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This collection documents the history of Farmland Industries, Inc. from Howard A. Cowden's idea to establish Cowden Oil Company in 1928, through the dissolution of the company in 2004.
The Union Equity series is comprised of 14 boxes. It includes Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, correspondence, export records, financial and audit records, meeting minutes, meeting agendas, speeches, publicity materials, printed material, audiovisual materials, and photographs.
Women's Cooperative Guild series is made up of five (5) boxes and one (1) box is shared with the Farmland Artifacts series. It includes annual reports, correspondence, financial records, member records, meeting minutes, newsletters, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks, and artifacts.
Contained in 126 boxes, the Farmland series is the largest in the collection. It is made up of corporation records, correspondence, financial records, historical records, photographs, negatives, slides, printed material, and scrapbooks. The corporation records include Corporation By-Laws, annual reports, annual meetings, conferences, minute books, Dreyer Award winners, Ampride Incorporation merger with Farmland, Farmland Food Services, Farmland World Trade Company, and Tier II Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reports at various locations. Historical records follow the history of Farmland from Cowden Oil Company (1928) through name changes and the dissolution of the company (2004). They also include the history of the changes of the Farmland logo. There are photographs, negatives, and slides of board members, Dreyer Award winners, and employees and non-employees filed in alphabetical order. A possible photograph of interest is of Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. Other photographs, negatives, and slides include annual meetings (1944-2001), Coffeyville Petroleum Coke to Ammonia Project, Co-Op displays, Farmland food plants, Farmland Headquarters, Phillipsburg Refinery, Youth Camp, baseball players, football players, hockey players, barbed wire, barges, cattle, farm meetings, feed mills, feeding containers, fertilizer plants, food storage containers, glo-candles, grease plant, heaters, hogs, horses, landscapes, laundry detergent, livestock shows, paint plant, pipelines, print plant, propane plant, refineries, sheep, soy plants, storage tanks, trains, trucks, warehouses, and warehouse fires. There is also a photo book of Consumers Cooperative Association. Printed material consists of articles, brochures, catalogs, essays, magazines such as Leadership, training manuals, manuscripts, music, newsletters such as Farmland News and Inside Farmland, news releases, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, reports of fertilizer plants and pork processing plants, speeches and radio addresses by Howard A. Cowden, Homer Young, and others and educational and training materials. There are five (5) scrapbooks in this series. Photographs in the scrapbooks include an ammonium phosphate plant in Joplin, Missouri, Coffeyville Refinery, Farmland Headquarters, Lawrence Nitrogen Plant, Phillipsburg Refinery, annual meetings, Co-Op transportation vehicles, feed mills, and warehouses.
Cooperative Refinery Association (CRA) series is made up of one (1) box. It includes information pertaining to the Coffeyville and Phillipsburg, Kansas refineries, CRA meeting minute books (1939-1981), and CRA of Peru, Inc.
