Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Reed, Clyde M., Collection, 1921-1931, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection consists of personal and professional correspondence primarily addressed to Clyde M. Reed from various political figures.

Clyde Martin Reed was born on October 19, 1871 in Illinois. His family moved to Kansas when he was four years old. He married Minnie E. Hart in 1891 and they had ten children. In 1919, Reed became the personal secretary of Kansas Governor Henry J. Allen. In 1929, Reed was elected the 24^th Governor of Kansas and served until 1931. Reed also served as a Kansas Senator from 1939-1949. He died on November 8^th, 1949.

Vanlandingham, Nada Pauline, Collection, Circa 1937-1988, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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The collection consists of photographs, music books, and personal documents relating to the life and career of PSU alum Nada Pauline Vanlandingham.

Nada Pauline Vanlandingham (1916-2002) was born in Olathe, Kansas. She graduated from Ottawa High School in Ottawa, Kansas. After Attending Ottawa University for two years, Vanlandingham transferred to Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg (today’s Pittsburg State University), where she graduated with her Bachelor of Music degree in 1938. Her principal instrument was the double bass. She went on to earn her Master of Music degree from University of Kansas. Vanlandingham began her public school teaching career in …

Allegro Music Club Collection, 1937-1967, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This is collection consists of newspaper clippings, yearbooks, photographs, and organization documents related to the Allegro Music Club of Parsons, Kansas

The Allegro Music Club was a women’s musical organization formed in 1937 in Parsons, Kansas. Their intent was to “bring together lovers of music and to maintain an interest in all music forms.” Often meeting in the home of one of the members, the club presented multiple music programs throughout the year, both privately and for the public. The club mainly focused on classical music, however they did present other genres of music on certain occasions. The Allegro Music …

Vollen, Gene, Papers, 1968-1990, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection consists of letters, photographs, lectures, programs, audio recordings, and newspapers primarily relating to the life and career of Eric Vaughn.

A native of Michigan, Dr. Gene Vollen (1933-) attended Michigan State University, where he earned degrees in music education and theory/composition. His doctoral studies were completed in 1970 at North Texas State University, focusing on musicology with a minor in composition. Listed among his academic honors is a Fulbright Fellowship to the Sorbonne in 1965-66.

Prior to his appointment at Pittsburg State University (PSU) in 1970, Dr. Vollen taught in the music departments of Union University in Jackson, …

White, William Allen, Collection, 1893-1939, 1969, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection includes personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs and other miscellaneous materials relating to William Allen White.

William Allen White was born February 10, 1868, in Emporia, Kansas, to Allen White and Mary Ann (Hatten) White. White attended the College of Emporia and the University of Kansas. In April 1893, White married Sallie Moss Lindsay. The couple moved to Emporia in 1895 and White bought the Emporia Gazette. Through this newspaper, White became a leading figure of the populist movement in Kansas. White passed away on January 29, 1944.

New Hope Baptist Church Collection, 1945-1963, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A collection of minutes, ledgers, and balances for the New Hope Baptist Church of Pittsburg, Kansas.

The New Hope Baptist Church of Pittsburg, Kansas was started by Reverend M. Pickins in 1896. Services were first held in his home, but in 1909 a frame building was purchased where Pittsburg Middle School (originally the high school) now stands. When the city of Pittsburg decided to build a new high school at the site in the early 1920s, the congregation moved the building to 11^th Street. One of the ledgers in the collection belonged to Benjamin White, an African American contractor …

Reid, Joella, Collection, 1978-1980, 2011, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection includes personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, poems, programs, & sheet music related to Eva Jessye and Joella Reid.

Eva Alberta Jessye was born in Coffeyville, Kansas on January 20, 1895. At age 13, she attended Western University in Quindaro, Kansas and graduated in 1914. In 1926 she formed a choral group in New York called the Dixie Jubilee Singers. This group would later become the world-renowned Eva Jessye Choir. They performed spirituals, work songs, ballads, ragtime, jazz, and light opera. Jessye was also the choral director for George Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess. Eva was involved in many …

Gaitskill Family Collection, 1878-1930, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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A scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, photographs and programs relating to several members of the Gaitskill family.

