- Grouping 1: Joanne Becker
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Joanne Becker, from Monee, Illinois, received her B.S. in Home Economics from Northern Illinois State College in 1954. She was a member of Alpha Psi Omega, College Choir, Home Ec. Club, Nu Alpha Lambda, President's Panel, and Town Girls. She married Charles Strub and lives in DeKalb. Becker's papers date from 1950-1954 and consist of programs, magazines, grade cards and report cards, class preparations, class work.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Classes: Education 356 and 424
- Folder 2: Classes: Education Class
- Folder 3: Classes: English 101, Spring 1952
- Folder 4: Classes: Food I
- Folder 5: Classes: Health 180
- Folder 6: Classes: Home Economics 360
- Folder 7: Classes: Home Economics 445, Fall 1952
- Folder 8: Classes: Home Management Class
- Folder 9: Classes: Miscellaneous School Papers
- Folder 10: Classes: Nutrition 180
- Folder 11: Class Preparation: "About You" Workbook
- Folder 12: Class Preparation: Adjustments and Conflicts in Marriage
- Folder 13: Class Preparation: Adolescence
- Folder 14: Class Preparation: Adolescent Relations
- Folder 15: Class Preparation: Choice of Mate
- Folder 16: Class Preparation: Dating
- Folder 17: Class Preparation: Friendship
- Folder 18: Class Preparation: Grooming
- Folder 19: Class Preparation: Health and Physical Fitness
- Folder 20: Class Preparation: Human Relations
- Folder 21: Class Preparation: Love
- Folder 22: Class Preparation: Teaching Family Living
- Folder 23: Class Preparation: Values and Rituals
- Folder 24: Class Preparation: Weight Reduction
- Folder 25: Grade Cards and Reports, 1950-1954
- Folder 26: Magazines, 1952-1953
- Folder 27: Programs, 1951-1952
- Grouping 2: Karen Kelsey
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Karen Kelsey received her Masters in Arts in History from Northern Illinois University in 1987. She attended school while commuting from Crystal Lake, worked outside the home as a pharmacy technician, maintained a household, and raised three children.
Kelsey's diaries contain personal information on her family, work, health, studies as a graduate student of history at NIU, and her views on political and current events.
- Access Restriction: The diaries are closed to the public for ten years from the time of donation.
- Box 1
- Volume 1-6: Diaries (6 volumes), October 20, 1987-September 19, 1993
- Box 2
- Volume 1-6: Diaries (6 volumes), September 20, 1993-June 4, 1997
- Box 3
- Volume 1-6: Diaries (6 volumes), June 7, 1997-September 14, 2003
- Box 4
- Volume 1-6: Diaries (6 volumes), September 16, 2003-September 1, 2008
- Box 5
- Volume 1-5: Diary (5 volumes), September 6, 2008-February 15, 2012
- Box 6
- Volume 1-3: Diary, April 26, 2013-January 26, 2016
- Grouping 3: Carol Becker
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Carol Becker from Monee, Illinois, was born October 16, 1934. She received her bachelor’s degree at Northern Illinois University in 1956 and her master’s degree at Hunter College, New York, NY in 1957. Becker taught in Blue Lake, Illinois in 1957-1958 before joining the staff of the Department for the Visually Handicapped at Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson, Arizona as a math teacher in the fall of 1958. She received her certification for teaching the visually handicapped by attending San Francisco State University and the University of Arizona. Becker’s contributions to the education of the visually handicapped in their use of the Nemeth Code and the abacus have been felt throughout the country. She established an Abacus Club at ASDB in which the children gained skills that enabled them to compete mathematically with their sighted peers in public schools. She published several articles describing methods of teaching children abacus skills and preparing teachers to teach these skills. She contributed further to teacher preparation as an instructor of braille at the University of Arizona for several years. Becker passed away June 3, 1983 in Tucson, Arizona.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Obituaries, June 3, 1983
- Folder 2: Birth, Baptism, Confirmation, and Grade School Diplomas, 1934, 1948
- Folder 3: Income and Expenses during College, 1952-1956
- Folder 4: Correspondence from Carol Becker to Sister Joanne Strub, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1981-1982
- Folder 5: Correspondence, 1983
- Folder 6: Publications, 1975-1982, no date
- Folder 7: Playground Article and Photographs of Carol Becker Memorial Bench, 1983
- Folder 8: Photographs, no date
- Folder 9: Abacus used by Carol Becker in Teaching Math at ASDB
- Folder 10: Braille Sheet
- Folder 11: Arizona Cactus, October 1983
- Folder 12: Poem, A Day with "The Perfect Dorm", no date
- Folder 13: Article, "The Dauntless Joe Hogg", February 1973
- Grouping 4: Evelyne Zink Johnson
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Nettie Evelyne Zink of Buda, Bureau County, Illinois was born March 15, 1907, the daughter of George E. and Nettie Zink. (Evelyne only used “Nettie” on official documents, and dropped it after her marriage.) After graduation from High School in Buda in June 1925, she entered the two-year program at Northern Illinois State Teachers College on September 9, 1925. She suspended her studies after the spring 1926 term to help care for her father, while teaching at the Tadpole School. Evelyne returned to school full time in the fall of 1928, graduating June 6, 1929. She began teaching at the Wethersfield Grade School in 1929, where she remained until her marriage to Harold Johnson in June 1937. Living in Buda, Illinois she devoted the next fourteen years to her family. Mrs. Johnson resumed teaching in 1951 at the Buda Grade School, followed by Mineral Grade School and the Sheffield Grade School. She also continued her own education, receiving a B.S. in Education from Northern in August 1963. She retired from teaching fourth grade at Sheffield in June 1972. At the time of her death on May 23, 1999 she lived in Genoa, Illinois with her son Jay.
