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The Roy A. Kiesling papers (1970-1990) consist primarily of correspondence, reports, conference material, and publications related to Kiesling's 1970s and 1980s participation as a lawyer and engineer in the California and national Consumer movements. The papers have been arranged to reflect his administrative involvement in several non-profit organizations, state-level government committees, for-profit businesses, and his personal interest in various ongoing consumer-related issues.
The Consumer Organizations Series (1970-1990) consists of five boxes of memoranda, reports, speeches, correspondence, press releases, clippings, by-laws, receipts, and chronological files, which span Roy Kiesling's administrative involvement in several consumer movement organizations. Arranged in chronological order by organization, this series stands as one of the two greatest strengths of the Kiesling papers. Two of the boxes offer researchers a detailed view of the formative years of the Consumer Alliance, which was co-founded by Kiesling with Donald Kennedy and Paul Ehrlich in the aftermath of the ten-day 1970 "Summer Alumni College on the Environment" symposium at Stanford University. Similarly, many files cover Kiesling's activities as a board member and president of the Consumer Federation of California and the Consumer Cooperative Society of Palo Alto, including board minutes, resolutions, and reports of the organization's actions.
Researchers will also find the documentation relating to the Consumer Cooperative's files of particular interest in complementing the activities of other regional organizations. For example, where the Consumer Alliance was interested in broad issues, the Consumer Cooperative placed a greater focus on local issues, such as their affiliation with five California-based supermarkets in collaboration with the Berkeley Cooperative. This partnership outlined in the files accrued an annual collective gross of nineteen million dollars a year. Other files in this series include correspondence and reports relating to Paul Ehrlich's theories on population growth, the history of the California consumer movement, and the problems caused by the 1973 government protection of agricultural business and the teamsters over the United Farm Workers and the California shopper. Finally, still other materials center on the creation and maintenance of local cooperatives throughout California's urban landscape to the benefit of individual neighborhoods neglected by national store chains.
The Conferences Series (1970-1995) consists of three boxes of meeting minutes, programs, rosters, clippings, notes, testimonies, and audio tapes arranged in chronological order. Collected by Kiesling during the 1970s as a conference attendee, many of the early files in this series cover important events in the history of the Consumer Movement. These include the 1970 Summer Alumni College on the Environment, the 1971 Food Labeling Conference, the 1971 Consumer Union/American Council on Consumer Interests (whose records are retained by K-State Special Collections), the "Milwaukee Massacre" of 1973, and several Tucson symposia. Other files include "Tape-to-Tape" recordings of conference speeches and lectures given by Consumer Movement leader Colston Warne. Researchers will also find the documents relating to the creation of the national conference creating the Conference of Consumer Organizations (COCO), which was founded by Currin Shields, Louis Meyer, and Fr. Robert McEwen and aided by Roy Kiesling, to be of particular interest. The papers of Shields and Meyer are also housed in the Consumer Movement Archives at Kansas State University. These files include several issues of the organization's newsletter, Intercom, as well as documentation relating to Food Grading, Earth Day, consumer medicine, boycotts, and their relationship with the Consumer Federation of America.
The Government Consultancies Series (1976-1985) collects two boxes of documents arranged in alphabetical order and relating to Roy Kiesling's involvement as an advisor to the California Bureau of Automotive Repair. Spanning his eight years on the board of review in the California Department of Consumer Affairs, these documents include meeting minutes, chronological files, agendas, appointments, and reports, which largely focus on public grievances and service industry concerns with state and local regulations. One particularly noteworthy set of documentation involves the creation of a set of standards to deter the potentially fraudulent conduct and floating prices of individuals in California considered "Transmission Specialists." Other files contain complete runs of the government printed newsletter, Automobiliana (later renamed Car Clips), which Kiesling used for reference. The series also includes annual reports for the years 1975-1981. Researchers will also find of interest a set of correspondence between Kiesling and economist Milton Freidman on the role of government and regulation in consumer protection and their potential long-term effects on the American economy.
The Research Series (1970-1982) consists of nine boxes of documents arranged in alphabetical order, which served as reference material for Roy Kiesling. These files include reports, briefing books, correspondence, legal documents, industry advertising samples, and newspaper clippings, concerning the ongoing activities of Consumer Alliance, Kiesling's personal interest in energy awareness, tort law, and toys. The files also contain correspondence and clippings featuring the author's relationship with members of the Federal Trade Commission, Colston Warne, and Richard L.D. Morse. Other sections of this series also include accumulated research on such topics as Food branding, labeling ingredients and measuring, the viability of Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans, "Intermittent Ignition Devices," utility rate normalization plans in California, and drafts of consumer protection agency legislation brought before the United States Congress. Kiesling considered the Intermittent Ignition Devices issue before the California Department of Energy, a subject covering the state government's regulation of pilot lights in water heaters an ideal example of well-intentioned consumer "regulation gone wrong." Finally, researchers will also find special interest in Kiesling's collection of memos, reports, and manuals relating to his time on the Consumer Advisory Council and Consumer Advisory Panel for Pacific Bell. The files cover issues relating to the deregulation of the telecommunications industry in the 1980s, subsequent court proceedings, customer guides, and the availability of telephone access for the physically challenged.
The Publications Series (1970-1988) consists of three boxes of periodicals, reports, and studies arranged in alphabetical order by title. Several of the files collect guides and directories for an assortment of businesses, including California cooperatives, consumer associations, and complaint guides. Other files contain consumer-related information pamphlets and bound public testimonies before congress as well as journal issues, newsletters, and a complete 1974-1978 run of The Workbook. Other folders collect a number of photographs, depicting period leaders in the Consumer Movement. The last box in the series contains sample outlines, topical chapters, and different manuscript versions of Kiesling’s unpublished memoir. The majority of the documentation relates to the lessons he learned as a consumer advocate and his time in the Consumer Movement, including sections on Ester Peterson, automobile safety, the 1970s fight for the Federal Consumer Protection Agency Bill, Ralph Nader, the Tucson Consumer Symposium, Peter McCloskey, the production and marketing of Pringles, and Paul Ehrlich’s Zero Population Growth organization. A Consumer Alliance embossing seal has been transferred to the artifacts collection in the University Archives.
As a lawyer in the 1970s and 1980s, Kiesling was instrumental in the growth of several California-based outlets of the growing Consumer Movement. A co-founder of the Consumer Alliance with Paul Ehrlich and Richard Harriman, Kiesling helped craft a declaration of consumer rights, which included stipulations for the inclusion of name and complete mailing address of product manufacturers, the name of the product, model number, warnings usage, and the list of ingredients with accurate percentages stated on the product label. During this time, he also took part in the national meetings of the Consumer Federation of America and, in the aftermath of the "Milwaukee Massacre," helped shape the Conference of Consumer Organizations. Later, he represented the Consumers United of Palo Alto, the Consumers Cooperative Society of Palo Alto, and became president of the Consumer Federation of California. Unlike many consumer advocates, Kiesling also served as an advisor to government and business, including the Bureau of Automotive Repair in the Department of Consumer Affairs and Pacific Bell/AT&T.

