UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls

University Archives and Area Research Center

Supporting Scholarship

Materials from the River Falls Area Research Center have been used as sources for a number of scholarly and popular works, students projects, and for background for works of fiction.  Below are a few examples of each.

Scholarly and Popular Publications       Student Theses, Plan B Papers, Class Projects       Works of Fiction

Scholarly and Popular Publications

Betrayal, by Tim Weiner, David Johnson, and Neil A. Lewis

 Betrayal by Wiener, Johnston & Lewis  Aldrich Ames Time Magazine cover

Betrayal is the story of Aldrich Ames, the last American spy of the Cold War, the "most destructive traitor in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency." Aldrich Ames, born in River Falls in 1941, was the son of Carleton Ames, a history professor at the college, and grandson of Jesse H. Ames, former president of the River Falls State Teachers College. The River Falls Area Research Center was used for researching Aldrich Ames' early life.


A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War, by Michael J. Martin

 A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War  Flint letter 1861-8-18  Jerry Flint

Jerry Flint, a River Falls resident when the American Civil War broke out, joined the Hudson City Guards, which became Company G of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry/Cavalry. Like many soldiers, he wrote letters home to his mother and brother. Flint's letters, River Falls Mss BN in the UW-River Falls ARC, were used in writing A History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War.




Student Theses, Plan B Papers, Class Projects

The Ku Klux Klan in Northwestern Wisconsin, by John Anthony Turcheneske, Jr.

 Patriotic songs of the KKK

John A. Turcheneske, Jr., received the first Masters degree in History from UW-River Falls (Wisconsin State University-River Falls back then) in 1971. His thesis, The Ku Klux Klan in Northwestern Wisconsin was written largely using resources from the River Falls Area Research Center (ARC). The contacts he made while doing his research brought a number of donations to the ARC, including Patriotic Songs of the Ku Klux Klan (pictured here). It features songs such as "Klux Wisconsin" and "Hail! Hail! The Klan's All Here."

 

Alexis Bailly: Fur Trader and Entrepreneur, by Kathleen A. Milbrath

 

Two inter-archives loans from other ARCs helped student Kathleen Milbrath write her 1977 masters thesis on Alexis Bailly, a 19th century fur trader and legislator from Minnesota. Footnotes in her thesis were later offered as proof that certain letters, stoeln from the collection, had once belonged to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Her thesis helped to catch a thief!

 

As Smart as Town Folks: The History of a Democratic Army, by Thomas J. Butcher

 Levings letter 5-18-1862

Thomas J. Butcher wrote his 1989 masters thesis based on the Civil War letters of Prescott brothers Edwin and Homer Levings. The Levings Brother were in Company A of the 12th Wisconsin Infantry and their frequent letters home to their parents are in the River Falls Area Research Center collections (River Falls Mss BO).





Works of Fiction

Adventures of the Northwoods series by Lois Walfrid Johnson

 The Runaway Clown by Lois W Johnson  Circus elephants in River Falls

Author Lois Walfrid Johnson used many of the historic resources found the River Falls Area Research Center to provide a rich, historically-accurate adventure series for young readers. The Runaway Clown is set in River Falls in 1907, and many of the books in the series are set in Northwestern Wisconsin.





Scholarly and Popular Publications          Student Theses, Plan B Papers, Class Projects          Works of Fiction

Contact Us

University Archives and
Area Research Center

archives@uwrf.edu
715-425-3567
Fax 715-425-0609
170 Chalmer Davee Library
 

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