The materials in this collection not only document Evelyne’s education at N.I.S.T.C. and N.I.U., but also her 29-year teaching career. Evelyne’s scrapbook contains mementoes of her years attending Northern, from 1925 to 1929. Included are photographs, post cards, invitations, grade cards, movie playbills, local restaurant menus, N.I.S.T.C. songs and cheers, and autographs of her friends from the “Hunt Club,” a local boarding house.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Obituary; Newspaper Clippings, May 1999; 1956, 1963, 1972
- Folder 2: Buda Grade and High School, Grade Reports and Diplomas, 1913-1925
- Folder 3: Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC)Freshman Beanie; and Student Handbook, 1925; 1926
- Folder 4: Evelyne Zink Photographs, 1963, no date
- Folder 5: Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC)and Hunt Club Photographs, (1925-1929)
- Folder 6: Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC)Coursework, 1925-1929
- Folder 7: Music Lesson Book, and handwritten booklets of Ukulele Music, [one book includes memories from Hunt Club friends,1926], (1925-1929)
- Folder 8: 1929 Norther, autographed
- Folder 9: Northern, Transcripts and Grade Records, (1925-1969)
- Folder 10: Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC)Diploma; Travel Permit, 1929
- Separated Material: Diploma located in UA 11 Drawer 9, Folder 6
- Folder 11: Northern Student Memorabilia, 1929; (1958-1963)
- Folder 12: N.I.U. Coursework, 1963, 1969
- Folder 13: Delta Kappa Gamma Membership, 1965-1968
- Folder 14: Student I.D. Cards; Extension Course Book; Science Report, 1955, 1962/1963, 1965/1966
- Folder 15: Teacher's Life Poems, etc., 1958, 1964, no date
- Folder 16: Salary Schedules, Western Community School District #306, 1964-1973
- Folder 17: Retirement Memorabilia, 1972
- Folder 18: Teachers' Retirement Deduction Receipts, (1950-1952)
- Folder 19: Poems from Wilbur McLaughlin, classmate at Buda High School, 1925
- Box 2
- Volume 1: Scrapbook (1 volume), September 1925 - June 1929
- Folder 1: Games, Puzzles, Quiz Questions, and Songs, no date
- Folder 2: Classroom Projects from Normal Instructor and Primary Plans, 1915-1918
- Folder 3: Classroom Decorations, Crown for Birthday Child, no date
- Box 3
- Folder 1: Teacher's Certificates, 1926, 1929, 1963, 1966
- Folder 2: Teachers Contracts, (1926-1972)
- Folder 3: Grading/Record Books: Tadpole School, 1926-1928
- Folder 4-5: Grading/Record Books: Wethersfield Grade School, 1929-1937
- Folder 6: Grading/Record Books: Buda Grade School, 1951-1952
- Folder 7-8: Grading/Record Books: Mineral Grade School, 1952-1955
- Folder 9-18: Grading/Record Books: Sheffield Grade School, 1955-1972
- Folder 19: Student Rosters, Sheffield School, 1956-1972
- Folder 20-21: Memorabilia and Photographs from Teaching, circa 1926-1988
- Folder 22: Letters and Photographs from Jean Wolcott, 1938-1939, 1971
- Grouping 5: Vera Wiswall
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Vera Wiswall and her family lived just a few blocks from the Northern Illinois State Normal School campus, at 308 Augusta Avenue in DeKalb. She graduated from Northern in 1906 and went on to receive degrees from Oberlin College and Oberlin Conservatory. Wiswall came back to teach music at Northern in 1911 and retired in 1951. She died in DeKalb, January 26, 1967.
