New photograph collections on ExploreUK

Everybody loves historic photographs, right? Check out these fantastic additions to ExploreUK!

James Waltersphotograph collection on Balkan, 1910-1912 Above: “Men and women being baptized, original, undated“

Lexington, Kentuckyphotograph albums, 1866-1940 Above: “Northeast corner of Short and Market Streets, undated” (This area now is the parking lot across Short Street from the 5/3 Pavilion)

Trainwreck at Whites Station, Kentucky photographs, 1910

The Mary Webb G.Robb lantern slides, circa 1935-1942 Above: “The Phlot Garden, Hidcor Manor - Glochestershire, England, undated”

The Hanson family photographs, undated Above: Kate Hanson

The Cowherd Family photographs, undated Above: Estella Cowherd


 

Steamboat photographs, 1905-1923 Above: Steamer J. C. Kerr passing the Asphalt Mines on Upper Green River in Kentucky , undated

WWI collections online

This fall, several World War I collections were digitized and made available on ExploreUK in anticipation of the 100 year anniversary of “The Great War”. These collections are also available in person at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.

Tandy M. Pryor photographs collection (2004av053): (dated circa 1917-1919; 0.5 cubic feet; 261 items) consists of 261 gelatin developing-out prints pasted to photographic album pages taken during and after World War I.

 

 

The Barrow Unit records (63m201): (dated 1918-1941, undated; 0.42 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprises correspondence, printed articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, and official orders and rosters, documenting the volunteer military medical unit known as the Barrow Unit, which provided medical services in England to personnel of the U.S. Army during World War I.

The Howard I. Kinne papers, 1912-1933 (62M85) include family correspondence before and during the First World War. The collection also includes the scrapbook of a trip to France after the war.

The Henry Watterson World War I editorials (59m17) (dated 1915-1921; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 folder) contain editorials cut from the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The Russell Des Cognets papers (57m2): (dated 1918-1957, undated; 0.35 cubic feet; 3 boxes) include the correspondence, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings Russell Des Cognets collected relating to his service in France during World War I and as a political activist during prohibition and the Great Depression.

New Collection Guides Available on ExploreUK

The University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center is pleased to announce the following collections are now available on ExploreUK.

• Margaret Shannon papers (2009ms175): The Margaret Shannon papers (dated 1961-1987; 6 cubic feet; 6 boxes) consists of the files, records, and printed materials created and collected by Margaret Shannon during her time as the Special Projects Director of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) during the 1970s.
  
• Frankel and Curtis records (2009ms105): The Frankel and Curtis architectural drawings collection (dated 1897-1974, undated; 10 cubic feet; 161 tubes, 5 boxes) comprises drawings, office records, photographs, and scrapbooks documenting the firm’s designs at various stages of completion, from architectural plans and specifications to finished buildings.
  
• Ann Pancake collection on Pauline Canterberry (2015ms040): The Ann Pancake collection on Pauline Canterberry (dated 2004-2014; 0.15 cubic feet; 1 folder) consists of letters written by Pauline Canterberry to author Ann Pancake concerning coal mining and mountain top removal in Sylvester, West Virginia.  
  
• Prichard Committee records (2013ms0846): The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence records (dated 1941-2016, undated; 184.44 cubic feet; 232 boxes, 7 oversize boxes) comprise administrative files, project files, meeting materials, correspondence, publications, and audiovisual materials that document the Lexington, Kentucky, advocacy group’s commitment to promoting and ensuring quality education for all Kentuckians.
  
• Margaret Lantis papers (2001ua062): The Margaret Lantis papers (dated 1871-2001, undated, 42.79 cubic feet, 56 boxes) consists of biographical information, correspondence, photographic prints, artifacts, slides, publications and journals, and research files, which document the career of prominent female anthropologist Margaret Lantis.    
  
• Ed Greif Genealogy Collection (2015ms089): The Edward Greif Genealogy collection (dated 1628-2007, undated; 10.52 cubic feet, 17 boxes) primarily comprises genealogical records, correspondence, and photographs arranged alphabetically by family name that document various Western Kentucky families including the Greif, Gholson, and Stith families.  
      
