The collection consists of a letter from Chekhov’s sister, a replica of Chekhov’s letter (November 2, 1903) to Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (co-founder of the Moscow Art Theatre), and a note (June 14, 1985) from Kennan explaining the provenance of the Chekhov letter. Also included are photocopies in Russian.

The collection contains an oral interview with Florence Kerr; photographs, personal correspondence (notably with President and Mrs. Roosevelt), and other items unrelated to her business life; correspondence and other materials relating to her defense activities in 1941; and materials from two productions of the Federal Theater Project.

The bulk of the collection contains correspondence, memos, and reports from her tenure with the Work Projects Administration and includes numerous WPA publications.  There are two photograph albums and ten scrapbooks of newspaper clippings regarding her WPA activities.

Also included is correspondence of her husband, Robert Y. Kerr.

This collection was gathered by George T. McJimsey, professor of History at Iowa State University, in the process of writing his book Harry Hopkins: Ally of the Poor and Defender of Democracy. Included are articles written by Hopkins, his personal and professional correspondence, WPA files, minutes from the meetings of the American Association of Social Workers, War Munitions Board minutes, Lend- Lease files, diary entries of top government officials, American Red Cross files among others.

The collection contains information relevant not only to researchers studying Hopkins but also Roosevelt, World War II, Lend- Lease, the New Deal, social work, the American Red Cross, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, the FERA, WPA, CWA, American Association of Social Workers, New York BCW, and NYTBA.

The research is drawn from several collections including the Hopkins Papers at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, the National Archives, the George C. Marshall Papers, the Social Work History Archives in Minneapolis, the Harry S. Truman Library, Parks Library of Iowa State University, New York State Library at Albany, the Library of Congress, University of Virginia Library, the Houghton Library of Harvard University among many others.

Additional information on Harry Hopkins can be found in Georgetown University’s special collection.

This oral history collection is a celebration of nearly 70 years of Grinnell College history as told through the words of people who have studied, worked, and played at this institution.

Drawn from interviews with more than 50 alumni, these remembrances tell not only about the specifics of college life, but also about the collective identity of the Grinnell community.  These interviews offer insight into the successes and struggles of individuals and into the traditions and values that define Grinnell, whether they occurred in 1925, 1945, 1972, or 1992.

[This note is quoted from the brochure created for the exhibition (photographs and excerpts of the interviews) that was displayed in the Burling Gallery, June 1-September 23, 1995.]

The collection includes a variety of materials belonging to several family members that were found in Laura's house after her death: legal papers; personal calendars of Merta, David, and Laura; papers of Henry and Merta from their professional careers; and family correspondence and other personal papers. They provide a glimpse into the activities of this fascinating Grinnell family.

The family papers generally include legal papers, information about genealogy, photos, correspondence, and miscellaneous items. Noteworthy items include My Family's History by Helen M. Hatch, A Christmas Memoiry by Margaret M. Kiesel, and numerous editions of The Maggie Gazette and Intelligence, a family newsletter written and published by Margaret M. Kiesel. The family correspondence is extensive, and gives a good look into the family members' lives.

Henry's papers include music that he wrote, church programs when he was organist, articles that he wrote on a variety of music-related issues, articles and talks on education (some written during his time as Alumni Secretary), and files of historical material from the Alumni Office.

Merta's papers include programs, reports, and yearbooks of organizations to which she belonged including Entre Nous, Uncle Sam's Club, and Congregational women's groups. Her professional papers include memos, time sheets, correspondence from her tenure with the Consumer Purchases Study and miscellaneous other activities. There are also items from Merta's college years, including papers and notebooks. Go to College and The Education of Merta Johnson Matlack as told by herself give a glimpse into what a woman's education was like around the turn-of-the-century. Gust Johnson's papers include newspaper clippings, letters, report cards, and other miscellaneous stuff.

David's papers include a birth certificate, newspaper clippings, programs from events in Grinnell, correspondence and calenders.

Laura corresponded with Art Department colleagues, other Grinnell College graduates from her class, and with Edith Sternfeld, a former art professor at the college. The remainder of Laura's papers contain material relating to her weaving and to organizations in which she was active including the League of Women Voters, Peace Links, and weavers' groups. Noteworthy items include letters and SGA minutes in response to Kent State killings and closing of Grinnell College, miscellaneous items regarding convocation of 1967 when Martin Luther King Jr spoke at Grinnell College and the Wiemans hosting Benjamin Mays at the 1967 convocation, Recollections of My Husband, Henry Nelson Wieman, and The History of Architecture ... Grinnell Iowa, 1949. Henry N. Wieman's papers include correspondence and newspaper articles, He was a professor of philosophy who taught at several notable universities. The bulk of Henry N. Wieman's papers are at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

There are also items from the four remaining Matlack siblings: Mary Davenport, Margaret Kiesel, Jane Rutherford, and Connie Wieman; Merta's parents, Gust and Elma Johnson; Laura'/s husband, Henry N. Wieman; and Maggie's mother-in-law, Anna Kiesel. Correspondence to the Matlack sisters and other papers of theirs are included. Stories about the birth of Connie (born on Christmas day) are especially charming. Anna Kiesel's items include photos, programs, and correspondence. She and Gust Johnson have papers in German and Swedish, that give a glimpse into the ethnic communities of the mid-west in the 19th Century.

There are four boxes of oversize materials that include records, artwork, certificates, photos, music, and correspondence.

The collection deals mainly with Paul H. Appleby, although there are items of interest concerning other members of the Appleby family. The entirety of Paul’s life is included, both political and personal aspects. There are several personal and political photographs and pieces of correspondence. There are also pieces of Grinnell College memorabilia from both Paul’s and Mary Ellen’s time here. There are several noteworthy items in this collection, especially letters to Paul from Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson (written when he was a Congressman) and a letter of condolence from John Fitzgerald Kennedy after Paul’s death. There are also several other moving letters of condolence from many important political figures and they arrive from all over the world. Especially interesting are the ones written after John Kennedy’s assassination a month after Paul’s passing. There are photo albums and several other pictures showing Grinnell College campus life in the early part of the twentieth century. Many of Paul’s writings are also in the collection, including stories written for The Unit; several issues of a magazine he published in his youth, The Chum; and numerous articles published during his political career.

Materials in the collection often refer to family member by initials. PHA is Paul Henson Appleby, RMA is Ruth Meyer Appleby and ME is Mary Ellen Appleby Sarbaugh.

Other collections of interest are the Mary Ellen Appleby Sarbaugh Papers and the Florence Kerr papers.

The collection consists of typewritten notes Mr. Beatty made for his “History of Grinnell College and its Curriculum to 1931” (August 1955), the original typescript of which is in the Archives 06.1/B38h. The notes are on 5 1⁄2 by 8 1⁄2 sheets filed in four archives boxes (20 linear inches); bibliography cards are filed in Box 2. The information on the notes would be most valuable for a person interested in pre-1931 curricular and academic aspects and in a brief general history of the college. References from which the notes were derived could direct a researcher to more detailed sources. In a 1980 letter Mr. Beatty indicated part of his research was “based on the trunk full of presidential and departmental reports tied each separately in ribbon by Mrs. Minora Rusk, former secretary to several of the earliest presidents (the trunk having been “lost: and covered over under the floor of the treasurer’s office in Magoun or Chicago Hall).”