The McLean Family Collection was acquired in April 2009 as a gift from Martha McLean Simpson, daughter of Minnie and Lawrence McLean. The collection contains both personal information about the McLean Family as well as material relating to the McLean Band Shop in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The band shop was patronized by many local and well-known visiting musicians. There are photographs of such celebrities as Benny Goodman, Tex Beneke and Sammy Kaye. Hal McLean, Lawrence McLean’s older brother, played with Kansas City’s Coon-Sanders Band and later with Paul Whiteman, until his untimely death in 1928.

A captivating portion of the collection is found in family correspondence, photographs and photograph albums. The images date back to the mid-19th century and contain numerous family members. Erwina and Charles McLean, older siblings of Lawrence, managed to document, in great length, their college years at the University of Missouri, Columbia. There are also many postcards, some with messages from the siblings and other family members.

Another interesting element of this collection is several journals of family members. They include a scantly used journal of Horace McLean, Lawrence’s father, while there are more in-depth journals by his paternal grandfather James and grandmother Almira. The journals have been transcribed to enhance the research value of the collection.