The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Collecting area: Arts & literature

Emery, George

George Emery Papers

1875-1977 Bulk: 1930-1977
12 boxes 15.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 982
Depiction of Tri-County Fair, ca.1920
Tri-County Fair, ca.1920

After graduating from Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1924, George Edward “Red” Emery taught high school briefly and held a handful of other jobs before deciding to fulfill a childhood dream. Born in Marlboro, Mass., in 1904, Emery turned his love for the circus into a life touring the country as a white-face circus clown. After marrying Virginia Link, a Smith College student, in 1932, he settled down to a stable job in the Alumni Office at his alma mater, later filling in as Veterans Coordinator and as a staff member in the Student Placement Office until his retirement in 1972. Emery never left the circus behind entirely. Throughout his years in Amherst he continued to talk and write about the history of the circus and his personal experiences, and from the late 1940s through early 1960s, he used his show business connections to book talent for the Tri-County Fair. Longtime residents of Leverett, Mass., he and his wife died within a year of one another, Virginia in 1974 and George in 1975.

With his passion for the circus, George Emery’s papers contain material not only from his career as a circus clown in the 1920s but also from his later writings about the history of the circus, his work with the Tri-County Fair, and his long association with UMass Amherst. The collection includes correspondence with friends and family; circus toys and games; posters, photographs, and ephemera; and a library of books on circus history. Of special note are some exceptional photographs, a few posters, and a thick sheaf of material from the Tri-County Fair.

Gift of Chris Emery, July 2017

Subjects

Circus performersCircus--HistoryClownsPigsTri-County FairUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--AlumniUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--Staff
Enfield (Mass.)

Enfield (Mass.) Collection

1800-1939
8 boxes 4 linear feet
Call no.: MS 010
Depiction of Birdseye view of Enfield, ca.1915
Birdseye view of Enfield, ca.1915

Situated at the confluence of the east and west branches of the Swift River in western Massachusetts, Enfield was the largest and southernmost of the four towns inundated in 1939 to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Incorporated as a town in 1816, Enfield was relatively prosperous in the nineteenth century on an economy based on agriculture and small-scale manufacturing, reaching a population of just over 1,000 by 1837. After thirty years of seeking a suitably large and reliable water supply for Boston, the state designated the Swift River Valley as the site for a new reservoir and with its population relocated, Enfield was officially disincorporated on April 28, 1938.

The records of the town of Enfield, Mass., document nearly the entire history of the largest of four towns inundated to create the Quabbin Reservoir. The core of the collection consists of records of town meetings and of the activities of the town Selectmen, 1804-1938, but there are substantial records for the Enfield Congregational Church. The School Committee, Overseers of the Poor, the town Library Association, and groups such as the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Bethel Masonic Lodge.

Subjects

Enfield (Mass.)--HistoryEnfield (Mass.)--Politics and governmentEnfield (Mass.)--Religious life and customsEnfield (Mass.)--Social life and customsQuabbin Reservoir Region (Mass.)--HistoryQuabbin Reservoir Region (Mass.)--Social life and customsWomen--Societies and clubs

Contributors

Daughters of the American Revolution. Captain Joseph Hooker Chapter (Enfield, Mass.)Enfield (Mass. : Town)Enfield (Mass. : Town). Overseers of the PoorEnfield (Mass. : Town). Prudential CommitteeEnfield (Mass. : Town). School CommitteeEnfield Congregational Church (Enfield, Mass.)Enfield Congregational Church (Enfield, Mass.). Women's AuxiliaryEnfield Congregational Church (Enfield, Mass.). Women's Missionary Society

Types of material

Account booksChurch recordsPhotographsSermons
Entin, David Hudson

David Entin Papers

1966-2015 Bulk: 1966-1968
2 boxes 1 linear feet
Call no.: MS 876
Vietnamese children
Vietnamese children

A worker in the struggle against poverty and racism for five decades, David Entin was raised in New York City environs until his family moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1953 when he was twelve years old. He began his anti-poverty work with the North Carolina volunteers, a pioneering early effort where he worked with low-come families in Durham, NC. David then joined the North Carolina Fund, a statewide Ford Foundation project where he helped develop and wrote the first rural anti-poverty program under the new Economic Opportunity Act for Craven County (New Bern), NC. From there he helped start the initial anti-poverty program in Jacksonville. His new career was interrupted by Vietnam War service with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Stationed in Quang Ngai Province, a Vietcong stronghold, and Da Nang between 1966 and 1968, Entin oversaw redevelopment projects and while not caught up in the fight itself, he was charged with assessing damage in Region One following the Tet Offensive. After returning home to Florida, Entin resumed his antipoverty work.

