Massachusetts Agricultural Fairs Posters Collection, 1852-1860.
Call no.: MS 169
With one of the first agricultural fairs in the country taking place in Massachusetts in 1807, the state has a special place in the history of agricultural fairs in the United States. Twenty antebellum posters promoting agricultural fairs in western Massachusetts, primarily from agricultural societies in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Berkshire Counties.
- Agricultural exhibitions--Massachusetts--Posters
- Agricultural exhibitions--Rhode Island--Providence--Posters
- Agriculture--Social aspects--Massachusetts--History
- Agriculture--Social aspects--Rhode Island--History
Types of material
Massachusetts Association of Extension Home Economists Records, 1930-1990.
5 boxes (2.5 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 346
An outgrowth of the extension movement in Massachusetts aimed at assisting rural women in domestic work, the Massachusetts Home Demonstration Agents’ Association (later the Massachusetts Association of Extension Home Economists) was formed in 1930. Offering an opportunity for the sharing of resources, approaches, and information, the organization provided encouragement for its members to improve their skills as home economists and adult educators.
The MAEHE collection includes award applications, minutes, correspondence, newsletters, and membership files.
- Home economics extension work--Massachusetts
- Home economics--Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Home Demonstration Agents Association
- National Association of Extension Home Economists
Types of material
Massachusetts Indian Association Stockbridge Auxiliary Records, 1886-1909.
1 box (0.25 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 151 bd
The Stockbridge Auxilliary of the Massachusetts Indian Association was formed by prominent local women in western Berkshire County who sought to aid in educational and missionary work for and among Indians, and to “abolish all oppression of Indians within our national limits.”
Records include minutes that document the group’s committees, meetings, dues, and contributions to Indians on reservations nation-wide, accounts, membership lists, and a letter.
- Indians of North America--Arizona--Social conditions
- Indians of North America--Government relations--History
- Indians of North America--Missions--History
- Indians of North America--Social conditions
- Indians, Treatment of--United States--History
- Lake Mohonk Conference of Friends of the Indian
- Lake Mohonk Conference of Friends of the Indian and Other Dependent Peoples
- Stockbridge Indians--Social conditions
- Carter, Henry J
- Massachusetts Indian Association. Stockbridge Auxiliary
Massachusetts Women in Public Higher Education Records, 1985-2006..
6 boxes (9 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 513
Founded in 1982, the Massachusetts Women in Public Higher Education (MWPHE) is a non-profit organization open to current and prospective women administrators in public higher education in the Commonwealth. Founded in 1982, the MWPHE serves as a support network, enhances professional development, encourages and promotes upward mobility, and addresses issues affecting Massachusetts public higher education and the status of women within the system.
The MWPHE records include administrative files and correspondence that document the organization’s work since its founding.
- Education, Higher--Massachusetts
- Women educators--Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Women in Public Higher Education
Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission, Water Division Maps, 1959-1972.
1 drawer (0.2 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 100
To meet the growing needs for potable water in the Boston metropolitan region, the Massachusetts state legislature ordered the evacuation of the relatively sparsely populated towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott, as well as portions of other adjoining towns such as New Salem, to make way for the construction of a massive reservoir. Over the course of almost two decades, the population of the towns was systematically relocated, the houses moved or razed, and bed of the future reservoir was stripped of trees and brush. The last remaining residents of the region were removed in 1938 and the four primary towns were officially disincorporated as the dam was completed and the waters began to rise.
The numbered blueprint sheets and index that make up this collection offer a detailed depiction of the Swift River Valley towns at the time the state government was seizing land for the Quabbin Reservoir. Apparently surveyed between 1932 and 1938, the maps were prepared by the Metropolitan District Commission of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for a Quabbin Reservoir Real Estate Survey in 1959 and then revised in 1972.
- Dana (Mass.)--Maps
- Enfield (Mass.)--Maps
- Greenwich (Mass.)--Maps
- New Salem (Mass.)--Maps
- Prescott (Mass.)--Maps
- Quabbin Reservoir (Mass.)--Maps
- Massachusetts. Metropolitan District Commission. Water Division
Types of material
UBCJA Massachusetts State Council Records, 1892-1980.
2 boxes (1 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 015
One of the largest building trade unions in the U.S., the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America was established in 1881 by a convention of carpenters’ unions. An early member of the American Federation of Labor, the Brotherhood began as a radical organization, but beginning in the 1930s, were typically aligned with the conservative wing of the labor movement.
