Emma Reh

Emma Reh Stevenson (1896–1982) was an American journalist who worked as a reporter for the Science Service, reporting on archeological excavations in Mexico, as well as the social and political situation in that country; and a writer for the Soil Conservation Service and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, commenting about food consumption and distribution problems.

Education and Career

Reh graduated from George Washington University in 1917 and began work for the Science Service in 1924. Although she officially retired in 1926 after her marriage to Tom Stevenson, Reh continued as a frequent contributor well into the 1930s. (Reh's close friends and colleagues included staff writers Frank Thorne, Emily Davis, and Marjorie MacDill Breit.)

In the summer of 1926, Reh moved to Mexico and returned to publishing under her maiden name. There, she "served as a regular Science Service correspondent, submitting articles and photographs mainly related to archeology, ...such...as the excavation of Tenayuca, preservation of prehistoric Indian sites in Mexico, analysis of Indian pottery, city planning in prehistoric Indian cities, the excavation of San Juan Teotihuacan, relics from the Inca Cemetery at Copiapo, the Seri Indians, public art education in Mexico, bricks in prehistoric American buildings, and the discovery of Santa Elena in Poco-Uinic." In 1935, Reh returned to the U.S. and secured a position with the Soil Conservation Service. Her later work "addressed food consumption and related patterns or problems in various communities, including the Navaho."

During her career, Reh perceived that "her status as woman had both aided and hindered her." She acknowledged that access to some information was due to "the chivalry of men" while, other times, she had to convince people that “a girl could handle (woman, excuse me)” certain situations. She said of science, "Science is like religion in Latin America. It enables a lady to travel and do all sorts of unheard things and wear the halo at the same time. If I represented a regular paper or news service I would be thrown into the vulgar political reporter class, than whom there is none worse in Mexico, and I suppose other similar countries.”

Reh was also a contributor to Mexican News Features, Christian Science Monitor, and The New York Times, as well as a member of the Yucatán-British Honduras-Chiapas expedition group.