Search

This collection contains papers belonging to Merwin Leven (1929-2007) during his time as a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (V.P.I.) from 1948-1950, mostly related to the Corps of Cadets and other student organizations. Contents include club membership cards, V.P.I. military science question and answer sheets, a Company D guard detail sheet, a humorous Company G "delinquency sheet," and a printout of the December 1949 issue of "The Lord Reading Club News."

This collection contains correspondence and personal items belonging to Nelson M. Magee, a 1952 graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Correspondence includes letters and cards sent to Magee while he was a V.P.I. student from 1948 to 1952.

In general, vertical files at Special Collections include newspaper clippings, photocopies, ephemera, unpublished and/or informal publications, and other papers relating to a specific subject area. Files in this collection relate to Virginia Tech and its history. Topics may include, but are not limited to, colleges and departments, student organizations, administrative offices, centers and other campus units, and athletics.

The collection contains the personal and academic papers of Robert A. Belz, a 1939 Virginia Tech alumni who graduated with a bachelors degree in industrial engineering. Materials range from 1869-1962, however, a majority of the works are from the 1930s-1940s or undated. Several oversized folders accompany the collection and hold technical drawings, newspapers, coupon bonds, posters, and his diploma. In addition to school work for math, business, humanities, and science courses, the collection also includes correspondence, clippings and ephemera, and a small group of photographs and cards.

The Robert Barnes Ware Collection includes a postcard from Virginia Polytechnic Institute alumnus Ware (1914-1944) to his future wife Martha Wood, Jan. 3, 1935, about life at V.P.I., a pamphlet for Memorial Service at V.P.I., May 12, 1946, and a program for Memorial Service, May 12, 1946. During World War II, Ware served as a Battalion Surgeon for the U.S. Army and died during the D-Day landings at Normandy.

The collection contains a VPI honor list for 1897-1898, a 1948 Chi Epsilon dinner program, a 1962 list of living alumni who attended VAMC prior to 1900, a 1926 silver tray, and a 1933 trophy.

This collection consists primarily of correspondence written by Robert Hord, Jr., of Richmond, Virginia, to his parents, Gladys and Robert Hord, Sr. It also includes a scrapbook and photographs of the Hord family. Robert Hord, Jr., was born in 1920; he attended the Virginia Polytechnic Institute's Engineering Extension school in Richmond from 1937 to 1939. In April 1942, Hord enlisted in the Army where he served in the 302nd Ordinance Regiment before being transferred to the 758th Railway Shop Battalion. Hord was stationed in a number of camps across the United States before his unit was sent overseas in December of 1943. Hord spent the remainder of World War II repairing trains and railroads in Dibrugarh, Assam, India before being sent home. Hord was discharged from the army in November 1945. Hord went on to complete a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1949 and a Master's in Power and Fuel Engineering in 1950. Hord went on to a successful career working for the railroad before passing away in December 2010.

This collection includes a scrapbook compiled by Blacksburg, Virginia artist Ruth White Fisher, relating to her series of paintings titled "The Evolution of Creativity," donated to Virginia Tech. It includes photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera about the paintings and the donation ceremony.

The collection contains personal memorabilia, consisting largely of honors and awards, of Samuel Davis Preston, a graduate of Virginia Tech (class of 1923) and member of the university's board of visitors (1952-1960).

The papers of Sanford Bernell "Chuck" Fenne, a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute (BS, 1927; MS, 1930) and a Virginia Agricultural Extension plant pathologist from 1939 to 1967, includes correspondence, writings, biographical materials, photographs, a VPI scrapbook, and a photo album compiled during a year (1943-1944) spent working in Brazil for the Food Supply Division, Institute of Inter-American Affairs.