Holcomb/Bair family papers

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 and 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.