Harriet Bixler scrapbook

Mary Harriet Bixler (who went by "Harriet") was born on July 11, 1921, in Beirut, Syria [now Lebanon], to Dr. Julius and Mary (née Thayer) Bixler. Her father was the president of Colby College in Waterville, Maine, and Harriet was born when he was teaching at the American University in Beirut. She graduated from Smith College in 1942. After training in secretarial work, Harriet applied for federal employment and took a job with the War Refugee Board. She was assigned to work with Herbert Katzki and Ira Hirschmann (mainly working with Katzki), who were the WRB's representatives in Turkey. She went to Turkey in the summer of 1944. In early 1945, Harriet resigned from the WRB, which was pulling out of Turkey, and went to work for the Office of War Information. She remained in Turkey until early 1947, when she returned to the United States. She married Thomas Naughton in June 1948; the couple had four children. Thomas passed away in 1959 and Harriet raised their children, working as a elementary school music teacher. Harriet Bixler Naughton passed away on September 23, 2011.