This collection of materials from the Rusk family include two items from Marilyn "Maxine" Waite Rusk—a 1955 Little American Royal program and a 1961 K-State commencement announcement—and seven buttons collected by alumna Mona Rusk pertaining to student elections, K-State Athletics, and K-State.

The papers of Russell I. Thackrey were transferred from three file cabinet drawers into three boxes. Original order of the collection seems to have been alphabetical, although some parts appear to be out of sequence. The files have been placed in the boxes in the same order they were received. The papers reflect the post-retirement activities of Russell I. Thackrey. Most of the material is dated after 1970, although a few exceptions do exist. Earlier material consists of a few letters and articles between 1965 and 1970, and some letters with earlier dates filed in reference to a subject he was writing on. An example of such is within the Friends of Art File, in which letters and invoices concerning art bought in 1935 were filed among more recent materials. During their retirement years, Russell and his wife, Emily, relocated from Washington D.C. to Manhattan Kansas. From this location, he wrote numerous letters and manuscripts. The details of his career prior to 1970, which are not included in the collection, can be found in the Contemporary Authors, Volumes 37-40. The material present includes magazine articles, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, speeches, incoming and outgoing correspondence. Those represented in the collection were journalists, editors, members of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, of which Thackrey was Director emeritus, personal acquaintances, and Government personnel. A few included in the collection were Bob Dole, Nancy Kassebaum, Jim Slattery, and John Carlin. Letters to Duane Acker, President of Kansas State University, 1975-1986 were also found. Thackrey had worked on an article about former Kansas State University President Milton Eisenhower (1943-1950), and parts of the manuscript were found. The main emphasis of Thackrey's work was education. He was extremely concerned with the rising cost of college, and the problems associated with students finding financial assistance. He also kept files on desegregation, educational organizations and Government generated ideas. His commentary on the Bennett plan is an example of his concern for Government plans. He advocated the lowering of tuition. Two photographs were removed from the collection and placed under the heading of Russell I. Thackrey. One was of himself, and the other photograph was of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges meeting.

