Pittsburg State University Digital Commons

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  Richards, J.J., Collection, 1982-2007

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Letters, photographs, papers, research, music, and music lists relating to the career and life of John Joseph Richards and other musicians such as Merle Evans, Karl King, and John Phillip Sousa.

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  Rising, Lloyd Harrison, Collection

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Lloyd Harrison Rising (1894-1982) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Brown in 1918 and they remained married until her death in 1965. Rising married Mildred Oshlund in 1966. Dr. Rising graduated high school from Canton, South Dakota; received his AB and DD (Doctor of Divinity) degrees from Dakota Wesleyan University; Doctor of Sacred Theology degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University; and a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Baker University. He served at various churches throughout his career, including the First Methodist Church in Pittsburg, Kansas from 1950 until 1967. He enjoyed traveling and mission work, serving in Japan, Canada, Scandinavia, Mexico and for a year as a pastor in North Ireland.

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  Roberts, Neva Allen (1912-2002), Collection, 1885-2002

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of autobiographical work, correspondence, family history, educational and career records, legal and financial documents, photos, artifacts, organization papers, scrapbooks, news clippings, and other materials pertaining to Neva Allen Roberts, her family and her friends.

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  Robison, Carson J. (1890-1957) Collection, 1903-1988

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Biographical sketches, personal papers, publications, and recorded materials of noted country and western musician, Carson J. Robison, of Chetopa, Kansas.

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  Roitz, Edward J. (1955- ), Papers, 1980-1984

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Papers of Edward J. Roitz, Kansas State Senator for the 13^th District between 1980 and 1984. The papers consist of correspondence, reports, publications, maps, memos, photographs, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous material.

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  Roper, L. V., Collection, 1963-1987

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Lester Virgil Roper was born June 19, 1931 in Girard, Kansas and passed away on June 12, 1998 in Pittsburg, Kansas. He graduated from Girard High School and received a B.A. in Journalism from Pittsburg State University. He then enrolled in the graduate program of creative writing at the University of Oklahoma. Roper took on many different professions after he had completed his education. He taught writing and vocational education at several community colleges and vocational technical institutes. He also found work as a welder, a barber, and a Fuller Brush salesman. As a writer, Roper published eleven novels under two pen names: L. V. Roper for his action and adventure novels; and Samantha Lester for his romance novels. He also served in the Kansas House of Representatives for nine years. This collection includes personal, correspondence, research, copies of manuscripts, photographs, newspaper clippings, and miscellaneous materials.

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  Rose, Jerry, Collection, 1914-1997

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of photographs, news articles, and publications of Betty K. Wolverton Mullen and family, involving Parsons, Kansas and the Parsons High School Class of 1943.

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  Rosen, Stanley R. Collection of Labor, Labor History, and Labor Education

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Stanley R. Rosen Collection of Labor, Labor History, and Labor Education totals over 140 linear feet of papers (not including books), related to labor, labor history and education, unions, as well as Jewish culture, Chicago history, and Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal. The bulk of the papers have been added over a span of several years, and are still being added, and currently are awaiting processing. Researchers wishing to access and view the manuscript collection are urged to make an appointment.

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  Rowe Family Papers, 1912-1920

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Personal papers and collected materials of the Rowe family of Pittsburg, Kansas. Relates primarily to World War I, the American Union Against Militarism, and conscientious objectors. Includes correspondence, clippings, circulars, and other printed materials. Additional pamphlets, leaflets, and other publications relating to World War I were removed from the Papers for cataloging. A list of the removed items is appended to this guide.

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  Rudesill, Henry, Papers, 1894-1895

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  These are the papers of Henry Rudesill consisting of correspondence and newspapers sent to him by his mother and father during his attendance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio.

  Henry Milton Rudesill was born on May 8, 1873 in Ashland, Ohio to Henrietta Rudesill and John C. Rudesill. In 1890, the family moved from Ohio to Hutchinson, Kansas. After receiving his music education degree from the University of Kansas School of Music, Rudesill moved to Oberlin, Ohio to attend the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While at the Conservatory, Rudesill studied organ, piano, and harp, and was a member of the Glee Club. Henry Rudesill graduated in 1898. He then moved back to Hutchinson, Kansas and taught music for many years. Henry Rudesill passed away in 1953.

