Ohio University Libraries Gatherings, Spring 2020

Ohio University Libraries

Spring 2020

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S Spring 2020

2 EXPLORING A LW I N N I KO L A I S : AN AMERICAN PIONEER O F M O D E R N DA N C E

24 CELEBRATING 50 YEARS O F A L D E N L I B R A RY

6 G L A DYS BA I L I N : THE LIFE OF A DA N C E L E G E N D

28 OUR DONORS

ABOUT THE COVER This 1967 calendar created by Dance Magazine highlights well-known dancers, such as this image of Gladys Bailin featured in the month of April. The back caption reads, “Gladys Bailin is one of the leading dancers of the Henry Street Playhouse Dance Company and is also one of the principal teachers on the staff of the Henry St. Community Settlement Dance School...” Other dancers include Allegra Kent & Jacques d’Amboise (New York City Ballet); Clive Thompson (Martha Graham Company); and Manuela Vargas (who won “Dancer of the Year” at the Paris International Festival for the Performing Arts).

Credits Dean of University Libraries: Neil Romanosky Editor: Kate Mason, coordinator of communications & assistant to the dean Co-editor: Rob Dakin, records management specialist, Arts & Archives

Design: Stacey Stewart, University Communications and Marketing Photography: James Year, graduate photography assistant Ben Siegel, University Communications and Marketing Contributing Writers: Bailey Fink, Kate Mason and Neil Romanosky With special help from Stacey Lavender and Morgan Spehar.

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Photo by James Year/Ohio University Libraries

This issue of Gatherings highlights the career of Gladys Bailin, a leading dancer and choreographer and former director of the OHIO School of Dance.

Bailin toured nationally and internationally with both the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis dance companies.

She joined the OHIO School of Dance in 1972 and went on to become the first female faculty member to earn the title of distinguished professor.

The Gladys Bailin Papers, one of the Libraries’ newest collections, provides insight into Bailin’s career and work. Her donated collection spans the 1950s to the 1990s and includes photographs, programs, posters, classroom and choreography notes and correspondence, among other materials. This collection also complements the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Collection, which was donated more than 30 years ago and documents the careers of two legends of modern dance.

This issue also highlights events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Vernon R. Alden Library. These events not only highlighted the history of OHIO’s largest library, but also provided an opportunity to honor the accomplishments of the many staff and librarians who have enabled excellence in teaching, learning and research at OHIO over the years.

Neil Romanosky, dean of University Libraries

As dean of Libraries, I take pride in the Libraries’ ability to preserve and celebrate OHIO’s past accomplishments, while continuing to innovate in our support for the changing information needs of the OHIO community.

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Exploring Alwin Nikolais:

An American Pioneer of Modern Dance

A visually delightful choreographer, teacher, designer and musician

By Kate Mason Often considered the avant-garde of modern dance, Alwin Nikolais’ career spanned everything from choreographing dance and opera, to designing costumes and props, to composing music and creating sets. His dances, which combined innovative visual effects through lighting, music and costuming, completely transformed modern dance of his day.

Initially a gifted musician, as a young teenager Nikolais was hired as an accompanist in theaters to improvise on the piano to early silent film. In his mid-20s, he received his earliest training in dance at Bennington College, where he studied under Hanya Holm, considered by many dance historians to be one of four founders of American modern dance. She was a dancer, choreographer and most importantly a dance educator.

In 1948, Nikolais joined the Henry Street Playhouse, located on the Lower East Side of New York City, to run the dance and theater department. It was here that his choreographic works became the new turning point for American modern dance. For many young people in the neighborhood, like Gladys Bailin, and later Murray Louis, their lives were forever altered by Nikolais’ teaching and his ability to tap into the individual creativity of his dancers.

Three dancers in costumes during a rehearsal of “Crystal & Sphere” under the direction of Alwin Nikolais.

