Collections

The Mount Pleasant Mission Organizational Records, 1892-1969, undated, document the history of the Countryside United Methodist Church (CUMC) and mid-Michigan Evangelicals.

The Mount Pleasant Mission Organizational Records, 1892-1969, undated, documents the history of the Countryside United Methodist Church (CUMC) and mid-Michigan Evangelicals. The collection is organized by size and chronologically and alphabetically. Boxes 1 and 2 include annual reports of the Evangelical Sunday School Secretary’s Records, detailing how many people attended, the name of teachers, and weekly donation amounts during each meeting 1937-1950. There are two records of Ladies Aid congregations within the church, Bethel Ladies Aid 1938-1945, and Union Evangelical Church Ladies Aid, 1921-1924. Also included are records of the Mount Pleasant Mission Michigan Conference of the Evangelical Association and Evangelical Association Chippewa Trustees, 1893-1950. Lastly, there is a memorial booklet for the foundation of the organization Memorial Booklet, October 8, 1933.

Evangelical Association Chippewa Trustees, 1893-1950, contains records during the first meeting in the new church building, led by Reverend Warren Brown. The entries that continue the year 1903 in Mount Pleasant Mission Michigan Conference of the Evangelical Association, 1903-1921, are placed in the back of the book.

Material in Union Evangelical Secretary Report, 1926-1929 is very acidic. Otherwise, the collection is in good physical condition.

The oversized material contains the organization’s record book which details the church’s organizational history and changes made during each pastorate, previous members, and records of life events such as marriages, deaths, and baptisms. Also included in oversized material is a printed poster on paper of the 50th Anniversary Jubilee Session of the Michigan Conference Evangelical Association. Lastly, there is a photograph of the First Women’s Society Chippewa Evangelical Church, with members’ names listed on the back.

The collection documents the reconstruction and new addition of the CMU Park Library building, as well as ongoing life in the new building.

This collection documents the reconstruction and new addition of the CMU Park Library building, as well as ongoing life in the new building, located on the corner of Preston and Franklin Streets in Mount Pleasant, through photographs, webpages, clippings (copies), publications, and other materials. This collection was kept separate from prior Park Library collection due to its timely nature and for ease of retrieval, as requested by the Dean of Libraries.

Included here are various publications of exhibits and events, news articles, website pages, and brochures generated since 2002 documenting ongoing events in the building. Of particular note is Library needs of faculty in a changing environment: report of findings, a report based on a survey, written by Professor Mary A. Senter, December 2006. Also included are two CD-Roms, one of the library’s opening, January 9, 2002, and another of the 50th anniversary of the library’s federal depository program, January 24, 2008.

Later additions to the collection from the Dean’s Office include materials used to plan the new building, 3 CD-Roms of photographs of the construction and dedication. The collection is ongoing. A 2023 addition from the Libraries Business Services legacy files includes photographs of the interior construction and completed building exterior, and a Michigan Construction journal featuring the new building, and a questionnaire asking for construction details which were included in the article (see Box 1 Exhibits/Events Brochures folder).

Reference Point, the Park’s newsletter, is separately cataloged and housed as a periodical in the Clarke’s collections.

For additional information about the Park, see other, related collections documenting the history of the Park Library in the Clarke Historical Library.

The collection consists mostly of Central Michigan University conference materials and programs related to middle level teachers, scrapbooks and photographs of Central Michigan students minoring in Middle Level Education, and Transitions Summer Camp materials of Mount Pleasant Public School students entering middle school.

Collection includes biographical materials on Bailey (1 folder), 2014; Learn today .... teach tomorrow conference (held at Central Michigan University (CMU) for pre-service teachers) programs, 2006-2014 (1 folder); and a plaque from the National Middle School Association presented to CMU, the host site for CMLA, November 1999 (1 folder). Also included are beautiful Collegiate Middle Level Association at CMU (CMLACMU) scrapbooks, 1996-2013, created by student members.

Later additions to the collection include: Photographs, matted, of CMU Graduates with a Middle Level Education Minor, 1996-2014, which were originally displayed in the hall of the unit. There are also photographs of graduates unmatted, 2015-2018. Also added were Transitions Summer Camp Materials, which include forms, agendas, plans, notes, some financial and grant information, and photographs, 2009-2013. This camp was for students entering middle school. They reviewed math, spelling, science skills, coping and confidence-building exercises, and learned how to cope with locker combination locks. CMU students led the camp for Mount Pleasant area students.

The papers include photographic materials, and papers about Norm Lyon's personal and family life, his work as an oil field reporter and photographer for the MIchigan Oil and Gas News (MOGN), and his work as a photographer for the Mount Pleasant Daily Times News.

