Center for Archival Collections News

Philip F. O’Connor, Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, August 16, after a prolonged illness. Phil was a faculty member in the Creative Writing Program from 1967-1992 and was preparing two works of fiction at the time of his death.

Among his many works are:
A Season for Unnatural Causes (1970)
Old Morals, Small Continents, Darker Times (1971)
Stealing Home (1979)
Ohio Woman (1985)
Defending Civilization (1988)
Finding Brendan (1991)
Martin’s World (1993)

To read more about Professor O’Connor’s many accomplishments and to post condolences, a blog site in his memory is available at http://www.philipfoconnor.com

MS 724 - Philip F. O’Connor Collection
Papers, 1960s-1994
Correspondence, literary manuscripts, books, and printed material by novelist and co-founder of Bowling Green State University’s Creative Writing Program. Rare Books Collection.

Seminar: Researching Historical Records for African American Studies Scholarship and Genealogy
When: Friday, September 12, 2008, 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Where: Bowen-Thompson Student Union, Multipurpose Room
Who: Reginald Washington, Archivist/Genealogy Specialist, National Archives & Records Administration

Federal documents are a rich resource for the study of African American history, whether the goal is gaining a better understanding of the growth and development of our nation or learning more about a family’s past. Speaker Reginald Washington brings years of experience with these documents to northwest Ohio as he leads a fall seminar “Researching Historical Records for African American Studies Scholarship and Genealogy. The author of many articles and books helping researchers locate and make use of information stored in these intriguing records, Mr. Washington will share helpful approaches to research in federal documents. Every researcher who uses federal documents will find useful information here.

Sponsored by the Center for Archival Collections and the Department of Africana Studies at Bowling Green State University, the seminar is open to students, scholars, and the general public. The seminar is free, but seating is limited. Please RSVP by September 5, 2008 to:

Center for Archival Collections
Email: Lee McLaird at lmclair@bgsu.edu
Phone: 419-372-2411

Regular visitors to the CAC and HCGL website have noticed a change in our appearance during the last year. Converting to our “new look” is an on-going process. Most of our site has been updated in this way–the HCGL site as well as the University Archives site are completed. The CAC’s Archival Chronicle, local records, bibliographies, manuscripts, genealogy, and some “historical perspectives” pages are also finished. The old-style webpages have remained online as a backup as we’ve made the conversions, but all information updates are added only to the new-style pages.

However, many online search engines still locate the old pages and direct users to them, instead of to our new pages. Carefully chosen “re-directs” have eliminated only some of this problem. Beginning in August 2008, the CAC will gradually remove the old-style pages from the web as the new-style pages take their place. The website continues to grow as the CAC adds more features, finding aids, and services. Stop back often!

World War I sounded a patriotic call throughout the nation and thousands of Americans responded. From doughboys to nurses, they wrote back home to their northwest Ohio hometown newspapers. Dan Masters and Steve Badenhop have prepared indexes to these letters for Wood and Henry Counties. More are in preparation.

Indexed by author and by date, this research aid also provides information about the service record of each soldier, where available. The User’s Guide explains Army organization and provides a summary of some of the major battles in which Ohio soldiers participated. The letters provide a fascinating look at local attitudes toward the war as well, since German immigrants made up a large proportion of the population.

Visit often as we add to this new research aid. Try the index now.

Our Historic Campus Tour now has a new look! The same great information can be found about the BGSU campus, all with a smart new appearance. Follow the links under Digital Exhibits to see what we mean

From the 1890s to the early decades of the 20th Century, electric railroads provided fast, efficient inter-city transportation throughout much of Ohio. The Archival Chronicle features information and photographs about this gone-but-not-forgotten aspect of travel.

At left, President William T. Jerome makes a point during an interview in his office. Jerome was BGSU’s sixth president, serving from 1963-1970.

William Travers Jerome, III was a 1941 magna cum laude graduate of Colgate University. He earned his master’s and doctorate degree from Harvard University and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Middlebury College, Vermont.

Dr. Jerome served as teacher, administrator, research associate, lecturer, writer and consultant to both business and government.

His career as an educational administrator began at Middlebury, Vermont, where he was assistant to the President and instructor in economics (1946-1950). In 1953 he was appointed Associate Professor of Business Administration at Syracuse University where, in 1958, he became Dean of the College of Business Administration.

In 1963, Dr. Jerome became the sixth president of Bowling Green State University. During his seven years here, he guided the University through a period of rapid physical and academic growth, as evidenced by the addition of ten buildings, including the library, by a major jump in enrollment, and by the establishment of programs such as the Center for the Study of Social Behavior. Library growth during this time included the establishment of the University Archives, the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, and the Browne Popular Culture Library.

It fell to Dr. Jerome to guide the campus during the turbulent years of the Vietnam era. Thanks to his leadership, BGSU remained open during the days following the May 1970 Kent State shootings, the only Ohio state university to do so.

Dr. Jerome left BGSU in 1970 to accept a position as special consultant to the President of Florida International University. He later became Distinguished University Professor of Management at FIU.

In 1982, the Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees passed a resolution naming the University Library in honor of President-Emeritus Dr. William Travers Jerome, III. A rededication and naming ceremony was held on September 23, 1983. Dr. Jerome passed away on March 10, 2008.

January 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the Blizzard of ‘78. Sixty mile per hour winds and an accumulation of a foot of snow cut electrical power to much of northwest Ohio. The National Guard was called up to help with the disaster response.

CAC staff member Ann Bowers documented the event in The Blizzard of ‘78 (A Photo Album) and our collections include the photographs used in this publication, as well as many others taken at the time. The December 2002 Archival Chronicle Gallery highlights this and other weather disasters. Still more information about the blizzard can be seen in WBGU-TV’s documentary, presented this month on PBS.

The December 2007 issue of the Archival Chronicle features holiday celebrations.

Our 19th century ancestors had their own special ways to celebrate the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Drawing on the photograph and manuscript collections of the CAC and University Archives, we can glimpse these special days.

The Center for Archival Collections and the Historical Collections of the Great Lakes will be sporting a new look for 2008.

In keeping with BGSU’s web guidelines, the sites have been reorganized and re-designed. They will now share more information in common, and we hope that our patrons will find the information they are looking for more easily. Although the look is different, the information remains the same.

A new feature has been added: A Digital Exhibits page will lead users to the many photographs we have available through the Archival Chronicle and other web resources.

Because the website is such a large one, the remaining pages will gradually be converted over the course of the next few months.

We hope our patrons will let us know about what features of the new site they like as well as any problems they might encounter while visiting.