Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

The records include: meeting minutes, financial records, correspondence, histories, photograph albums, scrapbooks, programs, miscellaneous, published materials, an oversized photograph, and papers of Joseph Cherwinski, a Lansing poet and librarian. The collection is ongoing.

Organizational records, 1933-2003, include: meeting minutes, financial records, correspondence, histories, photograph albums, scrapbooks, programs, miscellanea, and materials relating to the presidential terms of William S. Poe, Joye S. Giroux, and Mrs. Geneva. Published materials include the works of members, other poets, newsletters, and the Peninsula Poets, 1946-2002, except for 1955-1958. Also included are the papers of Joseph Cherwinski, Lansing poet and librarian. An Oversized folder includes a professional black and white photograph of 30 Poetry Society of Michigan members seated at three tables at a black-tie dinner On the image written in white ink, Poetry Society of Michigan (PSM), Detroit Leland Hotel, October 24, 1939, Acme Photo. .The photograph measures 9.5x16.5 inches. Although the photograph has holes punched in the corners, a crease, and a rip on the central left edge taped on the back, it is still in very good condition. A related note (photocopy) identifies the photograph as probably the only one [up to 1939] taken of the complete group. Members of the speaker's table (in the background) are identified as then PSM President Muriel Jeffries Burd (in white). To her left and to the end of the table are seated: Clifford Allen (founder), Marjorie Hanhardt, Elmer Adams, and Emil Tolonen. To Burd's right and to the end of the table are seated: Dorothea York, Sidney Mason, and Jessie Wilmore Murton. The note further states that most of these poets were charter members and that additional guests attended a reception after dinner, including Anne Campbell and her husband, then editor of the Detroit News. The collection is ongoing.

The records include circulars regarding business and shipping operations for the Port of Detroit, Michigan, 1790-1827.

The records include 90 letters and 35 printed circulars regarding business and shipping operations for the Port of Detroit, 1790-1827. The records relate to the leveling of duties on goods and merchandise imported on foreign ships and vessels; rules regulating the receipt and distribution of fines, penalties, and forfeitures of foreign vessels; and rules regulating the registration and enrollment of U.S. vessels.

Correspondence regards the appointments of Inspectors of Revenue David Duncan at Michilimackinac, 1803; Matthew Ernest at Detroit, 1800; and William Woodbridge (1780-1861), Inspector and Collector at Detroit, 1814 [later Michigan Governor and U.S. Senator].

Other important Michigan correspondents include Reuben Atwater (1768-1831), Collector of the Port of Detroit [later acting Governor, 1811-1812, and Secretary of the Territory of Michigan, 1808-1814]; Peter Audrain; and A. Gallatin.

Other correspondence concerns the schooners Wilkinson on March 16, 1804; the Eagle and the Champion on April 24, 1816; the Fair American on March 19, 1816; and the Hornet, November 27, 1818.

Most of correspondence is between the Port of Detroit inspectors and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Comptroller’s Office. The collection is arranged in chronological order.

Collection includes 1334 film negatives of people, [1920-1945].

Collection of 849 film negatives measuring 3.5 inches x 5 inches, and 485 measuring 5 inches x 7 inches, [1920-1945]. The creator is unknown. Negatives are organized into the topics of babies, boys, children, couples, girls, men, including some in graduation caps and gowns and various World War II uniforms, and women, including some in graduation caps and gowns. There are both portraits and group images, including some wedding and anniversary photographs. There are also miscellaneous images, including pets, buildings, caskets and grave sites, and a few sets of multiple images on one negative. Also included are three small photographs of women. None of the people or locations are identified.

The papers consists of family papers, photographic materials, genealogical materials, miscellaneous, and a scrapbook.

Miscellaneous papers, compiled from various donors and sources, compose this collection. The collection includes various photographic images, genealogical materials, music, correspondence, notes, and a scrapbook about Preston and Woodworth family members.

The organizational records include meeting minutes, correspondence, policies, bylaws, photographs, programs, accounts, scrapbook, and other materials.

The organizational records include meeting minutes, 1967-1971. 1986-1990; correspondence, 1969-1976; Central Michigan University's Gerald L. Poor School Museum materials, 1976; policies, bylaws, and articles of incorporation, 1965-1973; photographs, 1960s-1970s; programs, 1969-1973; accounts,1971-1978; scrapbook, 1967-1972; and other materials.

The collection, 2019, 5 cubic feet (in 10 boxes), was collected by Quita V. Shier to research her subsequent book on the topic, and includes research copies of military service records of the men in Company K from the National Archives and information from online censuses and newspapers documenting the First Michigan Sharpshooter Regiment, Company K.

The collection, 2019, 5 cubic feet (in 10 boxes), was collected by Quita V. Shier to research her subsequent book on the topic, and includes research copies of military service records of the men in Company K from the National Archives and information from online censuses and newspapers documenting the First Michigan Sharpshooter Regiment, Company K. The military service records document enlistment, pay, invalid status, death or discharge, and/or pension records in military forms and correspondence. Only a few images are included of tombstones or portraits of soldiers in obituaries. A few tax or land records are also included. The collection documents the lives and significance of the Company K soldiers during the Civil War era. This collection is organized alphabetically by the name of the soldier’s surnames. The originals are housed in the National Archives.

Collection includes genealogical information on the Courser, Richardson, and Kuiphof families.

This is a dense genealogy collection mostly about the Courser family, with some information on the Kuiphof and Richardson families. A number of older photographic images are scans. Two photographs and the large ancestry chart are laminated. Three oversized items are acidic and two are framed with glass.

