This version was derived from Friel Finding Aid.doc
©
Donated by Jack Friel.
Open for research without restrictions.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Jack Friel University History Collection; MS 004; box number; folder number;
For nearly twenty-six years, John V. Friel lived in Aruba working for Exxon Oil Company. In 1968, Friel and his wife moved to Newtown, Connecticut. Having spent most of his life in business, he decided he wanted a change and went back to school. It was his eventual goal to go to law school, preferably at either Yale or UConn. He finished his undergraduate work at Scared Heart University before enrolling in the graduate program at WestConn. He received his MA in history in May 1976, but would remain at the college working as a graduate assistant. It was during this time that he began his research on the history of the college. While he was unable to complete the goal of writing the history on the college, his research efforts, as well as his assistants, are evident in this collection.
The Jack Friel University History Collection is his work in gathering information about the history of this university. Starting in 1976, under a grant authorized by the WestConn Foundation, Friel began to collect information about the history of then named Western Connecticut State College with the intended goal of writing the history of the college. Friel, who was a former graduate student, took on the task with the help of two students, Ronald Douglas and Sandy Connor. When it became apparent that he would be unable to accomplish his goal, he agreed to leave all the information he had collected with the school so the story could be told at later time.
The collection spans from 1850-1978 with the bulk ranging from 1976-1977.
While this collection is relatively small, the materials within the collection detail a great amount of information about the history of the university. It chronicles the transition of the school from the establishment of the Danbury Normal School in 1903 all the way to its status as Western Connecticut State College in 1977.
The collection is comprised of Friel's notes, plans, outline, and rough draft. It also contains school catalogs and brochures, letters, memoirs, yearbook excerpts, program descriptions, Board of Education reports, lists of activities, audiotape interviews and newspaper clippings.
The heart of the collection is the oral history interviews. Friel conducted interviews with faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni. They reminisce about their experience at the college and recollect various events in the school's history. Several notable individuals were interviewed for this project including Ruth Haas, Truman Warner, Gertrude Braun, Burton Cook, and Charlotte Isham among others. Generally, the tapes are in good condition. However, some have begun to show the signs of age (i.e., distorted sound). Also of note, the interview with Steven Collins (tape #15) is missing.
Also of interest to researchers is a letter that was written to Friel by Margaret Perkins Camp, the daughter of the first principal of the Danbury Normal School, John Perkins. In it she recalls moving to Danbury from New Britain, growing up in the Danbury Normal School, and the teachers of the school including Dr. Lathrop Higgins.
The collection also contains information on the history of the Student Government Association and the Alumni Association. There is also information on other student and school activities. Friel also collected information on various different curriculum programs that were instituted at various points in the school's history. The collection contains information on both the "Nature of Man," and "Monuments of Culture," programs.
The collection also contains several copies of the school's catalogs that span several decades. It also contains copies of catalogs from the other three normal schools, which included New Britain, New Haven, and Willimantic.
Folders are arranged topically.
The files are grouped into 1 series:
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
- plan: outlines Friel's research plans, 1977
- rough draft: goes up to chapter four and has been edited, 1977
- Friel's uncompleted research donated to Ruth A. Haas Library archives, 1977
- annotation (breakdown of materials), 1977
- background on normal schools: Wilson, Lynn Winfield, "History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928," 1929; "Brief History of the New Haven Normal School," 1935
- Nelson, Mrs. Haviland, "Henry Bernard, 1811-1900," circa 1900, Shumway, Gary L. and Williams G. Hartley,
- letter to Friel from Margaret Perkins Camp, December 15, 1976 (w/ summary of letter)
- notes about the Danbury Normal School, "The 'New' Danbury Normal School circa 1903"
- letter from William Georgen, M.D. class of 1917, "Memories and Vagaries, Wanderings and Meanderings Kindergarten, 1916-1917, in the Old Main"
- letter from Gertrude Murphy, class of 1912
- Greene, May A., "Danbury Teachers College: A Brief History," 1950
