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The collection documents the development of local health care, including hospitals and ambulatory services, for central and northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, in 1960s-1970s. Publications/data end in 1988/1989, projection plans in 2000.

This collection, 23 cubic ft. (in 22 boxes and 1 oversized folder), 1955-1989 and undated, was donated by East Central Michigan Health Systems Agency (ECMHSA) in the 1970s. Due to the size of the collection and the length of time that it was unprocessed, the materials are organized in one series by region and then chronologically within each box. For a more detailed listing see the Box and Folder Listing. Overall the collection is in good physical condition.

The collection documents the development of local health care, including hospitals and ambulatory services, for central and northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, in 1960s-1970s. While the actual publications and data end at approximately 1988/1989, projection plans go until 2000.

The collection includes a plethora of Michigan health-related topics including: public health care; public safety; hospitals; vital statistics; the mentally or physically handicapped; the elderly; renal disease; obstetrics and infant births; hospital beds; emergency or acute care; ambulance services; venereal disease; immunizations; nurses; nurses aides; physicians; PBB; surgery; health care statistics of/for minority and different age groups; waste management; smoking; rehabilitation services; and public educational programs.

The information is in annual reports, procedural manuals, implementation plans, statistics, graphs, guidelines, grant applications, and plans for counties, cities, hospitals, and regional health care agencies. While most of the information relates to central or northern Michigan, the entire state and Detroit hospitals are also represented.

The collection includes material created or collected by Halbert about the Michigan PBB disaster and how it affected him and his family.

The collection includes material created or collected by Halbert about the Michigan PBB disaster and how it affected him and his family. Materials he created include: his co-written article with Jackson, an invitation letter from American Veterinary Medical Association and his speaking notes, his Outline for Bitter Harvest, his personal health records, speeches, speaking notes, and his testimony before the Michigan House of Representations (1974) and US House of Representatives (1978). Materials he collected includes newspaper, magazine, and journal articles in which he is cited, thanked, and/or discussed, remarks by Governor William G. Milliken about Toxic Chemicals in Michigan, June 24, 1978 and PBB history/legislative report from Milliken administration, undated [1978], and Remarks by Lt. Governor James H. Brickley about PBB in Michigan, October 4, 1978, and reference materials about PBB. A 1986 VHS videotape of Bitter Harvest was separately cataloged. The collection is organized alphabetically and in good physical condition, with some acidification.

Researchers may also be interested in other PBB research manuscript collections and secondary sources about PBB in the Clarke Historical Library, including the memoir, Bitter Harvest (1978).

Processing Note: During processing social security numbers were blacked out on copies of health records and those pages were photocopied. Extremely acidic materials were photocopied and the originals, as well as duplicates of other materials (1 folder total), were withdrawn and returned to the donor, as per the donor agreement.

The collection, 1974-2018 (Scattered) and undated, documents the impact of PBB on the Neyer family and their cattle and dairy farm, their ongoing efforts to educate themselves and the public about the dangers of PBB, in the media, and politically, and to fight for financial reimbursement in Circuit Court, and to understand and document the impact of PBB on their health.

The collection, 1974-2018 (Scattered) and undated, documents the impact of PBB on the Neyer family and their cattle and dairy farm, their ongoing efforts to educate themselves and the public about the dangers of PBB, in the media, and politically, and to fight for financial reimbursement in Circuit Court, and to understand and document the impact of PBB on their health. Parts of the collection were generated or collected by brothers David and George “Tim” Neyer. The collection has several broad series. The first and largest of these, over half of the collection, is collected documentation of the disaster and its impact. Research journal articles, newspaper and magazine clippings from local, state, and national publications, reports, fliers, and newsletters compose about half of the collection. Also in this series are correspondence, fliers, bills, and related information Neyer and his family collected from researchers, physicians, politicians, Michigan State University, Farm Bureau Services, the PBB Health Studies, a variety of beef and agricultural organizations. There are nine folders of materials from the Michigan departments of Agriculture and Public Health, later Community Health. Also included are communications, newsletters, and other information from organizations which sought to educate and inform farmers and the public about PBB and/or advocate for the farmers, notably the PBB Action Committee of Reed City (2 folders). A second series is the documentation of the direct impact of PBB on the Neyer family and farm as recorded the Neyer brothers’ ongoing efforts to tell the story from their perspective in the media, including newspapers and on television, in family cow photographs, family correspondence to Neyer and to politicians by Madden relatives, health test records, and the Neyers’ claim in Circuit Court, and related materials and correspondence with lawyers Abood, Abood and Abood, P.C. MI. Lastly, Tim’s efforts as a member of the PBB Citizens Advisory Board for Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health and its MI PBB Registry are documented in five folders. The collection is organized by size, alphabetically and chronologically.

Health test results are in Box 1 in 3 folders: Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, MI PBB Registry, Correspondence, Test Results of George Neyer and Informational Materials, 2004-2018 (Scattered), undated; MI. Dept. of Public Health, Long-term PBB Study, Correspondence, Proposal, Forms, Test Results of George and Kacey Neyer, 1975-1988 (Scattered); MI. Dept. of Public Health, Long-term PBB Study, Correspondence, Test Results of George Neyer, 2000-2012 (Scattered). In 2023 Archivist Marian Matyn obtained permission from George and Kacey Neyer to retain and make available for public research the family’s medical test results. Copies of the permission form are in the relevant folders in Box 1.

Processing Note: A total of .5 cubic feet of materials, mostly acidic or poor-quality newspaper clippings and articles, such as thermal copies, were returned to the donor as per the donor form. Photocopies of these items were retained in the collection. Also returned to the donor were a few items that were peripheral to the collection, such as copies of general family photographs. All photographs remaining in the collection were sleeved for preservation and access purposes.