The Historian Fall Newsletter of the Friends of Case Library 2018

Spearfish, Company “M” 19th Infantry near from the Bob Lee Papers

Jack McDermott Papers at Case Library

Prior to his passing, John D. “Jack” Historic Preservation in McDermott decided to donate his Washington, DC. Last October, papers and much of his library to the David Wolff, Library Director Leland D. Case Library. Jack was a Warren Wilson, and several student well-known historian and author on workers retrieved the materials. frontier military history and the The collection consists of 18 file Northern Plains Indians. He had a cabinets filled with Jack’s research long career with the National Park and policy work. In addition there Service beginning in 1960 when he were over 50 boxes of papers and became the Chief Historian at Fort books to be added to Case Library. John D. “Jack” McDermott Laramie. When Jack retired in 1986, We are pleased to have been he was the Policy Director of the entrusted with Jack’s legacy. Help us preserve our history: President’s Advisory Council on These links are to the Society of American Archivists pamphlets on donating your personal papers or business records to an archive. Please consider donating your historical photographs, scrapbooks, diaries, personal and family papers, and business or organizational records relating to the history of the Black Hills to Case Library (or another favored archives or museum). http://bit.ly/tJHmg6 http://bit.ly/w0FrMZ Student worker helping to unload McDermott Papers at the library William J. Collins Collection images now available on Flickr

As previously reported, the Leland D. and mining. The collection consists Case Library received a collection of glass of 71 boxes of glass plate negatives, plate negatives attributed to William J. 81 framed prints, and four boxes of Collins. The collection came to Case film negatives made from the glass Library from the Arvada Center in negatives. The Arvada Center Colorado. William J. Collins was a photographed the negatives for frontier photographer who had a studio reference purposes. There are over in Rapid City, Lakota Block. The 1,200 individual glass plates. The photographs date from the late 19th intention of Case Library is to make Century until about 1933 when Collins archival quality copies of these retired. A number of these images were negatives as money and staff allow. used in a book about Collins’ work titled, In the meantime, the reference Black Hills White Sky: Photographs from the photographs are on Flickr. Images Arvada Center Foundation, Inc. by Alvin M. can be viewed at: https:// Josephy. In addition to numerous studio www.flickr.com/ portraits, the photographs include subject photos/144802456@N08/albums. matter such as homes, churches, schools, businesses, farming, ranching, railroads, Willian J. Collins Self Portrait

The Black Hills Historian The Case Library Newsletter

M.S. Wheeler Millinery entry in the 1907 Railroad Jubilee Parade

~ 2 ~ Remembering Bobbi Roberta “Bobbi” Sago, 1964-2018 Special Collections Librarian, Case Library

Bobbi was born May 16, 1964, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three children born to Robert and Dolores Sago. The family participated in 4-H. She was a Girl Scout and in high school participated in drama and speech team. Bobbi was also in the Future Homemakers of America Group. She graduated from Corvallis High School in 1982. Bobbi went to the University of Montana where she was a Journalism and English major. On her summer break she worked two years in restaurants in Yellowstone National Park. Her junior year she settled on Theater as her major and felt she should work in theatre. Surely there were jobs a lot closer to Montana, but she ended up spending a summer the- On April 20, 2003, she accepted a position at the Special Collec- ater season in Monmouth, Maine. She graduated from the tions Librarian / Archivist at Black Hills State University. She Theatre Program in December 1987. She spent the spring on was in charge of the Special Collections Department which tour with the Montana Repertory. After being on tour, she contains two main research collections, the Leland D. Case Li- took a summer job in Spring Green, WI, with the American brary for Western Historical Studies and the University Ar- Players Theatre. chives. In addition to helping patrons with their research, she In August 1988, she moved to Washington, DC, to work for was responsible for organizing and describing the manuscript Arena Stage in the costume shop. She lived in Alexandria, collections. These are both research collections that contain VA, spent the summer in Spring Green, WI, and returned to many items that may be rare and unique. Manuscript collec- Washington, DC, to work for the Washington Opera. After tions include things like family papers, papers of professional two years she decided that she didn’t like looking for a job historians, records of organizations, and business records. every three to nine months and left theater for “security.” There were a number of other activities in her job but the one Bobbi decided to go to graduate school and enrolled in the she liked the best was providing outreach for the collections. Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, earning a Bobbi served on the Board of the West River History Confer- master’s degree in Library Information Science. While in ence. school she worked part-time at George Washington Universi- She has co-authored four books for Arcadia Publishing, they ty, the local branch of the Alexandria Public Library, and at are: Spearfish, Towns, Black Hills National the Library of Congress paper conservation lab. Forest: Harney Peak and the Historic Fire Lookout Towers, and Bobbi became interested in dance and was involved with the Black Hills Gold Rush Towns II. She also worked a few hours a Contra Dance and later Scottish Country Dancing. At this week for a company called Spearfish Canyon Tours. time, she also volunteered at the Carlyle House. Bobbi and Bobbi recently got back into theater, this time on the acting her friend Jane worked together at the Arena Stage doing side of things. In 2007, she portrayed Mary (Mother) Jones in house management while she was at the Kreeger Theatre. Out of Our Father’s House at the Matthew’s Opera House in While working there, tongue in cheek she would tell people, Spearfish. She also has performed in a Matthew’s Opera House “I’m just doing this theater thing until I can break into the event called, “Theater on the Run.” She has portrayed a histor- library business.” ic figure for several years on the Rose Hill Cemetery Walk. She lived in DC for nearly 10 years before taking a job as the Most recently she performed in, A Funny Little Thing Called Manuscript Librarian at the University of Texas El Paso Li- Love. She was portrayed as two characters, Twyla and Nita. brary. As an archivist, or manuscript librarian, she cared for She was surprised to be cast as Twyla, a stereotypical blond primary resources. In El Paso she started singing with the ‘bimbo’. church choir at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 10 a.m. Mass. (continued on page 4)

