Kenneth Spencer Research Library

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! we continue on our journey of spooky items. Today I am sharing yet another item from the Herd family papers. With the collection spanning the time frame of 1817 to 2013, there is just about anything a person could be looking for. The item shown today is a dance card from KU’s third annual all-university Halloween party. It took place in 1917, six months after the U.S. entered World War I. The card shows that it was held in Robinson Gymnasium, which was located where Wescoe Hall now stands. The current Robinson Center is just east of Allen Fieldhouse.

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 share the matchbook collection of Richard Olmstead. Born in Lawrence in 1921, Olmstead collected matchbooks from Lawrence and the surrounding areas during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The images shown today cover Lawrence, Kansas, with notable businesses such as Round Corner Drug, which used to occupy Massachusetts Street.

Why share matchbooks? This collection shows that Spencer houses so much more than books. The collections contain many unique and interesting items from throughout history.

Tips on starting your own matchbook collection can be found at the Rathkamp Matchcover Society website.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

As we enter the seventh inning stretch of the Spring 2023 semester, let’s throw it back to a beloved pastime: baseball! Today’s collection highlight, the Jerauld R. Crowell papers, showcases the NBC “Hap” Dumont Youth Baseball League, a league with ties back to Great Depression-era baseball in Kansas.

In Wichita, Kansas, in 1935, Satchel Paige and his Bismarck, North Dakota, Churchills won the first National Baseball Congress tournament after defeating the Duncan, Oklahoma, Halliburtons in the title game. Raymond “Hap” Dumont, the founder of the tournament, promised Paige $1,000 (around $22,000 in today’s money) to simply play in the newly created tournament. Banking on Paige’s talent and star power to draw crowds, Dumont’s gamble paid off. The tournament was an instant success, drawing over 100,000 spectators over the course of the tournament. “Hap” Dumont used this success to turn the National Baseball Congress, or the NBC, into an institution that would feature some of the best talent in baseball. It is still in play today.

Nearly forty years later, Jerauld R. Crowell with other founding members created the NBC “Hap” Dumont Youth Baseball League, a youth league established in partnership with the NBC. Named after NBC founder “Hap” Dumont, the youth league began as an organization for participants twelve and under. The league would eventually grow to add eleven different age divisions from eight to eighteen years old. The youth league has held tournaments at the regional, state, and national level with teams from around the world. Like the original NBC league, the NBC “Hap” Dumont Youth League is still running the bases and spotlighting young talent today.

As you all work to spotlight your own talent, don’t be afraid to swing for the fences as you clean up the semester. Finals week is on deck, but you’re in the home stretch. You’ve earned your curtain call!

Want more baseball? See our previous blog posts on the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Kansas City Monarchs, baseball cards, and the House of David Baseball Team in Kansas, as well as a variety of entries about KU baseball.

Charissa Pincock
Processing Archivist

Hello and happy Pride Month!

The Bruce McKinney collection at Kenneth Spencer Research Library holds many pieces of LGBTQIA+ materials and memorabilia. McKinney was a Kansas activist for gender and gay rights. His collection of papers ranges from pamphlets for rallies and centers for queer individuals all over the country to stickers and pins.

For example, McKinney’s papers document the work of the Wichita, Kansas, LesBiGayTrans Center, an organization with which he worked closely.

Some items in the McKinney collection highlight the history of the LGBTQIA+ community at the University of Kansas. The documents below focus on LesBiGay Awareness Week events held in 1995.

Additionally, McKinney’s papers includes information to help learn more about the queer community. I was particularly interested in the information written on bisexuality and even a paper about how to defend homosexuality in instances where individuals use the Bible against them.

Some of the more fun things to look at were the many different bumper stickers that McKinney saved!

Have a happy and safe Pride!

Alex Williams
Public Services Student Assistant

While conducting research in a collection of family papers for an exhibit I was putting together, I came across the paper hat shown below. The accompanying note in the box that houses it, provided by Mary P. Miller, gives some context.

This paper hat was worn on Armistice Day (then called “Peace Day”), November 11, 1918, by Eva Lathrop Phillips. Eva was meeting a friend in downtown Kansas City. It took her “all day” because she had to join a parade to move in the direction she wanted to go. Eva was 24 years old and attending business college in Kansas City from her home in Blue Rapids, Kansas. Eva died at age 102.

Paper hat worn by Eva Lathrop Phillips on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.
Nothing in the collection indicates where Eva got it.
Eva Lathrop Phillips Papers. Call Number: RH MS 710. Click image to enlarge.

The Kansas City Star estimated that “60,000 to 100,000 flag waving, cheering men and women” participated in the “monster Victory Parade” in downtown Kansas City – despite the ongoing flu pandemic.

The parade, hastily planned early today, started at 10:30 o’clock from Convention Hall. There was no attempt at organization, because of the lack of time, but was made up for the most of masses of workers from downtown stores and factories, released for the day to celebrate the release of the world from threatened German bondage.

To get a sense of what the scene looked like, check out these photographs of Armistice Day parades in St. Louis (Missouri Historical Society) and Philadelphia (Library Company of Philadelphia).

Front page of the Kansas City Star (top) and the article
“A March of Victory” (bottom) on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.
Anschutz Library microfilm collection. Call Number: MRN 0269.
Click images to enlarge.

Somewhere in the crowd of Kansas City revelers described in the Star article was Eva in her paper hat.

Evangeline “Eva” Lathrop was born in Irving, Kansas, on October 1, 1894. Her brother Byron enlisted in the Army and served in France. Around the time of the Armistice, Eva moved to Kansas City to attend school. In 1924, she married Alfred G. Phillips, also a veteran. She lived in Baxter Springs, Kansas, for fifty years.

Photograph of Eva Lathrop Phillips at age ninety-eight, 1992.
Frowe and Lathrop Families Records. Call Number: RH MS 696. Click image to enlarge.

Kathy Lafferty
Public Services