- Danbury Teachers' College in Transition, 1938
- Catalogs 1904-1976: Supplement to Sandy Connor Report, 1976
- Catalogs 1904-1976, 1976
- Historical Highlights, (nd)
- Connecticut School Document: State Normal-Training School, Danbury, 1904
- Connecticut School Document: Correspondence Courses, 1906
- DNS catalogs, "Catalogue: State Normal-Training School Danbury, Connecticut," (1904-1905; 1905-1906; 1908-1909; 1909-1910; 1910-1911; 1911-1912; 1913-1914; 1916-1917)
- DNS catalogs, "Annual Catalog," (1920-1935)
- Why Build It Now, 1974
- Memorial Hall: The College Union, circa 1960
- Your Introduction to Danbury State College, circa 1961
- Announcing a New M.A. in History, 1972
- 1970-1971 Western Connecticut State College Women's Athletic Association, 1971
- Study in Africa Summer 1973, 1973
- Western Connecticut State College; Special Summer Secession at Ocean Park, Maine, 1973
- Western Connecticut State College: Historical Development, 1974
- Western Connecticut State College Summer Sessions, 1971; 1976
- Western Connecticut State College, circa 1971
- New Campus Chronology, September 17, 1976
- SGA minutes, 1926-1944
- History of the SGA from 1950-1975
- College Publications, April 29, 1976
- College Publications: Conatus, 1976
- Sampling of Student Handbooks, 1977
- Major Traditions Summarized, 1975
- Observations of Student Organizations as Seen Through a Study of the School Yearbook, 1976
- Chronology of Historical Events at Western Connecticut State College, 1976
- Alumni Association: Brief History, circa 1968
- Danbury State Teachers College Alumni Association, 1941-42, 1941
- Alumni News, 1956 (pgs. 8-10)
- Re-evaluation Report to the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, Danbury State College, November 4-6, 1963
- Burke, Harold R., Dean of Student Affairs, "Observations on Growing Pains at WCSC," 1969
- Greewald, Dr. H. Jonathan, "The Nature of Man Program: Danbury State College," circa 1966
- The Nature of Man Sequence: An Interdisciplinary Program in Humanistic Studies, circa 1971
- Monuments of Culture, Humanities course, Fall 1958
- Monuments of Culture: The Communist Manifesto, Humanities course, Spring 1959
- letter from Dr. Ruth A. Haas about Interim Program at Danbury Teachers College
- Geographical List of Interim Projects
- Dober Report, 1967 (excerpts)
- Enrollment Data from School Catalogs
- student paper on legislative battle in 1903 to establish Danbury Normal School, circa 1970
- Tufts, John (Dr.), "Chapter I: Environment of the Project," 1956
- Maps and charts, 1977
- Copies of Dr. Charlotte Isham's diploma (June 19, 1935)
- Copy of Dr. Isham's teacher's contract
- Letter from Raymond J. Trimpert (director) and Ronnie Kuroski (press secretary) of the Office of Student Affairs, October 7, 1977
- Attendance Registers, (3 pgs.)
- Ralph Jenkins obituary from
- Aide-Memoire, November 23, 1976
- Present and Projected Student Enrollment, June 3, 1966
- Legislation/ Board of Education Regulations- All Normal schools, circa 1965
- Requirements for Admission to Connecticut State Normal Schools, September 1923
- An Act Establishing the Teachers' College of Connecticut, 1933
- An Act Changing the Name of Danbury State College, 1965
- An Act Establishing a State System of Higher Education, 1965
- Rules and Regulations Concerning the Granting of Degrees by the State Board of Education, 1934
- Subjects of Interest from Biennial Report of the Board of Education, circa 1965
- various reports on CT Normal Schools
- State Examinations, 1904
- Report of the Secretary, (from Conn. Public Documents), 1905; 1908; 1910; 1912; 1916; 1918; 1920-1923; 1925; 1928; 1930-1937; 1942; 1945; 1947
- CT Public Documents, 1946-1965
- College and University Enrollments, 1955-1957
-include clippings from
- Catalogue: State Normal-Training School New Haven, Connecticut, 1904 (twelfth year)
- Catalogue: State Normal-Training School Willimantic, Connecticut, 1904 (sixteenth year)
- Catalogue: State Normal-Training School New Britain, Connecticut, 1904 (fifty third year)
- Annual Report of the Trustees of the State Normal School, 1850
- Hints to School Visitors: Respecting Applicants fro Admission to the State Normal School, circa 1850
- First Annual Circular of the state Normal School at New Britain, 1851
- Fourth Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Students of the State Normal School, New Britain, Conn., 1854
- Catalogue of the Committee, Teachers and Pupils of the New Britain High School, 1854
- letters from Jack Friel to John W. Anderson (August 29, 1976), Ruth A. Haas (September 8, 1976), Ralph W. Carrington (December 9, 1976)
- letters from Dr. Herbert Janick (August 2, 1976), John Anderson (September 2, 1976), Margaret Camp (September 21; 24; 27, 1976), Dr. Theodore Shannon (October 25, 1976), Mrs. Robert Shearon (December 2, 1976), Eleanor V. Geel (January 5, 1977)
- Staff Bulletin, October 15, 1976
- Announcement for Alumni Bulletin, (nd)
- Suggested Story for
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