W.F. Herman Collection

W.F. HERMAN COLLECTION

1920-1949

MS 6

Municipal Archives

Windsor Public Library

Mark Walsh

Municipal Archivist

May 1985

Acc. No. 1982/2Revised

Linda Chakmak

2 ft./61 cm.Assistant Municipal Archivist

23 Jun 1988

W.F. Herman Collection

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Preface

The W. F. Herman Collection contains some of the most interesting reading in the Municipal Archives. Its strength is its concentration on the third and fourth decades of this century, a time during which Windsor and the BorderCities saw both prosperity and despair. Originally glued into scrapbooks, the documents were first described by the temporary Municipal Archives Project in 1982. The collection was considered important enough to have the guide revised within the first month of the opening of the permanent Municipal Archives in March of 1984.

In order to preserve the valuable letters, telegrams and other documents an effort was made to remove them from the highly acidic scrapbooks into which they had been glued. Archives Page David Garlick spent considerable time and effort in 1986 carefully removing each item from its scrapbook. After arranging materials in chronological order (owing to the fact that there was no discernable order in the scrapbooks), David finished the physical arrangement of the collection. The final description of the documents was assigned to Assistant Municipal Archivist Linda Chakmak, resulting in this guide.

Few other collections of private papers have received the attention given to the W. F. Herman Collection, but then few people have made as indelible a mark on this city as the founder of The Windsor Star.

G. Mark Walsh

Municipal Archivist

Windsor Public Library

30 Nov 1988

W.F. Herman Collection

MS 6

Table of Contents

Box and Unit Listing

Historical Note

Content Note

List of Publishers

Summary of the Records

Series Description

Appendix I:List of Correspondents

Appendix II:List of Newspaper Clippings from Scrapbooks

Appendix III:Copy of Last Will and Testament of W. F. Herman

W.F. Herman Collection

MS 6

Box and Unit Listing

Box 1I/1 - /9

Box 2I/10 - /18

Box 3I/19 - /26

Box 4I/27 - /32

DOCUMENTS REMOVED (1-39)

II/1

Box 5III/1 - /6

Box 6IV/1 - /2

W. F. Herman Collection

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Historical Note

Wilbur F. Herman, the son of a sea captain, was born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1872. When his father died suddenly, Herman, at the age of thirteen began his newspaper career as an assistant in a newspaper office in BridgewaterNova Scotia. By the turn of the century he had moved to Boston, Massachusetts and soon found work as a printer. It was in Boston where he married Adie Knox, a native of Riversdale, Nova Scotia and where their only child, Ruth was born. A few years later they moved to Saskatchewan where Herman became the composing room foreman of the Saskatoon Phoenix, started the Saskatoon Saturday Press and bought the Prince Albert Herald in quick succession. In 1912, when the Saskatoon Capital was experiencing financial difficulty, Mr. Herman bought and renamed it the Saskatoon Star. Then he bought the Regina Post. In 1918 he purchased the Windsor Record, changing its name to the Border Cities Star (later the Windsor Star). Under his ownership, it became one of the outstanding Canadian newspapers of the 1920’s and 30’s. Indeed, Herman’s whole life had become dedicated to the world of news publishing.

The Herman’s moved to Windsor in 1924 although a large part of the last ten years of

Mr. Herman’s life was spent travelling abroad and wintering in California. Wilbur F. Herman died on 15 January 1938 at the age of 66 in Los Angeles. He was buried in Saskatoon next to his daughter Ruth who had died there in 1920. Adie Knox Herman died in 1967 and was also buried in the family plot in Saskatoon. Mr. and Mrs. Herman are remembered locally for their many philanthropic deeds and by the secondary school and arena named after them.

