Stanley C. Smith (1928-1999), Papers, 1951-1971 (C3607)

34 folders

INTRODUCTION

Papers of a newspaper editor, tavern operator, teacher, and close friend of the poet John G. Neihardt. Smith managed one of Neihardt's public speaking tours and the two corresponded regularly for twenty years. The papers consist primarily of letters, but also include records related to the 1965 speaking tour, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Stanley C. Smith Papers were donated to the University of Missouri by Stanley C. Smith on March 20, 1979 (Acession No. 4217) and Hilda Neihardt Petri on March 1, 1979 (Accession No. 4213).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Stanley Smith and John Neihardt first met in 1948 at the University of Missouri, where Smith was an undergraduate English student and Neihardt a sixty-seven year old guest lecturer in poetry. Smith became a frequent visitor at Neihardt's farm outside Columbia, "Sky-Rim", and maintained the friendship by correspondence after his graduation. Following a period of military service Smith returned to his native Nebraska where he edited and published a weekly newspaper, The Waunetta Breeze, for ten years. Smith led the 1961 campaign to elect Neihardt to the Nebraska Hall of Fame and to erect a bust of him permanently in the state capitol building. He also served as publicist and business manager for Neihardt's 1965 public speaking tour of Nebraska. On several occasions the two men vactioned together, retracing Western pioneer routes and visiting historic sites. From 1965 to 1967 Smith mangaged a tavern and tourist attraction, "Front Street", in Ogallala, Nebraska. In 1969 he returned to graduate school and earned a Master of Science degree in education at Kearney State College. His thesis, Aeschylus Wanders Back: Neihardt Comes Home, 1970, is based largely on his correspondence with the poet. Smith later taught English in the public schools of Gibbon, Nebraska.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Stanley C. Smith Papers consist of correspondence and other papers related to Smith's 25 year relationship with John G. Neihardt and are arranged into six series:

The Correspondence series covers the period 1951-1971, with the bulk of the series consisting of approximately 225 letters from Neihardt to Stanley Smith and members of his family. Documenting their twenty year friendship, the letters provide insights into Neihardt's life and work during his later years as he relates his thinking on philosophy, religion and literature. He also discusses aspects of his major works and reminisces on his early years, travels, and acquaintances. Also included in the series are letters to Smith from Myrtle Young concerning Neihardt.

The Neihardt Memorial series is comprised of correspondence - mainly letters of endorsement - petitions, and receipts for contributions connected with the 1961 campaign to elect Neihardt to the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

Materials related to the Neihardt Speaking Tour in 1965 include correspondence, contracts, schedules, advertisements, and programs.

The Writings series is comprised of Smith's 1970 University of Missouri thesis, Aeschylus Wanders Back: Neihardt Comes Home, an article, The Expanding Consciousness of John Neihardt, and works by Neihardt, Neihardt on Creative Writing, Report on a Seance, The Story of Captain George Wallace, and My Ghost Dog Story.

The Newspaper Clippings span the years 1954-1971, originated in Nebraska, Missouri, and Oregon newspapers, and chronicle some major events in Neihardt's life: the Neihardt Memorial Collection, the Neihardt Study Restoration Project and National Register of Historic Sites, television appearances, bust and portrait dedications, lectures and poetry readings, election to the Nebraska Hall of Fame, memorial banquets and other award ceremonies, Neihardt Days, productions of plays, and birthdays.

The Photographs are primarily of John Neihardt and various friends.

Folder List

Correspondence

f. 1 1951-1959
f. 2-31961
f. 4-51962
f. 61963
f. 7-81964
f. 9-111965
f. 121966
f. 131967
f. 141968
f. 151969
f. 161970
f. 171970-1971

Neihardt Memorial

f. 18Letters of endorsement
f. 19Receipts, petition, and program

Neihardt Speaking Tour

f. 20Correspondence and contracts
f. 21Schedules, advertisements and programs

Writings

f. 22-25"Aeschylus Wanders Back: Neihardt Comes Home", 1970
f. 26"Neihardt on Creative Writing" "Report on a Seance"
f. 27"The Story of Captain George Wallace" "My Ghost Dog Story"
f. 28"The Expanding Consciousness of John Neihardt"

Newspaper Clippings

f. 29-321954-1971

Photographs

f. 33-34

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff.