Joseph Ennis (1836-1899) was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. During the Civil War, he served in the Union Army from 1861-1863 in the Co. D, Fourth Iowa Cavalry. He married Pauline Hollibaugh (1848-1931) in 1864. In 1870, they moved to Girard, Kansas, where a daughter was born (Belle Ennis, 1870-1922). Belle would graduate from Girard High School in 1887 and began working in the Girard schools that same year. Belle married Bennet Sudith Gaitskill (1858-1927) in 1892, together they had a son named Joseph …

Holden, Lavon Graham, Collection, 1931-1970, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Collection includes newspapers, newspaper clippings, booklets, magazines, partial manuscripts, programs, and miscellaneous materials related to Lavon Graham Holden.

Lavon Graham Holden was born to Charles and Mary Ann (Inks) Graham in 1907. She married Fred S. Holden (1903 - 1985) on January 9, 1927. Together they had a daughter, Bonnie J. (Holden) Crain (1927 - 2002). Lavon graduated Pittsburg High School and studied music at the Kansas Teachers College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University). Lavon was a finalist in the Atwater Kent National Vocal Competition and won a scholarship to the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She directed choirs at …

Hodgson, Owen, Collection, 1925, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection consists of newspapers, bulletins, and photographs, particularly of Owen Hodgson’s college days at Pittsburg State University.

Owen Emry Hodgson was born in 1896 on a farm southeast of Parker, Kansas in Linn County. As a child Hodgson attended a rural school until he entered LaCygne High School, graduating in May 1917. Hodgson subsequently attended summer sessions at the Kansas State Training School in Pittsburg (today’s Pittsburg State University). During World War I, he enlisted in Company B, 353th Regiment, 89^th division. During his service, he was wounded by shrapnel and poisonous gas at St. Meichel, France. After …

Gerdes, Grace T., Collection, 1913-1914, 1952, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Two daybooks belonging to Grace T. Gerdes in which she catalogues her daily life in the year when her second to last child was born (1913), and the year her husband passed away (1952).

Grace T. Floyd was born in 1882 to the Reverend Charles T. and Mary M. Floyd. She was raised in Mound Valley, Kansas. In 1905, she married Charles W. Gerdes (b. 1871) and they moved to a farm outside of Mound Valley in Labette County, where she would live out the rest of her life as a homemaker. Charles Gerdes passed away in 1952. Grace Gerdes …

Fort Scott Weekly Monitor Collection, 1867-1869, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection includes transcriptions of articles from the Fort Scott Weekly Monitor mainly focusing on the Cherokee Neutral Lands.

The Fort Scott Weekly Monitor, a newspaper in Fort Scott, Kansas, was published from the mid-1860s until 1904. These transcriptions were compiled by Michael Arthur Guilfoyle (b. 1946 - d. 2010).

Pittsburg Porcelain Artists Collection, 1977-1996, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Newspaper clippings, photos, meeting minutes, yearbooks, books, and other records relating to the Pittsburg Porcelain Artists organization.

The Pittsburg Porcelain Artists was founded by Rosalie Talley and 15 other porcelain artists in 1977. The goal of the organization was to share ideas, techniques, and improve their skills.

C.T. Trowell Collection Of Roland M. Harper, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

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This collection consists of photocopies of articles and book excerpts written by Roland M. Harper for publication in scholarly journals and various other botanical bulletins. Harper's works focus on botany, conservation, and social conditions, primarily in the southeastern United States. Spanning from 1900 - 2008, additional documents, photographs and audio visual materials pertaining to Roland M. Harper's family history is included.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Williams, Winferd, Collection, 1914-1930, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection contains photographs of Winferd Williams and Grace (McBee) Williams.

