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[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Sarah McAllister Thrash Papers, 1951-1995, SC 0037, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
This collection was donated to the James Madison University Alumni Association and was subsequently transferred to the Special Collections Library.
The newspaper clipping announcing the engagement of Phyllis Ann Keith to Douglas Lee Creger was photocopied. The original was retained. Photographs and miscellaneous ephemera that were originally affixed to four loose sheets of construction paper were removed in preparation for possible adhesive failure. The sheets were photocopied prior to the removal of the photographs to preserve context.
Sarah Billopp McAllister Thrash of Covington, Virginia graduated from Madison College in 1955 with a degree in English. Her extracurricular activities included working for The Breeze, and the college handbook as well as the honor council. She was a junior marshal and a member of El Club Espanol, Le Cercle Francais, Canterbury Club (Episcopal student organization), Ex Libris Club (library science), YWCA, and the Cotillion Club.
By the early 1970s, Thrash moved to Salisbury, Maryland and was active in her community chapter of the Madison College/James Madison University Alumni Association.
The Sarah McAllister Thrash Papers, 1951-1995, consist of three folders and contain Thrash's 1951-1952 student handbook. "Sally McAllister" a well as "(Sexie) Sally McAllister" are written on the front. The back cover contains handwritten annotations. A newspaper clipping announcing the engagement of Phyllis Ann Keith, a classmate of Thrash's, to Douglas Lee Creger is included.
The collection is comprised primarily of photographs taken at Madison College alumni events dating from the early 1970s to 1995. The photographs feature Eastern Shore alumni events in 1971, 1972, and 1973and include guest speakers Raymond Dingledine, Francis Turner, and Ray Sonner. Photos from the 1973 Madison College Homecoming Parade are also included.
The collection also contains a loose assortment of photographs taken in 1995 at the 40th reunion of the Madison College Class of 1955. Thrash and many of her classmates are photographed; some individual names are provided on the back of the photographs. The photographs were taken around the university campus and include images of the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum. One photograph dating to 1980 features what is presumed to be the 35th reunion of the Madison College Class of 1955.
The collection is arranged topically in two folders. Items are further arranged chronologically when possible.