By Xena McKinley, Archives Assistant 

I started working with the University Archives and Special Collections after participating in the internship program in the Summer 2024 semester. Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to create a display with rare materials from the Koreshan Unity Collection and contribute to the Dean’s Council finding aid. 

Since the Fall 2024 semester, I have been working to document the history and lived experience of World War II Navy veteran, Lawrence Quinn (1918-1999) who served on U.S. Navy destroyers, including the U.S.S. Borie (DD-215) before she was lost in battle in 1943. His photographs, letters, and reports were brought to us by his son, Jeffrey Quinn to preserve and digitize. My role is to make digital scans that are added to the Lawrence Quinn Collection on our digital repository, DigitalFGCU, and to create a digital humanities project that helps tell his father’s life story.  

It is inspiring to read how Lieutenant Quinn was remembered by his shipmates; he was known as the one who would make them laugh despite their situations. Reading the handwritten letters that he would send home helps give such a unique perspective of the daily life of naval officers during the war. The letters he received from his fellow shipmates after the war, are heartwarming as they reminisce over the ways they passed the time on duty and found ways to have lighthearted moments during a tumultuous time.  

It has been a genuine privilege to be able to help weave the threads of Lieutenant Quinn’s life and naval career together for his family and future generations to appreciate. The opportunity to work at the University Archives and Special Collections and this collection, has helped solidify the importance of this kind of work. I have gained valuable experience in the field and I now want to build my career in. Once I graduate this May, I plan to attain my graduate degree as soon as possible and continue to preserve as much history as I can as a reparative archivist.

Find out more about Lieutenant Quinn by visiting the Lawrence Quinn Collection on Digital FGCU and make sure to keep an eye out for the digital humanities project, coming soon! For more information about this project and University Archives and Special Collections internships, please contact the Archives Coordinator, Emily Murray (eamurray@fgcu.edu).  

By Victoria Jones, University Archivist

It’s the beginning of a new year and a new semester! With the hope and excitement that brings, it also means new assignments. Discussion posts, research papers, posters, and presentations are just a few of the many assignments that Florida Gulf Coast University students will be working on this semester. Some students may find that archives research is required in or could help their coursework. Archival research can be daunting for beginners; so, University Archives and Special Collections is providing five tips for getting started with archival research to make the process a little easier. 

What Are Archives? 

Archival research can be a fun and rewarding process. Here are five tips for beginners just getting started: 

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1.  Preparing for a Visit

The best place to begin your archives research journey is our website! Unlike libraries, materials in archives are not openly available in the stacks. Instead, they are held in secure locations and brought to researchers upon request. That means that visitors need to have an idea of what they would like to see before they visit. Researchers can use the archives’ website to access our digital primary sources, our collection guide, and our finding aids. 

 

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2.  Handling Archival Material

The first time that a researcher handles archival material can be nerve-wracking. Records housed in archives are rare and unique and patrons often share that they are worried about damaging the items. To prevent the likelihood of that happening, users can expect to follow these guidelines in the Reading Room: 

 

• Food and drinks are not allowed to prevent spills. 

• Researchers use pencils instead of pens to protect materials from ink stains. 

• Go slow and use items one at a time in order to keep records in the correct order. 

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3. Take Good Notes

Since archives material cannot be checked out, taking good notes can make or break a visit to the archives. As you go through your material make sure to write down interesting quotes and questions that you have. Also, make sure that you take note of the citation information – the collection, box, and folder number – so you can remember where you got your information.  

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4. Ask Questions

Never be afraid to ask questions! Archival collections can be difficult to fully understand, but archivists are accustomed to the organization of the materials. Researchers should feel comfortable using archives staff as a resource. Ask us questions about specific materials or collections. We are always happy to help! You can ask questions by calling us at 239-745-4476, emailing us at libarchives@fgcu.edu , or scheduling a research consultation.  

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5. Attend Archives Workshops

Archives research gets easier and better with practice! One way to improve your primary source research skills is to attend Archives Workshop. We offer a session that focuses on a specific skill or tool related to archives each month. This semester, we will offer four workshops. This month’s workshop, Treasure Maps of the Archives: Learn to Navigate Finding Aids, will teach attendees how to navigate finding aids to locate primary sources. It will be held on Tuesday, January 21, at 3 p.m. in the University Archives and Special Collections on the third floor. Keep up to date with our monthly workshops on the Library Calendar. 

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Archives research shouldn’t be intimidating. It can be a fun and illuminating process, but the most important part is getting started. We hope to see you as you perfect your practice and work towards becoming an expert archives researcher! 

By Victoria Jones, University Archivist

November is the perfect month to highlight historic cookbooks! With the holiday season on the horizon, you can get some food inspiration from the past by trying out cozy and comforting recipes that have stood the test of time. Some people may be surprised to learn that University Archives and Special Collections houses a selection of vintage and historic cookbooks within our Rare Book collection. But it’s true! In the same way that we keep and preserve rare books related to Southwest Florida history, we also keep and preserve cookbooks. 

