Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Back to top
Number of results to display per page
View results as:

Search Results

Collection

Tom Van Zoeren oral history collection, 1860s-2011 (majority within 2000-2010)

1.5 linear feet — 70.1 GB (online)

Online
Tom Van Zoeren was a park ranger at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. His collection contains oral history interviews relating to the history of the Sleeping Bear Dunes region and other Michigan localities.

The Van Zoeren collection contains oral history interviews conducted between 1979 and 2010, and includes copies of scanned photos and supporting documents. The interviews are available variously on audio cassette tapes and online. Transcripts or summaries are found in the collection for many of the interviews. The Van Zoeren collection is organized in two sections by format.

The first section contains analog files and audio cassette tapes. This section is arranged in series by family interview: Basch/Lanham/Van Zoeren oral history interviews, 1993-2000; George Burfiend oral history interviews, photo collection, and farm tour, 2005-2008; DeKorne family oral history and photographs, 2006; Doan family oral history interview, 2006; Dottie (Ashmore) Lanham oral history and photograph collection, 2003-2008; Alfred and Loraine (Olsen) Mason oral history interview and photo collection, 2001-2004; Leonard Thoreson oral history interview and photos, 2005-2006; and Frederick and Margretha Werner Farm oral history interview and photo collection, 2006-2007. These series contain information related to the families and interviews in the form of text, scanned and printed images, and audio and video recordings.

Information about selected interviews:
  1. Basch, Laura (Oleson), of the Port Oneida, Michigan, area (audio cassettes and online)
  2. Burfiend, George, relating to Burfiend farm and Port Oneida (online)
  3. DeKorne, Jack relating to the family of Boudewyn and Kate DeKorne of Grand Rapids and Glen Lake, Michigan (online)
  4. Fargo, Judy Carole and Ruth Ann Doan Jones, relating to the Frank and Alma Doan family of Croswell, Michigan ( online, filed under Doan family)
  5. Lanham, Dottie, relating to her life and to Burdickville and surrounding area (online)
  6. Lanham, John, of Burdickville, Michigan (audio cassettes and online)
  7. Mason, Alfred and Lorraine [referred to as 'Loraine' in some collection materials] (Olsen), relating to their families, the family farms and the Port Oneida community (online)
  8. Miller, Charles, relating to the Frederick and Margretha Werner farm in Port Oneida (online, filed under Werner)
  9. Stuber, Mary Lou, relating to the Frederick and Margretha Werner farm in Port Oneida (online, filed under Werner)
  10. Thoresen, Leonard, relating to his family, the family farm and the Port Oneida community (online)
  11. Thoreson, Leonard, relating to the Frederick and Margretha Werner farm in Port Oneida (online, filed under Werner)
  12. Van Noord, Trudy, relating to the family of Boudewyn and Kate DeKorne of Grand Rapids and Glen Lake, Michigan (online, filed under DeKorne family)
  13. Van Zoeren, Jay, of Vriesland, Michigan, 1948 graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School (audio cassettes and online)

Additional files relating to these and other persons are available online.

The second section consists of one series of digitized material, oral histories, photos, and other historic materials from the Sleeping Bear Dunes region. The digital files were created or assembled by Van Zoeren and were received on an external hard drive. This series is further divided into subseries by type of material: Information on Farms, Families, etc.; Oral History Audio Files; Historic Images; Video Recordings; Genealogies; Census and Cemetery Records; Historic Maps; and Other Resources. Some of the content may be digitized versions of items in the analog portion of the collection.

Collection

Sherwin T. Wine papers, 1930s-2011

36.5 linear feet (in 42 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 4.4 GB (online)

Online
Sherwin T. Wine was the iconoclastic founder of Humanistic Judaism and an openly gay rabbi who established the Birmingham Temple and formed the Society for Humanistic Judaism, the Center for New Thinking (a community forum for discussion of current events and issues), and various groups devoted to free thought and humanism. Papers include biographical content, correspondence, writings, educational and worship materials, sound recordings, visual materials, and various organizational records.

The Sherwin T. Wine papers illustrate the intellectual traits and organizational acumen of a man who devoted his life to the establishment of a new branch of Judaism and the advancement of humanistic values and rationalism. The collection will be of value to those individuals who seek a deeper understanding of Wine as a person as well as the founder of Humanistic Judaism. Writings, correspondence, and clippings detail the process by which Wine broke free from the traditions of Reform Judaism to found a new denomination. Materials from the Birmingham Temple and other Secular Humanist Judaism organizations trace the development and expansion of the movement. Content related to the many other groups with which Wine was involved reveal an individual able to organize and inspire others to act at local, national, and international levels.

