Manuscripts

MSS 43

Schowe, Benjamin Marshall, Sr., 1893-1979
Papers of Benjamin M. Schowe, Sr., 1912-1977

Gallaudet University Archives.

Descriptive Summary

Repository: Gallaudet University Archives
Call No.: MSS 43
Creator:
Title: Papers of Benjamin M. Schowe, Sr.,1912-1977
Quantity: 14.0 Linear Feet (28 document boxes)
Abstract:
Note: This document last updated 2006 January 9.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information: The papers of Benjamin Marshall Schowe, Sr. were donated to the Gallaudet College Archives by his son, Ben Schowe, Jr. in June of 1980.
Processed by: Michael J. Olson. 1982 November 18.
Processing Note:
Conditions on Use and Access: This collection is open to the public with some restrictions. Photocopies may be made for scholarly research. Restricted files are in folders indicated by an asterisk.

Related Material in the Archives:

Photographs

· Ben M. Schowe, Sr. [picture]. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Portraits

Vertical Files

· Benjamin M. Schowe. Gallaudet University Archives, Call Number: Deaf Biographical.

Biographical Sketch

1893 September 29 Born in Columbus, Indiana

1906 Became deaf at 13

1913 Entered Gallaudet College

1918 Received Bachelor of Arts degree

1918 Married Dorothy Conover, Class of 1918

1919 Personnel Manager for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio

1920 Ben Schowe, Jr. born

1934 Rose to become labor economics Research Specialist

1939 – 1946 First Vice‑President of Gallaudet College Alumni Association

1946 ‑ 1950 President of Gallaudet College Alumni Association

1951 Honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Gallaudet College

1958 Retired from Firestone Tire & Rubber Company

1979 September 26 Died at Akron, Ohio

Scope and Content

The Benjamin Marshall Schowe, Sr. Papers consists of correspondence and personal papers of Ben M. Schowe, Sr., a 1918 graduate of Gallaudet College, who held for almost 40 years as the position of labor economist with the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio. This collection, dated from 1912 to 1977, includes approximately 30,000 pages of correspondence and some 10,000 pages of manuscripts and notebooks. The bulk of the materials falls into the period of his years on the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company and as President of Gallaudet College Alumni Association, specifically 1930 to 1960.

The collection includes a large amount of correspondence which is in General Files. This collection concerns the problems of deaf people's life, i. e., their employment and education. Ben's correspondence talks about his philosophy and opinions about deaf people and his personal writings about deaf people's problems and how they might be solved.

While Ben was a labor economist for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, he corresponded with federal authorities from the Civil Works Projects about hiring deaf employees. Also he interviewed and hired deaf people to work in the Firestone Company. There are some surveys of deaf workers which were published and distributed to federal agencies and companies across the United States during the 1940's.

There is correspondence between Ben Schowe and his alma mater, Gallaudet College. His correspondence is concerned with the education of deaf students, theories and methods of sign language vs oralism, general philosophies of education and pedagogy, and staff and administrators of the college. Ben was vice president and then president of the Gallaudet College Alumni Association. The most exciting group of this collection regards the charge of nepotism against President Pervical Hall of Gallaudet during the mid‑1940's. Also he corresponded with the alumni about the future development of Gallaudet College.

Ben Schowe was a member of National Association of the Deaf and National Fraternal Society of the Deaf. The collection consists correspondence between these deaf organizations about the problems of deaf people in getting jobs, obtaining insurance, and problems with the Work Projects Administration which prohibited deaf employees in getting jobs with them. Ben was a member of the Industrial Committee for the National Association of the Deaf which was involved in these matters.
In the collection, there are some correspondence and materials about Ohio where he lived most of his life. His concern was to help deaf people of Ohio make a better life for themselves without unnecessary legal and attitude barriers.

There are manuscripts which are published and unpublished, wrote articles for publications, some about deaf employment and some for pleasure.

The collection consists of correspondence, personal and business related with typewritten and handwritten. Also there are notes, articles, publications, miscellaneous materials, printed materials, pamphlets, reports, speeches and published and unpublished manuscripts.