While it may seem unusual for us to collect cookbooks, there is a reason! Historic cookbooks can serve as small, delicious time capsules. They highlight the way that agriculture and our relationship with food has changed in a particular area based on the ingredients within the recipe. Vintage cookbooks can also tell the story of technological innovation by documenting the introduction and accessibility to tools like electric stoves, hand mixers and even air fryers. A lot about a community can be understood from what food its members eat, how they eat, and when they eat it. 

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Try Some Vintage Recipes 

Below are two traditional recipes from Evelyn Luettich Horne. Born on Mound Key in 1922, Evelyn grew up in Lee County. Her grandmother was a member of the Koreshan Unity, and she lived through and saw the rapid changes to Southwest Florida before her death in 2007. Be sure to let us know if you try one and what you think of it. You can also visit University Archives and Special Collections on the third floor of the Wilson G. Bradshaw Library for more historic cookbooks and vintage recipes! 

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Sauerkraut Casserole 

This older recipe calls for ingredients that are to be provided in “No. 2” cans. A No. 2 can would contain about 2 ½ cups. 

1 No. 2 can sauerkraut 

1 No. 2 can apple slices, undrained 

½ cup brown sugar, packed 

2 tablespoons vinegar 

½ cup onion, chopped 

1 stick butter 

Topping: 

Kielbasa, 2 lengths (about 1 ½ pounds) 

½ cup brown sugar, packed 

2 teaspoons prepared mustard 

 

Instructions 

Combine sauerkraut and undrained apples with brown sugar, vinegar, and onion. Dot with butter. Lay Kielbasa on top and cover with brown sugar and mustard. Bake uncovered at 400 for 40 minutes. Serves 6. 

 

 

Perfect Pecan Pie 

3 eggs 

2/3 cup sugar 

1/3 cup melted butter 

½ teaspoon salt 

1 cup light corn syrup 

1 cup pecans, shelled and halved (or chopped) 

 

Instructions 

Beat together all ingredients except the pecans with a hand mixer. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust and bake at 375 for 40 – 45 minutes until set.

 

By Emily Murray, Archives Coordinator

Celebrate my personal favorite holiday with me and check out some Halloween highlights from the University Archives and Special Collections! These photographs offer glimpses into decades of festive celebrations, creative costumes, and campus memories! 

Physical materials included in the Lee County Black History Society digital collection can be found at the Lee County Black History Society, Fort Myers, FL. 

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Charles Ray at a Halloween party with friends from the Charles A. Ray Photojournalism Collection. 

 

Photojournalist Charles Ray documented the drama of presidential campaigns, the passion of the civil rights movement, and the adventure and tragedy of NASA's race for space, our nation's growing pains, including the bloody clashes between police and journalists covering the civil rights protests of the 1960s and the tragic end of Camelot. 

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A newspaper comic depicts trick-or-treaters with different types of candy/treats and two parents holding trash bags full of "roadside recyclables, trash and debris" from Doug MacGregor’s Southwest Florida Cartoon Collection. 

 

Doug MacGregor has been a cartoonist for over 40 years and has created cartoons for the Fort Myers News-Press from 1988 - 2011. The collection contains sketches spanning MacGregor's career with the Fort Myers News-Press. 

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Volume 5, Issue 10 of Eagle News “Fright Night” article showing FGCU students in costume at Junkanoo’s published on November 3, 2006. Student newspaper from the Eagle News Collection, which contains digitized issues of The Eagle, Eagle News, and special editions including new student guides. Publication dates range from 2001 to 2020. 

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Claude Rahn, Imogene Bubbett (Rahn), and Laurence Bubbet in costumes from the Koreshan Unity Collection. The Koreshan Unity Settlement was a faith-based group founded by Dr. Cyrus Teed, who later translated his name to the Hebrew version, Koresh. 

This collection consists of publications (notably The Flaming Sword and American Eagle), Koreshan Unity members’ records/personal papers, photographs, correspondence, sheet music, musical instruments, etc. The Koreshan State Park is open to the public and provides guided tours with volunteers and ranger staff. 

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Dr. William R. Maples (1937-1997) was a prominent forensic anthropologist, specializing in bones, who oversaw the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory at the Florida Museum of Natural History. In addition to helping with local cases, he was often sought after by various institutions to assist with high-profile investigations across the globe. 

 

The Maples' Forensic Anthropology Collection includes images and documents pertaining to the Pizarro, Taylor, Merrick, and Romanov cases, as well as field notes, audio/visual material, and administrative records documenting Maples' career as a forensic anthropologist between 1960 and 1997.  

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Zombie Fest: The End Is Near Poster from the Office of University Advancement Collection. The collection consists of documents, photographs, and ephemera regarding Advancement and Communications and Marketing between 1997 to 2020. 