Winferd Merl Williams was born March 28, 1895 in Winfield, Kansas. Winferd married Grace McBee (b. 1897 - d. 1961) on June 6, 1920. He attended school in Winfield and later graduated from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. He taught industrial arts at Pittsburg High School, and then ran a farm implement dealership until World War II. During the war years, Winferd served on the East Coast and had a short stint in England. After the war, Winferd and Grace ran an antique business from their home in Pittsburg, …

Timmons, Bess Spiva, Collection, 1966-2001, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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This collection includes accolades, meeting minutes, photographs and other miscellaneous materials.

Bess Cole Spiva was born in 1901, in Galena, Kansas to George Newton Spiva and Bessie Tamblyn Spiva. Her family soon moved to Joplin, Missouri where they stayed. She graduated from Monticello College in Illinois in 1921. In 1923, she married Leroy K. Timmons (1899-1954) and they moved to Pittsburg in 1928. In 1951 she started the Spiva Emergency Loan Fund which became the Spiva Scholarship. In 1966 The Timmons Chapel of All Faiths was built and donated to Pittsburg State University by Mrs. Timmons. In 1985, she started …

Schlanger Park Civic Club Scrapbook, 1955-1986, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

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Newspaper clippings, club bulletins, membership lists, obituaries of members and other miscellaneous materials relating to the Schlanger Park Civic Club.

Schlanger Park in Pittsburg, Kansas, was created by land donated from A. H. Schlanger in 1929. The movement to turn the land into a park led to the creation of the Schlanger Park Civic Club, which was city federated in 1935.

The Schlanger Park Civic Club Scrapbook is primarily comprised of newspaper clippings, club bulletins, membership lists, obituaries of members and other miscellaneous materials relating to the Schlanger Park Civil Club. It is unknown who created the scrapbook.

Roxie A. Remley Papers, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

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This collection consists of the papers of Georgia Southern Emerita Professor of Art, Roxie A. Remley, from 1942-2020. Materials include professional and personal correspondence, journals, day calendars, photographs, and other unpublished materials related to Remley’s work with the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), later Women’s Army Corps, Georgia Southern College, the Statesboro First Methodist Church, and other local organizations. Examples of Remley’s artwork and framed prints are included as well as materials originally belonging to Georgia B. Watson.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Larry Martin Prints: Finding Aid, Bethany Latham

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This collection contains framed prints created by local artist Larry K. Martin. Martin is a native of Alabama and holds a Ph.D. from Tulane University. He pursued a career in tropical medicine, having researched at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and in the field in the Amazon rainforests of Colombia and Brazil. He eventually began to work in wildlife conservation, and was the curator of the Anniston Museum of Natural History. He began painting circa 1976, primarily using soft acrylics. He sells his paintings and prints of said paintings through the Wren’s Nest Gallery located at 100 …

War (University Of Maine) Records, 1897-2001, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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The University of Maine saw approximately 1,000 students and alumni serve in World War I and 3,900 serve in World War II. Both wars had a strong effect on the university and its students; the desire to honor those who had served and to memorialize those who had died led to various activities on campus. After the end of World War I, funds were raised to erect the Memorial Gymnasium and Armory and after World War II, those who had died were honored in a volume titled "University of Maine, World War II: In Memoriam." The Alumni Association sent questionnaires …

Smith (David C.) Papers, 1833-2011, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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David Clayton Smith was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1929. He received a B.S. in 1955 at Farmington State Teachers College. He received an M.Ed. in 1956 and an M.A. in history and government in 1958 from the University of Maine. He received a Ph.D. in history in 1965 from Cornell University. He taught five years at Hobart and William Smith College, Geneva, N.Y., then returned to teach at the University of Maine. In 1965 he joined the University of Maine history faculty. He is a widely recognized historian and lectured nationally and internationally on such topics as history, political …

Hart (James Norris) Correspondence, 1910-1975, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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James Norris Hart was dean emeritus of the University of Maine and professor emeritus of mathematics and astronomy. He was born in Willimantic, Maine, in 1861 and died in 1959. He received a B.C.E. degree from the Maine State College in 1885 and a C.E. in 1890. In 1897 he earned a M.S. degree from the University of Chicago.

