United States of America -- Pennsylvania -- Westmoreland County -- Rector
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, site plans, correspondence, and additional information.
General:
Bakobils Farm has been in the same family since the early 1920's and is located on two hundred and fifty acres in Rector, PA. It is a working farm that raises dairy cows, horses, pigs, goats, beef cattle and chickens for family use. In 1929, fifty acres surrounding the original house was developed into a cherry, apple, peach, quince, and pear orchard, perennial beds were established and more mature deciduous and evergreen trees were added to the property. In 1937 a walled garden was designed by Catherine Cole that is adjacent to the house where vegetables and perennials are grown. Other property features include a pond, swimming pool, streams, barns, bridges, sculptures, waterfalls, and the Millstone Spring House.
Persons and firms associated with the garden include Wila May Lyle (former owner); Mr. and Mrs. James Childs Rea (former owners 1920-1973); and Catherine Cole (landscape architect, 1937).
Related Materials:
Bakobils Farm related holdings consist of 1 folder (10 35 mm. slides (photographs); 20 digital images)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
United States of America -- Connecticut -- Litchfield County -- Cornwall -- Cornwall Hollow
Scope and Contents:
The folder includes worksheets, photocopies of an article, and a write-up of the family's history with the property.
General:
Property records for the large parcel of land in which Henry's Hill is located date back to the late 18th century, and the land was used for farming and foresting into the twentieth century. The current owners inherited the house and about eleven acres and set about redesigning the house and installing gardens. The main garden at Henry's Hill is bordered by old low stone walls planted with 8-foot deep borders of perennials and shrubs, with two foot wide maintenance paths inside the walls, designed by Tiziana Hardy. A formal garden comprised of two varieties of boxwood, winter gem and green velvet, container plantings, blocks of stone, and gravel paths was established north of the house. A water garden comprised of three ponds surrounded by compatible plantings lies to the northeast outside the walls. An island bed of ornamental grasses lies east of the house.
Another 300 acres were set aside in 1984 through a conservation easement that protects 40 acres of farmland, more than 200 acres of forest, and an aquifer underlying the Hollenbeck River and watershed from further development. Nearly a mile of the Appalachian Trail transverses the easement property.
In the 1920s during the ownership of Dr. and Mrs. Lieb flower gardens designed by the Elm City Nursery Company, Woodmont Nursery Inc., Landscape Engineers of New Haven, Connecticut, replaced old pastures. The property was no longer farmed and was used as a summer and week-end estate. The subsequent owner, Laurens Hammond, invented the Hammond organ; his widow Roxana Scoville Hammond was responsible for the conservation and protection plan. Some of the agricultural land attached to Henry's Hill has been repurposed as a beef cattle business by the next generation of the owners' family.
Tim Prentice, who renovated the house circa 2000, is a local architect and kinetic sculptor responsible for maintaining the historic character of many houses in the area of Cornwall Hollow.
Persons associated with the garden include Thaddeus Ford and descendants (formers owners, 1782-1860); Heman Harrison (former owner, 1860-1897); M.E. Harrison (former owner, 1897-1906); E. Baldwin (former owner, 1906-1920); Dr. & Mrs. Charles Lieb (former owners, 1920-1957); Laurens & Roxana Scoville Hammond (former owners, 1957-2000); Tiziana Hardy, (landscape designer, 2001); Tim Prentice (redesign of house, 2000-2001); Mary Daalhuyzen (Head gardener, 2001-2008).
Related Materials:
Henry's Hill related holdings consist of 1 folder (18 35 mm. slides (photographs))
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- Connecticut -- Cornwall Hollow Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation Search this
Collection Director:
Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957 Search this
Container:
Box 262A, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1928 - 1968
Restrictions:
Image number 011 "Holiday Handcraft" has been removed from the slideshow due to culutral sensitivity.
Collection Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The "economic crisis" of the early 1980s rivaled the Great Depression of the 1930s in its impact on family farming. Its effects were still being felt in 1991. Some farms that had been in families for a century or more had gone bankrupt; people who loved working the land had been forced to move to towns or cities and work in factories or offices. In many rural areas, churches and schools closed or merged with those in nearby towns because populations had become depleted. Some farmers complained they didn't know their neighbors anymore, as farmland was turned into housing developments or bought up by large agribusinesses. But many family farms survived. In spite of the ups and downs of fluctuating agricultural markets, unpredictable weather, and debt payments, family farmers found strategies to persevere.
