Kenneth Spencer Research Library

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

There will be no That’s Distinctive! post next Friday, May 19. Posts will resume on May 26.

This week on That’s Distinctive! we offer a glimpse into a day in the life of Maude Egbert (1878-1955). The library houses a diary of hers that documents an entry a day for five years. This five-year diary kept by Maude Egbert of Clyde, Cloud County, Kansas, provides a regular accounting of her life as a farm wife during World War II. Activities or events she noted include sewing, entertaining and visiting friends and family, cooking, house cleaning, canning, personal health, farm activities like threshing, acquiring a swarm of bees, creek and river flooding, and the weather. Throughout the diary she calls her husband “Dad.”

The diary Maude used is called Five-Year Horoscope Diary: Your Destiny Day by Day. It was written by Samuel Nisenson and published in 1936 by World Syndicate Publishing. Maude used her diary from 1943 to 1948, although there are some large gaps where she did not fill it out. There are also some pages where the years are written out of order.

April 7, 1943 got my chickens
Thrashed the alfalfa & [kaiffer?]

19[44] Ruth Martha & Teddy [Maude’s daughter and granddaughters] came for
Easter vacation

19[45] Went to Concordia

1948 Esther & Emma [Mayson?]
Went to Mile Society I visited Mrs
Crouse Orville [Maude’s son] made garden
to day

19[47] Doris [Maude’s granddaughter] took my washing
to do Dad was sick yesterday
& to day Roy ate dinner with us

April 8, 1943 Mary [Maude’s granddaughter] & I went fishing cought
a nice mess. Dad went to [illegible]. bought
a disk had a light [rain?] the first since
[illegible] second

19[44] Ruth Esther & Doris [Maude’s daughter, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter] went to Concordia
the little girls stayed with me
Orville finished planting the oats
Dad and Cliff fixed the wind mill. Planted some potatoes

19[45] Dad and I spent the day with
Roy and Jessie Billy has the
Penmonia [pneumonia] but is better
Spent the evening with [illegible]

1948 Orville & Esther made garden
& we went to
spent the day croceting [crocheting]

1947 Cleaned the brooder house
& Dad cleaned the big
Chicken house

May 27, 1943 Washed to day. Dad
planted corn.
Marys [Maude’s granddaughter] birthday to day.

1944 Marys [Maude’s granddaughter] birthday to day
rained all day Dad was
sick all day

19[45] We all went to church. ate dinner
with Mary [Maude’s granddaughter] as it is her. birthday
Teddy [Maude’s granddaughter] stayed with Betty Lou at A
[Hats]. for a few days

1946 Ruth Ted & Martha [Maude’s daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter] came
for a few days

19[47] Dear Diary I am
still sick

May 28, 19[43] Martha [Maude’s granddaughter] spent the day
at Orvilles [Maude’s son]. Sewed on my dress
Dad finished planting corn on.
this place

19[44] Cleaned the brooder house &
put in roost. Had our. first fried
chicken. Roy Jessie and Billy Bob
spent the afternoon with us.

19[45] Did general house work & put
up my clean curtains

1946. Gene and Elizabeth came.
Ruth Ted [Maude’s daughter and son-in-law] Doris [Maudes’ granddaughter] Cliff & I all went
fishing. Esther and Genes came in the
afternoon. Gene and Elizabeth stayed all [illegible] at [illegible]

19[47] Dear, Diary
no change

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

This week on That’s Distinctive! we highlight another collection belonging to John C. Tibbetts that is housed at the library. The collection consists of film stills and photographs for a variety of motion pictures; Tibbetts received the photographs as part of his work as a film reviewer. There are also various issues of the magazine American Classic Screen, of which Tibbetts was the editor. The movie stills in the collection range from 1895-1998. Movies included in the collection range from The Birds (1963) to Dracula (1979) to Saving Private Ryan (1998) and even Snow White (1937).

This time around we are sharing movie stills from the movies The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Return to Oz (1985). More information on the films and the trailers to The Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz can be found on IMDB.

More information on Dr. Tibbetts and a peek at another one of his collections can be found in the That’s Distinctive! blog on the animated film Dinosaur. The John C. Tibbetts collection, along with all items in the library, can be viewed in the Reading Room from 10am to 4pm Monday through Friday. The library is open to the public and welcomes researchers of all types.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

Happy Arbor Day! Today, April 28, is Arbor Day. According to Almanac, Arbor Day is largely celebrated on the last Friday of April, although some states celebrate on days that better coincide with tree planting times. Much like Earth Day, Arbor Day is a holiday that celebrates nature. Its purpose is to encourage people to plant trees, and many communities traditionally take the opportunity to organize tree-planting and litter-collecting events on or around the holiday.

