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The Roper Papers consists predominantly of photocopied letters from Victor Roper to his wife, Alice Roelfs, while he was participating in the European Theater of World War II. Victor ("Vic") and Alice were married only days after he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant, and they were together approximately six months before he was shipped overseas. The collection contains facsimiles of 43 handwritten letters and two V-Mails from Victor to his wife while he was stationed in France, Germany, and Austria from January to June 1945. The letters depict a lieutenant’s life before, during, and after combat, as well as reflections on his past and his hopes for the future. The correspondence describes his trans-Atlantic voyage in January 1945, a period of anxious inactivity in France through February, intense combat in Germany in March and April, the end of the war in May while stationed in Austria, and the liberation of the concentration camp near Mauthausen, Austria. The letters contain mundane details of army life, including housing, weather, and food, as well the loneliness of a husband separated from his wife. The letters often discuss the frustration and uncertainty of wartime communications, as letters often took weeks to arrive. They are varied in mood and tone, reflecting the alteration between times of stress and rest. During times of combat, the letters are necessarily vague as to locations and actions, though details are frequently provided in subsequent letters and Victor's accounts of his time overseas are emotionally poignant throughout. The collection also includes a series of letters to Victor’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Roper, his aunt Clara Wesche, and Alice’s parents, the Roelfs. The facsimiles of 18 letters and one V-Mail to his parents cover the longest period of time, from January to October 1945, including his time in Belgium. Three letters are addressed to his aunt, and one to his parents-in-law. The Subject Series includes copies of various official and personal documents. Military Documents preserve Victor’s official service records, while Personal Documents contain important family papers. Printed Material includes a copy of The 65th Halbert Division Daily News Letter from June 15, 1945, as well as two programs from Army-sponsored church services. A second box of Printed Material includes original copies of wartime newspapers, including The Chanute News, The Stars and Stripes, and Yank: The Army Weekly. The majority of issues were published after the official end of hostilities. The Photograph Series contains 161 photocopies of personal photographs and postcards. Photographs are numbered in the order in which they appeared in the original albums. The pictures capture Victor and Alice in their youth in Kansas, his early military career in Mississippi and Alabama, and portraits of his friends in the service. The largest series of images, taken while Victor was stationed overseas, depict both the landscape of war-torn Europe, as well as casual life within the military. Some notable photographs include images of the Mauthausen camp following its liberation. The photographs have been scanned and digital images can be viewed upon request in the department until they are available through the KSU Digital Library. The documents are housed in two boxes. In the first box, the correspondence is arranged first by the addressee, then chronologically. Other materials are housed by subjects in alphabetical order, followed by the photographs, duplicated in their original album order. The second box holds additional Printed Material, placed in alphabetical order by the publication title.

This collection is comprised of files from Mr. Dartland's career in various capacities as a consumer advocate. The bulk of the materials cover the mid-1970s to mid-1990s. The vast majority pertain to Florida though there are examples of consumer advocacy from other states. Folder titles indicate the subjects included in the collection. Folders contain a wide variety of publications: business correspondence, brochures, pamphlets, speeches, flyers, newspaper clippings, reprints of trade articles, magazine clippings, ordinances, news releases, trade publications, agendas, reports, surveys, public hearing notices, legal documents, legislative documents, advertisements, business cards, conference proceedings, conference programs, printed email messages, registration forms and several other forms of ephemera and publications. Most items pertain to activities and issues that Mr. Dartland was directly involved in though some items seem to be just areas of interest. In addition to the publications, there are 34 VHS tapes, 3 DVDs, 1 flash drive, and 134 cassette tapes.

The Warren N. White Jr. papers were generated during Dr. White’s career at K-State. The collection concerns Dr. White’s models, robots, and Kansas Electric Utilities (KEURP) research, as well as materials for the courses he taught. The work largely focuses on electrical engineering and robotics, although it contains some correspondence as well. Notably, there are records of his Galloping Line research from the 1980’s, his work on the General Electric P-50 Robo, and his collaborative work involving ball & beam and pendulum research. Approximate years covered by the records are 1977-2010.