Smithsonian researchers identified two things that the families researched for this year's Festival had in common: a body of skills and knowledge inherited between generations within an ethnic and rural tradition; and a keen interest in and understanding of their rural past, reflected in family histories, stories, photos and memorabilia. These two qualities - knowledge and consciousness - can be called "family farm folklore," and they have helped rural families maintain a way of life few of them would willingly trade for easier and often more profitable lives in towns and cities.
The old and the new, the older generation and the younger generation, come together on the family farm. Like folklore itself, life on the family farm embodies both continuity and disjuncture, change and durability. At the Festival, farming families from twelve midwestern states presented their culture through family folklore and storytelling, community celebrations, and demonstrations of work skills - from machinery repair to computer-based management of breeding records. Farm families try to preserve a way of life and to remain stewards of the land. But today their task is more complex than it has ever been, given the economic, technological and informational revolutions in farming. Festival visitors could understand how tensions between an increased productivity through innovation on one hand and a preservation of family lifeways and values on the other, animated the family farmers' challenge of living off and caring for the land.
Betty J. Belanus was Curator of the program, and Barbara Lau was Program Coordinator, with Doris Dietrich as Assistant Program Coordinator. Family Farming in the Heartland was made possible with the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Fieldworkers and research associates:
Fieldworkers
Phyllis Brockmeyer, David Brose, Tim Cooley, Mark Esping, LeeEllen Friedland, Janet Gilmore, Judy Heffernan, Lisa Heffernan, Marjorie Hunt, Melanie LaBorwit, James P. Leary, Marsha McDowell, Bill Moore, John Reynolds, Larry Rutter, Lydia Sage-Chase, Dorothy Shonsey, Mike Shonsey, Catherine Swanson, Norberta Tijerina, Charlie Walden, Peter Wehr
Research Associates
Jane Adams, Eleanor Arnold, Barry Bergey, Ray Brassieur, Jenny Chin, Lynn Ireland, Gordon Kellenberger, Tim Lloyd, Carl Magnuson, Richard March, Phil Nusbaum, Steve Ohrn, J. Sanford Rikoon, Howard Sacks
Presenters:
Eleanor Arnold, Barry Bergey, David Brose, Charley Camp, Mike Combs, LeeEllen Friedland, Judy Heffernan, Marjorie Hunt, Melanie LaBorwit, James P. Leary, Marsha McDowell, J. Sanford Rikoon, Howard Sacks, Lydia Sage-Chase, Mike Shonsey, Catherine Swanson, Jennifer Thisson, Charlie Walden
Participants:
Farm Families
Arnold Family -- Arnold FamilyClarence "Jake" Arnold, 1925-, hog and grain farming, Rushville, IndianaEleanor Arnold, hog and grain farming, Rushville, IndianaJohn Arnold, 1955-, hog and grain farming, Rushville, IndianaLeslie Arnold, 1953-, hog and grain farming, Rushville, Indiana
Borman Family -- Borman FamilyHarlan Borman, 1939-, dairy farming, Kingdom City, MissouriKatherine Borman, 1967-, dairy farming, Kingdom City, MissouriKelly Bormah, 1965-, dairy farming, Kingdom City, MissouriTimothy Borman, 1965-, dairy farming, Kingdom City, Missouri
Cerny Family -- Cerny FamilyAnthony Cerny, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisBetty Cerny, 1929-, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisEric Cerny, 1972-, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisJosephine Cerny, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisNorbert Cerny, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisRichard Cerny, 1932-, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisTheresa Cerny, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, IllinoisThomas Cerny, tomato, pepper, grain, and beef cattle farming, Cobden, Illinois
