Collections

Ann Arbor, Michigan attorney, counsel to U.S. Congressional committees, and Republican Congressman, 1951-1965. Correspondence files concerning work with the Senate Committee Investigating the National Defense Program after World War II, and Congressional files, especially concerning his work with the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Government Operations; also photographs and motion picture films.

The George Meader papers primarily document his Congressional service from 1951 to 1964. There are some materials documenting his personal and professional life aside from his work in Congress. The papers relating to Congressional service include correspondence, speeches, campaign literature, texts of radio broadcasts, press releases and newsletters, photographs, and sound recordings. The other materials include memoirs, diaries, correspondence and memoranda, case files, photographs and film, scrapbooks, and correspondence regarding organizations to which Meader belonged and relating to the opening of his Ann Arbor law practice in 1939. Also included in the Meader papers are the diaries, notebooks, and student papers of his daughter, Barbara.

The collection has been divided into five series: the National Defense Investigating Committee, Congressional Files, Personal, Professional, and Visual Materials. The first two series cover Meader's professional activities in Washington, D. C., including what he saw as crucial work on the Truman committee. The original order of material in these series has been pretty much maintained. The next two series, Personal and Professional, reflect the artifice of the archivist as the original order of materials in the groups was significantly altered in the course of processing.

The Gregory M. Franzwa Lincoln Highway Papers consist of correspondence, publications, clippings, administrative papers, and audiovisual materials that not only discuss the inner workings of the Lincoln Highway Association that Franzwa helped spearhead in 1992 but also showcase the legacy of the historic interstate.

The Gregory M. Franzwa Lincoln Highway Papers, donated by Franzwa's widow, Kathy, on June 26, 2015, is a compilation of correspondence, administrative documents, guides, articles, photographs, and audiovisual materials that deal with the running of the Lincoln Highway Association as well as with the history, sites, and legacy associated with the highway itself.

Correspondence: In this series, there are letters and emails arranged chronologically about a variety of subjects including: the publication of Franzwa's books, the formation and functioning of the Lincoln Highway Association, conventions, and information related to the history of the interstate. Some are the most frequent correspondents that appear in this collection are: Bob and Joyce Ausberger, Rob Bauer, Earl W. Givens, Brian Butko, Lawrence R. Eno, Randall A. Wagner, and Esther M. Oyster. Each of these individuals played a role in the management of the organization. Many of the earlier documents in this section deal with the construction of the Lincoln Highway and are photocopies of the originals.

Lincoln Highway Association Administration: The documents in this series relate to the operation of the Lincoln Highway Association. Located first within this section are the membership rosters that are organized by date. There are two rosters from 1992 that contain slightly different information and are separated from the other booklets due to their rarity, fragile condition, and abundant annotations. Following the rosters are the papers of the organization that are arranged chronologically. The types of materials included in the papers are: participant lists, bylaws, mission statements, reports to the board, position descriptions, invitations to events, financial records, meeting notes, and internal communication. There are also awards presented by the Lincoln Highway Association to chapters of the organization as well as to individual members. The Lifetime Membership Awards are arranged alphabetically by last name while all the other certificates are organized chronologically.

Guides: This section consists of brochures, educational materials, information about landmarks along the Lincoln highway, maps, tours, and travel guides. Both the brochures and the maps are alphabetically organized by state while the travel guides are arranged alphabetically. The travel guides from the beginning of the twentieth century are photocopies of the originals. Though many topics appear in this series, Iowa is particularly well represented.

Journals and Clippings: This series is comprised of seventeen journals, arranged chronologically, that contain articles that either mention the activities of the Lincoln Highway Association directly or discuss themes with which this organization contends. There are also clippings that include newspaper articles, periodical pages, and short narratives organized according to date. The older documents in this section have either been printed out or photocopied.

Photographs: In this section, there are seventeen folders of photographs, negatives, film strips, transparencies, and printouts that are predominantly arranged according to chronology. These pictures document landmarks and scenery alongside the Lincoln Highway, Lincoln Highway Association trips and gathering such as the 1992 foundation meeting in Ogden, Iowa, and reproductions of historic images. On the back of many of the sheets of negatives, there is a list detailing the sites depicted along with a date.

Slides: The slides contain images of Lincoln Highway Association members, landmarks and scenery, and reproductions of photographs that had been taken in the early days of the Lincoln Highway's history. Franzwa used these slides, which arrived in carrousels but have since been removed from their initial housing for storage concerns, in presentations about the Lincoln Highway. They have been kept in their original groupings. While some written components to these slideshows are included with the slides, there is also a folder of other scripts as well as introductory information about Franzwa himself.

