Collections

The collection includes Enders' research papers documenting the Ku Klux Klan, mostly the Michigan Klan. Papers include demographics, articles he wrote or published, articles (copies) from various sources, membership cards, photographic materials, and memorabilia.

The papers consists mostly of demographics and articles about the Michigan Klan, including chapters for Cal’s intended book; newspaper articles copied from microfilm and lists of the articles from Michigan and Klan newspapers; and membership information cards. The cards are disorganized and may contain census or local election information, marital status, type of employment, children, and address information. There is a nice variety of black and white and colored photographs and slides of Michigan Klan parades, meetings, a funeral, and the Chicora KKK quilt with members names embroidered on it. Also included are a sheeted figurine and Klan publications, including songbooks and copied articles about the Klan in Indiana and the U.S.

Most of the collection has been photocopied onto acid-free paper.

The collection is unique and valuable for the research of white supremacists in Michigan. It is particularly valuable for the study of average Michiganders, including men and women who joined the Klan up to 1924. There is substantial documentation of the activities of local Klans.

The problems leading to the failures of the 1924 attempt to elect a Detroit mayor and ban private schools are well documented, as are the financial problems and the high profile murders committed by Klan officials.

More Lewis D. Capen material may be found in the Ku Klux Klan (Mecosta County, Mich.) collection and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Millbrook Level Lodge No. 219 (Millbrook, Mich.) organizational records.

This collection, 1927-2000, and updated, contain biographical materials, books, poems, letters, photographs, cassette tapes, poetry serials and monographs, some of which are from or focus on Indigenous poets and poetry, indigenous newspapers in which he published his poetry, indigenous reading materials, and a few objects.

This collection, 1927-2000, and updated, contain biographical materials, books, poems, letters, photographs, cassette tapes, poetry serials and monographs, some of which are from or focus on Indigenous poets and poetry, indigenous newspapers in which he published his poetry, indigenous reading materials, and a few objects. The collection is organized by size, series, and then alphabetically and chronologically. Overall the collection is in very good physical condition, except for the newspapers which are acidic. All the boxes are .5 cubic foot letter size, except for Box 4 which is a .25 cubic foot letter-size box and Box 5 which is a .25 cubic foot legal-size box.

The majority of Boxes 1-5 consists of letters from Carroll Arnett to various people. Three folders contain letters to other poets including J.D. Whitney (1940-), Linda Hogan (1947-) who in 2023 was the Chickasaw Nation’s Writer in Residence, and Peter Blue Cloud or Aroniawenrate (1933-2011), of the Turtle Clan of Mohawk Nation. There are folders with letters from Arnett’s time at Knox College and Central Michigan University (CMU), which includes his request for a sabbatical and promotion. There is also a substantial number of letters between Arnett and his main publisher, (The) Elizabeth Press. There are folders with poems and publications written by Arnett including: La Dene, Someone in Another Place, and Thematic Structure in Keats’s Endymion. There are three folders of notes written by Arnett about the American Indian Movement (AIM), the Michigan Civil Rights Commission Report, and Wounded Knee. There are photographs of Arnett. There is a folder of documents and notes while Arnett was on the CMU President’s Advisory Committee that investigated the “Chippewas” as the University Symbol. There are two folders of Arnett’s association with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to advance right to work laws in the U.S. Arnett brought a court case against CMU and the Michigan Education Association, which is documented in the collection. There is also a folder containing a racist letter that was sent to Arnett while he was teaching at CMU that contains cruel racist language.

Box 4 contains folders that are not entirely related to Arnett but are Indigenous reading materials that Arnett collected. There are two folders with educational materials on the Cherokee language. There is a folder of materials from AIM. There are also materials from Dennis Banks who visited CMU in 1973, including a photograph.

Box 5 is legal-size (.25 cubic foot) box containing three folders with objects including: an AIM pin, AIM bumper stickers, and Arnett’s glasses and case.

Boxes 6-9 consists mainly of publications in which he published his poetry, including serials as well as a few journals or books he edited or which were dedicated or inscribed to him, and poetry and indigenous newspapers. Indigenous reading materials, poetry in serials or monographs, are also included. Most of these materials are in English, but some are in Cherokee and Dutch. Issues of indigenous-generated or focused newspapers and general poetry newspapers, all but one of which contains one or more poems by Arnett, complete the collection. The newspapers are mainly in English but also include poetry and other information in Mohawk, Shawnee, and Cherokee.

Processing Note:

During processing 5.5 feet of materials were withdrawn, including duplicates, miscellaneous letters, blanks, reading materials, out-of-scope material, and duplicate and/or miscellaneous publications.

Numerous books and periodical titles donated with the collection were separately cataloged, both examples of Arnett’s writing and editing, and materials written by other indigenous writers. The Clarke also has publications by Arnett that preceded the donation of this collection. Titles in boxes 6-9 were originally going to be separately cataloged, but due to resources it was eventually decided to add them to this collection.

Carroll Arnett’s suitcase, a powder horn, and an Oklahoma state flag were transferred to the CMU Museum of Cultural and Natural History.

The collection documents the history of the Central Michigan University. Department of Biology in photographs, publications, clippings, slides, blueprints, films, and miscellaneous.