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  Ruff, Walter Glen, Collection, 1883-1962

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of sheet music, guides, books, and other materials related to W. Glen Ruff and his music shop.

  Walter Glen Ruff (1904-1989) was born in Kansas and graduated from Fort Hays State Teachers College. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Kansas in 1940. Following this, he taught instrumental and vocal music on both the high school and college level. Ruff served with the American Red Cross in India and Ceylon during World War II. Afterwards, he was head of the music department at Western Carolina Teachers College. In 1950, he moved back to Kansas at opened Ruff’s Music Shop in Pittsburg. The store operated for 20 years. After Ruff sold it, he continued to repair musical instruments. Ruff was married twice, first to Bessie Adelaide Peterson (1903-1936) and to Nora Nadine Nolan (1908-2001). W. Glen Ruff passed away in 1989.

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  Ruggles Family Collection, 1897-1964

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of music sheets, school work, handbooks, and children’s books.

  James Ruggles (1933-2015) was born to George and Zelpha Ruggles in Pittsburg, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University) in 1953, and received his medical degree from the University of Kansas in 1957. From 1963 to 1965, Ruggles worked in the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. He then completed a two-year fellowship in Pathology at the University of Minnesota, and worked as a pathologist for 39 years. In 1991, he and Ramona Woolley married in Yankton, South Dakota. In his pastime, James enjoyed music, specifically classical and blue grass, and learned to play the Dobro guitar. He also was an outdoorsman, playing sports, hunting, and fishing. He passed away in 2015.

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  Safehouse Incorporated, Kansas, Records, 1990-1998

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Newsletters and brochures of Safehouse Incorporated, a private non-profit organized in 1979 to improve the quality of care and assistance to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. It served ten counties in Southeast Kansas.

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  Saia, David Joseph (1904-1990), Papers, 1938-1990

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Personal and professional correspondence, organizational newsletters, legal documents, and other items collected by David J. “Papa Joe” Saia during his tenure as Crawford County Commissioner and chairman of the Crawford County Democratic Party.

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  Sargent, Elizabeth, Collection, 1983-1984

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of letters from Elizabeth Sargent to Gene DeGruson discussing writing and the Little Balkans Review. It also includes some of her work.

  Elizabeth Sargent was a poet, artist, and composer who lived and worked in New York City. She was born to a mining family in 1920, adopted by a Quaker family at 16 months old, and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio where she adopted the surname Sargent from an encouraging teacher. Sargent studied theater at the Carnegie Institute of Technology where she met her first husband, Hans Freund, whom she married in 1940. They divorced after World War II and Sargent was briefly wed to a man in Argentina before marrying her third husband, Allan Roberts, in the mid-1950s. Sargent reviewed books for The Dallas Morning News until she and her husband moved to New Jersey. In 1963, Sargent published her first book of poetry, African Boy. A year later, she separated from, but did not divorce, her husband and moved to Carnegie Hall where she lived until 2010. Her studio in New York is where she wrote works like Love Poems by Elizabeth Sargent, A Woman in Love, and The Magic Book of Love Exercises. Sargent had some of her poems published in the Little Balkans Review and she became friends with Gene DeGruson, the founder. In 2010, Sargent and other tenants were evicted from their apartments above Carnegie Hall. She was the last tenant forced out after receiving a $2 million settlement. According to friends, she stopped writing after the move. Sargent passed in 2017.

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  Saxey Collection of Emanuel Haldeman-Julius, 1889-1993

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  This collection includes personal correspondence, photographs, photograph negatives, photocopies, newspapers, newspaper clippings, education material, military materials, real estate documents, and miscellaneous materials relating to the Haldeman-Julius family and descendants.