Among Ben M. Schowe, Sr.'s correspondents were Tom L. Anderson, Albert W. Atwood, Leon Auerbach, Stanley K, Bigman, Ignatius Bjorlee, Maxine Tull Boatner, Hubert Bonner, Guilbert C. Braddock, Earnest E. Calkins, Cornett R. Orin, Alan B. Crammatte, Louise Culpher, Ernest G. Draper, Sidney B. Fay, Leonard M. Elstad, James T. Flood, Irving S. Fusfeld, Edward Denison Gallaudet, Jack R. Gannon, Robert Greenmun, Oscar Guire, Percival Hall, Agatha T. Hanson, Kenneth Hodgson, Jay Cooke Howard, Dick Kennedy, Wesley Lauritsen, Eric Malzkuhn, Gordon B. McKeeman, Richard W. Meisegeier, Edward C. Merrill, Jr., Herbert C. Merrill, Edwin W. Nies, James N. Orman, David Peikoff, Albert T. Pimentel, Henry J. Pulver, Winfield Scott Runde, Arthur L. Roberts, Jerome D. Schein, A. M. Schlesinger, Ben Schowe, Jr., Frederick Schreiber, Charles D. Seaton, Carl B. Smith, Roy J. Stewart, William C. Stokoe, Jr., Frank B. Sullivan, Nina Van Oss, McKay Vernon, Cadwallader Washburn, Boyce R. Williams, and E. C. Wine.

Series Descriptions and Folder Lists

No Series.