Hart was an instructor in mathematics at the University of Maine starting in 1887 and dean of the University in 1903. Hart was awarded for his service to the University of Maine with a degree of doctor of science in 1908. …

Feaster (John Newcomer) Papers, 1934-1981, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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John Newcomer Feaster was born in 1908 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in 1980. He received his A.B. degree from Bucknell University in 1930, with high honors. He graduated, also with honors, from the Andover-Newton Theological School in 1933. He came to Maine to accept a call to the Kennebunkport parish upon his graduation from theological school. He served there for 7 years and then served as pastor of the Hammond Street Congregational Church in Bangor, Maine for 7 years. He then served as pastor of the North Congregational Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire starting in 1946. He served there …

White (Robert H.) Collection, 1987-1990, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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Robert H. White Collection contains notes, interview tapes and a microcassette recorder pertaining to Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Maliseet language and cultural materials. Also includes notes from White's book: Tribal Assets.

Buesing (Gregory) Papers, 1950-1982, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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Born in 1947, Gregory Buesing has worked professionally in public service, non-profit management, fundraising, advocacy, and law. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, an MBA from the University of Maine at Orono, and a JD from Northeastern University School of Law, and is a former member of the Massachusetts and California bars.

Buesing began working for the Passamaquoddy at Pleasant Point in 1967 on a volunteer project. After working for or with tribes in various capacities, he served on the Maine Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights at the time of …

Smith (Nicholas N.) Papers, 1879-2019, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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Nicholas Smith was born in Malden, Massachusetts in 1926. He attended the University of Maine from 1946 to 1950 and receiving his BA in American History. He later attended Columbia University for his MA in Medieval/European history. Smith was passionate about the conservation of Native American history and the rights of the communities he worked closely with for well over 50 years.

While working with several of the tribes in Maine and the surrounding areas he was able to compile the largest computerized bibliography of the Wabanaki peoples (WABIB). The WABIB has the most complete source of materials pertaining to …

Brannen Family Reunion Records, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

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This collection consists of scrapbooks and other records created by members of the annual Brannen Family Reunion in Statesboro, Georgia. Materials span 1949-2019 and include organizational documents, annual meeting minutes, photographs, newspaper clippings, financial receipts and a log book detailing the operations of the family reunions.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Leroy N. Suddath, Sr. Papers, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

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This collection consists of the personal papers of Lieutenant Leroy N. Suddath, Sr. during his service in the U.S. Army during World War I from 1917-1918. Materials include a handwritten diary and a bound book of reproduced letters from Suddath to his wife, Lucille Howle Suddath. Also included are diary transcripts and digital reproductions of created in 2022.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Howard (Michael) Papers, 1955-2001, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University Of Maine

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Michael W. Howard (Ph.D., Boston University, 1981; M.A., Boston University, 1977; B.A., University of Chicago, 1974) came to the University of Maine in 1981 as an assistant professor of Philosophy and went on to chair the department from 1993-1998 and from 2008-2009. Professor Howard retired from the University of Maine in August 2022.

Professor Howard specialized in social and political philosophy and taught courses on justice, political and economic democracy, the history of philosophy (ancient and modern) and formal logic and was involved with various peace and justice organizations, including the Maine Peace Action Committee Peace and Justice Center of …

John Henry Caldwell Papers: Finding Aid, Bethany Latham

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This finding aid references the papers (primarily correspondence, but also other materials) of John Henry Caldwell, member of the Alabama House of Representatives and the United States House of Representatives (1873-1877). Many of the letters were written between Caldwell and his wife while he was away serving in the 10th Alabama Regiment during the Civil War. The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available through the Library's Digital Collections, and the original materials are located in the Library's Alabama Gallery Special Collections.