History dies a little as famed hotel shuts

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Ambassador Davies rode through the hotel lobby on

Hotel, where Charlie Chaplin lived, Roberthorseback to amuse her lover, multimillionaire

Kennedy died, Marion Davies rode a horsepublisher William Randolph Hearst.

through the lobby, and generations of stars MAID ELVIRA Bell changed the sheets for

entertained at the Cocoanut Grove lounge,the famous as well as the ordinary for 31 years.

closed its doors Tuesday. “In those days, the music was so loud that it

The last guests bid farewell to the 68-year-began to run you crazy.” the 60-year-old

old Wilshire Boulevard landmark, anwoman said.

imposing building on nine lush hectares that “Now I miss it. I have dropped tears when

is now in disrepair.I see those singers on TV.

IT WAS ONE of the city’s first luxury The Ambassador came into the limelight

hotels, its palm-lined property exemplifying when New York Senator Robert Kennedy was

the California lifestyle. Pictures of happierassassinated in the hotel pantry June 6, 1968.

days line the corridors of the 350-room hotel,He was shot by Sirhan Sirhan moments after

but detracting from its elegant history now aredeclaring victory in California’s Democratic

peeling paint, worn rugs and stained wallpaper.party presidential primary.

The Ambassador was host to top personalities The site’s future is uncertain, with two

in its heyday, including the late Soviet companies negotiating to buy it. The estimated

premier Nikita Khrushchev and entertainerssale price has risen above $100 million.

Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Lena Horne,

Harry Belafonte, Bing Crosby and Ray Charles.

Re: Above news item transcribed from photocopy shown in MS - 6
W. F. Herman Collection

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Content Note

Arranged in five series, the W. F. Herman Collection measures approximately two feet in length and dates from 1920 to 1949. Most of the collection was originally contained within 16 scrapbooks; due to the poor quality and condition of these books, the documents were removed and placed in chronological order.

The first series, Correspondence and Related Documentation is the largest series and ranges in date from 1920 to 1949. Correspondence, telegrams, memoranda and receipts deal with various topics such as politics, newspaper publishing and the Herman’s family life. In order to ensure their safekeeping, a number of important documents have been photocopied. The copies list of correspondents appears in Appendix I. Series II, contains cards from floral arrangements that were sent after Herman’s death in January of 1938. Photocopies of newspaper articles are found in Series III. Only clippings from newspapers other than the Border Cities Star/Windsor Daily Star have been copied; due to their poor condition, original newspaper scrapbooks and clippings have been destroyed. Appendix II is an extensive listing of all clippings that were found in the scrapbooks. Patrons wishing to research articles from the Star are directed to use microfilm copies in the Literature and History Division.

The two scrapbooks in Series IV are not the type of books which originally held the collection; rather they are commemorative volumes on two distinct topics: President Harding’s visit to Canada which contains correspondence and the Final Report of the RCAF/Windsor Flying School which contains text and photographs. Series V is comprised of photographs centering on W. F. Herman’s death and an ambulance donated by Adie Knox Herman to the Essex Scottish Regiment.

This collection would be of interest to anyone researching the newspaper publishing industry and its ties to politics, local social history and the Herman family.

W.F. Herman Collection

MS 6

List of Publishers

Before 1918 – John A. McKay

Aug 1918 – W. F. Herman

15 Jan 1938 – Hugh Graybiel

3 Oct 1968 – Mark Farrell

1 Nov 1972 – J. Patrick O’Callaghan

5 Jan 1976 – Earnest Harold Wheatley

12 Feb 1977 – Robert M. Pearson

1 May 1979 – Gordon Bullock

1 Sep 1984 – James S. Thompson

W. F. Herman Collection

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Summary of the Records

ICORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION 1920-1949 AND

UNDATED

IISYMPATHY CARDS 1938

IIINEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS 1920-1948 AND UNDATED

IVSCRAPBOOKS 1925, (1945)

VPHOTOGRAPHS

PC/1075; PC/1088 - PC/1123; PC/1288 (oversize)

