Collections

This collection is made up of letters that Jewish Sergeant Alvin Hoffa wrote to his uncle, Isaac Heidenheimer, and his cousin, Howard Heid, while stationed in France with the United States Army's 325th Infantry Regiment immediately after World War I.

This collection (5 items) is made up of letters that Jewish Sergeant Alvin Hoffa wrote to his uncle, Isaac Heidenheimer (4 items), and to his cousin, Howard Heid (1 item), between December 3, 1918, and March 5, 1919. At the time, Hoffa was stationed in Chambéry and Cerons, France, with the United States Army's 325th Infantry Regiment, Company A. Hoffa described his postwar time in France, where he and other American soldiers were "leading the life of Riley" (March 5, 1919). He mentioned activities such as YMCA-sponsored sightseeing trips, a vaudeville show, daily band concerts, and bike riding. He reported that the army provided soldiers with hotel rooms, free haircuts, and new, clean clothing for the journey home. Though he was "so use to hearing shells & bullets, that I am lost in this quiet little village" (January 18, 1919), Hoffa was content to remain in France while other troops embarked for home. Some of the letters are written on stationery of the Red Cross and the YMCA.

Republican congressman form Michigan's Eighth District, 1952-1960, candidate for U.S. Senate, 1960; member U.S. Foreign Service, 1942-1950, delegate to 1962 state constitutional convention; University of Michigan regent and philanthropist. Papers include diaries, correspondence photographs and other material his political career and other varied interests.

The Alvin M. Bentley collection includes correspondence, speeches, subject files, and other materials relating to his political career and public service activities. Included are his files while serving as a member of Congress and as a delegate to Michigan's Constitutional Convention in 1961-1962, his campaign files from his race for the U.S. Senate in 1960 and his bid to be elected Congressman-at-large in 1962. Other series in the collection relate to his interest in issues of education, particularly higher education, as reflected in his service on the Citizen's Committee on Higher Education, his campaign for the State Board of Education and his tenure as a member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents. Of value in documenting the various phases of Bentley's career are series of diaries and journals, scrapbooks and clipping files, and photographs.

This diary chronicles the daily experiences and personal reflections of Amanda C. Easterday, a young woman who lived near Middletown, Maryland, in 1869. Easterday reflected on her loneliness and discussed her activities, which included prayer meetings and apple picking.

This diary (109 pages) chronicles the daily experiences and personal reflections of Amanda C. Easterday, a young woman who lived near Middletown, Maryland, in 1869. Easterday reflected on her loneliness and discussed her activities, which included prayer meetings and apple picking.

Daily entries cover April 25, 1869-November 15, 1869, and two later entries document Easterday's wedding on April 25, 1876. Easterday frequently opened entries with a weather report, which sometimes affected her outlook on the day. She attended prayer meetings and other social events in Frederick, Maryland, and mentioned the "little fellow" who often accompanied her on her way home. Though she had visits from friends, she often mentioned her loneliness and other melancholy emotions. Other experiences included seeing "the red men turn out" (p. 17), reading "The Red Knife; or, Kit Carson's Last Trail" (p. 26), and apple picking during the fall harvest (p. 66). Two later notes, dated April 25, 1876, and April 26, 1876, concern Easterday's wedding, including a list of guests in attendance (p. 109).

Catholic women's literary club of Jackson, Michigan. Historical materials, minutes of meetings, meeting programs, and scrapbooks detailing club activities.

The records of the Amaranth Club date from 1898 to 1990, with the bulk dating from 1920 to 1980, and measure 2 linear feet. The collection has been broken down into four series: Historical Materials, Meeting Minutes (1921-1979), Meeting Programs (1898-1980), and Scrapbooks.

Family papers of Amasa B. Watson are divided into the following series: Amasa B. Watson Papers, Amasa B. Watson Family and Associates Papers, Mrs. Martha A. (Brooks) Watson Papers, and Miscellaneous Papers The papers include: biographical materials; family correspondence; business correspondence, mostly related to lumber and timber, but also the Republic National Convention, 1888; education of his nephews at the Michigan Military Academy (Orchard Lake, Mich.); General Orders, 1861; and after his death, his wife's correspondence related to the building of his mausoleum and the Amasa B. Watson Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Post No. 395.

Family Papers, 1854-1932 and undated. The collection is divided into the following series: Amasa B. Watson Papers, Amasa B. Watson Family and Associates Papers, Mrs. Martha A. (Brooks) Watson Papers, and Miscellaneous Papers. Most of the collection documents Watson's business interests in pine lands and lumber sales.There are five folders of lumber correspondence with Hull and Watson; later M. B. Hull and Company, and finally Hull, Ulrich, and Company, 1879-1888, and four folders of related receipts and land taxes, 1860-1888. Eventually, Hull became executor of Watson's estate.

Family correspondence often relates to pine and land interests inherited from Watson. Family correspondence from his siblings concerns lumber and shingle sales. Correspondence from Watson's adopted sons, James and John Mead, is more personal in nature, and quite warm. In the correspondence, the boys describe their lives and experiences at school.