The collection consists of two main types of formats, photographic materials and papers. The photographic materials include: film negatives, strip negatives (multiple images on 35 mm film negatives), single image negatives, photographs, photograph and negative albums, transparencies, and paste-ups (for MOGN publications). The papers include: correspondence, reports, articles, newspaper clippings, obituaries, maps, and other materials.

The collection has materials from 1929-1930, 1933-1956, 1959-1977, 1979-1985, 1987-1989, 1991, and undated materials of this time period. Many undated negatives can be dated to the 1930s by the size and format of the negative material. Other papers in the collection that predate 1929 are in reality either later (ca.1960s) copies of pre-1929 materials or later (ca. 1950-1960s) notes about times prior to 1929.

The smallest part of the collection documents Norm Lyon’s family, mostly in negatives. Documented here are his wife, Phyllis, children, JoAnn and Dick, their pet dog, “Rip”, relatives, friends, and home life. The children are well documented as infants, at Christmas, 1937, 1940-1941, in Halloween costumes, on family vacations, particularly to Niagara Falls, 1941, and Leonidas (Mich.), while camping, playing with little friends and Rip, in the snow, or with their favorite toys. Phyllis is documented with the children, particularly when they were babies and toddlers, with lady friends working on craft projects, on vacation, and in general sitting and knitting. Norm is rarely photographed except for when he broke his leg and a few portrait shots, all undated The whole family is documented on vacations, camping or at Leonidas (Mich.), at Christmas, playing cards, and while visiting with friends and relatives. Most of the images are negatives and date from approximately 1935 to 1945. A few photographs, probably of the Lyon family or their friends and relatives also are included in the collection, notably in weddings, graduations, or anniversary photographs. None of these photographs are identified.

Civic and other organizations in which Norm was active, particularly the Mount Pleasant Kiwanis Club and the Pere Marquette Club, are documented in both negatives and photographs.

Norm’s work with the Mount Pleasant Daily Times recorded life in Mount Pleasant and the surrounding central Michigan area. Most of the images are negatives and include downtown Mount Pleasant parades, Christmas and Halloween decorations, downtown events and sales, politics, juries, veterans, meetings of various boards, the Indian Hall Dedication of July 7, 1940, Isabella County Fairs, 1947-1948 and 1956, the dedication of the new airport, the opening of Island Park swimming pool, paving streets, city offices, police (both state and local), accidents, fires, various clubs and civic groups particularly the Boy and Girl Scouts, American Legion, Archery Club, Elks Club, 4-H and FFA, Jaycees, Kiwanis, and Lions Club, as well as the local schools and sports teams, and the widening of US-127.

Other Michigan localities documented in negatives include the Pre-Edenville Dam, 1941, Reed City, 1940 (?), Ithaca, 1935, 1937, the Arenac Salt Plant, 1940, and Barrier Salt (Armada), 1966.

Central Michigan University (CMU) is documented as well. Negatives of the Cornerstone Ceremony at Rachel Tate Hall, 1956, the Construction of the Arts and Crafts Building, 1947, are included. Other images of note include the College Hop, 1936, Doc. Sweeney’s Gym[nastics] Troupe, 1942, the Football Team, 1934 and ca.1930s, Homecoming, including football players and a parade, 1935, as well as practice session negatives of both men’s baseball and women’s basketball, and the team image of the Men’s Basketball Team, 1942 are included. Photographs of CMU document most notably the Central State Training College Training School Fire of January. 8, 1933, general building images, and people, including the men’s baseball team, undated

Other unidentified negatives, probably documenting Mount Pleasant and the related area, include: suicides, squatters, farmers, agricultural scenes and products, and farm animals, hot air balloons, vehicles, trains, voting polls, buildings (interior and exterior shots), fires in general, and the Wolscheid Fire, 1948, in particular. Related photographs also mostly of the Mount Pleasant area, document children, buildings, the Kiwanis Club, street paving, snow storms, city vehicles, and the Chippewa Centennial Queen and Runner-up, 1967.

The largest group of negatives, as well as some of the photographs, documents oil exploration and production businesses in Michigan, 1930s-1980s.

Within the oil topics, a large number of negatives and photographs, 1930s-1970s, document men, most of whom are in groups wearing suits, usually holding drinks and cigarettes. While most of these men are unidentified, some are partially identified and other photographs or negatives are dated. It is highly likely that they all are attending Association meetings. One particular set of negatives shows men at the Mount Pleasant Country Club, watching a couple of go-go dancers, 1966.