Dahl Family -- Dahl FamilyPascalena Dahl, 1918-1998, dairy farming and gardening, Mineral Point, WisconsinTony Dahl, 1964-, dairy farming and gardening, Mineral Point, WisconsinVickie Dahl, 1961-, dairy farming and gardening, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
Gustad Family -- Gustad FamilyJeannie Gustad, 1941-, hog and grain farming, Volin, South DakotaOrdell "Bud" Gustad, 1940-, hog and grain farming, Volin, South DakotaPaul Gustad, 1964-, hog and grain farming, Volin, South DakotaShari Gustad, 1964-, hog and grain farming, Volin, South DakotaSteve Gustad, 1963-, hog and grain farming, Volin, South DakotaVirginia Gustad, 1962-, hog and grain farming, Volin, South Dakota
Hill Family -- Hill FamilyLynnette Hill, potato farming, Imlay City, MichiganRussell Hill, potato farming, Imlay City, MichiganShannon Hill, potato farming, Imlay City, MichiganTyrone Hill, 1951-, potato farming, Imlay City, Michigan
Holmquist Family -- Holmquist FamilyDarrel Holmquist, 1921-, wheat and beef cattle farming, Smolan, KansasMarlysue Holmquist, 1947-, wheat and beef cattle farming, Smolan, KansasMary Holmquist, 1919-, wheat and beef cattle farming, Smolan, KansasThomas Holmquist, 1954-, wheat and beef cattle farming, Smolan, Kansas
Jones Family -- Jones FamilyBrendan Jones, 1980-, hog, beef cattle and grain farming, Ainsworth, NebraskaCarol Jones, 1940-, hog, beef cattle and grain farming, Ainsworth, NebraskaDavid Jones, 1940-, hog, beef cattle and grain farming, Ainsworth, NebraskaLois Jones, 1923-, hog, beef cattle and grain farming, Ainsworth, Nebraska
Logenbach Family -- Logenbach FamilyConnie Logenbach, 1940-, cucumber, sugar beet and cattle farming, Fremont, OhioLarry Logenbach, 1940-, cucumber, sugar beet and cattle farming, Fremont, OhioMike Logenbach, 1970-, cucumber, sugar beet and cattle farming, Fremont, Ohio
Peters Family -- Peters FamilyLarry D. Peters, 1952-, popcorn and beef cattle farming, Vallonia, IndianaLavena Peters, 1922-1993, popcorn and beef cattle farming, Vallonia, IndianaPeg Peters, 1953-, popcorn and beef cattle farming, Vallonia, IndianaRalph Peters, 1921-2003, popcorn and beef cattle farming, Vallonia, Indiana
Simanek Family -- Simanek FamilyAllen Simanek, 1960-, grain and beef cattle farming, Walker, IowaArthur Simanek, 1918-2005, grain and beef cattle farming, Walker, IowaDorothy Simanek, 1924-, grain and beef cattle farming, Walker, IowaLinda Simanek, grain and beef cattle farming, Walker, Iowa
Sage-Chase and Voigt Family -- Sage-Chase and Voigt FamilyLouise Otter "Pretty Eagle" Sage, 1912-1994, Mandan Indian gardening, Halliday, North DakotaBob "Moves Slowly" Sage-Chase, 1934-, Mandan Indian gardening, Halliday, North DakotaAnn Charity "Cornsilk" Voigt, 1928-, Mandan Indian gardening, Halliday, North DakotaJanet "Bird Woman" Voigt, 1964-, Mandan Indian gardening, Halliday, North Dakota
Tomesh Family -- Tomesh FamilyJohn Tomesh, 1919-1999, dairy farming, Rice Lake, WisconsinJoseph Tomesh, 1922-, dairy farming, Rice Lake, WisconsinRose Tomesh, 1928-, dairy farming, Rice Lake, WisconsinVirginia Tomesh, 1929-, dairy farming, Rice Lake, Wisconsin
Tom Weisgerber, 1971-, fiddle, St. Peter, Minnesota
Michele Blizzard, 1964-, fiddle, Frazeyburg, Ohio
Midwestern Parlor Music Styles
Art Galbraith, fiddle, Springfield, Missouri
Paul Keller, 1920-1994, ragtime piano, Hutchinson, Kansas
Gordon McCann, 1931-, guitar, Springfield, Missouri
Bob Andresen, 1937-, guitar, Duluth, Minnesota
Gary Andresen, guitar, Duluth, Minnesota
Farm Songs and Stories
Chuck Suchy, singer, songwriter, Mandan, North Dakota
Michael Cotter, 1931-, storyteller, Austin, Minnesota
Brian and the Mississippi Valley Dutchmen -- Brian and the Mississippi Valley DutchmenBrian Brueggen, band, leader, concertina, Cashton, WisconsinWilhelm Oelke, 1929-1998, drums, vocals, Coon Valley, WisconsinLouis E. Allen, 1932-, tuba, McFarland, WisconsinPhilip Brueggen, 1931-, trumpet, vocals, Cashton, WisconsinDon Burghardt, 1931-, trumpet, trombone, vocals, Sturdevant, WisconsinMilton "Tony" Jorgenson, 1920-, banjo, Coon Valley, Wisconsin
