William Henry Tecumseh Michaelmas "Indiana, our Indiana" columns, 1944-1952
A Guide to the collection at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Carrie Schwier
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Michaelmas, William Henry
Tecumseh.
TitleWilliam Henry Tecumseh Michaelmas
"Indiana, our Indiana" columns,1944-1952
Collection No.
C452
Extent
.6 cubic feet (2 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
Graduating from Indiana University in
1921, Lawrence Wheeler went on to become a noted journalist, fund-raiser and the
first Executive Director of the Indiana University Foundation. This collection
consists entirely of the published articles and manuscripts from Wheeler’s column
“Indiana, Our Indiana” which was published in the Bloomington
Star-Courier.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice is required.
Biographical Note
Born in Princeton, Indiana on November 25, 1898 Lawrence Wheeler was described as
probably the “quintessential Hoosier.” Entering Indiana University in 1916, he
quickly became one of the leaders of the student body as a member of Alpha Tau
Omega, Scabbard and Blade, Sigma Delta Chi and as the writer of a widely popular
column in the Indiana Daily Student under the pseudonym Ecne R. Wall. With the
outbreak of the First World War, he joined the United States Army and served in the
American Expeditionary Forces with Base Hospital 131. Following the end of the war,
he returned to Indiana University to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in
Economics in 1921, and in 1922 he married fellow IU alum Ruth White. Together they
had two children: Lawrence Wheeler, Jr. and Jane Wheeler.
Following his graduation from the University, Wheeler joined the editorial staff of
The Indianapolis Star, and shortly thereafter he moved to a career in fund-raising
for a variety of colleges, churches, hospitals and other public institutions. At the
request of IU President Herman B Wells in 1944, Wheeler returned to his alma mater
to become the first Executive Director of the Indiana University Foundation. As the
Foundation Director, Wheeler established the Ernie Pyle Memorial Fund, the Wendell
Willkie Scholarship Fund, and the Lieber Memorial Fund among others, and was
instrumental in securing several valuable collections for the University
Library.
Following a series of health problems, in 1949 he resigned his position at the
Foundation to become Director of Communications and Professor of Journalism, which
included teaching courses in public relations. During this period he continued his
journalistic career, authoring the regular column “Indiana, Our Indiana” for the
Bloomington Star-Courier under the name William Henry Tecumseh Michaelmas and
composing comedic letters of congratulation to a wide variety of individuals both
public and private under the name Oscar B Burlap, an imaginary IU alumnus and owner
of the Burlap Turnbuckle Manufacturing Company. Wheeler passed away at the age of 53
on November 9, 1952.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into one series: the Bloomington
Star-Courier, “Indiana, our Indiana” column records.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is comprised entirely of one series: the Bloomington Star-Courier,
“Indiana, Our Indiana” column files (1944-1952). Included are both the published and
manuscript versions of Lawrence Wheeler’s regular column under the pseudonym William
Henry Tecumseh Michaelmas, which ran in the weekly Bloomington newspaper from the
early 1940s to the early 1950s. Wheeler’s often tongue-and-check prose covers the
entire spectrum of Indiana University current events and history, often capturing
the unique “flavor” of the campus in that era.
Articles highlight athletic rivalries; the accomplishments of distinguished faculty
such as folklorist Stith Thompson, Nobel prize winner Dr. Hermann Muller, and Rolla
Harger, inventor of the “Drunkometer”, the predecessor to breathalyzer; campus
events such as notable art exhibitions, performances by the Jordan River Revue and
the proposed change of Jordan Field – the first athletic field on campus – into a
parking lot and motor pool facility. Other columns highlight the activities of
student groups such as the Board of Aeons and Sigma Chi fraternity; campus issues
such as the massive increases in student enrollment following WWII, student
employment and housing, and the use of the university library. Other articles simply
highlight the often amusing little stories associated with university campus life,
such as the best winter sledding locations in Bloomington and anecdotes such as the
one in which President Wells - while serving as the special dinner guest at Sigma
Alpha Epsilon house – took a phone message in the house phone booth from the
girlfriend of one of his hosts who reacted with a “bright crimson blush.”
-
Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
-
-
Related Material
Related photographs may be available in the
University Archives
Photographs Database
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession numbers: 9359, 9360
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], William Henry Tecumseh Michaelmas "Indiana, our Indiana" columns, Collection C452, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Processing InformationProcessed by Carrie Schwier.
Completed in 2011.
Container List
Series:
Box 1
Bloomington
Star-Courier, “Indiana, OUR
Indiana” column, 1944-1952