Other negatives show groups of men who were probably connected with the oil industry relaxing, at meetings, playing cards, fishing, golfing, or hunting. A funny negative shows a group of men dressed up as women golfers. Numerous other images show men in groups either working in or visiting oil fields. The negatives of men in groups span 1935 through 1975, and undated. The photographs of men in groups span the 1960s.

There are also a smaller number of negatives of men who are working in fields unrelated to the oil business, such as in general stores.

Lastly, there are a number of negatives, 1930s-1970s, and some photographs, 1960s, of individual men in the Men-Portraits folders, some of which are identified either by surname or date. While a number of the men may be well known in the oil industry, the most famous central Michigan names associated with the Purple Gang are Isaiah Leebove, circa 1937, and Jack Livingston, undated, circa 1930s, both documented in photographs. Another famous Michigander is Spikehorn [John E.] Meyer (d. 1956) of Harrison, Michigan, 1940s, undated (photographed with his pet deer and bear, and people, including children). Spikehorn is documented in negatives and a few photographs.

A few Michigan politicians are also found in the collection, probably while campaigning, and include governors Soapy [G. Mennen] Williams and Kim Sigler (in negatives) and George Romney (in photographs).

The largest and arguably the most important part of the collection documents the oil exploration and production business throughout the state of Michigan, 1930s-1970s. A few images of the oil business in Texas, Florida, Ohio, and Illinois are also included.

The collection documents in detail the entirety of the oil business, from maps, drilling, core samples, construction of rigs, storage tanks, shipping oil, fires and other disaster, to seismology. Changes and developments in field equipment are recorded, from horse-drawn vehicles, wooden derricks, and using tractor-powered vehicles to sink well pipes to diesel-powered equipment and full-scale production refineries.

Major topics related to the oil exploration and production business in Michigan are well documented by negatives in the collection. These topics include the Association meetings, parties, and other outings, usually baseball or golf, 1940-1974, undated, and Buildings and Plants, most of which are identified, including non-Michigan locations. Plants with a large number of images include: Gaylord, 1967-1971; Gulf-Bateson, 1935, 1940-1942, undated, Gulf-Bay City, 1939-1941, undated and Gulf-General, 1941; Hilliard’s in Roscommon County and Vogel Centre, 1941, 1967; Kalkaska, including Shell Oil Co., 1969-1972, 1974; McClure (various locations), 1966, 1969-1971 and 1975; Porter fields, 1933, 1936, 1939-1940, undated; Pure Oil Co., 1930s, 1936, 1939-1940, undated; Reed City (MI), 1941, Roosevelt Refinery, Mount Pleasant, 1940, 1943, 1947, undated; Saginaw, 1937, 1941, 1975, undated; Shell Oil Co., 1970-1974; Sun Oil Co., 1940-1941, 1965-1966; Tekonsha, Michigan,1966-1967, 1969; and Wise Township (Isabella County), 1940-1941, undated.

Other oil business subjects well documented by negatives include Derricks, both identified and dated, 1930s-1970s, and those neither identified nor dated, including rigs blown down, destroyed, off-shore, and tilting. Fires are also well documented, particularly the Roosevelt fire, 1933, Six Lakes fire, 1974, Struble Well fire, 1934, and the Woods Well fire, circa 1930s. Gas and Gas Plants, Gushers, and Land Leases, Sales, and Landsmen are fairly well documented. The Oil Expos[itions] of 1935-1937 are well documented, showing various exhibiters, their equipment, signs, salesmen, and attendees. Oil Scouts, Pipes, Pumps, and Storage Tanks are also documented. Negatives of refineries, mostly undated, which are well documented included McClanahan Refinery, Toledo Pipe Refinery (Ohio), 1935-1936, and Total Refinery (probably located in Alma. Well sites are well documented in Buckeye, 1936-1938, Durbin, 1935, and Sherman Rocks, 1937.

Brine and gas exploration, laying of lines or pipes, plants and gas stations are also documented, mostly by negatives.

The oil business is also documented in photographs, which mostly dated from the 1960s. Buildings and Plants documented here include Bay Refining Co., and Belle River Gas, 1967, Simrall Pipeline Corp., and Durbin Station. Other topics covered include: Core Samples; Derricks, including Hilliard and McCloud for 1961; Fires, 1961-1963, Florida (Orange County), 1965; Gushers; McClure Drilling Co., Equipment on a Ferryboat, 1961, Pumps; Sinkholes, Storage Tanks; and Wells Sites, including Off-Shore sites.

The Transparencies also document the oil business in Michigan. The Slides nearly all document the oil business in the early 1970s, including the Crawford Well Fire, 1976; Derricks; Kalkaska; seismology, rigs, equipment, fires, core samples, pumps, storage tanks, various people, McClure, equipment, etc.

