Highlight: Pick Photos for Primary Source Research

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Special Collections & University Archives

One of the many research opportunities available at the UNI Special Collections & University Archives (SC&UA) is its robust Photograph Collection. Whether you are writing a paper for class or taking a peek into the day to day of a great-great-relative, the SC&UA Photograph Collection can provide insights into the sights, attitudes, and atmosphere of the UNI campus, Cedar Falls community, and lives lived by students and citizens of a different era.

However, these insights are not just interesting tidbits. They are also valuable primary source material for your next paper or project. In fact, photo sources often provide in ways that written primary sources cannot. For example...

College Hill in Cedar Falls, 1969
“College Hill”, 1969, in the University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collection #23: CAM box 7 folder 7, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.

While collecting photographs for an Alumni event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the graduating class of 1970, I came across this photo of College Hill dated 1969 (Left).

The make and models of the car are very distinct and help visually characterize the time period, but notice the B.E. Micks clothing store in the top-center of the photo. There is currently a B.E. Micks open on Bremer Avenue in Waverly, Iowa, but, without suggestion from a previous source, I would have never guessed they had a store on College Hill during this time.

College Hill Arts Festival, 1981
“College Hill Arts Festival”, July, 1982, in the University of Northern Iowa Manuscripts Collection #65, box: College Hill Arts Festival box 1 folder “1982 Photographs”, College Hill Arts Festival Records, ca. 1978-2014, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.

Digging a little further, I found this 1981 photo of the College Hill Arts Festival taken from almost the taken from almost the exact same camera angle! What is different is the business signage.

B.E Micks is gone which gives a window from 1969 to 1981 that the location closed. The Prior Gift Shoppe however is present in both photographs but is not open today. That leaves another window between 1969 and 2020 in which the Prior Gift Shoppe was part of UNI’s landscape.

Maucker Union Cafeteria, 1969
“Maucker Union c 1967”, 1967, in the University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collection #23, box: BUI box 19 folder 7, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.

Taking a cue from the store front shifts, I used the SC&UA IndexUNI database to search for articles which mention College Hill surrounding the photograph dates. On  September 23, 1969, the Northern Iowan reported on the impact the construction of Maucker Union had on College Hill businesses, writing that, “A clothing store particularly felt the effect of the new Union this summer when summer school students were living in the far dorms on campus and the location of the Union detracted the students from the hill.” 

B.E. Micks was not specifically named as the clothing store in the article, but the owners may have been interviewed anonymously. Regardless, if one clothing store was feeling that pressure, we can assume that similar stores would have similar struggles adapting to the new Union, building context for the changes around College Hill and the closing of B.E. Micks.

Mick Jagger performing at the UNI-Dome, 1982
“(Jumpin’ Jack Flash) Mick Jagger”, November, 1981, in University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collection #23, box: BUI box 36 folder 3, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa. 

Similarly, the Northern Iowan reported on Tuesday November 17, 1981 that College Hill businesses were preparing for and expressing concerns about a Rolling Stones performance that upcoming Friday. However, this article paints the owners as nervous about increased customer traffic as bars hired extra bouncers, stores increased on duty staff, and gas stations switched to a “pre-pay basis throughout the evening.” It's clear that businesses on the Hill were needing to adjust to a new campus culture, so how could that have affected a business like B.E. Micks or The Prior Gift Shoppe later on?

Adventure complete, for now! Starting with a single photo, we have moved from point to point through a web of unique information, from a sleepy street to Mick Jagger at the UNI-Dome, and only scratched the surface of events of economic stress for College Hill businesses. This would be a fascinating and topical direction for research, one of millions worth discovering through the SC&UA Photograph Collection!

Contributed by SC&UA student assistant Matthew Bancroft-Smithe, fall 2020

References:

  • “College Hill”, 1969, in the University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collection #23: CAM box 7 folder 7, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
  • “College Hill Arts Festival”, July, 1982, in the University of Northern Iowa Manuscripts Collection #65, box: College Hill Arts Festival box 1 folder “1982 Photographs”, College Hill Arts Festival Records, ca. 1978-2014, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
  • “Hill stores feel pinch”, September 23, 1969, in the Northern Iowan, 66:5, p. 1, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
  • “Hill merchants prepare”, November 17, 1981, in the Northern Iowan, 78:21, p. 10, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.
  • “(Jumpin’ Jack Flash) Mick Jagger”, November, 1981, in University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collection #23, box: BUI box 36 folder 3, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa. 
  • “Maucker Union c 1967”, 1967, in the University of Northern Iowa Photograph Collection #23, box: BUI box 19 folder 7, University Archives, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.