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Collection about the history of Leonard Refineries, Inc. (Alma, Michigan).

This is a Historical Collection of the company, not the complete business records of the company. The collection was preserved by Mr. Donald Godrey until it was donated to the Clarke. The collection is physically in good to excellent condition. A few fragile newspaper clippings were photocopied. The collection documents the history of Leonard Refineries in Alma, its mergers and changes, advertising, plants, fires, and people.

The collection consists of over 4,000 negatives and photographs; subject files; oversized volumes, including scrapbooks, photograph albums, and newspaper clippings; oversized advertising and photographs; and 2 copies of a CD of Leonard radio advertising songs, some dated 1959. The collection is organized by format and size, then by topic and date. Series include the following: Negatives (which vary in size, 20 boxes, 10 cubic ft.); Mixed Materials (1 box, .5 cubic ft.); Photographs (3 boxes, 1.5 cubic ft.); Papers, Subject Files, which includes a cassette tape, VHS tape, and booklets (3 boxes, 1.25 cubic ft.); and 36 Oversized Volumes, 3 Oversized Folders, and 2 CDs (approximately 20 cubic ft.). A more detailed inventory of the negatives in Boxes 1-20 follows the box and folder listing. Also included is a 16 mm color film of the 1968 Press on regardless National Rally organized by the Detroit Region Sports Car Club of America and sponsored by Leonard, which traveled from Alma to Gaylord and Grayling, Michigan, and back. Scott Harvey is featured in the beginning of the film. The film last 26 minutes and 58 seconds. A hard drive copy of the Rally is also included, reformatted from the film in 2011. A more detailed inventory of the negatives in Boxes 1-20 follows the box and folder listing.

Image collection of the staff, building, laboratory, refinery, Sohio visits, and newspaper clippings of the company.

The collection consists mainly of both strips of black and white photographs and negatives of the Leonard Refineries, Inc. Images include office staff and managers, Ted Bennet, J. Walter Leonard, and Jim Wright; the main building and laboratory, both interior and exterior views with staff; a local photograph contest with a cash prize of $4,000 which was probably awarded by the refinery; a visit by Sohio representatives on December 29, 1959 and January 1960; and some images entitled “Special Effects of the refinery, July 1957.” It is difficult to ascertain what the special effects were from the images. There are also 29 negatives of the Midwest Refinery in Alma. The obituaries (copies) of Vance W. Orr and George House, both refinery staff, 2005, and a newspaper article (copy) about the negative economic effect the closure of the Alma refinery had on Alma, 2005, complete the collection. The collection provides good visual documentation of the refinery and its staff during the late 1950s and 1960. Most of the images are undated.

Leonard Refineries, Inc. Promotion items.

The collection includes a Dura Lube Motor Oil Can; Plastic Cups (2); Mackinac Bridge Souvenir Glass; Soo Locks Souvenir Glasses (2); Hosiery Mending Kit; Matchbook Covers (4); Printing Plates (6); Water Heater Regulation Tags, Large (3); Water Heater Regulation Tag, Small; Golf Tees in Cover; Cigarette Lighter; Plastic Clip; Leonard Money Clip and Case; Golf Ball Markers and Case; Rain-Chek Tube and Holder; Rain-Chek Box; Kaysons Golden Rhapsody China "Ask Me" Button; and Kaysons patented Golden Rhapsody China Saucer, Tea Cup, and Plate, all dated 1961. Processing Note: Some items once contained hazardous materials such as oil or lighter fluid; however, all hazardous waste has been removed. Local gas stations and their owners noted on some items include: Eisemann Oil Company, Chelsea and Ann Arbor (Mich.); Geo. Freres, Muskegon (Mich.); and Al's Super Service, St. Johns (Mich.). Researchers may be interested in the Leonard collection and publications also housed at the Clarke Historical Library.

Processing Note: Some items once contained hazardous materials such as oil or lighter fluid; however, all hazardous waste has been removed.

The Stephen L Barstow collection consists of various architectural records dating between 1953 and 1988, mostly undated, drawn or collected by Barstow.

The Stephen L Barstow collection consists of various architectural records dating between 1953 and 1988, mostly undated. The records are organized by topic. There may be drafts and copies, as well as some original blueprints for each building, but the collection does not include an entire set of complete blueprints for any building. Drawings include proposed developments, sketches, site plans, mechanical and other details, floor plans, survey maps, site profiles and plans, preliminary views, alternate plans, design development plans, elevations, master development plans, foundation plans, among others. There are various types of pencil notations on blueline and trace paper drawings. Items within each folder are numbered in pencil in the lower right corner to assist patrons in retrieving specific items.

The collection includes architectural drawings of various houses and churches of Midland, Michigan, including the Church of the Nazarene, and other nearby buildings including West Midland Community Center, Northwood Institute, Crown Petroleum, Inc. gas station on US-23, the Midland County Santa Claus Workshop [house], West Midland County Parks Site Plan, Midland Hospital’s chronic care room. Blueprints for Interlochen Music Camp, Kent Intermediate Schools, Bay Refining Company Station, Central Pumping Station, DePauw University Performing Arts Center, Kalamazoo Nature Center, the Leonard Refineries, Inc. service station and sign, Stadium Boulevard Site Plan, Theater for Wayne State University, Young Subdivision curb grades, Roscommon Congregational Church, Temple Beth-El in Spring Valley, New York, lamps and decks are also included.

Note: Some records are brittle due to high acidity and there is also an issue of fading.

Copyright Note: Many of the drawings in the collection are copyrighted by Alden B. Dow. It is unclear how or why Barstow collected them. “Copyright of all Aden B. Dow materials is held by the Alden B. and Vada B. Dow Creativity Foundation. Patrons wishing to reproduce the material for purposes other than scholarship purposes must contact the Foundation.” Drawings in the collection which are not under Dow copyright are so indicated in the folder listing.