Researchers may also be interested in the Elaine Coraleen Smith Courser Papers, [circa 1981], which is also housed in the Clarke Historical Library.

This collection includes business records, correspondence, and reference materials documenting Genter's carnival business and carnival and circus collecting interests. Also included is an oversized folder of mostly Michigan carnival and circus posters and window cards.

The collection, 1955-2010, and undated (4 cubic feet) documents Ray Genter’s fascination with, and collecting of, carnival equipment and collectibles under the business name of Genter Bros. Shows and Rides, Inc., and his carnival, Great Lakes Amusement.

Boxes 1-6 include subject files of general carnival and circus information; financial records of the purchase and sale of equipment and collectibles; catalogs and fliers; advertisements; insurance; various forms; correspondence with committees, suppliers, and concessionaires; contact information of various suppliers and concessionaires as well as fair committee members; and information documenting how the Muskegon Optimist Club, of which Ray was a member, brought circuses to Muskegon. A few newspaper clippings (copies) are included. Of particular interest to carnival historians will be the material concerning the formation of the Amusement-Safety Act of 1966 and its related board, as documented in the minutes and correspondence of the Michigan Amusement Association, an organization of carnival owners, 1985-1987. These folders are organized alphabetically and chronologically.

Boxes 7-8 include the route lists, 1984-1987, and financial documentation, forms, booking agreements, inspection logs, correspondence, and other materials relating to specific route locations and events. This information is alphabetical by town or event. Materials vary from folder to folder, but most include some correspondence and accounts.

Posters and window cards of circus and carnival advertisements, mostly late 20th century and Michigan-related, are included in an oversized folder at the end of the collection.

Processing Notes: A few general Muskegon, Michigan, items of historical value were transferred to the Michigan Vertical Files-Muskegon folder. All information with account or social security numbers, or other personal information such as income, health, or governmental financial support, were withdrawn from the collection, including job and housing applications, cancelled checks, and bank balance statements, as well as duplicate and blank forms and stationery, miscellaneous notes, illegible materials, and miscellaneous information or newspaper clippings. Withdrawn material totaled 2 cubic feet. In addition, several publications by the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions were separately cataloged. Non-Michigan publications are normally withdrawn from a collection during processing, but since many carnival suppliers are national, these were left in the collection to provide information to researchers.

Special Note: Those with allergies should use the collection with care as it has a mildewed odor, although there is no mold in the papers themselves.

This collection, collected by Cappel, documents her work with Kiogima on their book, including biographical material, clippings, and copies of books and translations by Ray Kiogima.

This collection, collected by Cappel, documents her work with Kiogima on their book. It includes Biographical Information on Kiogima, mainly clippings (copies) and Internet articles about him and his book, 2006; Biographical Information on Cappel from her website, 2006; Correspondence from Constance Cappel to Martha Bates, Editor of Michigan State University Press re: Kiogima's Odawa to English Dictionary, 2004; Cynthia Hayne's notes (copies) from Ray's Ottawa language class at Harbor Springs (Mich.), Spring 1976; an Introduction to Ray Kiogima's Book II, pp.1-3, by Cappel, 2004; Odawa Language and Legends: Andrew J. Blackbird and Raymond Kiogima, 2005 (2 copies); Odawa to English (copy) by Kiogima, 2004; Original Odawa voices: Andrew J. Blackbird and Raymond Kiogima, compiled and edited by Constance Cappel, 2004 (pp.1-8, draft); Ottawa Stories, translated by Ray Kiogima (copies), 2004; and an untitled Prayer (in Ottawa and English), undated, probably translated and prayed by Ray at the opening of a tribal meeting.

Collection of circus-related materials encompassing many formts, circuses, and circus-related organizations.

This collection of circus-related materials encompasses a wide span of years, 1905, 2011, and undated, many formats, and many circuses, both foreign and domestic, and circus-related organizations in 13.5 cubic ft. (in 16 boxes and 12 Oversized folders). Included are correspondence, photographs, postcards, posters, programs, newspaper clippings, advertisements, scrapbooks, coloring books, food containers, stickers, badges, arrows, articles, maps, tickets, and Christmas tree ornaments, among others. Some of these materials are reproductions. There are some carnival-related materials mixed into the collection. Although most of the materials are written or published in English, some items are written or published in other languages, notably Spanish which relates to his work with the Little Sisters of Jesus. A folder of biographical material and several of related correspondence with the Little Sisters of Jesus documents Father Jim’s life and activities. Some parts of the collection were donated to Father Jim by other circus fans, among them Kent Ghirard.

One of the most interesting aspects of this collection is the documentation of two organizations that provide and discuss pastoral care to those in circuses and other traveling shows: The Little Sisters of Jesus and the International Congress for the Pastoral Care of the Circus and Traveling Show People.

The Circus Fans Association, various Shrine circuses, Circus City, Circus World Museum, and the Circus Hall of Fame are documented, as well as many circuses, both foreign and domestic. For a complete list of circuses documented in this collection see the finding aid for both the boxes and oversized folders.

Please note: the collection has a strong mildew smell. Researchers and staff using the collection with allergies or asthma may wish to take precautions.

Processing Notes: A wide variety of publications, 94 titles, donated by Father Jim with his collection, have been separately cataloged as either books or serials, depending on their format.

Acidic materials have been copied and the originals withdrawn from the collection, as were duplicates. The total amount withdrawn from the collection during processing was 5 cubic feet.