“So that first year at Henry Street, when Nik came down to teach, there were 10 guys all out of the Army or the Navy, 3

ce Theater Nikolais Dan Pictured is a ing of unce the book flyer to anno ies for nc s and reside 75-1976. performance 19 d an 1974-1975 s on as se e th quotes from the flyer are Featured on ival, of The ing John Perc critics includ olais is a ik writing, “N , es m Ti on Lond e of his work, the more I se genius, and ;” and Klaus pressed I am t, writing, the more im burg Die Wel am H e th ld.” of l, Geite it in the wor ing else like th no is re he “T

1958 Pictured is a A print of lwin Murray Nikolais and what ng yi jo Louis en a appears to be on ti di tourist expe in Greece.

and two females: me and my friend Phyllis [Lamhut],” explains Gladys Bailin, former Nikolais company dancer and OHIO director emerita and distinguished professor of the School of Dance. candid Pictured is a Alwin of photograph in the g in tt si Nikolais rcle of center of a ci one of ng dancers duri ions. ss se ng his teachi

Nikolais’ approach to teaching and choreography was not so much a style, but rather a study in the elements of space, shape, time and motion. In those early days of modern dance at the Henry Street Playhouse the growth and intimacy between Nik and his dancers were unmistakable.

“We were not a technically proficient group, because we were all so young…[so] it took Nik years to make us see through movement and discover dance. It made of us all unique stylists,” writes Louis in his book, “Inside Dance.”

For most people, Nik is still a mystery, and although a great deal has been written about him, says Louis, there are no “little stories.”

“He has played to great and wide audiences, [and] abroad he is a household name. He is an international artist in dance from America, [yet] still, he is a mystery,” writes Louis.

Nikolais, In 1969, Alwin t of the on fr standing in ls Theater in Sadler ’s Wel land, London, Eng Clerkenwell, aphs for a signs autogr ing fans. On or crowd of ad iginal photo back of the or icture by en: P is handwritt Srdja.

Djukanovic,

In the years that followed, Nikolais merged with the Murray Louis Dance Company to form a single company— Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance. Those two companies are documented through pamphlets, programs, newspapers, film and photos in the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Collection that was later donated to the Ohio University Libraries, and where today, the collection is available for research to students and scholars worldwide.

The impact of Nikolais’ 55 years as an international pioneer in modern dance is still felt today.

“I cannot stress enough how fortunate I was to have had him [Nik] as a teacher,” says Bailin in a recent interview. “I feel blessed to have been around [him] at that time.”

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The Life of a Dance Legend

By Bailey Fink Gladys’ stage presence as an outstanding performer can be felt by the viewer—even in still photographs of her.

Perched on a red couch in her Athens, Ohio, home, Gladys Bailin starts to laugh as she begins telling the story of her dance journey.

“How much time do you have? I’m almost 90.”

Bailin grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where as a young girl, she was surrounded by the arts because she took piano, theater and movement classes at the Henry Street Settlement in its Playhouse.

However, from a young age, she knew she loved dance the most.

“I was very fortunate. I lived in a terrific neighborhood in New York City where that was available to me at practically no cost,” Bailin said. “I guess that was a charmed life … living on the Lower East Side in an immigrant neighborhood was perfect.”

She began taking three dance classes a week while in high school, one of which was taught by a professional from Doris Humphrey’s company. Humphrey, now considered a pioneer of American modern dance, was a member of the Denishawn school in 1917 and later left to form a company with her friend Charles Weidman, which was active until 1944.

She is known for her innovative theories on movement itself creating meaning and her dramatic use of gravity.

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Alwin Nikolais (center back), Murray Louis (third from left in back), Gladys Bailin (center standing), and many other dancers and company members pose for a group portrait in front of the Playhouse of the Henry Street Settlement (HSS) in New York City. The HSS was originally founded in 1892 as a nonprofit social services, arts program and health care services agency open to all ages in the Lower East Side of New York City.

In this 1951 flyer, the inside text has this written about The Playhouse School of Dance, which was announcing its fourth year: “An integrated curriculum of study extended over a period of three years…[and which] is designed to equip the student for professional work as dancer, teacher and choreographer…the professional students register for a minimum block study of three technique, two theory and one notation class weekly. Composition, percussion and ballet classes are optional.”

Additionally, Bailin took classes from other dance legends like José Limón, another member of Humprhey’s company known for his particular dance style, who later formed the José Limón Dance Company. She also studied with Martha Graham, whom Bailin calls one of the “mothers of dance” because she gave dance a new depth with intense and forceful expression of primal emotion during the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s.

theater program at the Henry Street Settlement. That instructor was Alwin Nikolais, now credited as a major figure in modern dance and often has been called the Merlin of modern dance.

