Spring 2025

Walt Di Mantova’s search for a family tie to the Manhattan Project uncovers unexpected insights about J. Robert Oppenheimer. Records illuminate Lucinda Hinsdale Stone’s relentless fight for women’s education. And the papers of U‑M’s ninth president trace his opposition to the Vietnam War, rooted in an earlier conflict’s devastating loss of young lives.

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Selected Stories

A selection of stories of this issue. Please download PDF to read all content.

A Plucky Bunch

by Kim Clarke

U-M’s Mandolin Club records tell the story how this unlikely instrument took the campus and the nation by storm in the early 1900s, sold out concerts, then faded just as quickly.

On the Fly

by Kim Clarke

Typhoid, dysentery, tuberculosis–in the early 1900s, they could all be spread by flies. That’s why one woman launched a crusade to rid the city of Cleveland of its flying pests.

The Gutenberg Bible and Beyond

by Katie Vloet

Meet Thomas Hyry of the Houghton Library at Harvard University. He’s part of our new series about archivists who trained at the Bentley, and are doing important work in the field.

An Ill-Fated Voyage

by Lara Zielin

Fifty years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald freighter sank in Lake Superior. Ric Mixter’s research into the wreck is archived at the Bentley, ready to help future shipwreck researchers.

Ford on the Field

by Jay Winkler

The recent 50th anniversary of Gerald R. Ford’s presidency recognized his accomplishments on a national scale and made it easy to forget he was also an exceptional U-M football player.

Atomic Connections

by Jim Ottaviani

When Walt Di Mantova visited the archives to investigate a possible family connection to the Manhattan Project, he found more than he bargained for regarding J. Robert Oppenheimer.

A Dangerous Lady

by Madeleine Bradford

Records show how Lucinda Hinsdale Stone's tireless advocacy for women's education, even in the face of adversity, changed women's lives at U-M and across the state of Michigan.

War is a Colossal Mistake

by Kim Clarke

U-M's ninth president opposed the U.S. war in Vietnam. His papers at the Bentley reveal how his experiences in an earlier conflict showed him firsthand the tragic loss of young people.

Playing Favorites

Staff from the archives at the Bentley share the special holdings that have made an indelible mark on their hearts and minds, with some of their favorite pieces of Michigan history.

I Know This Place

by Katie Vloet

A visiting researcher from the University of the Philippines has found significant documents—and locations—in Bentley collections, including photos that show the aftermath of World War II.

Sleuthing the Story Behind a Photo

by Edward Mears

An unusual picture sparked a quest to find answers that started at the Bentley, and took researcher Edward Mears across the world, searching for details about his grandmother's life at U-M in the 1930s.