Kenneth Spencer Research Library Archival Collections

Overview This collection includes photographs owned by David Beard, a lifelong resident of Topeka, Kansas who worked as a porter at the Jayhawk Hotel in Topeka and later as a dining car employee for the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. The photographs in black and white show various groups of African Americans from local Topeka organizations, including the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW), St. John's African Methodist Epsicopal Church, and the Iron...

Overview

The papers of Joe Douglas, an African American Kansan, document his career with the Topeka, Kansas Fire Department and his active civic involvement. It ranges from correspondence to newspaper clippings to certificates that Mr. Douglas has received. Also included are Douglas's many photographs of the Fire Department and of other Topeka organizations and events, as well as photographs of other Douglas family members and the damage from the 1966 tornado in Topeka.