Collections

Businessman with the S. S. Kresge Company (later K mart Corporation) and philanthropist. Business records, materials relating to philanthropic activities, notably documenting the work of the Kresge Foundation, and family materials; also organizational materials, speeches, and photographs and motion pictures.

The Stanley Kresge Papers, an important source for the researcher interested in the history of the S.S. Kresge Company/K mart Corporation; the work of the Kresge Foundation; and the Kresge family, have been divided into six series: Kresge Company/K mart Corporation; Kresge Foundation; Organizations; Personal; Speeches; and Visual Materials. The collection has now been microfilmed to allow inter-library access to the collection. These 21 microfilm rolls comprise the bulk of Kresge's collection. Excluded from the microfilming have been a few folders of restricted financial materials, two oversize ledgers, and, of course, the motion picture films. The following finding aid is a guide to the entire collection with appropriate indication of files and other materials not part of the microfilm edition.

Portraits.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, businessman, and participant in the Home Front, a reform group within the Republican Party of Grand Rapids. Reminiscences and biographical material; Home Front files, including correspondence, and newsletters; and topical files relating to other political and civic activities.

Stanton Todd's papers document the political activities of a Grand Rapids, Michigan businessman who was involved in reform movements, notably the "Republican Home Front," within the city's Republican Party. The Todd papers have been divided into three series: Biographical/Family Materials, the Home Front (Republican Party), and Topical Files.

Organization dedicated to outreach, education, and intervention for troubled youth located in Albion, Michigan. The collection includes materials related to Floyd Starr, Foundtaion's administrative and development records, historic and promotional photographs, analog and digital audio-visual recordings, marketing materials, as well as publications.

The Starr Commonwealth Records collection contains 150.4 linear feet (157 boxes), 1.65 GB, and 52 oversize boxes of the records from the main administrative office of the Starr Commonwealth organization. It also includes historical records from the Starr Commonwealth School for Boys and records from the organization's branch facilities located across Michigan and Ohio. The collection also contains a substantial amount of material related to Floyd Starr, the founder and first president of the organization. Materials include correspondence, records, publications, videocassettes, audiocassettes, digital files, photographs, scrapbooks. The collection highlights the life and work of Floyd Starr, the administrative work of Starr Commonwealth, and the impact of the organization on local communities in Michigan and Ohio.

The Starr Commonwealth records have been organized into seven series: the Floyd Starr series, the Visitors series, the Administrative records series, the Marketing records series, the Development records series, the Publications series, and the Visual materials and Artifacts series.

The Floyd Starr series contains correspondence, papers and audiovisual materials about the life of Starr Commonwealth's founder.

The Visitors series contains correspondence, speech transcripts, photographs, and clippings from the visits of influential individuals to Starr Commonwealth. The series highlights materials from the trips of George Washington Carver and Helen Keller to Starr Commonwealth to visit with the students and deliver inspiring speeches.

The Administrative records series contains records, notes, correspondence, clippings, audiovisual materials and photographs from the central administrative offices of Starr Commonwealth. The series also includes materials from the Starr Commonwealth Public Relations department and the Chapel-in-the-Woods religious facility on the Albion campus.

The Marketing records series contains records, photographs and audiovisual materials that illustrate publicity projects and strategies for the organization.

The Development records series contains records, publications, and photographs from fundraising and donor activities. These records highlight some of Starr Commonwealth's major fundraising strategies and activities.

The Publications series contains published materials produced by Starr's Albion, Van Wert and Columbus campuses. Publications include annual reports, student and faculty newsletters, student handbooks, and scholarly publications from Starr Commonwealth leadership.

The Visual Materials and Artifacts series contains a collection of scrapbooks, photographs, photograph albums, and slides. It also contains materials and artifacts from Bruecker Museum on the Albion campus. These materials provide a visual representation of the students, faculty, buildings and major events at Starr Commonwealth throughout its history.

Ann Arbor, Michigan Episcopal Church; The record group includes administrative files; newsletters; clippings, and visual materials.

The records of St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal Church consists of annual reports, minutes of vestry (Bishop's Committee) meetings, treasurer's reports, Altar Guild reports, correspondence, bylaws, membership lists, building committee reports, building specifications and construction plans, newsletters, clippings, photographs, and parochial reports.

The record group has been divided into eight series: Administrative and General Records; Newsletters; Genesis Records, Building Committee, Dr. Inez Wisdom file; Clippings, Visual Materials, and Later Records.

St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Detroit, Michigan was established in 1913 as a mission extension of Old Christ Church, was incorporated, and continued functioning until 2003. The records group includes administrative records, vestry records, official church registers, and information on church activities.

The record group is divided into four series: Administration, Vestry Records, Church Registers, and Activities.

