Corey-Vesta-Cunningham Family, 1906-2003 | Northern Illinois University

The collection is arranged into three main series: (I) Corey family, (II) Vesta family, (III) Cunningham family. Within these series material is arranged by record type, then chronologically. Series I consists of one small file folder of Corey family materials, ranging from around 1927 to 1975, and Series II consists of one small file folder of Vesta family materials, ranging from 1906 to around 1984.

Series III is divided into three subseries: (1) Phylis Cunningham, (2) Malta and Dekalb Schools and communities, and (3) Orville Cunningham. Subseries 1 contains personal and office papers relating to Phylis Cunningham and the Cunningham family, including greeting cards, newspaper clippings, and school administrative newsletters from 1926-2003. The school administrative newsletters in Subseries 1 are separated from the professional papers found in Subseries 2 because they are not directly related to Malta or DeKalb schools. Subseries 2 consists of papers accumulated from the professional and volunteer work of Phylis Cunningham in the Malta and Dekalb schools and communities; the documents also reflect the participation of Orville Cunningham in these schools and communities. The bulk of the materials consist of Malta Schools programs and pamphlets dated from 1932-2000, minutes from the Malta Community Consolidated District #185, 1951 to 1959, and minutes from the Malta Education Foundation, 1989 to 1995. Subseries 3 contains professional papers and General Electric (DeKalb) materials belonging to Orville Cunningham. The General Electric publications found in this subseries may be of particular interest, as they include issues of the “DeKalb Daily Digest,” General Electric “Monogram” Magazine, and General Electric News.

The addendum includes records of the Corey, Vesta, and Cunningham families as well asphotographs, Malta Methodist Church bulletins and Women of Christian Service materials, projects of Phylis and her brother Philip completed during their schooling at DeKalb TownshipHigh School, and graduation and reunion records for the DeKalb Township High School Class of1936. Dates of the materials in the addendum range from 1909 to 2011.

Phylis Cunningham (formerly Phylis Corey) grew up in the Malta, IL, area. Her mother was Carrie Lillian Vesta and her father was Walter A. Corey. Phylis worked for the Malta School District for 18 years as Bookkeeper, Treasurer, and Clerk of the Board. In 1976, Phylis left Malta Schools and began her position as Administrative Assistant to the Associate Superintendent of Business Affairs and Labor Relations in the DeKalb School District. She has also been a member of the Malta Education Foundation Board, and a Notary Public for DeKalb County. Phylis married Orville Cunningham in 1939, and they had two sons, James and Stanton.

Orville Cunningham (1916-1998) was born in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and moved to the Midwest in 1939. He worked as Chief Inspector for the Austin Western Company in Rochelle, Illinois, during the 1940s and 50s. At the end of 1955, he began working for the General Electric Appliance Motor Department in DeKalb as a Quality Control Analyst, then as a Foreman. Orville continued to work at GE until his retirement in 1980. He was also a member of the Malta School Board.