MS 809 - Holcomb/Bair Family Papers Bowling Green, Ohio

Title	MS 809 - Holcomb/Bair Family Papers Bowling Green, Ohio
Introduction	The Holcomb/Bair Family Papers is a collection of various documents from members of the Holcomb and Bair families. Personal correspondence and teaching/education files make up the bulk of this collection. The documents are from Addie, Lester, and Corrine Holcomb, and Winfield, Eva (née Armistead), Maurice, Ruth (née Holcomb), Eugene, Helen, and Carrol Bair. The donation of these documents was made by Carrol Bair Spitnale in 2002. No restrictions exist on the research use of this collection and duplication is permitted for research purposes. The collection was arranged and described by graduate student archival assistant Joan Eardly in November, 2013.
Biographical Sketch	The Holcomb/Bair family came together via the marriage of Ruth Holcomb and Maurice Bair. Various searches have been done to find information about the family members in each collection, but not a lot of information is available. The dates of all family members are available, and can be found below. Otherwise very little is known about when the families came to Ohio, or their specific job titles, etc. The Holcomb family members: Lester (1882-1950), Ruth (1890-1969), Corinne (1986-1936), and Addie (1899-1986) were all siblings. Not much is known about this family other than what comes from the collection. Their parents were Hannah and Noble Holcomb, and they seem to have lived in Ohio their entire lives. They were natives of Sandusky County, specifically the Gibsonburg area, but they branched out to Madison, OH at some point. Ruth Holcomb married Maurice Bair, the exact date or even year of their marriage is unknown. Addie Holcomb’s files make up the bulk of her family’s collection. She was a teacher at Gibsonburg High School. She had attended Bowling Green Normal School and then went on to Ohio State University from 1931-1934 for a graduate degree before returning to Gibsonburg. Her personal connections were national, as her birthday was recognized via postcard to her by two US Presidents, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. The Bair family members in this collection are not so simply related. Maurice Bair (1875-1953), husband of Ruth Holcomb, was the son of Winfield Bair (1851-1930) and Mariam Bair (1849-1894). However, in the collection Winfield shares files with his second wife, a highlight of the collection, Eva Bair (nee Armistead, 1862-1961). Winfield and Mariam were married in 1873, twenty one years prior to her death in 1894. Winfield and Eva were married in 1905 and were together until his death in 1930. Maurice and Ruth Bair had two children featured in this collection, Eugene (1908-2000) and Helen Bair (1918-1992). Eugene Bair was at one point a salesman for Chore Boy, a machinery company and some of those files are in the collection. Helen Bair was also a teacher, but only personal postcards from her are featured in the collection. Finally, Carrol Bair (1945-present) is the daughter of Eugene Bair and Faye Bair (nee Butler, 1915-1985).
Scope and Content	The collection includes various items such as correspondence and postcards, educational/teaching files, elementary school workbooks, graduation certificates, personal scrapbook items, various school programs, and newspaper articles. It is mainly a collection of educational materials. Each family group is presented separately. While presenting a small look into the personal life of the Holcombs and Bairs via correspondence, programs and certificates, it also provides an insight into education during the early to mid-twentieth century. Carol Bair’s elementary school workbooks, Addie Holcomb’s teaching papers, and Eva Bair’s teaching files make up the bulk of the collection. Also of interest are Eva Bair’s notes and copy of Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind. These documents will be helpful for researchers looking for personal teacher files, and some information in regards to elementary education. Carrol Bair’s pamphlets and programs from her first year at Bowling Green State University also provide a look into a freshman orientation and various expectations of the University in regards to new students during the 1963-1964 school year. Other features of this collection are correspondence, scrapbook, and printed materials. Scrapbook materials include a herbarium book of dried flowers, and a scrapbook of science news articles that provide insight into scientific connections and discoveries of the 1930s. The advertisement and postcards complement the collection by adding historical and personal insight. Postcard subjects include holiday greetings, personal letters, and even feature birthday greetings for Addie Holcomb from presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. Finally, the collection contains a few documents outside of personal and educational materials: the Ohio Division of the Farmer’s Union, including its Bylaws and Constitution from the 1940s, catalogs and photographs from Chore Boy Milking Machine Company (Bair & Son) from Eugene Bair, also a ledger from Eugene Bair regarding appliance sales in 1925, and Lester Holcomb’s correspondence in regards to being a business agent for newspapers by selling subscriptions to the Toledo Commercial.
