The Papers of the Mitchell Family and Herbert C. Barker are those of long time Lawrence, Kansas residents, some of whom attended the University of Kansas and were active in various community groups.

This letter was written to the author's great granddaughter, who at the age of 11 was assigned the task of gathering information about an "older" person by her Girl Scout leader. Mitchell relates his life on a farm in Osage County, Kansas, his abbreviated education, the birth of his first child, and a summary of his local political activities.