In the family and associates papers, there is correspondence with the family lawyer (and son-in-law) Thomas F. Carroll, and Watson's Mississippi agent, D. D. Carter, concerning land and estate concerns, 1903-1923. Correspondence to James and John Mead also concerns these issues, 1892-1894. The papers of Philander J. Mead (d. 1853), paternal grandfather of the Mead children and father of William J. Mead, are of little interest except where they concern pine and land interests. The papers of William W. Mead, 1888-1932, cover mostly his and his aunt/ mother's business concerns, estates, and the building of Amasa Watson's mausoleum. William was his aunt/ mother's right hand man. Mrs. Watson's papers cover her husband's estate, mausoleum, and land and timber business concerns. The Amasa B. Watson Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) Post 395 correspondence documents Mrs. Watson's donations, both to Post 395 and to individual Civil War veterans. The G. A. R. letterhead has an illustration of Watson as an older man. Also included is a 1912 meeting booklet listing the Post's officers and regular meetings, held on the first and third Friday of each month at 325 Central Avenue. The booklet has an oval portrait of Amasa B. Watson on the title page.

Additional family and miscellaneous papers relate to land patents, mostly copies, 1884-1919, and abstracts of titles of Amasa B. Watson's land, created for his heirs and for legal purposes. Biographical information and a carte-de-visite of Amasa B. Watson in his Civil War uniform complete the collection.

This volume contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society (A.M.D. Society) of East Providence, Rhode Island, as well as apparently unrelated financial accounts.

This volume contains the constitution and meeting minutes of the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society (A.M.D. Society) of East Providence, Rhode Island, as well as apparently unrelated financial accounts.

The volume begins with the miscellaneous financial accounting before the content switches to that of the Amateur Musical and Dramatic Society. The A.M.D. Society was created to raise funds to purchase books for the Union Grammar School; additional content includes a copy of the Society's constitution, by-laws, and meeting minutes, as well as the names of the elected President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Society.

Also present within the volume is a blank manuscript form for a last will and testament.

Amateur radio club comprised of students faculty and staff at the University of Michigan founded in 1909. Constitution, minutes and correspondence, 1930-1956; and radio log books, 1915-1976 (scattered dates).

The Amateur Radio Club records consist of largely of station log books recording contacts from around the world and various club records, 1930-1956, including the club constitution and minutes.

The Ambassador Bridge spans the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario (Canada). It was constructed from 1927-1929. The collection is from the papers of Mr. Howard A. Schirmer, an engineer who worked on the construction of the Ambassador Bridge. It contains materials related to designing and executing the construction of the Ambassador Bridge, the majority being correspondence and reports, and a selection of books and newspapers published just after the construction of the bridge.

The papers are divided into two series: Construction and Publications.

Construction contains materials related to designing and executing the construction of the Ambassador Bridge, the majority being correspondence and reports.

The correspondence dates from July 1928 to July 1929. The main correspondents are Robert MacMinn, Engineer of Construction; R.G. Cone, Resident Engineer; Howard Schirmer and other McClintic-Marshall employees. The correspondence discusses bids for contracts and various aspects of the construction, mostly focused on the terminals. Topics include the telephone system, installing clocks, furniture, cash registers and automatic car counters. There are a few blueprints, drawings, and lists of expenditures intermixed with the correspondence.

The reports are specification reports detailing how aspects of the construction are to be conducted. The reports indicate the types of materials and the processes to be used. The reports include specifications for masonry, the metal superstructure, pavements, and furniture, equipment and steel lockers for the U.S. terminal. There is also a report entitled Contract Plans and General Specifications detailing the responsibilities of the McClintic-Marshall company for the design and construction of the Ambassador Bridge.

Publications contains books and newspapers published just after the construction of the Ambassador Bridge. The books describe the history and process of constructing the bridge with varying degrees of technical detail. Detroit River Bridge was written for engineers and includes 69 plates of design drawings for the bridge. Detroit-Windsor Bridge also provides a technical description of the construction of the bridge and Detroit International Bridge provides a more general history of the construction. The newspapers were published when the Ambassador Bridge was dedicated. There is an article from the Detroit News and a section on the bridge from the Detroit Free Press.

This collection is made up of two cypher books kept by Ambrose H. Huber of Hereford, Pennsylvania, between 1866 and 1868. The books include problems and solutions in multiplication, fractions and decimals, arithmetical progression, roots, weights and measures. One volume has a yellow paper cover and the other a blue paper cover. The printed covers depict George Washington beside an American flag, with ships in the distance. On the backs of the volumes are printed advertisements for J. Washington Miller, Stationer and Publisher, No. 204 North Third Street.

Southeastern Michigan branch of the Labor Zionist Organization of American, now renamed Ameinu Detroit; organizational files include minutes of the Detroit Council, topical files, administrative correspondence, financial records, some local branch materials, publications, and visual and audio materials.

The record group includes documentation of both the Labor Zionist Organization and the Labor Zionist Institute. Some of the records date back to the early 1930s with the bulk of files dating from 1970. Included are minutes, topical files, correspondence, financial records, individual branch records, publications, and miscellaneous photographs, videotapes, and sound recordings. The record group documents the social and cultural programs and activities of one segment of Southeastern Michigan's Jewish community. Documented is the organization's fund raising activities, its interaction with other area groups, and its position on national and international issues.