Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a book titled Random Rhymes by Ed Blair. The book was published in Spring Hill, Kansas, in 1939. It contains 213 pages of poems.
Not much about Random Rhymes can be found on the internet. It is another item that I stumbled upon while walking through the stacks. Sometimes I go wander around to see what titles pop out at me. I had no background knowledge on what the book held until I had it paged to the Reading Room. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was delighted to find the poems. A couple of poems from the book are included below.
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The front cover, the first page of the table of contents, and selected poems from Random Rhymes by Ed Blair, 1939. Call Number: RH C6635. Click image to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing some news clippings (circa 1951-1952) about the Lawrence Historical Museum, now known as the Watkins Museum of History. The Lawrence Historical Museum, which was overseen by the Douglas County Historical Society, was located in a city building at 8th and Vermont streets. The Watkins Museum of History, which is also run by the historical society, opened in 1975 at the corner of 11th and Massachusetts streets. The building housed the Watkins National Bank before being refurbished for the museum.
The Douglas County Historical Society was started in 1933 “when a group of concerned citizens were motivated to preserve the community’s early history.” Today, the society’s main activity is maintaining the museum.
The news clippings are part of an artificial collection, meaning it was put together by library staff (not assembled by an individual or organization and then donated to the library). The clippings discuss plans for the Lawrence Historical Museum and highlight when the museum opened for visitors in the basement of the new city building – a span of about six months. The articles also share information about new additions to the museum.
The Watkins Museum of History is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Admission is free to the public. The museum “showcases unique and fascinating stories from Douglas County’s past.” Exhibit topics include Territorial Kansas, Civil War era artifacts, Quantrill’s Raid, and more. The museum also hosts many public programs and school groups, and it’s open for community research.
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The title page of – and selected pages page from – a scrapbook of Lawrence Historical Museum clippings, 1951-1952. Call Number: RH MS B64. Click images to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing some letters from the James B. English papers. The letters are from 1968-1969 when James was stationed at Di An and Long Binh, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. James wrote the letters to his family, and the ones highlighted today were to his mother. Within the collection, the letters have been arranged chronologically. The letters shared here are also transcribed below.
According to History.com, “the Vietnam War [1955-1975] was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than three million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians.”
I decided to highlight this collection because I find the letters super fascinating, especially since they’re from a significant time in history. Similar to old diaries, they give a glimpse of what life was like years ago.
Letter from James B. English to his mother, June 29, 1968. James B. English Letters. Call Number: RH MS 664. Click image to enlarge.
June 29 [1968]
Dear Mom: Just a quick note to tell you that I have arrived safely and all is well. Don’t know the address yet, if in fact, I don’t know much of anything yet. I was going to call you the morning we left but the[y] wouldn’t let us use the phones. Will write more in a few days when I know more.
Love, Jim
P.S. Should have got stationery in Dodge!
Letter from James B. English to his mother, March 19, 1969. James B. English Letters. Call Number: RH MS 664. Click image to enlarge.
March 19 [1969]
Mom: Just got back from Hong Kong. Got a lot of the cobwebs cleared out and really had quite a blast. Had forgotten what so many things were like. [Hard] to adjust back to living as homo sapiens and [hard] to adjust when I got back here. 100 days today and it’s all downhill from now on. Am confident than [sic] the one night I got mortared in Long Binh will be the only time in my life I got shot at.
Can put up with any thing for 100 days. Don’t worry about me any more.
Will wait a few days to write a longer letter – just wanted you to get a few cheerful, light words in the mail.
Jim
The first page of a letter from James B. English to his mother, March 25, 1969. James B. English Letters. Call Number: RH MS 664. Click image to enlarge.
March 25 [1969]
Dear Mom & Scott:
Waited a few days to write becuz of the address change I was fairly sure was coming up:
SP/4 James B English RA 68000280 class # 68-8 Co “W” ([Stu Enl?]) 2nd Bn, QMSB Fort Lee, Va. 23801
“SP/4” means “specialist 4”, equivalent to a corporal and I make about $175.00 a month. If everything goes right, I should make SP/5 in about 5 weeks, about $211.00 per month. So, at least things are looking a little better.
This Post-graduate course is called Air- craft Repair Parts and is about the supply system behind the distribution of them. 5 weeks long. After this God knows what. Just now figured out where everyone from the last class went (you might be interested): 18 came here to this class, 4 straight to Viet Nam with 3 weeks leave and 1 week P.O.R.* and 2 weeks in limbo, 13 to Korea, to two to Fort Campbell for a helicopter …
The Todd Family Photographs collection consists of thirty-seven photographic reproductions donated by Loretta Estelle Carraher. They depict three generations of her family, the Todds.
After they were freed from enslavement to a family in Platte County, Missouri, Adam and America Todd moved to Kansas with the Payne family, also freed from slavery. They raised six children, settling first in Leavenworth and then moving to Oskaloosa. Adam Todd died at the age of 98. America Todd died in 1920.
Below are a few images from the collection for you to enjoy.
America Todd, undated. Todd Family Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 74, Box 1, Folder 37. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Adam Todd, undated. Todd Family Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 74, Box 1, Folder 36. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Tom Todd (son of Adam and America Todd) and Eliza Walton Todd, undated. Todd Family Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 74, Box 1, Folder 8. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Unknown man in front of farmhouse, undated. Todd Family Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 74, Box 1, Folder 35. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Norman Estelle’s class at Lincoln School in North Lawrence, Kansas, undated. Todd Family Photographs. Call Number: RH PH 74, Box 1, Folder 28. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Soldier Bruce James, undated. Todd Family Photographs. RH PH 74, Box 1, Folder 7. Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
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 a glimpse into the activities of a Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, school in the early twentieth century via a 1918 scrapbook of photographs. Although the scrapbook is titled “eighth-grade class snapshots,” some images include other grades such as fifth and seventh. Other photos show the inside of the classrooms. There are also class portraits throughout the scrapbook. In the back of the book is a May 1918 copy of the City School Monitor, which was “edited and published by the pupils of the City School.” The one included in the book is volume 2, number 3, and it includes “local school news.” Some topics covered are student illnesses, teacher departures, and new students. One notable topic is the small comment that “Willie Ellis, who was a member of the fourth grade, was struck by lightning while fishing near Buck Creek May 4th.”
Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, is nestled in the heart of the Flint Hills in Chase County. With a population of approximately 850 people, Cottonwood Falls is the largest “city” in Chase County. Though small, the town boasts art galleries, antique shops, a historical museum, and many dining experiences. It is also home to “the oldest consecutively utilized courthouse west of the Mississippi.”
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Selected pages a scrapbook of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, eighth grade class snapshots, 1918. Call Number: RH PH P2836. Click images to enlarge.
