Collections : [Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library]

Papers include personal and business correspondence and accounts of a Grand Rapids concessionaire.

From the time of the Romans until the Great Depression, circuses were a major form of entertainment in the world. Much has been written about the more important circuses and their various owners and acts, such as Ringling Brothers of P.T. Barnum, but little has been written about smaller circuses and their cousins, traveling shows. In Michigan, the only major surviving collection in a historical research institution documenting a Michigan-based circus or carnival, or its owners, is this collection, the Pollie Family Papers. The collection documents the life and work of Henry J. Pollie, circus and showman, and his son, John C. Pollie, who began life working in his Dad’s circuses and eventually evolved from traveling showman to concessionaire. The collection documents them and their business associates and family members, and life for circus and carnival show people in Michigan during the 20th century. This is a fabulous collection for documenting the lives of show people during the early teens through the 1930s in Michigan. The collection is divided into the following series: Pollie Family Photographs and Obituaries (copies), 2 folders; Pollie, Henry J. Business Correspondence, 4 folders; Pollie, Janice, Correspondence (typed by John for her), 1 folder; Pollie, John C.-Account Books, 17 v. (in 10 folders); Accounts, 7 folders; Biographical [high school autographs], 1 folder; Business Correspondence, 3.5 cubic feet (in 7 boxes); Miscellaneous, 1 folder; Personal Correspondence, 8 cubic feet (in 16 boxes); and Subject Files, 5.5 cubic feet (in 11 boxes).

The Pollie Family Photographs (1 folder) and Obituaries (copies) (1 folder) includes what may be Henry and Elvira’s wedding photograph. It is unidentified, but the image of the man is very much like one of Henry in the ads for the Zeidman and Pollie circus. He is wearing a celluloid collar which would likely date it to the early 1900s. The obituaries from Grand Rapids newspapers (copies) are of 1937 (Henry J.); 1943 (Henry); 1957 (K. Bea); 1969 (John C.); and 1937 (Mrs. Maatje Pollie).

Henry J. Pollie’s Business Correspondence consists of 1 folder each from 1925 and 1927, and 1932-1933 (2 folders). The later folders include letters from many show people in the Cetlan and Wilson Shows, Inc. who had recently lost their jobs. In these folders are letters from two Hermaphrodites, “freaks”, palm readers, and members of various acts all desperately seeking employment. The Hermaphrodites are particularly interesting because the one is hired and then notifies a friend Hermaphrodite who also writes asking for employment, again demonstrating how show people, particularly those in the same type of work, stuck together. Some of these letters are to/from Ray M. Brydon, who was the Advance Man for Henry and John. Advance men went to a town before a circus or traveling show arrived and smoothed the way for the show by making sure the contracts were okay and, if necessary, bribing public officials. There is no documentation Henry and John ran a “dirty show” and resorted to bribery, but most show people apparently did. The letters in the series are those specifically addressed to Henry. It is apparent by other correspondence in both the Business and Personal Correspondence series that John typed and composed all of the letters for Henry when the two worked together. This is apparent when one compares letters typed and composed after Henry’s death by John. They are exactly the same as the typed ones Henry signed. This indicates either John typed and composed all the letters in the collection, or he adopted Henry’s style for his own. Since it appears John was the accounts man, it is more likely that he did all the typing and composition of correspondence for both his Dad and himself.

John C. Pollie’s Account Books (17 v.), include Business Accounts, 1926-1929, 1931-1932, 1941, 1950 1955, General Accounts, 1944, 1946, and Personal Accounts, 1942, 1958. The 1926-1927 Account Book is titled “Winter Quarters, Season 1926-1927, Savannah, Georgia” This v. dates to the Henry J. Pollie and Zeidman association. The Pollies, Zeidman, and E.C. Hall are all listed as receiving and holding cash. Cash received and paid is noted daily from Nov. 11, 1926 through April 24, 1927, including to whom, for what, and total amount. Food, equipment, travel, telegrams, fair fees, and other items are listed. This volume proves that the circus wintered down south, as did many circuses in the 1920s. The 1927-1929 volumes (7) are divided by type of activities, ball game, bingo, concessions, truck, trailer, etc. The 1931-1932 v. (2) document Concessions only, showing a huge shift in record keeping and business activity by John since the 1926-1927 volume.