Consumers Cooperative Association (CCA) series is comprised of three (3) boxes and one (1) partial box that is shared with CFCA series, Union Oil Company series, and Agricultural Hall of Fame series. It includes the organization's Administrative Orders, Articles of Incorporation, correspondence, conferences, farm program and problems, history of the organization, lists of Board of Directors, minutes, policies, list of personnel, speeches by Howard A. Cowden, subsidiary reports, printed material, and information regarding the Howard A. Cowden Scholarship & Memorial Fund. The one (1) partial box consists of the history of the organization including photographs of laying of the cornerstone of the office building located at 3315 North Oak Trafficway, Kansas City, Missouri, the Neighbor Night Program, and audio cassette tapes. The tapes include the 21st Annual Meeting (1949), Neighbor Night meetings (1951 and 1953), the 24th Annual Meeting (1952), the dedication of the nitrate plant (1952), and short recordings of Howard A. Cowden.
Cooperative Farm Chemical Association (CFCA) series is stored in one (1) box and one (1) partial box shared with the CCA series, Union Oil Company series, and Agricultural Hall of Fame series. It includes Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, annual stockholders meetings and minutes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, revolving fund certificates (1959-1985), and photographs and printed material of the dedication of the Lawrence Nitrogen Plant, Lawrence, Kansas (1951-1954).
Far-Mar-Co series is contained in two (2) boxes. Included are correspondence to the Board of Directors (1976-1985), news releases, newspaper clippings, and the organization meeting of the incorporators of Far-Mar-Co/Farmland Acquisition Corporation (1976-1980).
Union Oil Company series is housed in one (1) box with CCA series, CFCA series, and Agricultural Hall of Fame series. Included are the Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Agreement, Affidavit of Dissolution of Cowden Oil Company, correspondence, minutes, magazines and newspaper publicity and advertising, radio talks, and speeches, and three (3) scrapbooks with photographs.
The Agricultural Hall of Fame series is stored in one (1) box with CCA series, CFCA series, and Union Oil Company series. It contains the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws (1958-1961), newspaper clippings (1980-1990), visitors guides (1960-1981), photographs, printed materials with titles such as "What's the Agricultural Hall of Fame Development Program All About?" and "How Farmers Can Take Part in Building the Agricultural Hall of Fame Through Their Local Cooperatives."
Stored in five (5) boxes and two (2) shared boxes and five (5) oversize items, the Farmland Artifacts series contains awards, a keychain that reads "Farmland, Proud to be Farmer Owned," a coffee cup that reads "Co-Op Quality Paint," a deck of playing cards that reads "Co-Op Feed Mill Dedication, Farmland Industries, Inc.," golf tees, paperweights, wooden gavel, a red and white apron that reads "Use Co-Op Products," and a color plate of Co-Op Red and Co-Op Blue. The series also includes one (1) ceremonial shovel dated December 1, 1959, a Recognition Board that reads in part "In Recognition Members of the Original Consolidated Board of Directors of FAR-MAR-CO, Inc." with a list of board members dated June 1, 1968-March 1969, and a silver metal sign that reads "Consumers Cooperative Association" with a list of board of directors dated 1956. It also includes a Bell & Howell Model 1550B 16mm film projector. Note one shared box is with the Women's Cooperative Guild series and the other shared box is with the Farmland Industries series.