Moon Mullins and the Traditional Grass -- Moon Mullins and the Traditional GrassPaul "Moon" Mullins, fiddle, vocals, Middletown, OhioGerald Evans, Jr., mandolin, vocals, Cincinnati, OhioGlen Inman, 1944-, bass, West Carrollton, OhioWilliam Joseph "Joe" Mullins, banjo, vocals, Hamilton, OhioCharles Mark Rader, 1956-, guitar, vocals, Trenton, Ohio
Farm Broadcasting
Rich Hawkins, 1942-, KRVN, Lexington, Nebraska
Lee Kline, 1930-, WHO, Des Moines, Iowa
Verlene Looker, 1945-, KMA, Shenandoah, Iowa
Collection Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1991 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Oral History Interviews
Extent:
13 audiotapes (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Transcripts
Date:
1992-1999, 2004-2005
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Wemmer, director of the Conservation and Research Center (CRC), National Zoological Park (NZP), conducted a series of oral history interviews with individuals central to
the history of the CRC from 1992 to 1999. He transferred the interviews to the Oral History Collection, Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives in
2001 in order to document the early history of this endangered species facility now known as the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) of the NZP. Wemmer interviewed John F.
Eisenberg (1935-2003), former NZP mammalogist, on March 13, 1992. Wemmer and Larry R. Collins, CRC mammalogist, interviewed Eugene Maliniak (1926-1996), former NZP mammalogist,
on April 9, 1992. Wemmer interviewed Theodore H. Reed (1922-2013), director of the NZP when CRC was founded, on October 18, 1993. Wemmer interviewed Kenneth E. Stager (1915-2009),
ornithologist, on December 7, 1999. Wemmer's remarks and reminiscences at his retirement ceremony on July 23, 2004 were recorded for the collection, and historian of science
Catherine A. Christen also conducted interviews with Wemmer in 2005.
Descriptive Entry:
Eisenberg was interviewed in 1992 by Wemmer and discussed his education and career. Maliniak was interviewed by Collins and Wemmer in 1992 and discussed his career
before and during his years at the NZP, especially the many animal species he worked with. Reed was interviewed by Wemmer in 1993 and discussed his career at the NZP and reminiscenced
about animals and colleagues. Stager was interviewed by Wemmer in 1999 and discussed his field work in Southeast Asia, especially Burma. Wemmer's remarks at his retirement
in 2004 were recorded; Christen conducted two interviews of him in 2005, covering his education, field work, research and career as an administrator. The collection consists
of 16.5 hours of audiotape recording. The interviews are not transcribed.
Historical Note:
The National Zoological Park's Conservation and Research Center, now called the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, was established in 1975 on 3,100 acres at
a former US Army Cavalry Remount Station in Front Royal, Virginia, to encourage development of all aspects of animal sciences. Renamed the Smithsonian Conservation Biology
Institute in 2010, the institute's mission is the conservation of biodiversity through scientific research, professional training, and environmental education. Dr. Theodore
H. Reed, then director of the National Zoo, had been searching over a decade for a captive breeding facility where animals could be studied and bred without the stress of
public viewing, when he heard of the possibility of obtaining the old Remount Station property. Other locations were examined, including La Plata, Maryland; Virginia's Great
Dismal Swamp; and a nine hundred acre portion of Camp A. P. Hill in Virginia; but none could compare with the potential and existing on-site facilities offered by the old
remount depot. The property was occupied by the Smithsonian in 1974, and title to the land was received in 1975. The facility was named the Conservation and Research Center,
and was staffed with a dozen employees from various National Zoo departments, as well as a handful of former Cavalry Remount Station and Beef Cattle Research Station employees.
