I’m on-site familiar with many of the archives and special collections in the U.S.–most recently 2 days at Beinecke Library, Yale, for Langston Hughes–and, in addition to my own interests, have researched a variety of subjects for others over the past 40 years. Whether you’re looking for historic images or documents, a collection overview, or specific items, I may be of assistance. No charge for a consultation: tell me about your project and what kinds of documentation you need to authenticate it.

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During most of my 37-year career teaching at ECU, I was evaluated annually in a category called “research & creative activities.” We got more points on our evals for certain publications, and we served under various deans who had individualized expectations: one wanted everything we researched and wrote about to fit on a 3×5 notecard; one said we should only publish in national refereed publications about subjects of major interest within a nationally recognized area of expertise; another liked local (most did not); one liked us to publish in a variety of media while another thought nothing counted but print, and there was an A-list and a B-list and a C-list, more points for an A-list pub, of course, so that a few of one might count as one of another.
         Still, ECU was generous in its support of my interests, especially in funding excursions to academic conferences to talk about some of the subjects I was writing about, and I was often able to combine academic conferences with visits to local archives to further those and other interests.
        In retirement, I continue to enjoy developing these interests and especially like finding their intersections.

US Navy Band vet Huey Lawrence, with his wife, Willa, at B-1’s 2007 reunion at UNC-CH.

–December 17, 2023