Collections

The papers consist mostly of Louise Parkhill MacGillivray's family correspondence, and family diaries, a journal of vacations at Lake Superior, legal papers, examples of necrophotography, and other materials. Also included is a scrapbook about the affair of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, 1936.

The collection consists mostly of family correspondence to and from Louise, concerning family news and social or business matters, 1879-1979 and undated; diaries of Louise and other relatives, 1875-1960 (scattered); a journal of vacations at Lake Superior, 1971-1974; legal papers; genealogical materials; photographs, some of which document dead relatives in their coffins (necrophotography); and miscellaneous.

Family papers include miscellaneous materials of Abbie, Ben, Faith, and Russell Johnston.

The Family Papers include miscellaneous materials of various Johnston family members. Family members well represented in the collection include: Abbie Johnston, Ben Johnston, Faith Johnston, and Russell Johnston. Abbie Johnston was the daughter of H. D. (Hugh Day) Johnston, who was the eldest brother of John Yates Johnston. Russell Johnston was the grandson of H. D. through his son, Ben.

Of particular interest in the collection is Faith Johnston’s Reminiscences of Central, 1944, which describes Central Normal School’s professors, including Professor Larzelere, Miss Woldt, Dr. Rowe, Mr. Grawn, and Mr. Warriner, as well as the burning of the Administration building, known as Old Main, on December 7, 1925. Also of interest is her My Golden School Days, 1919-1922, which is a scrapbook (copy) of her days at Mount Pleasant High School.

Faith also wrote several books, copies of which may be found in the Clarke Historical Library, including Anchor Post, which details the lives of Faith and John Y. Johnston. (This information is from the collection.)

An Addition, added in 2013, includes a thank you note to Mae K. Woldt of the CMU Department of Biology from C.C. McDermid, with five black and white, some tinted, photographs of his garden, a letter to Faith from K.M. Fox, in Vienna, including Italian postcards, 1930; and six cards of lovely dried, pressed flower arrangements from Jerusalem, undated.

The collection consists of commencement programs and related materials.

Collection includes commencement address, 1990; general information, 1963-1974; script, 1976; and programs, 1893-2022 (1900 and 1923 programs are missing). The collection was part of the CMU. Vertical Files. Bound volumes of programs from the 1990s on came from the Alumni office. Additional commencement addresses and information may be found in the CMU. Office of the President papers. The collection is ongoing.

The collection includes: correspondence, meeting minutes, committee reports, scrapbooks, photographs and negatives, and printed materials of the organization, and items relating to the Michigan State Federation of Women's Clubs. The collection is ongoing.

The Mount Pleasant Woman’s Club organizational records consist of materials from 1894 forward which document the activities of this community organization. The collection was originally subdivided into three series, Minutes, General Administration, and Scrapbooks.

The Minutes series contains Club meeting minutes from 1894 to 1996, and 1999-2003, which are part of the Recording Secretary’s Files. Both sets of minutes are arranged chronologically. These provide the richest source of information on club activities throughout the years. They are nearly complete with only two gaps, 1902-1905 and 1916-1917. Information from these time periods can be found in Scrapbook 1. Some of the bound volumes of minutes contain membership lists, attendance records, bills and receipts.

The General Administration series consists of materials from 1896 to 1998 which primarily document activities of club committees and divisions. Types of materials found here include: reports, committee minutes, histories of the Club, Mount Pleasant Community Calendars, the constitution and bylaws, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, annual programs, certificates, awards, and a photograph. Major topics of this subgroup include; Club House Committee, Health Division, Home and Garden Division, and the Michigan State Federation of Women’s Clubs. A wide variety of information is present in the subgroup, but tends to be quite scattered and not comprehensive.

The Scrapbooks series includes Scrapbooks which primarily contain newspaper clippings, and may include annual and specific meeting programs, reports, bylaws, photographs and recipes. It appears that the books were created by several different sources and seem to form a couple of different roughly chronological series: Volumes 1-5 cover the years 1895 to 1960 and Volumes 6-8 span the years 1939 to 1960. Volumes 9 and 10 are special cases; 9 contains only annual programs, while 10 is primarily made up of photographs which document a wide variety of Mount Pleasant area topics. Subjects covered in volume 10 include: schools, farming, barns, sports, agricultural extension service, oil and gas, girl scouts, Central Michigan College, churches, and recipes.

