Archives and Special Collections recently processed a collection of South Dakota Academy of Science papers.

This collection is mainly correspondence about the Academy’s 1928-1930 annual meetings. The letters and programs make a stack of papers about an inch thick.

This is one of the most fun collections I have processed. Members are so excited to tell each other what is new in science. At their 1928 banquet, they saw a demonstration of television.

Archives and Special Collections also has 3 publications: Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science; Science in the service of the state: a centennial history of the South Dakota Academy of Science; and Articles of incorporation and by-laws of the South Dakota Academy of Science.

South Dakota Oral History Center has an interview with Charles Estee where he discusses the South Dakota Academy of Science and other topics.

Occasionally when processing a collection, you will find things that are intriguing but completely off-topic. I found a 1928 letter written on Sioux Falls South Dakota Chamber of Commerce stationary which shows what they want you to notice about their city.

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Archives and Special Collections recently processed the William H. Thomas papers, who was a US soldier in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War.

Fred Thomas

William H. Thomas was born on August 1, 1877 at Dodgeville, WI. He enlisted in the 1st South Dakota Volunteer Infantry Company C on May 14, 1898 at Yankton, SD as a private, and he mustered out on October 5, 1899 at the Presidio, San Francisco, CA. His military papers state that he lived in Sioux City, IA subsequent to his discharge and worked as a druggist.

This collection consists of personal correspondence, photographs, writings, and ephemera from William H. Thomas who served with the 1st South Dakota Volunteer Infantry in the Spanish-American War.

William H. Thomas

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Kent Scribner Collection

Kent Scribner Collection (MS 270) is now open to researchers.

This newly processed collection consists of the campus events from Scribner’s time as a University of South Dakota undergraduate student from 1956-1960. The other part of the collection consists of Scribner’s work at the USD Foundation mostly with the capital campaign named Campaign South Dakota.

This collection is organized into seven series: Diaries, Fraternity Materials, USD Event Programs, USD Foundation, USD Publications, Photographs, and Video Tapes.

Scribner’s collection includes his correspondence with Mary Jean (Hynes) Fine, and his role in the translation and obtainment for the Archives and Special Collections of her Native American family diaries. These are in the Mary Jean Fine Collection of Thomas Hunter Diaries, likewise in the Richardson Collection.

Scribner also kept copies of Blast, a student magazine that includes what campus life was like in 1959 and in 1967.

This collection also includes information for the USD building dedications programs, history and videos that relate to the Buildings, Other Structures, and Utilities Collection in the University Archives.

Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the guide to the collection.

Blast, 1967 in Kent Scribner Papers (MS 270), Richardson Collection, Archives and Special Collections, The University of South Dakota

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Richard Grass

The Richard Deo Grass collection (MS 254) is now open to researchers.

The 4.5 linear feet of material spans the years 1950’s-2010, with the bulk of the material dated 1980-2010.

Richard Deo Grass was born on May 29, 1939 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was raised off the reservation in Alliance, Nebraska and Scottsbluff, Nebraska. He served in the United States Marine Corp from March 3, 1957 to March 5, 1963.

Grass was an activist for the rights of indigenous peoples. He represented the Lakota Nation at the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) and at the United Nations. He spoke at international conferences and universities in the Netherlands, Denmark, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada, Alaska, and Geneva.   Grass spoke for the Lakota Dakota Nakota (LDN) Tribal Nation at the United States Supreme Court in defense of Native American claims to the Black Hills. He played a pivotal role in persuading his people to reject the Black Hills monetary award dockets A and B.

The collection is organized into eight series: Correspondence, Biographical and Personal Files, Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), Tribal and Court Records, News Clippings, Ephemera, Media, and Photographs.

Grass died on December 23, 2010 in Rapid City, South Dakota and is buried at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, Meade County, South Dakota.

Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the guide to the collection.

Richard Grass 17 Years old in U.S.M.C

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Arthur Amiotte

The John Day collection on Arthur Amiotte (MS 046) is now open to researchers.

The majority of this collection was gathered by John Day before, during, and after the retrospective on Arthur Amiotte’s art in 2001. Also included are VHS recordings featuring Amiotte.

The 4.5 linear feet of material span the years 1962-2010, with the bulk of the material dated 1980-2003.

Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the guide to the collection.

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Marilyn Horst Collection of Aerial Photographs

The Archives and Special Collections has recently received five 1968 aerial photographs showing parts of Vermillion or areas close to Vermillion.

These photos show that in 1968 that not much of the town or the University was north of Cherry Street, and that the Mulberry Bend area looked very different before the construction of the bridge over the Missouri River.

Each photo shows:

VE-IJJ-24 – Southeast portion of the town of Vermillion and country to south and east.

VE-IJJ-26 – Where the Vermillion River joins the Missouri River and surrounding country.

VE-IJJ-32 – Missouri River and surrounding country in the Mulberry Bend area. Has handwritten information on photo.

VE-IJJ-34 – Southwest portion of the town of Vermillion and county to south and west.

VE-IJJ-37 – Northwest portion of the town of Vermillion and county to north and west. Has handwritten information on the photo.

 

 

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Recently Processed in the Archives and Special Collections

 

The Student Activities Council, Program Council poster collection is now open to researchers.

 

It consists mainly of posters advertising events at the University of South Dakota sponsored by the Program Council. The events include concerts, movies, lectures, speakers, Dakota Days, opening of the Muenster University Center (MUC), Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Wacipi. The events also include performances by comedians, acapella groups, local bands, and international dance troupes.

 

In addition to posters, included in this collection are flyers, pamphlets, programs, events lists, calendars of events, digests of Program Council activities, and a few photographs.

 

The 6 linear feet of material span the years 1979-2010.

 

The Program Council began in 1968 as a combined effort between the Coyote Student Center and the Student Association. It is a student-run programming board that is responsible for bringing entertainment and a variety of cultural, educational, recreational, and social programs to the University of South Dakota campus.

 

Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the guide to the collection.

 

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Gordon Aadland Correspondence

This collection of letters between Gordon Aadland and Al Neuharth is now open for research. Aadland and Neuharth met at the University of South Dakota, where they both worked on the student newspaper the Volante. Aadland graduated in 1949 and Neuharth in 1950. After college, both worked on SoDak Sports, a statewide weekly newspaper on South Dakota sports co-founded by Neuharth. Afterwards, both left the state to lead successful lives on their chosen paths.

These letters span from the early 1970s through 2013, their pages consisting of joy, jokes, and pranks, the words revealing a friendship that spanned decades. Although most of the letters were received from Neuharth, Aadland’s side of the correspondence also appears occasionally, allowing for the reader to witness both Neuharth and Aadland’s sense of humor, wit and repartee.

Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the guide to the collection.

Pictured above are Gordon Aadland and Al Neuharth respectively. The photos are taken from their senior pictures in the Coyote yearbook (Aadland: 1949 and Neuharth 1950).

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