Guide to Manuscript Collections

The guide is arranged by processing date, provides a synopsis of the individual collections, and presents links to the finding aids.

1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s

MS 2020-01
JANICE COLLINS BAILEY PAPERS
Materials: 1.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains the records of Janice Collins Bailey, a member of the 2008 Bond Issue Oversight Committee for Wichita Public Schools. All materials in the collection are related to the school bonds and include budgeting records, meeting agendas, plans for using the bonds, assessments of the bonds’ effectiveness, fliers for bonds celebrations, a pamphlet on Wichita Public Schools, and newspaper clippings about the death of Kenton Cox, an architect who served as the bond project manager.

MS 2020-02
E. B. "FRITZ" FEUTZ PAPERS
Materials: 1.0 linear feet
   »   This collection from E. B. "Fritz" Feutz contains records from the testing of Beech aircraft models PD58-1, PD58-2, and T-36A, as well as records from the testing of Cessna models 172, 180, 182, 309/319, 310, PD 317, and 620. There are also photographs and information booklets on Cessna aircraft along with correspondence and some technical drawings. Black and white copies of materials are believed to have been given to Feutz by William D. Thompson.

MS 2020-03
BERNAL D. "BERT" CANTWELL PAPERS
Materials: 30.5 linear feet
   »   This collection from Sandra Cantwell contains the personal papers of law enforcement officer and civic leader Bernal D. “Bert” Cantwell. Materials include correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, political campaign materials, departmental reports and other materials related to Cantwell’s various positions in Kansas law enforcement and local enterprises. Series are arranged chronologically by job position in an effort to maintain original order.

MS 2020-04
WICHITA-SEDGWICK COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM COLLECTION OF DOCKUM DRUG STORE SIT-IN ORAL HISTORIES, 2006-2008
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains interviews with participants in the 1958 Dockum Drug Store Sit-In. Materials include DVDs and Mini-DVDs of interviews, a CD containing the KMUW broadcast "Dockum Sit-in Story," a CD containing transcripts of interviews, printed transcripts of interviews, permission forms signed by interviewees allowing the interviews to be copied and made public, three newspaper articles commemorating the sit-in, and correspondence regarding the collection.

MS 2020-05
BETHEL COLLEGE COLLECTION OF NEWTON MEXICAN COMMUNITY ORAL HISTORIES, 2005-2006
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains interviews with Mexican-American immigrants living in and around Newton, Kansas. Materials include transcripts of interviews and correspondence regarding the collection.

MS 2020-06
MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN WICHITA, KANSAS THESIS BY KENTON H. ALLEN, 1968 AND 2006
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains a copy of a thesis in Spanish written by Kenton H. Allen of the Interamerican University in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico from August 1968. An English summary of the thesis was prepared by Special Collections student worker Tracy E. Langley in 2006.

MS 2020-07
MID-KANSAS JEWISH FEDERATION COLLECTION OF ORAL HISTORIES, 2004-2008
Materials: 1.0 linear feet
   »   This collection contains interviews with members of Wichita’s Jewish community. Materials include recordings of interviews, transcripts of interviews, and release forms signed by participants.

MS 2020-08
BEL AIRE, KANSAS, ORAL HISTORIES COLLECTION, 2006
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains interviews with residents of Bel Aire, Kansas, about their lives in the city and the city's history. Materials include recordings of interviews, transcripts of interviews, short biographies of the participants, and release forms signed by participants.

MS 2020-09
DUNBAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REUNION COLLECTION, 2007
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains memorabilia from Dunbar Elementary School's 2007 Reunion, including a book commemorating the reunion, DVDs of a documentary about the school’s history, CDs of photos from the reunion, a calendar of reunion events, a program from the reunion banquet, and party favors and souvenirs from the reunion.

MS 2020-10
WOODMAN FAMILY LETTERS, 1919-1981
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains letters written by members of the Woodman family, mainly Elijah Franklin Woodman, Jr. and Effie Stevenson Woodman. There is also a short biography of Elijah Franklin Woodman, Jr. and Effie Stevenson Woodman written by their daughter-in-law, "Eloise" Woodman.

