Scope and Contents The Freda Mendez-Smith Collection was donated to LaBudde Special Collections in October 2015 by Mendez-Smith herself. It contains materials dating from the early 1980s to 2010s and covers the inner workings and proceedings of several organizations and events that Mendez-Smith was involved in. The collection is divided into four series: Organizations and Events, both divided into sub-series by name of the organization or event. These documents reveal a great deal about the specific kind of...

Scope and Contents The Frederick “Fritz” R. Swischer Collection was donated to the UMKC Libraries in 2001. The materials had been acquired from Swischer by Chuck Haddix, Kansas City jazz exponent, radio host, and Curator of the Marr Sound Archives at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, for use as research material in writing Haddix’s book Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop – A History, co-authored with Frank Driggs (Oxford University Press, 2005).Swischer’s research, culminating in the...

Scope and Contents The Gaylord Marr Collection was a gift of Olga Marr in the summer of 2011. The expansive nature of this collection is a reflection of Professor Marr’s long and prestigious career in academia. A series of personal documents feature Marr’s private diaries and many manuscripts of his own writings, as well as material from his college years and other items related to his day to day life and career. Marr’s teaching life is represented here by many documents and course materials related to his...

Scope and Contents The Gehrig Coleman Collection, housed in the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections, was donated in October of 2012 to the University of Missouri-Kansas City by Gehrig Coleman. It contains an assortment of top record surveys distributed by local radio station WHB. There is also a survey by St. Louis-based radio station KXOK. The surveys range in date from 1965-1967. The “40 Star Survey” was issued weekly. The lyrics to the number one record for the week were written on the...

Scope and Contents The George Elliott Simpson Collection was donated to the University of Missouri-Kansas City by representatives of his estate. The collection, housed in the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections, consists of music manuscripts and a few related miscellaneous items. Nearly all the music manuscripts are for orchestral works, including important compositions in full score such asAmerican Symphony for Orchestra,Improvisation (A Pencil Sketch for Orchestra),In the Spirit of...

Scope and Contents The George Geelan Blues and Jazz Festivals Collection was donated in November 2005 to the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections by Sara Geelan, niece of George Geelan; it was delivered to the library by Cindy Terwilliger. The heart of the collection consists of over 1500 photographs and over 80 sleeves of negatives, dating from 1995 to 2003. These images primarily document area blues and jazz festivals, such as the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival; the Kansas City,...

Scope and Contents The Gerald Kemner Collection was gifted to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library in 2003.The collection encompasses the compositional, professional, and personal life of Kemner, who taught Composition at the UMKC Conservatory for many years. In addition to a comprehensive assembly of Kemner’s musical compositions, you will also find Teaching Materials, Programs, Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, and Miscellaneous items.Addendum I was gifted to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library in...

Scope and Contents The Gordon Spencer Collection was a gift of Hannelore Rogers in September 2019. It contains personal card, correspondence, a curriculum vitae with letters of recommendation, notes, planners, other documents, and theater programs. Writings include novels, short stories, radio scripts, sketches, and poems. Of note are Spencer’s interviews in Note Book with Louis Armstrong in the May 1983 issue; his interview with Phillip Glass in the June 1983 issue; an interview with Billie Holiday;...

Scope and Contents The Grand Emporium Collection was donated to Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri-Kansas City, in Summer 2004 by Roger Naber and C. Herb Palmer, co-owners of the Grand Emporium (along with George Myers).Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript collection primarily chronicles from 1985-2004 the venerable Kansas City nightclub at 3832 Main Street and consists of approximately 15,000 flyers, handbills, and posters; 4,000 photographs, negatives, and slides;...

Scope and Contents The Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus (GKCWPC) Collection was donated to the LaBudde Special Collections in October 2017 and June 2021 by Rebecca Richardson. The collection, covering the GKCWPC’s internal operations from 1973 through 2019, consists of financial and tax data, campaign materials from endorsed candidates, event documentation, materials on associated organizations, membership documentation, photographs, newspaper articles, and political ephemera. Political campaign...

Scope and Contents The Harold Ashby Collection was acquired in December 2005 by the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections and the Marr Sound Archives through Gary White and his sister Margaret. The collection consists of personal and professional documents, awards and certificates, correspondence, promotional/publicity material, audio recordings, videos, and other miscellanea related to Harold Ashby’s life and career. Also in the collection are roughly 200 photographs and dozens of...

Scope and Contents The Harry Trotman Collection was gifted to the UMKC Libraries in February 2012 by Beth (daughter) and Bob Behrens.Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript collection contains for the most part handwritten scores and parts of jazz combo and jazz big band tunes, presumably for performance by the Harry Trotman Orchestra. The music manuscripts represent various stages of completion in the arranging process, and are a valuable insight into what sort of thought goes into...