Series Description	PROCEEDINGS Series FARMER’S UNION – OHIO DIVISION 1938-1939, 1948 Includes the Division’s Constitution and Bylaws, and a National Convention Program. CORRESPONDENCE Series FRIENDS AND FAMILY 1896-1898, 1910, 1943-1983, includes undated material This correspondence includes letters from Addie and Lester Holcomb. Lester’s correspondence is business, and pertains to being an agent for newspapers. Addie’s includes correspondence from friends and family, and birthday greetings from the White House, Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. POSTCARDS 1914, 1916, 1923-1968 These cards include various subjects, such as holiday greetings, travel, humor, and general family and business correspondence. SUBJECT FILES Series TEACHING FILES 1920S-1930S, includes undated material Addie Holcomb’s teaching files include puzzle and word games, and various teaching papers from Gibsonburg High School (these files are undated). The school teacher files from Eva Blair are sorted alphabetically and cover a range of subjects. These files include newspaper clippings, magazine articles, pictures, etc. Oversized materials, found at the end of the collection, include Eva Bair’s copy of Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind and her Citizenship Bulletin Board materials. CHORE-BOY MILKING MACHINE COMPANY (BAIR & SON) 1949-1950 Includes an order/invoice book, catalog, and photographs of milking machinery. This is for the purpose of selling Chore-Boy machinery (company not limited to milking machinery), files of Eugene Bair. REPORTS Series TEACHER AND GRADE REPORTS 1918, 1923-1934, 1960-1964 Reports include grade reports from Addie Holcomb’s personal schooling, from her time at the BG Normal School to graduate school at Ohio State University. Later reports are from her time as a teacher at Gibsonburg High School. FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS Series LEDGER 1925 This ledger is from Eugene Bair and includes sales and purchases of electric appliances. SCRAPBOOK MATERIAL Series COLLECTION ALBUMS Undated This album is a collection of Automobile Story stamps collected by Carrol Bair. Oversized items from the Holcomb family are found at the end of the collection and include scrapbook collections of science related materials: plants, bird and butterfly illustrations, and newspaper articles from a series titled ‘Secrets of Science’. ROLLERSVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT 1896-1955 These files include various scrapbook materials such as photos, newspaper clippings, programs, and souvenirs from teachers from Rollersville Public School district and the high school’s homecoming. Addie Holcomb was a teacher at the high school from 1920-1926. GIBSONBURG HIGH SCHOOL 1927-1986 These files include various programs and folders from Addie Holcomb’s time as a teacher at Gibsonburg High School. There is also an article for Carrol Bair from Lime Lite, the GHS newspaper. PRINTED MATERIAL Series PROGRAMS/PAMPHLETS/BROCHURES 1904-1985 These cover a variety of things, from school events, church events, commencements – including musical scores for Corrine Holcomb’s commencement, informational leaflets from Bowling Green State University, and the educational honor sorority Delta Kappa Gamma (Addie Holcomb). Also featured for Winfield and Eva Bair is a WCTU news article and program. PRINTED MATERIAL Series CERTIFICATES 1904, 1912, 1927, 1951-1955 Teaching certificate for Corrine Holcomb from Sandusky County Board of Education, under the Boxwell-Patterson Law. The later series are elementary school certificates celebrating Carrol Bair’s Reading Circle and High Honors achievements. Oversized materials, found at the end of the collection, include graduation certificates for Ruth Holcomb and Eugene Bair, and an Elementary School Life Teaching certificate for Addie Holcomb. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WORKBOOKS 1953-1955 Elementary school workbooks from Carrol Bair. ADVERTISING CARDS Undated These cards are undated, but the Denmark Arbuckle Bros. card can be traced back to 1893. The cards advertise Arm & Hammer baking soda, Cylon Red Letter Soap, Photography by R. Grob, Royal Beauties, Singer Sewing Machine Co., White Sewing Machine Co., Liverita (a drug for liver ailments), Old Reliable brand coffee, and Denmark, Arbuckle Bros. coffee. ARTIFACTS Series METAL TRAY Undated A metal tray from the Hayes Presidential Center.