• Richard B. Isenhour architectural drawings (2016ms030): The Richard B. Isenhour architectural drawings, (dated 1952-1989; 1.5 cubic feet; 10 folders) comprise construction drawings for homes built in Lexington, Kentucky, by architect Richard B. Isenhour, who heavily used the mid-century modern architectural style.  
  
• Thomas Merton Collection (2006ms071): The Thomas Merton Collection (dated 1949-1971, undated; 0.45 cubic feet; 1 box) comprises an artificial collection of American Catholic monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton related manuscripts and correspondence.   
  
• Thomas Merton papers (75m28): The Thomas Merton papers (dated 1940-1974, undated; 5.5 cubic feet; 14 boxes) include correspondence, literary manuscripts, and photographs, which document Merton’s career as a monk and spiritual writer.
  
• Tebbs/Prewitt family papers (1997ms118): The Tebbs/Prewitt family papers (dated 1816-1985, bulk 1840-1965; cubic feet; 52 boxes, 6 wrapped items, 2 map folders) comprise correspondence, legal documents, financial papers, journals, diaries, a ledger, schoolwork, notebooks, grades, photographs, daguerreotypes, prints, memo books, pocket books, certificates, a diploma, a hunting license, dental records, music books, scrapbooks, microfilm, recipes, genealogical information, maps, newspapers, newspaper clippings, books, booklets, calendars, drawings, lists, mailed advertisements, magazines, memorabilia, pamphlets, play bills, paper dolls, a poem, photocopies, and transcripts.                
  
• Ronald D Eller papers (2013ua007): The Ronald D Eller papers (dated 1852-2013, undated; 38.2 cubic feet; 36 record storage cartons, 1 half record storage carton, 3 flat boxes, 1 wrapped item) comprise administrative files, research files, and correspondence that primarily document Eller’s academic and administrative career in Appalachian studies with the University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center and his professional projects with national and regional organizations to improve Appalachian economic development.
  
• Georgia Davis Powers papers (2011ms024): The Georgia Davis Powers papers (1949-2012, undated; 8.77 cubic feet; 12 document cases, 3 record storage carton, and 4 flat boxes) comprises scrapbooks, subject files, correspondence, speeches, notepads, manuscripts, photographs, audiocassettes, video tapes, and publications relating to Georgia Davis Powers’ political career and social activism.     
  
• Laura Clay music collection (2011ms043): The Laura Clay music collection (dated 1810-1901, undated; 1.3 cubic feet; 5 boxes) primarily comprises 19th century sheet music of works for piano and voice that were collected by Laura Clay.
  
• Pauline Canterberry papers (2014ms0253): The Pauline Canterberry papers (dated 1920s-2012, bulk 1987-2012; 3 cubic feet; 7 boxes, 1 oversized folder) document Pauline Canterberry’s and Mary Miller’s work to defend Sylvester, West Virginia, from coal dust pollution caused by Massey Energy’s Elk Run Facility.
  
• James Still photographs and sound recordings (pa87m12): The James Still photographs and sound recordings (dated circa 1890s-2001, undated; 5.45 cubic feet; 12 boxes) are the personal photographs and sound recordings of the writer James Still.
  
• Eastern Kentucky Housing Development Corporation records (1997ms353) The Eastern Kentucky Housing Development Corporation, Inc. (EKHDC) records (dated 1954-1983, undated; 98.5 cubic feet; 93 boxes, 34 case folders, 2 tubes) documents the activities of the first rural housing demonstration project funded by the United States Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO). Organized into series by format and project focus, the records include various forms of documentation such as house plans, enrollee case files, blueprints, maps, contracts, policies, guidelines, financial reports, invoices and material inventories.
  
• Reel World String Band records (2016ms014): The Reel World String Band records (dated circa 1971-2016, undated; 8.14 cubic feet; 19 boxes, 2 oversize boxes) primarily comprise promotional fliers, concert posters, contracts, programs, and articles that document the Kentucky women’s band and its commitment to social justice advocacy from the band’s founding in 1977 to the present.
  
