Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Italian Mutual Aid Society Of West Mineral Collection, Brent Mcdowell

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The Italian Mutual Aid Society, Carl Marx Chapter was created by Italian miners in West Mineral to serve as a social and mutual aid society starting in 1906 according to the society’s ledger. This society helped hurt miners and their families, as well as families of miners killed while working in Southeast Kansas mines. Groups like these would go on to become unions, the members being important in negotiations with mine owners for better working conditions and benefits such as pay or money that went to the injured or the families of those killed in the mines. Examples from this …

Howat, Alexander, Collection, 1921-2011, Brent Mcdowell

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This collection contains materials concerning Alexander Howat and his life, but more specifically his role as the president of the United Mine Workers of America union, District 14 in Southeast Kansas.

Woodworth, Fred, Collection, 1972-2012, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The collection contains various media materials pertaining to The Match!, an anarchist free-thought publication that Fred Woodworth edited and help create. These materials include negatives, paste-ups, plates, and issue cover illustrations of the 110^th Edition of The Match! that was published in Spring 2012. This collection also includes a poster, calendar, and flyers pertaining to the publication as well. Cataloged elsewhere also includes various issues of The Match! also including issues of Mystery and Adventure Series Review, Fred’s Multigraph Letter, as well as various works by Woodworth.

Fred Woodworth is a dedicated self-publisher and editor of …

Mccullah Family Collection, 1986, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Typescript of an unpublished manuscript for a novel titled “The Eye of the Storm.”

Kenneth John McCullah was born in Kansas around the year 1916. He was married to Maurine Ruth McCullah and together they were avid researchers of the American Civil War. In 1986, they crafted a fictionalized story of a family named Layne and their history through the late 1700s up to the Civil War. This manuscript, titled “The Eye of the Storm” was never published. Kenneth passed away in 1991 and in Maurine in 2011. In 2013, the novel Oaklayne: A Civil War Saga was published, with …

Tate, James, Collection, 1943-2004, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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James Tate was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, and an English and literature professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He was an alumnus of the Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University). Tate’s poems were published in numerous books, magazines, pamphlets, and as broadsides during his career. The materials of the James Tate Collection were collected by Gene DeGruson, from the early 1960s to 1997, and Randy Roberts, from 1998 to the mid-2000s. Additional materials were donated by Charles Cagle. The contents of this collection consists of biographical and autobiographical material, correspondence, bibliographical information (compiled by Gene DeGruson),Tate’s poetry, …

Hollenbeck, E. W., Collection, 1956-1981, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Military clothing and medals from Mr. Hollenbeck’s career in the Army.

E. W. Hollenbeck was born April 8, 1934 in Goodland, Kansas. After growing up “Bill” Hollenbeck attended Pittsburg State University where he graduated giving him a bachelor of science in education in 1956. After his bachelor’s degree Hollenbeck enlisted in the U.S. Army where he served 25 years. In these years Hollenbeck garnered a reputation for upstanding character and moved up in rank until his promotion of colonel in 1978. During his time in the military Hollenbeck also graduated with a master of science degree in education from Wichita …

Farneti, Millo, Collection, 1913-1995, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of Millo Farneti’s poetry, writings, correspondence, financial papers, and other personal documents.

Millo (Milo) Farneti was born on July 30, 1921 in Frontenac, Kansas to Ezio and Albina Farneti. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1948, and found work with the Associated Press. Farneti worked for the AP in Kansas City, New York, and Korea-Japan during the Korean War. From 1955 to 1960, Farneti did freelance work in Kansas City until he was hired by McGraw-Hill. Farneti worked in New York and Italy for 20 years for McGraw-Hill, the NY Journal of Commerce, Time-Life, NY Herald …

Lavoo, E. M., Collection, 1922-1923, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The E. M. LaVoo Collection contains research material on education and public schools mostly in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa, conducted by an “E. M. LaVoo” of Kansas City, Missouri in the early 1920s.

Teller Family Collection, 1949-2001, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of science fiction books and magazines.