The records of the Massachusetts State Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America contain reports and other information generated during the union’s annual conventions as well as copies of the constitution and by-laws, handbooks, and histories of the union.
- Carpenters--Labor unions
- Labor unions--Massachusetts
- United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Western Massachusetts Bridge Association Records, 1957-2007.
12 boxes (16 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 801
Established in 1957, the Western Massachusetts Bridge Association (WMBA) Unit 196 was created by founding members of the Springfield Bridge Club eager to share their love for the game with the wider western Massachusetts area. The unit played a prominent role in teaching interested individuals to learn to play contract bridge by reaching out to colleges, clubs, and churches. Over the years, WMBA has remained an active unit in the New England Bridge Conference District 25, one of the largest districts of the American Contract Bridge Association.
Records of the WMBA and District 25 document the growth of contract bridge in New England. From the earliest days of the unit, members drafted by-laws, oversaw membership services, organized tournaments, and tracked finances. Materials in the collection shed light on every aspect of these activities.
Western Massachusetts Library Club Records, 1898-2006.
7 boxes (3.25 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 492
Situated in a region known for its progressive spirit, the Western Massachusetts Library Club was established in 1898 to respond to the unique needs of librarians overseeing small or rural libraries, and to foster camaraderie among local colleagues. Almost immediately, however, the club expanded its focus, taking positions on issues ranging from modern library practices to national legislation and leading the way in the expansion of services for public libraries, all while maintaining its identity as an advocate for local libraries and librarians.
The collection is richest in records that document the early history of the club including detailed meeting minutes, news clippings, programs, and circulars. Beginning in the late 1960s, the club’s activities are captured primarily through membership lists and meeting notices and programs. Taken together, the records trace the growth of the WMLC for more than a century from its establishment to the present.
- Cutter, Charles A. (Charles Ammi), 1937-1903
- Western Massachusetts Library Club
UMass Amherst. Dean of Students, 1948-1987. 27 boxes (13.25 linear feet).
The Office of the Dean of Students at UMass Amherst was established by President John Lederle in 1961 to replace the separately structured offices of the Dean of Men and Dean of Women, and to provide more effective, more flexible support for a growing and changing student body. In the 1960s, the Dean of Students had responsibility for almost all operational units related to student life, including Admissions, Records, Residence Halls, Dining Halls, Student Union, Student Activities, Placement, and Financial Aid. As the University became a statewide administrative unit with the opening of UMass Boston and the Medical School, there was an increasing conflict between the Office of the Dean of Students on the Amherst campus and the growing demands for a responsive administrative hierarchy. In 1970, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs was therefore created to provide an appropriate level of supervision for the various Student Affairs divisions with regard to budget, personnel and administration. The Office of the Dean of Students then became a student contact-based office, which cooperated and collaborated with the other divisions. The first Dean of Students, William Field came to UMass in 1951 as a guidance counselor and assistant professor of psychology. His tenure coincided with the massive expansion of campus and the turbulent years of the late 1960s and early 1970s, during which he played an important mediating role. The recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal in 1983, Field retired from office in 1988.
An important series of records documenting student life on the UMass Amherst campus, with an emphasis on the 1960s and 1970s. Among these are an extensive series of bylaws and charters for residence halls and registerred student organizations (RSOs) at UMass, as well as subject files on campus protests and demonstrations, students of color, and student groups of various sorts.
- African American students–Massachusetts.
- Field, William.
- Student movements–Massachusetts.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dean of Students.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst–Students.
Call no.: RG 30/2
Digital (+)Finding aid
WFCR Radio Broadcast Collection, 1954-1987 (Bulk: 1964-1987).
308 boxes (462 linear feet).
Call no.: MS 741
The first public radio station in western New England, WFCR Five College Radio has provided a mix of high quality, locally-produced and nationally syndicated programming since May 1961. In 2012, the station reached over 175,000 listeners per week, with a mix of classical and jazz music, news, and entertainment.
The WFCR Collection contains nearly 4,500 reel to reel recordings of locally-produced radio programs, reflecting over fifty years of the cultural and intellectual life of western Massachusetts. Drawing upon the talents of the faculty and students of the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and UMass Amherst), the collection offers a remarkable breadth of content, ranging from public affairs to community and national news, cultural programming, children’s programming, news and current events, scholarly lectures, classical music, and jazz.
- Amherst (Mass.)
- Pioneer Valley (Mass.)
- Radio stations--Massachusetts
- WFCR (Radio station : Amherst, Mass.)
Types of material