MS 2020-11
REY REILLY DIARY, 1905-1907
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This contains the diary of Rey Reilly which offers a glimpse into everyday life in Kansas. The diary begins in 1905 when Reilly is nineteen and includes information on the different people in her society, diary entries, roll calls of parties, and records of the weather. Material covers 1905 through 1907.

MS 2020-12
IRMA WASSALL PAPERS, 1939-2008
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains copies of some of Wassall's poems, songs, and short stories as well as advertisements, programs, and photos from events featuring her work; curriculum vitae; a short biography; news articles; a CD featuring music by her performance partner Richard Johnson; and correspondence about the materials in the collection.

MS 2020-13
PECK FAMILY COLLECTION, 1880s-2003
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains information on the Peck and Giltner families, Mary Giltner Peck's diaries, family photos from the 1880s, certificates of purchase for cemetery plots in the 1890s, and a copy of a newspaper article on the Cherokee Strip land rush featuring a member of the Peck family.

MS 2020-14
WILLIAM H. DOOLITTLE DIARY, 1864-1865
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains the diary of William H. Doolittle, a Union soldier who became a citizen clerk in the U.S. War Department during the Civil War. The diary spans from 1864 to at least 1865. Dates are not clearly marked and entries are not in order.

MS 2020-15
JACOB BLAND PAPERS, 1865-1898
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains transcriptions of Jacob Bland's diary from 1865 to 1898, a small family tree chart of Bland's family, and a photocopied image of Bland and his wife. Bland lived in Iowa, Oklahoma and Kansas.

MS 2020-16
BUFORD FAMILY PAPERS, 1888-1945
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains the personal papers of the Buford family of Kiowa, Kansas. Materials include family tree information, correspondence, financial documents, photos, school report cards, a will, business cards, a World War I military enlistment application, a booklet from the U.S. Treasury Department, and a news bulletin about oil stocks.

MS 2020-17
DAVID K. GILLESPIE PAPERS, 1880-1899
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains Gillespie’s personal correspondence and financial documents that provide a glimpse into daily life in Kansas in the late 1800s.

MS 2020-18
VIETNAM WAR ORAL HISTORIES COLLECTION, 1996-1998
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains interviews with individuals about their memories of the Vietnam War. Materials include recordings of interviews, transcripts of interviews, and release forms signed by participants.

MS 2020-19
LEBANESE FAMILY HISTORIES COLLECTION, 1975-2004
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains historical and genealogical information on two Lebanese families from Wichita: the Ablah family and the Andeel family.

MS 2020-20
WICHITA AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF HOLY SAVIOR CATHOLIC CHURCH ORAL HISTORIES COLLECTION, 2008
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains interviews conducted by students with African-American members of the Holy Savior Catholic Church in Wichita. Interviews focus on the individuals' experiences as part of Wichita's Catholic African-American community and congregants of the old St. Peter Claver Church. Materials include recordings of interviews, transcripts of interviews, and release forms signed by participants.

MS 2020-21
1936 OLYMPICS COLLECTION, 1936-2004
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This collection contains photos, information cards, newspaper clippings, correspondence, an interview transcript, essays, and a magazine article related to the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany. The materials belonged to two women: Esther Wenzel, who attended the Olympics as a spectator, and Veda Brown who had a pen pal in Germany at the time of the Olympics.

MS 2020-22
ISOBEL NEVINS WHITNEY SCRAPBOOK, 1927-1931
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »  This collection contains the scrapbook of Isobel Nevins Whitney's experiences as a student at the Municipal University of Wichita from September of 1927 to May of 1931.

MS 2020-23
WILL C. COLIN LETTERS, 1913-1917
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »This collection contains correspondence between Will C. Colin, a U.S. Navy sailor, and his family from 1913 to 1917.

MS 2020-24
RITA PEARCE COLLECTION OF LARKSFIELD PLACE ORAL HISTORIES, 1986-1999
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »  This collection ontains interviews with residents of Larksfield Place retirement community in Wichita. Materials include recordings of interviews and some transcripts of interviews.

MS 2020-25
JOHN N. PAYNE PAPERS, 1919-1935
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »  This collection contains the personal papers of John N. Payne, a World War I soldier and former student of Fairmount College. Materials include correspondence, newspaper clippings, invitations to events, school grade cards, a school assignment, and financial documents from 1919 and 1920.