Collection

Russell M. Magnaghi collection, 1890s-2009 (majority within 1977-2009)

3 linear feet — 1 oversize folder — 1.8 MB (online) — 7 digital audio files

Online
Russell M. Magnaghi is professor of history at Northern Michigan University. The collection consists of oral history recordings and transcripts and photographs, developed as part of Magnaghi's work in documenting history and ethnicity of the Upper Peninsula and Michigan in general.

The collection consists of three series developed as part of Magnaghi's work in documenting history and ethnicity of the Upper Peninsula and Michigan in general. The series are Italian-American Immigrant Oral History Series; Ethnic Heritage of Presque Isle County, Mich.; and Photographs.

Collection

Robert W. Fletcher papers, 1950-2004

0.4 linear feet — 3 digital video files

Online

Papers include correspondence, diary, clippings, and photographs relating to his experience as a prisoner; correspondence relating to his Purple Heart award and the Prisoner of War medal. Also included a memoir by Sidney Esensten about his experience as an American P.O.W. during the Korean War.

Visual materials include photos relating to his experience as a prisoner; videotape entitled "P.O.W.--Americans in Enemy Hands" (1986), which includes interview with Fletcher; videotape of 1990 presentation by Fletcher and three Tuskegee Airmen, African American World War II aviators, describing their military experiences, and an undated videotape "Priority: P.O.W."

Collection

Reginald F. Sharkey papers, 1953-2007 (majority within 1967-1991)

4.5 linear feet (in 6 boxes) — 1 oversize folder

Conservationist from Petoskey, Michigan who wrote columns and served as an environmental reporter for several regional newspapers; records include published newspaper columns and articles, drafts, photographs and negatives, and documentation relating to his conservation work.

The Reginald Sharkey collection consists of three series: Conservation Career, Writing Career, and Visual Materials. The collection's strength lies in drafts of Sharkey's columns, photographs, and drawings related to wildlife and the environment in Northern Michigan in the 1970s and 1980s.

Collection

Original Dulcimer Players Club records, 1963-2012

0.5 linear feet — 1 box (contains audiotapes)

Organization dedicated to furthering "the art of playing the Hammered Dulcimer" founded in 1963 by Elgia C. Hickok in Michigan. Records include correspondence, minutes, newsletters, programs, event flyers, and oral histories, sound recordings of interviews and meetings, and photographs.

The Original Dulcimer Players Club records document the group's organization and activities from its founding in 1963. The records are arranged into six series: Administrative materials, Publications and events, Articles and newspaper clippings, Miscellaneous, Visual materials, and Audio materials.

Collection

Nursing History Society (University of Michigan) records, 1936-2003 (majority within 1956-2003)

9 linear feet

The Nursing History Society aims to preserve the history of nursing at the University of Michigan. Society was officially formed in 1983 with the purpose of engaging in activities directed toward the preservation of the history of nursing at the University of Michigan. Records include administrative files, meeting minutes, programs, membership materials, and reports; historical files date from 1936 and include materials on the subject of nursing history, class notes, nursing manuals, oral history tapes, and photographs.

The records for the Nursing History Society consist of administrative records, including minutes, programs, membership materials, and reports; historical files dating back to 1936, collected material on the subject of nursing history, University of Michigan nursing class notes, nursing manuals, oral history tapes, and photographs.

Collection

Netzorg Family papers, late 1880s-2012 (majority within 1938-1998)

30 linear feet (in 35 boxes, 1 oversize box, and 1 audio cassette box)

Papers of Morton Isadore and Katherine Smit Netzorg; their son Morton Jacob Netzorg and his wife Petra Fuld Netzorg; Petra Netzorg's mother Charlotte Fuld, and Petra's younger sister Bracha Fuld. The collection chronicles the history of the Philippine Islands in the 20th century, specifically during the Second World War; life of German Jewry on the eve of World War II; Zionist Insurgency in the British Mandate Palestine; developments in the scholarly field of South East Asian Studies and international publishing and book trade industries related to the region. The collection is a rich source of bibliographic material related to the Pacific Islands, primarily the Philippines, as well as the entire South East Asian region.

