Collections

This collection consists of the family papers of Leonard E. and Louise A. Plachta, providing a personal view into their childhoods, university experiences, married life and relationship with each other, friends, and relatives through their correspondence, and careers, mainly in Detroit and Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

This collection consists of the family papers of Leonard E. and Louise A. Plachta, providing a personal view into their childhoods, university experiences, married life and relationship with each other, friends, and relatives through their correspondence, and careers, mainly in Detroit and Mount Pleasant, Michigan. While most of the collection is in English, some correspondence, stories, family history and vital records, and school grades are in Polish. The collection is organized by creator and then alphabetically by topic and, finally, chronologically. Physically, the collection is in very good condition. Boxes 1-4 are letter-size .5 cubic foot and Box 5 is a letter-size .25 cubic foot box.

The Papers of Leonard E. Plachta:

The Papers of Leonard E. Plachta (in Boxes 1-3) includes his family history with family tree information, and his elementary grades (some in Polish) and high school grades and activities, such as childhood photographs and his Safety Patrol Pledge, Grade 7-8. His university materials included applications, in which he wrote about his hopes, dreams, interests, and lack of parental support to pursue a college degree. His university degrees and related commencement materials are included. There is one folder each of material documenting his wedding to Louise, and another his army training. We see some of his personal relationships with each other and family in Correspondence, from Leonard to Louise,; and in Correspondence, Personal to Leonard, Leonard and Louise.

The majority of his papers focuses his career at Central Michigan University (CMU His Annual Personal Data Report (Academic Accomplishments), are annual reports of his professorial academic accomplishments in the Business School. When he became Dean of the CMU Business School he wrote Some Thoughts on Becoming Dean of the School of Business Administration at CMU]. Photographs of Dean Plachta with students, other CMU faculty and administrators, and when he attended the Small Business Institute Award Dinners also document his time as dean.

Most of the CMU material is from his tenure as CMU president. When he became Interim President he received numerous congratulatory notes. Those retained in the collection are from CMU and Mount Pleasant people, among them former CMU Presidents Harold Abel and William B. Boyd, presidents of other universities, and Michigan politicians and businessmen. Other materials documenting his tenure as CMU president include: CMU Agreement with Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (student exchange program established), 1993; a Caricature by Paco; CMU Correspondence, Thank yous for Hospitality to Leonard and Louise from Alumni Class 1947 for their 50th Reunion; an invitation to the CMU Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government Celebration Dinner; Morning Sun Interview Materials; Photographs in the collection document Awards and Recognition Events, one with Governor Jennifer Granholm, Commencements, 1992-1995, 1997; Groundbreaking, Official Building Openings and other events, Homecoming, 1995 and 1997; Students, Alums; and international visits to Villa Bosch, a conference center, in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Tatsuzawa Educational Establishments (Morioka Chou Senior High School),a preeminent private high school, in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Demands for his resignation in 1998 are documented in the folder labeled CMU Students Demand Plachta’s Resignation.

His retirement and honors received afterwards are documented by Awards and Certificates, Leonard and Louise together; CMU Correspondence, Congratulations Upon His Retirement; CMU Plachta Day, Dinner Invitation; CMU President Mike Rao, Goals, Strategic Plans, Correspondence. Certificates and awards, newspaper clippings, plaques, and CMU Correspondence- General span his entire career or entire life. There is one folder of materials from the semester he taught at Michigan State University. An overall view about him is provided by his obituary and self-generated biographical materials.

The Papers of Louise Plachta:

The Papers of Louise Plachta (in Boxes 4-5) document her family history in copies of her parents’ vital records, stories, and correspondence (some in Polish from her mother and other relatives), and secondary education with childhood elementary grades (some in Polish) and high school grades and class anniversary materials. Her University of Detroit materials include her degree. The one folder of their wedding material is filed under Leonard’s name. Her writing is documented in her English papers, Correspondence, and Stories, h Interview materials, Articles, and Speeches. Materials specifically related to her time at CMU include: Caricature by Paco, Brent Wisher; Certificates; her CMU Master of Arts Degree in Case; CMU Plachta Scholarships and Awards Materials; Identity Cards; her unofficial Correspondence, re: Leonard Resigning; all but one of her English papers; most of her Photographs and CMU Photo Identity Card; ‘Robert Frost and the rural’ CMU Bohannon Schoolhouse, Program, and Photographs; and two plaques. An overview of her life is found in her photographs, resume, and obituary.

Researchers may also be interested in the official CMU Office of the President Papers of Leonard E. Plachta, which are administrative in nature. For more detail please see that finding aid. Additional materials about both Plachtas may be found in multiple manuscript collections in the Clarke, especially those related to public relations, as well as digitized CMU publications. A copy of his 1964 dissertation, A search for a proper accounting for the issuance of stock dividends, is also available in the Clarke.