The collection centers around 51 detailed letters describing the two years that David Entin spent in Vietnam working with USAID; these letters serve as a diary recording Entin’s daily activities and observations and accompany several hundred slides and photographs. Also included in the collection are a series of short autobiographical essays that detail his childhood, early career, and service in Vietnam.

Subjects

Economic assistance, American--VietnamTechnical assistance, American--VietnamUnited States. Agency for International DevelopmentVietnam War, 1961-1975--Children--PhotographsVietnam War, 1961-1975--Civilian reliefVietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives

Contributors

Entin, David Hudson

Types of material

Color slidesPhotographsSlides (Photographs)
Eslinger, L. Sidney (Lucille Sidney)

L. Sidney Eslinger Collection

1905-2003
2 boxes 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: PH 040
Depiction of

Lucille “Sidney” Eslinger was born in Albany, Missouri, on November 9, 1922, the daughter of Delano R. and Alice M. Willoughby Eslinger. After graduating from high school in 1941, Eslinger turned down an opportunity to attend college to work at Caterpillar Tractor Company in Peoria, lll., partly for the opportunity to play for the Caterpillar Dieselettes, the fast-pitch softball team. Through a co-worker, Eslinger developed an interest in history, becoming an active proponent of historic preservation in central Illinois, including graveyards. After retiring from Caterpillar, she and a friend operated a dog grooming business and she was active in the Humane Society. Sidney died in Peoria on August 14, 2011.

The Eslinger Collection contains materials relating to Sidney Eslinger’s interests in gravestone studies, including four books; a research notebook about Springdale Cemetery in Peoria; a photo album of Old Peoria State Hospital; correspondence and miscellaneous materials about stone quarries and symbolism; and a photo scrapbook, “Coin Harvey: A Legend in His Time.” States represented include Illinois and Indiana.

Subjects

Monte Ne (Ark.)Old Peoria State HospitalSepulchral monuments--IllinoisSepulchral monuments--IndianaSpringdale Cemetery (Peoria, Ill.)

Contributors

Eslinger, L. Sidney (Lucille Sidney)

Types of material

Photographs
Ewell, Maryo Gard

Maryo Gard Ewell Papers

1971-2010
7 boxes 9.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1066

A pioneer in arts programs in community development, Maryo Gard Ewell is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College with masters degrees from Yale (1972) and the University of Colorado Denver (1992). Beginning her career with arts councils in Connecticut, Ewell went on to become leadership positions wih the Illinois Arts Council and the Colorado Council on the Arts (1982-2003). A co-author of the influential The Arts in the Small Community (2006), she is a sought-after speaker and collaborator, serving as a board member and consultant for arts agencies across the country. Among other awards, she has been recognized with the “Arts Are The Heart Award” in Colorado; an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Goucher College; and the Selina Roberts Ottum Award from Americans for the Arts (1995). Since retiring in 2003, Ewell has remained active as a consultant, educator, and speaker.

This collection contains materials relating to two significant developments in the history of of community arts in the United States: records relating to how selected states decentralized arts funding in 1970s, and to early efforts of the National Endowment for the Arts to create a program to serve local arts agencies from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. In addition, there are records documenting a project, commissioned by Americans for the Arts in 2007, to trace the history of community arts councils from the first in 1948 through the 1960s when the National Endowment for the Humanities was formed.

Subjects

Americans for the Arts (Organization)Arts--Economic aspectsCommunity arts projectsNational Endowment for the Arts
Feinberg, Kenneth R., 1945-

Kenneth R. Feinberg Collection of Classical Music Programs

1967-2024
24 boxes 10 linear feet
Call no.: MS 766
Depiction of Program, Metropolitan Opera, 1969
Program, Metropolitan Opera, 1969

Attorney and UMass alumnus Kenneth R. Feinberg, well known as a mediator, special master of compensation funds, and dedicated public servant, is a longtime devotee of opera and classical music. Since his days as a law student in New York in the late 1960s, continuing through his career practicing law in Washington, D.C., Feinberg has regularly attended operas, concerts, musical theater, and other musical performances. He has also served as president of the Washington National Opera and led a private opera appreciation group.
This extensive collection of more than 1,000 items encompasses a wide range of composers, productions, concerts, companies, and venues, mainly in the United States, with some European performances represented. Documenting more than five decades of concert- and opera-going, and arranged in rough chronological order according to Feinberg’s numbering system, many of the programs are searchable by composer in an accompanying card index created by Feinberg (more recent programs are simply filed chronologically). There is also a small amount of related ephemera, including some vintage programs. Additions to the collection are ongoing.

