Special Collections and Archives Finding Aids

Scope and Contents The 1968 Riot Collection was a gift of Dr. Joseph Hughey in January 2013. The collection contains the results of a large grant-funded research project on the social history of the civil disturbance in Kansas City after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This includes a complete manuscript of The Social History of a Riot: Kansas City, Missouri, April 9-13, 1968 by Robert Bechtel and Charles Wilkinson and transcripts from 51 of the interviews conducted for that book-length study. In...

Scope and Contents The Brian Thurn Collection was formed by various purchases from Brian Thurn Antiques of Kansas City, beginning with the initial acquisition in January 2006. The collection consists of photographs, posters and miscellaneous material that primarily reflect aspects of the African-American cultural experience during the 20th century, particularly in and around Kansas City. Some material has been removed from this collection to form discrete collections: Ernest Daniels Collection (jazz...

Scope and Contents

The Catalog Collection is an artificial collection comprised of various catalogs grouped by topic and spans from 1881-2006. The majority of items in this collection deal with film, books, and music. Other types of catalogs include but are not limited to toys, clothing, home furniture, electronics, collectibles, and theatre.

Scope and Contents The David Morantz Collection contains items relating to Judaic Studies. It has been organized into six series contained in three boxes. Inclusive dates range from 1907 to 1959, with bulk dates being 1934 to 1943. Included are some correspondence, primarily relating to Morantz’s syndicated column, Talmudic Tales. There is much focus on religious studies and Morantz’s involvement with Sunday school education in local synagogues. Of particular interest are the local church newsletters which...

Scope and Contents The Dolores Hobley Collection was formed by various purchases from her business at Waldo Antiques of Kansas City, beginning in the early 2010s, with the bulk acquisitions made in March 2015. The collection consists of photographs and other material that primarily reflect aspects of the African-American cultural experience during the late 19th century and into the 20th century, including in and around Kansas City. The photographs make up the bulk of the collection and are largely...

Scope and Contents The Dorothy Johnson Collection was donated to LaBudde Special Collections in February of 2017 by Tara Johnson. It includes newspapers and clippings, memoranda, correspondence, certificates, photographs, research and reference materials, memorabilia, photographs, and other materials related to Johnson’s life, family history, work, research, political and organization involvement, and activism. Of note are materials related to the 1959 protests for desegregation of Kansas City department...

Scope and Contents The Dr. Milton C. Lewis Collection was purchased by the Department of Special Collections from Brian Thurn Antiques of Kansas City in January 2006. The collection, dating from 1913-1967, is small but rich inlocal history as experiencedthrough the life of Dr. Lewis, a local African-American physician. There are materials related to his medical practice, including patient reports, correspondence, a logbook and a journal with patient care information. Also included are materials related to...

Scope and Contents

The Eliot S. Berkley Collection was gifted to LaBudde Special Collections in December 2014 by his son, Eliot A. Berkley, and daughter, Emily D. Berkley. The collection holds a varied selection of historical documents, including handwritten journals, indentures, lithographs, publications, and maps.

Scope and Contents

The Ernest Berlin Collection is comprised of documents and memorabilia from Berlin’s time as a college student in Kansas City, Missouri. The collection contains posters from productions with The Tophatters’ club of the University of Kansas City as well as an unfinished manuscript for a play. Materials including campus newspapers, playbills, and personal correspondence offer a glimpse into the history of theater at Kansas City University from 1938-1942.

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 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 Jim Swetnam collection was received by LaBudde Special Collections in March of 2017. The collection contains notebooks and notecards with photograph descriptions, film negatives and photos from Swetnam’s career as a commercial photographer, correspondence, and official Professional Photographers of America paperwork.

Scope and Contents The Joe Roberts Collection was donated in October 2015 to the Dr. Kenneth J. LaBudde Department of Special Collections by Martha Roberts. This eclectic collection consists of items Roberts acquired during his time in Missouri, working at the Kansas City Star and the Kansas City Times. Included are items pertaining to the popular dry goods store, Emery, Bird, Thayer co., such as photographs, booklets, catalogs, and newspaper clippings. Also part of the collection, are items pertaining to...

Scope and Contents

The collection was a gift from Karen Herman in June 2022. It consists of correspondence, organizational documents, photographs, publicity materials, research, and travel journals relating to the Women’s Foundation, the Hunger Project, and United WE. Of particular note are travel journals from trips to Bangladesh, India, Bangkok, Vietnam, and Cambodia containing drawings, observations, myths, and organizational plans.