  Emanuel Julius was born in Philadelphia in 1889. In 1915 he came to Girard, Kansas to work at the Appeal to Reason, then the nation’s largest socialist newspaper. Shortly after he arrived, he married a local bank heiress, Anna Marcet Haldeman (1887-1941), and the two hyphenated their last names. Haldeman-Julius took over the Appeal to Reason in 1919 and began his own publishing company, and is best remembered for publishing the Little Blue Books. Emanuel and Anna had three children, Alice (Haldeman-Julius) Deloach (1917–1991), and Henry Haldeman-Julius (1919-1990), they adopted Joesphine (Haldeman-Julius) Roselle (1910-?). Henry Haldeman and Donna Lou Haldeman-Bott (1929-2004) would have two children, Linda Karel Saxey (1949-2001) and Roger H. Haldeman (1950-1973).

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  Schick, Marjorie, Collection, 1962-2015

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection and representation of the work and art of Professor Marjorie Schick. Included are photographs of her work; teaching materials; documents relating to her teaching career at PSU; correspondence; exhibits in which she appeared; and art journals.

  Marjorie Schick taught in the Department of Art at Pittsburg State University for fifty years. She became known internationally as an artist of jewelry and wearable art. She attended the University of Wisconsin and Indiana University, where she developed her artistic style. In the late 1960s she began working at Pittsburg State University, along with her husband, Dr. James Schick, who was a history professor. Marjorie Schick’s art has been exhibited around the world and is held by many museums worldwide. Ms. Schick passed away in December 2017 shortly after retiring from Pittsburg State University.

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  Schlacks, Doris, Collection, 1891-1976

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of newspaper and magazine articles about Kansas History, two plates made for centennial celebrations, and family history documents.

  Doris Rachel (Gibson) Schlacks, born in 1932, grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Monmouth College in Illinois. She and William H. Schlacks were married in 1954, but later divorced. Doris lived in Houston, Texas for 25 years before moving back to Pittsburg. She was a member of many organizations like Kappa Kappa Gamma and the PEO Sisterhood. Doris passed away in 2009. The family documents belonged to Doris’ great-grandfather Archibald “Archie” Burns (1836-1921). He kept a ledger and a journal documenting several events that happened nearly every day, from 1903 to 1912. Archibald and his family moved to Beulah, Kansas in the mid-1880s and to Girard in the early 1900s after he was elected county treasurer. Archie held many elected positions, eventually becoming mayor. Archibald also had some documents on his family history, describing his parents, Sarah Gillespie (1802-1890) and Stuart Burns (1793-1863), and other relatives.

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  Schlanger Park Civic Club Scrapbook, 1955-1986

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Newspaper clippings, club bulletins, membership lists, obituaries of members and other miscellaneous materials relating to the Schlanger Park Civic Club.

  Schlanger Park in Pittsburg, Kansas, was created by land donated from A. H. Schlanger in 1929. The movement to turn the land into a park led to the creation of the Schlanger Park Civic Club, which was city federated in 1935.

  The Schlanger Park Civic Club Scrapbook is primarily comprised of newspaper clippings, club bulletins, membership lists, obituaries of members and other miscellaneous materials relating to the Schlanger Park Civil Club. It is unknown who created the scrapbook.

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  Schoenborn, John T., Collection, 1895-1978

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Contains personal correspondence, biographical information, and military artifacts of John Schoenborn, from the Spanish-American War. There are also Women’s Federation of Clubs artifacts of Rhoda Elma Schoenborn, photographs, personal writings, books, cigar boxes, postcards, newspaper clippings, military awards and convention pins.

  John Taylor Schoenborn was born in 1883 and served in the United States Navy from 1901 - 1917. He was a member of the United Spanish War Veterans. He married Rhoda Elma Taylor in 1900. Rhoda Elma was also a member of the USWV Ladies’ Auxiliary and of the Women’s Federation of Clubs. John and Rhoda Elma had two children, Rhodelma born 1909 and John Taylor born in 1911. The Schoenborns were residents of Parsons, Kansas during the 1930s and 1940s. John Schoenborn worked for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and passed away in Parsons in 1957.

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  Schoeppel, Andrew Frank (1894 - 1962) Papers, 1940-1961

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Papers of Andrew Frank Schoeppel, governor of Kansas and U.S. senator. The papers consist of congressional bills, press releases, memos, statements, and miscellaneous material that relates to Schoeppel’s terms as a U.S. senator.

