Abstract The Baldwin-Shaffner Family Collection consists of materials that document the personal lives and business activities of the Baldwin, Shaffner, Sackett, Bacon and Bishop families. It reflects the migration to California of the Shaffner family from Ohio, and the Sackett family from Colorado Territory in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It contains personal correspondence, photographs, memorabilia, ephemera, clothing, artifacts, ledgers, diaries, periodicals, scrapbooks, and...

Abstract Noele Brockman was born in Shanghai in 1927, and attended the Public and Thomas Hanbury School for Girls. After World War II, she worked for the United States military, where she met her husband, John Brockman, an American soldier. The two married in Shanghai, and lived in numerous places in both Europe and the United States before settling in San Jose, California. The collection contains items collected by the Brockmans during their time in China, including a jacket with hand-embroidered...

Abstract Kenneth C. Burt served as Political Director of the California Federation of Teachers from 1997 to 2018. Burt was a self-published author and historian, writing The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics and contributing to numerous academic journals and anthologies related to Latinos, labor, coalition politics and the Cold War. This is a collection of interviews and recordings Kenneth Burt conducted between 1980 and 2004 with community leaders,...

Abstract Irene Ramos Chandler was an activist, a mother, and the wife of Bill Chandler, who was also an activist. She heavily participated in the United Farm Workers (UFW) and the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (UFWOC), the precursor to UFW, during the 1960s and 1970s in California and Texas through such activities as organizing, attending picket lines, assisting with office work, and recruiting the farmworker community to advocate for their rights. This small collection dates from 1966 to...

Abstract Zaruhy “Sara” Chitjian was an educator, immigrant, and daughter to survivors of the Armenian genocide. The Zaruhy “Sara” Chitjian Collection was created to preserve the material content of the Harry and Ovsanna Chitjian Family Foundation, which works to increase awareness and promote recognition of the Armenian genocide. The materials detail the timeframe before and after the genocide, starting in 1914 and continuing until 2020, and also document the Chitjian family immigrant experience. The...

Abstract Founded in 1947 by Fred Ross Sr., Edward Roybal, and Anthony Rios, the Community Service Organization (known as the CSO) was a grass-roots civic-action organization led by its membership. The goal of the organization was to empower community members to become civically engaged to improve their lives and fight for social justice. The CSO began in East Los Angeles focusing on the Latino and Mexican-American communities, and then expanded with Chapters across California. The collection...

Abstract Vera Dutoff (maiden name Kuchinskaia) fled Russia, lived in China, and settled in San Francisco, California with her husband Alexander Dutoff. She was born on November 19, 1900 and died on February 25, 1994. The collection consists of materials related to her daily life and is largely composed of correspondence as well as keepsake objects including Russian Icons (devotional images) and lace textiles. A small amount of records were created by her husband Alexandar Dutoff; her son, Dimitri...

Abstract Fred M. Greguras served as a United States Marine in Vietnam in 1970 with Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, before entering the field of law and becoming a partner at a law firm in California. The Fred M. Greguras California Military Places Collection reflects his research interest in the history of the U.S. Marines and American military sites through research materials, photographs, documents, and collected ephemera that focus on United...

Abstract

H.L. “Sea-biscuit” Heartwell served as a civilian attached to the United States Army Air Corps in China in the 1940s, and as a technician for the Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) after the war. The collection contains items of clothing worn and collected by Heartwell during his time in China as well as four small wood carvings.

Abstract Katherine Banfield Higgins was a missionary worker for La Plaza United Methodist Church and Community Center in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Katherine B. Higgins Photograph Collection documents her personal life, her career, and her travels during the first half of the twentieth century. Locations are mostly in southern California and also include Minnesota, Indiana, and Lake Tahoe. The collection also documents her role in the founding of Goodwill Southern California. The emphasis...