Collections

This collection contains the research materials collected by Archimedes L. A. Patti for use in his historical writings. Known for his military career, his work in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and his relationship with Ho Chi Minh, Patti was recognized later in life as a respected researcher and historian on Indochina affairs. Notes, manuscripts, ephemera, photographs, maps, books and scrapbooks are held in this collection. Of important note are photographs given to Patti by Ho Chi Minh in 1945.

The Archival collection of Dr. Charles N. Millican from the collection of Norman Van Meter, 1900-2004 contains photographs, news clippings, and personal letters about Charles Millican. The photographs range from social events to private family photos. This collection provides insight into the life and career of Dr. Charles Millican. Charles Norman Millican was born October 9, 1916 in Wilson, Arkansas. He earned a B.S. in Business and Religion from Union University in 1941. In 1946, he received his M.A. in Economics from George Peabody College and became Acting Head of the Commerce Department at Union University. The Millicans moved to Florida in 1948 where Millican studied for his Ph.D. in Business Finance and Economics. When Dr. Millican was appointed President of the new university in 1965, the university had no name, no buildings, no faculty and no students; he had to create the university over which he would preside. After Millican's appointment, he hired staff, found premises, and began the slow process of creating his university. He established the twin tenets of "Accent on the Individual" and "Accent on Excellence," which continue to guide the University, and the motto, "Reach for the Stars". Although he retired as President in 1978, Millican returned to teaching finance as a professor in the College of Business at the University of Central Florida, as it was now known, and earned the title President Emeritus. He chaired the Orange County Community Referendum Committee, which passed the resort tax that built the Orange County Convention Center. He has received Distinguished Alumnus awards from both the University of Florida and Union University, and he received honorary LL.D. degrees from Rollins College and UCF.

These materials were in the possession of Betty Pooler Mitchell Nehrling, Henry Nehrling's second wife. Dr. Henry Nehrling was a horticulturist famous for his gardens in Gotha and Naples, Florida. The collection consists of letters, documents, photographs, postcards and monographs which provides insight into the familial and financial affairs of the Nehrling Gardens. It also offers a look at Henry Nehrling during the tumultuous years of Florida's boom and bust, and a glimpse of his failing physical and mental state while he sought refuge in a quiet communal colony in Southwest Florida.

The collection consists of the organized materials left behind by Armando Mendez following his research for his book Ciudad De Cigars: West Tampa (1994). The materials cover the tobacco industry and provide information and photographs relating to dozens of factories representing dozens of companies. There are also materials related to West Tampa historic places and people, such as former mayors, schools, and churches.

Contains records and related materials documenting the professional and personal lives of the Armwood family, a pioneering African American family in Hillsborough County, Florida.