Family and business correspondence, including internment camp communications of Morton I. and Katherine; journals and diaries; published works and manuscripts of Morton J.; material related to Bracha Fuld's death; photographs; the Cellar Book Shop card catalog; also World War II-period artifacts, and Bracha's military ribbon.

Photographs and slides depicting Fuld and Netzorg families and their friends, Netzorgs' house in Detroit, Detroit street scenes, and the Cellar Book Shop. Of special interest are the World War II period photographs in the Morton I. and Katherine S. Netzorg part of the series depicting the conditions in liberated Philippines in 1945, military action and military life, and Jewish life in the U.S. military. Also of interest are the Fuld family photographs depicting Jewish life in Germany from the late 1800s to late 1930s. Slides with images taken during 1970s trips to the Philippines featuring Banaue, Cebu, Jolo, and Zamboanga, locations in the Southeast Asia, and Europe.

Recorded reminiscences of Morton J. Netzorg and Petra Fuld Netzorg.

Collection

National Archive on Sino-American Relations records, 1971-1984

28 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Grant project of the Center for Chinese Studies of the University of Michigan to locate and collect materials of visitors to the Peoples Republic of China since the reopening of diplomatic contact in 1971. Printed and manuscript diaries and journals, recollections, reports, correspondence, and audio-tapes; oral interviews with members of the United States Table Tennis Association team; and administrative files.

This record group consists of the following series: Americans in China, 1971-1980; Oral interviews, transcripts, and other sound recordings; Administrative and Background files; and Visual materials.

The bulk of the record group is the Americans in China series, which is arranged alphabetically by the name of the individual or group visiting China. As part of the grant, the project head created a detailed subject guide to the contents of the files. This 313 page guide, entitled Americans in China 1971-1980; a guide to the University of Michigan National Archive on Sino-American Relations is available at the Bentley Historical Library and at several other college and university libraries. The following is a list of the subject arrangement of the guide.

  1. Acupuncture
  2. Agriculture
  3. Archaeology
  4. Architecture
  5. Art
  6. Childcare
  7. Chinese Communist Party
  8. Chinese Visitors to the United States
  9. Cities
  10. Communes
  11. Cultural Revolution
  12. Customs
  13. Economics
  14. Education
  15. Environment
  16. Family Life
  17. Festivals
  18. Foreign Policy
  19. Health Care
  20. History
  21. Industry
  22. Interviews and Meetings
  23. Legal System
  24. Libraries and Archives
  25. Lifestyle
  26. Linguistics
  27. Literature
  28. Mass Media
  29. Medical Science
  30. Military
  31. Minorities
  32. Museums
  33. Performing Arts
  34. Political and Social Organization
  35. Politics
  36. Population Planning
  37. Provinces and Autonomous Regions
  38. Publications
  39. Religion
  40. Science and Technology
  41. Sports
  42. Trade
  43. Transportation
  44. United States-China Relations
  45. Universities and Institutes
  46. Women
Collection

Marjorie Cahn Brazer papers, 1955-1992

2 linear feet

Secretary of the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Transportation Authority (AATA). Minutes, 1969-1973, financial statements, reports, and photographs of the AATA largely concerning the problems of mass transportation and the development of the "Dial-a-Ride" system; also papers concerning the development of streets and automobile parking facilities in the city.

The Marjorie C. Brazer Papers covers the period of 1955 to 1983 and has been arranged mainly by the name of organization in which Brazer participated. The largest portion of the collection - Ann Arbor Transportation Authority - consists of minutes, policy and long-range planning documents, and subject files detailing the process by which the bus service for Ann Arbor was established, and the beginning of the Dial-a-Ride program. Other smaller organization files in the collection pertain to the Citizen's Association for Area Planning, the Detroit Committee for Neighborhood Conservation and Improved Housing, the Huron High Bi-Racial Committee, the League of Women Voters (Detroit), the League of Women Voters (Ann Arbor), and the Washtenaw County Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity. One file - Washtenaw County Political Campaigns - concerns Lloyd Ives' 1959 Ann Arbor mayoral campaign and Brazer's own 1968 campaign for county supervisor.

Of interest is the documentation of an oral history project undertaken by Brazer in 1983 and pertaining to the establishment and operation of the Rackham endowment to the University of Michigan. This materials is arranged into the Rackham Endowment Oral History Project series. The series includes oral history audiocassettes and administrative files for the project. Brazer's work on this project resulted in her Biography of an Endowment, published in 1985 by the Bentley Historical Library.

The collection also contains family school yearbooks.