Collections

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 includes correspondence, meeting minutes, agendas, faculty announcements, historical marker materials, historical sketches, newspaper articles, publications, and souvenirs of Central Michigan University's 75th anniversary.

This collection consists, in part, of the correspondence, minutes, and agendas of the CMU 75th Anniversary Advisory Committee and CMU 75th Anniversary Awards Screening Committee, as well as materials they generated, including: faculty announcements, historical marker materials, a historical sketch of CMU, newspaper articles (copies), publications, correspondence with politicians about proclamations, and publications and souvenirs (Box 1). The committee's press releases and proclamations from the Governor of Michigan and Michigan Legislature are also included (2 Oversized Folders).

The majority of the collection, however, is composed of reference materials collected and text written by Prof. Rolland H. Maybee for a history of CMU. His extensive collection of notes, various drafts of chapters, note cards of CMU and Isabella County, Michigan, history, and audio visual materials complete the collection. (Boxes 1-5).

The Organizational Records, 1900-2014, undated (including undated, late nineteenth century images), documents part of the history of CMU Athletics Track, Field and Cross-Country (TFCC) programs, athletes, coaches, staff and alumni and a few items documenting other CMU athletes or teams in textual and audio visual materials, including moving image film.

The Organizational Records, 1900-2014, undated (including undated, late nineteenth century images), documents part of the history of CMU Athletics Track, Field and Cross-Country (TFCC) programs, athletes, coaches, staff and alumni and a few items documenting other CMU athletes or teams in textual and audio visual materials, including moving image film. The collection is incomplete, but provides the earliest documentation of the CMU men’s track field and cross country (TFCC) clubs, later teams and documentation pre- the 1900, which predates surviving Central Michigan University (CMU) publications about TFCC. The first documentation of what became Central Michigan University (CMU)’s men’s cross-country teams is in October 1929 when a cross country class began practicing under coach A. U. Nowak, with plans for a track 2.5 miles long to be laid soon (Central State Life, Oct. 9, 1929). This collection also documents CMU Women’s TFCC at CMU beginning in 1981 although the Women’s TFCC formally began at CMU in 1971. TFCC were originally divided by gender.

Included in this collection are formal and informal athletic, athletic alumni, social and family events, collected and donated, and sometimes personally created, by athletes and coaches, all of whom were proud of the history of their programs and wished to preserve it. Formal events include training, TFCC meets and competitions, award ceremonies, and athletic dinners. Informal events including time spent in hotels, eating, traveling, the Ten Mile Breakfast Run, Christmas cards and wedding images of alumni athletes. Some major coaches, staff, and athletes are documented. A racist photograph of a female student in a fake Native American costume is included.

Formats include images, still photographs, including Mugs (mugshots style portraits) and negatives, photograph albums, moving image films; scrapbooks; communications (emails, letters, notes, memos), statistics, clippings; CMU publications and public relations materials (brochures, newsletters, programs, sport cards, news releases, newsletters); a plaque; certificates; architectural drawings of the CMU Outdoor Track, 1998 and the Athletic Facility Renovation, 1995, 1997. CMU Track and field coach Don Sazima (1970-1984) documented the history of the combined programs and his career (2 folders, 2014 in Box 1). A list of Men’s CC coaches, 1910-1950 includes names of coaches which predates surviving CMU publications. The First Annual Alumni Luncheon was held in 1979. Alumni provided directory information on forms, later documentation of this is in the separate CMU. Athletics Organizational Records collection.

Oversized materials include a Women’s team photograph plaque, 1999; numerous oversized photographs of Ed VanderHeuvel, track star, 1958; three unidentified CMU Women’s TFCC athletes and a team photograph, 1980 and undated. Architectural drawings of the CMU Outdoor Track, by All American Track Corp. Engineering Division,1998 and the Athletic Facility Renovation, by Foresite Design, Inc.1995, 1997.

Materials documenting non TFCC CMU athletes includes: CMC and CMU Varsity football team group photographs, 1947-19548, 1965; photograph of Dennis Yeates, CMU gymnast, 1960-1962; Oversized materials include: five football team photographs; 1952, 1955, 1956, 1966, undated; CMU Men’s basketball team photograph, 1949; and CMU Men’s Tennis team photograph, undated.