“Mr. Nikolais came to Henry Street and that literally altered my life,” said Bailin. “Nikolais, I can’t praise him enough; he was just a creative genius. I don’t call people geniuses often, but he rates that because [he] had such a creative mind, and he was so gifted in so many ways.”

“Modern dance was still young, but there were companies around and there were people still trying to do their artistic thing, and it started to get a little more popularity, I’d say, maybe through the ‘50s and there were a lot of classes you could go to,” Bailin said.

While at the Henry Street Settlement, he formed the Playhouse Dance Company, later known as the Nikolais Dance Theater, of which Bailin was an original member.

Nikolais, whom Bailin calls “Nik,” was known for his theatrical approach to dance; he didn’t just look at the movement, but also at the costumes, lighting and stage.

Then in 1948, an instructor came to New York City from Connecticut to be the new director of the dance and 8

Bailin says he also encouraged each dancer to choreograph their own movement based on their bodies and understanding of the style, and he had them work on improvisation.

“Nik didn’t come with a style so much as a theoretical approach, so you studied elements of time, elements of space [and] elements of dynamics, and they became not specific movements, but ideas and then you could invent movement to illustrate the ideas, which was very freeing,” said Bailin. “So, there was just a lot of opportunity to find your own voice, and that’s what he encouraged.

Everybody is so incredibly individual and that was the key to find out … what do you think, what do you feel, how do you express it.”

Pictured is a 1948 exterior view of the Henry Street Playhouse.

Written on the back of the photograph are notes about the Saturday 3 p.m. show, “... at 3:00 p.m. there is a ‘live’ show for children. Admission is 10 cents. Adults [are] not welcome without children…Price [is the] same for 10 years [of age for] marionettes, plays, dance programs, music programs, educational features, etc.”

Bailin performed and toured nationally and internationally as a member of the Alwin Nikolais Dance Company for more than a decade where she originated many principal roles in notable Nikolais works, including “Kaleidoscope” and “Noumenon.” She was also a member of Murray Louis’ dance company during his time.

“It wasn’t unusual for dancers to be members of [two] companies especially if they shared the same studios and theaters,” she said.

Eventually, Bailin left Nikolais’ company in the ‘60s and joined her friend Don Redlich’s company, where it was just the two of them. She toured around colleges in the Midwest with him for a few years and represented the U.S. at the Paris International Dance Festival in 1969.

However, touring began to get too difficult, so she told Redlich she would only perform in New York.

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“[Touring] was not [as] glamorous as people think,” she said. “I can remember times being exhausted after a program, and then everybody goes home, and the only person left is the janitor, and you’re starving because you haven’t eaten, and there’s no place to eat because you’re on a campus someplace, and it’s a little town, and everything’s closed at 10 o’clock. We would call a cab, and say ‘What’s open?’ and he’d say, ‘Well there’s a bar that’s open,’ and we’d say, ‘Do they have food?’ and he’d say, ‘Probably pizza,’ and we’d say, ‘Okay.’ So, you’d eat pizza, which you didn’t really wanna eat, and maybe have something to drink.”

A close-up of Gladys Bailin in costume during a performance of “Village of Whispers,” which premiered on February 13, 1955. According to an early flyer from Queens College, City University of New York that dance “…was one of the dance plays based on a repertory of children’s works in which poetry was more emphasized than a plot.” In works like “Village of Whispers,” “Nikolais first used ‘extensions’— props attached to the dancers’ bodies that would make them project themselves heroically into space.”

She left the Don Redlich Dance Company in 1970, but by then had already been offered a part-time teaching job at New York University’s School of the Arts, now known as Tisch. Bailin says NYU’s School of the Arts was one of the first of its day to offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, but the dance program was still very demanding and taught in a conservatory-style.

“NYU is still going, and they have turned out some really wonderful students, and Jean [Erdman], in being the first director of [the dance program], understood that they needed not just to become technicians, but they needed to become creative people too, so that was a very important part of the school,” she said.

While she was teaching at NYU, she received a call from Shirley Wimmer, the then director and founder of the OHIO School of Dance, asking her to be one of its first faculty members.

“I’d never lived in the Midwest … Athens, Ohio, it was like going to a foreign country. I mean when you’re a city-bred person, a little town struck me as something odd,” Bailin said.

