Red Dust Oral History collection
Scope and Contents note
The Red Dust records consist of approximately 800 oral history interviews documenting the history of the Central Upper Peninsula. The collection's materials include transcripts of oral history interviews, stories written for the “Red Dust” publication, cassette tapes of various interviews, and videos documenting the local history. Those who are interested in the local history of the Central Upper Peninsula as well as the impact of major historical events such as the Depression and World War II may find this collection useful. The collection's materials range in date from 1983 to 2000.
The collection also contains the following video productions:
- Polio: A Tragic Epidemic Defeated by a Triumphant Vaccine
- Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg: The Elemental Man, A Giant of the 20th Century
- Finnish Migration to America: The Quest for a Better Life
- Mourn the Dead: Fight for the Living
- The World Can't Stop Because of Our Sorrow
- Karelian Fever: Exodus to Build a Dream.
Dates
- 1983-2000
Creator
- Aspen Ridge School (Ishpeming, Mich.) (Organization)
- National Mine Middle School (National Mine, Mich.) (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access note
No restrictions. Open for research.
Conditions Governing Use note
The donors retain copyright to the material in this collection. The donors prohibit any reproduction for commercial purposes. Any use of the material must conform to fair use as stipulated by United States Copyright Law and the rules of National History Day.
Historical note
Between 1983 and 2000, students of the former National Mine School in National Mine, Michigan, succeeded by students at Aspen Ridge Middle School in Ishpeming, Michigan, wrote and produced 17 books titled “Red Dust” as part of the Red Dust local history project. Maxine Honkala, Sharon Richards and Bobbi Ameen directed the project. The students received national and state awards for their work, which they produced for National History Day.
Extent
11 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement Note
This collection is arranged into eleven series: I. Depression and the 1938 Snowstorm, 1983-1998; II. Community and Social Life, 1985-1998; III. Immigration, 1989-1998; IV. Job History, 1984-1998; V. Mining/Barnes and Hecker Disaster/Logging, 1984-1993; VI. Public Education, 1987-1997; VII. World War II—Homefront/Military Service, 1984-1999; VIII. Military Service—Gulf War/Korea/Vietnam, 1989, 1994, 1999; IX. Red Dust Stories, undated; X. Miscellaneous, undated; XI. Audio/Visual, 1983-1999, 2002. Each series is then organized alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee.
Series 1. Depression/1938 Snowstorm, 1983-1998 (74 folders)
Arranged alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Recollections of local area during the Depression and the snowstorm of 1938.
Series 2. Community and Social Life, 1985-1998 (83 folders)
Arranged alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Recollections Central Upper Peninsula communities and social life.
Series 3. Immigration, 1989-1998 (16 folders)
Arranged alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Recollections of the immigration experience.
Series 4. Job History, 1984-1998 (74 folders)
Arranged alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Individual’s job histories and work experiences.
Series 5. Mining/Barnes and Hecker Disaster/Logging, 1984-1993 (2 boxes)
Arranged alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Interview’s with retired miners and employee’s of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Includes recollections of the Barnes and Hecker Disaster and the logging industry.
Series 6. Public Education, 1987-1997 (2 boxes)
Arranged alphabetically by school/district then by interviewee’s last name. Interviews with former students and teachers/faculty of schools in the Central Upper Peninsula mainly National Mine School.
Series 7. World War II—Homefront/Military Service, 1984-1999 (2 boxes)
Arranged between Homefront and Military Service alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Recollections of the local area during World War II, and experiences of veterans in the Pacific and Europe. Includes one interview with a Holocaust survivor.
Series 8. Military Service—Gulf War/Korea/Vietnam, 1989, 1994, 1999 (37 folders)
Arranged by war, then alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Recollections of individuals who served in the Gulf War, Korean War and Vietnam.
Series 9. Red Dust Stories, undated (1 box)
Arranged Alphabetically by the title of the story. Stories written for the “Red Dust” publication from interviews conducted.
Series 10. Miscellaneous, undated (3 folders)
Arranged Alphabetically by last name of intervewee.
Series 11. Audio/Visual, 1983-1999, 2002 (4 cassette boxes)
Audio Cassettes arranged by topic followed by alphabetically by last name of interviewee. Contains transcribed and non-transcribed interviews and video cassettes of local history documentaries.
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Gift from Maxine Honkala and Sharon Richards in 2003.
View This Collection Online
This collection is part of UPLINK, the Upper Peninsula Digital Network. You can see part of it on the UPLINK website here.
- Audiocassettes. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Finnish Americans. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Iron mines and mining. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Marquette County (Mich.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Oral histories (document genres). Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Transcripts. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Videocassettes. Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Source
- Honkala, Maxine (Person)
- Richards, Sharon (Person)
- Title
- Red Dust Oral History collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Crystal Laudeman
- Date
- January, 2004
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 5/25/2010: finding aid revisiion description not supplied
Repository Details
Part of the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives Repository
Harden Learning Resources Center 126
1401 Presque Isle Ave
Marquette 49855 United States
906-227-1225
906-227-1333 (Fax)
archives@nmu.edu
