The Network for Springfield’s Young Professionals, a committee of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce, enjoyed a joint presentation and tour of the archives on July 9. Archivists Haley Frizzle-Green with The State Historical Society of Missouri-Springfield Research Center and Tracie Gieselman France with MSU’s Special Collections and Archives discussed the two organizations’ partnership and shared archival materials with the group.

This was the third Living in SGF event of the year and members of the group were excited to learn more about Springfield’s history. The materials selected from the archival collections focused on business, transportation, and entertainment in the Springfield area, but other treasures were shared after one member asked about the archivists’ favorite collection or most interesting item. Haley described SHSMO’s Donald R. Whitman Collection which contains the personal and professional papers of Buffalo, Missouri native Donald Whitman. Whitman served in the U.S. Air Force at the Marshall Islands during Operation Ivy. The collection includes a copy of Burton Abeles’ journal, which contains a firsthand account of the Operation Ivy bomb detonations of 1952. Tracie talked about the materials in MSU’s Logan Family Collection related to Alberta’s Hotel, a local business owned by Alberta Northcutt Ellis that was listed from 1954 to 1967 in the Green Book, a national publication providing travel and accommodation information to African American travelers in times of widespread discrimination.

Since the visit, we have heard the group really enjoyed their time in the archives! Special Collections and Archives would like to thank Haley for the opportunity to learn more about The Network and share our resources with the group!

Photos taken by Alexandria Dool, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.