In 2010, the center was renamed the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Institute research has always covered a broad array of subjects including ethology, conservation
biology, ecology and biodiversity monitoring, reproductive biology and animal health, genetic diversity and systematics, and nutrition and geographic information systems.
CRC researchers are involved in groundbreaking research pertaining to the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems locally, nationally, and around the world. The
institute breeds and houses a wide range of endangered species. Institute staff have focused on such endangered species as the last living family of black-footed ferrets,
the Guam rail, cranes, clouded leopards, Przewalski's wild horses, and Matschie's tree kangaroos. The institute also trains wildlife biologists from developing countries and
conducts international research projects, such as the elephants of Southeast Asia led by Christian Wemmer. The goal of their research programs is to develop long-term, collaborative
conservation initiatives that utilize a diverse array of scientific, cultural, and political tools to understand and protect species and their ecosystems.
John F. Eisenberg (1935-2003) received his bachelor's degree from Washington State University and his master's and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in
1961. He joined the staff of the National Zoological Park as a mammalogist in 1965. In 1982 he joined the faculty of the University of Florida until his retirement in 2000.
He was best known for his 1981 volume, The Mammalian Radiations: An Analysis of Trends in Evolution, Adaptation, and Behavior.
Eugene Maliniak (1926-1996), a World War II veteran, was hired as a keeper at the National Zoological Park in 1951. In his early years at the Zoo, he worked with birds,
reptiles, carnivores, and bears before moving to the Small Mammal House from 1957 to 1965. In 1965, he transferred to the Department of Scientific Research where he assisted
Zoo curators with research on animal behavior and nutrition, until his retirement in 1985.
Theodore H. Reed (1922-2013), veterinarian and zoo administrator, received the D.V.M. in 1945 from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State College. From 1946 to
1955, he practiced as a veterinarian in Oregon and Idaho. He gained experience with exotic animals while serving as a veterinarian to the Portland Zoological Park from 1951
to 1955. In 1955, Reed was appointed Veterinarian at the National Zoological Park (NZP). In 1956, he was named Acting Director after the retirement of William M. Mann, and
in 1958, he advanced to Director. During his tenure, Reed oversaw a capital renovation of the NZP; development of the Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal,
Virginia, in 1974; a transition from display of exotic specimens to breeding of endangered species; and many advances in exotic animal care and medicine. Reed retired from
administration in 1983 and from the NZP in 1984.
Kenneth E. Stager (1915-2009) received a bachelor's degree in 1940 from the University of California at Los Angeles, a master's degree in zoology in 1953 and a doctorate
in 1962 from the University of Southern California. He began working at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History as a student in the 1930s. He was appointed assistant
curator in 1941 and curator of ornithology and mammalogy in 1946, remaining at the L.A. County Museum until his retirement in 1976. He was interviewed because of his field
research in Southeast Asia and work with NZP staff.
Christen M. Wemmer (1943- ) directed the Conservation and Research Center (CRC), National Zoological Park (NZP) from 1974 to 2004. Wemmer received a B.S. and M.S. from
San Francisco State College and the Ph.D. from University of Maryland in 1972, and began his career at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. He was the founding director of the Conservation
and Research Center of the National Zoological Park since its creation in 1974.
Rights:
Restricted. Contact SIHistory@si.edu to request permission.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Ruth Law Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0387, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadbast materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Collection Title, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, vol. 32, no. 8, July 1930; vol. 63, no. 7, May 1961; and vol. 64, no. 1, November 1961.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Arthur Raymond Brooks Collection, NASM.1989.0104, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection documents the professional activities of Joseph Selle (1906-1988), a photographer and proprietor of Fox Movie Flash, a street photography business in San Francisco, California. There are a few documents relating to Selle's personal life, but the bulk of the papers relate to his street photography business. Most of the documents date from between 1945 and 1975 and include insurance papers, correspondence, legal documents, receipts, tax records, cashbooks, employment applications, newspaper clippings, licenses and permits, payroll materials, and bank statements, as well as samples of photographs from the business.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the professional activities of Joseph Selle (1906-1988), a photographer and proprietor of Fox Movie Flash, a street photography business in San Francisco, California. There are a few documents relating to Selle's personal life, but the bulk of the papers relate to his street photography business. Most of the documents date from between 1945 and 1975 and include insurance papers, correspondence, legal documents, receipts, tax records, cashbooks, employment applications, newspaper clippings, licenses and permits, payroll materials, and bank statements, as well as samples of photographs from the business.
