant County sheriff from 1933 to 1935. He also worked for years at North Fort Worth Ice Company and was running the company by the 1960s. Their daughter, Betty Ruth Little, ran the company after her father’s death. Like Juanita, Kathy’s other cousin, Rose Palmer, was involved in the military during WWII serving as a U. S. Air Force WASP.

Kathy married John Edward “Ed” Fowler in 1971 and had two children. Ed Fowler graduated from Texas Christian University and worked as a gallery gift buyer for Neiman Marcus. Kathy worked in the Policy Issue Department at International Service Life Insurance Company and had many personal interests including traveling, art, and theater. 

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Juanita Montgomery Collection relates to the personal and professional lives of her immediate family and distant relatives as well as the families of Kathy and John Fowler. The collection mainly contains photographs and  albums but also includes some birth records, correspondence, artifacts, and Kathy Fowler’s handwritten recollections. There are digital images of Juanita Gilbert's artwork as well. There are hundreds of portraits and snapshots from family parties, vacations, and everyday life. Most of the items in the collection pertain to people living in Fort Worth, Texas, but there are a few photographs of people who lived in other states. Due to the large number of photographs, the names and subject terms that are identified in the photographs are listed below rather than providing an itemized list. The materials in the collection span generations and are dated from the 1880s to 2024. 

Materials in this collection consist of the following:

Artifacts

• Ruth Little's Grand Jury bailiff badge and hand-painted drinking cup, 1930s
• Ice pick from the North Fort Worth Ice Company, undated

Correspondence, Documents and Records

• Betty Ruth Little greeting cards, letters, and newspaper clippings, 1966-2024, undated
• Greeting cards sent to Billie (Sanford) Helms, 1980-1998, undated
• Beverly Ann (Curtner) Stewart greeting cards, letters, and newspaper clippings, 1957-1975, undated
• Billie (Sanford) Helms newspaper clippings, Lockheed Martin Corporation insurance card, event passes, 1940s-1970
• Filiciotto's Hilltop Farm Christmas sales brochures featuring Patti Page products, Filiciotto's Hilltop Farm, Inc., Woodsville, New Hampshire, 1995-2002
• Bills and Grand Jury subpoena for Claudia Pearl Montgomery, 1933-1962
• Copy of Gus W. Echols’s death certificate from 1944, copy issued in 1998
• Dr. H. L. Stewart's commission certificate as an Honorary Admiral in the Texas Navy, presented by the State of Texas, November 18, 1957
• Fort Worth ISD Instrumental Music Department show program, January 31, 2004
• Southwest High School Student Handbook, 1973
• Funeral programs: Harry J. Finnis (1994), Katherine Finnis (1996), Sarah Alberta "Bert" (Mize) Sanford (1968), Lloyd O. Gosney (2022), Tommy Charles Mize (2004)
• Genealogy notes, book excerpts, and clippings about the William Clayton and Nancy Sybil Mize family
• Howard Wendel Helms, Jr.'s Harris Hospital Birth Certificate and room card, Fort Worth, Texas, September 25, 1955
• Howard Wendel Helms, Jr.'s Tanglewood Elementary school graduation certificate, Fort Worth, Texas, June 2, 1967
• Howard Wendel Helms, Jr. and Concetta Filiciotto's wedding invitation, June 27, 1981
• Howard Wendel Helms, Jr. correspondence with friends, 1975-2024
• Howard Wendel Helms, Jr.'s college admissions test results (1972) and professional resume (circa 1982)
• Howard Wendel Helms, Jr.'s diploma from Texas Wesleyan College, Fort Worth, Texas, May 9, 1980
• Howard Helms, Sr.'s college records from East Texas State University and Texas Christian University, 1977-1978
• Howard Helms, Sr.'s membership card for Julian Feild Lodge No. 908, A. F. & A. M., 1959
• Howard Helms, Sr.'s Souvenir Booklet from Clintonville High School's class of 1938 reunion, October 8, 1988
• Kathy (Helms) Fowler’s baby book containing memorabilia, 1950
• Kathy and John Fowler personal documents, 1980-2024
• Letterhead and invoices from the North Fort Worth Ice Company, 1979, undated
• North Fort Worth Woman's Club Gourmet Section Cook Book, 1973
• Notebooks containing genealogy notes, Kathy Fowler's recollections, and notes about Andrew Fowler's experience as a trumpet player in U. S. Air Force Academy Band's Falconaires, 2019-2024
• Postcards and Christmas cards to Juanita Lynn (Montgomery) Gilbert, 1964-1973, undated
• Postcards and greeting cards from various members of the William Clayton and Nancy Sybil Mize family, 1911-2020, undated
  • Many of the postcards are to Claudia Pearl Montgomery
  • Most of the greeting cards are to Kathy Fowler from Mize family members
• Sarah Alberta "Bert" (Mize) Sanford home insurance documents and Greenwood Memorial Park certificate, 1949-1969
• Travel packet from John Edward Fowler's trip to the Baccarat factory in Paris, France, March 1990
• W. C. "Red" Cowen’s funeral program, Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, January 1972

