Special Collections and Archives Finding Aids

Scope and Contents

Bob Foster was a Kansas City record collector. Recordings include radio programs, classical music performances, and recordings of church choirs, high school bands and choirs, and college bands and choirs in the Kansas City area.

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 contains many unique items recorded in the Kansas City area, including political speeches, musical performances, religious services, and advertisements for businesses and organizations. The Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kansas City Conservatory of Music are strongly represented with numerous recordings of each entity. Finally, the collection also holds some national radio programs, such as "The Guiding Light," "Hymns of All Churches," and "Michael Shayne."

Scope and Contents The Richard and Mary Jane Miller (KWKI Radio) Collection was transferred in May 2015 to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library from Frank Absher, executive director of the St. Louis Media History Foundation. The bulk of the collection consists of company memos related to KWKI 93.3 FM Kansas City during its stint as a soul music radio station from 1971-73. Most of the memos originate from Richard J. Miller, president of the St. Louis-based parent company Communications Fund Inc. (CFI), which at the...

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 collection contains lacquer disc recordings of Jenkins family recordings, events in Kansas City, radio broadcast recordings, advertisements for radio broadcast, and copies of classical and popular music.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of cassette tapes and CD’s of live concerts at Penn Valley Park, Crown Center, Line Creek Park and the Cowtown Ballroom in Kansas City. The dates of the concerts range from 1973-1979. There is also a copy of the 2009 documentary "Cowtown Ballroom… Sweet Jesus" which was produced and directed by Heyen in the collection.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains recording from Anne Winter's personal collection, which consists of rock and punk recordings from the Kansas City region, as well as more popular recordings.

Scope and Contents

Consists mostly of recordings of religious Jewish music and synagogue, but also includes several recordings of operas, plays, and inverviews from radio broadcasts.

Scope and Contents 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...

Scope and Contents

The John Garrity Collection contains correspondences, legal and business documents, handwritten and typed music, promotional material, newspaper clippings, and photographs related to Garrity and his publishing company Wyandotte Music. Emphasis is on materials from the 1970s.

Collection also includes recordings from journalist, John Garrity, music from Kansas City and folk music from San Francisco in which Garrity was involved.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of oral history recordings of Kansas City blues musicians conducted by Paul Elias Taylor in 1999.

Scope and Contents

Consists of audio recordings of music compiled by Dick Dexter's brother, Dave Dexter (music journalist and record executive), radio advertisements for Interstate Securities Company (later ISC Financial Corporation), and radio broadcast recordings that include parts of Kansas City Chief's football games.

Scope and Contents Photos in UMKC Digital Special CollectionsThe collection consists of 65 black-and-white photographs related to the entertainment complex formerly at Linwood and Main in Kansas City, Missouri. Included are architectural renderings of the proposed development; interior and exterior shots; bandleaders and musicians, most notably Pla-Mor band director Chic Scoggin and his orchestra; as well as other...

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 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 Arthur B. Church – KMBC Radio Collection was donated to the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1996 by Arthur B. Church, Jr. The collection relates to KMBC radio and television stations in Kansas City and its owner and operator, Arthur B. Church, dating primarily between the 1920s and the early 1950s.The collection is broken down into seven series. A timeline provides day-to-day and year-to-year information about the operation of the station. Business correspondence, ledgers...

Scope and Contents The U.S. Epperson Collection is housed in LaBudde Special Collections at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The collection consists of material related to Kansas City businessman and philanthropist Uriah Spray Epperson and his wife Mary Elizabeth Weaver Epperson, whose palatial home at 5200 Cherry Street was willed to the University after Mrs. Epperson’s death in 1939. The Epperson House has served as a number of different types of offices, classrooms and spaces at UMKC over the years,...

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 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 Trumbauer Collection was donated to the UMKC Libraries in June 2006 by drummer Bill M. Trumbauer, son of trumpeter William (Bill) F. Trumbauer and grandson of jazz saxophonist Frank Trumbauer. Included were materials related to Frank and Bill F. An addendum of material was gifted in September 2010 by Bill M. and Mary Trumbauer, widow of Bill F. At that time the collection was separated into two distinct collections: Frank Trumbauer Collection and William F. Trumbauer Collection....

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 Zine Collection was established with the first donation to LaBudde Special Collections in December 2015, after the Kansas City Zine Convention 2015. Comprising multiple individually-named series, the Zine Collection contains hundreds of magazines representing local and national underground/DIY culture, dating 1970s-2020s.

Scope and Contents

The collection consists mostly of radio advertisments, many of which are for the Crown Center, located in Kansas City, MO. There are also recordings of the radio show "Shameless Chef Radio."

Scope and Contents

Consists of broadcast recordings from University of Kansas City Radio, including programs about American Royal Horse Show, Kansas City history, UKC Radio Choir Choral Program, and community theatres.