The partial reels of 35 mm film all are labeled in some form. One partial reel found in Box 11 appears to be personal. Otherwise, all the partial reels in Box 12 document an oil hearing, 1971-1973, McClure, Natural Resource Commission, etc.

The Oversized Folders include photographs (2 folders) and paste-ups (1 folder), all related to Norm’s publishing work with the oil industry.

The Papers are a small part of the collection. Found here are articles and reprints of articles about the Michigan oil business; an oil drilling notebook reports, maps, and other oil related materials. Pigeon River, and the blowout at Williamsburg, 1973-1974 are specifically documented here. The rest of the Papers documents Norm Lyons in biographical information, including correspondence, obituaries notices (of Norm and Phyllis), newspaper clippings, notes, and speeches, and information about the Mount Pleasant Kiwanis Club, particularly their 50th Anniversary in 1983. Other people, probably his friends or oil associates are documented briefly in correspondence and newspaper clippings.

Processing Note: This was a challenging collection to process for several reasons. First, it arrived in a state of complete disorder. Many of the images, negatives and positives, were without any form of identification. Secondly, a number of negatives were often in one wax-paper sleeve with either little or no identifying information or a lot of information that did not always seem to apply to the contents. For example one sleeve might have 15 negatives of different men and the names of only two men on it. Norm’s writing was often difficult to read, particularly when he used his own style of abbreviations. Students and Marian tried mightily to identify and read his notations. Also, some of the photographs were identified by Norm as belonging to various years. As we could, we maintained that grouping. That is why there are photographs in a folder 1965-1967 (we do not know which individual photographs date from which year) and other photographs in a folder strictly labeled 1967 only. Simply sleeving the collection took nearly three months while sorting it took longer. Some items were identifiable only using a lightbox and loupe.

The collection includes materials, mostly originals, by and about Bovee (Biographical Materials), usually in connection with Central Michigan University (CMU), and (CMU Subjects) of a historic nature that he collected, including CMU materials, publications, photographs, and related materials.

The collection includes materials, mostly originals, by and about him (biographical material), usually in connection with CMU, and CMU materials, publications, photographs, and related materials of a historical nature that he collected (CMU Subjects). Bovee generated a number of reports, speeches, remarks, and was also photographed serving on CMU committees or at building dedications. He and his family were also invited to a number of CMU presidential inaugurations.

Of particular note are Bovee’s Letter about university unrest, 1965, his Statement for Michigan State Senate Committee Investigating Faculty-Administration Relationships at CMU, 1966, and the original raw data and report of the CMU Teaching Faculty Survey, 1966. It is unknown whether or not Bovee was responsible for creating the survey. The investigation led to CMU faculty creating the first faculty union in the state of Michigan.

Also of interest is a rare photograph of the laying of the Finch Fieldhouse’s cornerstone, 1956.

Two copies of his A Master Plan for the City of Mount Pleasant, Isabella County, Michigan November 1965… are also housed in the CMU libraries.

The collection documents the department's history with organizational histories, photographs, slides, website pages, annual reports, correspondence, publications, meeting minutes, scrapbooks, and other materials.

Through the years, department staff saved various historical materials, photographs, scrapbooks, meeting minutes, and other relevant materials, to document the history of the department and its related student organizations. About half of the collection documents the department, while the other half documents the related student organizations.

The collection is organized first by format, with letter and legal-size papers and photographs filed in alphabetical order by organizational name in boxes. The organizational history and related notes, compiled in 1996 by Donna Poynor begins the collection. Oversized volumes (Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums) are divided by organizational name and stacked with the largest volume in each section on the bottom of the pile. They are described at the end of the box and folder listing.

The history of the entire department from its establishment until 1996 is documented in Organizational Histories and Research Notes, 1996; Photographs, 1930s-1960s, and 1990s, and 2003; Published Materials (articles in CMU publications, departmental brochures, and a reprint of an article by a student in the department), 1944-1984 (Scattered); Slides, 1950s, 1961, and undated; CMU and You Day Photographs and Report, 1991; and the 2006 department website pages. The undated Sewing I Notebook and teacher contracts date from 1905 through 1913 are the earliest extant items in the collection. They document the period when courses were taught as Domestic Science and Arts. The Notebook is charming. It includes Ruby Wilfing’s neatly written class notes with definitions and ideas, and examples of swatches of materials demonstrating her ability to sew various types of complex stitches. A miniature apron she sewed is included.

