Bentley Problem Solvers

Whether it’s 150-year-old scrapbooks with decaying binding or collections from someone’s damp basement, items in the Bentley stacks often need some TLC. Dianna Samuelson and Corinne Robertson explain how the Bentley’s Conservation Lab repairs and preserves items for future generations.

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Poetry to the People

When he founded Broadside Press in Detroit, Dudley Randall elevated African American voices and changed the face of literature forever. He mentored many writers, including poet Melba Boyd, now a professor at Wayne State University, who became his biographer and ensured his collection came to the Bentley.

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Citizen Grain

The Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, now the Kellogg Company, evolved from a whole-scale effort to return health and vitality to illness-plagued citizens across the country. But a bitter rivalry between brothers John Kellogg and W.K. Kellogg forever altered the business and the nature of their relationship.

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On Top of the World

Annie Smith Peck came to U-M just after women were admitted, and excelled in spite of prejudice against female scholars. Then, she started climbing mountains, and further redefined what most people thought women could do. Her answers to a U-M survey in 1924 reveal her determination and focus.

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Pearl Kendrick and Infectious Disease

Sixty-five years ago, scientist and educator Pearl Kendrick became a lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology at U-M. It was a capstone in an incredible career that would change the landscape of infectious disease and save countless lives.

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Discovering African American Roots

When U-M alumna Nicole Persley had her DNA tested, she discovered she was African American. With help from Bentley archivist Brian Williams, Persley found her paternal grandfather, Dr. Alonzo Persley — a black graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School in 1915.

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Supper Salad is Served!

The Susan Wineberg cookbook collection at the Bentley Historical Library provides insight into the murky (and sometimes wobbly) depths of Jell-O salad. For any intrepid cooks who like to pair their Jell-O with, say, fish, we’ve included some old-but-bold recipes.

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