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Milton Henry & Patricia Kennedy Rickels Papers

Collection 307

Rickels, Milton Henry (1920–1997) and Patricia Kennedy (1927–2009). Papers, 1950–2007, n.d.

32 feet

Milton Henry Rickels was born in 1920, in Terra Bella, California, the son of Henry H. Rickels and the former Elsie Inez Land. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Fresno State College, his master’s degree from Claremont University College, and in 1953 received a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University. In 1957, Dr. Rickels joined the faculty at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) as associate professor of English. He was a dedicated scholar and teacher. Dr. Milton taught classes in world literature, American humor, American realism, Mark Twain, comparative literature and American poetry. He retired in 1986 and died in 1997.

Patricia Kennedy Rickels was born in 1927 in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and grew up in Montana, Alaska, and the Panama Canal Zone. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in 1948 and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from LSU in 1951 and 1961 respectively. She taught in the military program in the Panama Canal Zone from 1949 to 1952, and did post-doctoral work on Negro literature and culture at Southern University during the summers of 1968 and 1969. Dr. Rickels came to SLI in 1957 as instructor of English. She was a faculty member and administrator for 50 years, and was the director of the Honors Program for 28 years. Her academic interests included American folklore and African American literature. She retired in 2007 and died in 2009.

Milton and Patricia Rickels were active scholars and published many books and articles, including some they authored together.

In 1990, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities honored Patricia and Milton Rickels as Louisiana Humanists of the Year for their contributions to the humanities and in recognition of their longtime work for civil rights, particularly on the Louisiana Council on Human Relations. They also received an LEH Special Humanities Award in 1987.

This collection consists of personal and professional files. It includes correspondence, diaries, photographs, certificates, research and writing files, English department files, yearbooks and other papers.

This collection was donated by James Wilson, Jr.

Series:

I. Personal Files
    a. Correspondence
        Incoming/outgoing 1-01 through 2-14
        Greeting cards 2-15 through 2-18
        Diaries 2-19 through 3-09
        Photographs 3-10 through 4-28
          Box 4A through 4C
          14-18 through 15-06
    b. Research & Writings
        Publicity agreement 5-01 through 5-02
        Book material 5-03 through 5-14
        Essays 5-15 through 5-26
        Speeches 5-27 through 5-31
        Book reviews 5-32 through 5-33
        Other 5-34 through 5-34b
        Theses 5-35 and 5-36a
    c. Biographical
        Clippings 6-01 through 6-04
        Certificates 6-05 through 6-08
        Diplomas 6-09 through 6-13
        Commencement programs 6-13a
        Obituary material 6-14 through 6-17
        LEH 6-18 through 6-35
        Personal material 6-36 through 7-10
        Plaques/framed material 8-01 through 11A-08
        Genealogy 12-01 through 12-01a
        Other 12-02 through12-03a
    d. Publications
        Yearbooks 12-04 through 12-16
        Other 12-17 through 12-19
        Material authored 13-01 through 14-17b
        3-ring binder s: English essays 15-07 through 15-08
           
II. Professional Files
    a. English Department
        Class assignments/class notes 16-01 through 17-13c
        Research 17-14 through 18-24d
        Essays 18-25 through 19-22
        Note cards 19-22a through 19-22f
        Honors Program 19A-01 through 19A-13
        Folklore 19A-14 through 19A-35
        Committees/conferences 20-01 through Box 21A
        VHS/cassettes/CD 22-01 through 22-17
        Slides/Others 23-01 through 23-13
           
III. Oversize Box 24, Map Case 13-07
           

Inventory:

Rickels, Milton Henry (1920-1997) and Patricia Kennedy (1927-2009). Papers, 1950-2007, n.d. (PDF)