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  Sell, Paul Stuart, Collection

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Dr. Paul Stuart Sell was a longtime dentist, practicing in Independence, Kansas, and an avid musician. This collection of materials includes photographs, sheet music, songs and song books he used to play at events, and miscellaneous artifacts.

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  Shehan, Pat, Collection, 1904-1920

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Contains photographs of early Chanute, Kansas.

  The first settlement in what would become Chanute, Kansas (Neosho County) began in 1856, prior to Kansas statehood and just before the arrival of the railroad. Four nearby rival towns, New Chicago, Chicago Junction, Alliance, and Tioga, were also developed. They were vying over which town would house the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad’s new land office. Octave Chanute, Chief Engineer and General Superintendent of the railroad, suggested that the towns merge into one. On January 1, 1873, they did just that, and they were chartered as the city of Chanute, named after Octave Chanute. The city began to flourish with the Southern Kansas Railroad’s division headquarters in town. Chanute saw rapid growth in flourmills, grain elevators, banks, drug and hardware stores, and natural gas. By 1903, Chanute established electric utility and established gas, water, wastewater, and refuse utilities in the following years.

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  Sheppard, Jacob Ingraham (1861-1921), Collection, 1914-1922, 1976, 1991

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Correspondence, biographical and genealogical information, newspaper article transcriptions, and photographs relating to the life and work of Jacob I. Sheppard, a prominent attorney from Southeast Kansas and a member of the Socialist party.

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  Sheverbush, Joan J. (1936 - ), Collection, 1982-1990

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of materials relating to a research project and published article titled, “Health Problems in Galena, Kansas: a Heavy Metal Mining Superfund Site. The research project was conducted by faculty members from Pittsburg State University and the University of Kansas Medical Center.

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  Shillaber, Benjamin P., Collection, 1838-1890

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber was a writer and humorist. This collections includes photocopies and transcriptions of personal and professional correspondence, biographical material, journal pages, and drafts of some of his works.

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  Silvia, John, Collection, 1910-1925

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of concertina and oboe sheet music along with the Chemnitzer concertina belonging to John Silvia.

  John Silvia was born in Radley, Kansas to Italian immigrants, in 1892. He grew up in a coal mining town and became a miner at the age of 15. In his spare time, Silvia enjoyed baseball and playing the clarinet. In 1913, he married Ann Stockinger, and soon began working as a mechanic in Radley. In 1916, Silvia went to Kansas City to study auto-mechanics, while Ann stayed in Radley with their daughter, Marie Kay. Walter McCray, a music professor and for whom McCray Hall at Pittsburg State University is name for, tried to place Silvia in a teaching position at the school in auto-mechanics, but Silvia lacked the education to be a professor. Silvia and his wife welcomed Elmer J. in 1919 and Sylvia Ann in 1931. In 1927, Silvia and his brother Tony opened their own service garage in Frontenac, Kansas, but it burned down a year later requiring Silvia to work off the debts of the shop during the Depression. But, in 1934 he was able to combine his interests in mechanics and mining to become a mechanic for the Alston Coal Company and later the Midway Coal Company where he worked until his retirement in 1962. In his retirement, Silvia grew tomatoes, made wine, read, enjoyed music, and tinkered. He passed away in 1986.

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  Simoncic, Anthony, Collection, 1884-1941

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  This collection consists of photocopies of records of mining locations, accidents, maps of southwestern, Kansas, and the memoir “WW-1 Baby” by Anthony Simoncic.

  Anthony John Simoncic was born in Weir, Kansas in 1907, and grew up in Ringo, Kansas during the 1920s. As an adult, he worked as a truck driver. Anthony married Rose Ann Oblak (1908 – 1991) and together they had a son in 1939. Simoncic passed away in his home in 1993, unable to complete his memoir. This collection was donated to PSU in 2000 by Linda Knoll.

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  Simpson, E. LeRoy, Playbook, 1954-1956

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A Pittsburg State University football players’ playbook from the mid-1950s, a football program from 1951, and a newspaper clipping.

