Contemporary Black Poetry Project - TONIGHT!!!

Fall Processing

by Marian Matyn

It is the beginning of fall term and my students have been helping me to process multiple collections in numerous formats. There is more to process in the stacks, but this gives you an idea of the variety we are processing.

On the desk is an addition to CMU. Student Government Association materials-minutes, scrapbooks, posters, and position outlines which on student is processing. Behind it are printoffs from CDs in another collection documenting the debate and fight over Enbridge oil line which passes under the Straits of Mackinac. Two students have worked on this collection so far. Now that we have all the printoffs we will be comparing it to the rest of the collection looking for duplicates

These are a few boxes which are being sampled by a student who will be on an internship here this term processing one of the more difficult and complex of MI Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Weaver's papers. There are several hundred cubic feet of her collection in the stacks.

This is my table of about 10 different collections that I'm processing including archaic media videotapes, scrapbooks, papers, pins, and digital materials.

This is an addition to the CMU. Park Library collections, of the Dean's office materials. Another student is working on this prior to beginning his internship. He'll be processing a larger mixed format collection of early Clare History.

The top two images also show the blue film containers two students are rehousing Channel 9 & 10 film into following, rewinding, identifying, splicing, and reorganizing of the film. More on that later. Yes, we have a lot happening in my unit.

IBBY Addition 2016

by Marian Matyn

We got a foot plus addition this year, but also decided to go to the prior boxes and print out anything that came in a digital format due to some of the current formats being difficult to access. This resulted in a doubling of material. Going from box 9 forward we now have 18 boxes. The finding aid, catalog records and EAD finding aid is updated. The amended EAD finding aid will be available next month. More will be coming as part of this addition is on exhibit elsewhere.

A big thanks to Jen who helped me double check everything. All those foreign names with foreign punctuation marks requires a lot of extra checking.

Brewer Family Ambrotypes

by Marian Matyn
A recent addition to the Dwight J. Brewer Collection, 1862, 2012 includes 3 ambrotypes from the 1850s and 1860s and a CD of the 3 images.

Dwight J. Brewer and two of his wives, sisters Carrie and Ellen Stearns as children.

From left: Carrie (Stearns) Brewer (1850-1935) from the early 1850s;
Ellen (Stearns) Brewer (1839-1918) and her brother Edwin (1844-1921) probably taken in the early 1850s;
Dwight J. Brewer (1844-1881) probably taken around 1860.

Carrie and Ellen were born in NY and both died in Clare, MI.

Dwight J. Brewer (1842-1881) was the son of Jairus and Lucy Brewer. After Lucy died, Jairus married Mary Langdon and, later, Ellen Stearns (1839-1918) sister of Edwin Stearns (1839-1918). Dwight had two siblings: Augusta and Julius. By 1850 Jairus moved his family to Mich. Dwight enlisted in Company F, 20th Mich. Infantry on Aug. 9, 1862 at Brooklyn, Mich., for three years, at age 20. He was mustered on Aug. 18, 1862. Dwight was discharged at Knoxville, Tenn., May 24, 1865. He contracted small pox at the end of war and spent time in two hospitals in Knoxsville recovering (as documented in his last three letters). After the war, Dwight married Edwin and Ellen's younger sister, Carrie (1850-1935) with whom he had three children. Dwight died in 1881 and was buried in Cherry Grove Cemetery, Clare, Mich. Edwin Stearns enlisted at Norvell for three years, on Aug. 11, 1862 in the same company as Dwight and was also mustered on Aug. 18, 1862. Edwin was wounded in action on June 17, 1864. He was promoted to corporal on May 1, 1865. On May 30, 1865 at DeLaney House, D.C., Edwin was mustered out. (This information is from the collection.)

You can read the Brewer family collection catalog record at http://catalog.lib.cmich.edu

Detroit Tigers scrapbook, 1940-1941

by Marian Matyn

I processed a Detroit Tigers scrapbook, 1940-1941.

The scrapbook has a blue and gold decorative cover and measures 11.5x14.5x1.5 inches. Billy Caldwell created it beginning in 1940 (documented on first page). The pages are acidic. The scrapbook consists almost entirely of Detroit Free Press clippings of the Detroit Tigers, 1940-1941. About two-thirds of the pages have clippings pasted on them, the rest are loose, some with dates and the title of newspaper. Also included is a Gem Theater advertising flier for Ithaca (Mich.) mail route residents for June 1941. The flier, along with genealogical information added from ancestrylibrary.com, is in one folder inside the front cover of the scrapbook.

Billy Caldwell was William O Caldwell, Jr. (1928-2012). He was the son of William Sr. and Thelma G. Caldwell and had a sister, Betty Ann. He lived, worked at Total Petroleum for 28 years, died and was buried in Ithaca (Mich.). (This information is from ancestrylibrary.com, accessed in Aug. 2016.) The Gem Theater was in Saint Louis (Mich.) located near Ithaca.

The Gem Theater flier was critical to me to place Billy Caldwell in a specific Michigan location and discover his history.

In 1940, the Detroit Tigers were American League Champs. They lost the world series 4-3 to the Cincinnati Reds. In 1941, they finished 4th in the American League. (This info from baseball.reference.com)

Sad Tiger Cartoon

Creator's name and date on first page

Triumphant Tigers

Fun portraits

leaving the dugout. Dig those traditional uniform pants

Gem theater flier

Home game; cool imagery

American League Champs

Cover

Tigers leaving on a train (this doesn't happen today) for the World Series