Collection preview: Milwaukee-Downer College Records

May 23rd, 2013 by Erin Dix

When Lawrence consolidated with Milwaukee-Downer College in 1964, a subset of the College records came to Lawrence. The University lacked a designated Archives at the time, so the administration opted to transfer only those records that were necessary for ensuring a smooth transition. The Board of Trustees of Milwaukee-Downer College donated the remainder of the College records to the Wisconsin Historical Society. This collection, 53 cubic feet of materials, is housed and available for research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archives.

The records from Milwaukee-Downer that were transferred to Lawrence eventually made their way to the Archives. Over time, these records have been supplemented by many generous donations of scrapbooks, papers, photographs, and memorabilia from Milwaukee-Downer alumnae. The collections as a whole represent an essential corollary to the records held by the Wisconsin Historical Society. They richly document the history of a pioneering women’s college in the Midwest, its operations, its traditions, and the life of its faculty, staff, students, and alumnae.

Here in the Archives, we have recently started processing our Milwaukee-Downer College collections, physically organizing and cataloging their contents to enhance their accessibility. We hope and are on track to complete the project within a year. So far, we’ve inventoried a full run of Board of Trustees minutes, 1895 to 1964; annual reports of the Presidents, Deans, and Registrar; and an extensive series of bulletins. From the latter, here’s a sneak peek – a bulletin on “A Student’s Eye View” at Milwaukee-Downer from February, 1961.

Materials from these collections, even the unprocessed portions, are still available for use. But the collection will be much more accessible once processing is completed. Stay tuned for updates!

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“Memory Pictures” of Lucinda Darling Colman

March 13th, 2013 by Erin Dix

In recognition of Women’s History Month, this post celebrates an important figure in Lawrence history: Lucinda Darling Colman. Lucinda was one of three women in the first class to graduate from Lawrence University in 1857 and the first woman to receive an M.A. degree from Lawrence in 1865.

She was born in 1835 in Clarkson, New York. Her family followed a wave of migration to the west in 1840 and settled in Racine, Wisconsin. When it was time to consider opportunities for Lucinda’s further schooling, her father heard about Lawrence, a new school that had just opened in the northern part of the state. The family moved to the village of Appleton, and Lucinda entered Lawrence in March of 1850, becoming a member of the first college class in 1853. She went on to marry another member of the class of 1857, Henry Colman, in 1860, and to raise four children. Henry Colman was a Methodist minister and a Lawrence trustee from 1871 until his death in 1927. Both he and Lucinda remained actively involved in supporting Lawrence throughout their lives. Lucinda was the last remaining graduate of 1857 upon her death in 1930. In 1956, the newly constructed Colman Hall was named in honor of her.

During her late eighties and nineties, Lucinda decided to record memories of her life. She called the finished compilation “Memory Pictures,” and the LU Archives is very fortunate to have both her written manuscripts and a typescript of the finished work. In this work, Lucinda recalls Lawrence in its earliest days, including memories of classes and student activities, the dedication of Main Hall in 1853, the Academy building fire in 1857, and the first Commencement ceremony. She also recounts her family history and childhood, her marriage and children, and her extensive travels around the country from 1906 to 1923. Her travels included a trip to California that coincided with the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 as well as trips to the eastern United States, during which she saw Andrew Carnegie speak and met President Taft.

Lucinda’s “Memory Pictures” are now digitally available through our institutional repository, Lux. Lucinda discusses memories of Lawrence from pages 42 to 58, but the entire work is well worth the read. As President Henry Wriston said upon Lucinda’s death, “The memory of Lucinda Darling Colman will always be one of the rare treasures of Lawrence college.”

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Lucretia Newman Coleman

January 18th, 2013 by Erin Dix

With all of the recent events on campus commemorating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, several have asked when the first African-American students attended Lawrence. The answer is, most likely, in 1872, when a woman named Lucretia Newman entered the freshman class.

The Lawrence Collegian, April, 1869

But according to J. A. Owen, class of 1860, African-American students had tried attending Lawrence even earlier. Owen wrote a letter to the Lawrence Collegian in 1869 recalling an incident that occurred in 1858, when “a black man applied for admission to the University as a preparatory student.” Owen reported that the student was admitted and attended for a few days before “some anti-negro men in Appleton, outside of the University, got excited about it, and became alarmed lest their daughters and sisters should become contaminated, and called a public meeting to see what should be done to avoid the danger.” Though several Lawrence students at the meeting spoke in favor of justice for the student, many townspeople were unsatisfied, and the student left Lawrence shortly thereafter. In answer to Owen’s question of “how the University stands now,” the Collegianeditors replied: “our halls are open to every human being of good moral character and suitable age.”