• Marita Garin papers (2012ms078): The Marita Garin papers (dated 1962-2012, undated; 0.45 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of autobiographical information, correspondence, manuscripts, publications, awards, contracts, and photographs relating to the education and creative writing career of Appalachian poet Marita Garin.
  
• Kentucky Rivers Coalition records (89m2): The Kentucky Rivers Coalition records (dated 1889, 1937-1988, undated; 39.53 cubic feet, 49 boxes) primarily comprises operating records, subject files, publications, and photographs that document the work of the Kentucky Rivers Coalition and the environmental protection efforts of federal and state governments in the eastern and mid-western United States.
  
• Cumberland River and Big Sandy Railroad Company records (2013ms0889): The Cumberland River and Big Sandy Railroad Company records (dated 1881-1903, bulk 1884-1886; 0.73 cubic feet; 2 boxes and 1 oversize folder) primarily includes correspondence among Kentucky and Tennessee landowners, including Charles H. Ladds, Edward Livingston, Henry W. Smithers, and Charles S. Perkins.
  
• Hall & Trotter stagecoach passenger book (2013ms0052): The Hall & Trotter stagecoach passenger book (dated 1832-1834; 0.04 cubic feet; 1 item) comprises a passenger book for the Hall & Trotter stagecoach line, documenting early transportation in Kentucky.        
         
• Nancy Lewis Greene papers (1997ms449): The Nancy Lewis Greene papers (dated 1816-1951, undated; 2.6 cubic feet, 11 boxes) comprise personal, family, and professional correspondence; drafts and writings; photographs; and notebooks documenting Greene’s career as an author.
  
• Carl West papers (2016ms028): The Carl West papers (dated 1900, 1960-2016, undated; 11.23 cubic feet; 11 boxes, 8 flat boxes) consist of subject files, planning binders, newspaper articles and columns, awards, and photographs spanning West’s career in journalism.     
  
• McCormick Lumber Company records (92m1): The McCormick Lumber Company records (dated 1910-1978, undated; 20.1 cubic feet; 12 document cases, 1 slim document case, 1 record storage carton, 14 flat boxes) consists of contracts and architectural drawings for the McCormick Lumber Company of Lexington, Kentucky.
  
• Gatewood Galbraith papers (2014ms0254): The Gatewood Galbraith papers (dated 1935-2013, undated; 12 cubic feet; 26 boxes) comprises correspondence, campaign materials, posters, bumperstickers, apparel, hemp artifacts, buttons, video tapes, audio cassettes, photographs, printed materials, and subject files, which document Gatewood Galbraith’s career in Kentucky politics and as a cannabis activist.
  
• Marlow Cook moving image and audio recordings (2012ms085): The Marlow Cook moving image and audio recordings (dated 1969-1974, undated; 1.25 cubic feet; 1 box, 2 items) consist of color and black and white 16mm films, reel-to-reel audio recordings and one 2-inch quadruplex videotape documenting the family life and political career of Marlow W. Cook (1926-2016), member of the United States Senate from Kentucky in the 91st, 92nd and 93rd Congresses (1969-1974).

Architectural collections on ExploreUK

In addition to bourbon, horses, and basketball, Kentucky boasts a wonderful collection of historic structures in a variety of architectural styles. A few recent additions to ExploreUK document the Commonwealth’s collection of architecture.
The Carolyn Murray-Wooley color transparencies collection (dated 1972-2006, bulk 1975-1988; 0.90 cubic feet; 4,013 items) consists of slides that document stone houses and stone fences, built by local craftsmen, in Kentucky’s Bluegrass region, including many Bluegrass Trust buildings.  

Robert McMeekin architectural drawings collection (dated 1925-1988, 1,693 items) consists of drawings by the Lexington based architect.