  Edward LeRoy Simpson was born in Miami, Oklahoma in 1934, to Eddie and Ada Simpson. From 1952-1956 LeRoy attended the Kansas State Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University). He played several positions on the football team, including quarterback, and lettered all four years. He went on to receive a master’s degree from the Kansas State Teachers College in 1961. After earning a doctorate, Dr. Simpson joined Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska in 1968 as an associate professor of human performance/leisure studies and athletic director. During his tenure of over 30 years teaching and coaching, he was the track and field and cross country coach from 1968 to his retirement in 1997. He started the women’s track program at Wayne State College and was inducted into the WSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Sioux City Relays Hall of Fame in 2009. He was married to Marian Simpson and they had one son. E. LeRoy Simpson passed away in 2011 in Woodland Park, Colorado.

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  Skaer, Georgia Blaney, Collection, 1926-1960

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  This collection includes personal correspondence, poems, and society materials owned or relating to Georgia Blaney Skaer.

  Georgia (Blaney) Skaer was born on August 28, 1883 in Bigelow, Kansas to George Josiah Blaney and Anna Christine (Carlson) Blaney. She attended Kansas State College (today, Kansas State University), graduating in 1904. She married Augustus “Gus” Phillip Skaer (1862-1947), and they lived in Augusta, Kansas. Skaer took up writing, mostly poetry, and entered poems in contests, and submitted poems for anthologies. Some would be published. In 1927 she published Women of the Bible, Burton Publishing Company, Kansas City. published in 1927. Poems appeared in Contemporary Kansas Poetry, 1927 and A Compilation of Poems (Kansas Federation of Women’s Clubs) 1939. She gained honorary membership in the Eugene Field Society, and the International Mark Twain Society. She served as Chairman of Literature for the Kansas Federation of Women’s Clubs. She passed away on October, 19, 1965.

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  Skelton, Edward, Collection, 1875, 1878-1879

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Edward Skelton diary consists of daily entries from January 1^st, to November 14^th, 1875 with purchases and expenses registered from 1878-1879. Most diary entries mention daily farm work, hangouts, the weather and Sunday School. The entries are short and also describe daily activities of plowing, cutting timber, going to the market, and visiting the neighbors.

  Edward Skelton was born in 1854 and lived in Labette County, Kansas with his parents. Edward worked as a farmer and was married to Artie Storey in 1880. Edward Skelton died in 1915.

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  Skourup Family Papers, 1915-1985

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Family papers of the Skourup family, who lived near Pittsburg, Kansas since the 1860s. This collection focuses on the eldest daughter, Elnora, and contains correspondence, scrap and memory books, World War I items, publications, programs, photographs, clippings, and miscellaneous items. The collection gives an overview of local high school and college life during the World War I years, and the mid-1920s in Southeast Kansas. The collection does not contain much information about the Skourup family.

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  Skubitz, Mary, Collection, 1921

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Mary Skubitz Journal consists of ten pages written on ledger paper during the Amazon Army March of December 1921, describing the event.

  Mary Youvan Skubitz was born in Slovenia in 1887 and was brought to America in 1890 by her parents Andrew and Julia Youvan. Andrew Youvan worked as a coal miner in Crawford County, Kansas. Mary was one of the leaders at a December 11, 1921 meeting that resulted in the protest that became known as the Amazon Army March on December 12, 1921, in which she participated. In the early 1900s she married Joseph Skubitz, and in 1906 their son, Joseph Skubitz, Jr. was born. In 1963, Joseph Skubitz, Jr. was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-eighth Congress and to the next seven succeeding Congresses, serving until 1978. Mary Skubitz passed away in 1962.

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  Smith, Audra Ann, Collection, 1913-1985

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Mrs. Audra Smith, a native of Kansas, took a tour in 1974 through the Soviet Union with the Farm Bureau’s Farmer-to-Farmer. This collection includes biographical information, her travel journals, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

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  Smither, Ethel Schwab, Collection, 1986-1995

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A manuscript of Ethel Schwab Smither’s novel, The Yielding Years (Edgemoor Publishers, 1995).