Series 1, Biographical Information, 1938-1981 and undated, contains textual documents providing personal information on Joseph Selle, including seller's permits, his marriage license to Augusta Crosbie Selle, a bail receipt from the Berkeley Police Department, correspondence, business and identification cards, a map of the University of California, Berkeley campus where Selle took photographs, and a copy of his eulogy. Other materials in this series include a contract transferring ownership of Actionette Studios from Selle and T. Hegge to Kurt Reiss, court documents related to the lawsuit Reiss brought against Selle and Hegge, correspondence with lawyers, and rental lease agreements. This series also contains newspaper clippings about Selle and Fox Movie Flash, as well as clippings relating to street photography, advertisements placed by Selle to hire photographers, and attendance records of California State Fairs, some of which Selle photographed.
Series 2, Operating Records, 1941-1981 and undated, consists of four subseries: Subseries 1, Administrative Materials, 1941-1975 and undated; Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1938-1981; Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1947-1952; and Subseries 4, Payroll, 1945-1948. This series contains the bulk of the information about Selle's street photography business. Materials include licenses and permits for Selle and his photographers, including Bob Rose, the donor of this collection and promotional manager for Fox Movie Flash. Other materials include insurance policies, office supplies (such as stationary and rubber stamps), booklets containing blank order cards handed to potential customers, applications for employment, weekly reports on the photographs taken by all employees (which are arranged chronologically by employee surname), and payroll ledgers.
Also included is correspondence with Selle and Fox Movie Studios. The bulk of the subseries consists of letters, although some telegrams and postcards are included. Some of the letters relate to personal matters, though the majority of them deal directly with the operation of the business. Frequent correspondents includes officials at the California State Fair, where Selle held a concession to take candid photographs in 1949, 1952, 1953, and 1956. Selle also corresponded with his lawyer William H. Rois of Rois & Fowler when he was being sued by Kurt Reiss for breach of contract and misrepresentation about Actionette Studios. Additionally, Selle received correspondence from the Better Business Bureau which mediated between Fox Movie Flash and dissatisfied customers who requested refunds. The remainder of the correspondence consists of orders for photographs taken by Fox Movie Flash cameramen by customers, and orders to and from vendors for supplies.
Series 3, Financial Records, 1940-1975 and undated, consists of four subseries: Subseries 1, Business Records, 1944-1947; Subseries 2, Tax Records, 1945-1975; Subseries 3, Bank Records, 1942-1975; and Subseries 4, Receipts, 1940-1975. This series contains both personal and business financial records of Selle and Fox Movie Flash. Included are city, state and federal tax returns, as well as tax documents from the California Department of Employment. Also included are business records and ledgers, bank statements, bills, checks, financial notes, payroll ledgers, and receipts. Many of his receipts are from equipment and materials purchased for the company, including film, developing chemicals, and paper from companies such as Ansco Photographic Materials and Equipment, Brooks Cameras, Eastman Kodak Stores, and The Haloid Company; equipment repair from Friedberg-Smith Optical Instruments; bus tickets and material shipping to and from Fresno from Pacific Greyhound Lines; postage from the United States Postal Service; office supplies from Wobblers, Inc.; and help wanted advertisements from theSan Francisco Examiner.
