Guide to H. "Dene" Heskett Collection 

Collection Summary

Title: H. "Dene" Heskett Collection
Call Number: MS 2005-1 
Size: 1.0 linear feet
Acquisition: Donated by Lynne Arterberry.
Processed by: JLY, 1-2005

Literary Rights

Literary rights were not granted to Wichita State University. When permission is granted to examine manuscripts, it is not an authorization to publish them. Manuscripts cannot be used for publication without regard for common law literary rights, copyright laws and the laws of libel. It is the responsibility of the researcher and his/her publisher to obtain permission to publish. Scholars and students who eventually plan to have their work published are urged to make inquiry regarding overall restrictions on publication before initial research.

Content Note

The H. "Dene" Heskett Collection consists of a few ephemeral pieces from Heskett's early life, materials documenting his graduation from the University of Wichita in 1935, and a large selection of personal images in various formats including photographs, slides, and films. The images range from the 1940s through the 1980s and represented are Heskett, landscapes, properties, dogs, and trips.

Administrative History

Herschel "Dene" Heskett was born in 1913 in Wellington, Kansas. After graduating from the University of Wichita in 1935 he continued a life-long relationship with the university. He served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Endowment Association Board of Governors, was a member of the Fairmount Association, and received the Fairmount Founders' Award for outstanding service in 1988.

In 1984 he donated a large parcel of Kansas farmland to Wichita State and the university renamed the Multipurpose Complex the Heskett Center in honor of his parents J. O. and Ollie A. Heskett.

Heskett served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and then returned to Wichita where he started several successful finance companies. He retired in 1967 and moved to Grove, Oklahoma where he lived until his death in 1987.

Series Listing

Series 1 Box 1 FF 1- FF 3 Early Life. Series includes materials from H. Dene Heskett's early life including grade school memory books and family documents.
Series 2 Box 1 FF 4 - FF 7 University of Wichita/Wichita State University. This series includes Heskett's role as a student, alumni, and donor to the University of Wichita/Wichita State University. Included in the series are a 1935 commencement clipping, 1935 yearbook, memory book, and Heskett Center informational booklet (1988-1989).
Series 3 Box 1 FF 8 - Box 2 Images. Includes photographs, slides, and films.
Series 4 Large Oversized MS Drawer and Hanging Rack Oversized. This series includes oversized pieces found throughout the collection.

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1 -- Early Life
     
Box 1 FF 1 Roosevelt Memories-- 1927 Memory Book published by the ninth grade class of Roosevelt Intermediate School in Wichita, Kansas
Box 1 FF 2 Roosevelt Memories-- 1928 Memory Book published by the ninth grade class of Roosevelt Intermediate School in Wichita, Kansas
Box 1 FF 3 Family documents-- Folder includes 2 handwritten notes: (1) written by Dene Heskett's mother describing the age of a gold dollar (2) written by [?] Heskett describing what is to be done with her property upon death, dated December 18, 1929. Folder also includes clipping of J. O. Heskett [Dene's father] death and a funeral program.
 
Series 2 -- University of Wichita/Wichita State University
     
Box 1 FF 4 Clipping from the May 19, 1935 Wichita Eagle showing graduates of the University of Wichita (including H. Dene Heskett)
Box 1 FF 5 1935 Parnassus (yearbook) of the University of Wichita
Box 1 FF 6 Memory Book-- updates on University of Wichita's 1935 graduating class (3 copies)
Box 1 FF 7 Heskett Center informational booklet, 1988-1989. Center was renamed in honor of H. Dene Heskett's parents after his large gift to the university.
 
Series 3 -- Images
     
Box 1 FF 8 Photographs: H. Dene Heskett- Includes photographs of Heskett sitting at desk while in Army Air Corps (circa 1945), with unidentified woman (date unknown), reproduction photograph of Heskett in athletic attire (date unknown), with German Shepard (1952), four photographs from Wichita State University Commencement where Heskett received the Fairmount Founders Award (1988), riding on pony (1961), assorted snapshots (most undated)
Box 1 FF 9 Photographs: Family-- Includes photographs of Heskett family headstones and an unidentified male
Box 1 FF 10 Photographs: Landscapes and Properties-- Includes photographs of landscapes, house interiors and exteriors (dated, 1960s-1990s and undated). Also includes five professional photographs of Shoshone Reservoir and Dam, Powell, Wyoming (1926?)
Box 1 FF 11 Photographs: Dogs-- Includes a photograph of unidentified German Shepherd and photograph of the judging of a German Shepherd at competition
Box 1 FF 12 Slides: Florida Fishing Trip (1967)
Box 1 FF 13 Slides: Horses, Lakes, and Dogs (1967)
Box 1 FF 14 Slides: Lake of Woods, Fagan Lake, Fishing in Canada (1967)
Box 1 FF 15 Slides: Telluride Trip, Western Trip (1968)
Box 1 FF 16 Slides: Grove [Oklahoma] Flood (1969)
Box 1 FF 17 Slides: Japan and Hong Kong (1970)
Box 1 FF 18 Slides: Puerto Rico (1970)
Box 1 FF 19 Films: Estes Park - color (1964), Canada (1969), Florida [?] (1969), Grove (1969), John Boat Home and Snow (1970)
Box 1 FF 20 Films: Grove (date unknown), Grove (date unknown), House (date unknown), John Boat House, Dogs, Trees Grove (date unknown), Cedar Lake and Trees Grove (date unknown), Peggy-no good, Hoover Dam- good (date unknown)
Box 1 FF 21 Films: Cedar Lake (1968), Lake at Home, [?]
Box 2 Films: Metal Box containing the following twelve films-- (1) H. D. Heskett, River of no Return, Aug. 5th to 10, 1959 #1; (2) H. D. Heskett, River of No Return, Aug. 5th to 10, 1959 #2; (3) British Columbia, Home in Wichita, Hunting; (4) Home in Wichita, Beaver Lake, Canada Fishing Trip; (5) Dad's funeral, [?], KC Group, Dobie, Peg and Pups, Cal and [?], Steels at Xmas, Minn., 1962; (6) Vacation 1960 Part 1; (7) Arkansas- Deer Hunting, Florida; (8) Personal 1959-1960; (9) Mexico +2; (10) Personal 1958-1959; (11) Yellowstone Park, Bad Lands, Floor Here; (12) 1960-1961 Christmas party, children, farm- tree removal, picnic of [?]
 
Series 4 -- Oversized
     
Oversized Large Oversized MS Drawer Unidentified Ancestral Portrait; photograph believed to be the Sumner County farm of the Heskett family; group photo of Army Air Corps servicemen including Heskett; print of Wichita State University Centennial commemorative painting
Oversized Hanging Rack Painting of German Shepherd (collection also includes a small German Shepherd statue located in a small box inside Box 1); framed certificate awarded to Heskett for proper land use and conservation practices (1973); three framed and matted photographs believed to be of the Grove, Oklahoma property owned by Heskett; framed Fairmount Founders' Award (1988); photo collage of Heskett receiving Founders' Award (1988); framed article about Heskett receiving Founders' Award (1988)