W. F. Herman Collection

MS 6

MS 6 ICORRESPONDENCE AND RELATED DOCUMENTATION

1920-1949 AND UNDATED

UnitDate

1- Undated

2- 1920

3- 1923

4- 1924

5- 1925

6- 1926

7- 1927

8- 1928

9- 1929

10- 1930

11- 1931

12- 1932

13- Jan-Jun 1933

14- Jul-Dec 1933

15- Jan-Jun 1934

16- Jul-Dec 1934

17- Jan-Jun 1935

18- Jul-Dec 1935

19- Jan-Jun 1936

20- Jul-Dec 1936

21- Jan-Jun 1937

22- Jul-Dec 1937

23- 1-14 Jan 1938

24- 15-17 Jan 1938

25- 18-24 Jan 1938

26- 25 Jan-Aug 1938

27- 1939

28- Jan-Jun 1946

29- Jul-Dec 1946

30- 1947

31- 1948

32- 1949

W. F. Herman Collection

MS 6

MS 6 IISYMPATHY CARDS 1938

UnitDescriptionDate

1- 94 sympathy cards from floral arrangements1938

MS 6 IIINEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS 1920-1948 AND UNDATED

UnitDateRemarks

1- UndatedPhotocopies, For list of article titles,

see Appendix II

2- 1920-1925Photocopies. For list of article titles,

see Appendix II

3- 1927-1932Photocopies. For list of article titles,

see Appendix II

4- 1933-1937Photocopies. For list of article titles,

see Appendix II

5- 1938Photocopies. For list of article titles,

see Appendix II

6- 1946-1948Photocopies. For list of article titles,

see Appendix II

MS 6 IVSCRAPBOOKS 1925, (1945)

UnitDescriptionDateRemarks

1- “Harding in Canada”1925Presented to W.F. Herman by

R.J. Cromie, Publisher,

Vancouver Sun. Contains

copy signatures of various

dignitaries.

2- “Windsor Flying Training School(1945)

Ltd.” – Final Report

W.F. Herman Collection

APPENDIX I: LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS (MS 6 I)

This appendix contains the names of people who sent correspondence to the Herman’s and the newspaper. Also included are the names of businesses or offices from which the letters emanate and copies of replies. In some cases, incomplete or illegible signatures and initials have not been included. Numbers in brackets refer to multiple letters for that date.

NameDateMS 6 I/

Aaron DeRoy Motor Car Co.17 Sep 193111

Abitibi Power and Paper Co. Ltd.25 Jan 193826

Adams, George Matthew17 Jan 193111

27 Jan 193111

17 Oct 193111

18 Jan 193825

Adams, Katherine27 Feb 193111

Adams, W.H.22 Mar 1926 6

Adelman, A.29 Aug 193518

Adelman’s Department Store29 Aug 193518

Aikin, J.A.26 Jan 193826

Aikin, Olive26 Jan (1938)26

Aitchison, E.12 Dec 1926 6

Aitchison, William19 Nov 1924 4

Algie, J.M.14 Mar 193619

Allan, Doug25 Dec 193314

Allan, Madge25 Dec 193314

Allan, S. Jan 193823

Allen, G.H.17 Jan 193824

Allen, J.P.Christmas 1928 8

Allen, Justin No Date 1

Allied Sports and Amusement Association20 Aug 193518

Alofsin, I.F.17 Jan 1938(2)24

Amalgamated Civil Service of Canada 6 Apr 193826

AmbassadorBaptistChurch10 Jan 193212

AmbassadorBridge 4 Jan 1929 9

13 Nov 1929 9

Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles) 2 Feb 193826

AmericanCity Bureau 2 Feb 1926 6

American Consular Service27 Jun 1927 7

11 Feb 1929 9

30 Dec 193010

W.F. Herman Collection

MS 6 APPENDIX I: LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS – continued