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Bailin, her husband and son visited Athens in 1972 to meet Wimmer, and Bailin said she immediately liked her and her ideas on how to develop the program. Additionally, she said her son loved it because he stayed with the family of Pat Welling, a School of Dance faculty member, and they had a dog, which he always wanted, so he was convinced immediately that they needed to live in Athens.

Her family moved to Athens in 1972, got a dog and she began teaching choreography classes at Ohio University that fall.

“It was just a total change of lifestyle living in the country, I mean, I call this the country. People would laugh at me, ‘You live in Athens,’ and I’d say, ‘No, no, no there are lots of trees and grass to mow. It’s the country.’ It’s not like city life at all,” she said.

When Wimmer stepped down as director of the School of Dance in the ‘80s, Bailin stepped up. She became the director of the School of Dance in 1983 until her 1995 retirement where she continued to develop Ohio University’s dance program into what it is today, one of the most important schools of modern dance in North America.

“Gladys has been such an important part of the School of Dance [because] she brought Nikolais’ approach to dance composition, which is a perfect fit for a college dance program because it trains the whole artist and not just dancers in the studio,” said Dr. Tresa Randall, associate professor of dance.

Bailin also became the first female distinguished professor selected at Ohio University in 1986.

Murray Louis and Gladys Bailin pose for publicity photography for the modern dance piece titled, “Facets,” choreographed by Murray Louis and premiered November 23, 1962 at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City.

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Dancers, Bill Frank and Gladys Bailin perform Alwin Nikolais’ “New Dances,” also known as “Cantos,” which premiered December 27, 1957 at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City.

In costume, Murray Louis and Gladys Bailin dancing during a performance of “Odyssey,” choreographed by Louis and premiered on March 11, 1960 at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City.

“I remember taking a class with you [Bailin] and… you teaching an improvisation class. You would walk in and say, ‘Sevens!’ and we’d all go, ‘What?’ … and [then] we would work with you to create a whole class based on seven-four time,” said Madeleine Scott, emerita director of the School of Dance. During that same class, Bailin would say to the dancers, “I like that. Let’s do that,” or “That’s terrible, let’s not do that.” For Scott, those remarks helped her in understanding “the essence of improvisational exploration… [and] the beginning of understanding the creative work.”

“I heard a lot about Gladys just through the department [of dance], in general, and… I’ve met her once before.

She’s just a powerhouse. I really enjoy listening to her stuff, because there’s so much in her head [and] I’m very intrigued by people’s minds. I’m just drawn to her. She’s not as personally attached to any of us, but I feel like I am whenever I just listen to her,” said Madison Bouza, a sophomore in the School of Dance.

UNIQUE GESTU Flora Carey, a sophomore in dance, takes notes while Gladys Bailin speaks during “Unique Gesture: Exploring the Career of Gladys Bailin” at the Music and Dance Library in Glidden Hall. “It’s really interesting to see the connections between this exhibit [Nikolais/Louis] and the dance world, [and] that it is so close to home,” remarks Carey during the reception following the event Friday, October 11, 2019.

All photos by James Year/Ohio University Libraries

URE: Bailin, who performed and toured nationally and internationally with both the Nikolais and Louis companies and who brings decades of experience and significant importance as a professional dancer, choreographer and dance educator, recently donated her collection of dance materials from her expansive career to the Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections. A presentation and reception was held October 11, 2019 to celebrate her donation, and her support of the Nikolais/Louis dance collection.

EXPLORING THE CAREER OF GLADYS BAILIN This past fall, the Libraries hosted a conversation between Gladys Bailin, emerita distinguished professor of Dance, and Tresa Randall, associate professor of Dance, in a presentation titled, “Exploring the Career of Gladys Bailin.” The talk was part of two exhibit openings showcasing the diversity of dance materials in the Libraries’ Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Collection—and the newly donated Gladys Bailin Papers.

Bailin, who performed and toured nationally and internationally with both the Nikolais and Louis companies, brings decades of experience and significant importance as a professional dancer, choreographer and dance educator.

Captured here are images and audience comments from that Oct. 11, 2019 presentation in the Music and Dance Library in Glidden Hall on the Athens campus.

