Education Commons^™

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

Finding Aids

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, …

Thuenemann, Margaret, Collection, 1988-1999, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

This collection consists of music and teaching resources relating to the career of PSU music professor Margaret Thuenemann.

Margaret Thuenemann (1919-2002) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended the Cincinnati public schools, graduating from West Night High School. She went on to study music at the Cincinnati College of Music. There, she received her Bachelor of Degree in 1946, and later the Post-Graduate Diploma and the prestigious Springer Gold Medal of Honor for outstanding achievement in voice. Opportunities for further study were made possible by a Fulbright Grant which took her to Munich in 1953. After a successful performance career …

Treble Clef Club Collection. 1922-2015, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of the club’s meeting minutes, secretary and treasurer’s notes, programs, yearbooks, scrapbooks and music sheets.

The Treble Clef Club was chartered in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1904 by women interested in the study of music. The club originally agreed to have no more than 20 members who would meet twice a month to study composers and perform their works. In 1908 the club expanded membership due to increased interest. The first junior club, for high school girls, was started in 1922 but did not succeed. The club tried again in 1944, creating a club with 28 girls. By 1964, …

Fiddler's Fund Collection, 1970-1981, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

The collection of the Fiddler’s Fund consists of letters, newspaper clippings; article, meeting minutes, IRS tax information, deposit checks, non-profit filings, scholarship applications, and bank account balance reports for a musical-support organization.

Created in 1970, the Fiddler's Fund of Pittsburg Inc. was a non-profit organization (501c3) dedicated to raising money and providing scholarships for K-12 students in need of musical instruments and lessons. In 1980, after its dissolution, the Fiddler’s Fund donated its remaining funds to the Pittsburg State University Music Department for scholarships.

Purcell, Arleen, Collection, 1919-1991, Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Finding Aids

A collection of documents and items related to Fort Scott and southeast Kansas, and Arleen Purcell’s travels and studies.

Arleen Purcell (1912-2001) was an elementary school teacher in Fort Scott, Kansas who collaborated in writing the musical Footprints on the Frontier. She was married to Ralph Emerson Purcell, with whom she had two sons. Purcell took great interest in local history and community organizations. In the 1970s, she took study abroad trips through Western Illinois University and the Kansas State College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University) to South America.