Box	Folder	Title of Folder	Date
1	1	Correspondence ‑ Activities ‑ Miscellaneous	1964‑67
1	2	Correspondence ‑ Akron Beacon Journal	1933‑73
1	3	Correspondence ‑ American Annals of the Deaf	1971‑72
1	4	Correspondence ‑ American Federation of the Physically Handicapped	1942‑43, 1952
1	5	Correspondence ‑ American Hearing Society	1960‑61
1	6	Correspondence ‑ Anderson, Tom L.	1933
1	7	Correspondence ‑ Anthropology	1957
1	8	Correspondence ‑ Attitudes of Organizations	1941
1	9	Correspondence ‑ Babb, Paul & Eileen	1957‑59, 1963
1	10	Correspondence ‑ Bigman, Stanley K.	1959‑60, 68‑69
1	11	Correspondence ‑ Biography ‑ Edward M. Gallaudet	1947‑48, 50-58
1	12	Correspondence ‑ Bonner, Hubert	1964‑67
1	13	Correspondence ‑ Bowman, Margaret Braddock	1976‑77
1	14	Correspondence ‑ Braddock, Guilbert C.	1933‑34
1	15	Correspondence ‑ Braddock, Guilbert C.	1969‑70
2	1	Correspondence ‑ Calkins, Earnest E	1952‑59
2	2	Correspondence ‑ Casual Correspondence	1939‑42, 48, 53
2	3	Correspondence ‑ Census	1975‑76
2	4	Correspondence ‑ Church ‑ Unitarian	1961, 63‑65
2	5	Correspondence ‑ Cornett, R. Orin	1967
2	6	Correspondence ‑ Counseling Techniques & Facilities	1941- 59
2	7	Correspondence ‑ Crammattee, Alan B.	1940‑59
2	8	Correspondence ‑ Crammattee, Alan B.	1955‑59
2	9	Correspondence ‑ Crammattee, Alan B	1959
2	10	Correspondence ‑ Day School vs. Residential	1953‑54
2	11	Correspondence ‑ Deaf Church Organization	1951‑52
2	12	Correspondence ‑ Deaf Employment	1967‑70
3	1	Correspondence ‑ Deaf Psychology	1929‑58
3	2	Correspondence ‑ Deaf Workers at Noisy Jobs	1956
3	3	Correspondence ‑ Detmold, George	1953‑59
3	4	Correspondence ‑ Discrimination (Union)	1941
3	5	Correspondence ‑ Education -	1930-74
3	6	Correspondence ‑ Education Method	1934- 59
3	7	Correspondence ‑ Elstad, Leonard M. & Detmold, G.	1960, 62
3	8	Correspondence ‑ Federal Programs - Captioned Films	1965
3	9	Correspondence ‑ Fusfeld, Irving S.	1937, 41
3	10	Correspondence ‑ Fusfeld, Irving S.	1939, 41, 43
3	11	Correspondence ‑ Fusfeld, Irving S.	1941‑56
3	12	Correspondence ‑ Fusfeld, Irving S.	1955
3	13	Correspondence ‑ Fusfeld, Irving S.	1974 ‑ 76
3	14	Correspondence ‑ Gallaudet College & Ohio Alumni Assn.	1960, 64‑65
3	15	Correspondence ‑ Gannon , Jack R.	1978
3	16	Correspondence ‑ GoIf -	1938‑64
3	17	Correspondence ‑ Greenberg, Bernard L.	1970
3	18	Correspondence ‑ Greenmum, Robert	1941
3	19	Correspondence ‑ Hearing & Non‑hearing	1953, 55, 59
3	20	Correspondence ‑ Hodgson, Kenneth W.	1974
3	21	Correspondence ‑ Howard, Jay Cooke	1941‑42
3	22	Correspondence ‑ Incidence of Deafness	1948, 60
3	23	Correspondence ‑ Kaczar, Emil	1968‑69
3	24	Correspondence ‑ Kennedy, Dick	1954, 56
3	25	Correspondence ‑ Kress, Mary Ann	1958‑60
4	1	Correspondence ‑ Language	1932, 43, 59‑60
4	2	Correspondence ‑ Linguistics‑Stokoe, William C.	1971, 73
4	3	Correspondence ‑ Lip-reading	1953, 56
4	4	Correspondence ‑ Lunde, Dr.	1957
4	5	Correspondence ‑ Lunde, Meyerson, Rankin, Doctor	1951, 56‑59
4	6	Correspondence ‑ Malzkuhn, Eric	1941, 52, 54, 58
4	7	Correspondence ‑ Manual Communication	1958 ‑ 60
4	8	Correspondence ‑ Manual Mode	1938- 74
4	9	Correspondence ‑ Markman, Robert	1972
4	10	Correspondence ‑ Mayme (Sister?)	1941
4	11	Correspondence ‑ McKeeman, Gordon B.	1970, 72‑77
4	12	Correspondence ‑ Meisegeier, Richard W.	1969‑73
4	13	Correspondence ‑ Mental Hygiene	1953-54
4	14	Correspondence ‑ Meyerson, Lee	1962, 75‑76
4	15	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous	1931,37,40‑44,53‑61
4	16	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous	1940‑42, 52‑53
4	17	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous	1959‑62
5	1	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous	1967‑69
5	2	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous	1969, 72
5	3	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous	1972
5	4	Correspondence ‑ Miscellaneous-Mementos	1962, 66, 72‑75, 79
5	5	Correspondence ‑ Miscelleneous - Personal	1941‑42, 50-59
5	6	Correspondence ‑ Nash, A. Felix (Rabbi)	1932
5	7	Correspondence ‑ Oral Deaf	1947‑48,50‑59,66‑67
5	8	Correspondence ‑ Oral ‑ Manual Debate	1952, 57
5	9	Correspondence ‑ Oralism	1948‑50
5	10	Correspondence ‑ Oralism	1949‑50, 53‑57, 60
5	11	Correspondence ‑ Oralism-"Deaf" Language -	1964‑67, 69
5	12	Correspondence ‑ Oralism‑ Silverman, S. Richard	1963‑64
5	13	Correspondence ‑ Our British Brethren	1958‑59, 66‑67
5	14	Correspondence ‑ Peddler's Testimony	1948
5	15	Correspondence ‑ Personal	1944‑48
5	16	Correspondence ‑ Personal	1971‑73
5	17	Correspondence ‑ Personal friends	1949, 56, 64, 66
5	18	Correspondence ‑ Philosophy ‑ General	1966 – 67
6	1	Correspondence ‑ "Polemics" ‑ Unclassified	1945, 62, 64‑67, 72
6	2	Correspondence ‑ President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped	1958‑59, 63
6	3	Correspondence ‑ Promotion for deaf workers	1957, 59
6	4	Correspondence ‑ Rehabilitation ‑ Federal Agencies	1967
6	5	Correspondence ‑ Relatives	1966‑70
6	6	Correspondence ‑ Runde, Winfield Scott	1951, 54
6	7	Correspondence ‑ Sampson, Robert C.	1966‑71
6	8	Correspondence ‑ Schein, Jerome D. & Detmold, G.	1962‑64
6	9	Correspondence ‑ Schirmer, L.	1948‑49
6	10	Correspondence ‑ School Officials	1943-49, 51, 56‑57
6	11	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1946, 48, 50‑59
6	12	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1956
6	13	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1965‑67
6	14	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1966‑69
6	15	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1968‑69, 1972
7	1	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1969‑71
7	2	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1975‑76
7	3	Correspondence ‑ Schowe, Ben Jr.	1976‑77
7	4	Correspondence ‑ Schreiber, Frederick C. & Kit	1975‑76
7	5	Correspondence ‑ Science & Education	1953, 59
7	6	Correspondence ‑ Science & Education ‑ Research Projects	1949, 55‑57, 59‑60
7	7	Correspondence ‑ Self‑Concept	1955
7	8	Correspondence ‑ Sign Language	1932, 48‑49, 59
7	9	Correspondence ‑ Sign Language vs. Spoken Communication	1937, 47, 61
7	10	Correspondence ‑ Smith, Carl B.	1950, 66‑68, 71, 65
7	11	Correspondence ‑ Social Resources	1944, 50‑60
7	12	Correspondence ‑ Social Sciences, Philosophy	1968‑70, 72
7	13	Correspondence ‑ Source of Maladjustment	1956
7	14	Correspondence ̴