  • "Atom"
  • "Prairie Poet Laureats of America"
  • Allan, Tom
  • Als-Sar-Ben Award
  • Aly, Bower
  • Atherton, Lewis E.
  • Auslander, Joseph
  • Bancroft Blade, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Commercial Club, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Foundation, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Garden Club, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Highway Marker, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Pageant, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Saddle Club, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bancroft Women's Club, Bancroft, Nebraska
  • Bauman, Carl
  • Beecher's Island, Nebraska
  • Bennett, Estelline, Deadwood Days
  • Bennett, Mildred R.
  • Black Elk, Ben
  • Black Elk, Sioux Medicine Man
  • Black Hills
  • Black, Hilda
  • Boring, Florence
  • Brandenburg, W.A.
  • Breeze Books
  • Bressler, John T.
  • Bright Eyes, Omaha Indian Princess
  • Brooks, Darlene (Mrs. Ralph G.)
  • Burnham, Archer L.
  • Cabanné, Antoinne
  • Calcutta University, India
  • Cather, Willa
  • Cather, Willa, Memorial
  • Cavett, Dick
  • Clark, Arthur
  • Collier, John
  • Colorado, Estes Park
  • Conn, Ulysses Sylvester
  • Coomaraswamy, Budda & The Gospel of Buddism
  • Crazy Horse
  • Crazy Horse Mountain, South Dakota
  • Criswell, George S.
  • Culler, Charles W.
  • Curly, Crow Indian
  • Custer, George Armstrong
  • Daker, Don
  • Dalton, John Montgomery
  • "Davis, Robert Hobart "Bob"
  • Decker, F.B.
  • Decker, Peter
  • Devi's Gate, Wyoming
  • Dickinson, Don
  • Dickinson, John Asa, The World's Best Books From Homer to Hemingway
  • Diedrichsen, George
  • Dunker, Fern
  • Edgecombe, Tyler
  • Edwards, Vera
  • Egerman, Lyle
  • Ellis, Elmer
  • Elwell, Francis Edwin
  • Emerson, Ralph Waldo
  • Ernst, Art
  • Extrasensory perception
  • Faulkner, Virginia
  • Federated Garden Clubs of Nebraska
  • Ferlinghetti, Lawrence (1919- )
  • Fink, Oliver
  • Forks of the Grand, South Dakota
  • Fort Benton, MT
  • Fort Laramie, WY
  • Fort Union, MT
  • Fras, Jim
  • Frost, Robert (1874-1963)
  • Fulbright-Hays Scholarships
  • Gentrup, Mrs. Anton
  • Gerdes, George C.
  • Glass, Hugh ( -1833)
  • Glass, Hugh ( -1833)--Monument, South Dakota
  • Gold Scroll Medal, 1936
  • Grand Island Little Theater, Grand Island, NE
  • Grand Island Stagehands, Grand Island, NE
  • Grand River, SD
  • Gray, Ralph L.
  • Gray, Sandy
  • Gray, Sanford
  • Greater Omaha Historical Society, Omaha, NE
  • Green River, WY
  • Green, Norma Kidd, Iron Eye's Family
  • Hass, Victor P.
  • Hindustan Times, New Delhi, India
  • Hinkley, Mrs. Lloyd
  • House, Julius Temple ( -1937)
  • House, Julius Temple ( -1937), John G. Neihardt, Poet and Man
  • Hull, Ron
  • Illinois, Sharpsburg
  • Independence Rock, WY
  • Indian trade, Nebraska
  • Indians, Oglala Sioux, Nebraska
  • Indians, Omaha
  • Ingersoll, Robert Green (1833-1899)
  • Isely, Mildred L.
  • Jacolliot, Louis
  • Jacquet
  • John G. Neihardt Foundation, Bancroft, NE
  • Johnsen, Johnny
  • Johnson, Merle, American First Editions
  • Johnston, Jim
  • Johnston, Jim, "Residual"
  • Jordan, David Starr (1851-1931)
  • Joselyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE
  • Kearney State Teacher's College, Kearney, NE
  • Keith County News, Keith County, NE
  • Kelley, John
  • Kinett, Marvin F.
  • Knipmeyer, Herbert
  • KUON-TV, Lincoln, NE
  • Ladies' Legislative League, Nebraska
  • LaFlesche, Joseph "Iron Eyes"
  • LaFlesche, Susan (1865-1915)
  • LaFlesche, Susette (1854-1903)
  • Lake Taneycomo, MO
  • Lawrence, Thomas Edward (1888-1935)
  • Ledoux, Louis
  • Lee, Fred
  • Lee, Fred, Neihardt: The Man & His Western Works
  • Levitation
  • Little Belt Mountains, Montana
  • Little Big Horn, Battle of
  • Little Big Horn, South Dakota
  • Machmuller, Mary
  • Madden, F.N.
  • Madden, John G., Jr.
  • Marcos, Ferdinand E. (1917-1989)
  • Maxwell Land Grant, New Mexico
  • McCarthy, Eugene J. (1916- )
  • McCook Daily Gazette, McCook, NE
  • McDonald Foundation
  • McKenzie, Kenneth (1797-1861)
  • Mencken, H.L. (1880-1956)
  • Midland College, Fremont, NE
  • Missouri River, Description & travel
  • Missouri, Branson
  • Missouri, Joplin, Festival of the Arts
  • Mitchell Pass, Wyoming
  • Montana, Bison
  • Montana, Helena
  • Montana, Neihardt
  • Montana, Yogo Gulch
  • Morgan, Dale
  • Morrison, Frank Brenner (1905- )
  • Mysticism
  • National Poetry Center, New York, NY
  • Nebraska Centennial Commission
  • Nebraska Education News
  • Nebraska Hall of Fame
  • Nebraska Press Association
  • Nebraska State Education Association
  • Nebraska Writers Guild
  • Nebraska, Ash Hollow
  • Nebraska, Bancroft
  • Nebraska, Battle Creek