The Stephen and Nikki Patrick Teller Collection includes over 1600 science fiction novels, mostly mass-market paperbacks, mostly from the 1940s into the 1990s. These have been cataloged and are housed in the Special Collections & University Archives. A listing of these titles can be found by searching “KFPH Teller” in our online catalog. There is also a collection of science fiction magazines, from the 1940s into the 2000s. See below for a listing of these titles within the boxes they are stored. These can also be viewed in the Special Collections & …

Dittman, Dean, Collection, 1954-1993, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The Dean Dittman Collection contains playbills, newspaper clippings, photographs, scrapbooks relating to the performing career of Gus Dean Dittmann, donated by Mr. Dittmann’s niece, Diane Vaught.

Gus Dean Dittmann was born in Frontenac, Kansas and had a successful career as an actor on the stage, movies, radio, and television, performing as Dean Dittman (sometimes listed as Dean Dittmann). He was born in 1931 and attended the public schools in Frontenac and in the early 1950s, the Kansas Teachers College of Pittsburg, today’s Pittsburg State University. In 1953 he won the Lauritz Melchior Award which led to his studying at the …

Mirriam-Goldberg, Caryn, Collection, Circa 1975-2022, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1959. Her early years were spent in Brooklyn and Manalapan, New Jersey. As a young adult she traveled west to study journalism at the University of Missouri, earning a degree in labor history. Caryn received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, and she has trained in organizational development and group process, grassroots organizing, poetry therapy, and teaching yoga. She is the recipient of Kansas Arts Fellowship in Poetry, the Rocky Mountain National Park artist-in-residency, and other honors.

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg was the Kansas Poet Laureate from 2009-2013, and today is a …

Harding, A. H., Correspondence, 1928-1945, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Correspondence, primarily from World War II, of A. H. Harding, with some letters containing newspaper clippings, photographs, programs, medals, currency and other miscellaneous materials.

Algie Hampton Harding was born on January 9, 1909 in Keytesville, Missouri to Al and Jennie Harding. He graduated from Brunswick, Missouri High School. He received a bachelor’s degree from Central College of Fayette, Missouri, and then attended the University of Missouri. On January 21, 1942 Harding married Mary Frances Hobbs of Independence, Kansas. Harding attended Officers’ Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was commissioned as a first lieutenant. Harding served in the 8th Infantry …

Brady Family Collection, Circa 1900-1975, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Correspondence, clippings, recordings, programs, and photograph about Eva Jessye collected by Karen and Kenneth Brady.

Born in Coffeyville, Kansas, on January 20, 1895, Eva Alberta Jessye started her academic career in the public schools of Coffeyville and Iola, Kansas. At age 13 she attended Western University in Quindaro, Kansas. She graduated from Western University in 1914 and went on to Langston University in Oklahoma where she received a lifetime certificate in teaching.

Jessye taught in elementary schools in Taft, Haskell, and Muskogee, Oklahoma before she became a reporter and columnist for the Baltimore (Maryland) Afro-American in 1925. In 1926 she …

Bender Crimes Photographs, 1873, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Three photographs taken in rural Labette County, Kansas in 1873 at the Bender family house and property shortly after the discovery of the murders of approximately 12 individuals.

Roger O’Connor (1941-2006) ran a bookstore, Mostly Books, in Pittsburg, Kansas, selling books, papers, and photographs. He previously had bookstores in Lawrence, Kansas and Omaha, Nebraska before coming to Pittsburg. He previously had attended Pittsburg State University, where he received a master’s degree. The Bender Family crimes occurred in 1872-1873 where a mysterious family going by the name of Bender (aka “Bloody Benders”) murdered, apparently for their money, approximately a dozen travelers …

Davidson, Lallah S., Manuscript, 1939, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Typed manuscript of “Children of Lead,” published in 1939 as South of Joplin: Story of a Tri-State Diggin’s (W.W. Norton). This manuscript was donated by Lallah Davidson Blanpied to Pittsburg State University in 1975. This copy belonged to famous literary agent, Marion Saunders, who was also Margaret Mitchell’s agent for Gone With the Wind. This copy does show some changes from the published version, notably in the Introduction, and the original title.

Lallah Sherman Davidson Blanpied was born in 1897and grew up in Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri. She attended the Kansas State Teachers’ College in Pittsburg, Kansas (today’s Pittsburg …

Cundiff, Roy, Collection, 1941-1945, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The Roy Cundiff Collection contains two items from Nazi Germany, acquired by Mr. Cundiff while he was stationed in Germany during World War II. These are a German-language edition of Mein Kampf, by Adolph Hitler, and a Nazi flag. These items were donated by Mr. Cundiff’s widow after his death in 1978.

