Helen Kirk Randall and Walter Kirk collection

The Helen Kirk Randall-Walter Kirk collection consists of proceedings, correspondence, reports, literary productions, appointment diaries, legal documents, financial documents, newsclippings, printed materials and photographs documenting the career of Walter F. Kirk. The collection was established by Helen Kirk Randall of Port Clinton, Ohio with Betty Neidecker, who acted as field representative of the Center for Archival Collections. The bulk of the collection is comprised of the surviving papers of Walter F. Kirk, Mrs. Randall's father and former Master of the Ohio State Grange.

The strength of the collection is contained in its broad coverage of Mr. Kirk's professional career with the State Grange as it was recorded in proceedings, news coverage, and in his own writings. One weakness is that much additional material was disposed of prior to the donation of the collection.

Researchers interested in the history of the Ohio State Grange during Mr. Kirk's tenure as Master will find his correspondence and his editorials to be of particular interest as they offer insights into the issues concerning the Grange at that time and Mr. Kirk's clear defined opinions on those issues. The proceedings of the National Grange, although incomplete for the years 1929-1940, do provide detailed information on agricultural statistics and issues on a state-by-state basis. Other documents such as programs, certificates, photographs and correspondence provide information on Kirk's service career with the Ohio Conservation Council, the American Bank of Port Clinton, Ohio, and the Methodist Church.

Kirk family papers not related to Mr. Kirk's career are also of some interest. Included here are an account book kept by his father, I. L. Kirk between 1887 and 1895, and an account/patient book which lists payments as well as diagnosis and treatments administered (1907-1908) by a "possible doctor" who practiced herbal cures.