Kansas City Manuscript Collections

J.W. Jenkins Sons Sheet Music contains copies of sheet music for two separate piano pieces, published the firm J.W. Jenkins Sons Music Company in Kansas City, Missouri during the 19th century.

The Apex Convention Photograph is a photograph of the employees of the Apex Electrical Manufacturing and Distributing Company taken at a convention held in Kansas City in 1921 by Anderson Photo Company.

The Florence Goldfinger Pack Collection contains photographs and clippings concerning Florence Pack, dating from 1933 to 1988. The collection contains a mixture of dated and undated materials, with mediums ranging from newspaper clippings to photographs. Many of the items are school related.

The Kansas City Photographs contain various photos taken throughout the city between 1920 and 1957 at many different locations. A large portion of the photos are dedicated to close shots of many historic buildings and homes of the city. The rest of the photos are aerial views of the city, with shots of the many statues within the city. There is also a small portion of the collection that is dedicated to the animals of the Kansas City Zoo.

The Jeffrey Spivak Union Station Research Collection contains letters, notes, and research documents compiled by Jeffrey Spivak for his book Union Station, Kansas City.

The Tarkio, Missouri, Photographs contain three unidentified black and white photographs taken at Tarkio, Missouri, galleries.

The Kansas City Performing Arts Collection contains materials related to the Kansas City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Missouri Repertory Theatre, the Quality Hill Playhouse, and the State Ballet of Missouri.

The John H. Edelman, Jr. Correspondence contains letters addressed to Katherine Guilfoyle Edelman, primarily written by her son John H. Edelman, Jr., during WWII.

The Selective Service Collection contains correspondence, memorandum, newsletters, and manuals from county and state selective service systems.

The Howell Family Papers contain materials associated with Gordon and Lavina Howell of Kansas City, including family photographs and photograph albums, correspondence sent to members of the family, and several years of union working cards. Additional items include bank account books, a baby book keepsake, a doctor’s examination record, fishing permits, identification cards, and a marriage certificate.

The B’nai B’rith Youth Organization Records contain materials related to various chapters of the organization in the Kansas City area. Items of interest include several chapters’ beau and sweetheart dance books, programs for religious services, and awards presented to Kansas City Aleph Zadik Aleph chapters.

The Western Auto Supply Company Collection contains customer and dealer catalogs, photographs, promotional materials, and employee news and training publications.

The Possum Trot Orienteering Club Records consist of administrative materials, photographs, and flyers about local meets and events in orienteering (the sport of quickly navigating through an unfamiliar area using a detailed map and a magnetic compass). The collection also contains oversize orienteering maps, complete with masks and negatives, and several oversize scrapbooks detailing the club’s activities.

The Congregation Beth Shalom VHS Collection contains eight cubic feet of VHS videotapes, primarily focused on the lectures of Rabbi Morris Margolies. Rabbi Margolies was Beth Shalom’s senior rabbi from 1961 to 1986 and continued his involvement with the congregation until his death in 2012.

The papers of a family from the Nodaway County, Missouri, area include photographs, correspondence, scrapbooks, family Bible, clippings, postcards, small artifacts, and miscellaneous material. Includes material on James H. Lemon and Kathleen Jones; World War II correspondence of Frank Paul Jones who was stationed in Arkansas during the war; and photographs of the related Cowden family.

Personal papers and newspaper articles of Frank Chick Swinney and his family members, correspondence and collected items from Frank's military service in Europe, multiple photographs of Swinney family members from their younger years, genealogy research records of Swinney and other related families, and a few scrapbooks of Frank and Barbara Swinney.

The Heritage League was a forum made for the historical organizations of the Greater Kansas City Area meant to aid in cooperation between these agencies for communications. The League began in the 1980’s informally with members meeting and establishing communications and relationships. Eventually it was brought in by the State of Missouri to offer workshops and events based on preservation and education. These papers include files on special events, programs, and workshops initiated by the group

Photographs of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, its programs and participants.

The Weavers Guild of Greater Kansas City Records contains historical records pertaining to the establishment and operation of the organization.

Papers related to the life of Yvonne Wilson.

This addition to the John F. Cameron Papers contains materials related to Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

The Nelly Don, Inc. Collection contains corporate documents related to the company and its subsidiaries, dated between 1950 and 1978.

The Western Auto Supply Company Collection contains catalogs, circulars, newsletters, and other miscellaneous materials related to the company dated between 1911 and 2004.

The Katherine Jones Collection contains newspapers, negatives, slides, and photographs created by Jones while attending the Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Missouri and interning with the Kansas City Star, Grand Rapids Press, and Seattle Times.

The Southwest Trail Newspapers contain a bound copy of issues from Southwest High School’s student newspaper dated from 1966 to 1967.

The Dorothy Marra Research Collection contains notes from Dorothy’s research for her book Cher Oncle, Cher Papa and a yearbook, The Alverno, from St. Francis Academy in Nevada, Missouri, dated 1948.

The Congregation Beth Shalom VHS Collection contains eight cubic feet of VHS videotapes, primarily focused on the lectures of Rabbi Morris Margolies, who served the congregation in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Palestine Cemetery Research Collection contains project materials compiled by Lou Austin and Becky Grady concerning Palestine Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri. The purpose of the project was to determine if the cemetery was used by pioneers heading west along the Santa Fe Trail.

“History of the Lives of Jack and Bess Sokolov” is a composition written by Jack Sokolov concerning the genealogy of the Sokolov family.

The collection contains a booklet titled “Jackson County Medical Society of Missouri Roster,” dated 1950-1951. The booklet contains information on the Society’s members and woman’s auxiliary including a pictorial roster and handbook.

Addition of materials related to the PEO-Missouri Chapter HN Records. The P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Sisterhood’s mission is focused on helping women advance through education.

The addition contains audio cassettes, posters, flyers, performance schedules, newspaper clippings, and membership lists related to the CrossCurrents Culture Unlimited Records.

CrossCurrents is a non-profit corporation in Kansas City, Missouri, dedicated to people creating their own culture.

The Possum Trot Orienteering Club Records contains scrapbooks and loose materials related to the Club and its activities, including the sponsorship of local and regional events, production of maps, and instruction in the sport of orienteering (the skill of navigating through an unfamiliar area using a detailed map and a magnetic compass).

This collection contains the daily diaries of Stanley Stuart Pearson from 1945 to 2019.

Pearson was born in Minnesota on September 4, 1928, to Albin S. and Mary R. Pearson. In 1960, Pearson married Ardyce “Ardy” Hemmingson. Together they had three children: Steven, Charles “Chip,” and Susan. The Pearsons moved to Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1970s. Content of the diaries contain weather and agenda items as well as opinions and current events.

The addition contains yearbooks and books for the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Greater Kansas City.

The Midtown-Westport Area Collection contains newsletters, notes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and reports related to the titular Kansas City, Missouri neighborhood.

The collection contains a certificate of recognition, correspondence, and a book related to the Lee’s Summit Underwater Rescue and Recovery Team.

This addition to the John F. Cameron Papers contains materials related to Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Papers of the Schmitt family of Kansas City, Missouri, include correspondence, photographs, and other biographical materials.

Archives of the Richey family include family photographs, correspondence, scrapbooks, and other miscellaneous material, primarily produced in Clark County, Missouri.