Roy Cundiff was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1911. He grew up in Osawatomie, Kansas, and graduated from high school there in 1931. In the 1930s Mr. Cundiff worked as a salesman. In 1939 he married Inez Grace Miner, in Fort Scott, Kansas. They had one …

Simpson, E. Leroy, Playbook, 1954-1956, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A Pittsburg State University football players’ playbook from the mid-1950s, a football program from 1951, and a newspaper clipping.

Edward LeRoy Simpson was born in Miami, Oklahoma in 1934, to Eddie and Ada Simpson. From 1952-1956 LeRoy attended the Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University). He played several positions on the football team, including quarterback, and lettered all four years. He went on to receive a master’s degree from the Kansas State Teachers College in 1961. After earning a doctorate, Dr. Simpson joined Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska in 1968 as an associate professor of human performance/leisure …

Barnard, Gerald, Photographs, 1936-1938, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Five photographs of the football team of the Kansas Teachers College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) from the 1930s, taken by student photographer Gerald Barnard.

Gerald W. (Jerry) Barnard was born in Oswego, Kansas in 1918. Barnard attended the Kansas Teachers College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) from 1936-1940 and after graduation, worked as an accountant. He worked with the Deming Investment Company and then the First National Bank of Oswego. He also served as the president of Oswego Industries, chairman of Mid-America, Inc., vice-president of the Kansas Bankers Association, chairman of the Kansas Development Credit Corporation, and …

Black, Bob, Photographs, 1978, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The Bob Black Photographs are polaroid photographs showing the immediate aftermath of the July 1978 fire in Girard, Kansas which destroyed the former Haldeman-Julius Publishing Company building.

Bob Black was born in 1943 in Nashville, Tennessee, to John and Mary (Collins) Black. Bob graduated from Ottawa High School (Kansas) in 1961 and went on to earn a Computer Science degree from Kansas State University in 1972. In 1972 he began his career at Missouri Pacific as a programmer analyst. Shortly after this, he moved to Pittsburg, Kansas to start the first ServiceMaster franchise in Pittsburg. He later formed Alternate Systems, …

Martin, Bill, Collection, 1920-2019, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A ring binder with reproductions of newspaper clippings about Eva Jessye and her career, and correspondence, printed programs, and photographs compiled by Bill Martin.

Born in Coffeyville, Kansas, on January 20, 1895, Eva Alberta Jessye started her academic career in the public schools of Coffeyville and Iola, Kansas. At age 13 she attended Western University in Quindaro, Kansas. She graduated from Western University in 1914 and went on to Langston University in Oklahoma where she received a lifetime certificate in teaching.

Jessye taught in elementary schools in Taft, Haskell, and Muskogee, Oklahoma before she became a reporter and columnist for …

Black Jack, Kansas Scrapbook, 1930-1974, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The Black Jack, Kansas Scrapbook includes newspaper clippings telling the account of the battle and town of Black Jack, as well as some history of Black Jack-area families including O’Neil, Von Tries, Black, and Pearson. Most clippings are from the Wellsville Globe and the Ottawa Herald. Photographs are included.

The Battle of Black Jack was the first armed conflict between proslavery and antislavery forces in the United States. The battle near Baldwin City on June 2, 1856, had implications far beyond Kansas Territory. Some call it the first battle of the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act had opened Kansas …

Progressive Study Club Collection, 1949-2018, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Bylaws, constitutions, certificates, collects, correspondence, financials, newspaper clippings, photographs, records, scrapbooks & yearbooks related to the Progressive Study Club of Pittsburg, Kansas.

The Progressive Study Club, part of the Third District of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Kansas, was organized in 1949. The goal of the club, as stated in its constitution, is to “promote civic, social, philanthropic, cultural, and educational movements, and thereby gain more knowledge.” The club, comprised of only women, would meet regularly and take on special projects. These projects included donating items and their time to the community. Dorothy Resnar (1924-2013) was a long-time …

Pittsburg Community Theatre Records, 1979-2016, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Bylaws, correspondence, performance records & recordings, meeting minutes, financial documents, newsletters, newspaper clippings, forums, policies, handbooks, lease agreements, photographs, programs & miscellaneous materials.