An illustration from Noted Negro Women: Their Triumphs and Activities, by Monroe A. Majors

Lucretia Newman may have been the next African-American student to attend Lawrence, a few years later. She entered Lawrence as a freshman in September, 1872, enrolled in the Scientific Course. Our records show that Newman attended Lawrence for one to two years before moving on, although later accounts of her life state that she graduated with a degree. In 1883, she became assistant secretary and bookkeeper for the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She also published her first literary work, a poem, in 1883. Newman Coleman went on to write articles published in primarily African-American journals such as Our Women and Children and the A.M.E. Review. Little is known about her personal life, but contemporaries and later scholars praised her writings.

Overall, only a handful of African-American students attended Lawrence before the middle of the 20th century. By that time, the lack of African-American students at Lawrence and the question of what should be done about it had become much bigger issues on campus.

Update: Another African-American student on campus at about the same time as Newman was Mary Cleggett Vanderhoop, who graduated in 1876.

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A new home for our digital collections

November 20th, 2012 by Erin Dix

Just about a year ago, we introduced Archon, a database for searching and browsing descriptions of our collections. Since that time we have added descriptions for over 100 collections, including manuscripts, scrapbooks, audiovisual collections, and records from a variety of campus departments and offices.

Now, Archon is also the home for digitized content from collections in the Archives. Over 1,000 images of photographs, letters, Artist Series programs, and other materials are available for searching and browsing. New materials selected from our collections will be periodically added to Archon as they are digitized.

We also have some exciting new digital collections available in Lux. A service of the library, Lux is the digital home for preserving and providing access to the scholarly and creative works of the Lawrence community. Archives collections in Lux currently include recent course catalogs; a selection of yearbooks; oral histories with faculty, staff, and alumni; and a wide date range of Lawrentian issues (with more to come).

If you’re looking for something to do over the long winter break (or the long Thanksgiving weekend), spend some time exploring these great historical resources!

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Contest winners

October 12th, 2012 by Erin Dix

Emeline Crooker, 1849

A total of 19 captions were submitted last week for our “Men with arms outstretched” photo, all of which were deemed to be “excellent” by our panel of judges. In first place was the ever-witty Antoinette Powell, with her caption: “Having mastered ‘T,’ the Men’s Athletic Alphabetic team prepares to attempt ‘U.’” Holly Tuyls ran a very close second with her caption: “In a gym full of T’s, Herman was proud to be an I.” Here are several other honorable mentions:

- Gretchen Revie: “Ready men! Now flap! Flap! Flap as hard as you can!”

- Jack Canfield: “It’s fun to stay at the YMCA, you can hang out with all the boys…”

- Kevin Specht: “Back before Lawrence boasted about small class sizes, they boasted that at least everyone has enough space for even the stretchiest of stretches.”

- Ben Willard: “Lawrence University’s third and last Mock Aeroplane Club had just been cleared for takeoff when it was discovered that mock aeroplane clubs were no longer considered cool. It was truly the end of an era.”

- Cindy Patterson: “Synchronized standing.”

In other news, our “Fashion in the Archives” Facebook contest has yielded a clear winner: voters judged Emeline Crooker, preceptress and instructor of music, drawing, and painting at Lawrence from 1849 to 1851, to be “most fashionable” of our contenders.

Thanks for your participation in our Archives Month shenanigans, parts I and II! Next week, we’ll be at the Campus Center with some materials from the Archives on Wednesday from 11 to 1. And on Thursday, October 25th, all are welcome to attend a presentation on “Haunted Lawrence” at Things Worth Knowing in the library, 4:30 to 5pm.

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Archives month!

October 1st, 2012 by Erin Dix

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It’s that time of year again – October is American Archives Month! We have activities lined up for each week of this month to celebrate the occasion:

October 1st-7th: Photo caption contest! If you have a caption in mind for the photo at left, submit your entry at the display on the first floor of the library anytime this week. Library staff will judge the entries, and the contest winner will receive a gift card for Harmony Cafe.

October 8th-12th: A Facebook fashion contest: from a selection of Archives images depicting Lawrence students, faculty, and staff through the years, who has the best sense of style?

Wednesday, October 17th, 11am-1pm: Archives on the road: visit our table on the 2nd floor of the Campus Center to view some historic materials or ask a question about LU or Milwaukee-Downer history.

Thursday, October 25th, 4:30-5pm: “Haunted Lawrence” at Things Worth Knowing in the library. Based on our “Haunted Lawrence” tour, with information, stories, and images from the Archives.

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New collection guides

August 28th, 2012 by Erin Dix

As summer draws to a close, we hope you have all enjoyed a good balance of productivity and fun. This summer has certainly been a productive one in the Archives! We have processed several new collections that are open for research.

Dancers in front of Carnegie Library, undated

Colman Family Collection, 1853-1988: materials related to several members of the Colman family, including Henry Root Colman, Henry Colman, and Lucinda Darling Colman. The bulk of the collection consists of Lucinda Darling Colman’s handwritten “Memory Pictures,” written between 1923 and 1930.