Researchers may also be interested in other collections in the Clarke including: the CMU. Athletics, CMU. UComm (University Communications) and CMU. Information Services collections, all of which include some materials mostly documenting CMU athletes and athletic events and to a lesser extent, CMU coaches and staff. Also at the Clarke is a 1930s CMU Cross Country uniform worn by Neil Hoover who attended CMU during the 1932-1934 school years and one term during 1937, he was a cross-country runner who also played football for CMU.

Film Description: Three 16 mm polyester films, in 2 archival film canisters. The film was funded by a grant from the CMU Creative Endeavors Committee.

Film ID Number: 76748-1 Format: 16 mm color and silent, but includes smaller sections in various combinations of black and white, negative images, color, silent and sound (magnetic). Date: 1972-1973. Size:330 ft. (plays for 13 minutes) Information off of original can: final, edited copy of "the Distance Runner," compiled by Omnicron Productions, Lansing, a division of Omnicron Corporation, on June 12, 1973, Information off of original film leader: "the Distance Runner," Overview of scenes: The film documents Central Michigan University (CMU) Cross County male student athletes running through campus, cornfields, on roads, and through forests in fall and winter, 1972, and perhaps spring 1973. Athletes discuss why they love to run, when and why they began running, what they think about while running, including "girl trouble" with their girlfriends, memorizing tax formulas for their accounting classes, and their running schedules. Physical information: .4 film shrinkage, .5 out of 3 on the AD strip acidity scale - by Marian Matyn, Aug. 2020. Miscellaneous information: none.

Film ID Number: 76748-2 and 76748-3 (spliced together are raw footage from which parts were taken to create Film ID Number 76748-1) Format: 16 mm color and silent, but it includes smaller sections in various combinations of black and white, negative images, color, silent and sound (magnetic). Date: 1972-1973. Size: 150ft. Information off of original can: "the Distance Runner," compiled by Omnicron Productions, Lansing, a division of Omnicron Corporation, on June 12, 1973, Information off of original film leader: "the Distance Runner," Overview of scenes: Raw footage of Central Michigan University (CMU) Cross County male student athletes running through campus, cornfields, on roads, and through forests in fall and winter, 1972, and perhaps spring 1973. Athletes discuss why they love to run, when and why they began running, what they think about while running, including "girl trouble" with their girlfriends, memorizing tax formulas for their accounting classes, and their running schedules. Physical information: .4 film shrinkage, .5 out of 3 on the AD strip acidity scale - by Marian Matyn, Aug. 2020. Miscellaneous information: none. The film both documents CMU cross country runners, 1972-1973, and served as an inspirational film for other runners. Stylistically, the film has many obvious similarities to an earlier inspirational cross-country running film, The Harriers, 1960, created by Humboldt State University.

Processing Note: During processing approximately 1 cubic foot of duplicates and CMLife newspaper clippings were withdrawn. Newspaper clippings from beyond campus were photocopied and the copies were retained.

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.

Central Michigan University Facilities Management Organizational Records include: plans, assessments, reports, and maps 1940-2006, and undated.

The organizational records, 1940-2006, and undated, contain: plans, assessments, reports, and maps 1940-2006, and undated. The majority of the collections contains master plans and annual reports for CMU’s development. The flood folder contains the report of CMU campus damaged caused by the September 1986 flood and repair efforts. The Chippewa folder contains a document of all the proposed nicknames for CMU and also contains a list of the cornerstones on the building in CMU campus, but not the contents. The utilities master plan folder contains blue-line maps of CMU. Also included are color photographs of the interior and exterior fire damage to Rowe Hall in June 1998.

Researchers may also be interested in other CMU Facilities Management collections which are separately cataloged and older, Plant Management or Master Plan Committee minutes, which are in the CMU Vertical Files, at the Clarke Historical Library.

This collection documents alumni events that the Central Michigan University. Office of Alumni Relations successfully planned, organized and led, budget materials, and meetings of related committees and boards.