Farmland Oversize series are stored in nine (9) boxes and two (2) map cabinet drawers. Included are advertising posters, newspaper clippings, bound advertising pages, photographs, calendars, two (2) scrapbooks, Ken Burdette Sketches, a drawing of Farmland Foods Plant, banners, blueprints, and watercolor paintings. The advertising posters include wheat, farm fuel, and John Denver's TV Special, Farmland Mission Statement, and Farmland Service Pledge. The photographs include aerial photographs, photographs of Howard A. Cowden, barges, harvesting, CCA, National Ag Center, Phillipsburg Refinery, annual meetings (1937-1953), Farmland oil products, and crops. The two (2) scrapbooks contain Co-Op Store Campaign Advertisements and information on presenting Farmland Industries. There are three (3) Ken Burdette sketches. One of Arthur Capper, one of Andrew Volstead and the third of is the mural that was inside the Farmland Headquarters reception area. There are six (6) banners in this series. One banner is painted on oilcloth and reads "Kansas Grassroots Says Stop Floods and Drouth The Watershed Way." Another banner is painted on canvas and reads "Funds Flow Chart, Consumer Cooperative Association, 1947." The other four (4) banners are vinyl and they promote the Phillipsburg Refinery, Farmland, Co-Op, and AG 21. Included in the blueprints are those of Farmland Headquarters and complex and warehouse additions in Iowa and Colorado. There are two (2) watercolor paintings. One of Heartland Wheat Growers Wheat Starch and Gluten Production facility in Russell, Kansas, and the other of the Portland Head Lighthouse.
The Audio-Visual Materials series is stored in 36 boxes and there are loose items on five (5) shelves. Included are 16mm films, CDs, cassette tapes, filmstrips, LPs, and VHS tapes. The 16mm films include films on annual meetings, sales rallies and have titles such as "The is Far-Mar-Co," "Your Cooperative Federation," "Helping You Help Yourself," "You Are Not Alone," "Service From the Ground Up," "Farmland Trails," "Ham to Hot Dogs," and "Better Farming Better Food." There is also a 16mm film of Howard Cowden speaking at a CFCA cornerstone ceremony in Lawrence, Kansas, and of Jim Henson's "Muppets Meeting Films" (1979). The CDs contain a PowerPoint presentation of the Farmland Headquarters Visitor Center, photographs, annual meeting information, Bob Honse images, national beef images, annual reports, history of Farmland (1969-2000), and the Dreyer Awards. Cassette tapes include the Bunny Farm Rabbit Feeding program, annual meetings, shareholders meetings, monthly dairy meetings, and youth leadership conferences. The filmstrips include Neighborhood Councils, refinery news, and the cooperative centennial (1844-1944). There are LPs of 78 RPM and 33 1/3 RPM in this series. They include radio messages and addresses of Howard A. Cowden and Chuck Miller, Co-Op Neighbor Night Program, Battle Hymn of Cooperation Consumers Co-Operative Association Quartet, and annual meetings. The largest section of audiovisual materials is the VHS tapes. Tapes include special events, motivational tapes, annual meetings, employee meetings, Fieldmen's conferences, food safety, pesticides, Coffeyville Refinery tour, quarterly meetings, news broadcasts about Farmland, Coffeyville oil spill, training videos, sales rallies, speeches, and presentations of Harry D. Cleberg, Dreyer Awards, Farmland Industries Project Tomorrow, grain grading, shareholders meetings, Foods Media Shows, Heartland Wheat Growers, and restructuring Farmland. VHS tapes that may be of interest are those of Senators Nancy Kassebaum and Robert "Bob" Dole. Other VHS tapes include voice demos from individuals such as Sam Beck, Bob Benish, Jr., Carla Cooper, Kimball Cummings, Jack Elliott, T. Max Graham, Barbara Houston, Randy Kemp, Mark Mason, Don Miller, Jim Scott, and many others.
There are nineteen shelves of printed material that are bound volumes. The bound volumes are The Daily Scoop, Inside Farmland, Farmland Circles, Co-Op News Digest, Leadership, Bulletin, Teammates, The Cooperative Farmer, Co-Op Reporter, The Cooperative Consumer, Insider, Managers Newsletter, Advantage, The Plant Connection, Farmland Supervisor, and Home-Maker. Note The Cooperative Consumer name changed to Farmland in September 1966 and Farmland changed to Farmland News in 1971.

