Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

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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

O’Brien Family (Detroit, Mich.) papers, circa 1932-1965

1 linear foot — 1 oversize volume

O'Brien family of northern Michigan and Detroit, Michigan; family papers of Patrick H. O'Brien and other family members.

The O'Brien family collection includes papers and scrapbooks of John H. O'Brien, a newsman with the Hearst newspaper chain largely concerning the campaign, 1952-1957, for better interstate highway system. In addition, there are scrapbooks and other materials of Michael O'Brien relating to his insurance business and to the political campaigns of his brother, Patrick H. O'Brien. The papers of Eleanor Lawton O'Brien concern her interests in family planning. The reminiscences of Jean Worth relate to his boyhood in Menominee, Michigan, ca. 1915.

Collection

Shirley Wohlfield Papers, 1972-1988

1 linear foot — 1 oversize volume

Detroit, Michigan, anti-busing activist. Correspondence, speeches, minutes of meetings, and other materials relating to her involvement with anti-busing organizations, principally Northeast Mothers Alert, Mothers Alert Detroit, and the National Association for Neighborhood Schools; also files detailing involvement with Happiness of Women (HOW) and the 14th Congressional District Republican Committee; and scrapbook containing clippings and photographs relating to anti-busing rallies and activities.

The collection provides a telling insight into Detroit's school desegregation by forced busing. Wohlfield's committed personal involvement offers an important perspective into the antibusing movement. Her responsibilities as executive secretary and president of Mothers Alert Detroit are well documented in the minutes, correspondence, and notes in the collection. The collection has been arranged into the following series: Northeast Mothers Alert; Mothers Alert Detroit; Republican Party 14th Congressional District Committee; and Other Organizational Activities.

Collection

Benjamin C. Stanczyk papers, 1944-1975

3 linear feet — 12 oversize volumes

Judge of Common Pleas. Correspondence and other materials relating to politics and to Polish-American interests.

The collection relates primarily to his interest in the Democratic Party in Michigan and to his involvement in Polish-American activities and organizations.

Collection

George William Cushing papers and sound recordings, 1942-1955

1.3 linear feet — 230 audiotapes (in 9 boxes) — 260 GB (online)

Online
News editor and vice president of Detroit, Michigan, radio station, WJR, moderator of radio program, "In Our Opinion". Correspondence, radio transcripts, scrapbooks, broadcast discs, and audio-tapes of discs; include material concerning career of Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg, the senatorial campaign of 1942 between Prentiss Brown and Homer Ferguson, and radio broadcasting in general.

The Cushing collection consists largely of sound recordings of a selection of the "In Our Opinion" radio program. There are also additional textual materials: clippings and other documents pertaining to the program and some transcriptions of particular programs.

The sound recordings of the "In Our Opinion" program were originally phonograph transmission discs. Nearly impossible to listen to because of their oversize format and the absence of appropriate players, the library applied for and received a grant in 1977 from the NHPRC to transfer a selection of the more than 600 discs onto reel-to-reel tapes. Many of the discs already showed signs of deterioration. The selection of what discs to preserve was based on the significance of the topics discussed and the importance of the interviewees. Among the guests were Senators Arthur Vandenberg and Homer Ferguson, automobile executive (later governor) George Romney, Congressman George Dondero, military historian General S.L.A. Marshall, political science Professor James K, Pollock, Governor Kim Sigler, Lowell Thomas, Thor Heyerdahl, Edward R. Murrow, and Episcopal Bishop Richard S. Emrich, among many others. Topics ranged from state and national politics, the impact of the war, foreign affairs, post-war re-conversion of the economy, and issues specific to Detroit and Michigan.

Collection

Frank B. Woodford papers, 1940-1967

3 linear feet

Detroit, Michigan journalist and historian. Correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, book reviews and manuscripts of unpublished writings; also research materials concerning Lewis Cass, Augustus B. Woodward, Gabriel Richard, and Alexander J. Groesbeck, and papers relating to the Civil War in Michigan, the development of Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Free Press, and the building of the Mackinac Bridge.

The Frank B. Woodford papers consist of correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, book reviews and manuscripts of unpublished writings; also research materials concerning Lewis Cass, Augustus B. Woodward, Gabriel Richard, and Alexander J. Groesbeck, and papers relating to the Civil War in Michigan, the development of Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Free Press, and the building of the Mackinac Bridge. The collection is organized into four series: Correspondence; Writings and related material; Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings; and Other materials.