The first and largest series is Events (planned for alumni), 1928-2006, undated [bulk 1980-2006] 6 cubic feet (6 boxes). Types of Events are described above. Materials in the series may include photographs, programs, invitations, notes, letters, arrangement information, documentation of attendees, CDs, videos, and other materials. Other series include: Board of CMU Alumni Association Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, and related materials, 1967-2006 (approximately .5 cubic foot); Budget Books for Alumni Events, outings, endowments, scholarships, development, annual reports, honor roll of donors, and goals and objectives, 1975-2010 (approximately .5 cubic foot); Development Board Meeting Minutes, and related materials, 2000-2004 (4 folders), and a Slide presentation “CMU Reflections of the Past, Present and Future”, CMU Library Instructional Resources (some slides stamped as property of the Clarke Historical Library), (20 slides), undated (1 small slide box).

Processing Note: The collection was stored for a long time in an off-campus storage facility. In June 2014, the collection was split between the Clarke Historical Library Archives (informational materials, approximately 80 cubic feet) and the CMU Museum (objects) as much as possible.

A large percentage of the collection in the Clarke was withdrawn during processing. 74.5 cubic feet consisting mostly of massive duplication, blank forms, generic correspondence, miscellaneous financial records such as receipts and pay orders that were all well over seven years old, and miscellaneous notes. Approximately four cubic feet of duplicate books or other copyrighted works created by alumni were returned to the office as per their request. Twenty books and about .5 cubic foot of various types of alumni directories, which were not duplicates, were added to the Clarke collection and individually cataloged. One cubic feet of Chippewa yearbooks was retained by the Clarke to replace its Chippewas when they become worn out from use. One cubic feet of three-dimensional objects such as hats, tote bags, pins, and miniature Warriner Hall buildings, was transferred to the CMU Museum to join the rest of the objects there.

Additionally, initially housed with the collection was the Les O. Carlin Collection, 1940, 2014 (scattered), and undated (2 cubic ft. (in 2 boxes, 2 Ov. V., 1 framed object), which was separately processed and cataloged in the Clarke. Some of the materials in this collection initially went to the Museum and were later transferred to the Archives. For more information on this collection see its catalog record and finding aid.

Related Collections: Besides the collections mentioned above, other related collections in the Clarke include CMU. Development Office videotapes and two CMU. Public Relations and Marketing Posters collections.

Various meeting minutes of the Central Michigan University Student Senate, 1924-1977, and undated, and related materials.

The collection consists mainly of the meeting minutes of the Student Council, 1924-1947, and the Student Senate, 1948-1974. There are also meeting minutes of the Student Assembly, 1974-1975, the Student Council and Senate constitutions, 1924-1959, and related materials.

Meeting minutes usually include agendas, minutes, correspondence, reports, and other attachments.

Miscellaneous vertical file material for Central Michigan University Career Services.

The collection, 1939, 2003, and undated, includes photographs, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and plaques. The scrapbooks, 1939-1970, document campus activities and events and the student union when it was in Powers Hall/ Keeler Union. The scrapbooks consist of CMLife clippings on acidic pages. The rest of collection documents the staff, students, and events in the Bovee UC, including the period right after it was built. This information was generated by CMU staff and students. The 40th anniversary of the UC is documented in the Photograph Album, 2000-2003.

Overall the collection is in good physical condition, except for the scrapbooks, which are acidic and several of two of which, 1953-1959 and 1964-1970, have broken or loose covers.

The collection is organized by size and format and then chronologically.

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.

Undated [1942-1952], mostly unidentified black and white photographs of various Mount Pleasant, Michigan, buildings, people, businesses, and events, including oil-related topics.

This collection of 127 photographs taken by Mr. Collins spans a variety of subjects, although oil seems to be a central topic, with oil companies, machinery, people, disasters, and fair displays, as well as a number of oil-related trucks and businesses of various types in the collection.

The photographs are black and white, undated, although they all must date from 1942 to 1952, and they are mostly unidentified. There is an interesting photograph in the People (Folder 1) of three WWII GIs on camels in Egypt. The GIs are posing in front of what may be the Great Sphinx and Pyramid at Giza. Also there is one photograph each of Sloan and Warriner halls at Central Michigan University in the Building folder. There is a photograph of Fancher Elementary School students in the People (Folder 2), and in the People (Folder 1), there is one photograph each of a large first communion group, a large Christmas party of children, a cowboy band, and a (high school?) football team. The donor believed all the photographs were of Mount Pleasant subjects. Some of the businesses identified in the Businesses and Trucks and People folders include: Roy D. Hafer Oil Company, Roscoe E. Becket Hauling Contractors, Art Savage [gas truck], and Mt. Pleasant Cementing and Mudding.