MS 2021-01
KANSAS ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGIATE REGISTRARS AND ADMISSIONS OFFICERS ARCHIVES
Materials: 4.25 linear feet
   »   This collection from the Kansas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers contains the organization’s records from the 1930s to present. It includes records of membership, communications and minutes from committee meetings, programs from annual conferences, newsletters, institutional surveys, and budget records. Series arranged alphabetically. Materials arranged in box by decade. This collection is still accruing.

MS 2021-02
CRAIG MINER COLLECTION
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection from Susan Miner contains photocopies of historical essays and book reviews written by Wichita State University history professor, Dr. H. Craig Miner. It also includes photocopies of reviews of Miner’s own books, programs from presentations Miner made, articles that mention Miner and his work, and photographic printouts of Miner.

MS 2021-03
GRETCHEN GROW SCRAPBOOK, 1967
Materials: 0.25 linear feet
   »   This memorial scrapbook compiled by Alice Handforth Grow contains copies of photos, newspaper articles, correspondence, and artwork, Gretchen Grow’s writings, and writings about Gretchen Grow. The scrapbook covers Gretchen Grow’s life and work from 1946 to 1966.

MS 2021-04
WICHITA POLICE MANUAL, CA. 1944
Materials: 0.25 linear foot
   »  This collection contains a copy of the Wichita Police Duty Manual from around 1944 that belonged to James Lloyd Fugit, a detective who served with the Wichita Police Department from 1922 to 1945.

MS 2021-05
WICHITA ASSOCIATION OF COLORED WOMEN AND GIRLS CLUBS COLLECTION, 1943-1979
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection contains a scrapbook/record book and a concert program from the Wichita Association of Colored Women. Included in the scrapbook are photos, newspaper clippings, correspondence, programs from events, meeting minutes, and financial documents.

MS 2021-06
"BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: HISPANIC AND ASIAN IMMIGRANTS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY WICHITA" EXHIBIT COLLECTION
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection from Dr. Benson Tong contains oral histories on cassette tapes, copies of photos, newspaper articles, and statistics charts from the “Beyond Black and White: Hispanic and Asian Americans in Twentieth-Century Wichita” exhibit displayed at the Wichita Public Library in May and June of 2002. The majority of the materials are enlarged photocopies. Dates on materials reflect the dates of the original materials and the information they contain, not the dates on which the photocopies were made.

MS 2021-07
PATRICIA UDOH COLLECTION OF WICHITA MEXICAN COMMUNITY ORAL HISTORIES, 1995
Materials: 0.5 linear feet
   »   This collection from from Patricia Udoh contains audio recordings of interviews with Mexican-Americans living in Wichita, Kansas. Materials include cassette tapes and interview consent forms.

MS 2021-08
CLARK BRITTON PAPER MODEL HOUSE COLLECTION
Materials: 18.75 linear feet
   »   This collection from Clark Britton contains miniature paper houses, scrapbooks, books, and ebooks about creating paper model houses, as well as exhibit display panels about the models. The materials are from various projects Britton worked on, including a "Frame House"/"Post & Beam House" project, the "Big Barn" project, and the "Vernacular Architecture' project that was exhibited at WSU's Clayton Staples Gallery in 1989 and years later at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum.

MS 2021-09
CLARK BRITTON AND BILL JACKSON'S RAY DABOLL COLLECTION
Materials: 3.5 linear feet
   »   TThis collection from Clark Britton and Bill Jackson, professors of graphic design at Wichita State University, contains photographic slides of Ray DaBoll’s calligraphic works, a booklet with a brief biography of DaBoll and an index to the slide collection, and tapes containing Clark Britton’s interview with DaBoll from 1977. All materials gathered by Clark Britton and Bill Jackson.

MS 2021-10
CLARK BRITTON COLLECTION OF BUCKMINSTER FULLER MATERIALS
Materials: 2.0 linear feet
   »   This collection from Clark Britton, professor of graphic design at Wichita State University, contains materials from R. Buckminster Fuller’s work on geodesic domes, the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine, Fuller Houses, and the Dymaxion Map. All materials gathered by Clark Britton.