Wiswall’s papers consist of programs for the Ellwood-Glidden Societies, Treble , and a Memoriam for John Williston Cook; three Zoology and Nature Study Notebooks; and three song and poetry books. The notebooks are of particular interest as they contain class notes and sketches of plants and animals related to her studies.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Ellwood-Glidden Societies Contest brochures; Treble Clef Society Concert programs; Memoriam of John Williston Cook, (1901-1912); 1922, 1923; October 15, 1922
- Volume 1-2: Zoology Notebooks (2 volumes), circa 1905
- Volume 3: Nature Study Notebook (1 volume), 1905
- Volume 4: The Abridged Academy Songbook, 1903
- Volume 5: Farm Ballads, by Will Carleton (1 volume), 1873
- Volume 6: Farm Festivals, by Will Carleton (1 volume), 1882
- Grouping 6: Dorothy & Helen Corey
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Dorothy and Helen Corey were daughters of Frank S. and Caroline Corey. The family home was located near the Northern Illinois State Normal School campus, on the corner of West Lincoln Highway and Normal Road. Dorothy graduated from Northern in 1910, and Helen in 1920. Dorothy taught at Haish School in DeKalb for several years before continuing her studies at Carroll College in Beloit, Wisconsin, ca. 1914. Her sister Helen married Paul Arndt, and in the early 1940's the Arndt’s moved into the Corey family home, at 105 Normal Road. Members of the Arndt family continued to reside in the home until 1989 when NIU purchased the property. It has been the home of University Resources for Women since 1990.
The Corey papers consist of Dorothy’s scrapbook for the years 1908 to 1913, and her photo album from ca. 1914 which contains a number of photographs of the Corey home on Normal Road, with the remainder of Beloit. Also included here are letters written to Helen Corey/Arndt from John Williston Cook, Swen Parson, and Willard Smith, president of the class of 1920.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Helen Corey/Arndt Correspondence, (1920-1935)
- Volume 1: Dorothy Corey Scrapbook (1 volume), 1908-1913
- Volume 2: Dorothy Corey Photo Album (1 volume), circa 1914
- Grouping 7: Catherine Hoffman
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Catherine Hoffman, from Sycamore, Illinois, graduated from Northern Illinois State Teachers College in DeKalb, in 1943. She studied Home Economics and Chemistry, and was a member of the Home Economics Club and Town Girls. The materials in this collection were donated by her sister, Joan Hoffman on October 8, 2001.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: “A New Door Opens to Youth at Northern,” (booklet on new Science Building, 1943); “So You’re an N.I. Graduate;" “Occupational Therapy,” a War Department Technical Manual; Homecoming cIass of Northern Illinois News Items; and Circle of Gold Alumni Program and Correspondence, 1943; no date; 1944; 1954; 1993
- Volume 1-2: Norther Yearbooks (autographed) (2 volumes), 1940, 1943
- Grouping 8: Gladys Larsen Wetz
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Gladys Larsen was born in DeKalb, Illinois on March 7, 1893. She attended the training school at Northern Illinois State Normal School when it opened in the fall of 1899. She later attended N.I.S.N.S. and graduated in 1911. On April 4, 1914 she married Henry Wetz, and in her later years moved to Roswell, New Mexico to be near her daughter.
Gladys Wetz’s letters and reminiscences provide a wealth of information on the early years of Northern, its faculty and students, as well as information on the city of DeKalb. Information included in this collection includes several genealogy charts, correspondence, memoirs (early years of college and community), and photographs (including the Haish Mansion, and the Class of 1911).
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Photographs; Genealogy; Correspondence, 1917-1975
- Folder 2: Comments on Norther; Comments on Northern Illinois, 1909- 1914; 1908-1912
- Folder 3: "Glimpses of Yesteryear", 1967-1969
- Folder 4: "Recollections of Northern, 1899-1911"
- Grouping 9: Elsa Ann Fischer Browne
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Elsa Ann Fischer was born September 13, 1911. She graduated from Dixon High School [where future President Ronald Reagan also attended] in 1929. In the fall of that year she traveled to DeKalb to begin classes at the Northern Illinois State Teachers College. During her four years at Northern she participated in Orchestra and String Quartet, the Geography Club, Williston Hall girls, and was a member of Nu Iota Pi. While attending NISTC she met Robert Cameron Browne, who attended the school for two years. They married on January 20, 1940. [Robert taught for several years in Erie and Rock Falls, Illinois and then went to work for Northwestern Steel and Wire Company as a metallurgist, and later became superintendent of plant operations.]
