Date: Fri 16-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

history-Janick-Warner

Full Text:

More Hands Needed To Help Sort A Trove Of Historical Information

BY JAN HOWARD

Additional volunteers are needed to speed up a time-consuming task that will

benefit local historians and residents interested in learning more about this

area of the state.

In March, Dr Herbert Janick, a professor in the History Department of Western

Connecticut State University, and a handful of volunteers started sifting

through over 100 large cardboard boxes that were found stored in the barn at

the Huntingtown Road home of the late Dr Truman Warner.

Dr Warner, a resident of Newtown, died in 1997 at the age of 75. He had been a

professor and administrator at Western for more than 40 years and retired from

Western in 1995.

"He left behind a priceless gift to his community," Dr Janick said, the result

of a lifetime of historical research on Danbury and regional history.

The boxes contain invaluable information, including clippings from local

newspapers, brochures, originals or copies of diaries, and notes on

collections Dr Warner had read, Dr Janick said. The remainder of the boxes

contained information about the university.

Dr Janick said Dr Warner hoped to write a history of Danbury and had started

an outline for the book.

"I think that was the driving force," he said, for the collection. Or Dr

Warner might have hoped that someone else might write the book if he didn't,"

Dr Janick added.

"Truman was just interested in every aspect of local history," he noted. "He

had been here for 50 years, as a student, teacher and administrator. He never

married. The school and Danbury was his family."

The volunteers are concentrating on the materials that deal with regional

history, Dr Janick said.

"It is a wonderful resource for people," Dr Janick said. "I think people will

use it."

The Warner collection is expected to be the centerpiece of an Archives and

Special Collections wing in Western's Ruth Haas Library, Dr Janick said.

He said the four volunteers, who meet one day a week in the basement of the

library, are enjoying their work and often catch themselves reading some of

the material when they recognize names, places or events.

"It's a fun way to spend a day," Dr Janick said.

"We could use more volunteers, that's for sure," he added.

Dr Warner was not only a dedicated gatherer of data, he was a careful

cataloger, according to Dr Janick. Each box is labeled and devoted to a single

subject, such as business, churches, hotels, health and recreation, for

example.

Dr Janick said Dr Warner's colleagues at the university recognized the value

of the collection and began the process that will ultimately make this

information available to all interested persons.

Following their discovery, the boxes were moved to the basement of Ruth Haas

Library where the volunteers, consisting of Western faculty and staff and

former students of Dr Warner, have been sorting, indexing and photocopying

these fragile documents.

According to Dr Janick, a grant of approximately $9,000 from the Meserve

Memorial Fund was received last fall, to support the time consuming

preparation of the material that began in March.

The grant was used to purchase acid-free folders and boxes for storage of the

materials and to lease a copier.

The process begins by summarizing materials and weeding out anything that is

irrelevant. These materials are put aside to be looked at later.

The volunteers then take the clippings and put them in chronological order.

They are indexed, a summary of the material is written and the materials

copied and filed.

Dr Janick estimates that over 300 hours have already been put into the

project.

"Copying takes a lot of time," Dr Janick said.

Mary Rieke, who is seeking a library science degree, was asked by Dr Janick to

act as coordinator of the extensive project.

Eventually it is hoped that abstracts of the materials will be available on

computer, Ms Rieke said.

Researchers would come to the Western library and do an initial search in the

computer, which would tell them how to find the material in the special

collections room, she noted.

"We're approaching it box by box and folder by folder," Ms Rieke said.

"Some of the diaries go back to the 1600s," she said.

"Dr Warner loved history and especially local history," Ms Rieke said. "His

collection reflects that."

She said the university knew the collection existed but not the extent of it.

She said more volunteers would make it possible to designate additional work

days for the project.

Dr Janick said Newtown resident Wendy McCullough "has really thrown herself"

into the project.

Mrs McCullough, who was a neighbor and former anthropology student of Dr

Warner's, learned about the project from a newspaper article.

She is enthusiastic about the materials she is researching.

"For anyone interested in Fairfield County, it is wonderful," she said.

She said the materials, which go back to the 1930s, also contain some

historical data from when Danbury was founded.

"It encompasses historical material from 1640 to the present," she said,

noting Dr Warner had done some research in state libraries.

"It's very eclectic," she said. "There is a tremendous amount of stuff."

She is currently working on materials relating to planning and zoning in

Danbury in the 1960s.

Mrs McCullough emphasized the need for more volunteers.

"I'm sure there are people in Newtown who would be interested in helping with

the cataloging," she said. "They will accept any time you can give."

She said it would be helpful if volunteers had some background knowledge about

the area.

"It's a big, big project that will go on for a long time," she said. "It will

be a fantastic social history of this area. I enjoy doing it," Mrs McCullough

added.

To volunteer to help with the project, call Dr Janick at Western Connecticut

State University, 837-8483, or at his home, 438-6736.