The next series is John C. Pollie, Accounts. These are loose paper accounts of Carnival Games, April-October 1950. They are different in style and have an excessive amount of detail compared to the business accounts he kept for the I.R.S.(7 folders). They are organized by each day in each town of John’s circuit for 1950. He notes the weather, time they opened, free games, the number of games played, the number and types of prizes won, the total amount of money the prizes were worth, and amount of money his employees earned. Examples of prizes won include whistling teakettles, liquor dispenser, cardtable, coldpack canner, blanket, and a large glass lamp.

There is one John C. Pollie Biographical folder for John C. Pollie. It includes seven loose autograph pages entitled “Johnny Pollie’s Book.” It includes autographs and notes from senior high school students who graduated between 1920 and 1925. It probably dates from 1920.

John C. Pollie’s Business Correspondence is the third largest of the series in the collection, 3.5 cubic feet (in 7 boxes). It includes correspondence from the 1920s-1960s. Materials are filed alphabetically by the name of the company or institution (or person) with whom John conducted business. Whichever name John used for filing purposes has been used here. Those people or businesses with whom he corresponded once or a few times are filed alphabetically in the general folders “A”, “B”, etc. The majority of his business correspondence was with people and companies concerning his concession business and chance games. From these companies he ordered supplies for him, his workers, and concessions trailer, or prizes, such as the many he ordered from Wisconsin “Deluxe” Company (Ned Tortni), or with fairs and shows officials and organizations, such as the V.F.W. or Sigma Phi Gamma (Bluffton, Ind.), and the men who booked him with various fairs, such as John Mulder. Some of the correspondence is with people who regularly worked for John in some capacity, often as bingo operators. A small part of the correspondence is related to his car and trailer, and getting them repaired, licensed, or insured, and dealing with accidents, A small amount of the correspondence relates to family physicians, Grand Rapids organizations with whom John was associated, and other companies, like paint and hardware stores where John bought supplies, and advertising from the magazines Bill Board and Big Eli News. Two of the largest subseries in this series are Wisconsin “Deluxe” Company, 1936-1961 (1.5 cubic ft.), and the Fairs/Shows and V.F.W. folders, 1938-1960 [bulk after 1940] (.75 cubic foot). A number of the Business Correspondence folders include catalogs, samples, drawings, orders or receipts for items John needed to operate, such as awnings or painted signs. The folders note the company’s name, name of John’s main contact, what the company sold if it related to the carnival business, and names of his contact’s spouse and children. John maintained close correspondence with virtually all of his business associates, particularly Net Tortni, his booking agents, such as John Mulder, and his contacts for fairs. John regularly received birth announcements from his contacts and maintained a regular holiday card exchange with them and their families. With the Kardell family (Eaton County Fair, Mich.), with whom he and Bea maintained correspondence from 1939 through 1956, it is clear that they were much more than business associates: they were friends. It was to Mrs. Kardell (Karen) that Bea Pollie confided that her Father (Frank Culver) had left and returned to her Mother (letter from Karen to Bea, in Kardell folder, Dec. 16, 1952 (from Banglaore, India). This is not noted in any other correspondence. Mulder and Tortni also were devastated when Bea died, as noted in the biographical section, and sent gifts and food to John and his children for their first, terrible Christmas without her. Yet, they could still threaten John when he fell too far behind with his bills. Also of note is a 1949 thank you from then Representative Jerry Ford, thanking John for signing his nominating petition.

The Miscellaneous includes Bingo Numbers Set Up Diagram and Rules for Drivers, both undated (1 folder).

