Personal Materials, 1930-2007

This collection has been arranged into five series: Augustana College Athletic Organizations, Augustana College Academic Organizations, Eclipses, Alphabetical Subject Files, and Binder Contents.

The Augustana College Athletic Organizations (1946-1967) series contains mainly minutes and other such organizational records from three separate boards, two of which, (the Athletic Board and the Board of Athletic Control) governed athletics specifically at Augustana College. The third organization represented is the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, (CCIW), which regulates and supervises intercollegiate athletics in those states. The records of the CCIW include the constitution, meeting minutes and other administrative records, as well as eligibility records for several colleges.

The Augustana College Academic Organizations (1933-1949, 1965-1969) series includes records from three different academic organizations, including the Graduate Council, the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, and the Runic Honor Society. The Phi Beta Kappa files are the most extensive, and contain correspondence to and from the society, member handbooks, news clippings, society-sponsored program information, and financial records. The Runic Honor Society records contain news clippings, member information, and correspondence. The Graduate Council file contains only meeting minutes.

The Eclipse (1970, 1972-1974, 1976-1977, 1979-1981, 1983-1984 and 1991) series is arranged chronologically and includes various materials from trips organized by Dr. Nelson on behalf of The Eclipse Chasers Club, a group of eclipse enthusiasts. Each folder contains a variety of materials, including newspaper clippings, correspondence, ephemera, photos and notes. News clippings about some of the eclipse events are also grouped together and filed along with the other materials from each eclipse.

The Subject Files (1959-2006 and Undated) series are a variety of alphabetically arranged personal and professional papers that include a variety of subjects by, about, and of interest to Dr. Nelson. The topics have been collected by Dr. Nelson and each folder contains a variety of materials including photographs, lecture notes, newspaper clippings, correspondence, ephemera and miscellany. News clippings about some of these subjects are also grouped together and filed along with the other materials about the same subject.

The Binder Content (1953-2004 and Undated) series consists of topically arranged materials originating from three-ring binders owned by Dr. Nelson and his wife. This series has been arranged into seven sub-series: personal, correspondence, newspaper clippings, events, ephemera, miscellaneous and photographs.