Series 4, Photographs, 1941-1950 and undated, contains photographic prints, most sized four by six inches. Additionally there are fifteen photographic prints that have been mounted onto both sides of four by six sheets of metal or wood. These mounted prints were used by the photographers to display sample photographs to prospective customers. These mounted prints have been placed into sink mats for protection. The photographs were taken on the streets of San Fransisco, at the 1941 California State Fair in Sacramento and on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The majority of the campus photographs feature college students, graduates, and faculty members. These photographs also feature male soldiers and sailors, and "WAVES," women in the US Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve). The street photographs in San Fransisco feature unknown pedestrians, Selle and other street photographers, camera equipment, and celebrities. The celebrities in these photographs include actors Edward G. Robinson, Tony Curtis and Bing Crosby, heavyweight boxer Primo Carnera, and burlesque dancer Noel Toy.
Arrangement:
Collection is divided into four series.
Series 1, Biographical Information, 1938-1981 and undated
Series 2, Operating Records, 1941-1981 and undated
Subseries 1, Administrative Materials, 1941-1975 and undated
Subseries 2, Correspondence, 1938-1981
Subseries 3, Weekly Reports, 1947-1952
Subseries 4, Payroll, 1945-1948
Series 3, Financial Records, 1940-1975 and undated
Subseries 1, Business Records, 1944-1947
Subseries 2, Tax Records, 1945-1975
Subseries 3, Bank Records, 1942-1975
Subseries 4, Receipts, 1940-1975
Series 4, Photographs, 1941-1950 and undated
Biographical / Historical:
Street photographer Joseph (Joe) Nicolas Selle (1906-1988) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in the small, rural town of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. His father, born in Strasbourg, Germany, worked as a portrait photographer. In 1933, he moved to the West Coast. According to a eulogy found in the collection written by a member of the Elks Club, Selle attended barber school before joining the Merchant Marines as a seaman, though the dates of his service are unknown. The eulogy indicates that Selle, along with a man named Harry Chesterfield, worked on a project that allowed for fresh water to reach the island prison of Alcatraz.
Selle began taking photographs at the 1933-1934 Chicago World's Fair, and began working as a street photographer in 1936. He traveled to Texas, where he met his future wife, Augusta ('Gusta) Crosbie from San Antonio, Texas. They were married on May 29, 1938 in Nevada and then moved to Washington state. In 1940, Selle operated his first street photography business with co-owner T. Hegge, called Actionette Studios. The business had two offices, one in Seattle, Washington at 1331 3rd Avenue, (at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Union Street) and one in Spokane, Washington (at the corner of Riverside and Wall Street). In each city, Selle and Hegge stood near major thoroughfares and photographed pedestrians as they walked by. They then handed the pedestrians photograph order cards with a specific number that correlated with their photograph. If the customer was interested, they could send the order card with their home address and twenty-five cents to Actionette Studios, where Selle and Hegge would print the photograph and mail it to the customer.
Selle moved to San Francisco in either 1939 or 1940, and sought a buyer for his business. On November 12, 1940, Selle and Hegge entered into a conditional sales contract with Kurt Riess for the rights, equipment, and property of Actionette Studios for five thousand dollars. On December 16, 1940, Selle and Hegge were summoned by the Superior Court of the State of Washington as defendants in Riess vs. Selle and Hegge. Riess alleged that Selle and Hegge fraudulently misrepresented the profitability of the business in Spokane; Selle and Hegge denied the charges. They reached a settlement, the details of which are unknown.
Licensed to drive a public vehicle in 1942, Selle worked as a taxi cab driver and a rental car chauffeur periodically until 1945 while taking photographs on the streets of San Francisco. On May 16, 1946, Selle became licensed to conduct business as the owner of Fox Movie Flash, the street photography company he would operate for the next forty years. The office was located in downtown San Francisco at 942 Market Street, above the Pix Theater. Selle and the photographers he hired would stand on street corners and photograph pedestrians as they walked by. The solicitation process was similar to that of Actionette Studios. The photographers would hand pedestrians they photographed an order card with the number of the photograph printed on it, which the customer could then mail along with a specific payment, (ranging from twenty five cents in the mid-1940s to two dollars in the 1970s) for copies of the image.