The Frankel and Curtis architectural drawings collection (dated 1897-1974, undated; 10 cubic feet; 161 tubes, 5 boxes) comprises drawings, office records, photographs, and scrapbooks documenting the firm’s designs at various stages of completion, from architectural plans and specifications to finished buildings. This collection hasn’t been digitized yet but will be soon!

The Richard B. Isenhour architectural drawings, (dated 1952-1989; 1.5 cubic feet; 10 folders) comprise construction drawings for homes built in Lexington, Kentucky, by architect Richard B. Isenhour, who heavily used the mid-century modern architectural style.     

B152 Mt. Lebanon (James Garrad House); .6M W of Peacock Rd., 1986 October, the Carolyn Murray-Wooley color transparencies collection

BB131 Exterior of Eagle Bend, 1983 February,  the Carolyn Murray-Wooley color transparencies collection

Baker Residence, 1940,  Robert McMeekin architectural drawings collection

Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day, we thank all who have served and sacrificed for our country and those in need.

American ambulance in France during World War I, ca. 1918, from the Tandy M. Pryor World War I photographs collection, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center

An Oral History of Bourbon Whiskey (the Library of Congress Subject Heading)

Controlled vocabularies are the blood coursing through the veins of professional cataloging and archival description.  The Library of Congress Subject Headings is the authority.   While staff were processing interviews from the Kentucky Bourbon Tales Oral History Project, the University of Kentucky Libraries Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History discovered a major problem - no LOC Subject Heading for Bourbon whiskey!  Catalogers and metadata specialists around the world were forced to use the ambiguous and misleading term "Whiskey" to describe something that was declared by US Congress in 1964 to be an indigenous product of the United States.  All Bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is Bourbon. This video reveals the Nunn Center's epic journey to give Bourbon whiskey its rightful place in the LOC Subject Headings.

Mortuary of Lexington, Kentucky Scrapbook

The John M. McCalla Mortuary of Lexington Kentucky Scrapbook has been digitized and is now available on ExploreUK.

This scrapbook contains funeral notices and newspaper obituaries collected by General John M. McCalla (1793-1873). McCalla began to collect funeral notices when he was a child and eventually amassed a collection of over 400 notices. The notices and obituaries in this scrapbook are primarily for the funerals of citizens of Lexington, Kentucky. The collection covers a period of over 40 years (1802-1846) and includes notices for prominent Kentuckians like Henry Clay, Eliza Todd (mother of Mary Todd Lincoln), and Charles Wilkins (then-owner of Mammoth Cave).

 Funeral notice for Mrs. Jane Luckie, killed by lightning at the Presbyterian Church, funeral held July 21, 1817

Funeral notice for Mr. John Boswell, killed in a duel, funeral held April 19, 1818

“Trickles” Sixty Years on the Same Campus

A typed draft of “Trickles” Sixty Years on the Same Campus, an autobiography by H.H. Downing, has been digitized and is now available on ExploreUK.

Dr. H. H. Downing was an alumni of the University of Kentucky and later worked there as a mathematics professor and men’s tennis coach. His autobiography “Trickles” details his early childhood, his student experience at the University of Kentucky, his service during World War I, and reminiscences on his time employed at the University.

Page 1 of the Preface of “Trickles”, circa 1950s

Montgomery County Historical Society, Anderson Chenault papers

The Montgomery County Historical Society, Anderson Chenault papers have been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.

Anderson Chenault (1826-1878) was a farmer in Madison and Montgomery Counties, Kentucky. These papers primarily relate to Chenault as a slaveholder and include bills of sale for slaves, letters, receipts, contracts, and powers of attorney.

Receipt for Anderson Chenault’s purchase of a coffin for the wife of Jim from Chenault’s farm, December 28, 1868

Special Visitors at UK Libraries today!

The Archivist of the United States will join President Capilouto, Provost Tracy, and the University of Kentucky Libraries for the presentation of the 2nd Annual Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Award. The award is sponsored by Tyler and Bess Abell who also created the Earle C. Clements Graduate Assistantship in UK Libraries. Please join us today at 4pm in the Great Hall at the Margaret I. King Library for the presentation and reception.