Inventory	Box 1: Holcomb Family 1. Addie Holcomb: correspondence with family and friends, includes birthday greetings from the White House, 1910, 1943-83, scattered 2. Lester Holcomb: school penmanship copy book, business correspondence pertaining to being an agent for newspapers, 1896-1898, n.d. 3. Ruth Holcomb: Easter greeting card, postcard, 1914, 1916, n.d. 4. Addie Holcomb: teaching papers, files from Gibsonburg H.S., n.d. 5. Addie Holcomb: puzzles, word games from Gibsonburg H.S., n.d. 6. Addie Holcomb: grade reports and school work, 1906-1917 7. Addie Holcomb: grade reports, school papers and letters (BG Normal School), 1918, 1923-1931, scattered 8. Addie Holcomb: grade reports and papers from Ohio State University graduate courses, 1932-1934 9. Addie Holcomb: classroom visitation reports, Gibsonburg H.S., 1960-1963 10. Addie Holcomb: teacher yearly reports, directories, G. H. S., 1961-1964 11. Addie Holcomb: programs and photos from Gibsonburg H.S., 1927-1986, scattered 12. Rollersville, OH: newspaper articles, a program from Rollersville Homecoming (incl. a history a list of teachers, Addie was a teacher there between 1920-26), school souvenirs from teachers, Rollersville Public School District No. 6, Scott Twp., Sandusky County, Souvenir from M.E. Junior League. Rollers, Ohio, Squires Public School Souvenir, 1896-1955, scattered 13. Addie Holcomb: pamphlets/programs from church, Delta Kappa Gamma, and bookplates, 1904, 1943-59, scattered 14. Addie Holcomb: school events at Bradner High School, 1916-1917, 1967, 1983, 1985 15. Corinne Holcomb: Township School commencement and Boxwell certificate, musical scores, 1912, 1932, n.d. Box 2: Bair Family 1. Winfield and Eva Bair: Newspaper article, WCTU program 1926, n.d. 2. Eva Bair: school teacher files sorted alphabetically, includes newspaper clippings, magazine articles, pictures, etc. on various subjects, 1920s-1930s Box 3: Bair Family cont. 1. Farmer’s Union: Ohio Division Constitution & Bylaws and National Convention program and Christmas greeting (Maurice Bair), 1938-39, 1948 2. Eugene Bair: postcards from businesses and family, 1923-1936 3. Helen Bair: postcards from family, 1921-1927 4. Maurice Bair: WCTU program of Mrs. Maurice Bair postcards from business and family, 1911, 1922-1959, scattered 5. Postcards: Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, OH, 1917 6. Postcards: Travel (Toledo, Fremont, Cleveland, Lorain, Columbus, Portsmouth, Lakeside, Port Clinton, etc.), 1968 7. Postcards: Holidays and humorous, n.d. 8.Postcards: Photographs of West Main Street, Metamora, OH, and of Jessup Scott High School, Toledo, OH, n.d. 9. Chore-Boy Milking Machine Company (Bair & Son): - Order/Invoice Book - Catalog - Photographs of Machinery, 1949-1950 10. Eugene Bair: ledger – sales & purchases (electric appliances), 1925 11. Advertising cards, n.d. Box 4: Bair Family cont. 1. Carrol Bair: Automobile Story Stamp Album, n.d. 2. Carrol Bair: Certificates – Reading Circles & High Honors, 1951-1955 3. Carrol Bair: workbooks for elementary school work, c. 1953-1955 4. Carrol Bair: workbooks for elementary school work cont., c. 1953-1955 5. Carrol Bair: Lime Lite (Gibsonburg H.S. Newspaper), 1954-1955 6. Carrol Bair: Programs, brochures, informational leaflets from freshman year at Bowling Green State University, 1963-1964 Box 5: Oversized, Holcomb & Bair 1. Addie Holcomb: Elementary School Life Teaching Certificate, 1927 2. Ruth Holcomb: Township Graduation/Bowell Certificate, 1904 3. Holcomb: Scrapbook of plants, titled ‘Herbarium', n.d. 4.Holcomb: Scrapbook of ‘Secrets of Science’ news articles, 1923-1924 5. Holcomb: Scrapbook of various bird & butterfly illustrations, n.d. 6. Metal tray from the Hayes Presidential Center, n.d. 7. Eugene Bair: High School Diploma (Gibsonburg), 1927 8. Eva Bair: Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind (teaching files), 1926 9. Eva Bair: Citizenship Bulletin Board materials (teaching files), n.d.