Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

Family papers include correspondence, account books, autograph albums, records of Dean Creek Threshing Company, state tax land deeds, and miscellaneous.

The collection includes the correspondence between Clarence and Lucy before they married, 1890-1896, and later correspondence with friends and relatives. Also included are Autograph Albums, Clarence’s Account Books, and records of the Dean Creek Threshing Company. The deeds in the collection do not name a Beardslee as a seller or owner. Miscellaneous materials include a program for a Detroit Provisional Imperial Klanvocational, June 30-July 9, 1923, with handwritten notes on speakers and officers, and the words to a Klan song based on the melody of “Michigan, My Michigan,” on the inside back cover.

Papers include family genealogical materials, Tuma's biographical materials, awards and certificates, photographs, DVDs and a cassette tape of anniversary and reunion celebrations, large framed photographs, and other materials documenting the Embers Restaurants in Mount Pleasant and Traverse City, Michigan..

The Clarence Tuma Papers consist of the Tuma family genealogy, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, speeches, recipes, menus, bank statements and awards and certificates. The topically grouped material is arranged alphabetically. Newspaper clippings,1960 – 2007, include information on Tuma’s World War II Service, The Embers, and the Rashid Family. Photographs consist of Tuma’s service in World War II, family, The Embers, and Rashid Family Reunions. A special note is to be given to three photographs in the collection of a funeral of an unidentified individual. Also included are awards and certificates, 1964-2007, and plaques comprising of the Trustee Appreciation Award, the Salut Au Restaurateur Award, and the Alumni Recognition Award. Oversize Folder 1 contains oversized documents such as bank statements and certificates. Oversize Folder 2 contains family photos. Oversize Folder 3 contains a photograph of the Embers Restaurant in Traverse City, Michigan. Oversize Folder 4 contains photos of the Rashid Club of America.

Electronic sources include DVDs of Clarence Tuma’s 80th Birthday, the 75th Reunion of the Rashid Club of America and the Lion’s Club Farewell to the Embers. A cassette tape is also included, which is titled “Congratulations Clarence and Janet Tuma.” A later addition includes a thank you note from Rosalynn Carter, 2015.

This collection includes postcards nostly created by children and teens in various Michigan cities which competed in the Clarke Historical Library DigMichNews Contests, 2015-2019.

This collection includes postcards created by children and teens in Alpena, Milford, and Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, from the 2015 competition 1 cubic ft. (in 2 boxes). Milford won the competition in 2015. A folder of information about the 2015 competition is in the front of box 1.

The 2016 competition postcards 6.75 cubic feet (in 14 boxes) include those created by children and teens in pre-schools, and both public and private schools in Alpena, Clinton County (supporting DeWitt Public Library), Houghton Lake, L’Anse. In addition to children’s postcards there are several folders of homemade crafty postcards created by adults in the Houghton Lake Public Library Craft Group. All of the Polish News competition postcards were homemade by adults associated with the Polish News in Detroit. Alpena won the competition in 2016. Schools were identified whenever possible. When identification was not specific minors are identified as students. A folder of information about the 2016 competition is in the front of box 3.

The 2017 competition postcards, 4.25 cubic feet (in 9 boxes), include those created by children and adults in L’Anse, Leelanau, New Baltimore, Oceana, and Utica. Three-dimensional, art, reproduced art, and composite image postcards are included. Specific schools or institutions were not identified. L’Anse won the competition in 2017 with Utica a close second. A folder of information about the 2017 competition is in the front of Box 17.

The 2018 competition postcards, 2 cubic feet (in 4 boxes), include those created by children, and a couple of adults, in Albion, Detroit, East Grand Rapids, Pontiac, Saugatuck, and Utica. Art and reproduced art postcards are included. While no specific schools were identified as contributors, Saugatuck District Library was identified as an institution were children created children’s art postcards for the competition. Saugatuck won the competition in 2018 while Utica came in second. A folder of information about the 2018 competition is in the front of Box 25.