Coal, Camps, and Railroads Digitization Project

The University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) successfully completed work on its National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) digitization grant, resulting in online access to 140 cubic feet of materials from the Bert T. Combs Appalachian Collection. The materials from the Coal, Camps, and Railroads project are available to the public through the digital library ExploreUK.

 The newly digitized materials at UK focus on 189 years of economic development in the Eastern Kentucky coalfield from 1788 to 1976. The 10 individual collections document:

•  the search for, extraction of, and distribution of coal, oil and natural gas resources in Breathitt, Boyd, Clark, Floyd, Harlan, Lawrence, Letcher, Perry and Powell counties;
• the creation of railroads to bring these raw materials to industrial manufacturers and electrical power generators across the United States; and
• the company towns, their services and the individuals who grew up and made possible this economic development.

 These collections include the Benham Coal Company records, Wheelwright collection, Sherrill Martin papers, Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company and Lexington and Eastern Railway Company records, and the Kentucky Union Land Company records. Additional details on the collections can be found at http://uknow.uky.edu/content/coal-camps-and-railroads-digitizing-primary-sources-appalachian-economic-development.

Above: From the Means family papers

UK SCRC was originally awarded the NEH’s Humanities Collections and Reference Resources (HCRC) grant for the Coal, Camps, and Railroads project in 2013. The HCRC program supports projects that provide an essential underpinning for scholarship, education, and public programming in the humanities. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of books and manuscripts; photographs, sound recordings and moving images; archaeological and ethnographic artifacts; art and material culture; and digital objects. Funding from this NEH program strengthens efforts to extend the life of such materials and make their intellectual content widely accessible, often through the use of digital technology.

 UK Special Collections Research Center is home to UK Libraries’ collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center, the Combs Appalachian collection and ExploreUK. The mission of the center is to locate and preserve materials documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

 Below: From the Kentucky Union Land Company records

Seaton family papers

The Seaton family papers have been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.
This collection primarily relates to the Means family of Ashland, Kentucky, who played a dominant role in the development of the iron industry in the Hanging Fork region of southern Ohio and in eastern Kentucky. They also played a prominent part in the development of both river and rail transportation in the area and in the formation of Ashland, Kentucky as an industrial city. These papers include both personal and business-related correspondence, financial records, legal documents, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, journals, scrapbooks, and photographs.    

This collection was digitized as part of the Coal, Camps, and Railroads project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Calvert McCann photographs

The wonderful collection of Calvert McCann photographs has been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.

Above: Dunbar High School student, Deloris McDowel, at a lunch counter sit-in at the Lexington F.W. Woolworth’s lunch counter

The Calvert McCann photographs (dated 1961-1964; 3.7 cubic feet; 7 boxes) consist of 20 black and white photographic prints depicting the Civil Rights Movement in Lexington and Frankfort, Kentucky. The photographs show sit-ins at lunch counters, demonstrations in downtown lexington, Louis Armstrong refusing to cross a picket line at the Phoenix Hotel, and the March on Frankfort led by Martin Luther King, Jr, Ralphy Abernathy, Wyatt Tee Walker, and Jackie Robinson.

Above: March on Frankfort led by (from left) Martin Luther King, Jr.; Ralph Abernathy; Wyatt Tee Walker; and Jackie Robinson
 
Calvert McCann (1942-2014) was a teenager when he began participating in marches and demonstrations as part of the civil rights movement in Lexington in the 1960s. While a part time employee at Michael’s Photography Store in downtown Lexington, McCann began to document these experiences on a Pentax 35mm camera that he carried everywhere. He photographed demonstrations in downtown Lexington, sit-ins at lunch counters, protests at the Phoenix Hotel, and the March on Frankfort led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Much of the footage he took remained undeveloped until the early 2000s when McCann gave the film to Gerald Smith. Smith used the images in his book Black America Series: Lexington, Kentucky.

Above: Henry Jones and his younger brother leading a demonstration on Lexington’s Main Street, circa 1960s

Means family papers digitized

The Means family papers have been digitized and are available on ExploreUK! A prominent iron and river and rail transportation family, the Means played an important role in the formation of Ashland, Kentucky as an industrial city.

