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By Teri Rizvi

In her heyday, Erma Bombeck’s humorous column “At Wit’s End” appeared in more than 900 newspapers — and on refrigerator doors around the land. Americans woke up to her absurd spin on the small moments of life in “Good Morning America” segments that aired for 11 years. She tried her hand at writing a sitcom, “Maggie.” Nine out of her 12 books shot up the New York Times’ Bestseller List. She appeared on “Johnny Carson,” “The Phil Donahue Show” and “Dinah Shore” and graced the cover of Time magazine. She received nominations for Grammys and Pulitzer Prizes, and her name popped up on most-admired lists. She served as Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade, an honor she shares with former presidents (and Kermit the frog).

In short, she became a household name — and a national treasure. Today, the life and works of Erma Bombeck are enjoying a revival of interest.

Consider:

• The Erma Bombeck Collection is now available for viewing by scholars of popular American humor and feminist studies, as well as the public by appointment. Email Kristina Schulz at kschulz1@udayton.edu or call 937-229-4256.
• From March 11-Oct. 23, visitors will be treated to a sneak preview of the collection in a display of selected letters, photographs, clippings and artifacts in the Stuart and Mimi Rose Gallery on the first floor of Roesch Library. It’s free. The close of the exhibit coincides with the popular Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, which will draw hundreds of writers from around the nation to campus Oct. 20-22. A major exhibition is planned for 2024.
• “Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End,” a one-woman play penned by Margaret and Allison Engel, premiered on Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., in 2015 and has now been produced 66 times (and counting) by theatre companies in 28 states. It’s currently running in Bedford, Texas, March 18-April 3.
• In 2015, the National Register of Historic places listed the Bombeck family’s modest 1,392-square foot ranch home at 162 Cushwa Dr. in nearby Centerville, Ohio. On a makeshift desk consisting of a plank between cinder blocks, Bombeck started writing her “At Wit’s End” column that skyrocketed to syndication in 1965.
• Erma Bombeck Way leads to the University of Dayton, where an Ohio Historical Marker outside St. Mary Hall reminds students of a new era of her legacy. At the Bombeck Family Learning Center on campus, toddlers provide teachers with the kind of fodder that, if Erma were alive today, would become punchlines in her columns. In 2017, the beloved writer was inducted into Dayton’s Walk of Fame.

What’s the secret behind Bombeck’s universal appeal and popularity more than 25 years after her death?

“After going through box after box of Erma’s papers, I have found so many traits in her that are both relatable and inspirational,” said Katie Jarrell, project archivist. “Many people have written about her humble and authentic personality, and I’ve found this to be absolutely true while getting familiar with the collection. Her work and correspondence reveal a woman who was never lacking in personality, kindness, or determination. Sometimes I forget just how famous she was because she never comes across as haughty, snobbish or arrogant in any of her papers.”

With originality and humor, Bombeck captured life’s ordinary moments and made us laugh at ourselves.

As talk show pioneer and longtime Centerville, Ohio, neighbor Phil Donahue eulogized in 1996, “She was real and she brought us all down to earth — gently, generously and with brilliant humor. …When the scholars gather hundreds of years from now to learn about us, they can’t know it all if they don’t read Erma.”

— Teri Rizvi

Teri Rizvi is the founder and director of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton, where she also serves as executive director of strategic communications.