Collection

Joe Louis scrapbooks and papers, 1935-1941, 1948-1951

93 volumes — 0.2 linear feet — 1 oversize folder

Champion prize fighter of Detroit, Michigan. Scrapbooks, 1935-1941 (arranged chronologically by bout), and clippings, articles, and fan letters, 1948-1951, relating to his career as a boxer.

The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and magazine articles in the period of 1935-1941. The volumes include full-length articles, brief sketches, cartoons and newspaper photographs detailing each fight, the preliminaries, Louis' opponent, the bout itself, and post-fight assessments. The volumes are numbered 1-94; volume 48 was not received.

Collection

Horace H. Rackham and Mary A. Rackham Fund Records, 1929-1950 (majority within 1934-1940)

14 linear feet — 1 oversize volume

The last will and testament of Horace H. Rackham provided for the establishment of a trust fund to provide for the health and welfare of individuals, particularly the sick, aged, the young, the poor, and other underprivileged. Much of the trust money went to the University of Michigan to be used for a building for the graduate school and an endowment to be used for different kinds of research. The Fund also awarded grants to agencies involved in child welfare, community culture, education, health, philanthropy, and science. The Fund distributed money from 1934 until about 1941. The series in this record group consist of administrative and executive files, and project applications and grant files.

The records of the Horace H. Rackham and Mary A. Rackham Fund document the continuing generosity of Horace Rackham and Mary Rackham to numerous charitable, educational, and scientific organizations and causes. The records contain the files of the Fund's trustees and directors and provide insight and information about such topics as the administration of a philanthropic fund-giving organization during the mid-1930s, the kinds of gifts made, the relationship among the Fund's trustees and officers, and the relationship between the Fund and the grant recipients. Because of the size of the gift, most of the documentation within the record group details the close ties between the Fund and the University of Michigan. These files concern not only the establishment of the Rackham endowment to the University, but also the different scientific and educational grants made. Additionally, these files detail the construction of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies building in Ann Arbor and the Rackham Educational Memorial building in Detroit.

The records of the Fund cover the period of 1929-1950 though they bulk largest for the period of the Fund's greatest activity, 1934-1940. The record group has been separated into two series: Combined Administrative and Executive Office Files and Project applications/grants.

Collection

G. Donald Kennedy Papers, 1928-1968

6 linear feet (in 7 boxes) — 14 oversize volumes

Civil engineer, served as Michigan state highway commissioner, chairman of the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority and president of Portland Cement Company. Papers primarily document work with highway commission and Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority.

The papers, 1928-1968, of G. Donald Kennedy document his career in civil engineering, his participation in professional organizations, his activities as a state official, and as a supporter of the Michigan Democratic Party. The collection Includes correspondence, speeches, minutes, reports, articles, clippings, and photographs. The files relate to his work as municipal engineer in Pontiac, Michigan, with the Mackinac Straits Bridge Authority, the American Association of State Highway Officials, the Automotive Safety Foundation, and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority. The collection also includes papers relating to highway and airport construction, to economic mobilization during World War II, the Willow Run Bomber Plant, state Democratic Party matters, particularly the campaign visits of President Roosevelt to Michigan in 1936.

Collection

Edward G. Kemp papers, 1922-1962, undated

1.3 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder

Edward Gearing Kemp was an attorney who served as legal adviser of Frank Murphy. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, and other materials related to Kemp's work with Murphy and other professional activities, and memorabilia.

Mainly correspondence related to Kemp's professional affairs, particularly his work with Murphy in the Philippines and Kemp's service as an Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General and at the U.S. Bureau of the Budget. Kemp's correspondents included Henry M. Bates, Thomas E. Dewey, Arthur S. Flemming, J. Edgar Hoover, Charles E. Hughes, Cordell Hull, Robert H. Jackson, J. Weldon Jones, George A. Malcolm, Frank Murphy, Chase S. Osborn, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, among others.

A scrapbook, 1933-1962, with photographs, clippings, and other memorabilia relating to Kemp's public career and his association with Frank Murphy. The Philippines-period photographs depict Murphy, his sister Marguerite Murphy, Kemp, other members of Murphy's staff (e.g., Murphy's secretary Eleanor Bumgardner) and their families, as well as scenes in the Philippines. Materials related to Kemp's career in Washington include mostly newspaper clippings, letters, invitations, and memorabilia.

The collection also includes a small amount of biographical information and miscellaneous material (personal applications and notes, work-related notes, summaries of reports, etc.)