The largest series is the Personal Correspondence, 1910-1964, which totals 8 cubic feet (in 16 boxes). The Personal Correspondence is filed in alphabetical order by surname, then first name of correspondent. The names of spouses and children follow that of the correspondent. Relatives are noted and multiple surnames for those who married, or remarried multiple times, are also noted, as well as the dates of the correspondence, and their occupation or business if it relates to the circus or carnival business. Those with whom John had only a page or two of correspondence are filed alphabetically by surname in the general folders ‘A’, ‘B’, etc.

This series includes correspondence with John’s immediate family, parents, wife and children, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as many of his friends. Some of these friends were obviously retired from the circus or carnie world, some even had worked for John and Henry in the past, but their correspondence is mainly of a familiar type now, interested in John’s work, but not dependent on him for employment. Also in this series are the letters of the LaVardo, Evans, and Ritter families, with whom John was very close, Elfie Ramsay, and his girlfriends before he married Bea, Phyllis Rae Comrie, and Marie Ritter, as well as two male friends of John’s who served time in the Jackson State Penitentiary, Harry C. Hart, and Al S. Wiser. John wrote to people of all ages. Some of the letters are clearly between him and young children, both cousins and children of friends.

Of special interest is the correspondence between John and his parents. He was obviously close to both of his parents and wrote them often, usually weekly. With his Dad he discusses business often. With his Mother, John noted his schedule, the activities and health of their family and friends, and inquired always about her health, which was never good, and her finances. His mother’s handwriting is quite difficult to read. Her letters always started with “My Dear Son” until he married and they were address to “My Dear Children”. It is easier to understand her writing when you read John’s response to her letters.

When apart, John and Bea wrote almost daily, sometimes several times a day. Bea often sent handwritten postcards detailing where they went, what they did, how the children and her parents were feeling, and what errands she had run, and prizes or equipment she had ordered, shipped, or picked up for John. It is very obvious how important she was to him both in caring for the children and in keeping his business going when he was on the road. The children, Bea, and her parents (Mother) always remembered John on his birthday and for Father’s Day. There are many sweet, adorable handmade cards from the children to their Daddy which are just precious. It is very obvious that John, Bea and the children loved each other very much.

The strength of the collection is the correspondence. John C. Pollie typed voluminous letters almost daily to many show friends and business associates. He appears to have typed these letters both as a necessity to keep in touch with business associates and friends and as a form of stress relief and communication. In one letter he noted that it was 3 a.m. and he was finishing at least his second letter while a third needed to be typed before he could even consider going to sleep. In his correspondence, he writes personally to the recipient of their life and his, mentioning people, events, acts, and places they know in common, the status of his current show, including its location, bills, problems, and acts, his and the show’s finances, debt, the breakdown of vehicles, holidays, and his emotions, family, and dreams. They are full of interesting reading topics, particularly regarding show life and show people. Often he talks about where the show has been, where it is going next, the weather, local people, and any problems they have experienced.

John saved virtually all the business and personal correspondence he received and copies of all the correspondence he typed, as well as receipts, bills, account books, promotional materials and supply catalogs related to his business interests. Some of the correspondence has beautiful letterhead and photographs or illustrations of various shows and show acts. There are also samples of paint colors, tent materials, designs for tents and vehicles, as well as related catalogs of business supplies, particularly prizes for people who won carnival games.

Physically, about half of the collection, mostly his copies of correspondence, in the collection is quite acidic and fragile. Materials that were falling apart or greatly damaged have been photocopied. John usually typed his correspondence on acidic paper, so while it is nicely legible, it is brittle and very brown. The physical state of the correspondence he received varies, but overall, aside from part of it being acidic, most of it is in good physical condition, on various types of paper, with the penmanship, vocabularies, and spelling abilities varying among the writers. Some of the letters and accounts written in pencil instead of ink have smeared.

Processing Notes: The following materials were removed from the collection during processing: miscellaneous Greeting Cards (5 cubic feet); Duplicates and Miscellaneous Materials such as empty envelopes, instructions to complete tax forms, miscellaneous receipts, undated financial notes, and very generic correspondence (3 cubic feet); and Out-of-state periodicals (1 cubic feet). Non-duplicate Michigan publications were added to the Clarke’s collections and individually cataloged (approximately 1 cubic foot). The eighteen letters, 1931-1932, of Accession #78038 were interfiled into existing correspondence folders.

