By Molly Spehar, ’26, History with Minors in Art History and French, University Archives spring semester intern
History
Throughout his tenure as president and beyond it, Ohio University’s 14th President John Calhoun Baker continuously advocated for peace and equality in education and world society. In 1982, in response to the Cold War and other contemporary world issues, President Baker and his wife Elizabeth, established the Baker Peace Studies Endowment at Ohio University to encourage the education of students and the community in how world peace might be established and maintained.
In 1988, the Baker Peace Program began holding annual conferences at which international scholars, diplomats, and other people of international influence convened to discuss means of establishing and maintaining peace in a Cold War environment in which peace always appeared to be in peril. Still hosted annually (usually in the early spring) at Ohio University, in conjunction with the University’s Contemporary History Program, Baker Peace Conference panels focus on both international and domestic matters during which all events are free and open to the general public.
The Contents
The material processed this semester was added to the John Calhoun Baker personal papers as series three, four, and five. Series 3: Baker Peace Studies Program, Series 4: Correspondence and Documents of Peers, and Series 5: Baker’s Personal and Professional Life are each housed in one Hollinger box.
Proposals, objectives and meeting minutes of program planners and participants comprise the major portion of the Baker Peace Studies Program series. Series 4: Correspondence and Documents of Peers consists of many of President Baker’s personal and professional files from throughout his life and professional career. Correspondence and other documents related to Baker’s peers, such as OU presidents Charles Ping and Vernon Alden are also included in this series. More personal family papers, including letters, Christmas cards, thank-you notes, poems, a song written for Baker on his 93rd birthday, drawings by Baker’s daughters, and letters from the president’s mother and father comprise Baker’s Personal and Professional Life series. Also in this series are newspaper clippings and so-called “think pieces” related to various issues such as quality education and foreign policy.
July 1982 letter from Jack Ellis, Executive Director of the Ohio University Fund, to John and Elizbeth Baker acknowledging receipt of $50,000 contribution to the Baker Peace Fund Endowment.
My Experience
This collection is the first I’ve ever had the honor to process as an archivist intern. The university archivist and I were under the assumption that the collection would consist entirely of documents associated with the Baker Peace Studies Program and Endowment Fund. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that only a third of the papers were associated with this program, and that the two large file boxes that made up the remainder of the collection were filled with miscellaneous documents unrelated to the Peace Program from throughout 85 of Baker’s 104 years of life! This ended up convoluting the organization of the collection, which was a welcomed challenge that oftentimes felt like completing a puzzle. Some sections seemed to organize themselves, such as the Baker Peace Studies Program documents, while others took multiple stages of reorganization.
I had some grievances throughout the process, such as pulling staples out of onion skin paper; a tedious task that made me despise the stationary industry. One night, during the tail end of my processing, I dreamt that I had daydreamed in the archives and awoke to find I’d scribbled in pen over 70-year-old documents! I was uneasy during that entire day afterward until I was able to check my collection in person and be sure that I hadn’t truly made such a blatant archival blunder. Yet, the hardships were worth it to see the collection come together. In finishing my first processing project, I have now inserted myself into the history of the great life of John C. Baker and hopefully have made life for future researchers a bit easier.
Related Materials
John Calhoun Baker personal papers
Baker Peace Conference images from the University Photographer Archives