Processing Note: Approximately 1 cubic foot of materials were removed from the collection during processing including: miscellaneous financial information, pay raise requests, benefits information, letters of recommendation, generic travel mementos, generic correspondence, information with social security numbers, unidentified photographs, CMU publications (duplicates) and acidic materials, mainly newspaper clippings (copies were retained). Material of a more personal nature were returned to the donor as per the donor agreement.

This collection includes materials by and about Les O. Carlin, materials by and about his wife, Marguerite "Margo" R. Carlin, and CMU materials they collected from others.

This collection is organized into three series: materials by and about Les, materials by and about Margo, and CMU materials they collected from others.

Box 1 (.5 cubic foot) includes: Les’ materials include six folders of his biographical materials, honors, retirement, papers, and family trees, 1940-1999 (scattered); and Margo’s materials include biographical information, her B.S. degree and case, an alumni photograph, and a resolution of appreciation, 1958-1991 (scattered).

Box 2 (.5 cubic foot) includes mostly photographs and photograph albums. The Carlins are in a few folders including family photographs and some homecoming court photographs, 1992-1993. They are also in the group photographs of CMU students on European tours, 1964 and undated. Photographs include CMU homecoming court, parades, alumni events, the dedication of the Peace Grove in 1995. Photograph albums include two nice leather bound volumes, one inscribed to Norvall C. Bovee, [after 1964], the other without an inscription [before 1968]. The albums are dated based on the construction or replacement of certain buildings in each album. The only non-photographic item in Box 2 is a list (copy) of girls (meaning female CMU students) rooming at C.E. Russell’s, 1910-1916 (copy, 2014).

Oversized materials (approximately 1 cubic foot) include the very interesting CMU SATC (Student Army Training Corps) Photograph Album, 1984. This includes mostly copies of portraits and group photographs of CMU students enrolled in the SATC at CMU practicing with guns, attacking targets, one with a bugle. Three of the group photographs are laminated and identified as the entire company (four platoons of 250 men) and one image is of the 4th platoon. These photographs are identified by Private Carl W. Dalrymple of the 4th Platoon. The album also includes two 1984 color photographs of senior men who were once SATC members. Also oversized are Les Carlin’s coat of arms in oval frame with glass, by V.R. Nickerson, 1984, and his Retirement Scrapbook, 1991.

Related Collections: Related Clarke collections documenting the Carlins include Marguerite R. Carlin’s Papers, 1954, 1979, and Al G. Tennant’s Collection, 1951, [2013]. A catalog subject search for Central Michigan University. Student Army Training Corps will retrieve catalog records for all relevant collections with SATC materials in them.

Processing Note: Duplicates (many photographs) and a few peripheral items were withdrawn from the collection during processing. Acidic items were copied and the originals were withdrawn from the collection. A total of less than .25 cubic foot was removed from the collection. The Carlin materials were originally housed in storage with alumni events and meeting minutes, now in the separate CMU Alumni collection.

The collection consists of materials created and collected by two Central Michigan University (CMU) students, Lynn M. Riker and Mary Beth Erdman, who gave her materials to Riker.

The collection consists of materials created and collected by two Central Michigan University (CMU) students, Lynn M. Riker and Mary Beth Erdman, who gave her materials to Riker. Riker’s material documents her extensive activities in committees connected to her membership and leadership of CMU Residence Halls Assembly, which led to her involvement leading or co-leading the planning of the state, regional and national RHA conferences at CMU, including: the Michigan Residence Halls Assembly Conference in 1989, the Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls in 1984, and the National Association of Colleges and University Residence Halls, Inc. For the national she was involved with two bids, the unsuccessful 1985 and the successful 1986. Her papers include a wide variety of conference planning materials and bid packet materials include minutes, notes, correspondence, forms, schedules, budgets, lists of committee responsibilities, members and contacts, reports, conference invitations, banquet programs, certificates, fliers, stationery, and evaluations. Mary Beth Erdman’s materials include: 1950s and 1960s photographs and historical information about CMLife and CMU history articles that she wrote about or edited, including student demonstrations over censorship, 1960-1962, correspondence about her censorship editorial from CMU officials, including Wilbur E. Moore, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and a history of the Mount Pleasant High School student newspaper, the Stude, she wrote in 1954. Erdman also donated a photograph of a New Moon camper show with movie posters of The Long, Long Trailer, a 1953 MGM romantic comedy movie starring Lucy Ball and Desi Arnaz filmed in a New Moon trailer. The collection is organized by size and then alphabetically and chronologically.