~ 3 ~ SD Magazine Article on Leland D. Case Sago (continued)

Regional author and historian, Paul Higbee, wrote a wonderful article about She was owned by two cats, Hercules Leland D. Case in the Sept/Oct 2017 issue of South Dakota Magazine. It is a lovely and Achilles. tribute to the man and calls attention to his legacy in the resources available at In December, Bobbi got a contract to co- Case Library at BHSU and the Dakota Discovery Museum in Mitchell, SD. author her fifth book for Arcadia publish- ing. It’s titled Fort Meade: Peacekeeper of the Paul has also written an article on another area luminary, Fayette Cook, first Black Hills. The topic is frontier Fort President of Spearfish Normal School (now BHSU). You can find it in the Meade, in Sturgis, South Dakota. The March/April 2018 issue. book was published in mid-2018.

May of 1976, Leland D. Case with the buffalo

skull presented to him by the Jedediah Smith Corral of the Westerners in Hot Springs, South Dakota, at the dedica- tion of the historical marker for Jedediah Strong Smith entering the Black Hills at Buffalo Gap in 1823.

Follow Us! New Librarian for Leland D. Case Library Leland D. Case Library for West- ern Historical Studies is on Lori Terrill joined BHSU in October to manage the special collections Facebook! and archives. Originally from Hot Springs, South Dakota, Lori previously worked at the University of Libraries in Laramie https://Facebook.com/ as a collection development librarian and before that as a cataloger. She CaseLibrary earned her Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State University and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and a Friends of Case Library: Master of Arts degree in American Studies, both from UW. Stop by the https://tinyurl.com/ E.Y. Berry Library-Learning Center Room 201 and say hello! BHSUCaseFriends

~ 4 ~ Case Library Symposium a Great Success

Case Library and the Old Fort Meade recipient, delighted the audience Cavalry Museum hosted the “Forts, while talking about how important Wars, and Treaties of the Northern scholarships are to helping Plains” symposium June 1-3, 2017. students complete their studies. Over 100 people attended the three day Friday provided a full slate of event. The symposium was in honor of speakers in BHSU classroom Jerome Greene, a well-known historian building Jonas Hall. After opening and author on the Indian Wars. He remarks by David Wolff, the received an honorary doctorate from morning lineup included speakers BHSU in 2015. One of the goals of the Eli Paul, Paul Hedren, Donovin symposium was to raise funds for a Sprague (who was sponsored by Jerome A. Greene Scholarship. the South Dakota Humanities David Wolff lead a pre-symposium Council), and Mike Her Many walking tour of Deadwood on Horses. Luncheon was held in the Thursday afternoon June 1st. The Hive Dining Room, in the BHSU symposium officially opened that Student Union. Symposium evening with a reception sponsored by Honoree, Jerome Greene gave a University President Tom Jackson Jr. at presentation titled, “Unbounded the BHSU Joy Alumni Center. Savanah Ambition: Colonel Nelson A. Miles Jace DeCory Speaking at Bear Butte Huntley, a previous Friends of Case as Revealed in His Private during the Saturday tour Library Freshman Scholarship Correspondence with General (continued on page 6)

Savanah Huntley, 2015 recipient of the Friends of Case Library Scholarship speaks at the opening reception in the Symposium Attendees gathering for the Bus Tour of Fort Meade and the BHSU Joy Alumni Center old Fort Meade Cemetery

~ 5 ~ Digital Library South Dakota (DLSD) Update

The big news with DLSD is that

records now can be accessed through the Digital Public Library BHSU Collections in Digital of America https://dp.la/. This Library South Dakota: https:// greatly expands the audience for cdm17102.contentdm.oclc.org/ BHSU’s archival material. The digital/custom/bhsu former project archivist and student workers have added over 10,000 BHSU Collections in Digital items from the Black Hills National Public Library of America: https:// Forest Historical (BHNF) Collection dp.la/search?provider="Black% to DLSD. Other collections being 20Hills%20State%20University" added to DLSD are the University Archives with 3,612 items added and the Ghost Town Notebooks with 3,851 items. The Roughlock Falls, December 1935 grand total for all Case Library from the BHNF Historical Collection items in DLSD so far is, 18,712!