The collection reflects Cumming’s many interests and activities as Director of the Clarke, historian, author, researcher, bibliophile, printer, and collector.

The collection reflects Cumming’s many interests and activities as Director of the Clarke, historian, author, researcher, bibliophile, printer, and collector. The collection documents Mount Pleasant, Isabella County, Auburn, and Oakland County (Mich.) history, as well as his special interests, including Abel Bingham, the Gold Rush, and (Strangite) Mormons. There are drafts of his books and articles, speeches, and biographical materials. Photographic materials are also included. Most of the material in the collection is undated

Materials were processed mostly by Acc# as per the donor’s wishes. Boxes 1-6, Oversized folder, Acc#5261, 52991, 71-41. Boxes 7-8, Acc# 53561. Boxes 9-10, Acc#67488 and 67600. Box 11, unaccessioned materials from January 2007. Boxes 12-16, Acc#72398. Box 17, Acc#77785 1 box of slides.

Box 17 has four small slide boxes of Michigan slides, 1958-1978, and undated, documenting John’s travels. They are organized alphabetically by location, except for a trip that is dated August 15-16, 1969 which included Leland, Sleep Bear Dunes, Cross Village, and Mackinac Island.

Researchers may be interested in materials generated in his capacity as Director of the Clarke are found in the Clarke Historical Library Organizational Records. Additional Cumming slides are separately housed and inventoried.

Processing Note: Duplicates were removed from the collection. A list of items merged into other, existing collections, where they were more apt to be used by researchers, is in the donor’s file. Published items were separately cataloged and housed in the Clarke.

This is an extended family collection collected by Ken "Casey" Carstens, documenting his Carstens, Raney, Bloch, and Wicke family members.

This is an extended family collection collected by Ken “Casey” Carstens, documenting his Carstens, Raney, Bloch, and Wicke family members. The collection is in original order, divided by series by the names of families, couples, or individuals and then by size, alphabetically, and chronologically. Materials in the collection include textual and photographic materials. Textual materials include letters and emails, vital records, family trees, reunion materials, information from Ancestery.com, and U.S. service members’ documents. Books in the collection include family Bibles with family history written into them, religious texts, family histories, and books documenting the history of non-Michigan areas and people related to the family’s history. Photographic materials include photographs, negatives, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and audio and video recordings in several formats. There are also drawings by family members, including children. Some of the materials are in German, which is noted in the folder labels.

Series in the collection include: Anna and William Carstens Scrapbooks; Calvin and Dottie Carstens Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums; Calvin Z. “Cal” Carstens papers; William John Carstens, Jr. papers; Ranney and Bloch families materials; William and Anna Carstens and their family papers: Anna Wicke Carstens papers; Ernestine Wick papers; Rev. Heinrich Wicke papers; Marie Wicke papers; and Elizabeth Vandevoord papers.

Anna and William Carstens Scrapbooks:

There are three volumes of scrapbooks, 1986-1992. Each volume contains family photographs primarily of their children Calvin, Robert, Aldor, William, Delores, Marjorie, and Edwin; of World War I and early twentieth century baseball, newspaper clippings, postcards, and other topics. Photographs are well documented and identified. Volume pages were removed from binders and foldered during archival processing.

Calvin and Dottie Carstens Scrapbooks and Photograph Albums

There are four volumes of scrapbooks and three volumes of photograph albums. The scrapbooks span 1920 to 1960. Each volume contains family photographs primarily of Cal and Dottie and their children Mike, Ken (Casey), and Diane, with newspaper clippings, postcards. The photograph albums span 1985-1986 and 1996-1999. These volumes contain family photographs in Michigan and Cal and Dottie’s travels in the U.S., to Washington University (where Ken earned his master’s and Ph.D.), the Grand Canyon, and the Pacific Northwest. Photographs in scrapbooks and albums are well identified and annotated by Ken Carstens and family. Volume pages were removed from binders and foldered during archival processing.

