The Boyd family legacy is one of the most prevalent and outstanding in K-State history and is one of the most well-known newspaper and political families within the state of Kansas. The family of Huck and Mamie Boyd formally donated a collection of personal papers and memorabilia to K-State called “the Boyd Family Papers.”
“Our library is one of our prettiest buildings on campus and it represents a central place of learning,” said Kirk Schulz, K-State president. “We have achieved national status by obtaining these papers and deeply appreciate the donation of the Boyd Family Papers. This is a step in the right direction toward preserving the history of Kansas.”
At a special ceremony held on Thursday in the Hemisphere Room of the library, K-State alumni, students and faculty, as well as several members of the Boyd family gathered to honor the legacy of Huck and Mamie. They also formally committed the papers to K-State’s library.
Notable people in attendance included Kirk and Noel Schulz; Ruth Dyer, interim provost; John Carlin, former governor of Kansas, as well as representatives from the offices of Sen. John Roberts and Rep. Jerry Moran.
“This represents one of the most noted Boyd family donations to the university,” said Lori Goetsch, dean of libraries. “We worked hard to make these extraordinary papers available to the K-State community.”
Goetsch also said these papers represented a legacy unlike any other. The Boyd family history in Manhattan runs deep; over 28 members of the Boyd family have graduated from K-State and Boyd Hall on campus is named for Mamie Boyd. Her accomplishments include presiding as the first female president of the Alumni Association and being the first recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in journalism.
Huck Boyd’s accomplishments include service on the Kansas Board of Regents and K-State Alumni Association and recipient of the K-State Alumni Medallion.
“The papers will enhance students and scholars working in a number of fields, including politics, Kansas history, rural life, newspapers and journalism, women’s history and K-State history,” said Goetsch.
The opening of the collection coincided with K-State’s 10th Annual Huck Boyd Lecture in Community Media, given by Scott Kraft on Sept. 3rd.
Jessie Bolejack, senior in public relations, attended the event for a requirement and was pleasantly surprised.
“I was excited to come and see the collection and the presentation was really neat,” Bolejack said.
Tony Crawford, university archivist, was the chief collaborator on the project, something that has been in the works for several years.
“It’s exciting to see the collection finally arrive here at K-State; after Mamie’s passing in 2006 the discussion was reopened as to where the papers should go,” said Crawford, “The family made it perfectly clear that they wanted to archive the collection here at K-State.”
The papers will be housed in the library’s Morse Department of Special Collections and will take up 90 feet of linear shelf space.
“There is a substantial amount of material related to Huck Boyd’s political career, including his campaign work for Kansas Gov. Ed Arn, Sen. Bob Dole and Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon,” said Crawford.
Students can find descriptions of the papers by searching for “Boyd” on the K-State libraries Web site at libraries.k-state.edu.
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