Kathrine Klinkenberg White
Editor, journalist. Born: July 9, 1903, Cawker City, Kansas. Married: William Lindsay White, April 29, 1931. Died: August 17, 1988, Emporia, Kansas
Kathrine Klinkenberg was born July 9, 1903, in Cawker City, Kansas, to Peter Henry and Frances Buckner Klinkenberg. The family moved to Ottawa when she was five.
Her father was a druggist and opened a store in Ottawa in 1915. Her mother served as a sorority house mother at the University of Kansas.
During high school Kathrine was the literary editor of the newspaper and society editor of the yearbook. She first attended the University of Kansas; then transferred to the University of Wisconsin.
She was hired by Time magazine as an office assistant and was promoted to research in the editorial department and also filled in as sports editor at Time. She once had the opportunity to fly over New York City with Amelia Earhart as pilot. Kathrine served as assistant curator at the Library of Congress.
On April 29, 1931 Kathrine married William Lindsay White in New York City. The Whites spent time in Emporia, where William Lindsay served as a state legislator, and Washington, D.C., where he wrote for the Washington Post. Kathrine edited most of William Lindsay’s first drafts. She accompanied William Lindsay when he served as a war correspondent in Europe and Korea. They had one daughter, Barbara, who had been a London war orphan. Kathrine was active in the family newspaper, eventually moving to Emporia when her husband became ill. After William Lindsay's death in 1973 Kathrine became the Gazette's editor. She died at the age of 85 on August 17, 1988, in Emporia. After her mother's death, Barbara White Walker and her husband David Walker became editors and publishers of the Emporia Gazette. Their son, Chris White Walker, followed as editor of the Emporia Gazette.
Entry: White, Kathrine Klinkenberg
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: November 2012
Date Modified: January 2016
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