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The Heart of America Federation of Square and Round Dance Clubs Collection consists of flags, club badges, ribbons, convention programs, display cases, photographs, and other items related to the Heart of America Federation of Square Dance Clubs and its constituent clubs, especially the Ramblers club of Liberty, Missouri. It was a gift of the organization in March 2020.

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The Helen Werr collection was anonymously donated to the Department of Special Collections in May 2017. It is dedicated to Werr’s career as a singer during the 1940s under the pseudonym, Ellen White. There are photos of a young Werr, as well as photos of her on tour in the 1940s. Additionally there are newspaper clippings, contracts, scripts from shows, a scrapbook of her performing career, and recordings.

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The Helen Xarhis-DePasco Collection was acquired from Shirley Gipson, niece of Mrs. DePasco. It contains letters and photographs related to World War II. There are other personal items, but the focus remains on the war and the daily lives of family members waiting in Kansas City. It should be noted that during the period of time the correspondence in this collection took place, Helen Xarhis was using the pseudonym Helen Grey, although the reason is unknown.

Scope and Contents The Herman Johnson Collection was donated to LaBudde Special Collections in February of 2017 by Tara Johnson. It includes documents, correspondence, news clippings, awards, photographs, and other materials related to Johnson’s professional and political careers, including his work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Tuskegee Airmen, and the Missouri House of Representatives. Of note are the documents related to the Missouri House of...

Scope and Contents The Higginson Collection was gifted to the LaBudde Special Collections Department in August 2009 by Marcia Higginson and Charles Higginson, daughter and son of Fred Higginson. The collection consists of two handwritten documents of great value and historic significance. These one-of-a-kind documents survived from the first recording dates for Kansas City jazz pianist Jay McShann and his band, which included alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, then only 20 years old. The recording session...

Scope and Contents The Houston "Tony" Gray Collection was a transfer from Kansas City Kansas Community College in July 2013. The collection is comprised almost entirely of movie memorabilia, including Periodicals, Promotional Materials, Photographs, and a wide array of other film-related items, spanning decades from the 1910s to the 1970s and 1980s. Most of the collection was Gray’s, though some of the items were acquired by Gray from Reed Porter, a columnist for the Hollywood Reporter.The...

Scope and Contents Institute for Studies in American Music Collection contains correspondence from various prominent personalities in the field of American Music & Musicians. Dates range from 1967 to 1977 with the bulk of the dates in the year 1967 during the inception of the institute. The majority of the letters are address to Dr. Archie N. Jones at the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri. One letter from Aaron Copeland, Composer is addressed to Jack L, Ralston, October, 1971 who followed Dr....

Scope and Contents The J.E. Lynn Railroad Memorabilia Collection contains material related to railroading, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CB&Q) line in particular. Inclusive dates are 1896 to 1960; however, the bulk of the material is concentrated during the period of 1930 to 1954, a time when the streamlining of railroad transportation was on the rise. In addition to promotional packets, there are postcards, photographs, tickets and railroad timetables. Much emphasis is placed on the newly...

Scope and Contents The J.W. Jenkins’ Sons Collection primarily consists of instructional booklets published by the Jenkins Music Company, dating from the late 1800s to 1970. The collection is divided into four categories. The first group contains instructional materials for beginning piano. The next group is band and orchestra books for beginning to advanced instruction. The third category consists of catalogs of music materials by Jenkins. The final category contains miscellaneous items related to the...

Scope and Contents The collection consists of materials related to Gantt’s personal and professional life as well as his love of jazz music including newspaper clippings, correspondence, radio transcripts, cue sheets, sheet music, music publications, and photographs related to Kansas City jazz. The collection also contains material related to Gantt’s work as an artist including original sketches, newspaper clippings, Kansas City Art Institute and Midwestern Artists’ Exhibition memorabilia, art exhibition...

Scope and Contents The James F. Condell Collection was gifted to LaBudde Special Collections and Marr Sound Archives by Dr. Yvonne C. Condell, wife of the late Dr. James F. Condell. The collection focuses on Condell’s longtime interest and scholarly pursuits in the field of jazz from 1980-1998, although some items date back to his time in Spain in the early 1970s.Included in the manuscript collection is information on his radio programs, A Little Jazz Music and Condell’s Corner, which aired on KCCM...

Scope and Contents The James Mobberley Collection was donated to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library by Mobberley himself in November 2017.The manuscript collection contains a wide array of items from various aspects of the composer and professor’s career. The largest part of the collection is sheet music from Mobberley’s compositional output. There are physical copies of scores and parts for the bulk of the composer’s works from his days as an undergraduate up through the 2010s. This allows one to...