Calvin Z. “Cal” Carstens papers:

Many materials in this series relate to the history of Cal’s life and the family histories he created in the late 1990s, with related materials. This series includes four diaries, 1939-2016, with the exception of most of 1944. The diary entries are mostly daily, but become more scattered in later years, and describe Cal’s daily life. These diaries were later turned into a multi-volume family history about Cal and Dottie’s lives with many photographs from throughout their lives. Other compiled histories include one volume about Cal’s parents, a three-page history of Pinconning railroads, and a history of Jonathan “Zeno” Theodore Carstens’ life given to Cal by his children. Digital copies of some of these compiled histories are in Box 7. There are copies of news clippings about Cal’s fifteenth mission, the opening of Sportsmen’s Airfield, Cal rescuing ice fishermen from an ice float, photographs of Carstens veterans, a photograph of Cal Carstens, his siblings, and classmates at Rhodes School, and Al Hoffman, a Michigan pilot and good friend of Cal. The series also includes several other bibliographic materials for several people. These include a copy of Cal’s Baptismal record, two church records for Wilhelm Johann Carstens in German, Edwin “Jack” John Carstens’ obituary and a church bulletin from the funeral, and Michael “Mike” Robert Carstens’ obituary and a police report about his death. There is also correspondence to Cal and Dottie, including letters from the Carstens’ old family friends from Rhodes, giving recollections of the 1920s and 1930s to help Cal with his research and from a Norwegian friend who visited Pinconning in 1965, recalling her visit with the Carstens. This series also contains two CD audio recordings of conversations between Cal and his parents. There are also many family photographs, primarily 1980s-1990s. Additional photographs are on the VHS tape.

The 1989 VHS videotape of 1950-1989 Carstens family slides includes color slides of Dottie, Cal, Ken (Casey), and Mike from San Antonio, Texas, the base, planes, family activities, swimming, parades, hunting, fishing, canoeing, archery, caverns, parties, picnics, holidays, local events, and the birth of their sister, Diane, who is then documented in the rest of the slides. The rest of the slides are mostly in Pinconning with lots of snow scenes and winter activities, with extended family, family and local events, including church, Christmas, birthdays, First Communion, high school graduation, CMU Commencement and images inside CMU Museum, Ken’s archaeology presentation display, family trips to Mackinaw, Tahquamenon Falls, Niagara Falls, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Hartwick Pines in Grayling, and Detroit Tigers games. The video ends with the boys’ dates, engagements, weddings, and grandbabies. Additionally, there is a 2-volume CD set recording of the VHS tape.

The June 2024 addition to the collection includes wedding CDs, Kenneth “Casey” Carstens’ sister, Diane, and his son, Jason. Diane’s CD is an audio recording and Jason’s CD is still photographs.

William John Carstens, Jr. papers:

Materials in this series are mostly related to William John Carstens, Jr. and some to Ken and David Carstens. There are several handmade and printed school graduation bulletins from William’s middle and high schools. His World War II service is documented by a photograph album and honorable discharge card, several individual photographs, and many items in the oversized scrapbook. His Flight Record and Log Book are a record of his flight dates and locations as a private pilot and contains a photograph of a biplane. Materials documenting his time playing baseball as a pitcher in the NEML, include several photographs, a newspaper clipping, and many items in the scrapbook. In 1964, William was temporarily stranded on an ice float in Saginaw Bay. There are a few newspaper clippings about the event and it is retold in his Magline employee of the month article. There is a photograph of William’s son, David Carstens, while in military service. There is a newspaper clipping about Ken Carstens, nephew of William, and his involvement in the creation of an archaeology program at CMU. A letter from Casey [Ken Carstens] to Uncle Bill [William] from July 19, 1992, contains two stone projectile points.

Ranney and Bloch families materials:

This series contains materials related to the Ranney and Bloch families. Many of the materials were found and compiled by Ken Carstens, who was researching genealogy for his mother, Dorothy “Dottie” (Bloch) Carstens. Her mother was Maria (Ranney) Bloch. Some of the materials in this series are print offs from genealogical research websites such as Ancestry.com and Find A Grave.