Concert and Recital Programs, 1902-2012: programs from Conservatory of Music concerts and recitals, including faculty, student, and guest solo recitals as well as ensemble programs

Dean of Men, Dean of Women, and Dean of Students Records, 1926-2005: records including correspondence, memoranda, and reports pertaining to the administration of student affairs

Library Buildings Collection, 1905-2001: materials documenting the planning, construction, and renovation of library buildings at Lawrence

University Audio Recordings, 1947-2007, and University Video Recordings, 1926-2012: recordings in analog, magnetic, and digital formats documenting events such as Commencement ceremonies, lecture series, reunions, news broadcasts, Conservatory programs, and more

WLFM Radio Station Records, 1954-2005: records including Board of Control materials, correspondence and reports of station managers and directors, program schedules, and other materials related to the management of the station

We also have some other projects in the works, including a new home for our digital collections. So keep an eye out for further news as we move into the fall!

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Scrapbooks in the Archives

June 4th, 2012 by Erin Dix

Ida Mary White Jones (class of 1900) scrapbook, back cover

Our intrepid student workers Sam Smith and Amelia Anderson have recently finished processing a collection of over 50 scrapbooks housed in the Archives. The vast majority of these scrapbooks were created by Lawrence alumni to document their student years. Many of the scrapbook creators went about this task very meticulously, providing detailed notes and captions to accompany all materials. With dates ranging from 1853 to 1989, the scrapbooks provide our most comprehensive documentation of life at Lawrence from students’ perspectives.

The most common materials in the scrapbooks are photographs, newspaper clippings, dance cards, letters and cards, Conservatory and Theatre programs, and fraternity and sorority memorabilia. But matchbooks, pressed flowers, and the occasional bite of wedding cake also make appearances.

Each one of these scrapbooks is described in our collections database, and all of them are open for research use. If any of these scrapbook descriptions pique your curiosity, stop by the Archives any weekday from 1 to 5 (or 1 to 4 during the summer) to sit down and page through them – just don’t eat the cake.

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Presidential candidates at Lawrence

March 29th, 2012 by Erin Dix

J.F.K. speaks in Riverview Lounge, March 11, 1960

The Archives recently received a reference question about the history of presidential candidate visits to Lawrence. After the announcement of G.O.P. candidate Mitt Romney’s appearance at LU tomorrow afternoon, we thought we’d share what we turned up (with the important caveat that this was not an exhaustive search, so there may be several missing from this list):

  • Wendell Willkie visited Lawrence on March 21, 1944
  • John F. Kennedy visited on March 11, 1960, and spoke in Riverview Lounge
  • Eugene McCarthy visited on March 15, 1968
  • Henry Jackson visited on February 23, 1972
  • Joan Mondale (campaigning for Walter) visited on October 24, 1984, and spoke in Riverview Lounge
  • George Bush visited on March 29, 1988 and spoke in the Chapel
  • John Kerry visited on October 15, 2004 and spoke in front of Alexander Gym

Many other candidates have visited the Fox Cities area over the years, and Lawrence students have often participated through coverage in the Lawrentian, protests, and showings of support. The Archives has photographs and newspaper articles related to all of the above visits – if you’re curious, stop by any weekday afternoon to take a look.

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Collection Feature: Department of Occupational Therapy at Milwaukee-Downer College

February 29th, 2012 by Erin Dix

Carolyn Westgaard (MDC '60) helps Arthur Stewart sew leather with burnt arms, 1960

News report: A part of history saved for the ages! Although much of Milwaukee-Downer’s history is scattered, we have a great collection here at the Archives. It documents the organization at M-D C. of one of the first Occupational Therapy programs in the country. Much of the collection is comprised of photos, which advertise the achievements and daily tasks of M-D occupational therapy graduates around the world. Some of the more interesting photos reveal the work of therapists in Ireland during the war; there might have been a shortage of everything else besides occupational therapists and their crafts! Crafts, such as weaving, metal work, puppetry, etc., were the main activities which a therapist would have learned and taught. These crafts were meant to help a patient in recovery by entertaining him and exercising his muscles. The scope of patients for a therapist varied from sick children to wounded soldiers. Occupational therapy, which was a field dominated by women, became so popular at M-D C. that even Roosevelt commented on the school’s success at training therapists. And by 1944, the O.T. program had earned a contract with the War Department of the U.S. government! Although few know of the extensive work of occupational therapists, this collection shows just how prominent a role M-D C. played in national and international events from 1919 to 1963.

Note: This post was written by Archives intern, Laura Scholten ’13, who processed the MDC Department of Occupational Therapy Records this term. View the finding aid for more information or check out Laura’s display on the first floor of the library!

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