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 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.
“There are hundreds of small prairie streams like this one located in southern Kansas. Spring rains cause these small streams to flow with clean clear water. Many species of wildlife can be observed near such streams, and wildflowers are often abundant along these streams.” Kansas Postcard Company Postcards. Call Number: RH PH 522. Click image to enlarge.
“Wildflowers blanket the prairie along a quiet country road in Meade County, Kansas.” Kansas Postcard Company Postcards. Call Number: RH PH 522. Click image to enlarge.
“A lush backwater swamp of the Spring River in Cherokee County gives life to plants and animals.” Kansas Postcard Company Postcards. Call Number: RH PH 522. Click image to enlarge.
“Castle Rock, located in Gove County, was used as a landmark in northwestern Kansas before Kansas became a state. The sunflower in the foreground is the official state flower of Kansas.” Kansas Postcard Company Postcards. Call Number: RH PH 522. Click image to enlarge.
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.
In remembrance of Black Sunday, this week we share items from the personal papers of former KU history professor Lloyd Sponholtz. According to History.com, April 14, 1935, also known as Black Sunday, was the date of the worst dust storm documented during the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl, also known as the “dirty thirties,” was a period of severe drought in the Midwest and southern Great Plains. It began around 1930 and lasted for about a decade. By 1934, an estimated 35 million acres of formerly cultivated land had been rendered useless for farming, while another 125 million acres – an area roughly three-quarters the size of Texas – was rapidly losing its topsoil. Regular rainfall returned to the region by the end of 1939, bringing the Dust Bowl years to a close.
Black Sunday was the worst of the severe dust storms that were known as Black Blizzards. These storms included billowing clouds of dust that darkened the sky, sometimes for days at a time. In many places, the dust drifted like snow and residents had to clear it with shovels. Dust worked its way through the cracks of even well-sealed homes, leaving a coating on food, skin, and furniture. The storm of Black Sunday started in the Oklahoma Panhandle and moved east, with an estimated three million tons of topsoil blowing off the Great Plains.
An overhead projector transparency showing a map of the Dust Bowl, from Making America: A History of the United States. Personal Papers of Lloyd Sponholtz. Call Number: PP 521, Box 11, Folder 32. Click image to enlarge.
A description of Black Sunday and Black Blizzards in “You Couldn’t See Your Hand in Front of Your Face”: The 1930s in Stanton County, Kansas, August 1996. Personal Papers of Lloyd Sponholtz. Call Number: PP 521, Box 11, Folder 32. Click image to enlarge.
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’ll lull you to sleep with bedtime stories! But I promise to keep it short and sweet. The Children’s Collection here at the library houses children’s stories of all shapes and sizes. The collection contains over 7000 books ranging from the late 18th through the 20th century.
The item of the week is 365 Bedtime Stories: A Story for Every Day of the Year illustrated by Janet Robson. The book, released in 1944, has a short bedtime story for every day of the year. This week we share with you the story for today, April 7, and this weekend, April 8-9.
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The cover of and three stories from 365 Bedtime Stories: A Story for Every Day in the Year illustrated by Janet Robson, 1944. Call Number: Children D209. Click images to enlarge.
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 (day after) Opening Day, baseball fans! For those who don’t know, Opening Day is the day in which the regular baseball season begins for Major League Baseball (and most minor leagues). Opening Day marks new beginnings as players and fans alike start fresh and forget the past season. Yesterday (March 30) all thirty teams in Major League Baseball played games, which is the first time since 1968 that all teams played first games on the same day.
This week in honor of Opening Day we’re highlighting two yearbooks from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum from 1993 and 1994. African Americans began to play baseball in the late 1800s. That is, until racism and Jim Crow laws forced them from their teams by 1900. Afterwards, African Americans formed their own teams, playing anyone who would challenge them. In 1920 a meeting was held at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Missouri. Andrew Foster and a few other Midwestern team owners joined to form an organized league, the Negro National League.
The cover of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 1993 Yearbook. Call Number: RH Ser D1874. Click image to enlarge.
The cover of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 1994 Yearbook. Call Number: RH Ser D1874. Click image to enlarge.
The photos below show pages highlighting the Kansas City Monarchs and Buck O’Neil. Founded in 1920, the Kansas City Monarchs was one of the Negro Leagues’ most famous and successful clubs. According to the MLB History website, the Monarchs took home ten league pennants and only faced one losing season during their association with the Negro Leagues. Kansas City produced more future Major League stars – including Jackie Robinson and Ernie Banks – than any other Negro League club, while also showcasing huge stars like Satchel Paige, Hilton Smith, and Bullet Rogan in times when Black players were kept out of the all-white Majors. First baseman and manager Buck O’Neil also became the first Black coach in the big leagues and served as a scout and Negro Leagues ambassador for many years.
Information about the 1924 Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 1994 Yearbook. Call Number: RH Ser D1874. Click image to enlarge.
Buck O’Neil featured in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum 1993 Yearbook. Call Number: RH Ser D1874. Click image to enlarge.
In addition to the yearbooks, the library houses the papers of T. Y. Baird, an owner of the Kansas City Monarchs. The collection contains materials related to the team, including correspondence, game gate information, receipts and bills, payroll information, clippings, player information, magazine and newspaper clippings, and photographs. At Spencer you can also read The Negro Leagues Book edited by Dick Clark and Larry Lester. Published in 1994, the book includes information ranging from the Negro Leagues history, Hall of Fame players, rosters, organized baseball records, and more. The copy the library hold was signed by Larry Lester in 1994.
The cover of The Negro Leagues Book, edited by Dick Clark and Larry Lester, 1994. Call Number: RH D6815. Click image to enlarge.
The title page of The Negro Leagues Book, edited by Dick Clark and Larry Lester, 1994. Call Number: RH D6815. Click image to enlarge.
Interested in learning more? The Negro League Baseball Museum is located at 1616 East 18th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. More information on visiting can be found on their website.
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 celebrate SPRING! Springs long awaited return was this week on Monday, March 20. With warmer weather and extended sunshine, soon comes the return of spring flowers! You can find lots of great information on the spring equinox from the online farmers almanac.
This week we share a few pages from a book from our collections called One Hundred Fifty Familiar Wildflowers of Central Kansas. Written by Mary Jones, the book was published in Lyons, Kansas, around 1961. Maybe you will be able to spot some of the wildflowers featured in the book while you’re out this spring and summer! Here’s to wishing for warmer and longer days ahead.
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The cover of and selected pages from One Hundred Fifty Familiar Wild Flowers of Central Kansas by Mary Jones, circa 1961. Call Number: RH C687. Click images to enlarge.