Several printed works pertaining specifically to the Michigan State Federation of Women’s Clubs were transferred from this collection to the Clarke book collection.

Portions of this collection were microfilmed by the Clarke Historical Library in 1994. The master negatives are on file in the microfilming department of CHL.

Additions to the collection since 1994 include various administrative materials, meeting minutes, guest books, photographic materials, and more oversized Scrapbooks, 1984-1990, 1993-1994, 1994-2007 (4 Oversized volumes) and 1997-2006.

Most of the collection is in very good condition. The exceptions to this are a few scrapbooks and the guest book with wooden covers, the pages of which are quite acidic.

The collection consists of material collected and written by Virginia Kjolhede's mother, Marion Kraft Larson, about her school mate Ernest Hemingway and the Hemingway family, and the papers and photographs of Virginia's husband, Ted Kjolhede, respected athlete, alumni, coach, and athletic director of Central Michigan University.

The collection is divided into two series, each in its own box: first the materials of Ted Kjolhede, and second, the materials of Marion Kraft Larson. Materials in each box are in alphabetical and chronological order. Acidic clippings were photocopied and the originals were withdrawn from the collection.

Series (Box) 1 consists of materials documenting the life of Ted Kjolhede, including biographical materials, photographs of his athletic career and teams, articles and letters to the editors he wrote, many of which were published in his role as guest columnist of the local Mount Pleasant newspaper, the Morning Sun, and various materials related to CMU athletics, CMU World War II graduates, and his career at CMU.

Series (Box) 2 consists mostly of newspaper and magazine articles (copies) collected or created by Marion Kraft Larson about Ernest Hemingway. Also included are a few biographical materials about Marion. Of particular interest, is her Memory Book of Oak Park and River Forest Township High School, 1917, signed by Ernest and Marcelline Hemingway, among others, and her 1972 paper about her memories of Ernest and other Hemingways, entitled “Yes, I Knew Ernest Hemingway.” There is one undated, color photograph of Marion, and a photograph album, 1912-1913, probably of her primary school mates. Also included is one oversized photograph of the Oak Park and River Forest Township High School graduation class, 1917.

The collection documents the history, committees, and activities of the organization with meeting programs, photographs, and newsletters, mostly in scrapbooks, and other materials.

The Scrapbooks, 1922-2014, include: reports, correspondence, newsletters, meeting programs, ribbons, newspaper clippings, and photographs documenting the history, members, presidents, projects, and activities of the Rotary Club (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) and its members. The Scrapbooks mostly have wooden covers. Each Scrapbook is held together by three large bolts and nuts. Additional materials (Box 7), 2007-2008, include loose assignment, roster, and project papers. The collection is ongoing.

The collection includes a ledger, meeting minutes, reference materials, reports on sorority officers, members, events, and grade points, biographical material and photographs of Dr. Sharp, and information on Delta Sigma Phi fraternity.

The Organizational Records, 1929-1963, include a Ledger, 1942-1961, and Meeting Minutes, 1941-1961 (.5 cubic ft. in 1 box); Miscellaneous reference materials, 1933-1963 (approximately .5 cubic ft. in 1 box); Sorority Files, which are reports on each sorority listing officers, members, and their annual events, as well as some supporting documentation, (1 cubic ft. in 2 boxes); and Sorority Grade Point Materials, which show the grade points of each sorority sister and the average of each sorority, 1961-1964 (approximately .5 cubic ft. in 1 box). Also included is one folder each on the fraternity Delta Sigma Phi, 1948-1956, and Dr. D. Louise Sharp.

The collection includes minutes and correspondence related to the Academic Senate, its committees, and chairpersons.