  • Nebraska, Capitol Building
  • Nebraska, Fremont
  • Nebraska, Governmor's Centennial Award
  • Nebraska, Grand Island
  • Nebraska, Grant
  • Nebraska, Legislature, 72nd, Resolution 36
  • Nebraska, Ogallala
  • Nebraska, Ogallala, Front Street
  • Nebraska, Red Cloud
  • Nebraska, Schuyler
  • Nebraska, Scottsbluff
  • Nebraska, State Historical Society
  • Nebraska, State Historical Society, Nebraska History Magazine
  • Nebraska, Wauneta
  • Nebraska, Wayne
  • Nebraskaland Magazine
  • Neihardt Club, Nebraska
  • Neihardt Day Pageant, Bancroft, NE
  • Neihardt Day Program, 1970
  • Neihardt Day, Nebraska
  • Neihardt Memorial Dinner, Bancroft, NE
  • Neihardt Memorial Fund
  • Neihardt Study Restoration Project, Bancroft, NE
  • Neihardt, Alice (1921- )
  • Neihardt, Enid Volnia
  • Neihardt, Enid Volnia (1909-1996)
  • Neihardt, Hilda (1916- 2004)
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973)
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "A Child's Prayer"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "A Hymn Before Birth"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "A Land of Their Own"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "An Evening with John Neihardt"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Battle Cry"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Black Elk's Prayer"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Creative Writing"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Eagle Voice"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Easter"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Ghost Dog Story"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "I Shall Be With You"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Let me live out ..."
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Nemesis"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Sioux Prayer"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Cry of the People"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Death of Sitting Bull"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Ghostly Brother"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Poet's Advice"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Poet's Town"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Prairie Storm Rune"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Song of the Great Migration"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Vision of Woman"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "The Witless Musician"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Tookala"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "What is Christmas"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Youth's Prayer"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), A Bundle of Myrrh
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), A Cycle of the West
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), April Theology
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Bibliography
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Black Elk Speaks, Danish Edition
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Black Elk Speaks, Dutch Edition
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Black Elk Speaks, German Edition
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Black Elk Speaks, Italian Edition
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Black Elk Speaks, Play
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Black Elk Speaks, Serbo-Croatian Edition
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Busts
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Collected Essays Project
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Collected Poems
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), "Death of Crazy Horse"
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Eight Hundred Rubles
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Indian Tales and Others
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Laureate Tour, 1921
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Laureate Tour, Second, 1965
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Lyric and Dramatic Poems
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Money
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Poetic Values
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), Portrait
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Dawn Builder
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Divine Enchantment
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Mountain Men
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Quest
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Red Wind
