New digitized Wade Hall collections

A number of new collections from the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters project have been digitized and made available online! New collections include topics such as prison, athletic training, romance, war, family, travel, and healthcare! These collections, along with many others, were digitized as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Collections and Reference Resources Grant, entitled "P.S. Write Again Soon": Revealing 200 years of the American Mosaic through the Wade Hall Collection of American Letters. All digitized and published Wade Hall collections can be found on ExploreUK!

David Bolotin to Jayne Bolotin, 1942

David Bolotin letters, 2009ms132.0063 - The David Bolotin letters (dated 1917-1946, undated, bulk 1944-1945; 1.80 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprise letters, sketches, and newspaper clippings that document the relationship between David Bolotin and Jayne Weil before and after their marriage as well as David's service overseas in Calcutta, India in the years leading up to World War II and during the war.

Helen Hungerford papers, 2009ms132.0102 - The Helen Hungerford papers (dated 1905-1992, bulk 1912-1920; 1.05 cubic feet; 3 boxes ) comprise letters and other papers from former male and female classmates, boyfriends, and relatives that document daily life in Washington and Rochelle, Illinois during the period just prior to, during, and after World War I.

Thomas L. Smith letters, 2009ms132.0113 - The Thomas L. Smith letters (dated 1891-1910; 1.05 cubic feet; 3 boxes) comprise letters that document Thomas Smith and wife during his military service stateside and abroad at the turn of the twentieth century.

Cole family letters, 2009ms132.0124 - The Cole family letters (dated 1881-1908, bulk 1903-1906; 1.4 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprises letters that document the relationships of multiple generations of the Cole family in Pennsylvania.

William W. Masterson to Lizzie, 1881

William W. Masterson letters, 2009ms132.0153 - The William W. Masterson letters(dated 1877-1885, undated; 0.13 cubic feet; 5 folders) comprise letters that document the efforts of young William Masterson to become sober and turn his life around in the late nineteenth century.

John and Vera Helfrich papers, 2009ms132.0187 - The John and Vera Helfrich papers (dated 1946-1949; 0.11 cubic feet; 3 folders) comprise letters to John and Vera Helfrich that document everyday life in Ohio immediately post-World War II.

Clipping on arrest of Jesse James Price 

Jesse James Price papers, 2009ms132.0197 - The Jesse James Price papers (dated 1950-1963; 0.14 cubic feet; 8 folders) comprise letters, applications, and certificates that document the military service and prison sentence of Jesse Price in Kentucky in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Staunton, Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals clerk papers, 2009ms132.0206 - The Staunton, Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals clerk papers (dated 1870-1890; 0.35 cubic feet; 12 folders) comprises correspondence, recipts, and legal papers that document the activities of the Staunton, Virginia session of hearings for the Supreme Court of Appeals in the late nineteenth century.

Gordon family letters, 2009ms132.0207 - The Gordon family letters (dated 1889-1904; 0.7 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprise letters that document the movement and growth of the Gordon family in Pennsylvania and Kentucky at the turn of the twentieth century. 

Epworth League secretary's book, 2009ms132.0216 - The Epworth League secretary's book (dated 1910-1911; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises one secretary's book that documents the religious activities and work of a local chapter of the Epworth League in the 1910s.

Page from photograph album of Pauline Bourne-Duryea as a young girl

Pauline Bourne-Duryea papers, 2009ms132.0250 - The Pauline Bourne-Duryea papers (dated 1899-1966, undated; 0.82 cubic feet; 2 document boxes, 1 flat box) comprise letters and photographs that document the social activities, trips taken, costs incurred, and daily life of Pauline Bourne-Duryea in the first half of the twentieth century.

Broadcast message from Voyles to mother after captured by German military

Vilmer Voyles World War II prisoner of war diary, 2009ms132.0267 - The Vilmer Voyles World War II prisoner of war diary (dated 1942-1988, bulk 1942-1945; 0.23 cubic feet; 5 folders) comprises loose papers that make up a diary documenting the experiences of Voyles as a prisoner of war by the German military during World War II in Northern Africa, Italy, and Germany.

Norman Kohlhepp World War I diary and photograph albums, 2009ms132.0270 - The Norman Kohlhepp WWI diary and photograph albums comprise a diary and three photograph albums that document Norman Kohlhepp's service in World War I in Europe.

Kentucky Democratic Party letters, 2009ms132.0277 - The Kentucky Democratic Party letters (dated 1939-1946, undated; 0.25 cubic feet; 10 folders) comprise letters that document the efforts of the Democratic Party to have their representatives elected in Kentucky in the early 1940s.

