Orange roadblock signs and detour routes can hinder anyone’s daily commute. A single road can be repaired repeatedly over decades to make the perfect paved road. However, where does that begin? The Ruebel family of Cincinnati contributed significantly to Cincinnati’s roads with their family-run construction business from 1892-1986. The Archives and Rare Books Library has a newly published finding aid outlining the 88 years and three generations of Cincinnati road construction of the John Ruebel & Brother Company.
Cincinnati Enquirer, July 25, 1957 from the Ruebel family papers, GA-26-01, Archives and Rare Books LibraryContinue reading →
Today the Archives and Rare Books Library is highlighting one of our German-Americana Collections, the Alfred Gong papers. The finding aid can be viewed online at the Alfred Gong papers.
Alfred Gong (1920-1981)
Gong, who was named Alfred Liquornik at birth, was born on August 14, 1920, in Chernivtsi, Romania (which is now part of the Ukraine) and attended the University of Chernivtsi. His education was cut short due to Soviet and then German occupation during World War II in which he was forced into the Jewish ghetto established in Chernivtsi and later the ghetto in Mogilev-Podolsk. Gong spent 1941-1944 in forced labor camps before he was able to escape to Bucharest, Romania, with forged papers. In 1946, he moved to Vienna, Austria, and finished his education at the University of Vienna. While in Vienna, Gong organized poetry readings and published poetry in newspapers.
Informational brochure, undated. From the Center for Peace Education records at the Archives and Rare Books Library
For 30 years Cincinnati and suburban school children were given the opportunity to learn about peer mediation, conflict management, cooperative discipline, bias awareness, and diversity through the efforts of the non-profit organization Center for Peace Education.
The Archives and Rare Books Library is excited to announce that the Center for Peace Education (CPE) finding aid is now available to view online at the Center for Peace Education records.
Does the name Werner H. Von Rosenstiel ring a bell? If you have been inside the University of Cincinnati’s Arts & Sciences Hall, it just might. The Werner H. Von Rosenstiel Reading Room is named after a former student who donated his library to the University in 2001. His papers were later donated to the University’s Department of History by Von Rosenstiel’s daughter and were transferred to the Archives and Rare Books Library in 2024 as a part of the German-Americana collection so that the collection could be organized and made accessible for research.
Von Rosenstiel at his desk, 1964. From the Werner H. Von Rosenstiel papers at the Archives and Rare Books Library
The University of Cincinnati Libraries Archives and Rare Books Library has completed processing the papers of University of Cincinnati professor emeritus Dr. Kenneth E. Caster.
Dr. Caster presenting a fossil to group of onlookers at unknown excursion trip, circa 1930s-1940s. Source: Kenneth E. Caster papers at ARB LibraryContinue reading →
The Archives and Rare Books library is excited to announce that the John Day Caldwell papers (UA-81-22) have been processed, and a finding aid has been completed. The collection contains a wealth of documents dating from 1782 to 1902 that provide a detailed look into the settlement and early history of Cincinnati, as well as Ohio state history.
John D. Caldwell in his regalia, undated.
John Day Caldwell (1816-1902) worked in numerous roles in Cincinnati, including as a transportation agent, newspaper editor, librarian, city commissioner and Cincinnati Board of Education clerk. During the Civil War, Caldwell assisted in establishing the Cincinnati Home Guards, a civilian group of men who protected and patrolled the city.
His papers, originally stored in metal bread tins by Caldwell, were received as part of the Ohio Mechanics Institute records back in the 1970s. A card catalog was created for the collection, and the papers were rehoused into archival boxes following their receipt. However, archivists at ARB have reprocessed the collection for better organization and have created a corresponding finding aid that can be accessed online.
The Archives and Rare Books Library is excited to announce a new ARB digital exhibition that has been completed and is now accessible online. This digital exhibition was a part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People project to process and create a finding aid for the NAACP Bronson v. Board of Education of the City of Cincinnati records through the National Historical Publications & Records Commission grant we received in November 2024.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
As ARB wraps up the project to process the records of the Cincinnati Branch of the NAACP regarding the 1974 lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati, we look at the 1984 settlement agreement that brought to an end the decade-long legal struggle to end racial isolation in Cincinnati’s public schools.
Image from Cincinnati Enquirer, February 17, 1984
On April 6, 1984, the ten-year lawsuit ended when a final settlement was approved by all parties and fairness hearings were conducted. Although the case did not go to trial, it is clear through the thousands of exhibits, dozens of deposed individuals and numerous lawyers that the case had a lasting impact on the city of Cincinnati. The settlement called for Cincinnati Public Schools to lessen racial isolation in the school system by 1991. The four major sections of the settlement stated:
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
History of alternative programs and schools
Alternative programs and schools in Cincinnati Public Schools existed prior to the Bronson v. Board of Education lawsuit and continued to grow in numbers as the case proceeded. These programs were designed to give students more opportunities in the classroom compared to the standard taught subjects. These were voluntary programs and open to students of all ages.