Following her graduation from Northern in 1933, Elsa worked in an office for two years, taught in a rural school for one year, and at Stillman Valley Community High School for four years. After her marriage she gave up teaching. Elsa was well known in the Sterling and Rock Falls areas from her participation in the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Republican Party politics, and church activities. Her husband Robert died August 1, 1979. Elsa Browne resided in Rock Falls, Illinois in 2004. The materials in this collection were donated by her niece Phyllis E. Kurzrock in May 2004.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Fischer, Elsa Ann - Photo and Short Biography
- Folder 2: Northern Illinois State Teachers College (Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC)), Student Faculty Directories, 1929-1930, 1930-1931
- Folder 3: "The Willistonite" Williston Hall Yearbook, Volume 2, 1930
- Folder 4: Commencement Announcements, 1931, 1933
- Folder 5: Fischer's Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) school books: Geography Notebook, Winter 1930-1931
- Folder 6: Fischer's Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) school books: Asia, Africa and Australia, published, 1918
- Folder 7: Fischer's Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) school books: European History Atlas, published, 1929
- Folder 8: Fischer's Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) school books: Student's Objective-Test Manual and Answer Book, circa 1932
- Folder 9: Fischer's Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) school books: Higher Levels: Habits and Skills, Book IV, Text and Keys for Scoring, published, 1932
- Folder 10: Fischer's Northern Illinois State Teachers College (NISTC) school books: Teaching Literature, published, 1926
- Folder 11: Class of 1933, 50th Anniversary Souvenir Directory, October 1983
- Folder 12: Circle of Gold Luncheon, June 30, 1986
- Folder 13: Stillman Valley Community High School Yearbooks, 1937, 1939
- Box 2
- Volume 1-4: Norther Yearbooks, autographed (4 volumes), 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933
- Grouping 10: Thelma Wright
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Thelma Jeannette Wright attended grade school in Rock Falls, Illinois before her family moved to Algonquin. After graduating from Dundee High School in May 1940 Thelma came to Northern Illinois State Teachers College in DeKalb, where she received a B.S. in Music and English in 1944. While at NISTC she lived in Williston dormitory, was a member of the Treble Clef, and was on the Norther yearbook staff for 1944. After graduation taught both vocal and instrumental music in the Dundee-Carpentersville grade schools.
This collection contains three scrapbooks which document the years 1940 to 1945. Included here is correspondence, cards, newspaper clippings, musical programs, playbills, and memorabilia relating not only to activities at Northern, but also to her interest in music. Since Thelma attended school here during World War II a number of items relate to the effect of the war on campus.
This collection was brought in by the Northern Alumni Association in August 2004.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Newspaper articles, and correspondence, 1940-1945, 1966
- Volume 1-2: Scrapbooks (2 volumes), 1940-1943
- Box 2
- Volume 1: Scrapbook (1 volume), circa 1943-1945
- Grouping 11: Howard Nash Johnston
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Howard Nash Johnston came to Northern Illinois State Normal School in the Fall of 1908 from Byron, Illinois. Johnston played on the baseball, basketball and football teams and participated in a number of school related activities, and was a member of the Patriots, and the “King” of a group known as the “Trouble Cleft.” Following his graduation in 1910 Johnston was principal in Kingston, Illinois. He married Eva Stanbury, also from Byron, class of 1912. In 1977 Howard N. Johnston was President of the Holcomb State Bank in Holcomb, Illinois.
This collection contains one scrapbook and a folder which contain photographs and memorabilia relating to Howard Nash Johnston’s activities at NISNS, as well as photographs of the women of the Tudor Boarding Club, and from the classes of 1908 thru 1910.
The collection was brought in by the Northern Alumni Association in August 2004.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Photographs and Memorabilia, 1908-1917
- Volume 1: Scrapbook: Tudor Boarding Club, Memorabilia relating to Howard N. Johnston (1 volume), 1908-1909, 1908-1910
- Grouping 12: Leondard & John (Mart) McCracken
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Leonard Dean McCracken and Joan Halcyon Mart met while students at Northern Illinois State Teachers College. Leonard was from McHenry, Illinois, majored in Physical Education and Mathematics, and was a member of the Golf Team. He graduated in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. He worked in Research and Development at Wilson Sporting Goods, and had retired by 1995. Joan Mart was from DesPlaines, Illinois and graduated from Northern in 1952, also with a BSED. She majored in Physical Education and Fine Arts, and was a member of a number of campus organizations including the Fine Arts Club, Major-Minor, the Daughters of Neptune, and the Women’s Athletic Association. She worked for a time as the Audio-Visual Librarian for the Village of Arlington Heights, where the McCracken’s lived.
The materials in this collection were donated by their daughter Jane Swenson on May 14, 2007.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Varsity Club Spring Semi-Formal dance card/program; Senior Ball Dinner Dance program; Commencement Programs, May 29, 1952; June 3, 1950; June 11, 1950, June 1, 1952, June 4, 1966.
- Volume 1-2: Norther Yearbooks (Autographed) (2 volumes), 1950, 1952
- Item 1: Two of Leonard McCracken's red pullover "letter sweaters," one with a large black NI patch, and the other with a similar black patch with GOLF in red, are located in UA 11.