Symposium (continued)

William T. Sherman during the Sioux at the Old Fort Meade Museum. and Nez Perce Campaigns, 1876-1877.” Following a presentation by Randy Afternoon speakers included Randy Bender, the group took a driving tour of Kane and Paul Higbee followed by Old Fort Meade. Next they went to the comments by Jerome Greene in Fort Meade Cemetery where actors memory of John D. McDermott, fellow portrayed some of the people buried historian and author. An authors’ there. Box lunches were served at the reception and book signing was held on Alkli Creek Horse Camp picnic area. The the first floor of the E.Y. Berry Library next stop was Bear Butte State Park for as well as an open house of Leland D. presentations by Jace DeCory, BHSU Case Library, on the second floor. Professor Emeritus and Jim Jandreau, Raffle tickets for bundles of books were Bear Butte State Park Manager. sold in order to raise funds for the Jerome A. Greene Scholarship. Great Additional sponsors for the Symposium progress was made through donations include: Deadwood Historic Preservation Myron Volk, portraying Sgt. and other fund raising activities. Commission, West River Foundation, and William Littleton, singing the Further donations are welcome to the the Family of Robert & Marilyn Bender of Star Spangled Banner at Ft. Jerome A. Greene Scholarship (see page Sturgis, SD. Meade Cemetery 7). Saturday morning participants met

~ 6 ~ Interview with Hailey Virgil, Freshman Scholarship Winner

Hailey Virgil received the Friends of Case Q: What is your favorite class this Library Freshman Scholarship Fall semes- semester? ter 2017. She is a graduate of Campbell A: My favorite class this semester County High School in Gillette, was Early Native American History WY. Here is a brief introduction to Hai- and Culture. I enjoyed this course ley in her own words. because it gave me further insight on all the hardships Native Ameri- Q: What is your major/minor? cans faced and continue to face to- A: History-Education is my major and I day, something I would not have do not have a minor as of yet. known had I not taken this class. Hailey Vigil and Library Director Dr. Warren Wilson at Scholarship Reception Fall 2017 Q: What inspired your interest in Q: What do you do in your free time? history? A: I love being with family and future success. A: I realized I had a particular interest in friends in my free time as well as Q: What are your career goals? history sitting in various social studies reading a good book whenever I get A: After graduating, I would like to be- classes throughout junior high and high the chance. come a high school history teacher. school. Specifically, my His- Q: Are you a member of any clubs Teaching seems like a fantastic opportuni- tory class really influenced my decision to or organizations? ty to share the wealth of knowledge that major in history-education after increas- A: I am a member of the University can be found in history. ing my knowledge on all the moments in Honors Program and would highly time that have ultimately influenced the recommend it to those interested in We are very pleased to support students society and culture we live in today. challenging themselves in their such as Hailey and look forward to seeing Q: What is your favorite period of college education. The Honors what great things she accomplishes in the professors are incredibly supportive future! history? and encouraging to promote your A: My favorite period in history would have to be the WWI era. The social struc- tures and new technology of that time How to donate to the scholarship interests me in regard to how much one Donations to the Friends of Case Library Scholarship can be sent to: influenced the other and vice versa. University Advancement Q: Why did you select BHSU? Black Hills State University A: I selected BHSU because of the obvious 1200 University Street, Unit 9506 natural beauty that surrounds it as well as Spearfish, SD 57799-9056 the phenomenal education program im- plemented. I knew BH was the perfect fit Please make checks payable to the BHSU Foundation. Let them know that the gift is for the Friends of Case Library Scholarship or the Jerome A. Greene Schol- for me when considering the success I arship. hope to achieve in my future career as a You can also donate online: https://tinyurl.com/y9nwyydc teacher.

~ 7~ Leland D. Case Library Black Hills State University 1200 University Street, Unit 9676 Spearfish, SD 57799-9676

Friends of Case Library From the Archives Join Today! □ Annual Individual: $10 Name: ______In the wee hours of January 15, 1925, a fire consumed the Address: ______administration and classroom ______building on the Spearfish ______Normal School Campus. Fortunately the safe where all

the student records were kept Phone (home): ______survived the fire. Here Phone (cell): ______President E.C. Woodburn examines the contents of the E-mail:______safe.

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