Collections

Ann Arbor, Michigan civil rights activist known for his confrontational style and advocate of black economic development, welfare rights, affordable housing and other causes, and a founder of the Washtenaw County Black Economic Development League. Papers, primarily documenting his work with the WCBEDL, include correspondence, scrapbooks, trial transcripts, and photographs.

The Charles Thomas, Jr. papers relate mainly to the activities of WCBEDL, the organization founded by Thomas in 1970. Materials in the collection include scrapbooks, trial transcripts, newsclippings, photographs, and correspondence, (including four letters from Coretta Scott King located in the WCBEDL correspondence file).

Charles W. Cares, Jr. was a professor of landscape architecture in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan from 1959 to 1986. He was also Director of the Nichols Arboretum from 1968 to 1986. This collection consists of landscape drawings, drafted in pencil (and occasionally colored), of residences and parks in the Ann Arbor area and select projects outside of Ann Arbor that have special significance.

This collection covers most of Cares' professional career, although it is only a reflection of his style of work, and not a comprehensive view. The drawings are mostly of residential properties, although the collection also covers a few public parks, office buildings, and other non-residential buildings. The majority of the designs are in pencil, with a select few in ink or coloring materials (which are not consistently used throughout his career.) The paper used for the drawings includes tracing paper, drafting paper, and blueprint paper.

Cares' style of drawing is very soft, since he often worked in pencil and rarely used inks or colors for his drawings. However, the complexity of his projects could range from a simple sketch to a highly detailed mapping of a landscape, with labels indicating which trees and flora were to be placed in a given location. Occasionally a list of the plants to be used at the site would be provided along with the drawing. Cares was very consistent in labeling his projects, where information was commonly placed in the lower right corner of the drawing, such as the owner's name, site name, or site address (house number, street name, town name), as well as the date of the project.

The scope of this collection includes projects that were completed in the Ann Arbor area, with the exception of projects bearing special significance (see the "Other (Non-Ann Arbor)" folder.) The drawings were not received in any discernible order. As such they have been broadly categorized by location, and there is no item level control of the drawings. The collection consists of seven oversize folders.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, physician, researcher and speaker on such topics as geriatrics, local history, and the use of herbs and plants in medical treatment. Correspondence, published and unpublished writings, speeches and talks, clippings, photographs, and other papers relating to his various interests.

The C. Howard Ross Collection covers the period from about 1955 to 1980, and is made up largely of material related to Dr. Ross' strongest interests: geriatrics and history. There is little in the collection dealing with his childhood, his years as a school teacher or his work in industry. The bulk of the material deals with his years as a doctor and after his retirement from practice, and consists largely of reprints of published articles on geriatrics and history, especially local history, and of unpublished manuscripts chiefly about history and biography. There are some clippings concerning his activities as a physician and as a speaker on medical and other topics, primarily gardening, local history, and the use of herbs and plants in medicinal treatment.

Interdenominational church women's organization, formerly known as United Church Women of Ann Arbor. Minutes, reports, yearbooks, scrapbooks, photographs, sound recordings, and other files relating to activities and interests.

The record group begins with a file relating to the organization's history and administrative structure. This is followed by a bound volume containing minutes for the years of 1941 to 1950. The record group is then arranged into yearly files dating from 1950 to 2004. These files include such materials as mimeographed board of directors reports as well as a variety of newsletters, bulletins, and financial reports. An important source of information about the organization is a series of scrapbooks with clippings and some photographs detailing group activities in the period of 1960 to 2001.

Dexter, Michigan, collector of materials relating to the history of railroading in Michigan. Correspondence, subject files, printed matter and photographs; contain material concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the Manistee and Northeastern Railway Company, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Pere Marquette Railroad, and Ephraim Shay.

The Stoner collection contains about 3,600 photographs and negatives collected by Stoner, relating primarily to Michigan railroads. The collection also contains related manuscript materials.

Stoner's major collecting interests were in the Ann Arbor, Grand Trunk Western, and Pere Marquette Railroads and their predecessors, and in logging railroads, especially Ephraim Shay's railroad and others using Shay locomotives. Along with these lines, the collection contains photos of dozens of other railroads, not all in Michigan.

The photographs most commonly depict locomotives, often with their crews posed beside. Other common subjects are railroad stations (exteriors only), train wrecks, trains in motion, logging operations, carferries, railroad bridges, the Detroit-Windsor railroad tunnel, and street railroads.