This collection was digitized as part of the Coal, Camps, and Railroads project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Wheelwright collection digitized

The Wheelwright collection has been digitized and is now available on ExploreUK. This is one of several Appalachian collections digitized by UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities funded Coal, Camps, and Railroads project.
Wheelwright, located in eastern Kentucky’s Floyd County, is a town developed by Elk Horn Coal Corporation in 1911. Purchased by Inland Steel in 1920, the coal town was expanded to include services as a hotel, library, hospital, golf course, movie theater, bowling alley and department store. Because of its success, Wheelwright is often referred to as a model “company town”. By the mid 60s, however, conditions were deteriorating and the town was sold to Island Creek Coal and later Mountain Investment Company. By the early l970s Island Creek shut down its mining operations, leaving Wheelwright with a severe employment crisis.
 

Above: Blueprint detailing a three room miner’s house (Wheelwright collection)
Below: Slide depicting the same three room house plan (Karl Raitz Kentucky slides)

This collection contains records from three of the companies that owned Wheelwright: Inland Steel, Island Creek, and Mountain Investment. The Inland Steel section contains little about the mining operations but is rich in details about the town itself. House and building improvements and maintenance records, monthly and annual reports on the properties and general office files covering topics from “Air conditioners” to “Woman’s Club”, create a vivid picture of company town life–from the company’s perspective. Unfortunately, these records are incomplete, covering primarily the l950s and early l960s. The Island Creek records are primarily those of the coal operations, containing daily time reports, records of employee earnings, mine reports, and office files. The Mountain Investment Company section thoroughly records that company’s ownership of Wheelwright from l966 until l979 when it sold the town to the Kentucky Housing Corporation, a state agency. The documentation includes utility files–from meter readings to financial records; accounts payable; an extensive house and building file containing everything from maintenance to payment records; and office files.

This collection was digitized as part of the Coal, Camps, and Railroads project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

 

Above: Blackout regulations for Wheelwright (Wheelwright collection)
Below: Hand drawn plans for a tower operator (Wheelwright collection)

New Collection Guides on ExploreUK

University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center is pleased to announce the following resources have been digitized and are now available on ExploreUK.

Archive of American Folk Song, Alan and Elizabeth Lomax Kentucky collection (2015av004)
The Archive of American Folk Song, Alan and Elizabeth Lomax Kentucky collection (dated 1937 September-October; 60.5 gigabytes; 228 sound discs with 847 songs) consists of field recordings made on Presto discs by folklorist Alan Lomax and his wife Elizabeth Lomax in eastern Kentucky in September and October 1937 for the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress.

Appalachian Leadership and Communiy Outreach (ALCOR), Inc. records (1997ms357)
The Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach, Inc. (ALCOR) records (dated 1967–1982, undated; 49 cubic feet; 49 boxes and 1 flat box) contains documents and some audio/graphic materials related to the educational and recreational programs sponsored by the organization in Eastern Kentucky. The collection has administrative office files, partnered college files, development fundraising files, Coordinated Consumer Health Education Project Files. File topics also include those on board members, contracts, equipment, program planning and policy, campus directors, college programs, and program training. Photographs document the programming organization by ALCOR.

University of Kentucky Athletic Association records (0000ua247)
The University of Kentucky Athletic Association records (5.6 cubic feet, 15 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 1 folder; dated 1899-1976, bulk dates 1914-1952) primarily comprise correspondence, Southern Conference eligibility certificates, and financial records documenting athletic programs and their administration at the University of Kentucky from 1914 to 1931 and 1942-1947.

University of Kentucky Amateur Radio Club records (1984ua017)
The University of Kentucky Amateur Radio Club records (dated 1927-1938; 1.35 cubic feet, 5 boxes) consists of club information, correspondence between the University and the club, awards that the club received, logs from the radio station, and photographs of club members.