“Nik [Alwin Nikilais] would not come in with steps; he never came in with steps. What he would say is, ‘I’m looking for this kind of a feeling;’ or ‘I’m looking for this kind of effect;’ or he’d throw a prop at you, and he’d say, ‘What can you do with it?’ Or, he’d put a barrier on the stage,” said Bailin during her presentation on the Athens Campus October 11, 2019.

And then he would say,” ‘What would you do with that?’ Sometimes, we would play for weeks [creating a dance]. I’m not talking about a day or two—WEEKS. Then suddenly, he’d say, ‘I got it; I know what I’m looking for.’ But it [his choreography] was really [explored] through our play.”

Gladys Bailin’s “…influence on our curriculum, and on the later careers of our graduates, has been incredibly important for OHIO and for the dance field,” said Dr. Tresa Randall, associate professor of dance. “I think that … her stature in the community, both in Athens and in the University, has raised the profile of dance, and the fact that she was the first [OHIO] female distinguished professor was a great honor. She just has been very engaged in the arts community for a long time and helps to reinforce the importance of dance within the larger arts world.”

Pictured is a flyer announcing “An Informal Concert of Music and Dance” at Denison University with Bailin and musician, Richard Syracuse, pianist and Ohio University professor emeritus.

“I came here, and I just didn’t expect that it would turn out the way it did,” she said. “I loved the school, and I loved the students who came here. They didn’t seem to have a lot of outside influences, which were constantly at you, they made themselves available to what was here, and I think some really nice things happened.”

the Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Collection, which Louis donated to the Ohio University Libraries in 1999.

Additionally, Bailin established the Alwin Nikolais/ Murray Louis/Gladys Bailin Archive Fund to preserve the collections and promote access to them in the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections. This fund is important for the Libraries because it will allow researchers, faculty and students access to view all of the collections for years to come.

In 2019, Bailin donated a collection of items documenting more than 50 years of her career to the Ohio University Libraries, entitled “The Gladys Bailin Papers.” Her collection includes photographs, newspaper clippings, posters, programs, choreography notes and much more from her lengthy career. The collection complements

“I think [Bailin’s collection] really builds on the Nikolais/ Louis collection and therefore extends it in time,” said 18

A December 1972 program from, “Gladys Bailin in Concert,” which was presented by the Ohio University School of Dance at 8 p.m. listing not only pieces danced by Gladys, but also danced by OHIO students in dance.

Bright colors mark the artwork from this 1978 cover of a program announcing a benefit dance concert for Ohio University’s Putnam Studio and Theater with Gladys Bailin and Richard Syracuse.

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The Christian Science Monitor, which featured this image of “Imago” being performed in the Henry Street Playhouse, wrote this on March 20, 1963, “Incredible and genius are words that come to mind while watching the latest dance theater creation of Alwin Nikolais.” Gladys is pictured in front farthest to the left.

Program from The Detroit Institute of Arts featuring “Imago” dated March 22, 1967.

This nine-inch wooden costumed figure, used for the creation of the “Imago” costumes, is one of several “dolls” belonging to the Libraries’ Nikolais/Louis Dance Collection and were constructed by Frank Garcia, the distinguished costumer who worked closely with Nikolais and Louis for decades.

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Gladys Bailin and Murray Louis during a performance of “Imago,” which premiered Feb. 24, 1963 at the Hartford Jewish Community Center in Hartford, CT. Notice how the costumes have continually evolved.

Randall. “It gives us a really wide-ranging view of this legacy within modern dance, but it also connects more directly to Ohio University and to the work that she did not only in New York, but also here.”

To celebrate the addition of Bailin’s collection, the Libraries hosted an event entitled “Unique Gesture: Exploring the Career of Gladys Bailin” on Oct. 11 in the Music and Dance Library. The presentation was a question and answer session with Bailin and Randall, and the Library was filled with students, faculty, staff and friends who were eager to hear what Bailin had to say about dance and her history, a testament to the impact she’s had on the School of Dance. “[Gladys is] such a vibrant person and, in terms of dance, she’s a legend. She really is a lifelong expert in our field

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and helps the students to make those connections to the professional world,” said Randall. “We just have many generations now … of dancers [who] have gone out into the professional world with their own unique sense of themselves as artists. Our students don’t all look alike, and they don’t all make the same kind of work, whereas at some other institutions there tends to be more of a cookie cutter kind of approach and people fall in to imitating their teachers. Gladys teaches in such a way that it brings out each individual student’s creativity.”