Dozens of Michigan cities and towns and a number of places in other states are represented in the collection. Places depicted most often in the photos include Ann Arbor, Cadillac, Detroit, Durand, Frankfort, Harbor Springs, and Howell, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.

The collection is organized into seven series: Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, Unclassified negatives, Papers, Classified negatives, and Duplicate material.

Appended to this finding aid are two indexes, one for railroads and company names, the other for subjects. The indexes contain references to all items in the Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, and Unclassified negatives series.

The index to railroads and company names indexes logging and industrial companies that operated railroads, as well as railroad lines themselves. It does not index locomotive manufacturers, nor does it index the names of railroad museums where some of the photos were taken.

The index to subjects indexes place names and topical subjects. It does not index the term "locomotives" since the majority of the photos in the collection would be indexed under that heading. Place names are indexed if the photo includes a view of some part of the place or of some event at the place. Close-up views of locomotives that do not show any background are not indexed by place, even if the description of the photo identifies where it was taken.

Ann Arbor chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; minutes and other organizational records.

The record group has been arranged into the following series: Minutes; Published Material; Yearly Files; Officers Files; Membership records; Topical Files; Genealogical records; Scrapbooks, Historians Albums; and Visual Materials. Of interest are files relating in part to the chapter's activities during the Spanish-American War and World War I. The genealogical records include cemetery records for various Washtenaw County cemeteries.

Owner of SGI Publications, an Ann Arbor, Michigan firm; publisher of Current, a guide to movies and live entertainment in the Ann Arbor area. Press materials, photographs, and various promotional items received from musical bands, rock and roll groups, and individual performers scheduled to appear in Ann Arbor clubs.

The David DeVarti collection consists of press materials, photographs, scattered letters, reviews of performances, and promotional items received from various musical artists, bands, rock and roll groups who performed in Ann Arbor and other area venues. The materials, arranged alphabetically, formed the basis for the articles and schedule of events which appeared in the Current magazine.

Collection of photographs and other material documenting various locations, communities, and organizations in Michigan.

Collection of materials (mostly photographs) that document social, cultural, religious, and daily life in the state of Michigan and at the University of Michigan. Photographs depict locations throughout the state and groups of people. Materials are in the following categories: graduating classes, social societies and clubs, University of Michigan, views and scenes.

Ann Arbor, Michigan architect, Modern architecture, architectural drawings, presentation boards, photographs, journal articles, award submission notebooks, publicity material, and brief project summaries

The David W. Osler Papers document the professional career of this distinguished Ann Arbor architect, between the years 1956 and 2008. The collection provides researchers with a rich body of textual and visual materials, which illuminate the design excellence for which he is well known. Encompassing architectural drawings for 90 projects and photographs of 54 buildings, these papers offer a broad documentation of Osler's distinctive work in designing residences, libraries, churches, corporate and academic buildings, and condominiums. The collection contains the following series: Professional Papers, Photographs and Architectural Drawings.

Formerly called the Department of Journalism; includes administrative files, records of sponsored workshops, conferences, and lectures; faculty personnel files; and records of internship programs, including reports from students interning at local Michigan newspapers.

The Department of Communication record group consists of ten linear feet of records dating from 1926 to 1995 and processed in four accessions. The pre-1984 accessions document the Department of Journalism. The 1984 accession includes materials accumulated by professor Marion Marzolf. The 1986 accession represents records created through the merger of Journalism with Speech and the records of the new department's chairman after the merger was accomplished. The 1996 accession contains material similar to the earlier accessions with the exception of material relating to the graduate Master in Journalism degree program and the decision to suspend the program.

The original accession (Boxes 1-5) documents Department of Journalism activity from 1928 to 1981 (primarily 1950-1970). The accession has been divided into three series: Administrative Files; Faculty Personnel Records; and Internships, Fellowships and Scholarships.

The 1984 accession consists of three series of records: those from a 1977 conference, "Kerner Plus 10: Minorities and the Media," those from the University of Michigan student chapter of Kappa Tau Alpha, and those from the student chapter of Women in Communications, Inc. (WICI). Both the Kerner conference records and the WICI records reflect the involvement of Professor Marion T. Marzolf in the Department of Communication.

The 1986 accession dates from 1964 to 1986 (primarily 1975-1984). It represents the records kept by Peter Clarke, last chairman of the Department of Journalism and first chairman of the Department of Communication, the files of William E. Porter, who served as chair after Clarke's resignation in 1981, and a few documents of John D. Stevens, who succeeded Porter in 1984. The accession has been divided into two series, Chairman's Correspondence (1964-1985) and a Topical File (1949-1986).