The 2019 competition postcards, 1.5 cubic feet (in 3 boxes), include postcards mostly created by children. Postcards created, or probably created, by adults include some in the Grandville folder, including five reproduced historical photographs, and postcards in the Sparta Retirement Community and Sparta adults folder. Identified Sparta schools or school districts include: Algoma Christian Schools, Appleview Elementary, Kent City Schools, Ridgeview schools, and Sparta Middle and High schools. Sparta won the competition over Grandville. A folder of information about the 2019 competition is in the front of Box 30, and a folder about the 2020 competition is in the back of Box 32. Only a few people people identified themselves by first names in the Algoma, Kent City, Ridgeview, Sparta schools, and Sparta Retirement Community folders.

The collection is organized alphabetically by year of competition, city, then by topic. The collection is ongoing.

Processing Note: Duplicate mass-produced postcards were sorted and withdrawn from the collection. This includes approximately 4 cubic feet (2015), 1 cubic foot (2016), 1.5 cubic (2017), 1 cubic foot (2018), and 1.5 cubic feet (2019). The remaining postcards were compared to the existing Michigan postcards in the Clarke. Non-duplicates were then filed into the Michigan postcards collection. None of the children’s postcards were duplicates.

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 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.

In 2024 the Clarke’s official Accession Books and one Deaccession book, 1956-2022, were digitized for internal staff use only. The original paper and microfilm are in Boxes 37-38 of this collection. These boxes are closed to researchers. The collection is ongoing.

The collection includes glass-plate negatives and prints of Clarkston, Michigan, people and buildings.

The collection nicely documents the people and buildings of Clarkston, Michigan, from the late 19th century through the 1920s. The collection includes both glass-plate negatives and some photographic prints which were printed from glass-plate negatives which are not in the collection. The only dated images, identified in the book, are dated 1906, 1910, 1913, 1917, and 1920s. Most of the images are undated.

The glass-plate negatives are all in good condition. They should be handled with care by patrons wearing gloves. They measure 4x5, 5x7, or 6.5x 8.5 inches. They have been divided by size and then by topic. Topics include Portraits of Groups, Children, Couples, Men, and Women; Houses; Photographers; Public Buildings; Schools; and Miscellaneous (funeral flowers, a collage of images, etc.). One glass-plate negative portrait of a photograph of a man in a mat includes “Grayling, Imperial Art Studio” on the mat.

The photographic prints made from glass-plate negatives are also in good condition. They measure 5x4 or 8x10 inches. They are divided into the same topics and include another topic, People with Horses. The prints are fine quality for the most part, showing great details. At least one of the prints was made from a partially broken plate with missing pieces (see Photographs, 8x10, Men Portraits, Undated). It is clear from the style of hair and clothing in these prints that a majority of them may date from the 1880s. None of the people are identified. It is possible that the photographic images are actually from another collection and may not be Clarkston natives. Over time it is possible that the two boxes came to be together because of size only. This, however, can not be proven at this point.

The papers mostly document his research interests.

The papers mostly document a wide variety of Michigan topics in which Professor Larzelere was interested or taught, and they document the life of a CMU professor.

The collection consists primarily of Instructors Central Michigan University Semester Reports for instructors, professors, and departments, as well as some of Richtmeyer's biographical materials.

This collection consists primarily of Instructors Semester Reports, both for individual instructors and professors at Central Michigan University (CMU) and for the departments. The reports, which are dittoed forms, give the name of the instructor, term, year, and the number of A, B, C, D, and E grades given to the students in each course, as well as the total grades for each course. These numbers and grades were statistically compared to those received at other colleges and universities colleges that were accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS). Professors and departments whose grades deviated from national statistics were invited to meetings with CMU President Charles L. Anspach to discuss the situation. Pres. Anspach then sent letters documenting the points and issues raised in these conversations to then Dean of Faculty Richtmeyer for further research, discussion, and evaluation. The purpose of these reports and the correspondence and discussions they generated was to guarantee that CMU would be accredited each time the NCACS evaluated it.

Richtmeyer is personally documented by his obituary, April 8, 1975 (copy) and portrait photographs (copies from the CMU Photograph Faculty files), 1966 and undated, as well as two relevant pages from the CMU Chippewa yearbooks for 1927 and 1969 (copies). Reprints of three mathematics articles he wrote are also included in this collection. A copy of the book he co-wrote with Judson Foust, Business mathematics (1959) is separately cataloged in the Clarke.