Ron D. Eller papers (2013ua007)
The Ronald D Eller papers (dated 1852-2013, undated; 38.2 cubic feet; 36 record storage cartons, 1 half record storage carton, 3 flat boxes, 1 wrapped item) comprise administrative files, research files, and correspondence that primarily document Eller’s academic and administrative career in Appalachian studies with the University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center and his professional projects with national and regional organizations to improve Appalachian economic development.

University of Kentucky. Appalachian Center records (1984ua029)
The Appalachian Center records (dated 1978-1981, undated; 0.35 cubic feet; 1 box) comprise correspondence, administrative and financial records, and grant proposal materials that document the University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center in its early years under the leadership of John B. Stephenson.

Thomas H. Chilton correspondence (2013ms0628)
The Thomas H. Chilton correspondence (dated 1860-1898; 0.01 cubic feet; 8 items) comprises correspondence between Chilton and his wife, Blanche M. Chilton, and his two college friends, James Bellamy and Joseph Thompson. The letters document college and domestic life, Chilton’s experiences as a traveling salesman, and local news during the 19th century.

Henry Clay account book (70m39)
The Henry Clay account book (dated 1797-1847; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of a bound volume of contracts and transactions maintained by Henry Clay and various Kentuckians.

Betty Congleton papers (2010ms038)
The Betty Congleton papers (dated 1756-2006; 16 cubic feet; 37 boxes) consist of research files, correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, diplomas, and memorabilia pertaining to Betty Congleton’s career as a historian.

Southern Appalachian Poetry records (2012ms077)
The Southern Appalachian Poetry records (dated 1989-2010; 2 cubic feet; 4 legal document boxes and 1 slim document box) consists of correspondence with and submissions by poets; drafts of the manuscript; and grant, publication, and publicity materials for Southern Appalachian Poetry: An Anthology of Works by 37 Poets (McFarland, 2008), edited by Marita Garin.

Dr. A.L. Crabb, Supper at the Maxwell House manuscript (60m114)
The Alfred Leland Crabb Supper at the Maxwell House manuscript (dated circa 1943; 0.25 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of a manuscript of Crabb’s second novel.

Craig-Brooking family papers (2010ms007)
The Craig/Brooking family papers (dated 1807-1905, bulk 1857-1869; 1.31 cubic feet; 3 boxes) consist of photocopied papers from the children, siblings, and other relations of A.G. and Virginia Craig.

Faulconer, Johnstone, Shelby, Tevis, and Potter papers (1997ms142)
The Faulconer, Johnstone, Shelby, and Tevis papers (dated 1678-1981, undated; 1.18 cubic feet, 8 boxes) comprise incoming and outgoing correspondence, real estate and financial documents, genealogies, business documents, letters, newspaper clippings and newsletters, photographs, and ephemera documenting the personal lives and business activities of members of these families.

Jim Newberry Collection on the Governor’s Task Force on Health Care Reform (2015ms090)
The Jim Newberry Collection on the Governor’s Task Force on Health Care Reform (dated 1986-1994; 1.05 cubic feet; 3 boxes) consists of material collected by Jim Newberry during his service as chair of the task force appointed by Governor Brereton C. Jones.

James Holsinger collection on military documents (2015ms088)
The James Holsinger collection on military documents (dated 1905-1990, undated; 4 cubic feet; 4 boxes) comprises U.S. Army manuals, handbooks, and intelligence reports primarily regarding Soviet tactics.

Joe Creason papers (1997ms123)
The Joe Creason papers (dated 1889-1992, bulk 1940-1974; 28 cubic feet; 78 boxes) comprises journalist Joe Creason’s articles, biographical materials, photographs, memorabilia, correspondence, speeches, subject files, and publications.

Wid Page collection on the Marlowe Coal and Tire Company (2003av061)
The Wid Page collection on the Marlowe Coal Company (dated 1918-1998, undated; 0.33 cubic feet; 1 box) consists of seventy-three photographic prints, correspondence, records, photocopies, receipts, and newspaper clippings concerning the Marlowe Coal Company.

