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Allabelle O. Napue papers

 Collection
Call Number: RH MS 723

Overview

The papers of Allabelle O. Napue are those of a Topeka, Kansas resident who owned and operated a beauty shop there in the mid-20th century and who was a prominent member of the Topeka African American community.

Dates

  • Creation: 1929 - 1986

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

No access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Spencer Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.

Biography of Allabelle O. Napue

Allabell Orlene (Atkinson) Napue was a longtime resident of Topeka, Kansas. In 1939, she graduated from the Mme. C. J. Walker School of Beauty in Kansas City, Missouri. She married Abercrombie Lewis Napue on March 10, 1942, who was serving as a sergeant in the Army at the time.

Napue owned and operated the Avalla Beauty Shop in Topeka, KS throughout much of the mid-20th century.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes + 1 oversize box, 2 oversize folders)

Language of Materials

English

Scope and Contents

The Business papers series in this collection contains licenses, beauty information, and papers regarding Napue's beauty shop. Oversize materials from this series are located at RH MS Q170. Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject.

Personal papers include information on the Monroe School of Topeka and various clubs to which Napue belonged, as well as information about the Girl Scouts troop in which her daughter Ginger participated. This series also includes newspaper clippings and other items related to the Brown v. Board of Education historic site in Topeka, members of the Topeka African American community, and other topics related to racial justice. These materials are located at both RH MS 723 and RH MS 1536. Oversize materials have been physically separated and are located at RH MS R479.

Napue's collection includes an extensive amount of material related to the Topeka Back Home Reunion, organized in 1973 to reunite former students from the four African American-designated elementary schools in Topeka before the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Materials include souvenir booklets from several of the reunions, as well as some newsletters and mailings and administrative documentation from both Allabelle and Ginger Napue's involvement with the Reunion.

The collection includes a small number of photographs, mostly dating from the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Arrangement

The Papers of Allabelle O. Napue are arranged in four series: Business papers; Personal papers; Topeka Back Home Reunion; and Photographs.

Physical Location

RH MS 723

Physical Location

RH MS 1536

Physical Location

RH MS R479

Physical Location

RH MS Q170

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gifts, Allabelle Napue, 1991, 1997; Ginger Napue, 2015.

Processing Information

Photographs formerly located at RH MS-P 723 and RH MS-P 723(f) are now located at RH MS 1536 and RH MS R479.

Title
Guide to the Allabelle O. Napue Collection
Subtitle
Allabelle O. Napue papers
Author
Finding aid prepared by mbw, 2006. Finding aid encoded by mbw, 2006. Finding aid revised by cl, 2010; skt, 2010; mwh, 2018, 2021.
Date
2006
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Finding aid written in English.
Sponsor
Support for the processing of this Collection was provided by the Dana and Sue Anderson African American Collecting Program Endowment Fund.
Finding aid permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/10407/8225256020
Preferred citation
Allabelle O. Napue papers, Kansas Collection, RH MS 723, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

Repository Details

Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository

Contact:
1450 Poplar Lane
Lawrence KS 66045-7616 United States
785-864-4334