The Detroit Board of Water Commissioners series (0.4 linear feet, 1852-1963) primarily contains business correspondence (mostly incoming) of the Detroit Board of Water Commissioners. Photographs of offices and staff as well as pipes, machinery and workers can also be found in this series.
Materials contained in the Detroit Chapter, 1948-1995 records were created by that office. The Correspondence may be of particular interest to the researcher as it chronicles the Kenny's turbulent years after the Salk vaccine was discovered. Much of the correspondence is either addressed to, or written by, Donald Carney, longtime board member and lawyer for the foundation. The 1956 correspondence contains letters proposing an amendment to the Articles of Incorporation. In 1957, the Michigan United Fund began to decrease Kenny's funding and the 1959 folder of correspondence contains a series of terse letters between the two organizations. Reasons for the closing of the Farmington treatment center are contained in the 1958 correspondence. In the 1963 and 1964 correspondence, the Detroit Chapter begins to consider separating from national headquarters. The Kenny Foundation's membership applications to the Michigan United Fund provide good overviews of the Kenny infrastructure during the 1960s. Information about Kenny's programs, mission, number and type of staff, etc. is contained within the applications. The Newsletters span 1949-1995 and thus, constitute the only documentation of recent activities. They also offer the most systematically complete coverage of the organization's activities since committee minutes are scattered.
1 linear foot
Minutes (1960-1973), by-laws, membership lists, newsletters, and related material.
3 linear feet — 17 oversize volumes — 2 oversize folders
The records of the Detroit Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) document the governance, concerns, initiatives, and activities of the Detroit JACL over the course of its history, beginning in the mid-1940s. The record group is arranged in eight series: Administrative Materials, Events, Outreach Activities, Publications, Related Organizations, Topical Files, Scrapbooks, and Photographs. Because the records are a compilation of materials donated from various JACL members, some duplication occurs among and within the series.
45 volumes
The record group consists of three kinds of record volumes: Timber surveys; Applications; and Tax books.
35.5 linear feet (in 38 boxes)
The records consists primarily of scrapbooks dating from 1931 to 1966, miscellaneous press and reference files, and clippings of articles by reporter Glenn Engle. The scrapbooks provide detailed and complete coverage of state government with particular emphasis on the gubernatorial administrations of Kim Sigler, G. Mennen Williams, John Swainson and George Romney. There are also clippings pertaining to Michigan politics, the work of Michigan's Grand Jury (1943-1962), and the state constitutional convention, 1961-1964.
The collection also includes alphabetically organized topical indices for general files (1935-1966), Legislature (1960-1961), and Constitutional Convention (1961-1962). Each card contains a summary of events relating to a particular topic.
164.5 linear feet (in 180 boxes) — 33.4 GB (online)
The Detroit News records, 1856-1991 (164.5 linear feet) consist of photographic materials including glass plate negatives, film negatives, and photographic prints of various sizes as well as scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings from the Detroit News. The arrangement of the collection is alphabetical and maintains original order as far as could be discerned. In instances where multiple formats were stored together, they have been rehoused separately for preservation purposes. Researchers are encouraged to review the entire container list of this finding aid to identify corresponding materials of different formats within the collection, which have been indicated.
The researcher will find that a significant portion of the photographic materials depict interior and exterior views of the Detroit News building designed by Albert Kahn and erected in 1917. Additional topics of photographic materials include the radio station, WWJ and various events hosted by the News. Images of the Scripps and Booth families as well as employees of the Detroit News are also present among the collection. The scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, which present a broad range of subject matter as covered by a daily metropolitan newspaper. All of the glass plate negatives and a selection of film negatives have been digitized and can be viewed by following the links in the container list of this finding aid.
29 linear feet (and oversize material)
The Detroit Observatory record group includes administrative materials of the Observatory's later years (post-1994), including documentation on the Observatory's restoration project and materials encompassing the Observatory's publicity and outreach efforts. The collection also contains various historical documents and artifacts such as logbooks and records, photographs and other visual materials, motion pictures, architectural drawings, and publications. The collection includes all of the documents, artifacts, and records transferred to the Bentley Historical Library in 2005. Materials not physically transferred to the Bentley that remain in the Observatory (such as telescopes, clocks, and associated astronomical devices) have not been identified here, but documentation can be found listed in the various inventories and databases found in the administrative series.
This collection contains the following series: Administrative, Publicity and Outreach, Research, Historical, and Publications.
1.5 linear feet — 1 volume
The records of the organization include correspondence, a copy of the club's constitution and bylaws, with revisions, and brief minutes of meetings. Also included with the records are a brief history and a case report detailing the early use of X-ray photography for ophthalmological procedures performed in Eloise, Michigan in 1897. The record group also includes the record book, 1902-1904, for D.O.C.'s predecessor organization, the Wayne County Medical Society Section for Diseases of the Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat. The record book contains minutes, bylaws, and lists of members.