  Ethel Schwab Smither (1893-1969) was born near Cherokee, Kansas, the eldest of seven children. She and her husband Elbert raised three children. Smither was always interested in writing, possibly using it as an escape during difficult times like the Great Depression. Her interest in writing led her to become a member of the Kansas Authors Society. By the time of her death in 1969, Smither had a large collection of completed poems and a typewritten manuscript, The Yielding Years, which was her only novel. The Yielding Years is an historical novel, set in Southeast Kansas from 1869 to 1912. It follows two families, based on her own, who migrated from Illinois to Kansas. The story centers around the development of the area, especially in the coal mining industry. Smither describes the poverty and strife of coal miners through one of the families in the novel. She also highlights nature, “customs, manners, simple pleasures of rural and village life, and the industrial milieu of the period.” According to her children, Smither wrote the novel as a way to conceptualize her experiences and to provide a historical account of the coal mining industry through the eyes of her family. To write the novel, Smither and her husband conducted research within the Kansas Historical Society. The book was not complete by the time of her passing. Her children, William, Mary, and Howard, completed and published the novel for their mother as a memorial.

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  Smith, Lena Martin (1887-1961), Collection, 1902-1951

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Lena Martin Smith Collection includes photographs, letters, and miscellaneous programs from events at Pittsburg State University.

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  Smith, Reggie, Collection

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The papers in this collection are old research files of Reggie Smith. Margaret Grandle, who was a charter member of the General Russel Post No. 144, Grand Army of the Republic, is the subject of the main file. The collection consists of clippings, biographical information, correspondences, programs, documents, and publications.

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  Smith, Reggie, Collection, 1902-1969

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Reggie Smith Collection contains research and military files regarding the General Russel Post No. 144, Grand Army of the Republic, and other military matters. The collection includes clippings, biographical information, correspondences, programs, documents, and publications, and material related to Margaret Grandle, who was a charter member of Russel Post No. 144.

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  Smoot, Grady, Collection, 1938; 1951-2003

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The collection includes Blueprints, Catalogs, Development Plans, Donor Memorabilia, Financial Records, Maps, Magazines, Meeting Minutes, Newsletters, Newspapers, Newspaper Clippings, Personal & Professional Correspondence, Photocopies, Photographs, Programs, Recordings, Reports & Studies, Resumes, Miscellaneous Documents & Paperwork, and Miscellaneous Materials relating to Dr. Smoot’s career at Pittsburg State University.

  Joseph Grady Smoot was born on May 7, 1932 in Winter Haven, Florida to Robert M. and Vera E. (McNutt) Smoot. Smoot received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Missionary College in Collegedale, Tennessee in 1955, a Masters of Arts in History and a Ph.D. Degree in History from the University of Kentucky in 1961. On June 4^th, 1959 Smoot married Irma (Jean) Smoot. Joseph Smoot served Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Michigan) as Vice President of Academic Affairs and eventually President. In 1984, Dr. Smoot began working at Pittsburg State University as the Vice President of Development and Public Relations. During this time, he organized the PSU Foundation, established the KRPS radio station, the University Magazine, and provided funding for numerous buildings and renovations. He involved himself in the affairs of PSU even after his retirement in 1997. In 1994, he became Director of Gold Bank Pittsburg. He was a member of the First State Bank of Pittsburg’s Board of Trustees. He was involved with the North Central Association’s Commission on Institutions of Higher Education, participating in at least 39 visits and chairing 22 of the accreditation teams. Dr. Joseph Smoot passed away on January 5, 2018 in Pittsburg.

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  Snare, Wilma Cook, Collection, 1856-1997

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  This collection consist of records, histories, and photographs related to families, places, groups and businesses in Cherokee and Crawford Counties, Kansas. Includes histories of the Tharp and Bumgarner families of the area.

  Wilma Cook Snare, born in 1930 to Walter and Myrtle Cook, was a local historian of Cherokee County, Kansas, and a licensed practitioner nurse at the Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center. Snare collected and researched material related to places, mining, events, and families of Cherokee County. She wrote a book on its history called Down Memory Lane, and wrote articles for local newspapers, as well as assisting researchers. Wilma Cook Snare passed in 2004, followed by her husband Robert Stanley Snare in 2005.