Audiovisual: The audiovisual materials consist of cassette tapes and digital media. The cassettes contend with topics like: Iowa's relationship with the Lincoln Highway, Utah, and Franzwa's notes on various historic societies. The digital media sub-series is comprised of CDs that contain images of the Lincoln Highway and individuals affiliated with the Lincoln Highway Association. Two of the CDs are pictures that accompany tours, and the PowerPoint is a conglomeration of Edward A. Holden's 1915 expedition.

Republican U.S. Senator from Michigan, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines; files relating to his various career responsibilities, photographs, sound recordings.

The Homer Ferguson collection has been divided into eleven series based primarily upon the important phases of his public life: Personal; Circuit Judgeship; Senate Career; Interregnum: November 1954 - April 1955; Hoover Commission; Philippine Ambassadorship; United States Court of Military Appeals; Inter-Parliamentary Union; Photographs, Sound Recordings, and Myrtle Ferguson Papers.

Birmingham, Michigan, businesswoman, Democratic Regent of the University of Michigan; contain materials relating to her life and interest in the Philippines, especially during the administration of Frank Murphy, during World War II, and during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos; papers relating to her interest in University of Michigan history; and photographs.

The Irene Murphy collections has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Murphy family; University of Michigan Board of Regents; Philippines interests and activities; Other topics; Scrapbooks and clippings; Sound recording; and Photographs.

Kalamazoo, Michigan newspaperman; papers relating to his career in journalism and to his trip to the Far East in 1940.

The Walsh papers includes scattered materials relating to his career as a newspaperman. The bulk of the collection concerns the flight of American newspapermen aboard a clipper plane to the South Pacific prior to World War II. Other materials relate to the history and operation of the Kalamazoo Gazette. Items of interest include research material concerning Dr. William E. Upjohn and the history of the Upjohn family. There is also correspondence received, 1929-1930, supporting the newspaper's editorial position regarding enforcement of the 18th Amendment. Some of the correspondents in the collection include: Caroline Bartlett Crane, Fred W. Green, Frank Murphy, Chase S. Osborn, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Arthur H. Vandenberg, and Wendell L. Willkie.

Battle Creek, Michigan and Washington, D.C. family including C.W. (Charles William) Post, cereal manufacturer, and anti-union activist and founder of Post City, Texas; and his daughter Marjorie Merriweather Post, executive of General Foods Co., wife of U. S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, art collector, philanthropist, socialite, and Washington D.C. hostess. C.W. Post papers, largely concern labor-management relations, unionism, the Postum Company, currency reform, advertising, and matters of food and hygiene; Marjorie Merriweather Post papers document her social activities and travel, philanthropies art collections, and the maintenance and preservation of her homes and other possessions.

The Post family collection includes papers of businessman and food processor, C. W. Post, largely relating to labor-management relations, unionism, the Post Company, currency reform, advertising, and matters of food and hygiene; and papers, photographs, and sound recordings of his daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post, General Foods executive and philanthropist, relating to social activities and engagements, philanthropies, and the maintenance and preservation of her homes and other possessions.

The C.W. Post papers consist of manuscript items and printed works created by C.W. Post and retained by his daughter, Marjorie Merriweather Post. The papers are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, attorney, Republican regent of the University of Michigan. Correspondence and other materials relating to state and local Republican party affairs, particularly the election of 1944 and the Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962; organizational files, primarily concerning activities with the Rotary Club, the Free and Accepted Order of Masons, the National Music Camp at Interlochen, the American Bar Association, the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, the Historical Society of Michigan, Cleary College, Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the Wayne State University Board of Governors; and photographs.

The Roscoe Bonisteel collection dates largely after 1950, when Bonisteel had already reached an age at which most men retire. Because of this, many of Bonisteel's activities are either poorly documented or altogether absent from his papers. Despite this, the papers do contain some illuminating material.

The collection is divided into ten series: biographical and personal, colleges and universities, financial, historical organizations, legal, Masons, political, Presbyterian Church, Rotary, and Photographs.

Saginaw, Michigan, lumberman and businessman, and Michigan State Tax Commissioner, 1912 and wildlife conservationist and sportsman. Papers include extensive correspondence files, business records and photographs.

The William Mershon collection consists of correspondence dealing with Mershon's various activities as a lumberman, Saginaw businessman, and member of the State Tax Commission in 1912. Subjects included in the papers are Michigan wildlife conservation, the Michigan Sportsmen Association, the Michigan Manufacturers Association, the Michigan State Tax Commission, Michigan politics, the Democratic party, personal business investments, lumbering and mining interest, and personal affairs.

The collection also includes diaries, a book of notes on hunting and fishing trips, and various business records such as cash books, time books, ledgers, and journals. These primarily concern his investments and lumbering business. Many of the business records are available on microfilm. The collection also includes photographs.