Sitting on her red couch, Bailin cracks a huge smile as she continues to reminisce.

Gladys Bailin started her career very young as an aspiring dancer performing with the Henry Street Playhouse and teaching children in workshops and at institutions like the Riverdale Country School for Girls in the Bronx, New York, among others.

“It’s an interesting life; I don’t regret anything. Isn’t that nice to be almost 90 and to say you don’t have a lot of regrets.”

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Captured here is Gladys’ grace and poise as a dancer as she balances on-half point in a perfect execution of a dance movement.

Pictured is an image from the Gladys Bailin Papers: Gladys as a young girl frolicking along the shoreline.

Photo by Ben Siegel of University Communications and Marketing

Celebrating

The Ohio University community joined the Libraries staff for anniversary cheer with cake and punch in honor of the 50th birthday of Alden Library.

of

By Bailey Fink The Vernon R. Alden Library, nestled in the center of Ohio University and named after OHIO’s 15th president, Vernon Roger Alden, who spearheaded the construction of the new library, celebrated its 50th anniversary as a major hub of learning on the Athens campus.

Alden Library, dedicated on May 23, 1969, is the most recent home to the University Libraries and its more than 200-year history. Throughout the years, the Libraries moved through five buildings, including The Academy, Cutler Hall, Carnegie Library and the three-story Chubb Library, but Alden is certainly the largest, standing at a tall seven stories and spanning nearly the size of a football field.

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In celebration of Alden Library’s 50th anniversary, the Libraries hosted three events throughout the year. The first event was held on May 23, 2019, exactly 50 years after Alden Library was dedicated, and was a small celebration for OHIO faculty, staff and students to enjoy Alden’s 50th birthday cake and commemorate the dedication.

Photo by Ben Siegel of University Communications and Marketing

Today, Alden Library is one of the top 100+ research libraries in North America and is home to millions of print and electronic volumes throughout the University Libraries’ collections, housed in Alden Library, its Columbus Road HwaWei Lee Annex and the Music and Dance Library.

On Thursday, May 23, 2019 from 2-3:30 p.m. on the second floor of Alden Library, guests enjoyed refreshments, music from the Woodstock era and a button-making station for those who like wearable art.

Speaker Claire Curran, assistant objects conservator from ICA-Art Conservation in Cleveland, spoke about the treatment of Cutler’s traveling trunk in her presentation, “The Conservation Treatment of a Trunk Belonging to Manasseh Cutler.”

According to a 1947 issue of The Ohio Alumnus, Cutler made the trunk in 1788 in preparation for his first journey to the old Northwest Territory.

The deerskin-covered trunk was gifted to the University in 1947 by Gen. Charles Gates Dawes, the great-great-grandson of Cutler, and has since been housed at the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections.

The Libraries hosted “Camp Alden” on Sept. 4, 2019 to welcome students back to Ohio University and continue Alden’s 50th anniversary celebration.

During this fun and anticipated event, students were able to participate in a scavenger hunt through all seven floors of the Library on a fun, yet informative adventure, indulge in late night treats, play a round of cornhole or mini golf and make wearable art at the button station.

Finally, the Libraries hosted two presentations about Manasseh Cutler, who first envisioned Ohio University and is credited as its founder, on Nov. 8, 2019. The presentations included information about the conservation treatment of Cutler’s famous traveling trunk and a deep dive into the life and legacy of Cutler.

The trunk was sent to ICA to be restored, where they treated the leather, deerskin and wood frame after decades of wear and tear.

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(Left) William and (center) Linda Showalter, special collections librarian and manager at Marietta College, are shown historic items inside the Reading Room of the Libraries’ Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections by Stacy Lavender, special collections librarian, during the 50th anniversary of Alden.

(Below) Erin Wilson, digital imaging specialist and lab manager for the Libraries, listens to the presentations about Ohio University founder, Manasseh Cutler, for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Alden Library on Friday, November 8, 2019.

(Above) Presenter of “Finding Manasseh,” Dr. Ann Fidler and Neil Romanosky, dean of University Libraries, pose for a portrait shortly after her presentations during the celebration.

(Right) lorraine wochna, subject librarian for the performing arts, helps students create wearable art buttons during “Camp Alden,” a student-celebration of Alden Library’s 50th birthday.