This collection includes approximately 120 items, housed in one document box, relating to Samuel Fremont Goheen’s career as mayor of Manhattan, Kansas.
Series 1 consists of correspondence dating from 1915-1918, including letters to and from Goheen concerning Manhattan city government and greeting cards.
Series 2 consists of business documents, 1914-1917, including hand-written drafts of proclamations, heath and sanitation recommendations, and tax levies are within this series.
Series 3, financial documents, consists of one ledger titled "Day Book" with entries dating 1912-1919. It contains entries concerning the sale of groceries, coal, and real estate property.
Series 4, literary productions, contains four pieces of handwritten poems, a manuscript entitled "A Quaker Wedding," and an ink drawing.
Series 5, the largest portion of the collection, is comprised of printed material with items dating from 1912-1933, including newspaper clippings about World War I, prohibition, the jitney business, community sanitary precautions, and city ordinances, as well as pamphlets and single pages from pamphlets.
Note: The original state of the Samuel Fremont Goheen papers has made it difficult to accurately date and locate the source of many of the items. Dates have been drawn from item content or subject matter.

The three boxes contain correspondence, reports, brochures and flyers, newsletters, newspaper clippings, maps, financial and legal documents, and printed material in various formats created and collected by the Save the Tallgrass Prairie, Inc. (STP), 1971-1985. STP was formed in January 1973 "as an organization of concerned citizens who wanted to re-establish a small segment of the tallgrass prairie in as natural a condition as is possible." Its primary goal was to support legislation for the establishment of a Tallgrass Prairie National Park in the Flint Hills area of Kansas.

Shawnee County Extension Office records contains various photos from general meetings and actives, alongside several handbooks, and meeting minutes, key dates include 1960, 1988, 1992, and 2009.

Shirley Sarvis papers reflect her professional career during the second half of the twentieth century, primarily dated 1960-2005. The collection contains her biography and several personal photos, including those from notable birthdays, family pictures, and some portraits. A large portion of the collection is made up of magazine, newspaper clippings, and other documentation in regards to wine tasting and food pairing – specifically focusing on California wines. Additionally, there are numerous recipes relating to Woman’s Day and entertaining in the home – some of which contain personal recipe notes from Sarvis. The collection also holds personal correspondence with friends, publishers, and prominent people in food and wine business, most notably with Julia and Paul Child. Series 13, 14, and 15 contain information and documentation from Sarvis’ trips to abroad, specifically Mexico and multiple trips to European countries.

The Shirley Smith Papers (1937-2011) include a wide array of varying fields and topics following the life and career of Shirley Smith. Growing up in rural Kansas and graduating from Kansas State College in 1951, Smith moved to New York City to begin her career as a model, then Broadway actress. In the early 1960s, Smith began to lose her hearing and focused her talents instead on an art career, which she continued for over 50 years. Much of her artwork hearkens back to Kansas roots, while other pieces are considered within the lyrical abstraction art movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Photograph of short course students and instructors at Kansas State Agricultural College in February 1917. One student was Maurice E. Dubbs, maternal grandfather of the donor. He lived in Ransom, Ness County, Kansas, and took blacksmithing and woodworking courses in Manhattan.

Handwritten transcribed version of diary and typescript of Civil War diary belonging largely to T.T. Shorthill with a few scattered entries indicated by previous owner of material to be R.S. Shorthilll's, brother to T.T. Shorthill. T.T. Shorthill served three years with the 38th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E, as a cook. Entries written while Shorthill served in Tennessee and Kentucky and described food and meals for troops as well as weather conditions, troop movements and officers.