Collections

Papers include: drafts, transcripts, and carbon copies of Field's stories, and a scrapbook of his column, the Far Parade.

The collection includes Smith’s correspondence with several magazines and publishers relating to his short stories and his only published novel, The Muskamming Red Head (1932), a signed copy of which is separately cataloged in the Clarke Historical Library; papers concerning several writing courses which he took through correspondence; drafts, typescripts, and carbon copies of typescripts of his writings; and one scrapbook of clippings of his newspaper column, “The Far Parade.”

Della T. Lutes’ papers include personal items, such as an autograph album, photographs, scrapbooks, and biographical materials, including numerous obituaries. However, the majority of her papers include drafts of articles; her published articles, columns, and books; and also critical reviews of her publications.

Della T. Lutes’ papers include personal items, such as an autograph album, photographs, scrapbooks, and biographical materials, including numerous obituaries. However, the majority of her papers include drafts of articles; her published articles, columns, and books; and also critical reviews of her publications. Rejection letters and notes in the collection prove that even successful Michigan authors sometimes get turned down. The collection is organized into the series of biographical/personal or publications, then divided by type of material, and organized alphabetically, and chronologically. The Clarke Historical Library also has 22 of her books.

This collection contains materials related to Brooks’ research for her book, A Certain Sadness: The Untimely Deaths and Family of David and Romie Hodell in 1920s Rural Newaygo County, Michigan. This research mainly involved Hodell family history, focusing on the people and events surrounding the murder of her uncle, Romie Hodell, and her grandfather, David Hodell.

This collection, 1882-2016, and undated, contains materials related to Brooks’ research for her book, A Certain Sadness: The Untimely Deaths and Family of David and Romie Hodell in 1920s Rural Newago County, Michigan. This research mainly involved Hodell family history, focusing on the people and events surrounding the murder of her uncle, Romie Hodell, and her grandfather, David Hodell. Included in the collection are genealogies, photographs, copies of newspaper articles and telegrams, correspondence between family members, CDs of oral histories, and research notes. With rare exceptions, most of the materials were created during the 2010s and are copies of primary sources. The sources themselves date from before the murder in the 1880s to the 1990s. Some original materials are the undated pay book of David “Hotel,” {Hodell] Nina “Hotel’s” [Hodell’s] The Royal Path of Life published in 1882, and the 1922 yearbook of Hollis Hodell. There are also materials in Box 2 and 3 that are copies from other libraries, such as the Bentley Historical Library.

The 2021 addition, 1 box, .5 cubic foot, 1967-2015, and undated, contains biographical materials about Brooks’ life from birth to retirement, 1939-2015. The addition begins with her memoir, A Small Town Girl’s Life and Times, which details her life from birth to early retirement and is composed of poems and short stories that Brooks has written. This addition also contains an unbound scrapbook detailing Brooks’ experiences in Austria studying flute at the Vienna Academy of Music in 1967. During her career Brooks’ spent time working as a teacher on the Navajo Reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico. This folder contains photographs and short stories written by Brooks about her time as a teacher on the reservation. Notably, this folder contains drawings and a weaving project gifted to Brooks by her students. This addition also contains chapbooks, news articles and poems published by Brooks during her career. Most of the news articles (copies) were published by the Grand Rapids Press from 1980 to 1989. The chapbooks were published by Babbling Brooks Press and Finishing Line Press from 2011-2012 and 2015. There is a folder dedicated to Brooks’ watercolor paintings, photographs, letters and awards all done through her lifetime. Each folder in the addition contains photos taken by Brooks or of Brooks.

Processing Note: 3 cubic feet of materials, including duplicates, peripheral materials, and materials already in the archives, were removed and given back to the donor after processing. 3 Newago County history books were separately catalogued. One copy of the donor’s book, A Certain Sadnes…,2015, is included in Box 3 as per the donor agreement, and another copy is separately cataloged in the Clarke.

The collection consists of family photographs, correspondence, drafts of her children's stories, correspondence, and accounts.

The collection documents the life, research, and writing career of Frances Margaret “Madge” Fox. The collection only lacks copies of her outgoing correspondence to friends and business colleagues.

Physically, the collection is in very good condition. Items that were very fragile or acidic have been photocopied and the originals removed from the collection. Except for Box 53 which has legal-size materials in it, the collection consists of letter-sized or smaller materials.

The collection is divided into the following series: Biographical Materials, 1886-2008 (Scattered) and undated, 1 box (.5 cubic feet). This includes originals and photocopies of census records, newspaper articles and magazine clippings, library cards, and printouts of e-photographs, documenting Madge’s life, literary career, death, education, research, and homes. Art by Walt Harris, the illustrator of Little Bear is also found here.

Photographs, 1877-1953 (Scattered), and undated, 3 boxes (1.5 cubic feet), consists of one folder of negatives, the rest all being various pre-1960 forms of photographs including a stereographic view, tintypes, cartes-de-visites, and snapshots, all black and white, in various shapes and sizes. Many of the images are unidentified and undated. Identified photographs are filed alphabetically by the name of the person, and by topics and date when possible. There are photographs of Marge, her family and friends, animals, birds, and various research topics.