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  Sollner, William J., Collection, 1963-1995

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  William J. Sollner was born July 28, 1925 in Downs, Kansas to Dr. Anson Huey and Esther Ann Sollner. Dr. Anson Sollner moved the family to Arma, Kansas where he worked as a dentist for several years. William Sollner graduated from Crawford County Community High School in 1943, and began training to be a naval aviator. Upon finishing his training he remained in the Ready Reserves until 1956 when he had received a Fulbright award to teach a year in Germany. After teaching in Germany, he continued his teaching career in Battle Creek, Michigan, Missouri, and Hawaii. While in Michigan he began to develop an interest in performing with puppets. In 1960, he took a position as a scriptwriter, actor, and director for the Centron Corporation of Lawrence, Kansas. While with Centron, he produced non-theatrical films for business, industry, and education. Afterwards, he began working for the Calvin Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri and continued working in the film industry until 1970 when he moved his family to Hawaii. In Hawaii he served as Dean of Instruction at Kaua'i Community College for a short time, then accepted an offer to write for The Garden Island newspaper, where he worked for twelve years as run-of-the-press reporter. In addition, he made a series of independent films on Hawaiian culture and published an alternative bi-monthly periodical, Kaua'i OFF CENTER, for five years. Two of his play scripts won national contests and were produced in Florida and Michigan. He performed in numerous college and community theater productions. In 1991 "Bill" and his wife Fay moved back to Arma to care for his aged mother. His wife preceded him in death on July 24, 2005.In 2013 Sollner married Yanju Chen. Mr. Sollner passed away in Arma, Kansas in November 2017.

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  Southeast Kansas Symphony Concert, Collection, 1981-2006

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Southeast Kansas Symphony is an organization whose membership consists of Pittsburg State University students and citizens from Southeast Kansas and Southwest Missouri. Prior to being named the Southeast Kansas Symphony in the fall of 1981, the organization was known as the Civic (Symphony) Orchestra. It was organized in 1952 under the direction of Markwood Holmes. [See Collection #36 Pittsburg State University, Department of Music, Collection for more information on the Civic Orchestra]. From 1981 until the Spring of 2001 the Southeast Kansas Symphony was under the direction of Pittsburg State University faculty member, Carolann Martin. Stella Hastings, Pittsburg State University faculty member, led the symphony as conductor from the fall of 2001 to 2010. Dr. Selim Giray, another PSU faculty member directed the SEK Symphony from 2010 until 2012. In 2012, PSU faculty member Dr. Raul Antonio Munguia took the baton and is currently Artistic Director and Conductor for the symphony.

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  Sowards-Sharp Family Collection

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of biographical material, correspondence, church materials, Pittsburg State University materials, Newspaper clippings, Photographs, and miscellaneous materials related to the writer Genevieve Sharp Sowards and her family.

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  Sperry-Galligar Collection (1907-1995; 1904-1975); circa 1865 – 2012

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  Theodore Sperry and Gladys Galligar were two respected research professors who taught several branches of biology, and were specialized in ecology and plant physiology, respectively. Outside of their teaching careers, both of them were involved with conservation, bird banding and studying native flora and animals.

  This collection contains correspondences, biographical materials, clippings, materials from organizations, academic materials, research materials, publications by and not by Sperry and Galligar, travel materials, Paradocs materials, Sperry’s military materials, financial and antique records, photographs and slides, genealogy materials and miscellaneous materials.

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  Stafford and Claire Correspondence, 1969-1978

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The Stafford and Claire Letters includes one newspaper clipping, an invitation, two thank-you cards, and five letters of correspondence between William Stafford and William Clair regarding the publication of an interview between Claire, Stafford, and Primus St. John that would be featured in the National Literary Magazine’s book, The Voyage.

  William Stafford was born in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1914 to Earl and Ruby Stafford. During the Great Depression he held a variety of jobs including work in beet fields, an oil refinery, and plowing. He received his B.A. from the University of Kansas in 1937. During World War II, he was drafted into the military while finishing his masters degree (University of Kansas), which led him to declare himself a conscientious objector. He was allowed to perform alternative service for several years. After the war, he married Dorothy Frantz, and completed his M.A. in 1946. In 1947, he was recruited by Morgan Ordell, the president of Lewis & Clark College. In 1954, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. In 1962, Stafford published his first book, Traveling through the Dark, which won the National Book Award. In 1964, he was awarded the Poetry Society of America’s most prestigious award, the Shelly Memorial Award. In 1970 he was named the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (today’s Poet Laureate). During his life, Stafford published over 50 collections of poetry and today is considered a major American poet. William Stafford died on August 28, 1993.