- Grouping 13: Margaret Allen Arnold
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Margaret Jean [Peggy] Allen, the daughter of Bly and Roy Allen, was raised in DeKalb, Illinois and attended the University School at Northern Illinois University from 1961 to 1964. Allen then attended DeKalb High School where she was the first female President of the Student Council in 1966/1967. She married Steve Arnold, and they eventually moved to Madison, Wisconsin. The materials in this collection were donated by Margaret Arnold on February 16, 2007.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Margaret Allen's University Junior High School Report Cards, Fall 1961 - Spring 1964
- Folder 2: Programs, Concerts, Dances, Bookmarks [University Junior High], (1961-1964)
- Folder 3: Student Handbooks, University Junior High, 1962/1963, 1963/1964
- Folder 4: Margaret Allen's University Junior High Memory Book, 1963-1964
- Folder 5: University School Industrial Arts Class: Peggy Allen's "Business Card" and a Calendar, 1963-1964
- Folder 6: Postcards: University School, Clarkson Dormitory at Taft Field Campus, and Taft Field Campus Food Center, circa 1963-1964
- Folder 7: "The Blackhawk Smoke Signal", University Junior High Newspaper, April and June 1964
- Folder 8: Newspaper Clippings, (1964-1967)
- Folder 9: Safety Patrol Handbook, Littlejohn School, 1960
- Volume 1: Scrapbook of DeKalb High School Athletic Activities (1 volume), 1966/1967
- Grouping 14: Joan M. Metzger
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Joan Marie Metzger, the daughter of Lorraine and Robert Descourouez, was born and raised in St. Charles, Illinois. She graduated from Mundelein College [Chicago] in 1972 with a B.A. in History. In 1973 she married Allan Metzger, and they moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1978 where Joan began working in the research library of the Arizona Historical Society. Following their return to Illinois in the fall of 1987, Joan decided to pursue a Master of Library Science degree at Northern Illinois University. She began attending classes in the fall of 1988 and graduated in May of 1991. Joan became the Assistant University Archivist in the Regional History Center at NIU in September 1995.
The materials included here are from the courses Metzger took for her MLS degree, and include course syllabi and requirements, class notes, assignments, and some exams. Researchers should also see VFM 4.96 - “The Littlest Carnegie: A History of the Clinton Township Public Library, Waterman, Illinois,” written for LIBS 571 in the spring of 1991, and VFM 4.94 - “The Finnish Community of DeKalb, Illinois,” written for HIST 492 in the spring of 1990. The Library and Information Science program at NIU was phased out in 1993.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Library and Information Studies, Master of Arts Degree Program, Information, 1988-1991
- Folder 2-5: LIBS 412 - Cataloging and Classification of Library Materials, taught by Deanne Holzberlein, Fall 1988
- Folder 6: LIBS 413 - Selection of Library Materials, taught by Patricia Cannon, Spring 1989
- Folder 7: LIBS 508 - Reference Theory and Practice, taught by Patricia Canon, Summer 1989
- Box 2
- Folder 1: LIBS 490 - Preservation and Conservation of Library Materials, Interim Session Workshop, conducted by Deanne Holzberlein, August 1989
- Folder 2: LIBS 522 - Information Resources in the Social Sciences, taught by David Shavit, Fall 1989
- Folder 3-4: LIBS 537 - Special Libraries, taught by Andrew Torok; Includes course project draft, "Recommendations for a Research Library at the Garfield Farm and Tavern Museum, La Fox, Illinois.", Fall 1989
- Folder 5-6: LIBS 501 - Foundations of Librarianship, taught by Deanne Holdberlein; Includes paper/oral report on "Copyright in the Library Environment.", Spring 1990;
- Folder 7: LIBS 503 - Introduction to Information Science, taught by Andrew Torok, Spring 1990
- Folder 8: HIST 492 - Principles of Historical Administration, taught by Glen Gildemeister, Spring 1990
- Folder 9: LIBS 505 - Library Organization and Management, taught by David Shavit, Summer 1990
- Box 3
- Folder 1-2: LIBS 521 - Information Resources in the Humanities, taught by Patricia Canon; Includes papers written and resources used on topic of "Stereographs.", Fall 1990
- Folder 3: LIBS 535 - Public Libraries, taught by David Shavit, Fall 1990
- Folder 4: LIBS 571 - Research Methods in Librarianship, taught by Patricia Canon; Includes notes and resource material used in writing "The Littlest Carnegie: A History of the Clinton Township Public Library, Waterman, Illinois.", Spring 1991
- Folder 5: Comprehensive Examination: Reading List and "Comps Advice for Worriers", Spring 1991
- Folder 6: Spring Colloquium and "Research and Career Day" Flyer, Sponsored by Department of Library and Information Studies, March 27, 1992
- Grouping 15: Charlotte H. Willrett
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Charlotte H. Willrett, from Malta, Illinois, was a student at Northern Illinois State Teachers College from 1943 until her graduation in 1947. She studied Home Economics and Chemistry, and was a member of the Home Economics Club, of which she served as secretary and vice-president; Town Girls; the Y.W.C.A.; Kappa Delta Pi, and Pi Kappa Sigma. Charlotte married Gaylord O. Berg and moved to Rochelle where they lived until Gaylord’s death in 1995. Charlotte then moved to Wheaton, Illinois.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Picture of Charlotte Willrett from the 1947 Norther, with scholastic information, 1947
- Folder 2: Bulletin of the Northern Illinois State Teachers College, Annual Catalog, 1943-1944
- Folder 3: Pi Kappa Sigma Handbook, 1946
- Folder 4: "The Laurel" of Pi Kappa Sigma, November 1946-November 1947
- Oversize 1: Norther, includes numerous autographs from students, and some faculty, 1944
- Grouping 16: Harvey E. Hoyt
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Harvey Edward Hoyt was born July 7, 1907 in Elburn, Illinois, the youngest of three children born to Edward L. Hoyt and Della A. Sharp. Harvey graduated from the two-year program at Northern Illinois State Teachers College in 1928. He taught at the Elburn Elementary School, and later taught 5th grade at Sugar Grove Elementary School. A member of the Community Congregational Church in Elburn, he was noted for his work with the Boy Scouts. In addition to teaching, Harvey served as the Village Clerk of Elburn from 1948 until his retirement in September 1988. In 1965 Hoyt was awarded a Certificate of Merit for his years of faithful service as treasurer of the Northern Illinois University Alumni Association. He also wrote the “Late Twenties” column for the Northern Alumnus. A lifelong resident of Elburn, Harvey Hoyt died December 20, 1989 at the age of 82, at Jennings Terrace in Aurora, where he had been a patient for several months.