Business Correspondence, 1899-1953, 1955, and 1958, and undated, 6 boxes (3 cubic feet). Most of the Business Correspondence consists of communications from editors, thank you notes, rejection letters, commentary and suggestions, as well as royalty checks. This is filed chronologically. Of particular note in this series are decorative notes with art from Walt Harris, who sketched a bear and porridge on his note of October 2, 1923. He was the artist of Little Bear. Additional art by Harris is in the Biographical Materials box.

The vast majority of Personal Correspondence is letters and postcards from her friends and relatives to her. Correspondence with her closest relatives and friends, 1912-1952, and undated, composes 3 boxes (1.5 cubic feet). It is filed alphabetically by surname. These are the people with whom she corresponded often and regularly. Here are letters from her Aunt Annie, distant relatives of her father’s, and many friends from Washington, D.C. and Mackinaw, as well as the Joslyns. There are a number of letters from associates in the publishing business, notably Madge’s friend Mrs. Jessica Mannon of Bobbs-Merril Company’s Editorial Board. These letters discuss health issues, their shared history, family news, her publications, travel plans, and research ideas, as well as the last and next time Madge and the letter writer met or will meet, and friends and relatives common to both. There is also one folder of correspondence from Madge Fox to various people, 1883-1952, and one folder about damage and repairs to her home, 1926.

More generic letters from a wider span of friends, fans, and children with whom Madge corresponded more rarely, or perhaps once or twice, compose the remaining personal correspondence. Some of these letters are as simple as Dear Miss Fox, I love your books. When possible, correspondence is filed alphabetically by surname, 1920-1950s. There are also folders for people who signed only with their first names or initials that could not be matched to or with any of the other correspondence. This section of the correspondence totals 2 boxes (1 cubic foot).

Research Notes, 1901-1943 and undated, 1 box (.5 cubic feet). This includes a bibliography, reference and photographic material organized alphabetically by topics.

Stories, include the actual story, drafts, they may by typed, handwritten, or published, and may include related materials such as notes, drawings, photographs, letters of rejection from an editor, an index to a book, or a cover page. The stories, which cover a plethora of topics in each subseries, are arranged alphabetically by title. Sometimes the title varies on different items in the folder. If so, square brackets are used on the folder heading. In one case, there is no title, so I created a title based on the topic and put it in square brackets. Many of the stories are based on factual documentation. The stories, particularly the drafts, show the development of her stories and are the core of the collection.

The Stories are subdivided into the following subseries: Handwritten Stories, 1921-1943, and undated, 5 boxes (2.5 cubic feet); Published Stories, 1899-1952, and undated, 2 boxes (1 cubic foot), includes advertisements, lists of her published stories, and the stories themselves. Typed Stories, which are subdivided into the following subjects:

Activities, Greeting Card Suggestions, Plays, and Poems, also includes models for paper dolls and other easily made toys and games for small children, 1934, 1944 (Scattered), and undated, 1 box (.5 cubic feet). Madge wrote ideas for babies and small children’s games, activities, paper dolls, as well as various plays for children to act in, poems for children, and a few ideas for greeting cards.

Animal Stories, includes animals, insects, and Uncle Sam’s Birds book, 1917-1948, and undated, 6 boxes (3 cubic feet), includes a list of all the stories, and then the stories. There are many stories regarding a wide array of animals, notably bears, birds, U.S. Army mules, cats, and dogs, including Owney, the well traveled U.S. mail dog, and Balto who delivered diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska, during an epidemic of the disease, among others.

Buildings, Countries, Events, and Places Stories, 1912-1947, and undated, 3 boxes (1.5 cubic feet). The United States, England, Bermuda, and other countries are documented here.

Famous People Stories, 1923-1952, and undated, 3 boxes (1.5 cubic feet) includes stories of royalty, politicians, inventors, explorers, soldiers, American heroes, but not Indians nor saints.

Indian Tales, Famous Indians, and Captivity Stories, 1928-1950, and undated, 2 boxes (1 cubic foot) documents famous leaders, incidents, tales, and captivity stories.

Michigan Stories, 1914-1945, and undated, 1 box (.5 cubic foot), includes stories of important and common Michigan people and events, based mainly in and around Mackinaw City. Here are a number of stories and experiences of some of Madge’s Michigan friends.

Miscellaneous Stories, 1910-1952, and undated, 6 boxes (3 cubic feet) covers a plethora of topics, including American and foreign, current and historic trees, plants, statues, art, inventions such as sewing machines and fly paper, and common everyday items such as bells and beads.

Religious, Holidays, Saints, Christmas Stories, 1917-1946, and undated, 2 boxes (1 cubic foot) includes information on a variety of Catholic saints, many Quakers, history of many holidays and holy days, and many religious themes, as well as Christmas stories.

Volumes, 4 boxes (2 cubic feet) include: Accounts, 1901-1947 (27 v.); Address books, 1919, 1931, 1940 (3 v.), Diaries, 1917-1952 (14 v.), Quotations, 1898, 1943 (1 v.), and Story Notes, 1915-1949, and undated (34 v.). Her Accounts note which stories Madge sent to publishers, which were published, and what she was paid for them. Her Diaries consist of brief, sometimes intermittent notes, mainly about health, travel and social plans and events, and her research and writing work. They vary in detail and completeness. All the volumes vary in size and shape.