Red Scare in the Presbyterian Church Collection (2016ms025)
The Red Scare in the Presbyterian Church Collection (dated 1944-1962, undated; 0.68 cubic feet; 2 boxes) consists of printed materials, pamphlets, publications, newspaper clippings, and correspondence documenting the Red Scare in Maysville, Kentucky, and in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.

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.

The Man of Destiny!

At the Special Collections Research Center, we recently began processing the W. Hugh Peal manuscript collection. A graduate from the University of Kentucky’s class of 1922, William Hugh Peal was an avid collector of 19th and 20th century manuscripts and autograph albums, especially those relating to the English Romantic writers Charles Lamb, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Robert Southey. Peal also collected manuscripts by scientists, clergymen, artists, and political figures.

Of the political figures represented in the collection, a significant highlight is the unconventional and bombastic George Francis Train. Born in Boston in 1829, Train modestly referred to himself as a “man with the brains of twenty men, the energy of a hundred, and the magnetism of a God.”

The letterhead for Train’s 1872 presidential campaign asserted Train was “Unanimously Nominated for the Presidency by immense audiences everywhere” and featured a list of his rather aggressive platform positions, including “Death to Official Thieves, through Vigilance Committees.”

In response to harsh criticism from rival presidential candidate and New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, a facetious Train sent a portrait of himself and referred to Greeley as “the name caller.” 

Corresponding with a gentleman from The Liberty Insurance Company, Train eagerly contended that a man can subsist on a diet of bread and water “forever!”

Train also took it upon himself “to show New York just what a real Santa Claus is like," declaring that he would “eclipse all the old white-beard myths with bogus reindeers that ever appeared.” 

George Francis Train, professional "eccentrique."

              

Dieting in the early 1900s

1998ms005: William Townsend Collection

Found in the archives: an early 1900s diet plan, with accompanying letter, sent to Katherine Helm by her cousin Ruth.

Katherine Helm was born in 1857 to Benjamin Hardin Helm and his wife Emilie Todd, the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln. Kate Helm pursued a career as an artist following the end of the Civil War. She studied at the Art Students League in New York. Her work includes a portrait of Jefferson Davis and a portrait of her aunt Mary Todd Lincoln, which hangs in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House. 

The first week of the diet plan:

Diet

Breakfast – 1^st five weeks

1 raw tomato or tomato juice

1 soft boiled egg

1 cup of broth (beef cubes or chicken cubes may be used in a cup of hot water)

1 cup of black coffee

Luncheon – 1^st week

1 cup of broth

1 soft boiled egg

2 fresh vegetables (uncooked)

Dinner – 1^st week

1 cup of broth

1 soft boiled egg

2 green vegetables (uncooked, like carrots lettuce celery etc.)

1 cup of black coffee

Note – Fruits, except bananas, may be eaten at all times

The letter reads: 

Dear Cousin Kate,

This is really a fine diet list, just follow it or near as you can and you will find you will lose weight in one week’s time. Eat an apple every time you feel a little hungry between meals. The best part however is that one does not get a starved feeling.

Sarah and I lost six lbs in a week and we took sugar in our coffee and cooked vegetables on our second week.

Here’s wishing you luck.

Affectionately, 

Ruth.

Campus Birds of Prey

One of the red-tailed hawks that frequent campus for our succulent rodent population paid a visit this morning to the historical marker for Margaret Isadora King, the namesake of our building.

New Collection Guide Viewer

ExploreUK launched a new viewer for collection guide this morning!

This viewer was created to work with our new online requesting system, Aeon. Users will now be able to select and request materials within the finding aid viewer for use in the Breckinridge Research Room or for digital reproduction orders.

Collection guides featuring digital content will display a small thumbnail of the materials. Users can click the thumbnail to see a full-sized rendering of the image and right click to download a high resolution .jpg copy. The viewer utilizes Bootstrap, a framework that allows scalability for use on mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones.

We will continue to evolve the finding aid viewer based on user assessment and feedback. Please send thoughts and suggestions to sclref [at] lsv [dot] uky [dot] edu.