For Dottie’s 90th birthday, Ken and his siblings gifted her a Ranney Family History. It covers 11 generations back to Thomas Ranney (1578-1650). The History contains an opening letter from Ken, a history of English Puritans and their relocation to North America, a chronology and genealogy of the Ranney line, a history of several American Revolutionary War battles (Bunker Hill, White Plains, and Saratoga) that a Ranney ancestor may have fought in, a history of the ship Oliver Cromwell on which Amos Ranney served as the assistant carpenter, a history of the 23rd Michigan Infantry in which William E. Ranney (Dottie’s grandfather) served, newspaper clippings about Clyde E. Ranney (Dottie's father) being in trouble for illegal gambling in 1940, and annotated family photographs, which may be copies from Cal’s compiled family history books.

Dottie Carstens material in the series are her high school yearbook, a copy of her diploma, a booklet from her fiftieth-year high school reunion, and materials related to her Daughters of the American Revolution application and membership. The Carstens had spent several years applying for membership for Dottie using Amos Ranney (Sr.) as her ancestral link to the war. A letter from Ken to Dottie showed excitement at the prospect of the application being accepted soon and noted that they were the first from Amos’ lineage to apply (in other words, Amos Ranney was new to the D.A.R.’s records). Ultimately, Dottie gained membership through her ancestor Moses Hawley. There are also family photographs of Dottie, Marie, Emil Bloch, and their families.

Marie (Ranney) Bloch materials include a letter from Arnie and Marion to Dottie and Cal about how Marie’s U.S. citizenship was obtained and the family’s connection to Germany and Kurland, a brief history of Marie written by Dottie, a CD and Cassette recordings of Marie playing the piano, her death certificate, obituary, and a funeral card. The CD recording can be accessed with Windows Media Player Legacy.

Bloch family genealogical materials are a copy of a ship manifest from the vessel Emil Bloch traveled to the United States on and a couple CDs containing Bloch family photographs and the emails they were sent with from Micheal Field to Cal and Ken Carstens. The files on these CDs are Outlook files and can be accessed with Outlook.

Ranney family genealogical materials include family print outs from the Find A Grave website about Thomas Ranney I, Thomas Ranney II, John Ranney I, and Amos Ranney (Jr.); a copy of the obituary for George E. Ranney who was a prominent doctor in Lansing, MI, three records from Ancestry.com about Nathaniel Ranney, records from Ancestry.com on Amos Ranney (Sr.) including basic genealogical information from family histories, birth records, and federal census data, several Revolutionary War service records of his involvement with Connecticut’s first battalion state regiment and the fifth company in the ninth Connecticut battalion, a death record for his wife listed as “Mrs. Ranney,” copies from Ancestry.com of correspondence between Charles Adams and The Bureau of Pensions concerning Amos’ war pension, and genealogical information about Andrew Ranney, the son of famous painter Willaim Ranney, from Ancestry.com and the 1880 federal census. The series also contains parts A and B of ‘Middletown Upper Houses’ by Charles Collard Adams which contains genealogical information on the Ranneys which was used by Ken during his research.

Five books about the artworks of famous painter William Ranney (1813-1857) and a CD of Lisa playing Christmas Carols on a piano in 1983 and 1985 complete this series. The CD can be accessed using Windows Media Player Legacy.

