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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
Catherine Filene Shouse
1896-1994
(Mrs. Jouett Shouse)
Catherine Filene (Mrs. Jouett) Shouse was born in Boston, Massachusetts on June 9, 1896. A graduate of Wheaton College, she was the first woman to receive a Master's Degree in Education from Harvard University.
Mrs. Shouse was devoted to the performing arts and was also a dynamic, visionary leader in education, politics, women's affairs and international affairs.
She gave her life to public service and was internationally honored. President Gerald R. Ford bestowed upon her the highest United States civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom . Queen Elizabeth II made her a Dame Commander of the British Empire. She was the first woman to receive the German Federal Republic's Commander's Cross of Merit. The Government of France named her "Officier Dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres."
Mrs. Shouse gave the United States Government its first and only national park dedicated to the performing arts. This is the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia.
Mrs. Shouse lived most of her life in and around Washington, DC. She knew every President from Woodrow Wilson to William Clinton. She was active and involved to the end of her life. She died December 14, 1994 at the age of 98 ½.
Achievements 1896
Born in Boston, Massachusetts.
1913
Graduated Bradford Academy (now Bradford College).
1915-1918
Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, B.A.
1917-1918
As an undergraduate, organized Conferences at Wheaton College to study and promote jobs for women with more than a high school education.
1918-1919
War service: Assistant to the Chief of Women’s Division, U.S. Employment Service, U.S. Dept. of Labor.
1919-1920
First woman appointed to the National Democratic Committee representing Massachusetts. Also, State Democratic Committee.
1920
Book, Careers for Women , published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
1923
First woman to receive M.Ed. degree from Harvard University.
1925
Founder (with Mrs. Borden Harriman) of Women’s National Democratic Club.
1926
First woman appointed by President Coolidge as Chairman of the first Federal Prison for Women and instituted a job training and rehabilitation program.
1929-1945
Founded Institute of Women’s Professional Relations and became its Chairman. Organized national conferences on opportunities for women with more than a high school education.
1932
Re-edited Careers for Women published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
1935-1942
Organized first chamber music concerts performed in a Washington museum, The Phillips Collection.
1939-1946
Imported dogs from Germany and Switzerland and started her own kennel at Wolf Trap Farm where she bred champions in three breeds. From 1930-1945 Mrs. Shouse bred and trained her own hunters and hunted with the Fairfax Hounds.
1949-1956
Organized General Clay Fund (1949) to help U.S. Army’s Assistance Program for German Youth
1947-1994
Trustee, Filene Foundation (Boston).
1949-1968
Elected to Board of National Symphony Orchestra Association. Vice President 1951-1968.
1968-1994
Honorary Vice President, National Symphony Orchestra Association.
1952-1963
Board, National Arbitration Association.
1955-1994
Board, Lincoln Filene Center of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Tufts University.
1956
At request of former President Hoover, organized Washington Hungarian Relief Fund and raised a half-million dollars within a month.
1957-1963
Appointed by President Eisenhower as Chairman, President’s Music Committee, People-to-People Program.
1958-1980
Appointed by President Eisenhower to first Board of Trustees of the National Cultural Center. Reappointed in 1962 and in 1970 (by President Nixon) for 10-year term. Name changed to John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Also on its Executive and Building Committees.
1980-1994
Honorary Trustee, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
1961
Donated 40 acres of land at her Wolf Trap Farm, Vienna, Virginia, for the headquarters of the American Symphony Orchestra League.
1964
Organization Committee for the Formulation of the Fairfax County Cultural Association.
1965-1972
Board, Opera Society of Washington.
1966
Gave 100 acres of her Vienna farm to the U.S. Government for a National Park for the Performing Arts and donated the amphitheater, Filene Center. Accepted by Act of Congress in October 1966. The Department of the Interior was given responsibility for its operation under the National Park Service. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts for the Performing Arts opened July 1, 1971, Mrs. Richard Nixon attending.
1968
Appointed by Governor Godwin to the first Virginia Commission of the Arts and Humanities. Reappointed (1971) by Governor Linwood Holton.
1968-1994
Board, Wolf Trap Foundation. Chairman of Executive Committee 1975.
1973
Appointed by President Nixon to Pennsylvania Avenue Development Commission.
1975
Appointed to Board of Overseers, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. Chairman 1981.
1975
Appointed by President Ford to the Commission on Presidential Scholars.
1976
Re-appointed to Board of Service League of Northern Virginia.
1981
Renovated and donated two early 18th-century barns to Wolf Trap Foundation for a performing arts facility. “The Barns of Wolf Trap” were rebuilt on 26 acres of land adjacent to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts for the Performing Arts, Vienna, Virginia. Other buildings on this property donated in 1980 to Wolf Trap Foundation include two houses, a garage and a swimming pool.
1982
Honorary Chairman, Committee for the Arts, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College.
1983-1994
Honorary Director, Washington Chamber Orchestra.
1984-1994
Advisory board, The Washington Conservatory.
1985
First Honorary Member, Washington College Friends of the Arts Committee.
1987
Member, American Committee on the French Revolution 1789-1989.
1988
Wheaton College established the Filene Center for Work and Learning in her honor.
1991
Invited by Dean Ezra Laderman of the Yale School of Music to serve on Board of Directors. Invited by Robert G. Stone, Jr. Chairman, to serve on the Harvard Overseers’ Committee on University Resources.
1993
Dedication of the Catherine Filene Shouse Career Center at Hood College, Frederick, Maryland.
CATHERINE FILENE SHOUSE
Awarded by
President Gerald R. Ford
January 10, 1977
Catherine Filene Shouse has given her country half a century of invaluable voluntary service. A pioneer in job training for women, she herself is an outstanding example of what good taste and intelligence, pragmatism and persistence can accomplish. A working patron of the arts as well as a giving one, her keen interest and involvement have enriched immeasurably our Nation's cultural life.
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Medal History