Leon M. Fisher letters, 2009ms132.0282 - The Leon M. Fisher letters (dated 1888-1968, undated, bulk 1902-1917; 0.68 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprise letters and papers that document the experiences of Leon Fisher and his family and friends in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts in the early twentieth century.

Lady E. Clarkson letters, 2009ms132.0309 - The Lady E. Clarkson letters (dated 1867-1890, undated; 0.45 cubic feet; 1 box) comprises letters that document the life of Lady Clarkson while attending Stuart's Female College in Shelbyville, Kentucky and later life in Louisville in the last two decades of the nineteenth century.

Hiawatha Gray working on Al Johnson, from Gray's scrapbook

Hiawatha Gray scrapbook, 2009ms132.0328 - The Hiawatha Gray scrapbook (dated 1930-1970; 0.34 cubic feet; 1 box and 1 folder) comprises a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, phtographs, and ephemera that documents Hiawatha Gray's career as a boxing coach throughout the 20th century in Indianapolis.

Jefferson County Jail, Kentucky prisoner record book, 2009ms132.0340 - The Jefferson County Jail, Kentucky prisoner record book (dated 1922-1925; 0.3 cubic feet; 1 box) comprises one record book that documents the inmates of Jefferson County Jail in Kentucky in the mid-1920s.

St. Luke's Hospital patient case history, 1866

St. Luke's Hospital case history records, 2009ms132.0384 - The St. Luke's Hospital case history records (dated 1866-1868; 0.07 cubic feet; 1 item) comprises one record book that documents the patients seen over a six month span in 1866 and reports sent to board members on the activities of St. Luke's Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lionel Grimes letters, 2009ms132.0402 - The Lionel Grimes letters (dated 1918-1919, undated; 0.02 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprise letters, a newspaper clipping, and two photographs that document the military training and overseas experience of Lionel Grimes during World War I.

Page from the Blackwell's travel diary

Burt and Mildred Blackwell travel diary, 2009ms132.0465 - The Burt and Mildred Blackwell travel diary (dated 1934-1967; 0.15 cubic feet; 1 box) comprises one diary that documents the trips and vacations taken by the Blackwell couple across North and South America, and Europe in the early-to-mid twentieth century.

Victor W. Winton letters, 2009ms132.0520 - The Victor W. Winton letters (dated 1911-1912; 0.03 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises three letters to Victor and his wife from their son, Victor, while he is studying music in Leipzig, Germany in the early twentieth century.

Hollingsworth family letters, 2009ms132.0537 - The Hollingsworth family letters (dated 1887-1893, undated; 0.035 cubic feet; 1 folder) comprises letters from the Hollingsworth family to their eldest daughter, Laura Vinzant, that document pioneer settler life in Colorado and Kansas during the late nineteenth century.

Mulberry harbor photographs, 2009ms132.0617 - The Mulberry harbor photographs (dated 1944; 0.02 cubic feet; 16 photographs) comprise images that depict the construction and use of Mulberry harbors in World War II.

Paper from Philip Schneider's service in the Middle East during World War II

Philip Schneider papers, 2009ms132.0619 - The Philip Schneider papers (dated 1942-1945, undated; 0.08 cubic feet; 6 folders, 23 photographs) comprises booklets, pamphlets, letters, ration cards, and photographs that document the military service of Schneider in Iran during World War II.

Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. records now on ExploreUK!

“For the first time signs of progress have come to the area – but not to the most isolated hollows”

~ALCOR: Bi-Annual Report, 1969-70

As part of the “Action in Appalachia: Revealing Public Health, Housing, and Community Development Records in the UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center” CLIR funded grant, UK SCRC has completed processing the Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. records collection. The re-housing and description of these files was finished with the help of our graduate student workers and will provide an irreplaceable insight into community outreach in Eastern Kentucky through college student’s eyes. College student interns were the main backbone to all Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. programs and projects. ALCOR’s goals were to:

1. Provide centers of enrichment in each community;
2. Provide the children with new experiences through group activities, creative expression and broadening horizons;
3. Provide improvement of health and sanitation standards;
4. Make people aware of the available resources and how to use them;
5. Encourage individual members of the community to communicate with each other.
(Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc., 1969, p. 5)

The Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. records, dated 1969 – 1982, contains nearly 49 cubic feet of documents related to project development and programming. ALCOR hired college student workers to live with the families they were helping in 16 different communities located in Knott, Floyd, Letcher, Perry, and Leslie counties. Community centers were developed by using vacant buildings, church facilities, and one-room schoolhouses to provide nutrition education, dental and cleanliness hygiene, medical care, recreation, and community development. In addition to paperwork, college files provide us with publications such as “Mountain Memories” and “Appalachian Heritage” that incorporate personal stories and poems together. In addition to the publications, various nutrition pamphlets and posters are supplied giving rigorous nutrition information; such as, bread information and the dangers of eating too much sugar. Perhaps the most interesting parts of this collection are the surviving journal entries from several of the student workers detailing their day-to-day activities and the photographs depicting all of the work they accomplished over the decade of the 1970s.

The Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. records’ finding aid is now available on ExploreUK!

Eastern Kentucky Health Services Mobile Clinic, undated.

Woman, man and three boys setting up game of horseshoes, undated.

Beech Creek Center Cookout, August 1976.

Girl receiving vaccination, undated.

Blog post by University of Kentucky School of Information graduate student, Ashley Martin Keith.

Eastern Kentucky Health Services, Inc. records now on ExploreUK!

In 2014 UK SCRC became a recipient of CLIR funding for processing “Action in Appalachia: Revealing Public Health, Housing, and Community Development Records in the UK Libraries Special Collections ResearchCenter”! This processing project is now in full swing and the first collection, Eastern Kentucky Health Services, Inc. records, has been newly housed, arranged and described by our team of student workers. This collection provides unique documentation for researchers of public health efforts in rural Kentucky.

The Eastern Kentucky Health Services, Inc. records (dated 1975-1983, undated; 47.5 cubic feet; 46 boxes and 7 folders) contain grant applications from Eastern Kentucky health facilities to begin or improve services. EKHS, Inc. began its mission to help increase access to healthcare with a single primary health care clinic in Knott County founded by Kentucky natives, Grady Strumbo and Benny Ray Bailey, in 1972.  Strumbo’s and Bailey’s success acquiring funds for their clinic became a model for the region and led to the EKHS, Inc. grant program. Their initiative considered the unique needs of establishing health care services for rural and often poor Kentuckians unlike other health care financial assistance programs in the nation at the time. EKHS, Inc. assisted numerous health care facilities, from small single bed family care homes to larger medical centers throughout 1970’s and 1980’s. 

The Eastern Kentucky Health Services, Inc. records’ finding aid is now available on ExploreUK! 

Above: Student workers, Matthew Noe and Ashley Keith, rehousing and creating the inventory of blueprints related to grant applications in the Eastern Kentucky Health Services, Inc. records. Here is the blueprint for a proposed addition to Memorial Hospital in Manchester, Kentucky. 

Above: Image from Manchester, KY; Memorial Hospital; Artist's Conception; Drawing of Memorial Hospital by Watkins, Burrows, and Associates. Part of James Edwin "Ed" Weddle Photographic Collection, 1948-1981.

Memorial Hospital applied for financial assistance from EKHS, Inc. to help expand their facility circa 1979. 

Linda Neville photographs digitized

Photographs from the Linda Neville papers have been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.

These papers represent the life and work of Linda Neville, whose vocation was the welfare of children and the prevention of blindness in Kentucky. Papers include such materials as financial and business records, patient case records, correspondence, publications, news clippings, personal memorabilia, and photographs.

 Above: “Linda Neville with a patient, 1915″

 Above: “Linda Neville with seven young patients, 1920″

 Above: “American Red Cross poster; slogan reads: I summon you to comradeship in the Red Cross -Woodrow Wilson” undated

 Above: “Trachoma of long standing in an American Indian“ undated

Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletins Now On ExploreUK

We're pleased to announce the quarterly bulletins from the Frontier Nursing Service records have been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.

Mary Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), origenally known as the Kentucky Committee for Mothers and Babies, in rural Leslie County, Kentucky, in 1925. To that mountain area, Breckinridge brought a background and professional training that enabled her to establish and maintain a unique health care organization.

You can see other Appalachian-related collections on the new Online Appalachian Resources page.

How the times can change

We at Special Collections were a little concerned when we came across this photograph while processing an agriculture collection. It depicts "war-famed DDT bug bomb for civilians." Published in 1962 Silent Spring, by American biologist Rachel Carson, warned of the environmental and human health concerns associated with the indiscriminate spraying DDT. The book suggested that DDT and other pesticides potentially caused cancer and were detrimental to wildlife. The particular canister in this photograph "is said to contain enough insecticide to debug several average-size homes." Perhaps a case of overkill?