The family papers, 18801-1969 (Scattered) and undated, documents the lives of Anna, Julia and Mary M., all of whom were Michigan teachers, with a focus on Mary's nursing experience, during which she served as a Red Cross and U.S. Nursing Corps member with the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

The family papers, 18801-1969 (Scattered) and undated, documents the lives of Anna, Julia and Mary M., all of whom were Michigan teachers, with a focus on Mary's nursing experience, during which she served as a Red Cross and U.S. Nursing Corps member with the American Expeditionary Forces in France. The collection is organized by format: Papers including obituary of Mary’s mother, also named Mary who died in 1944, various correspondence, pins, poem, and Mary’s AEF card from Siberia, vaccination record and wallet in the front of Box 1. Amongst the pins is a 1908 President Taft brass campagna swastika, to attach to a watch fob. Photographs of men, women, school children at schools where Mary or her sisters taught, nurses, nursing, nursing school, an operation, family, friends, colleagues, families, animals, some buildings, and vacations fill the rest of Box 1 through Box 3. In the 1940s-1960s Mary vacationed in Florida where she and friends and family visited various tourist cities including Tarpon Springs and Orlando. There are photographs of diverse animals and birds including elephants of an unidentified circus. Mike the cat predominates in the animal photographs. There are photographs of a man and woman in wheelchairs. There is an oversized folder of teaching and nursing certificates and high school diplomas and two oversized volumes of Mary’s nursing experience in France in World War I, one of which is very artistically organized with AEF on the front cover made from photographs of AEF nurses and soldiers. Most of the materials are undated.

Court records include annulments, chancery cases, chattle mortgages, debt cases, divorces, estate settlements, foreclosures, gas and oil cases, guardianship cases, indentures, injunctions, calendars and proceedings, mortgages, prartnerships, pensions, petitions, poll lists, tally sheets, election returns, school reports, censuses, etc., support cases, tax assessments, other records, a tintype, miscellaneous.

The collection is one of the government records collections that came to the Clarke as part of a regional archives depository agreement with the State Archives. The collection was not processed at the State Archives.

Processing Note: Duplicate printed materials, miscellaneous and illegible items, and those non-permanent records that had far surpassed their records retention schedule were withdrawn from the collection during processing.

The following collection contains Michigan Circuit Court Case No. 4305, Michigan Consolidated Gas Company materials, Michigan Public Service Commission, D3430, Michigan Public Service Commission, Michigan Supreme Court Case No. 46228, and other related materials.

The collection consists of five series:

Michigan Circuit Court (Isabella County), Case No. 4305-transcripts, proceedings, and exhibits, 1948-1952;

MCGC-hearing papers, service rates, correspondence, map of service, and exhibits on Gas Franchise, 1930s-1953;

Michigan Public Service Commission, D3430-evidence, transcripts, petitions, hearing papers, reports, proceedings, applications and authorities to modify gas rates, briefs, testimonies, etc., 1930s-1955;

Michigan Supreme Court, Case No. 46,228-exhibits, papers, brief, notices, records and resolution, 1930s-1954; and

Related materials, mostly correspondence, 1948-1953.

The following collection contains certificates, invitations, news releases, organization chart, passes, permits, tickets, pendants, coins, and Brothers of the Brush and Queen Contest rules of the Mount Pleasant Area and Chippewa Indian Centennial Association, Inc.

The collection includes news releases; memorabilia; an organizational chart; contest rules; materials documenting From These Forests, and miscellaneous.

Collection contains dedication program, invitations, faculty minutes, pageant materials, Student Council materials, and term papers from Mount Pleasant High School.

The collection was the property of Miss Constance M. Stenenga, a high school English teacher at Mount Pleasant High School, who compiled a history of the high school with three high school seniors Sue Brown Morrow, Delores Conkright, and Faye Lou Brasington in 1955/1956. A copy of the printed history is in the collection.

The collection consists of miscellaneous materials relating to the high school, the student council, homecoming, and school pageant, term papers on the history of the school, student newspapers, commencement programs, 1956-1969, and some newspaper clippings (copies). A 1957 program for the dedication of the new high school is included.

The collection includes copies of reports, clippings, published sources, manuscripts and notes on the school.

The collection consists almost entirely of photocopied newspaper clippings, notes, primary and secondary source materials, and reprints of photographs. The Clarke does not hold copyright for the secondary source material and photographs. Most of the primary source material was copied from the National Archives. Other materials come from the Clarke’s collections and various published sources, while the photographs were copied from originals in the Cumberland County Historical Society (Pennsylvania). Some notes by Jennifer Wood are included.

The collection includes newspaper clippings (copies) of topics related to the school's buildings, people, and events, 1892-1913 and 1926-1928, scattered afterwards to 1971, copied in 2003.

The collection compiled in 2003 and later added to in 2018, documents various aspects of the Mount Pleasant Indian School, 1892-1913, 1926-1971 (scattered). The collection was compiled from microfilmed Mount Pleasant, Michigan, newspapers in the Clarke Historical Library’s collection, by then Clarke student, Christa Zawaideh, and Clarke staff member, Jennifer Wood, in 2003. The names and dates of the newspapers are written on the back of the photocopied pages, unless they are already part of the copied text. A small amount of cross-referencing, particularly with school employees, has been done.