Archives

    "University archives are spots of wonder filled with artifacts that are mesmerizing, quirky, priceless and surprising.” Sherri Kimmel

   When archivist/curator Steve McShane is unable to answer his phone, his taped message includes the remark that he is likely out of the office collecting more treasures for the Calumet Regional Archives (CRA). Among the “treasures” already housed on the third floor of the IU Northwest library are diaries, minute books, land records, photographs, collections of environmental groups and labor unions, dunes posters, political buttons and fliers, an extensive collection of books about Northwest Indiana, and much, much more – including artifacts that are mesmerizing, quirky, priceless, and surprising, to reinforce the statement of Sherri Kimmel.

                           George Washington Carver, 1906, by Francis Benjamin Johnston

   In Bucknell magazine Sherri Kimmel wrote about a collection of 80 letters written between 1927 and 1942 that Bucknell YMCA secretary Forrest D. Brown exchanged with African-American scientist George Washington Carver, who developed over 300 products derived from peanuts. Similar to scenes from “Green Book,” Brown sometimes chauffeured Carver to appearances at Southern white universities and arranged for Carver to speak at Bucknell in November 1930 on the subject “The Inside of a Peanut.”  Brown’s daughter Carolyn Brown Chaapel, who donated the letters at my alma mater in Lewisburg, PA, told Kimmel: “Our home was an open door; Dad had so many people of color and nationalities from all over the world come to our house.” Brown retired in 1966, so he would have been on campus during my years at Bucknell, but I have no recollection of him. I do recall Bucknell-Burma Week, which he had a hand in arranging.

   George Washington Carver’s accomplishments became widely known in part because to the white establishment he, like Booker T. Washington and Crispus Attucks (killed during the Boston Massacre), represented a non-threatening Negro role model.  Segregated schools throughout the nation were named for them while, on the other hand, the accomplishments of freedom fighters such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells received less publicity and acclaim.  Unfortunately, the recent backlash against this practice has sometimes resulted in Carver and Washington unfairly branded as “Uncle Toms.”

    Until the pandemic, thanks in part to the persistence of co-directors Ron Cohen and me, procedures were in place and pretty much on schedule for the hiring of a replacement for Calumet Regional Archives mainstay Steve McShane (above), our archivist since operations opened in what’s now IUN’s John Will Anderson Library, who will soon retire after four decades of service. Librarian Latrice Booker, Vice Chancellor Vickie Lagunas, and Chancellor William Lowe were all on board for a search to commence. Two distinguished archivists whom Steve knew personally had expressed interest in applying for the position.  Then the proverbial shit hit the fan. With the university closed, hiring frozen, IU President McRobbie mandating five percent budget cuts for regional campuses, and Lowe retiring in two months, it appears clear that nobody will be hired before Steve leaves and uncertainty looms on how soon we can get the process moving again.

   After posting the above paragraph, I received a dozen comments on Facebook from friends of Steve, students who took his Indiana History course, researchers, and former colleagues.  Sculptor Neil Goodman wrote: “Steve has always been a treasure to the campus.  I hope that his position will be replaced, as history is long and memory short.”  Feminist author Anne Balay added: “Steve was such a vital resource when I wrote ‘Steel Closets’ and a good friend.  The Archives is his legacy and should be continued and supported.”  Connie Mack-Ward said it would be a disgrace not to staff the Archives, and community activist Lois Reiner mentioned that Steve helped rescue “troves of history including the minutes from our little Valparaiso Builders Association.”