The Olene Trust Crowley Collection was gifted in Fall 2012 to the Gay and Lesbian Archives of Mid-America (GLAMA) by Crowley.

The Crowley collection dates from the 1960s to 1980s, and includes photographs and printed materials printed by and/or relating to the establishments and performers at various Kansas City bars/night clubs, including: the Jewel Box, Cat Balleu, Yum Yum Club, Pink Garter, Trocadero Club, and Arabian Nights (aka “The Tent”). Included are photographs of Crowley with coworkers and friends with an emphasis on impersonator’s snapshots and publicity head shots; printed material about and by various clubs (including a cocktail napkin from The Inferno, postcards from the Jewel Box, souvenir match books for several clubs; and, a couple of local magazines, including two copies of Town Squire with Jewel Box impersonators on the cover as a feature story); calendars Crowley kept of her tips; and, a small selection of matter relating to Kansas City Jazz favorites, Bettye Miller and Milt Abel, as well as bass player, Roy Johnson, whom Crowley “went with” for many years (Crowley said Johnson was in Lionel Hamptons’ band at Truman’s 1948 Inauguration). Much of the material had previously belonged to Crowley’s friend, Mike Sackett, and included information and images of him and his partner John Tod Hunter.

- David W. Jackson

Note: See also the GLAMA-Chris Collins Collection, MS228, for more items related to the Jewel Box.