Mildred Kittell Ray was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 22, 1895. An avid collector of postcards (buttons, too), Mrs. Ray, at the age of 72, initiated a column in the Kansas City Times and Kansas City Star entitled "A Postcard from Old Kansas City." The columns ran for 23 years. They proved to be extremely popular with the reading public, and two selected sets of articles were collected and published in book form; the first volume won a national design award from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. The collection consists of over 16,000 postcards and materials associated with Mrs. Ray's writing career. Subjects in the postcards include Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas, the other states of the US, a large number of foreign countries, an assortment of different topics (humor, holidays, etc.), and card format (wood, leather, copper, etc.). Items related to Mrs. Ray's career as a writer include: correspondence; research materials such as newspaper clippings and handwritten notes; draft, manuscript, and published versions of early "pre-postcard" historical articles; postcard articles that were rejected by the publisher; and the texts of lectures and presentations given by Mrs. Ray. Graphic materials make up another part of the collection, with items like advertising envelopes, ephemera from Emery, Bird, Thayer, and a number of photographs. An audiotape of a speech given by Dick Ray (Mrs. Ray's son), on February 13, 1998, at the official debut of the Library's online version of the newspaper column is included in the collection.
Established in 1919, the Guadalupe Center originally served as a settlement house and gathering place for the growing community of Mexican immigrants residing on the West Side of Kansas City. The center offered a variety of programs, including medical clinics, classes, music and dance groups, sports teams, and social clubs. The Guadalupe Center Collection contains scrapbooks, photographs, programs, histories, and records that document an early period of the organization’s activities.
Issue of the anti-corruption, Kansas City-based newspaper, Future: The Newsweekly for Today. The front page includes an article, continued on page 8, discussing aspects of democracy and good government, and suggesting problems and solutions for clean elections. Other featured articles include: "Health and Politics" (pp. 2 & 3), a report on the recommendations of the 'Health and Hospital Survey' of 1930 for Kansas City, with various information about health care deficiencies and statistics, including "a wing for Negroes" left uncompleted "at the tuberculosis hospital at Leeds" and a death rate of Kansas City being higher (12.25) than New York City (10.23); "FERA's Education for All Ages"(p. 2) about an adult education program with subjects including bookkeeping and public speaking, and with young mothers and students still learning English among its students; "Glenn Did Not Choose to Run" (p. 2), about Glenn Cunningham, a University of Kansas track star and Olympic athlete, meeting a group of men leaving Union Station for Civilian Conservation Corps jobs; "Piecemeal Changes" (p. 3), about state management of federal relief funds and a potential consolidation of social welfare and penal boards; "Within the Beautiful State House" (pp. 3 & 4), about the new speaker of the state house and committee nominations and Governor Guy Park’s and Pendergast’s influence in the decision, including a portrait sketch of Governor Parks; "To You Who Would Make Changes" (p. 4), encouraging readers to work against the Pendergast machine rather than just complain about it; “20,000 Men and Women” (p. 4), discussing the large youth vote “not bound to either of the old political parties”; and "May We Present Edwin Terry Brigham" (p. 5), a photograph and biographical article about the superintendent of the Helping Hand Institute; also included in the newspaper are advertisements for local businesses and articles on sports, fashion, finance, cooking, music, and national and international news.
Promotional booklet for Kansas City, Missouri. Item includes sections covering the development of the city's business interests, a list of buildings constructed in 1878, its history, its geographic advantages, descriptions of various businesses and public institutions, descriptions of its suburbs, and advertisements.