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Thinkers Lodge Histories

Betty Royan, Assistant to Cyrus Eaton 
Vice President of Acadia Farms
​Director of the Pugwash Secretariat of Pugwash Conference​ 
Secretary-Treasurer of Ohio Shorthorn Association, 
Member of the American Council of Railroad Women 

Biography of Betty Royon by Tom Vince (1913-2001)

Betty Royon was a woman ahead of her time, a pioneer for women in industry and an early organizing force in local historical preservation. She rose to prominence as the aide de camp of Cyrus Eaton, the internationally known Cleveland industrialist. Royon eventually became Vice President of Deep Cove Farms, Acadia Farm (Cyrus Eaton's Northfield, Ohio home for shorthorn cattle), staff assistant to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company and Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of both the Portsmouth and Detroit Steel Corporations. 

​She was born in Cleveland and was a childhood friend and classmate of Cyrus Eaton's daughter. She completed her education with a master's degree in physics from Smith College in 1936. Cyrus Eaton had kept track of the young woman's rising career and hired her to work in his New York branch. She moved back to Cleveland, at Eaton's behest, to work as Eaton's top staff assistant. She moved to Hudson, Ohio in 1958 and lived there for the remainder of her life. 

She traveled globally for Cyrus Eaton's Acadia Farms, eventually being elected the first woman director of the American Shorthorn Breeder's Association. 

Locally, Betty Royon was known for her preservationist work in Hudson. Along with other notables such as Grace Goulder Izant, she was a tireless promoter of the historical significance of Hudson. She was a lifelong member of both the Hudson Library and Historical Society and the Hudson Heritage Association. She contributed to both organizations in various capacities, serving as the publicity director for the Hudson Heritage Association and president of the board of trustees for the Hudson Library and Historical Society. BELOW SLIDESHOW see articles written by and about Betty Royan.
Betty Royon Biography by Tom Vince
Cleveland Farmers' Club
by Betty Royan, January, 1967 in Clevelander Magazine
     
Betty Royan describes two Acadia Farm champions: Acadia Napoleon 200th and Acadia Napoleon 145th -and their contribution to future
​     generations of shorthorn cattle

Along the Path to Pugwash by Betty Royan, Hudson Hub Times​, July 29, 1987
​Area Woman (Betty Royan) Competent, Busy in Many Ventures by Barbara Bray, 1959, Hudson, Ohio
    Describes Betty Royan's role as assistant to Cyrus Eaton (Chairman of the Board of C & O Railroad), secretary-treasurer of Ohio Shorthorn  
​     Breeders Association, member of the American Council of Railroad Women, Director of the Pugwash Secretariat of Pugwash Conferences.
Betty Royan Archives at Akron University​, July 29, 1982; includes Betty Royan Collection and Pugwash Conference Collection
​Betty Royan Tells of Coming to Eaton's Pugwash Conference - 1987: brief overview of 1st 1957 conference and  
     the 
continued world-wide Pugwash Conferences
Calrossie's Rulebook by Betty Royan, 1955 -- account of visiting Shorthorn herd in Scotland with Dwight Griffin,      Cy Eaton Jr., and his wife Stevie.
International Field Is Her Speciality (Betty Royan) by Kathie Donnelly, Topeka, Kansas, January 26, 1967
     Article recounts Betty Royan's nuclear physics degrees from Smith College, her role with C&O Railroad, as Vice President of Acadia Farms in    
​     Northfield, Ohio and Deep Cove Farms in Deep Cove, Nova Scotia, and her role with the Pugwash Conferences starting in 1954.​

No Regrets for Betty Royan by Michele Leslie, Dec 23, 1984, Cleveland Plain Dealer,
     Royan embraces the challenges of working with Eaton in connection with his business enterprises, cattle, railroad, and peace initiatives in
      Pugwash. Her retirement endeavors with Hudson Library ad Historical society
​
Profile of Cyrus Eaton by Betty Royan from Western Reserve Historical Society
Pugwash Blueprint for Peace by Betty Royan at Annual Meeting of Kansas Council of Women, Topeka, Kansas,
    January 26, 1967: Royan recounts the genesis of the Pugwash Conferences, the following conferences, and the essence of their resolutions
     until 1967 with brief mention of 1967-1972 conferences
​
Top Railroad Women Convene Here, Pittsburg Press, March 17, 1959
Troubadour Triumphant by Betty Royan, The New York Times Magazine, June 2, 1957
Royan recounts the life and grand tour of the shorthorn steer Troubadour who became International Grand Champion

The Path to Pugwash: Betty Royan writes about her role in the Pugwash Conferences (The Middle School Program at Hathaway Brown School, Spring 1983​
    Betty Royan recounts how as Cyrus Eaton's assistant, not only was she involved in his international business pursuits, but was actively
    engaged with the Pugwash Conferences where Cyrus Eaton brought "thinkers of the world to 'relax together, exchange views, sharpen their
    own thinking and design formulas for us to live by in this brand new world.'"  Betty Royan served as "Director of the Pugwash Secretariat    
    with responsibility for arrangement and conduct of the meetings."

The Third Pugwash Conference by Betty Royan (on dangers of Atomic Age and what scientists can do about it)