Scope and Contents The collection consists of KCUR radio broadcast on analog and digital tapes, dating from 1953 to 2005, as well as CD-Rs and digital files, dating from 2002 to 2017. The materials document the social, cultural, and political history of Kansas City and the Midwest, providing researchers with context and insights into midwesterners’ viewpoints on national issues. The broadcasts contain interviews, recorded events, and news coverage on issues of race, abortion, education standards, crime,...

Scope and Contents The Leon M. Jordan Collection was purchased by LaBudde Special Collections from Brian Thurn Antiques of Kansas City, who acquired the material from Phillip Banks. The collection consists of material belonging to Kansas City police detective and political leader Leon Mercer Jordan and his wife, Orchid Irene Ramsey Jordan; and ranges in date from the 1910s to the 1980s. Much of the collection focuses on their experiences in Liberia, Africa, where Mr. Jordan spent time training the national...

Scope and Contents The Lucile H. Bluford Collection was transferred from a local regional historical society in 2010. Although only two linear feet in volume, it is rich in potential for anyone researching not only Lucile Bluford herself, but subjects such as Kansas City social issues, as well as Civil Rights. Bluford’s numerous community activities are documented in several studies and reports. Utilizing her status as owner and editor of the Kansas City Call, she reached out to fight social injustice for the...

Scope and Contents The MANA de Kansas City Collection was gifted to the LaBudde Special Collections in November 2010 by Freda Mendez Smith with additional accruals from MANA de Kansas City in June 2015 and Mary Estrada in 2019. It holds historical organizational documents pertaining to the local Chapter of the Mexican American Women’s National Association. Inclusive dates of the material are 1977-2008, with the bulk of the material dating from 1990s-2008.The MANA collection has been divided into...

Scope and Contents The Matchbook Cover Collection was an anonymous gift to LaBudde Special Collections in Spring 2009. The collection consists of matchbook covers related to businesses, products and services; and divided into six series: Missouri – Kansas City; Kansas – Kansas City; Missouri – Other Cities and Towns; Kansas – Other Cities and Towns; Other States; and Miscellaneous. The Miscellaneous and both Kansas City series are categorized by topic, while the remaining series are arranged by geographic...

Scope and Contents Original Project Images: Photo Thumbnails (Wall Photos and Individual Prints #1-181) (PDF) Original Project Images: Photo Descriptions (Wall and #1-181) (PDF) ...

Scope and Contents

The collection is made up of oral history recordings from UMKC history professor, Rebecca Davis', 5585 graduate history class. The majority of the oral histories were conducted by Davis' students in the Fall of 2016 and 2019. The recordings are of individuals who were activists and much of the content in the recordings relates to their activism. Activists topics include civil rights, LGBTQ, Native Americans, Latinx, Jews, labor, and health care.

Scope and Contents The Reverend William Madison Mayfield Collection is housed in LaBudde Special Collections, UMKC Miller Nichols Library. The collection consists of log books and other miscellaneous material related to Rev. Mayfield and his ministries in Kansas City, Missouri; Butler, Missouri; Soldier, Kansas; and Oneida, Kansas. Material is divided into two series to reflect two separate acquisitions: Series I, which was purchased from Dan Casavant Rare Books, and Series II, which was a gift of Rev....

Scope and Contents The Snyder Collection began as the private collection of Robert M. Snyder, Jr., a prominent Kansas City businessman in the early part of the 20th century. The collection was purchased by William Volker after the death of Snyder in 1937. That same year, Volker anonymously donated the entire collection, then equaling some 14,000 titles, to the University of Kansas City (now...

Scope and Contents

The Rosemary Nevin/Sidney Tremble Collection was a ift of Barbara Molinaro in July 2020. It consists of letters, telegrams, and other correspondence during World War II primarily between Rosemary Nevin and Sidney Tremble. The collection also includes correspondence from other Nevin and Tremble relatives and friends before and during the War as well as a small number of photographs and military ephemera.

Scope and Contents The Sister Cities Collection contains photographs and ephemera from various events and activities conducted during the visit of a delegation from Seville, Spain – Kansas City’s first sister city.The collection is contained in one manuscript box and divided into 14 folders. The material has been sorted into three categories: miscellaneous, photographs and news clippings. The miscellaneous includes invitations, souvenir booklets, programs and postcards. The photographs are mostly...