Admission ticket, World's Fair, Chicago
Date: 1893
Louis and Emma Palenske attended the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, also known as the World's Columbian Exposition Chicago. The event honored the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World. Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission through the Kansas State Historical Records Advisory Board.

Agreement with the Lapland Exhibit Company
Creator: Bull, Niels
Date: May 17, 1893
This is an exclusive contract between Niels Bull, his wife Margarita Bull, their six year old son Morten Bull of Singsaas, Herred, Norway, and the Lapland Exhibit Company of Chicago, Illinois, by P. H. Coney, President and Superintendent, and Emil Arner, Vice-President and Manager. The Bull family agrees to work, exhibit, and perform in native costume at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, Illinois or elsewhere in the United States of American for the Lapland Exhibit Company. Their family pay rate was 12 kroners per day. The contract was canceled October 31, 1893. Patrick H. Coney, a Topeka native, was the Exposition's manager. Emil Arner may have been from Salina, Kansas. See also Kansas Memory item 227115.

A. J. Jutkins to Governor John St. John
Creator: Jutkins, A. J.
Date: August 02, 1880
A letter from A.J. Jutkins to Kansas Governor St. John inviting him to speak at the Knights Templars Encampment convention in Lake Bluff, Illinois. All state governors have been invited to attend.

Albert D. Searl to Thaddeus Hyatt
Creator: Searl, Albert D
Date: August 21, 1856
The author wrote from Tabor, Iowa to Thaddeus Hyatt, president of the National Kansas Committee. He began the letter by mentioning a skirmish between pro-slavery and free state forces somewhere between Lawrence and Topeka. This correspondence also deals with emigrant settlements within the territory, the shipment of weapons and provisions, and the morale among the emigrants as they struggled to make ends meet. Furthermore, Searl mentioned a great deal about James Lane and his activities within Kansas Territory.

A.L. Foster to the manager of Kelly's Hotel in Iola, Kansas
Creator: Foster, A.L.
Date: March 09, 1945
In this letter, from A.L. Foster of the Chicago Urban League to the manager of Kelly's Hotel in Iola, Kansas, details Foster's experiences at the hotel in the winter of 1945. Foster, a passenger on a bus from Ft. Scott to Wichita, was asked to sit in the rear section of the restaurant solely because he was an African American.

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority's 25th anniversary and 16th annual Boule in Chicago, Illinois
Date: August 1933
This is a panoramic photograph showing members at Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority's 25th anniversary and 16th annual Boule held in Chicago, Illinois. Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African-American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

An appeal for help in behalf of the colored refugees in Kansas
Creator: Rust, Horatio Nelson, 1828-1906
Date: January 22, 1881
This flyer, distributed by the Southern Refugee Relief Association of Chicago, Illinois, describes the dire situation of the African-American refugees relocated in Kansas. The secretary of this association, Horatio N. Rust, had taken this opportunity to pass along information relayed to him by Elizabeth Comstock, an aid worker in Topeka. Comstock was thankful for the donations of food and other goods, but asked for more assistance in feeding, clothing, and sheltering these refugees. The flyer also includes short excerpts of letters by agents of the refugee association who had direct knowledge of the emigrants' situation.

Andrew Horatio Reeder
Date: 1856
A photograph of a painting depicting Andrew Horatio Reeder as he escaped from Kansas Territory disguised as a woodchopper. The artist probably painted this from a photograph taken upon Reeder's arrival in Chicago, Illinois. Reeder was appointed to serve as territorial governor of Kansas on June 29, 1854, took the oath of office on July 7, 1854, and arrived in Kansas Territory on October 7, 1854. He served to April 17, 1855, and then again from June 23 to August 16, 1855. In 1854, Reeder called for an election to choose a delegate to Congress. On election day, Missourians came in great numbers and, voting illegally, elected a proslavery candidate. This same situation occurred in March, 1855, when an election was called to form a legislature. Early in 1856, Lecompton was designated the territorial capital of Kansas. Sheriff Samuel Jones, a strong proslavery supporter, arrested several free-staters in Lawrence. Several people for whom Jones was looking escaped, including Reeder, who left Kansas dressed as a woodchopper.

Andrieus A. Jones to Edmund G. Ross
Creator: Ross, Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson), 1826-1907
Date: June 26, 1896
Jones acknowledges receipt of copies of Ross's history of the presidential impeachment trial and will share it with leading Democrats in Chicago during the campaign convention.

Anton T. Boisen papers
Creator: Boisen, Anton T. (Anton Theophilus), 1876-1965
Date: 1915 - 1965 (bulk 1930s-1940s)
Boisen's papers consist of thorough case histories of patients he saw in the 1920s/1930s; 1933-1934 newsletters from the Elgin State Hospital; some incoming and outgoing correspondence, such as with Seward Hiltner; hand-illustrated poetry written by various individuals (none of them Boisen); manuscripts, reprints, and outlines and course lectures by Boisen, dating from the 1920s-1950s; annual reports to the directors of the Chicago Council for the Clinical Training of Theological Students, 1933-1935; information related to Boisen's time in Waubaunsee, Kansas in the 1910s and to the Congregational church located there; memorials after Boisen's death in 1965; and some other miscellaneous materials. Major topics found in Boisen's manuscripts and article reprints include psychology of religion, clinical training and religion, various psychiatric illnesses (including schizophrenia), war and religion, and similar topics. While the materials span much of Boisen's adulthood, the bulk of his papers date from the 1930s and 1940s.