NameDateMS 6 I/

Amherstburg27 Jan 1938 8

Amputations Association of the Great War 8 Nov 193518

Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans - 5 Oct 193111

Beber Sanctorum No. 6

Anderson, Harry W. No Date 1

29 Jun 1925 5

20 Jun 1927 7

8 Mar 1928 8

21 Aug 1928 8

9 Jan 1929 9

16 May 193010

Ann Arbor Public Schools28 Feb 193415

The Arcady27 Jan 193212

Arscott, A.E.19 Jan 1938(2)25

Aseltine, A.W.18 Jan 193825

Association of South African Veterans16 Mar 1926 6

Association St. Jean-Baptiste de L’Ouest No Date 1

d’Ontario

AssumptionCollege28 Jun 193010

Assumption Tennis Club26 Jul 193517

Atherton, _____ (Mrs.) (1935)17

Atkin, Walter 6 Dec 193416

19 Feb 193721

24 Mar 193721

29 Mar 193721

18 Jan 193825

Atkinson, Barry E. 5 Jun 194730

Atkinson, J.E. 6 May 193721

26 Jun 194628

27 Jun 194628

Atkinson, KatherineChristmas 1928 8

Atwell, E.20 Jan 193825

Augustine, S.20 Jan 193825

Austin, J.W.10 May 1927 7

Automobile Club of Michigan19 Aug 193518

Automotive Transport Association of 25 Jul 193517

Ontario

Ayton, C.H.19 Jan 1927 7

Bailey, G.T.14 Sep 1925 5

Bain, J. Richard (Mrs.)21 Feb 1925 5

W.F. Herman Collection

MS 6 APPENDIX I: LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS – continued

NameDateMS 6 I/

Baldwin, Harry13 May 1929 9

Ball, H.20 Jan 193825

Ball, R.J. 193823

Balman, W.T.18 Jan 193825

Bank of Montreal (Head Office)16 May 1925 5

Banks, E.H.17 Jan 193824

Bard, James S.21 Oct 193314

10 Apr 193619

Bartlet, MacDonald & Gow 1 Oct 1924 4

20 Apr 1929 9

Bartlet, Margaret11 Jun 193721

Bassett, John14 Nov 193620

17 Jan 193824

Battersby, A.D.23 Nov 193722

Baundry, Ubalde21 Jun 194628

Baum and Brody Furniture Store11 Nov 1925 5

Baxter, Joe No Date 1

Baxter, W.J. 5 Feb 1925 5

Bayliss, Edith18 Jan 193825

Beardall, Jack22 Sep 1927 7

21 Sep 193111

Beatty, Edward W.17 Jan 193824

Beaumont, Charles W.10 Sep 1927 7

Beaverbrook (Lord) 6 Mar 193010

Beers, P.N. (1937)21

Begg, H.21 Jul 193314

Begley, Frank W.27 May 193517

24 Dec 193518

24 Dec 193722

18 Jan 193825

Belcourt, N.A.15 Jan 1924 4

17 Jan 1924 4

11 Feb 1928 8

Beley, Frank31 Dec 193314

Bell, C.W.22 Jul 193517

Bell, Harry J.27 Mar 193721

Bennett, Richard B.31 May 193212

26 Sep 193314

30 Nov 193314

25 Jun 193415

W.F. Herman Collection

MS 6 APPENDIX I: LIST OF CORRESPONDENTS – continued

NameDateMS 6 I/

Benson, J.E.30 Jun 1927 7

26 Oct 1929 9

Benson, J.F.19 Aug 193111

Bernhardt, D.H.12 Jan 1929 9

29 Nov 193314

Berry, J.W. 7 Dec 193416

Berry, J. Wilson22 May 193010

Betts, F.C.14 Apr 193619

Binns, Harold W. 4 Nov 193620

Birks-Ellis-Ryrie Ltd. 3 Jul 194629

Bishop, W.A. 4 Oct 194629

Bishop’s House 3 Jul 1926 6

Black, FredDecember 193722

Black, Ken23 Apr 193111

Blackburn, W.J.22 Jun 194628

Bliss, A. Kathleen25 Jun (1946)28

B’nai Brith – Lodge 101119 Jan 193825

Board of Education30 Jun 1927 7

26 Oct 1929 9

9 Jul 194629

Boland, E.W.20 Jan 193825

Bolton, Cora18 Jan 193825

Border Chamber of Commerce23 Jan 1925 5

18 Jan 1926 6

22 Jan 1926 6

30 Jan 1926 6

1 Feb 1926 6

20 Mar 1926 6

22 May 193517

3 Dec 193518

Border Chamber of Commerce