The materials in this collection were donated by Marilyn Thompson in May and June of 2011.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: "Northern Alumnus"; Photocopy of page from 1928 Norther yearbook, December 1954, March 1955, and June 1965; 1928
- Volume 1: Norther yearbook, autographed, and in original box (1 volume), 1926
- Grouping 17: Joanie (Grosser) McAvoy
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Born to Frank and Mildred Grosser, Joanie (Grosser) McAvoy, was raised in Brookfield, Illinois. She attended NIU where she received her Bachelors of Science degree in Elementary Education in 1971 and her Masters of Science in Education in 1975. During her time at NIU, Grosser actively participated in NIU life, attending football games and serving as Co-Chairman of the Homecoming Committee in 1970. After graduating from NIU, Grosser worked at the Aurora campus of the Waubonsee Community College and later in the Schaumburg Community School District. She married John Rockwood McAvoy, also a graduate of NIU. John received his Bachelor of Science degree at NIU in 1971 and worked as an accountant for Griffin Pipe Products Co. and Amsted Industries. Joanie and John McAvoy reside in Lisle, Illinois.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Homecoming Committee, 1970
- Folder 2: Homecoming advertisements, 1970
- Folder 3: Homecoming Queen, Larry Bloom nomination articles, 1970
- Folder 4: Football ticket stubs (6), October 1970, September 1971
- Folder 5: Football programs (including University of Wisconsin-Madison vs. Northern Illinois University program) (4), 1970-1971
- Folder 6: Dorm life, Homecoming, football photos (37), 1968-1971
- Folder 7: Grant South photos (2), 1967-1969
- Folder 8: Four-year form, classes, no date
- Folder 9: Graduate study in Education, 1971
- Folder 10: Articles on Northern Illinois University, 1970, 1980
- Grouping 18: Charles and Barbara (Guenette) Whitford
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Charles Whitford and Barbara Guenette met while attending the Northern Illinois State Teachers College together in the late 1930s and married 1941, eventually having two daughters, Cheryl and Nancy. Born in 1916, Charles was one of six children born to Manley and Ethel (Cadman) Whitford. Charles graduated in 1938 from NISTC with a Bachelors in Science focusing on Mathematics and Physics and was a member of the Sigma Zeta society. Charles taught school briefly after graduating for NISTC. During World War II, he served in U.S. Army. Sometime after the war, Charles and Barbara moved to Aurora where Charles worked as an engineer at Western Electric Company, Inc. until his retirement. Charles’ sister, Harriet (Whitford) Gale, and their mother, Ethel (Cadman) Whitford, were teachers, while Charles’ brother, Manley Whitford, ran the Whitford Clothing store in Hinckley. Barbara (Guenette) Whitford grew up in Waukegan, Illinois alongside her sisters Lois (Guenette) Bouton and Gretchen Guenette. Barbara graduated from Waukegan Township High School in 1934 and by 1938 was receiving financial assistance from the P.E.O. to attend NISTC. Graduating in 1939 from Senior College with a Bachelor of Arts, Barbara was a member of the English Club and Daughters of Neptune. Barbara’s sister, Lois, graduated from the NISTC Junior College in 1939, having been a member of the Women’s Athletic Association, Physical Education Club and Daughters of Neptune. Both Barbara and Lois wrote for The Northern Illinois in 1939. Lois (Guenette) Bouton joined the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve in World War II, then became an elementary teacher in Zion, Illinois, having retired by 1989. Gretchen Guenette served as a photographer for the Women’s Army Corp (WAC) from 1949-1969, afterwards becoming an x-ray technician until her death in 1994. After college, Barbara became an avid gardener and both she and Charles actively collected postcards from around the world in addition to information on local history and significant events in their friends’ lives.