The Pittsburg Community Theatre was founded in a joint effort of the Pittsburg Parks and Recreation department and Pittsburg Area Arts and Crafts Association. Misty Maynard was appointed to access the feasibility of establishing a community theatre group, she then decided to stage a production of “The Music Man.” The community’s response proved incredibly positive and the project was deemed a success. On April 30, 1981, Pittsburg Community Theatre became a non-profit organization. The City of Pittsburg …

Skubitz, Mary, Collection, 1921, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The Mary Skubitz Journal consists of ten pages written on ledger paper during the Amazon Army March of December 1921, describing the event.

Mary Youvan Skubitz was born in Slovenia in 1887 and was brought to America in 1890 by her parents Andrew and Julia Youvan. Andrew Youvan worked as a coal miner in Crawford County, Kansas. Mary was one of the leaders at a December 11, 1921 meeting that resulted in the protest that became known as the Amazon Army March on December 12, 1921, in which she participated. In the early 1900s she married Joseph Skubitz, and in …

Silvia, John, Collection, 1910-1925, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of concertina and oboe sheet music along with the Chemnitzer concertina belonging to John Silvia.

John Silvia was born in Radley, Kansas to Italian immigrants, in 1892. He grew up in a coal mining town and became a miner at the age of 15. In his spare time, Silvia enjoyed baseball and playing the clarinet. In 1913, he married Ann Stockinger, and soon began working as a mechanic in Radley. In 1916, Silvia went to Kansas City to study auto-mechanics, while Ann stayed in Radley with their daughter, Marie Kay. Walter McCray, a music professor and for whom …

Bradley, Fay, Collection, 1958-1974, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The Fay Bradley Diplomas consists of four diplomas, two for the Independence Community College (Independence, Kansas), one for the Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University), one for Howard University (Washington DC).

Fay Bradley was born on January 13, 1938 to Henry and Irene Ransom Bradley in Independence, Kansas. Fay had three sisters and three brothers. His mother worked as a maid and his father worked as a mail router for the Union Gas Station, and as a porter at the Independence Train Depot. Fay started school at the Washington Grade School in Independence. After graduating from Independence …

Schick, Marjorie, Collection, 1962-2015, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection and representation of the work and art of Professor Marjorie Schick. Included are photographs of her work; teaching materials; documents relating to her teaching career at PSU; correspondence; exhibits in which she appeared; and art journals.

Marjorie Schick taught in the Department of Art at Pittsburg State University for fifty years. She became known internationally as an artist of jewelry and wearable art. She attended the University of Wisconsin and Indiana University, where she developed her artistic style. In the late 1960s she began working at Pittsburg State University, along with her husband, Dr. James Schick, who was …

Snare, Wilma Cook, Collection, 1856-1997, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection consist of records, histories, and photographs related to families, places, groups and businesses in Cherokee and Crawford Counties, Kansas. Includes histories of the Tharp and Bumgarner families of the area.

Wilma Cook Snare, born in 1930 to Walter and Myrtle Cook, was a local historian of Cherokee County, Kansas, and a licensed practitioner nurse at the Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center. Snare collected and researched material related to places, mining, events, and families of Cherokee County. She wrote a book on its history called Down Memory Lane, and wrote articles for local newspapers, as well as assisting …

Stimmel Family Collection, 1857-1865, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection consists of correspondence of Joseph Stimmel and Samuel E. Weimer during the American Civil War. The letters describe military matters, occupations and daily soldierly duties. Prior to their deposit at Pittsburg State University, the letters were laminated. There is also a journal of John Moorhead, a Methodist minister who was likely related to Stimmel and Weimer.

Joseph Stimmel (1842-1917) lived in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. He and his cousin, Samuel Weimer (1844-1900), served in the same regiment (126th Pennsylvania Infantry). Both mustered in on August 3^rd, 1862 and mustered out on May 20th, 1863. They fought in …

Kneebone, James, Collection, 1872-1992, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of sheet music, operas, music theory, bibliographies, and recordings.

James C. Kneebone (1938-2005) was born in Pittsburg, Kansas where he studied music. Kneebone graduated from the Kansas State College of Pittsburg (today, Pittsburg State University) with a Bachelor of Music in 1961, and a Master of Music in 1962. He was married to Suzanne M. Thompson (1944-2014). Kneebone collected sheet music, operas, and long plays. He also wrote a dissertation focusing on Ernst Krenek’s music.