Collection is open for research.
Permission to publish material from the Robert S. and Martha C. Radspinner Collection must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Robert S. and Martha C. Radspinner Collection, Ms2014-004, Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
The Robert S. and Martha C. Radspinner Collection was donated to Special Collections in March 2014.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Robert S. and Martha C. Radspinner Collection was completed in April 2014.
Robert S. Radspinner (1919-2011) was a student in the Corps of Cadets at Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) from 1937 to 1941. Graduating in 1941, Radspinner formed part of the first graduating class in Forestry. Radspinner served in WWII and received a purple heart for wounds at the Battle of the Bulge. Following the war, Radspinner worked for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
Martha Snidow Radspinner (1921-2013) graduated in the class of 1942 at VPI. She transferred from Marion College to VPI in 1940 and graduated with a B.S. in Home Economics.
Robert and Martha Radspinner met while they were students at VPI. They married after graduation and had two children.
Sources:
The collection contains scrapbooks, photograph albums, Virginia Tech newspapers, concert programs, and other ephemera related to VPI. The material documents Robert S. (class of 1941) and Martha C. (class of 1942) Radspinner's time at VPI and dates from 1937 to 1942.
The scrapbooks consist of news clippings on VPI, programs, lyric theater programs, football tickets and clippings, and materials related to social events like school dances. The ephemera includes Glee Club record and programs, commencement programs, school bulletins, concert programs, Newspaper and techgram clippings, dance cards, and material related to "Virginia Tech" Day that Robert Radspinner attended as a high school senior. The photographs albums mainly concern Robert S. and Martha C. Radspinner's VPI days. The scrapbook also includes images of John Radspinner, who received his Master's at Tech, and other family members.
The collection is divided into three series by material type: Series I: Ephemera, Series II: Scrapbooks; and Series III: Newspapers. Within each series, materials are in chronological order.