Orlie Weaver papers and photographs

Although having some other family material included, the bulk of the material in the collection relates directly to Orlie Weaver and specifically his activities at the Winged Feet Game Farm, with photographs, some minor correspondence, news-clippings, and award certificates, spanning the years from 1974 until about 2000. The collection also includes the eulogy read at Orlie's funeral in 2006 by his wife Cella.

The majority of the photographs are unidentified snapshots, but a few do identify the date or the bird in the photo. Even those without any captions clearly show the extent of the breeding operation Weaver had over the years. A few large format photographs that were framed are located in oversize flat box.

The correspondence in the collection is little more than a sampling, giving a hint of the business and bureaucratic aspects with requests for application forms and permits for dealing with endangered species, with some purchase orders/invoices to indicate the monetary value. On the verso of the blank stationery Weaver used for his business is a listing of the variety of pheasants, ducks, geese and swans he had for sale.

Clippings of newspaper articles ranging from 1974 through 1985 provide a general overview of Orlie's activities, highlighting such things as the export of two trumpeter swans to Manitoba, awards, and general nature articles with photos about raising waterfowl.

The collection also includes a selection of some minor family papers associated with his father, William F. Weaver and the family farm in Damascus Township, Lucas County, Ohio. Although scattered in nature, some items of note in this section include material related to participation in Mutual Insurance organizations, such as the Henry County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Co. and the Patrons' Buckeye Mutual Insurance Co., some of which show the payments made for various agricultural claims, a draft of a will written around 1930 and a few printed items, including catalogs, postcards, and a handbill for the McClain & Weaver Cider-Mill.