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WIU in the News Colleges/Departments
Upcoming Alumni & Friends Events this month Alumni Benefits Popular Links Recent Alumni & Friends Events Around the World Visit WIU mobile, and enter Leatherneck Country right from your phone at m.wiu.edu/alumni!
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"My Dear Aunt Martha" Collection
"We are very honored to house this tremendous collection," WIU Libraries Associate Professor and Archives Unit Director Jeff Hancks said. "We will preserve it as a significant resource for future generations." "My Dear Aunt Martha: A 19th Century American Epic from the Letters of Those Who Lived It" is the publication of 80 letters, exchanged between Pennsylvania and Illinois individuals, belonging to several families of long association, who immigrated to Illinois from the same community in Pennsylvania. "Just as their grandparents had built the tiny community of Fannettsburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, these pioneers built the tiny community of Fountain Green in Hancock County, Illinois," Shave explained. Written from 1811 to 1893, the letters depict their pioneer trials and tribulations in Hancock County, Illinois. They also describe the evolution of their community and provide first person perspectives on the affairs of the nation: the War of 182, the Mormon War, the Mexican War, the Mississippi River boat trade, the Colorado Gold Rush, the Civil War, the California Gold Rush and the emancipation of women.
Beu Jeans for Scholarships
On Fridays at Beu, employees can make a tax-deductible contribution of $5 (or more) to the Beu Health Center Scholarship Fund in exchange for the privilege of wearing jeans to work. "It's about the scholarship, not just the jeans," said Beu Health Center Director Mary Margaret Harris. "As a staff, we were looking for a fundraiser or a service project to endorse. Helping students really resonates with all of us, and blue jeans are the bonus." The concept of Beu Jeans for Scholarships first materialized during a staff retreat last August. In October 2013, an employee requested a jeans day during Homecoming Week, and perhaps that employees would contribute something for the privilege. Harris polled the staff to see if wearing jeans to benefit a scholarship fund was of interest; the participation rate has made it possible to establish the Beu Health Center Scholarship Fund. |
A premier manuscript collection, "My Dear Aunt Martha," is now housed within the Western Illinois University Archives thanks to the generosity of alumna Barbara (Lynn) Shave. 
If you have the opportunity for a Friday visit to Western Illinois University's Beu Health Center, you may notice that many of the employees, including the doctors, are dressed in blue jeans. For many organizations, this would signify nothing more than "Casual Friday." Not so at Beu, where Fridays are Beu Jeans for Scholarships days.  |
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