This collection of feminist publications includes newspapers, newsletters, and magazines from state and national organizations from 1970 to 1984. The materials were mailed to the K-State Women's Resource Center and sociology faculty member Cornelia Flora.
The Feminist Publications include fifty-four newspapers published between the years of 1970-1985 focusing on the issues of importance to activists in the later years of second-wave feminism. They confront hegemonic ideology and societal issues with an intersectional feminist lens. The overall theme of the publications is equality for women and ending the oppressions attached to the social constructions of gender, race, class, and sexuality. The publications have news about political activism, reviews of feminist works, poetry, artwork, and a letter written by Angela Davis to Ericka Huggins. Articles like “Jail is no solution, jobs and housing will end Prostitution”, “Slavery in America”, “Kiss and Tell Campaign”, “Health and Medical Care in North Vietnam”, “20,000 families going hungry in Seattle”, and “no more kids in chemical straight-jackets” can be found in this collection. The publications promote the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), Roe vs. Wade and reproductive justice, economic freedom, civil rights, gay and lesbian liberation, healthcare, welfare, free 24 hours child-care, and medical self-help material for women. These publications are fighting against systematic oppression, sexual assault, injustices of welfare and healthcare, anti-reproductive justice movements, domestic abuse, racism, classism, ableism, sexism, capitalism, heteronormativity, colonialism, militarism, and fascism.
In addition to the Feminist Publications includes three newspapers: the furies: lesbian/feminist monthly, off our backs, and N.O.W Times published between the years of 1972-1985 focusing on the issues of importance to activists in the later years of second-wave feminism. These publications confront hegemonic ideology and societal issues with an intersectional feminist lens. The furies dissect heteronormativity and male supremacy. N.O.W Times fights against patriarchal values. Off our backs examines gender, class, race, and international issues.
We have one copy of the furies: lesbian/feminist monthly, vol. 1 Jan. 1972. The furies publication lasted 2 years focusing on lesbian issues and male supremacy. The furies publication we have includes works like "Roxane Dunbar: how a female heterosexual serves the interest of male supremacy", "Lesbians in Revolt", "Male Supremacy Quakes and Quivers", "Queen Christina Lesbian Ruler of Sweden", and "Nixon's Solution".
Off our backs (OOB) is a nonprofit organization that published news journals from 1970-2008 by, for, and about women. Our collection of OOB highlights various women's issues including civil rights, health, reproductive justice, imprisonment, labor, and violence during 1981-1985. OOB also provides readers international feminist news, an example, March 1982's issue discusses Encuentra Feminista (1st Latin American Feminist Conference), March Against Women Abuse in the Virgin Islands, Lavendar Komono: Lesbian Feminism in Japan, and the imprisonment of feminist Lu Hsiu Lien in Taiwan and a review of her work New Feminism. OOB includes reviews of feminist writings like articles by Audre Lorde and publishes poetry and other written works.
N.O.W Times the National Organization of Women's Publications is concentrated on feminist activism and informing women of their rights. N.O.W. Times promotes political change and informs about the political news that affects women in the U.S. There are articles about Roe vs. Wade, pro-choice rallies, the Parental and Disability Leave Act in Congress, supporting the Marvel boycotts, and protesting Reagan's administration. N.O.W Times emphasizes the ongoing struggle to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and follows the women in politics during the late 70's-mid '80s.

