27 Feb From the Archives – Photo Donation from Li-chun Wu ’50
The Advancement and Alumni Relations Office is excited to inform the Woodstock community that Li-chun (Chu) Wu, Class of 1950, has donated to the Archives an album of photographs. See page 48 of the most recent Quadrangle for Li-chun’s remarkable journey to Woodstock and beyond. These 261 photographs were taken at Woodstock and around Mussoorie in 1949 and 1950. Li-chin’s father, Vico Chu, was an avid photographer. These beautiful photographs were taken with his Rolleiflex camera.
A sample of Vico Chu’s photographs appear above.
The purpose of the Woodstock School Archives is to collect and preserve materials relevant to the history of Woodstock School and its immediate political, social and physical environment. Woodstock’s Archives are of immense historical importance as the institutional memory of the School, documenting its origin, growth and evolution over time. The contents of the Archives is invaluable to the alumni and development outreach functions of the School. The documentation of the history of the School, the religious and international communities out of which it developed, and its unique geographical setting are of research value to it’s current and former students and staff as well as to social and environmental historians.
The class of 1942 gave a gift of over $12,000 to establish a permanent archive at Woodstock in 1996. Glen Conrad, then Development Director, supervised the construction of a secure area where materials could be stored behind a fire-proof door as well as a work area and a place for exhibits. The major work of categorizing and organizing the archives was initially done by Sally Stoddard, S, and beginning in the summer of 1997 was continued by Margo Warner Curl, MLIS, ’67, along with her husband Tom Strickler, ’40. Margo over the next two decades with assistance from a large cadre of volunteers including Cate Whitcomb, PhD, ’66, Ruth Morris Paige, ’66, Rev. Kate Lehman, S, Suzanne Turner Hanifl ’63, Lauranne Barnard Cebulak ’67, Max Marble ’67, Sue Scott Swanson, MLS ’67, and archivist Lori Osborne from Evanston, IL to name only a few, created the archive that exists today. The work of the volunteers has been one of organizing, sorting, identify photographs, and creating files and safe storage. In the Fall of 2022, Bob Shoemaker, husband of Katie Jo Walter, the Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations, and Sonam Thomas, Assistant Librarian began working in the Archives on a daily basis to continue the work started by the Class of 1942 and carried on through the years by so many dedicated volunteers.
Donations of historically significant papers, photographs, and objects to the Woodstock Archives is greatly appreciated. If you have materials that you wish to donate to the Woodstock Archives, please contact Bob Shoemaker at johnrobertshoemaker@woodstock.ac.in to begin the evaluation process.
In the future, we hope to create a digital collection of Archives materials that will be easily accessible to the Woodstock community. We are currently working towards creating an Archives Exhibition for the celebration of Woodstock’s 175th anniversary in 2029.
No Comments