The Department of Home Economics is documented by Annual Reports from the 1960s, Departmental Correspondence, both General Correspondence, mainly noting changes in department staff and leadership during the 1960s, as well as some Correspondence specific to the Renovation of Wightman Hall, 1966-1968 and 1970. Other correspondence is with the Office of Vocation Education, part of the Michigan Department of Public Instruction, regarding the review and development of the department. There is also a department Scrapbook, 1961-1963.

The Department of Home Economics, Family Life and Consumer Education is documented by a publication, Quest for Values, 1968-1969 by Evelyn I. Rouner.

Several student home economics clubs are documented in the collection. The Central Home Economics Club is documented by organizational records, including: Constitutions, 1941-1987 (Scattered); Meeting Minutes of both regular and Executive Council meetings, and Lists of Members, 1920-1940, 1946-1950, 1961-1977 and 1979-1989, and Scrapbooks, 1942, 1946-1948, and 1958-1963 (1 v.) and 1958-1964 (1 v.). This club evolved into the Central Michigan Home Economics Association, documented by Scrapbooks, 1977-1979 (2 v.), and the CMU Home Economics Association, documented by a Scrapbook, 1979-1980.

The Central Home Economics Club was a member of a state home economics organization, the Michigan Home Economics Association, which is documented by Scrapbooks, 1936-1938 and 1982-1984 (2 v.).

Another related club was Kappa Omicron Phi (the National Home Economics Honors Society), which is documented by a Photograph album, 1978-1983 and two Scrapbooks, 1961-1977 and 1973-1982.

Photographs in the collection include black and white as well as colored and colored slides. A number of the Photographs were published in the department’s brochures and articles about the department. The Scrapbooks vary in size and composition. A wide variety of materials, including photographs, art, correspondence, invitations, table favors, posters, programs, newspaper clippings, etc. are found in the scrapbooks. Because of the mix of their composition and contents, all of the Scrapbooks suffer from various levels of acidity and fragility and should be used with care by researchers.

Processing Notes: Some of the scrapbooks consisted of materials in rotting binders. The historical materials were removed from the binders and filed in folders. Two photographs in the collection were of women in the home economics courses at Michigan Agricultural College, now Michigan State University, so those photographs were transferred to the MSU Archives and Historical Collections.

The collection consists of the organizational records of Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library.

The collection documents in text and images all aspects of the history and functions of the Clark Historical Library since its founding. Photographs are mostly in Boxes 7-8, but other images may be found in various publications and the scrapbooks.

An addition to the collection in 2021, Board Meeting Minutes (Boxes 12-17), 1962-2006, undated, may include agendas, attachments, reports, and board packets, and 1 box of board member correspondence and photographs.

Another 2021 addition is the Charles H. Wright addition, 1959, 1978, 1 cubic foot (in 2 boxes) features official government documents from African countries. Most folders are official Parliamentary Debates of the Eastern House of Assembly of Nigeria. Each packet includes who attended, the information discussed, and relevant recorded dialogue. Other materials included in the collection are an Official Gazette from the Republic of Nigeria, as well as multiple Monthly Digest of Statistics from Zambia. Multiple titles were separately cataloged.

The 2021 addition, No Acc#, Boxes 20-36 (7.75 cubic feet in 17 boxes) focuses on the Clarke Historical Library, though other materials include Frank Boles' professional correspondence and materials about the Park Library, Mid-Michigan Library League, Michigan Historical Review, and Clarke Historical Library Board of Governors 1954-2019. The Mid-Michigan Library League is one of Michigan's eleven library cooperatives and as of 2021, includes 36 libraries in 15 counties located in Michigan's lower peninsula. The Michigan Historical Review is a scholarly publication about Michigan history and joint venture of the Clarke and CMU's History Department. Some materials are in Spanish. The 2021 addition was arranged to match the organization of previous accessions to the collection. Some of the addition was interfiled into Boxes 10-11.

The collection is ongoing.

The collection includes newsletters, minutes, certificates, programs, reports, etc.

The collection consists of newsletters, meeting minutes, certificates, programs, reports, a brief chapter history, photographs, and bylaws, 1959-2002. Also included are six PDK pins and a PDK seal press.

The collection documents the center's history with curriculum, teacher guides and newsletters, as well as reports.

The collection includes newsletters and materials developed by or used by the Center's staff. Many of the publications are from the State of Michigan.

The collection includes a constitution, correspondence, meeting minutes, financial, and other organizational records.

The collection of various organizational records, includes: bank books, statements, receipts and bills; a constitution; correspondence; an evaluation of Mount Pleasant High School, 1950; membership cards; a questionnaire; lists of meeting attendances; meeting minutes and related materials, 1946-1951; and miscellaneous. The scrapbook includes newspaper clippings and other materials.