William and Anna Carstens and their family papers:

This series contains materials related to William and Anna Carstens and their family. Biographical information about them comes from their funeral cards, William’s obituary, Anna’s written recollections of her youth from birth to young adulthood, and a 1914 postcard she wrote to her mother in German. There are newspaper clippings about William and Anna’s 50th wedding anniversary and William’s bowling association. There are several photographs of the pair, William’s General Store, his World War I medals, his baseball team, and Anna’s childhood home. There is a genealogy of their family, compiled by their grandson Ken Carstens, with materials he gathered in creating it. Among these materials are: a plat map of William’s father’s 80-acre farm, genealogical information about William and Anna’s son, Jonathan “Zeno” Carstens, family history forms that relatives mailed to Ken, a letter to Ken from a German researcher about the Carstens family’s history in Germany, a family tree and several photographs of the Bloch family that were emailed to Ken’s mother from her cousin, a Wicke family tree, Fred Rohr’s obituary, family wedding invitations and baby announcements, newspaper articles about William’s brother Otto and William’s grandson Mike, and family photographs with people in them identified. There is also correspondence to Ken from relatives about family history and creating a bench memorial for William and Anna Carstens in Pinconning.

Anna Wicke Carstens papers:

This series documents Anna Wicke Carstens and her husband, William (Bill) Carstens Sr. Photographs of Anna, William, Marie Ranna, Grandfather William with Grandmother Ida, daughter Ida, and the old Rhodes schoolhouse are included. Personal correspondence to Anna are written in German. Additional correspondence concerns a park bench memorial for both Anna and William Carstens in their native town of Pinconning, planned by their grandson, Ken Carstens. Anna’s obituary and memorial guestbook, William Carsten’s obituary, and selected pages from Bentley Township Centennial 1892-1992 about the Carstens family home, Carstens store, Rhodes schoolhouse, and registered Carsten voters in the 1892-1919 period complete the series. A CD of the full Bentley Township Centennial 1892-1992 is in Box 7.

Ernestine Wick papers:

This series contains the drawings and poetry collections of Ernestine Wicke, her Im Kreise der Kinder book, and writings. Also included are Wicke family, Merle family, and Keller family photographs and a marriage license for Gustav Keller and Anna Martha Wicke Keller.

Rev. Heinrich Wicke papers:

This series documents the Reverend and his family via Bibles, journals, letters, poems, and assorted writings. Materials that are in German are so noted on the folders. The series is organized alphabetically and chronologically. The books, Die Bibel and Die heilige Schrift, both contain family history. His Writings and Muses was translated from the original German into an English booklet by his great-grandson Ken Carstens, as a gift to Ken’s father, Cal Carstens. A CD of Wicke/Merle family history provides more insight into the family. Some of the Bible Passages booklet pages are covered in tape and very acidic.

Marie Wicke papers:

Materials in this series mainly relate to Marie Wicke, with some folders documenting her daughters, Elizabeth and Ernestine, as well as more general family information. This series includes Marie’s Obituary and Memorial Guestbook, a Carsten’s family Forget-Me-Not book (in German, and a German Hymn book given to the family by a friend. The majority of her papers are in the form of letters written in German by her brother, Fritz Merle. Also included in this series are other Wicke family letters, photographs, books, obituaries, memory cards, and memory books.

Elizabeth Vandevoord papers:

This series contains Elizabeth (Wicke) Vandevoord’s correspondence with her mother, other scattered correspondence, a photograph, handwritten prayers, obituaries, memory cards, and a family photograph.

Processing Notes:

During processing approximately 3 cubic feet of peripheral and miscellaneous material, duplicate photographs, and objects were withdrawn from the collection and transferred to the CMU Museum. Nine titles were separately cataloged. Books which related to non-Michigan family history were retained within the boxes of the collection.

The collection includes meeting minutes, photographs, clippings, publications, correspondence, and anniversary materials.

The collection includes records of monthly meetings of the LWV-MPA and organizational elections of league presidents and board membership roles. The collection is comprised of papers, pamphlets, board minutes, and meeting minutes. Folders within the collection hold photographs and newspaper clippings (copies) of LWV-MPA events and membership activity from the provisional grant in 1969 to 2012. Also included within the LWV-MPA collection are pamphlets and booklets published by the organization as well as correspondence from local and state politicians. Additions added beginning at the end of Box 4, 50th Anniversary Materials, 2019, and Meeting Minutes, 2010-. The collection is ongoing.

Processing Note: According to the donor agreement, all duplicates (.5 cubic ft.) were returned to the League of Women Voters.