The extensive collection of postcards from Charles and Barbara (Guenette) Whitford is now located in the RC 199 Postcard Collection.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Freshman Week social event card, Charles Whitford, 1934
- Folder 2: Barbara Guenette admissions packet and Statement of Standing, 1936-1938
- Folder 3: Barbara Guenette, Williston Hall waitressing and room assignment, May, July, August 1938
- Folder 4: Barbara Guenette loan and school finance correspondence with P.E.O., 1938-1939, no date
- Folder 5: NIU programs, 1936-1939, 1963
- Folder 6: The Nothern Illinois with articles by Barbara and Lois Guenette and Charles Whitford on Honor Roll (6), January-March 1939, October 1, 1943
- Folder 7: Charles Whitford class notes, no date
- Folder 8: Comprehensive Objective, Achievement, and Survey Geometry tests, Charles Whitford, circa 1930
- Folder 9: McMurry Training School, student teaching observation and worksheet booklet, Charles Whitford, circa 1938
- Folder 10: Sigma Zeta, Charles Whitford, January, April-May 1938, April 1939, no date
- Folder 11: Education Tests for Use in High School, 1936
- Folder 12: Charles Whitford class notes and geometry examples, no date
- Folder 13: Unit I: An Introductory Unit in Plane Geometry, Charles Whitford, no date
- Folder 14: Unit III: Multiplication and Division of Algebraic Numbers, Charles Whitford, 1937
- Folder 15: Red Cross Life Saving methods, Barbara Guenette, 1932
- Folder 16: Barbara Guenette class notes, no date
- Folder 17: Sentence Variety Unit, Barbara Guenette, February 1939
- Folder 18: Ballad Unit, Barbara Guenette, January 1939
- Folder 19: Teaching job applications and correspondence, Barbara Guenette, 1939, no date
- Folder 20: Charles Whitford and Barbara Guenette report cards, 1934-1939
- Folder 21: Illinois State Examining Board for Teacher Certificates, Barbara Guenette, no date
- Folder 22: Lorado Taft Newsletter, Earth Science Teacher Conference, 1955, 1952
- Folder 23: Photographs (13 photos), circa 1930s, no date
- Folder 24: Photo album, 1937-1940
- Folder 25: Photographs, Whitford home at 115 Hiawatha (3 photos), 1947, 1950
- Folder 26: Historical Westmont, houses (12 negative strips), 1946-1947, 1949, 1951-1952
- Folder 27: "The W," Waukegan High School Yearbook, Barbara Guenette, 1933
- Folder 28: "Annual W," Waukegan High School Yearbook, Commencement program, service, and play, Barbara Guenette, 1934
- Folder 29: Waukegan Township High School, 25th Reunion, October 10, 1959
- Folder 30: Ephemera, 1933, 1936, 1941, 1949-1950, 1952, 1960, no date
- Folder 31: Women's Athletic Association (WAA) Sport Dance card, Lois Guenette was in the WAA, May 6, 1938
- Folder 32: Barbara (Guenette) Whitford, Garden Club ribbons (7 ribbons), circa 1947-1952
- Folder 33: Photographs, Oswegorama Parade, Oswego, Illinois- Barbara Whitford on Sugar, Charles Whitford on Spice, both dressed as Navajos (3 slides), September 13, 1958
- Folder 34: Whitford Men's Furnishing, owned by Manley Cadman Whitford, Charles Whitford's brother, circa 1940s
- Folder 35: Photographs, Ethel (Cadman) Whitford at Teachers Institute in DeKalb (4 photos), March 1912
- Folder 36: Photographs, Harriet (Whitford) Gale, teacher in LaGrange (2 photos), no date
- Folder 37: Ethel M. (Cadman) Whitford's Teaching Certificate, Ogle County, Charles Whitford's mother, July 22, 1900
- Folder 38: Frank Gale, Harriet (Whitford) Gale's husband, tribute, American Legion pin, no date
- Folder 39: American Legion, Broadview Post No. 626 Installation of Officers, Commander Harley Bergstrand, a friend of Charles Whitford, September 13, 1952
- Folder 40: Northern Illinois region business postcards, flyers, and business cards, 1892, 1896, 1928, 1935, 1947-1947, 1950-1954, 1966, 1983, no date
- Folder 41: Marshall Fields & Company and Chicago booklet, 1946
- Folder 42: Burlington Railroad calendar and case, 1953
- Folder 43: DeKalb Centennial envelope with letter, 1956
- Folder 44: Shabbona, Neconihe Moka Man (Friend of the White Man), pageant, Order of the Arrow Wiyapunit Lodge # 106, Boy Scouts, June 12, 1956
- Folder 45: Naperville Settlement and Aurora newspaper clippings, December 1960 and January 14, 1984
- Folder 46: "Thrift Corner Yarns", Aurora Savings & Loans Association, April 1965
- Folder 47: Phillips 66 ad with needle pack, Clarendon Hills, no date
- Folder 48: Westmont, Illinois, no date
- Folder 49: Deerfield Industries, no date
- Folder 50: Snow newspaper article, no date
- Folder 51: Calendars, 1920, 1932, 1938, 1948, 2006
- Folder 52: Story and poem booklets, "Junior Verse," owned by Gretchen Guenette, and "The Boy from Missouri Valley", 1930, 1916