The strength of the collection is the Meeting Minutes of the Academic Senate and its related committees. Other materials found in the collection include: curriculum change requests; Dean’s Advisory Councils meeting minutes; resolutions; correspondence; special reports; recommendations; course syllabi; the Senate Constitution; and miscellaneous materials. Some Meeting Minutes are only represented in the collection in cassette form. Pre-Senate materials, 1940-1964, are also included. Folders with contents described as “Materials” includes a mixture of meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, calendars, etc. See separate finding aid for additions to the collection.

For additional Senate Records see Richard Wysong papers (He served as Chair of the Senate in the 1960s).

Processing Note: The published reports of the CMU President have been removed from the collection and separately cataloged.

In order to facilitate future use by the Academic Senate, Boxes 1-14 and 25 were processed and left in the original order in which they were kept in the Senate office prior to being transferred to the Clarke in May and June 2002. Boxes 15-24 were processed differently, having been compiled from vertical files and prior donations from various sources.

Collection of 16 mm films, black and white and colored, about Central Michigan University construction and cornerstone layings of buildings, bands, homecoming, events, fottball, and related topics. Also included are 2 copies of film of the Mun San Korean Orphanage and 1 digital copy on hard drive.

The collection consists of 16 mm films, both black and white and colored, about Central Michigan University (CMU) showing the band, 1945, 1968, undated; building construction, undated; CM Life Office, undated; children playing sports inside and outside of Finch Fieldhouse, ca. 1960s?; Football Coaching School, 1949; Football Scrimmage, 1950; Fourth of July Parade, undated; Graduation, undated; Health Services, 1970; Homecoming, 1940-1969 (scattered), undated; laying the cornerstone of Finch Fieldhouse, 1951; May Festival, 1940, 1948; Miss CMU Pageant, undated; Mun San Orphanage, Korea, undated (2 copies), the receiving line at Pres. Boyd's inauguration, 1968; the University Center Construction, 1951, and Dormitory shots, 1951. One film in the collection, Film ID Number 0-1-1, has a strong vinegar smell, indicating some decomposition of the safety film. All of the film was rehoused in 2012 into archival film cannisters. A 2017 addition is a digital copy on a hard drive (in 1 small box) of the Mun San Orphanage, Korea, undated (1950s) film ID Number 0-1-12. The digital copy occupies 63.7 GB and includes 1 copy each in a .avi and .mp4 file. The digital copy plays for 8 minutes, 34 seconds. For more description including physical state of the film, please see the catalog record.

The collection includes blueprints and drawings of Central Michigan University buildings, 1946, 1995.

This collection includes blueprints and drawings of Barnard Dining Commons, Barnard Hall, Preston Apartment Building, and Tate Hall at Central Michigan University (CMU). They are all in very good shape and vary greatly in size and composition. This is the only extant blueprints and drawings for these buildings.

Barnard Hall was named for Anna M. Barnard, who was the head of the Department of Foreign Language, 1899-1944. Barnard was the fourth dormitory built at CMU and the first one on campus designed by architect Roger Allen of Roger Allen and Associates. Barnard opened before it was completed on September 23, 1948 due to the high demand for housing. It cost $1.4 million and housed 400 students, although it was usually filled beyond capacity. Until 1973-1974 it housed women, after which it became co-ed. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stayed in Barnard’s guest room when she visited CMU in 1955. Barnard’s adjoining food commons seated 600 students from Barnard, Sloan and Ronan halls, and was the first of its kind.

Tate Hall was named for Rachel Tate, an instructor in the Department of English and a part-time women’s dean, 1897-1916. Also designed by Roger Allen, Tate Hall opened in September of 1956, although it was not dedicated until January 19, 1958. Tate cost $1.14 million to build and housed 300 women from 1956 to 1972, after which it became co-ed. Like Barnard, Tate was demolished in 1997.

Preston Apartment building, also called Preston Court Apartments, housed married students. It was built by Roger Allen in 1955 and demolished in 1999 to allow for the expansion and reconstruction of the Park Library Building.

For additional information on Tate and Barnard see the Clarke’s website on CMU buildings that no longer exist.