  William Claire was born in 1935 in North Hampton, Massachusetts and is a graduate of the Deerfield Academy, Georgetown University, and Columbia University. After serving in the military, Claire moved to Washington D.C. where he was the chief editor for the National Literary Magazine from 1967 until 1973, winning five national awards as well as a National Endowment for Arts award. Afterwards, he became a poet and an essayist, getting published in The American Scholar and The New York Times. He received a Yaddo fellowship, a McDowell fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation grant winner.

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  Stafford, William E. (1914-1993), Collection, 1980-1996

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of correspondence, clippings, images, and writings which pertain to the poets William Stafford and Denise Low.

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  Stalker, J. W., Collection, 1935-1949

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of court papers and cases from J. W. Stalker, Justice of the Peace, Pittsburg, Kansas. The papers consist of correspondence, orders, and complaints, summons, and notices.

  John W. Stalker was born in 1868. He was the Justice of the Peace in Girard, Kansas between 1935 and 1949. In 1892 he married Rena E. Myers in Crawford County. They had six children. John Stalker also worked independently as an insurance agent for Stalker’s Realty, “the Preferred Fire Insurance Co.” He passed away in 1959 in Girard.

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  Stamm, David, Memoir, 1867-1917

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The one-volume memoir was handwritten, from 1903 to 1917, by David Stamm, and is a biographical sketch of his life, family history, and hardships. There are also three photographs of Stamm, including one with his wife, Catherine.

  David Stamm was born December 22, 1837 in Salt Creek Township, Holmes County, Ohio, to John and Anna Elizabeth Germann Stamm. When he was five years old, the family moved to Van Wert County, Ohio. As a young man, he learned to clerk in various goods and book stores. He served in the Company H, 139th Regiment, Ohio National Guard, during the Civil War. David Stamm married Catherine (Kate) Schumm on October 31, 1867. They had 13 children, including a stillborn baby boy in 1868. Other children were John Frederick William (Willie), Louisa Magdalena Elisabeth (Lulu or Lula), and Mary Juliana (Julia), Otto Louis, Henry Albert, David, Catherine, Bertha Emilie, Theresa Rosina, Paul Gerhard, Paula Gertrud, and Carl Ferdinand. In 1883 the family moved to a small farm in Prairie City, Missouri. In November 1887 Stamm purchased a dry goods business and moved his family to Humboldt, Kansas. The family moved again in 1889 when Stamm opened a general merchandise store in Pittsburg, Kansas, on the east side of Broadway, between 2nd and 3rd streets, selling goods and groceries for twelve years before retiring. His wife, Catherine, died July 17, 1907. Stamm moved to Fort Scott, Kansas in 1913 and lived there until his death on October 22, 1920. He and his wife are buried in Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Pittsburg, Kansas.

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  Stephens, Sara (1897-1991), Papers, 1901-1988

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  The papers of Sara Stephens, a teacher and long-time resident of Pittsburg, Kansas. The papers include personal and travel diaries, travel brochures, photographs, high school and college papers, clippings, reunion programs, and other papers relating to her profession and life.

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  Stillings, Ellabeth Diggs, Collection, 1935-1987

  Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

  A collection of personal correspondence, Pittsburg State University material, photographs, and miscellaneous material.

  Ellabeth Diggs was born in Lamar, Missouri in 1916. She graduated from Lamar High School and attended the Kansas Teachers College of Pittsburg (now Pittsburg State University). Following this, she worked as a teacher at Atchison County Community High School in Effingham, Kansas until 1947. In 1943 she married Robert M. Stillings (1915-1963). She worked at Atchison High School beginning in 1948 and continued for the next three years. Afterwards, she taught sporadically and worked in the business she and her husband owned, Stillings Hardware. Ellabeth and Robert had three children. Ellabeth Diggs Stillings passed away in 2013.