The collection includes correspondence, legislative texts, drafts, and comparisons, committee notes, agendas, attendance records, questionnaires, directories, news clippings, campaign records from the 1968-1982 legislative career of State Representative for the 19th District (Overland Park, KS) and former Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives Wendell Eugene Lady.
Topics include abortion legislation, agriculture & livestock, alcohol, daycare, district reapportionment, education, energy and power plants, the Equal Rights Amendment, fuel taxes, gifted education, grain marketing, hazardous waste transportation, healthcare, higher education, House rules of order, marijuana, pensions & retirement systems, prisons, Republican Party philosophy, roads & highways, school financing, the state budget, State Capitol repairs & renovations, speed limits, teacher evaluations, water management and fluoridation, and workman's compensation.

The William B. Hanger Papers document the military career of Hanger from 1929-1955. They also include information about his business career and family during that time as well as after his death in 1955 when information was added to the collection by the family spanning the years 1955-2001. Hanger actively served in the U.S. Marines for almost 20 years, 1929-1948. After his enlistment ended in 1948, he served as a sergeant in charge of the Marine Corps recruiting station. In 1951, Hanger began working as a sales representative for Spe-De-Way Company, a floor wax company that sold supplies to a Pittsburgh company, in Springfield, Missouri where he worked until his death in 1955.

The first series, U.S. Marines (1929-1955), is divided into eight subseries: 1) Diaries, consisting of seven diaries written by Hanger from 1931-1934; 1942 while stationed at Pearl Harbor, Oahu (1933), and Guadalcanal (1942). These diaries contain detailed descriptions of Hanger’s military life during that time; 2) Military Service contains records relating to Hanger’s service in the Marines. Organized chronologically, these papers include correspondence, leave requests, financial documents, enlistment and service records, health reports, and orders and itineraries; 3) Military Service Photocopies include a number of photocopied military records obtained by the family regarding Hanger’s time in the military; 4) Literary Works contains a paper entitled “Six Months After Pearl Harbor” that Hanger wrote in 1942; 5) Certificates consists of various certificates that were presented to Hanger during his military career; 6) Identification Cards includes Hanger’s military ID cards; 7) Ration Book consists of a military ration book issued to Willa Jean Hanger; and 8) Printed Material contains newspaper clippings concerning Hanger, a memory book from 1945, and two military periodicals.

Personal (1934-2001) contains ten subseries: 1) Correspondence contains letters, invitations, and greeting cards from family members and others; 2) Financial Documents consists of cancelled checks, tax statements, and bank receipts; 3) Records includes a number of important family documents and records including death certificates, marriage licenses, social security information, insurance papers, and health records; 4) Wedding Programs/Napkins contains programs and a napkin from a wedding in 1976; 5) Organization and Business Membership and Identification Cards consists of Hanger’s membership and organization cards; 6) Organizations-National Sojourners includes a constitution written by the National Sojourners; 7) Speech contains a speech written by Hanger regarding his service in the Marines; 8) Family History Notes includes several handwritten notes regarding the history of the Hanger family; 9) Funeral Related Items contains a program, guest book, and sympathy cards from Hanger’s funeral in 1955; and 10) Printed Material consists of basketball programs, college brochures, and newspaper clippings concerning the Hanger family.

The Business Series consists of six sub-series. The first is Correspondence, which contains letters pertaining to Hanger’s business career in Springfield, Missouri. Financial Documents, the second subseries, contains information regarding yearly expenses and taxes. The third series, Merit System, includes ratings and facts about the state of Missouri’s system. The fourth is the Civil Service Commission which includes notices of ratings for Hanger’s business from the Service Commission. Business Cards is the fifth subseries. The final series, Printed Material, contains company information and sales pamphlets, poultry informational pamphlets, and ‘do it yourself guides.

The Photographs series contains a number of U.S. Marine photographs of Hanger and personal photographs of the Hanger family including portraits of his wife and children. It also includes a number of negatives, a photo album/scrapbook from 1933 that includes Marine photographs, newspaper clippings, ticket stubs, and programs; a photo album of pictures from his time in San Diego, Guam, and Honolulu while in the Marines from 1930-1931; and two class photographs from 1924 and 1927.

The final series, Memorabilia, consist of a confederate note and coin and foreign coins. A number of military-related items including American Legion hats, ration book holders, a USMC Honorable Discharge Certificate Holder, USMC nameplate, and a World War II medal earned by Hanger while in the Marines are also included in the collection.

These materials are from the Landon Lecture series including booklets from the 2006 lectures by George W. Bush and Sam Brownback, a ticket to Richard Nixon's 1970 lecture, a parking permit for Ronald Reagan's 1982 lecture, a souvenir photo print of Richard Nixon and Alf Landon from 1970, and an inscribed copy of William Boyer's 1968 book, Issues 1968.