This collection documents Florence Mason's work with the International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU), the United Nations, and the development of consumer associations in various countries. It is contained in 4 boxes consisting of 92 file folders. The material is divided into 2 series: 1) IOCU, 2) Subject Files.

The majority of the material is contained in the IOCU series. It contains annual reports, information on consumer associations in foreign countries ( India, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom, etc.), proceedings from five world congresses, and speeches and papers from various members of the organization, including Anwar Fazal, former IOCU president, and Ruth Simmons-Vermeer, former special agent for Asia and Pacific. The series spans the years 1964-1987 and is housed in 46 file folders.

The Subject Files are arranged alphabetically and contain papers on the following topics: consumer education; how to establish educational programs; tips and suggestions on consumer protection; environmental concerns; personal papers including notes and drafts of letters; printed material; speeches from individuals involved with the consumer movement in the U.S. and abroad, such as Foo Gaik Sim and Rhoda H. Karpatkin; and the United Nations, including UNICEF information on the state of the world's children and information on the Law of the Sea. The series dates from 1959 to 1987 and is contained in 46 file folders.

Printed material has been removed from the collection and filed with other publications in the Consumer Movement Archives. The printed material contains items from IOCU, Consumers Union, government departments, UNICEF, the United Nations, and Consumers' Association.

This collection primarily includes college documents and printed materials from Frances W. ImMasche, who graduated from Kansas State Agricultural College in 1929. Types of material include correspondence, programs, an agriculture handbook, invitations, cards, graduation programs, travel souvenirs, a scrapbook, and newspaper clippings. Correspondence from his time as a student primarily concerned the college and Lambda Gamma Delta, the honorary agricultural judging fraternity. Correspondence after college mainly includes letters from 1948 to 1954 from Carl (also spelled Karl) Hofer, a German abstract expressionist painter. ImMasche purchased four of his paintings and later donated them to Kansas State University, which is now in the collections of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art.
Additional topics in the ImMasche papers include his military service in the United States Army and Air Force, as well as a scrapbook documenting his time as a college student (Scrapbook 34 in the archives' scrapbook collection). Correspondents included Leland Call, C. W. McCampbell, F. D. Farrell, Howard T. Hill, H. H. King, and J. H. Burt. Organizations represented include Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Livestock Judging Team, Alpha Zeta, Aggie Orpheum, YMCA, Student Council, and the 1929 Senior Class.
Finally, a photocopy of "German Expressionist Artist Karl Hofer" from Journal of Popular Culture (Volume 22, Issue 4, Spring 1989) by Jessica Reichman and E. R. Hagemann is included and describes Hofer, his paintings, and his exchanges with ImMasche.

The George Brunn papers consist of: an eight-volume run of a newsletter, The California Consumer: Official Organ of the Association of California Consumers from 1962–1969; a two-volume run from 1963–1965 of the Association of California Consumers publication, Legislative News Letter (edited by Brunn); and a reprint of an article Brunn authored about wage garnishment that was published in a 1965 edition of the California Law Review. A copy of a statement Brunn made during a California judicial hearing in 1969 is included in the papers. Of interest is a handwritten note accompanying the statement sent to Richard L. D. Morse that says, “Dick—A battle in the consumer credit wars. We won that round. George.” The year is illegible. Two poems Brunn penned add levity to the collection.

The bulk of this collection documents the academic career of Gerry L. Posler from 1965 to 2008 with materials that include his resume, awards, research and presentation notes, course materials, correspondence, and printed materials. Additionally, there are articles he authored and photographs of graduate students and department experiments, as well as research manuscripts from the early twentieth century. The collection also includes materials related to the creation of a departmental history edited by Gerry Posler and Gary Paulson in celebration of the department of Agronomy’s centennial in 2006. Posler collected, assembled, edited, and author several of the chapters in the publication titled “A Centennial History of the Department Agronomy, Kansas State University”. Additionally there are about 721 files (761MB), of digital files provided by Posler. The digital files include course materials, publication drafts, presentations, retirement biographical information, resumes, and photographs. These files have been kept in their original order.

The Global Campus Records, formally known as Division of Continuing Education, consists of material from 1951 to 2007. The material found in this collection partly pertains to the credit courses offered through Global Campus from 1975 to 2002. It contains files from courses offered during the semester and intersession (winter, spring, summer) periods. Some of the colleges that are highlighted in the Global Campus Records include the College of Arts & Sciences, College of Education, and College of Engineering; the bulk of these files are related to the College of Arts & Sciences. These files are typically composed of resources and manuals for distance and online courses, enrollment statistics, course information packets, photographs, videotapes, credit course promotional material, course evaluations, course financing, reports and reviews related to credit courses, and correspondence related to credit courses.

Some of the material found in this collection pertains to Conference and Non- Credit Programs (CNCP) and opportunities provided across campus. Files possess materials related to conference and program agendas, enrollment and attendee lists, budget and financial information, speaker presentations, brochures and pamphlets, correspondence related to conferences and programs, and promotional materials. Along with CNCP there are also conference files incorporated into this collection. There are also brochures and marketing material for the conferences, final budgets, attendance reports, and notes from the conferences that occurred from 1989-2007.

The bulk of the material in this collection is contained in the Dean’s Office and Administrative series. These contain files taken from the office of the Dean of Global Campus or related offices. These also contain files from organizations such as Western Kansas Community Services Consortium (WKCSC), National University Degree Consortium (NUDC) along with files from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and National University Continuing Education Association (NUCEA).