The first Arbor Day occurred on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska City, Nebraska. It’s estimated that nearly one million trees were planted on this day. Within twenty years of its creation, the holiday was celebrated in every American state except Delaware, who eventually joined in participation. Many other countries also observe the holiday but often on a different day and under a different name.

This week we share selected pages from the Hand-Book of Tree-Planting by N.H. Egleston. Published in 1884, the book covers “why to plant, where to plant, what to plant, and how to plant.”

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing some items from our collection of Kansas Postcard Company postcards. The postcards date from around 1990-1991. The Kansas Postcard Company was based in Lawrence, Kansas, in the early 1990s and was involved in an effort to send card to soldiers oversees. The collection houses an array of postcards with photos of scenery from all over the state. The captions below include the text on the back of each postcard.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

This is the latest installment in a recurring series of posts introducing readers to the staff of Kenneth Spencer Research Library. Today’s profile features Phil Cunningham, who joined Spencer Research Library in February 2023 as Assistant Librarian and Kansas Collection Curator.

Where are you from?

I was born in Tacoma, Washington, and as a child have lived in Los Angeles; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Riley and Manhattan, Kansas. Before coming to Lawrence and KU, I lived in New Orleans.

What does your job at Spencer entail?

I recently joined the Kenneth Spencer Research Library as the Kansas Collection Curator. The Kansas Collection documents the history and culture of Kansas and its peoples; it is one of the largest regional history collections in the Great Plains. In my role as curator, I lead collection development, instruction, and outreach efforts for that collection. That means I work to support preservation and access to the collections held at the Spencer, team up with instructors to connect students to the multitude of resources available here, and work with donors to help the Kansas Collection grow.

How did you come to work in libraries/archives/special collections?

While working towards my B.A. in history, I began to learn more about the unique history of Kansas and how it came to be what it is today. After graduating, I was eager to continue my studies in history but hesitant to jump into graduate school. I came to see academic librarianship as a desirable route to stay in academia, so I pursued my masters in library and information sciences (MLIS) at Pratt Institute in New York. I was fortunate to intern at the Schomburg Center, a research library part of the New York Public Library system, and the Gilder-Lehrman Archive at the New-York Historical Society. Those experiences helped shape my interests in special collections libraries and archival work.

What is one of the most interesting items you’ve come across in Spencer’s collections?

I am still quite new to the Spencer Library, however, I have already started to come across fun and interesting collections in the Kansas Collection! One fun collection is the Agnes T. Frog collection, which documents efforts in Lawrence in 1986 to symbolically elect an amphibian as Douglas County Commissioner. The campaign was a protest against the then-proposed southern Lawrence bypass and its environmental effects on the Baker Wetlands to the south of the city. Another fun item I have come across is a high school diploma awarded to a pony named in Pansy in 1931. Pansy was the primary means of transport to school for a family in Brown County, Kansas. After “attending” school for 22 years, she graduated in 1931 and was given her own diploma!

What part of your job do you like best?

As I settle into my new role at the Spencer Library, the list of things I enjoy about my job continues to grow. In no particular order, some of the things I enjoy about working here are: having an office with a window, the welcome that I received from my colleagues and in general how friendly everyone is, exploring the collections at the Spencer, and the joy of learning something new every day. I am also excited to work with classes and students to introduce them to archival research and the archives profession.

What are some of your favorite pastimes outside of work?

Outside of being a curator, you’re likely to find me on cycling around town or at a concert. Some of the bands I have seen are Kansas (of course!), Lamb of God, 3OH!3, Metallica, George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars, Mastodon, Tool, Tech N9ne, and Gogol Bordello to name a few… don’t ever trust me with the aux cord!

What piece of advice would you offer a researcher walking into Spencer Research Library for the first time?

I think research libraries and archival research can be daunting for the uninitiated as it requires prior preparation before one even steps foot into the library. But in fact, the opposite is true. If anyone wants to drop in, they are more than welcome to do so. The permanent displays in the library’s North Gallery are fun and interactive, and they give an idea of the variety of collections here. The rotating exhibitions mean there’s always something new to see and learn about with each visit.

Phil Cunningham
Kansas Collection Curator