All photos by James Year/Ohio University Libraries

Ohio University students, librarians and staff mingle outside “Camp Alden,” Alden Library’s 50th birthday celebration, near the fourth-floor entrance of the Library on Wednesday, September 4, 2019. The student-geared event included a sevenfloor scavenger hunt, button making, a cornhole toss and toasting s’mores, among other delightful treats.

“My main goal with the Cutler trunk was making sure that skin was better attached to the wood frame, so that when it was handled, or stored, or exhibited there was less of a chance for damage,” Curran said.

Through Fidler’s research, she discovered that the books written about Cutler were selectively edited to enhance the reputation of the Cutler family, and that there was more unpublished material to explore.

The second presentation, by historian Dr. Ann Fidler entitled “Finding Manasseh,” gave more insight into the life and legacy of Cutler, a Yale graduate, ordained minister and father of eight children.

“To date, Manasseh’s life has been rendered selectively by proud descendants or glancingly by historians using broad strokes. What is missing is a full and frank account of a man who was by turns brilliant, anxious, curious, vain, mischievous, downhearted and driven sometimes to unfortunate ends by his sense of duty and honor,” Fidler wrote.

Not only was Cutler a key player in founding Ohio University, but also, he, alongside Rufus Putnam, Winthrop Sargent and other Revolutionary War veterans, was instrumental in forming the Ohio Company of Associates. They worked to purchase the land in the old Northwest Territory through the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to establish a university.

As the celebration of the past 50 years of Alden Library comes to an end, the Libraries is sure to continue its growth as a leading hub on campus for generations of Bobcats to come.

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FRIENDS OF ALDEN Jan. 2019 to Jan. 2020 $10,000- $99,000 Gladys Bailin Stern Jeffery D. Chaddock Frances M. Kovac $5,000- $9,999 Ruth A. Duff Robert E. Fallon Nancy H. Rue Lynn Johnson Photography $1,000- $4,999 Joseph H. Berman David N. Descutner Barbara J. Grotta Ronald G. Lykins Richard E. Reed Martin I. Saltzman Stephanie A. Strickland Kirsten H. Williams $200- $999 George W. Bain Mary Christine R. Bogar Karen G. Burch DeLysa Burnier Peter Colwell Howard D. Dewald Janice L. Dumford Jack G. Ellis Sue Ellis Robert G. Frasch Lois H. Gerig Dorothy K. Giles

Donald L. Gorman Bridget D. Hannah Paula S. Harsch Jessica B. Herzog Barbara Holstein Jack F. Kehoe Laura E. Kinner Charles A. Lang Edward V. Lipman Ann M. Lucco Richard J. Mason William J. Muthig M. Duane Nellis Howard D. Newman Ruth E. Nybakken Ronald D. Osgood Alice M. Pleasnick Russell A. Pollock Joseph J. Popovich Pamela Prosch Clawson Norman A. Pugh-Newby Tina S. Ratcliff Kenneth L. Rhoads J. Brian Riordan Lynn H. Roberts David E. Rosselot Richard S. Schmedel Janice L. Scites Earl S. Shoemaker Robert J. Shulman L. Eugene Startzman John A. Stein Claudette C. Stevens Elizabeth M. Story Andrew P. Stuart Margaret C. Thomas

Ambrose Vurnis David L. Williams Rebecca A. Williams Elizabeth A. Wood Hannah Giving Fund Larry Conrath Realty Under $200 Amy Achenbach Margaret B. Adcock Vernon R. Alden Kobina Ayitey Richard H. Bald Janice R. Barnes Larry Beougher Kathleen Bick Adam D. Bjorlin Amanda A. Blake Marilyn Bokrass Kelly Broughton Ronald S. Calinger Mien-hwa Chiang Anthony G. Chila Kwok K. Choi D. Abbott Chrisman Wesley S. Clarke Kay K. Coleman Bobbi L. Conliffe Ashby B. Crowder Thomas M. Cunningham Donna M. Daniel Floyd A. Deer Bernice E. Deime Russell W. Dern Diane M. Don Carlos