With a staff of photographers (including the donor of the collection, Bob Rose, who also served as a promotional manager), darkroom technicians, and administrative personnel, Fox Movie Flash documented life in the prime retail shopping districts of San Francisco. Selle would frequently position himself at one of his favorite intersections, typically in front of the Flood Building at Market and Powell Streets or in front of the Pix Theater at Market and Mason Streets. Some of his other favorite locations included the corners and side streets around Union Square, and on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The photographers used modified DeVry 35mm newsreel-type movie cameras that were loaded with 100-foot rolls of film, capable of snapping up to 1500 images. The cameras were focused ten feet in front of the photographer, allowing them to point and shoot a specific spot repeatedly. Selle had the rolls of film developed in his darkroom by technicians, and they printed the images that people ordered.
Fox Movie Flash photographers worked in the California towns of Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento, and Stockton, as well as San Francisco. The photographers in his employ photographed numerous celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe, Red Skelton, the Iranian Shah, Ayatollah Khomeini, Edward, the Duke of Windsor, and Wallis Simpson. According to Andrew Eskind of the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, which houses Selle's entire archive of photographs and negatives -- a total of about one million images -- Fox Movie Flash was in operation until the 1970s. Towards the end of his career as a street photographer, Selle and Augusta owned a beef cattle ranch in Sonoma, California. He died in 1988.
References
The Joseph Selle Collection of Street Vendor Photography
http://www.andreweskind.com/andy/streetphot/ (accessed on February 2, 2011)
Luminous Lint for Collectors and Connoisseurs of Fine Photography
http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/photographer/Joseph__Selle/A/ (accessed on February 2, 2011)
Richard L. Nelson Gallery & Fine Art Collection, University of California, Davis
http://nelsonga.ipower.com/archives/2005/04/joseph_selle.html (accessed on February 2, 2011)
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Bob Rose.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Some materials in Series 3, Financial Materials, Subseries 3, Bank Records, are restricted. Some materials contain items with social security numbers. See repository for more details.
Rights:
Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collections items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from the Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Kost, William Cassell, 1917-1989 (farmer) Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Search this
Extent:
17.66 Cubic feet (53 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Housebooks
Receipts
Place:
Illinois -- 1940-1990
Vermont (Ill.) -- 1940-1990
Date:
1939-1989
Summary:
The records of the Kost family farm, Vermont, Illinois. The farm consisted of 120 acres where small grains, hay, and cattle were raised.
Scope and Contents:
The William C. Kost Farm Records is an exhaustive collection of bills, receipts, pay-stubs, and other financial records relating to the business of a small, mid-western family farm. Beginning with Kost's employment as a bookkeeper in 1942 for local Vermont, Illinois area taverns, the financial records intensely cover the period until the year before his death in 1989. The collection is a complete financial picture of a typical mid-western farm during the post WWII period, through the agricultural boom days of the 1950s and 1960s, and into the trying agricultural times of the late 1970s and 1980s. These financial records reconstruct a day to day, week to week, and month to month, financial portrait of the Kost farm. The limited amount of correspondence found in this collection complements the financial record. Tax returns, medical, and personal expense records are all included within the collection. Kost and his wife ran the farm operation with occasional hired help. Kost also took a job off the farm to supplement the farm income.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into three series.
Series 1, Tavern Accounts, 1939-1945
Series 2, Maryland Farm, 1946
Series 3, William C. Kost Farm, 1946-1989
Biographical / Historical:
William Cassel Kost (1917-1989) acquired land and began farming in Vermont, Illinois in 1946. The farm consisted of 120 acres where Kost raised small grains, hay, and cattle. Prior to this time, Kost had been a bookkeeper for local taverns and a tenant farmer. Over the next fifty-three years, Kost worked his own farm as well as occasionally renting land, the Maryland Farm and others. In the 1950s, Kost secured a position with Hemp & Company, later known as the King-Sealey Thermos Factory, first in a part-time capacity then as a full-time employee, retiring on disability in 1975. He continued to farm until his death in August 1989. He was married to Maxine Elvidge (1916-1987) and had one son, William Elvidge Kost (1941-).
Related Materials:
Division of Work and Industry and the Division of Home and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) holds artifacts related to this collection.
Provenance:
Donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center by William E. Kost in 1993.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Unbound unregistered letters received, November 1865–December 1868, are arranged alphabetically by the initial letter of the surname of the writer and thereunder chronologically.
Collection Restrictions:
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commerical use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