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The River and I
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of Hugh Glass
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of Jed Smith
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of the Indian Wars
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of the Messiah
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Song of Three Friends
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Splendid Wayfaring
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Stranger at the Gate
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), The Twilight of the Sioux
  • Neihardt, John Gneisenau (1881-1973), When the Tree Flowered
  • Neihardt, John L.
  • Neihardt, Mona Martinsen (1884-1958)
  • Neihardt, Sigurd (1912-1973)
  • Nelson, D.E.
  • Nelson, Fern
  • Nelson, Fred B.
  • New Mexico, Acoma
  • Newbranch, Harvey
  • Newton, Helen Pile
  • Nicodemus, Ron
  • Nicoll, Bruce
  • Norfolk Daily News, Norfolk, NE
  • Norris, George William (1861-1944)
  • North Carolina, Pineville
  • North Carolina, Rock Hill
  • North Dakota, Lemmon
  • North Platte Valley, NE
  • Obitz, Helen
  • Odyssey, Butcher and Lang Translation
  • Odyssey, T.E. Lawrence Translation
  • Omaha Club, Omaha, NE
  • Omaha Neihardt Club, Omaha, NE
  • Omaha World Herald, Omaha, NE
  • Order of Indian Wars of the United States
  • Oregon Trail
  • Orme, Fern Hubbard
  • Outdoor Nebraskaland
  • Parker, Ralph H. (1909-1990)
  • Petri, Coralie
  • Petri, Gail
  • Pile, J.M.
  • Platte River, NE
  • Poetry Society Prize, 1919
  • Popo Agie River, Wyoming
  • Portsche, Mrs. Stanley
  • Powder River, WY
  • Prairie Schooner
  • Psychical research
  • Rhine, Joseph Banks
  • Richards, John Thomas
  • Ridge, Mrs. Lee
  • Rodin, Auguste (1840-1917)
  • Rohrke, Lloyd E.
  • Rollins, Philip Ashton
  • Rollins, Philip Ashton, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail
  • Rono Records
  • Roselund Battle, South Dakota
  • Salon des Beaux Arts, Paris
  • Sand Creek, CO
  • Sandhills, Nebraska
  • Sandoz, Mari (1907-1966)
  • Sangre De Christo Mountains, Colorado
  • Scotts Bluff National Monument, Scotts Bluff, NE
  • Scotts Bluff Star Herald, Scotts Bluff, NE
  • Scriven, Mabel
  • Seances
  • Sears Foundation
  • Shaeffer, James B.
  • Shaeffer, Mrs. James
  • Shantz Foundation
  • Shapiro, Karl
  • Shriner, Don
  • Sioux Prayer Garden
  • Skyrim Farm, Columbia, MO
  • Slim Buttes, SD
  • Slote, Bernice
  • Smith, Alicia
  • Smith, Jedediah Strong (1799-1831)
  • Smith, Stanley C.(1928-1999)
  • Smith, Stanley C., "Aeschylus Wanders Back: Neihardt Comes Home"
  • Smith, Susan Nell
  • Solomon River, KS
  • Solomon Valley, KS
  • South Carolina, Rockhill
  • South Carolina, Yorkville
  • South Dakota, Brookings
  • South Dakota, Deadwood
  • South Dakota, Lemmon
  • South Dakota, Rosebud
  • South Dakota, Spearfish
  • South Dakota, Viborg
  • South Dakota, Wounded Knee
  • South Pass, WY
  • South Platte Valley, NE
  • Spaulding, Eliza
  • Spearfish Canyon, SD
  • Spiritualism
  • Spotlighting Nebraska
  • Stagehands Experimental Theater Group, Grand Island, NE
  • Sterling, George (1869-1926)
  • Stivirns, Doctor
  • Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, Grand Island, NE
  • Summers, Sue
  • Sweetwater River, WY
  • Szasz, Frank
  • Thompson, Erica
  • Thone, Charles
  • Thone, Ruth
  • Tiemann, Norbert Theodore
  • Tree of Life
  • Turner, Frederick Jackson (1861-1932)
  • Tushla, Robert
  • U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
  • United Poet Laureate International
  • University of Missouri, Department of English, Epic America Course
  • University of Missouri, Library, Neihardt Memorial Collection
  • University of Missouri, Thomas Jefferson Award
  • University of Nebraska Press
  • University of Nebraska Press, Bison Books
  • University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Alumni Congress
  • Upanishads
  • Vedanta
  • Vergil, The Aeneid
  • Vogt, Evelyn R.
  • Voorhees, Marilyn
  • Wallace, George
  • Ware, Frederick
  • Wauneta Breeze, Wauneta, NE
  • Wayne State College, Nebraska
  • Wayne State College, Nebraska--Conn Library, Neihardt Room
  • Welch, Don, "The Expanding Consciousness of John Neihardt"
  • Westerners Brand Book
  • Westerners, Kansas City Posse
  • Westerners, New York Posse
  • Whitman, Walt
  • Williams, George
  • Wind River, Wyoming
  • Winkelman, Phyllis H.
  • Wisner News-Chronicle, Wisner, NE
  • Woodberry, George Edward
  • Woodring, Mr. and Mrs. John
  • Wyoming State Journal, Lander, Wyoming
  • Wyoming, Pacific Springs
  • Wyoming, Rock Springs
  • Wyoming, South Pass City
  • Yellowstone River, Montana
  • Young, Julius D.
  • Young, Myrtle
  • Yuzon, Amado
  • Ziegler, Sylvia