- Folder 53: Today Daily Devotional booklets, poems, and notes, January-March 1939, no date
- Folder 54: Religious booklets: "His Last Week" and "Thoughts and Prayers for Anxious Hours", 1905, 1943
- Folder 55: All About Small Dogs in the Big City, Ann Seranne, given by Gretchen Guenette, Barbara (Guenette) Whitford's sister, 1975
- Folder 56: Warrenville Women's Club Recipes, 1953
- Folder 57: Recollections of a Midwest M.D., Harry Y. Greeley, M.D., Charles Whitford's doctor, 1984
- Folder 58: Doctor Harry Greeley newspaper articles, 1983-1984, 1989, 1993
- Folder 59: County School Memories, compiled by Bonnie Hughes Falk, Edith O. Chaffer recollections noted, 1986
- Box 2
- Folder 1: The Beautiful Life of Frances E. Willard, Anna A. Gordon, Memorial Edition, 1898
- Folder 2: Recollections, 1837-1910, by Charles W. Marsh (1910), given to Lumen Charles Whitford, Charles Whitford's grandfather, 1920
- Folder 3: College Currency, Money for Business Training, Herb and Martha Schingoethe, Neil Shafer editor, signed by Herb and Martha Schingoethe as gift to Whitfords, 1993
- Grouping 19: E. Marvin Eckberg
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Edwin Marvin Eckberg was born to Oscar and Bertha Eckberg in 1915. Raised in DeKalb, Illinois, E.M. Eckberg attended DeKalb Township High School. He graduated from Northern Illinois State Teachers College in 1936 with a Bachelors in Education and a focus on zoology and chemistry. He was a member of Beta Tau Sigma and Alpha Phi Omega while at NISTC. By the time he entered NISTC, his mother Bertha was working at the DeKalb Trust and Savings. After graduating from the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine in 1940, he practiced medicine in Galva, Illinois. Material from Eckberg’s medical studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College are denoted.
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Speech, Government and Society notes and classwork, 1935, no date
- Folder 2: Physics experiments (4-60), E.M. Eckberg and others, 1934-1935
- Folder 3: Chemistry notes by various individuals, 1934-1935
- Folder 4: Ecology notes and classwork, 1935, no date
- Folder 5: Bacteriology notes and classwork, University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College, September- December 1937
- Folder 6: Physiology notes and class work, University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College, October 1937-May 1938
- Folder 7: Pharmacology notes and classwork, University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College, 1938
- Folder 8: Diseases and medical conditions, notes and classwork, University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College, 1938
- Folder 9: Pathology notes and slide drawings, slides (1-143), University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College, January-March 1938
- Folder 10: Biological studies, experiments (33-113), [University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College], no date
- Folder 11: Experiments on animal reactions to drugs, [University of Illinois, Chicago Medical College], no date
- Box 2
- Folder 1: Human Anatomy drawings, University of Illinois, Chicago Medical School, no date
- Folder 2: Botany notes, diagrams, and classwork, no date
- Folder 3: Insect and Animal Biology notes, drawings, and classwork, no date
- Folder 4: History notes and class work, no date
- Folder 5: Evolution of Man notes and classwork, no date
- Folder 6: Plays and Drama notes and classwork, no date
- Folder 7: Unknown class notes, 1938, no date
- Folder 8: "The Barb," DeKalb Township High School newspaper, Marvin Eckberg as distributor, February, March, October 1930
- Folder 9: Northern Illinois State Teachers College Student Association Ticket book, Fall 1933
- Folder 10: Northern Illinois State Teachers College programs, newspaper, ephemera, 1930, 1933, 1936, no date
- Folder 11: Medical journals, magazines, and booklets, 1929, 1931, 1936-1938, no date
- Folder 12: United States Department of Agriculture, "Farmer's Bulletin," animals, 1924, 1930
- Folder 13: Poems and Plays, 1921, 1923, no date
- Folder 14: Correspondence, 1922, 1935, no date
- Folder 15: Joseph H. Dodson, "The Birdhouse Man," order forms, no date
- Folder 16: DeKalb area stores and banks, circa 1930s, no date
- Folder 17: Bertha Eckberg's Sunday School material and DeKalb Evangelical Lutheran Constitution, 1934, no date
- Folder 18: Unidentified photos, damaged [albumen or gelatin prints], no date
- Folder 19: Ephemera, 1926, 1932, 1935, no date