The Administrative series specifically contains some files from the office of David Stewart, on non-traditional studies. Along with those files it contains things from the Kansas Board of Regents, reading files, meeting minutes and notes, and final budgeting reports.

The Dean’s office series contains files from the offices of Elizabeth Unger and Robert Kruh, both previous Deans of Global Campus. There are also some files pertaining to Army education through Fort Riley. Lastly, files and correspondence on academic outreach and how to go about campus improvements.

This collection contains the professional and personal literary collections of Helen Nelson. The majority of the boxes contain literature regarding law, consumer behavior and advisory, banking, and psychology. Also contained within this collection are annual conference proceedings, materials, and reports as well as reviews of CMA proceedings and committee minutes. The materials in this collection range from 1962-1979.

The collection was created by three members of the Hill family --Randall C. Hill, Maurice L. Hill, and Opal B. Hill. The earliest document in the collection is a contract from 1929, and the manuscripts continue into the 1980s.
The bulk of Opal B. Hill's collection is her personal files that pertain to fabric and fabric history, and they are divided by subject. Also, the museum material is divided by subject for convenience and accessibility.
The first series in the collection pertains to Randall Hill and concerns his involvement with Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity at Kansas State. The first five folders deal with the early years, starting with the house contract in 1929. The theme of his collection centers around financial responsibilities and dues that former members owed to the house. The correspondence from 1932 to 1942 is mainly letters to former members reminding them of their obligations and dues.
The next series, that of Maurice Hill, is very similar to Randall Hill's papers. Maurice Hill was also involved with a fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa, although his collection is smaller. In this series, however, there are a variety of formats; photos of former members, a newsletter, two fraternity songbooks, letterheads and envelopes, a gavel, and a large metal ring. There is a folder with a few letters from Hill to former members pertaining to dues owed to the fraternity.
The third series, and the largest of the Hill Family Papers, is that of Opal Hill. The first folder pertains to a dinner recognition for Hill and her involvement with the establishment of a museum at Kansas State University and her contributions to Kansas State. Since she was an art instructor, the rest of her collection relates to fabrics and tapestries, including Peruvian, Irish, Persian, and Japanese. The collection contains mostly printed material on various subjects in the form of news articles, essays, pamphlets, and booklets.
The fourth series, part of Opal Hill's papers, deals extensively with the proposal of a museum at Kansas State University. There are six folders, 1) letters, 2) proposals, 3) information about a curator, 4) grant information, 5) printed material about other university museums, and 6) articles about the museum. Another person who was heavily involved with the museum and is frequently mentioned throughout all six folders is Patricia O'Brian, who was a friend and fellow professor at Kansas State University.
The donation includes a collection of photographs associated with Maurice Hill and members of Phi Sigma Kappa. They are of members who were involved with K-State athletics including football, baseball, and track. Also, there are some photos of the Phi Sigma Kappa members who participated in the military training program, and a few group photographs of the fraternity members. The photographs have been removed and filed in the Photograph Collection, Vertical File-People, and in flat storage boxes. An inventory can be found following the container list in this register.
Also, there are six artifacts associated with the Hills that have been stored with the artifacts collection in the University Archives. These artifacts include 1) Phi Sigma Kappa metal nameplate, 2) Phi Delta Tau metal nameplate, 3) metal ring, 4) Gavel and base with Phi Delta Tau insignia, 5) Metals and ribbons with Phi Delta Tau insignia and 6) Lighted sign with Phi Delta Tau in Greek letters.

The Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation photographs were generated by the Department of Horticulture. These photographs, slides, and glass slides document horticulture areas near campus, as well as in Honduras, Costa Rica, Florida, and elsewhere. Images largely include crops, trees, floriculture, and landscapes. There are also photographs of various events held or attended by the department, notably Kansas State Fairs, the apple blossom festival, and the 1921 Potato Show, as well as student and faculty awards. Medals and framed certificates are included. Approximate years covered by the records are 1876-1991.