Legal-size Materials, 1 box (.5 cubic feet) consists of her Publishing Contracts, 1902-1951, some partial Research Notes on Paw Paw (Mich.), undated; and a Scrapbook, 1897, 1945, made in a Beckman and Mechelson, Inc., Bay City (Mich.) Stock Certificate Book.

Index Cards to Madge’s personal and business correspondence, 4 boxes, 1899-1944, complete the collection. Noted on the index cards is the name of the writer, recipient, date, address, and number of pages. The cards are arranged chronologically. [Note: the cards existed prior to Marian processing the collection. It is unknown if Madge or earlier Clarke staff created the index cards.]

George Weeks papers include: awards; audiocassettes; correspondence; copies of newspaper clippings; pamphlets; planners; maps; notebooks; photographs.

The collection contains awards, audiocassettes, correspondence, copies of newspaper clippings, pamphlets, planners, maps, notebooks, photographs, and other materials related to Week’s journalism career and research about Northern Michigan. The majority of the Northern Michigan research materials are for Week’s book, Sleeping Bear, Yesterday and Today.

Materials about the Day family were organized into a separate collection, the Day Family Papers. Correspondence between Weeks and the members of the Day family are within this collection and the Day Family Papers. Researchers may also be interested in his books and the D. H. Day Family Papers, which are separately cataloged in the Clarke.

The papers include her research notes and cassette tapes of oral history interviews for Fuller's master's thesis on the topic of sports.

The collection includes her research notes and cassettes of oral history interviews she compiled for her master's thesis.

Essays by Hepler.

The collection consists of fourteen essays written by Hepler between 1937 and 1980, as well as correspondence relating and reactions to the essays. These essays range in content and style from academic to newspaper feature articles. Topics including ROTC, educational philosophy, Michigan authors, nineteenth century periodicals, and Zimbabwe received serious attention from Hepler. Topics such as fairs in Saginaw (Michigan), the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company, pioneer life in Leelanau (Michigan), the steamer Beeghly, as well as his own life, are well researched but less thorough. Photographs of Zimbabwe and research material are also included in the collection.

Genealogies, photographs, publication, notes, correspondence, lists. and historical information of Margaret Drake Elliot.

Includes publications, family genealogies, maps, and other materials she gathered and her notes and drafts of the book.

Biographical materials, photographs of her Alma, Michigan, garden, and postcards of Mrs. Francis King, stock certificates and scrapbook of Francis King.

The collection consists mostly of black and white photographs (copies) and other documentation of Mrs. King’s garden in Alma, Michigan. Some of the images include the Kings, their children, Ackney, pets, farm animals, and structures, such as walls and benches, in the garden. There are also photographs of a church decorated with flowers, probably by Mrs. King. Also included are copies of biographical materials, and postcards that Mrs. King sent to relatives and Ackney. Stock certificates and a scrapbook represent Francis King. The scrapbook documents his life, political and business interest, 1908-1911, through photographs, newspaper clippings, notes, and correspondence. The Clarke also has some of Mrs. King’s books.

The collection includes his scrapbooks, typed notes, notecards, reel-to-reel tapes, a 16 mm film, and slides.

The collection consists of his scrapbooks, typed notes, typed 3x4 and 5x8 inch notecards, reel-to-reel tapes, a 16 mm film, and slides. The vast majority of the collection, particularly the note cards and slides document Michigan historic markers, historic sites, events, counties, townships, Chippewa Indians, and school trips to the Upper Peninsula, the Straits area, and Grayling, Michigan. Also included are the 1884 and 1885 tax assessor’s assessment books for Jerome Township (Midland County). The assessor’s volumes are not records of permanent historic value, but have been maintained as examples in this collection. [Midland County’s Clerk and Treasurer’s historic financial and clerical records are also housed (on deposit) at the Clarke.] Midland County (Mich.) history is well represented in this collection.

The collection is organized by format and size: letter-sized (or smaller) materials in boxes, note cards according to their size, and legal- and oversized materials at the end. Letter-size (or smaller) materials are organized alphabetically by title or topic, and then by size, and /or chronologically as needed.

Overall, the collection is in good shape. The plumber’s account book and copy of the Declaration of Allegiance are quite acidic and brittle and should be used with care. There is a slightly musty smell to the collection, so researchers with allergies or asthma may wish to take precautions while using the collection.

Processing Notes: The collection originally included about 21 cubic feet of material. Of this, maps, books, children’s literature, and textbooks were separately cataloged. Mass-produced out-of-state slides, unidentified reel-to-reel tapes, all duplicates, and out-of-state postcards were withdrawn from the collection during processing. A substantial number of Michigan postcards were merged into the Clarke’s Michigan Postcard collection. Family vacation slides were returned to Mr. Berriman's daughter, Beth DeWitt, as per her request. The collection was donated by Beth DeWitt, on behalf of all of Mr. Berriman's children in their father's memory and honor.