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Laura S. Doty Joyce A. Douglas Jean Drevenstedt Gerard P. Dunn Kenneth B. Edwards Barbara A. Ellis Jennie D. Evans Carol J. Fejfar Mary A. Fink Barbara Fiocchi Beverly S. Flaminio Ellen L. Ford Thomas L. Fraze Roselyn L. Freedman-Baum Erika Galentin Ronna-Jean Gedeon Daniel R. Gilbert Stephanie K. Goldsberry Carrie R. Gonzalez Debra T. Goodman Maureen G. Gragg Craig W. Graham Mary L. Green Janet M. Griesinger Roger Grossenbacher M. E. Grossman Rosemary A. Halun Alonzo L. Hamby Jeffrey L. Handley Mary J. Handley Karla S. Hari-Bernard Timothy Harmon Karen K. Harper Richard E. Hartle David G. Hendricker Kira N. Heydt

Alan D. Hinkelman Bernard H. Holicky Janet Holladay Barry T. Huber Janet A. Hulm David E. Israels Thomas Jeute Renee M. Kahn Janet J. Keenan Tracy M. Kelly Suzanne L. Knauerhase Clarice L. Knipe Carolyn J. Konnert Willis T. Korb David A. Lavine Robert W. Lee Julie A. Lindsey Aliene S. Linwood Loren L. Logsdon Frank J. Lopuszynski Cheryl A. Lubow Edith A. Luce Meredith A. Lundell Melinda S. Lurz Natalie A. Luskevich Krisanna Machtmes Harriet Martin Andrii Matsnev Mary Lynn Melnyk Copan Brenda J. Miller Tamela A. Miller Wesley G. Miller Sheryl L. Miller Bush Samuel J. Miner John F. Moss Robin D. Muhammad

Gordon P. Muhlberger Ray W. Mulrooney Lorraine I. Myers Daniel T. Nehring Lynne Newell Marlene Novack Allison R. Nowak Tanner W. Ogle Priscilla R. Oja Solveig J. Overby Joseph R. Paterson Kathryn Pearce Tim Pfaff Treva A. Pickenpaugh David B. Picking William Price Samuel M. Radel Stephen M. Rader Sarah L. Rahal Nicole Rautama Brian Richter Laura L. Risher Mark G. Ritter Eduardo Robreno Thomas J. Roth James A. Russell Michael F. Samerdyke Mark A. Sarver Rebecca J. Schaade Bonnie L. Schranz Thelma Seto Joe G. Shafer James C. Shields Sarah E. Shy Cathy B. Simonson Gurpreet K. Singh

Shyama P. Sinha Elizabeth N. Skeen Colby T. Smith Jodi L. Smith Margaret E. Sondey Mark A. Spangler R. Tyler Stant Melanie Stepanovich Don F. Stout Kaye S. Straw Diane L. Stromp Allen W. Strous Ronald K. Telek Joan M. Tetrault Nancy J. Thatcher Holley M. Thompson Suzanne Thompson Beth E. Titer Meier Drew F. Tomco Kyle Triplett William P. Tuchrello Ece Ucoluk-Krane John Volker Lloyd Wakefield Martin A. Wall David A. Walters Beverly A. Warden Hollis B. Westler Todd H. Wetzel Jace R. Whitehead Janet L. Williams Bonita J. Wilson Mary Ann Wise David E. Wolford Arthur P. Woolley Kevin W. Wright

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William Young Richard F. Zielinski Burton D. Ziels Echo Hill Forge LLC Ohio University Credit Union Robert Moorehead Trust Dorothy Griffith Rev. Trust The Bruce M. Goldberg Trust Downey Family Fund Law Offices of Gregory M. Lichko

Ohio University Libraries thanks all its donors for their extraordinary support

University Libraries

(Left to right) Maddie Case, a junior in biological sciences; Lauren Anderson, a junior in special education; Jake Wendling, a junior in biological sciences; and Leslie Aguilera, a junior in political science, showcase their newly created wearable art buttons during “Camp Alden,” student celebration of Alden Library’s 50th birthday on Wednesday, September 4, 2019. Note the third button from the left is an image of OHIO President Duane Nellis.

Photo by James Year/Ohio University Libraries

C O N TA C T I N F O R M A T I O N Gatherings is a publication of the Friends of the Libraries of Ohio University. For more information please contact: Kate Mason, 509 Alden Library, 30 Park Place, Athens, Ohio 45701 740.593.2702