Box 1 and 2 consist of many different blueprints for various classrooms in Brooks and Dow halls. There are photographs in Box 1 of the cornerstone ceremony in 1964 with Judson Foust, Kendall Brooks, and Faith Johnston. There are also around 30 photographs of different staff members and students who were a part of the Biology Department. Two staff members who stood out were Faith Johnston and Ray Hampton. Their folders include news articles and photographs. Faith Johnston’s folder includes a cassette on her seminar from February 2nd, 1978. There were also news articles and photographs from Central Michigan University’s Biological Station on Beaver Island. Finally, in Box 1 “News Articles April 2003- May 2007” there is a CD on Gil Stark’s and Doug Valek’s retirement party at Neithercut Woodlands, April 22nd, 2006.

Boxes 3 and 4 consist of various ideas, designs, plans, and inventory request for the new Science II Building Project.

There is also a Box of 255 slides on various Biology Department field trips or research in Michigan. These slides consisted of Big Creek Drain Study, Consumers Power Study, Faith Johnston, and different studies on lakes in Michigan.

There are two super 8 color, silent films, undated, of the Biological Station at Beaver Island, both 50 feet, of staff and students eating and relaxing (Film # 74212-1) and relaxing, cooking, and listening to a lecture (Film # 74212-2).

There is one oversized scrapbook, that is acidic containing various newspaper clippings and photographs on different programs, research, and staff members from the Biology Department, 1946- 1970.

There are two oversized blueprints of the Freshman Laboratory, 1966, drawn by B.D Job, No. 22, 514, for blue-line plans of lab desks.

Processing Note: Items that were acidic, fragile (onion paper), on wax paper, and damaged were copied and withdrawn. Approximately .5 cubic ft. Documents were withdrawn from the collection.

The collection includes meeting minutes, records of the treasurers and presidents, meeting programs, photographs of members and their children, and miscellaneous materials..

The collection provides an incomplete record of the organization through meeting minutes, records of the treasurers and presidents, meeting programs, photographs of members and their children, and miscellaneous materials.

A major strength is the complete run of the Recording Secretary’s Books, 1932-1990, the Treasurer’s Record and Report Books, 1934-1977, and the Scrapbooks, 1953, 1999 (4 volumes) and Photograph Albums, 1897, 1953 (3 volumes). These volumes document the history, members, and interests of the organization.

Of special interest is the Baby Spoons Record Book, September 1962-October 1964, which documents the organization’s ongoing tradition of giving a spoon to each member who was also the mother of a new infant. The babies and mothers are described in interesting detail in the book.

The 50th Anniversary of the organization is documented in Notes and a Program, 1978. (The 75th Anniversary materials are found in the Faculty Women Collection.)

Central Michigan University Student term papers from history, English, and other classes. These papers are sometimes the only source of information about Michigan people, events, or communities.

The collection consists of student term papers, mostly those from Dr. Dain’s History of Michigan class, and other (history, English, business administration, economics, geology, journalism, and sociology) classes at CMU. The term papers are sometimes the only source of history for a Michigan event, person, or community. The writing style and depth of research varies with each paper. If the paper's title does not specify what Michigan location the paper discusses, that information has been added by Clarke staff in parenthesis.

Papers from Professor Dain’s class are mostly in boxes 1-36. Papers from Professor Root’s class are mostly in boxes 36-40. Note: abbreviations in the box and folder listing are those found in the titles of the papers.

The papers mostly document his research interests.

The papers mostly document a wide variety of Michigan topics in which Professor Larzelere was interested or taught, and they document the life of a CMU professor.

The collection includes all the correspondence, notes, testimony, resolutions, subpoenas, newspaper articles, press releases, hearing schedules, and other subject files collected by the Senate Committee during its investigation of CMU.

The collection includes all the correspondence, notes, testimony, resolutions, subpoenas, newspaper articles, press releases, hearing schedules, and other subject files collected by the Senate Committee during its investigation of CMU. Most of the correspondence, subject files, and testimony dates to 1965, although some of the affected professors and deans’ folders include materials dating back as far as 1949. Undated materials are circa 1965.

Collection consists mostly of diaries, papers, and financial accounts of Mrs. Robinson, some papers of Mr. Robinson and their sons, and family photographs and correspondence, mostly about family concerns.

The collection includes mostly diaries, papers, and financial accounts of Mrs. Robinson, some papers of Mr. Robinson and their sons, family photographs, and family correspondence, mostly about family concerns.

The collection consists mainly of records, books, and other instructional materials on various types of dancing, and related activities, which Ryan collected or wrote and then used for her classes. Also included are biographical materials and photographs.

The collection is valuable to any researcher studying different types of dancing and the teaching dancing. The collection consists mainly of records, books, and other instructional materials on various types of dancing that Ryan collected or wrote and used for her classes. A few biographical materials in the collection (Box 9) relate to her biography, teaching notes, and some photographic materials of Ryan. Other photographs (Box 10) related to Physical Education.

Essays by Hepler.

The collection consists of fourteen essays written by Hepler between 1937 and 1980, as well as correspondence relating and reactions to the essays. These essays range in content and style from academic to newspaper feature articles. Topics including ROTC, educational philosophy, Michigan authors, nineteenth century periodicals, and Zimbabwe received serious attention from Hepler. Topics such as fairs in Saginaw (Michigan), the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company, pioneer life in Leelanau (Michigan), the steamer Beeghly, as well as his own life, are well researched but less thorough. Photographs of Zimbabwe and research material are also included in the collection.