 

Every year, the library’s FGCU Authors & Artists Program recognizes faculty and staff scholarship in its varied formats. Our 2025 recognition reception will honor these faculty and staff. In addition, the library will feature each faculty and their work on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages. 

FGCU faculty and staff that have authored or edited book publications or creative works including artwork, performances and musical scores between 2023 and 2024 are eligible to be considered for the 2025 celebration event. 

If you meet the above criteria, we encourage you to fill out the submission form THIS YEAR by clicking HERE. If you have any questions about this program, please contact the Research, Scholarship, & Instruction department at libref@fgcu.edu. 

This week the University Archives and Special Collections was highlighted in FGCU 360 Magazine and will be in Florida Weekly. The article is by University Marketing and Communication's Assistant Director, Drew Sterwald. Thanks, Drew, for the fascinating article and the spotlight on local Florida history!

Read the article here: Research team helping create digital archive of local island’s history

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Please visit our new Archives exhibit! From Idea to Impact - When the Florida legislature approved the creation of a 10th University, they never would have imagined the impact that Florida Gulf Coast University would have on the Southwest Florida community. Over the last two and a half decades, FGCU has grown rapidly. Much of that growth has been driven by the heart of the institution’s mission - students. In celebration of FGCU’s silver anniversary, the University Archives and Special Collections presents Wings Up: 25 Years of Student Life at FGCU.

Recognizing that student involvement is central to the campus experience and the university’s development, Wings Up illustrates the strides students at Florida Gulf Coast University have made over the last 25 years. We hope that in looking at the accomplishments and experiences of the university’s forty-four thousand graduates, current and future students will be able to see themselves as essential parts of FGCU's history in the making.

The Archives is open 9 am - 5 pm, Monday - Friday. We are located on the third floor of the library in room 322. If you have questions, please contact libarchives@fgcu.edu.

As a follow up to the University Archives and Special Collections’ 2020 exhibition, “To Life: The Liberation of Ravensbrück” we invite the community to experience the traveling exhibit Ravensbrück – We Who Lived There currently viewable on the first floor in Library West of Bradshaw Library.

Ravensbrück was a concentration camp for women located about 90 km north of Berlin. It opened in 1939 imprisoning 130 000 women and children from more than 30 different countries. In April of 1945, more than 21,000 survivors were rescued during the Red Cross’ White Bus Rescue Action and brought to Sweden.

The exhibit, Ravensbrück – We Who Lived There, is the result of a joint student and teacher project at Katedralskolan in Lund, Sweden 2018–2019. Students from the Advanced History

Program and the IB Program beautifully share the stories of the women and children imprisoned at Ravensbrück.

The exhibit is brought to you by FGCU’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Research and the University Archives and Special Collections. It was brought to the United States by Better Futures Foundation, a Sarasota based 501(c)3 non-profit.

Please join FGCU's Archives and Special Collections on Thursday, March 31^st from 6-7:15pm, for the virtual event “Reflections on Healthcare” via Zoom. 

 Moderated by Jarrett Eady and Jim Nathan, a panel will reflect on the history of midwifery, Jones Walker Hospital, and issues regarding access to healthcare. The event is in conjunction with the exhibition, The Black Experience in Lee County, which runs through April 28th, 2022. You can visit the exhibit Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm on the third floor of FGCU's Bradshaw Library, room LIB322. A Q&A will follow the presentation and registration is required. Register here.  

 If you have any questions, please email libarchives@fgcu.edu.  

The Florida Gulf Coast University Archives and Special Collections presents The Shape of Orchids: An Eternal Love Affair, opening to the public on August 19th, 2021. Orchids are considered to be one of the most coveted of ornamental plants with their exotic, graceful, and delicate form. The orchid has, for many centuries, been a symbol of love, luxury, beauty, and strength. 

 The exhibition celebrates the Porecki Collection, named after Daniel and Mary Alice Porecki, in a new Victorian-esque narrative. Their own love affair began the moment they set eyes on each other – fueled by their mutual passion for horticulture. From the moment the Poreckis bought their first orchid, there was no turning back. Africa, Costa Rica and Jamaica are only a few of the many incredible destinations they traveled to collect new specimens. Their love of live plants encouraged a new passion: collecting orchid-related treasures from flea markets and antique stores. The Poreckis lived by their own rules – traveling, gardening, caring for family, and collecting were the staples of their incredible, orchid-fueled life together. 

The Shape of Orchids highlights rare prints dating back to the early 17th century, a collection of stamps from across the globe, and Neil Gaiman’s Black Orchid comics donated by Porecki in 2016. The exhibition features rare books from the permanent collection, Clyde Butcher photographs, handcrafted botanical wallpapers, local herbarium specimens, and living orchid walls on loan from the Naples Botanical Gardens.  

For questions, please contact libarchives@fgcu.edu.