Collections

The Melinda Ryder Collection is comprised of promotional material related to the career of the long-time Kansas City female impersonator. It features posters, cards, flyers, and other ephemera documenting her career throughout the 2000s. It also includes a large number of greeting cards from a wide-range of well-wishers, and the “thank you” cards give an indication of Winter’s and Nelson’s charitable activities. The collection also includes a small number of photographs, print and digital, and digital video of local drag performances, and awards presented to Ryder over the years.

The Mid America Freedom Band Collection was donated by the Kansas City-based organization in January 2015 and 2018. Dating 2003 onward, the collection primarily consists of programs from MAFB concerts as well as promotional posters and flyers. Also included is select organizational information such as handbooks and by-laws from certain years, donation mailers, MAFB performances on DVD and CD formats, and miscellaneous ephemera and memorabilia such as two MAFB banners used at Pride events and three MAFB scrapbooks.

The Miriam Hennosy Collection was a gift of Miriam Hennosy in March 2012. The collection contains newsletters, internal documents, correspondence, and posters regarding the Human Rights Project in Kansas City, MO, from the years 1994-1997, when Hennosy was a board member. There are also various documents pertaining to other pro-civil rights groups, such as GLAAD, NGLTF, HRC, and the Four Freedoms Democratic Club, as well as a number of flyers, publications, articles, posters, and political lawn signs supporting similar causes.

The Naiad Press Collection was donated to the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Mid-America by co-founder Donna McBride in 2017. Initial conversations regarding the collection started in the spring of 2011 with co-founder Barbara Grier, but she succumbed to lung cancer later that year. McBride contacted the archive six years later and agreed to donate the entire output of the press. In processing those books, the material that makes up the archival component of the collection was uncovered, and it is described in this finding aid. The primary components of the collection are the sales and promotional materials, specifically sales flyers and book catalogs. In addition, the non-book output of Naiad Press is included in the collection, including audiobooks, VHS tapes, and the sole DVD produced by Naiad.

The Nancie Thomas collection consists of newspapers, mailers, fliers, invitations, tickets, promotional ephemera and memorabilia, business and membership cards, T-shirts, and photographs related to the Kansas City LGBTQ+ community. Emphasis is on items related to Kansas City gay and lesbian bars and their sponsored events in the late 1970s and 1980s.

The Crowley collection dates from the 1960s to 1980s, and includes photographs and printed materials printed by and/or relating to the establishments and performers at various Kansas City bars/night clubs, including: the Jewel Box, Cat Balleu, Yum Yum Club, Pink Garter, Trocadero Club, and Arabian Nights (aka “The Tent”). Included are photographs of Crowley with coworkers and friends with an emphasis on impersonator’s snapshots and publicity head shots; printed material about and by various clubs (including a cocktail napkin from The Inferno, postcards from the Jewel Box, souvenir match books for several clubs; and, a couple of local magazines, including two copies of Town Squire with Jewel Box impersonators on the cover as a feature story); calendars Crowley kept of her tips; and, a small selection of matter relating to Kansas City Jazz favorites, Bettye Miller and Milt Abel, as well as bass player, Roy Johnson, whom Crowley “went with” for many years (Crowley said Johnson was in Lionel Hamptons’ band at Truman’s 1948 Inauguration). Much of the material had previously belonged to Crowley’s friend, Mike Sackett, and included information and images of him and his partner John Tod Hunter.

The Pat Billings Collection was a gift of Lea Hopkins in March 2022. It is largely comprised of visual aids, newspaper clippings, photographs, awards and certificate.

The PFLAG-KC Collection was a gift of Paul Hough on behalf of the Board of the Kansas City Chapter of PFLAG, in March 2011. The Collection contains a near-comprehensive set (spanning 1994-2009) of the Monthly Newsletters from the KC Chapter of PFLAG, as well as a few from other regional Chapters. There are also many Flyers, Brochures, Booklets, and other documents pertaining to Frequently Asked Questions and General Information regarding LGBT issues, as well as LGBT Resources and information about various Organizations. In addition, the collection contains Articles, Magazines and Periodicals, and miscellaneous Flyers, Business Cards and Bookmarks. One portion of the collection consists solely of various Flyers, Brochures, Booklets, Articles, Lectures, Teaching Guides, and Books, all dealing with issues involving the Religious Right. On the whole, the collection is a significant source of information for those that have any interest in LGBT rights, or advocacy issues.

The Prime Timers of Kansas City Collection was donated to the Department of Special Collections in May of 2018. It contains operational proceedings relating to the organization from 2003-2010. It includes the organization’s bylaws, meeting minutes, rosters, and newsletters.