Photographs

Digital Images

• (19) images of Juanita Lynn (Montgomery) Gilbert portraits and snapshots, 1913-circa 1940
• (238) images of Juanita Lynn (Montgomery) Gilbert's paintings, sketches, and illustrations, 1928-1939; undated

Portraits and snapshots of individuals and groups of people in Kathy (Helms) Fowler’s mother’s family, including the following identified people:

• Colvin, Aaron
• Counts, Zada
• Curtner, Ollie (Sanford) and LeMoyne
• Davis, Gwendalyn, Patty Gayle, and Suzanne Kelli
• Finnis, Katherine (Miller)
• Fowler, Andrew
• Fowler, Bryan
• Fowler, Kathy (Helms) and John Edward “Ed”
• Gilbert, Juanita Lynn “Nita” (Montgomery) and Porter Sautel/Sawtelle
• Gosney, Lloyd O., Jr.
• Gosney, Nell (Sanford) and Lloyd
• Gosney, Shawn "Snooky"
• Green, Vicky
• Helms, Billie Catherine (Sanford) and Master Sgt. Howard Wendel
• Helms, Howard Wendell "Wendy", Jr. and Concetta "Connie" Virginia (Filiciotto)
• Holub, Holly (Hunt)
• Honnicat, Wymon
• Hunt, Linda Gay (Gosney)
• Little, Betty Ruth
• Little, Ruth (Sanford) and Clarence David "Buster"
• Markland, Gretchen and Dale
• Mize, William Clayton and Nancy Sybil "Sibbie"
• Montgomery, Claudia Pearl (Mize) and John Andrew
• Mrs. Cleveland
• Mrs. Hoskins
• Sanford, Sarah Alberta "Bert" (Mize) and Moody Oran "Dick"
• Sehnart, Kurt
• Statum, Charla
• Stewart, Beverly Ann (Curtner) and Dr. H. L. "Corky"
• Stewart, Chris, Vicky, Waverlee, and Brandon
• Stewart, Reed
• Szot, Robert Michael
• Tindle, Jerry
• Walker, Bette Jo
• [Walker], Thelma "Dutchie"
• Webster, Linda 

Portraits and snapshots of individuals and groups of people in Kathy (Helms) Fowler’s father’s family, including the following identified people:

• Grubber, Dorothy (Helms) and Milton
• Helms, Bernard Carl and Clara Mae (Lang)
• Helms, Cheryl Jean
• Helms, Douglas
• Helms, Randall
• Helms, Ruth 

Portraits and snapshots of individuals and groups of people in John Edward Fowler-Echols family, including the following identified people:

• Cane, Moris
• Echols, Emma
• Echols, Gus W.
• Echols, J. Thomas
• Echols, Mary Leola
• Fowler, Betty (Echols) and Jud
• Fowler, John Edward and Kathy (Helms)
• Fowler, Kathy “Katie” 

Subject terms found within the photographs:

• Echols Brothers Radiator Works; Forest Park, Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo; International Service Life Insurance Company; Little Acres Farm (Saginaw, Texas); Massey Kindergarten School; Pascal High School; Riverside Elementary School; Riverside Lions Little League; Rock House Bar and Dance Hall (Arlington, Arizona); Southwest High School; Tanglewood Elementary School; Texas Wesleyan College; U. S. Air Force

Photographers and studios found within the photographs:

• Ashley Photo; Bryant Studio; Casino-Hollywood Studio (Lake Worth); Fox Photo Company; George White Photography; J. D. Goodman; Monnig's; Photoflex Studio at the Fair; Reid Studio; Rhea-Engert Photography; Rilda Smith Photography; Smiley’s Photo; Twin Oaks Camera Shop; W. D. Smith

Photograph Albums

• Kathy (Helms) and John Fowler’s wedding albums, July 10, 1971
• Kathy (Helms) and John Fowler on vacation with friends Mary and Bick Green, 1980s
• Howard Bryan Fowler’s baby album, 1980
• Billie (Sanford) Helm with Wallace E. Matulich album
  • Billie (Sanford) Helms and boyfriend, Wallace E. “Eagle” Matulich, in New Orleans, 1940s
  • Wallace E. “Eagle” Matulich military photographs while serving as a lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force, 1940s
  • Wallace E. “Eagle” Matulich football photographs during his career with Mississippi State University, 1940s

Publications

• Howard Helms’s Clinwauwis yearbooks, Clintonville High School, Clintonville, Wisconsin, 1935, 1936, 1938
• John Fowler’s The Eagle yearbook, Amon Carter Riverside High School, Fort Worth, Texas, 1965
• M. J. Neeley School of Business Bulletin for 1975-1977 academic years, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, 1974