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe employee assisting in switching refrigerator cars in the Corwith yards, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: November 1957
This AT&SF employee is helping switch mechanical temperature controlled (MTC) refrigerator cars in the Corwith yard in Chicago, IL. The photo has a date stamp of November, 1957. The number on the car is Rr-56.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe miniature train
Date: 1949-1955
These four photographs an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway miniature train. One of the parade photographs was taken in Chicago, Illinois, but the locations of the other photographs are unknown. The driver of the train was Merle Benson, who worked for the Railway and lived in Topeka, Kansas. The original miniature freight train, which was headed by an engine designed after the old steam locomotives, was built in 1926 at the Topeka shops. In 1927, a miniature passenger train was built as a companion. The power source for both trains was Model-T Ford motors and transmissions. In 1937, the steam locomotive design was replaced by a diesel-type jacket over the same power source. Use of the passenger train was discontinued in 1942 and it was finally scrapped in 1951. Before the passenger train was retired, it consisted of three Pullman cars, a buffet-library car and a dining car. The freight train consisted of the locomotive plus a coal car, refrigerator car, boxcar, stock car, tank car and caboose. During the off-season Merle Benson would provide maintenance on the miniature trains and get them ready for the next season. Benson was born in Greeley, Kansas in 1896, and he moved to Topeka in 1923. He started to work in the Santa Fe shops as a car man helper and in 1924, he became a machinist.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's Corwith Yards, Chicago, Illinois
Date: Between 1950s and 1960s
This aerial photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's Corwith Yards in Chicago, Illinois. The facility had a thirty-two automatic retarder yard, three freight houses, a diesel shop, a piggyback facility and terminal yard offices.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's diesel shop, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1945 and 1950
This photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's diesel shop at 21st and Purple Streets in Chicago, Illinois. The shop was equipped to make all repairs to diesel-electric locomotives.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's empire car shops, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Bewteen 1940 and 1945
This photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company's Empire Car Shops and yard mill in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 36th and Kedzie Avenue, the facility started out as a private company in 1909. In 1919 Santa Fe took over the daily operation of the shops. In this photograph, Caswell gondola cars are being converted for the war effort and some of the 50' boxcars have raised roofs so they can carry aircraft wings, parts etc, to the West Coast for final assembly.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway produce terminal, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: May 1961
This slide shows the ATSF Chicago produce terminal jointly owned by the Santa Fe and Illinois Central railroads.

Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Switch Engine # 2406, Chicago, IL
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Unknown dates
A black and white photo of the Atchison, Topeka, & San Fe switch engine #2406 at the AT&SF Corwith Intermodal Facility. The Corwith yards is located at 39th Pershing Road and Kedzie Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The yards were built in the late 1880s to handle freight shipped on the Santa Fe lines.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe aerial view of Piggyback Yard, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: July 1969
A slide that shows an aerial view of Piggyback Yard, located in Chicago, Illinois.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Piggyback Travellift
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: June 1969
A slide of an ATSF Piggyback Travelift which was also known as a PiggyPacker.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company boxcars
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1951 and 1955
This black and white photograph shows employees from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company moving freight from boxcars at the Corwith freight station in Chicago, Illinois.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company equipment
Date: Between 1970 and 1979
This black and white photograph shows the communications department at the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company in Chicago, Illinois.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company produce terminal, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Brent, Orville Jr.
Date: Between 1950 and 1959
This black and white photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company produce terminal in Chicago, Illinois.

Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Company Refrigerator Car, Corwith yard, Chicago, Illinois.
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1956 and 1980
This photograph shows an Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Company employee switching a mechanical temperature controlled (MTC) refrigerator car, numbered SFRD 2174. The location is probably in the Corwith yard in Chicago, Illinois. A zebra striped switcher locomotive is in the background.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's Chief, Chicago, Illinois
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: Between 1948 and 1968
This black and white photograph shows the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's passenger train the" Chief" at Dearborn Station in Chicago, Illinois. Introduced on November 14, 1926 the streamline passenger train provided cross country service from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California until it ended operations on May 15, 1968.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's circus loading
Date: Between 1956 and 1959
This black and white photograph shows a number of flatcars from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company being prepared for "circus" loading possibly at Corwith Yards in Chicago, Illinois. "Circus" loading is a term used to describe an older method of moving trailers on to flatcars (TOFC) whereby a truck backs the trailer up to a ramp placed at one end of a cut of cars. The loading process requires bridge plates to be at each end of all cars to enable the trailer and tractor to pass from car to car.