Collection, 1881-1989, undated, includes textual materials, photographs, military publications and objects documenting Tip’s life in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, his World War I service in France, his family, and Central Michigan University.

Collection, 1881-1989, undated, includes textual materials, photographs, military publications and objects documenting Tip’s life in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, his World War I service in France, his family, and Central Michigan University. The first donation of materials includes two handwritten World War I letters, one a breakup letter to Tip from “Dutch”, 1918 (with matching enveloped attached to a scrapbook page; censor approved letter from Tip to his father, November 12, 1918 about the time directly before and after the Armistice, celebrating the Armistice; unidentified African Americans in an unspecified labor battalion whom he refers to several times in derogatory, racist terms, and his thoughts of friends and the future; two acidic, worn pages (Front and back) of an oversized scrapbook, with a published letter from Tip to his father, October 23, 1918, describing life in France, the artillery, and Boche lines; a French regulation artillery form, filled in in English, undated; published World War I song lyrics, October 11, 1919; and a page of miscellaneous including ration cards, a Paris postcard, and a newspaper article about the Armistice, undated (preservation copies of the scrapbook pages were added in color and black and white by the Archivist); four newspaper clippings include: an acidic image of Carnahan in his WWI uniform for his 90th birthday, 1984 (and preservation copies); and three long descriptive interviews with Carnahan by Burnie Bonnel, published in the Mount Pleasant (Mich.) Morning Sun, about his life at CMU, in Mount Pleasant, during and after WWI, and his opinions on various topics, January 23-24, 1986 and July 1, 1989. His obituary (1990, copy) is in the Hotel Chieftan scrapbook,1947-1971, which is also housed at the Clarke.

The 2020 addition includes photographs of Tip and his family; and Tip’s family history written and pasted onto a piece of cardboard. His service materials include: two service patches; his veteran’s bonuses and insurance materials; official war correspondence including his embarkation orders, his official papers of promotion, several associated manuals, discharge papers; personal notes and other materials that he used while discharging his duty. Published works include: a book on cavalry drill regulations for the US Army, 1916; a booklet on the by-laws of Union Prisoners of War Association, 1881; a French phrase book for American soldiers, 1918; and a book on the 329th Barrage which was the unit that Tip served with in France, 1919. One oversized folder includes a selection of mostly American piano sheet music, 1911-1945, and undated, which were retained in the collection due to the images on their covers and/or inscriptions from members of the Carnahan family. The collection is organized by format, size, and alphabetically. Overall, the collection is in good condition although two folders are fragile and one piece of cardboard with family history pasted and written on it is acidic.

Researchers may also be interested in the Hotel Chieftain scrapbook.

The Organizational Records, 1973-2015, contain the Committee’s plans, reports, minutes, evaluations, notes, and request forms.

The Organizational Records, 1973-2015, contain the Committee’s plans, reports, minutes, evaluations, notes, and request forms. The collection is organized in alphabetical order. The majority of the collection contains minutes and annual reports for the General Education (Gen Ed) Committee, previously called the Gen Ed subcommittee, and implementation committee at CMU. The collection has many curriculum subject folders, each of which contains “request for course inclusion” forms and detailed notes of committee members for each course considered for Gen Ed status. The University Program folder contains information about the program telling its purpose and suggestions to be made to it. The collection has various evaluation reports made by graduating students and alumni giving their opinion of the University program in General Education and diverse reports on course enrollments and grades and reports on the General Education assessments for multiple dates. Researchers may also wish to review Gen Ed information in the meeting minutes of the Academic Senate, which is separately cataloged in the Clarke Historical Library.

Transcriptions (copies) of oral history projects created by Central Michigan university faculty and students mostly of Central Michigan University (CMU) faculty, staff, students, and alumni, documenting their diverse experiences at Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant.

Transcriptions (copies) of oral history projects created by Central Michigan university faculty and students mostly of Central Michigan University (CMU) faculty, staff, students, and alumni, documenting their diverse experiences at Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant. One oral history is of a Michigan Native American woman discussing her memories of her family members who were forced to attend the Mount Pleasant Indian School, her experiences of the school's impact on her family and the tribe, and memories of one family member who graduated from eighth grade at a Michigan Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp. Currently, all of these transcriptions CLOSED to researchers unless permission is granted by Professor Jay Martin. The collection is ongoing.