Episcopal church established in Garden City, Michigan, March 1955. The church disbanded in May 2005 due to dwindling attendance. The church was briefly reformed as the Journey of Faith church. The record group contains records documenting the parish's admission to the Diocese of Michigan, records supporting anniversary celebrations, vestry meeting minutes, financial reports, vestry handbooks, annual reports, parochial reports, a ten-year statistical report (1992-2002), loan and grant documentation, calling committee correspondence and reports, nursery school teacher contracts, ministry team records, Trike-a-thon documentation, parish directories and a membership card catalog. There are also church registers detailing baptisms, marriages, burials, communicants, and similar information, and registers of church services with attendance information. The records have been arranged into the following series: History; Vestry Meeting Minutes and Financial Reports; Administration; Membership; Parish registers; and Registers of Services.

St. David's Episcopal Church, located in Garden City, MI, was established in 1955 and disbanded in 2005. The record group contains records documenting the parish's admission to the Diocese of Michigan, the contents of a scrapbook, records supporting anniversary celebrations, vestry meeting minutes, financial reports, vestry handbooks, annual reports, parochial reports, a ten-year statistical report (1992-2002), loan and grant documentation, calling committee correspondence and reports, nursery school teacher contracts, ministry team records, Trike-a-thon documentation, parish directories and a membership card catalog. The records have been arranged into the following series: History; Vestry Meeting Minutes and Financial Reports; Parish Registers and related; Register of Services; Membership; and Administration.

Church registers, baptismal records, and death and marriage records dating from 1704 to 1842.

The record group includes church registers, baptismal records, and death and marriage records dating from 1704 to 1842.

Records, 1897-1921,of the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments of the University of Michigan; include correspondence and other papers relating to the development of the collection; also scrapbooks,1890's,containing illustrations of musical instruments. Correspondents include: Francis W. Kelsey, Albert A. Stanley, Frederick Stearns, Frederick Kimball Stearns, George R. Swain, Levi D. Wines, and Dean C. Worcester.

The records include correspondence regarding the acquisition and care of the instruments (1897-1921), annual reports, a statement of loan policy, and articles by Robert Austin Warner on the history and content of the collection. Also included are two scrapbooks containing bills and letters regarding Stearns' acquisitions, clippings, and illustrations from 1890s catalogs.

Ludington, Michigan, business firm established by Justus S. Stearns. Topical files relating to business interests, including papers concerning their conviction on charges of receiving illegal refunds from the Pere Marquette Railroad, and relating to the sale of their property in L'Anse to the Ford Motor Company; and also microfilm of records of business operations at Ludington and one of their subsidiary firms at Bennett in Lake County, Michigan.

The Stearns papers consist of three boxes of manuscript material and thirty-three rolls of microfilm. Virtually all of this concerns Stearns' complex business dealings. There is no personal correspondence and but a single manuscript folder describing Stearns' political career. The microfilmed material are volumes primarily detailing the history of the Stearns Salt and Lumber Company. The records fall into two distinct groups, those created before 1900 and those done after the turn of the century.

Before 1900 the company's records are very straightforward. They consist of cashbooks, journals and ledgers. The only complication is that there were two sets of ledgers. The ledgers from Ludington apparently are the main records of the firm, those maintained at Bennett, Michigan, were of Stearns' box manufacturing, saw, planing and shingle mills. The records were microfilmed chronologically.

After the turn of the century the firm's record keeping became far more bulky and opaque. For microfilming, these records were divided into six groups: general ledgers and journals, sales ledgers, lumbering operations, payrolls, mill and manufacturing reports, and miscellaneous records (some of firms other than Stearns Salt and Lumber).

The general ledgers and journals are arranged chronologically. There are three types of ledgers (transfer ledger number 1, transfer ledger number 2 and transfer ledger number 3) and two types of journals (a general journal and a journal 2B). Apparently each ledger type and journal 2b had some specific purpose, but all explanatory material has been lost, and the entries are very cryptic. These records were filmed in their entirety.

Because of their bulk, the company's sales records were sampled. Every third account was filmed. A sufficiently large sample remains to allow a researcher to statistically reconstruct the firm's trading patterns.

Stearns kept a separate set of books detailing work in the field. These are grouped together as "Lumbering Operations" records. They include ledgers, journals, cashbooks, and sales records. The volumes are arranged chronologically. Most were sampled. Every third ledger account was filmed. Every other month of the journals was filmed. Because of their complex arrangement sampling of the sales records would have been very difficult, and thus they were filmed in their entirety.

Payrolls were also sampled. Every third month was filmed. Camp payrolls apparently refer to field operations, Ludington payrolls to workers at Stearns' home operations. The "Record of Employees" is a very brief volume giving a great deal of information about Stearns' Ludington office workers and middle level administrators. Marital status, children, club affiliations, property ownership, and financial status are among the items included.

Mill and Manufacturing records are production reports of Stearns' Ludington operations. They were filmed in their entirety. The miscellaneous volumes include a wide variety of documents, all filmed in their entirety. Included are inventory control books, records of land transactions, a sand register, records of the Stearns Warehouse Company, the Epworth League Railway and the M. Reichardt & Son Piano Manufacturing Company.