Blogs

The 2013 issue of the Walter P. Reuther Library Newsletter is now available. The new issue includes an announcement of the Reuther's acquisition of the Utah Phillips Papers, a letter from Reuther Director Beth Myers, and an overview of our accomplishments in the last year. Download or view the 2013 newsletter, or peruse the complete collection of Reuther newsletters from 1971 to the present day.

On Friday, October 4, the Reuther Library hosted a reception for the opening of Dance Pioneers: Michigan’s 20th Century Movers, a new exhibit on display in the Woodcock Gallery. The opening reception was introduced by Harriet Berg, founder of the Michigan Dance Archives, and included remarks from Leslee O'Day Benyo, Reuther Library Director Beth Myers, and Reuther Library Field Archivist Louis Jones.  read more »

This is the third in a series of four blog posts annotating Jerry Peacock's 1939 cartoon map of the Wayne University campus. This entry discusses the block between Warren Avenue and Merrick Avenue. View the entire map here or read Part 1 or Part 2.

The 1939 campus of Wayne University bore little resemblance to the Wayne State University campus of today. Second, Putnam, Merrick, and Kirby Streets, which once criss-crossed the University, are now closed to traffic and have been replaced by pedestrian malls. Private residences, and houses repurposed as offices and classrooms, were demolished to make room for large purpose-built structures. In 1939 the University was thinly spread over land that it would later purchase and transform entirely.  read more »

The Walter P. Reuther Library bid a fond farewell last week to Johanna Russ, who served as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Archivist from June 30, 2008 until September 27, 2013. After five years at the Reuther, Johanna Russ leaves Michigan to become Senior Archival Specialist at the Chicago Public Library.  read more »