Gift of Kenneth R. Feinberg, Nov. 2012-2024

Subjects

MusicMusical theaterOperaSymphony orchestras

Contributors

Feinberg, Kenneth R., 1945-

Types of material

Card filesEphemeraPlaybills
Finestone, Roy

Roy Finestone Photograph Collection

1969-1990
239 images
Call no.: PH 005
Depiction of Nina, Smoky, Chuck, Janis (Smoky and Nina on bikes)
Nina, Smoky, Chuck, Janis (Smoky and Nina on bikes)

A wave of experimentation in communal living in New England reached a peak in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with dozens of communities spread across the landscape of western Massachusetts and Vermont. Nina Finestone joined the Johnson Pastures in Guilford , Vermont, in 1969, however after the main house there went up in flames on April 16, 1970, killing four people, she joined a number of its residents who moved to the nearby Montague Farm in Montague, Massachusetts. Nina married a fellow Montague farmer, Daniel Keller, and the couple moved to Wendell in 1980.

Providing exceptional visual documentation of life at Johnson Pasture, the Montague Farm, and Wendell Farm between 1969 and 1990, the Finestone collection is centered on the lives and family of Daniel and Nina Keller. All images were taken by Roy Finestone, Nina’s father, with a medium format camera using color transparency film.

Gift of Dan and Nina Keller, 1999

Subjects

Communal living--MassachusettsCommunal living--VermontJohnson Pasture Community (Vt.)Keller, DanielKeller, NinaMontague Farm Community (Mass.)Wendell Farm Community (Mass.)

Contributors

Finestone, Roy
Finkelstein, Sidney Walter, 1909-1974

Sidney Finkelstein Papers

1914-1974
11 boxes 5.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 128

Noted critic of music, literature, and the arts, as well as a writer and an active member of the Communist Party U.S.A. Includes letters to and from Mr. Finkelstein; original manuscripts of reviews, articles, essays, and books; legal documents, educational, military, and personal records, financial papers, contracts, photographs, and lecture and course notes.

Gift of Maynard Solomon, 1986

Subjects

Art criticism--United States--History--20th centuryCommunism--United States--HistoryCommunist Party of the United States of America--History--20th centuryCommunist aesthetics--History--SourcesCulture--Study and teaching--United States--History--20th centuryMusic--History and criticismMusical criticism--United States--HistorySocialist realism--History--Sources

Contributors

Cohen, R. S. (Robert Sonné)Finkelstein, Sidney Walter, 1909-1974Gorton, Sally Kent, 1915-2000Hille, Waldemar, 1908-Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971Lawson, John Howard, 1894-Richmond, Al, 1913-1987Selsam, Millicent Ellis, 1912-Siegmeister, Elie, 1909-Thomson, Virgil, 1896-Veinus, Abraham

Types of material

Letters (Correspondence)Photographs
Fischer, Britta

Britta Fischer, U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association Photograph Collection

1978
449 items 1 linear feet
Call no.: PH 054

Founded in 1974, the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association was among the first American organizations devoted to fostering people-to-people diplomacy between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The vision of veteran civil rights activist Unita Blackwell, the USCPFA sponsored speakers, seminars, and cultural exchanges, and in the 1970s, was among the first groups to organize tours from the United States to the People’s Republic.

The 449 color slides (35 mm.) that comprise the U.S.-China Peoples Friendship Association collection document one of the group’s early tours, undertaken at the height of the agitation over the Gang of Four. Beyond simple touristic scenes, the collection depicts a state-sponsored version of everyday life in China during the early post-Mao era.

Gift of Britta Fischer via Sigrid Schmalzer, 2010

Subjects

Beijing (China)--PhotographsChildren--China--PhotographsChina--PhotographsFactories--China--PhotographsGreat Wall of China (China)--PhotographsJinan (China)--PhotographsShanghai (China)--PhotographsTian'an Men (Beijing, China)--PhotographsYangzhou (China)--Photographs

Types of material

Photographs
Folk New England

Folk New England Ephemera Collection

1960-1973
1 oversize box 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1017
Part of: Folk New England Collection
Depiction of Poster for performance by Jackie Wilson, 1964 (designed by Eric von Schmidt)
Poster for performance by Jackie Wilson, 1964 (designed by Eric von Schmidt)

Founded by Betsy Siggins in 2009, Folk New England is an organization dedicated to documenting, preserving, and interpreting the cultural legacy of folk music in all its forms, with an emphasis on New England’s contribution.

The Ephemera Collection consists of dozens of posters, fliers, calendars, and other promotional materials for musical acts collected by Folk New England. Concentrated in the years of the folk revival in the late 1950s to late 1960s, many of the posters were sent to Club 47 in Cambridge, Mass.

Gift of Tom Curren and Folk New England, March 2018

Subjects

Folk music--New England

Types of material

FliersPosters