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The collection consists of over 1500 biographical sketches created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the years from 1936 through 1939 of early settlers of Stearns County, Minnesota, who lived predominantly during the 1800s, though a few can be dated to the late 1700s. By keeping their focus on the "common" person in society, the WPA biographies present examples of how the working class spent their lives. In addition, there are several immigrant accounts that share struggles and triumphs of settling in Stearns County.

A combination of interviews, information taken from books or newspapers, census data and courthouse records are put together in these files to create as complete of a genealogical picture as possible. All files are different - some may contain a combination of an interview summary, information taken from published sources, and census data and courthouse from the Stearns County courthouse. If the interview is not conducted with the subject themselves, they were usually conducted with a family member. This information is listed at the end of each sketch along with the name of the interviewer. Birth and death dates were included if known. It is believed that the people presented in these biographies were selected at random which come from diverse backgrounds. Some of the subjects discuss their interactions with Native Americans, while others briefly talk about their daily routine.

Included with these biographies is A Report on The Stearns County, Minnesota Biographical Sketches, written in 1983 by undergaduate student Marilyn Salzl Brinkman. This detailed report focuses on the analyzation of demographic data and interpretation of the agriculture-based subjects the WPA interviewed.

This collection of material contain images of St. Cloud State sporting events, particularly track, as well as other campus events such as the appearances of Vincent Price and Bill Cosby.

It also includes four folder of images taken by Thompson's classmate Candy Stanton.

These materials concern the academic activities of Don Sikkink, who was a former professor and administrator at St. Cloud State University between 1963 and 1990. They include Sikkink’s 2010 written recollections of his tenure at SCSU, along with a travel journal and slides taken during two SCSU faculty and student trips to China in fall 1985 and spring 1987. In 1985. the trip was to include a stop in Japan but travel difficulties prevented that.

The 262 letters and 1 poem included in this collection were written by Sinclair Lewis to Marcella Powers between 1939 and 1947. Lewis met Powers in August 1939 when they were both acting in Eugene O’Neill’s play Ah Wilderness! at the Provincetown Theater in Cape Cod. Lewis and Powers began a relationship despite the 36 year age difference between them.

In these letters, Lewis discusses a wide variety of topics - his career, his writing, and his feelings for Powers. During the time of their relationship, Lewis traveled quite a bit throughout the United States giving lectures. He also spent time working in Los Angeles in the motion picture industry and lived in Excelsior and Duluth in Minnesota where he spent much time writing. Lewis also wrote about his social life, including the people that he met, the games of chess that he played, and the books that he read. Many of the letters are very long while others are quite short, with some including cartoons drawn by Lewis.

The letters end in September 1947, shortly after Powers marriage to Michael Amrine. Lewis tells Powers that she will no longer receive an allowance from him, but that if she were ever in need of help that he would be there for her. When Lewis passed away in 1951, Powers was listed in his will.

The 19 letters were written by Sinclair Lewis to Joan McQuary between 1942 and 1945. In the fall of 1942, McQuary met Lewis as a student in his creative writing class at the University of Minnesota. When the class finished in December, Lewis moved to New York City. During his time in Minneapolis, April to December 1942, Lewis nearly completed his novel Gideon Planish.

In these letters, Lewis discussed a wide variety of topics, giving a sense of his life while living in New York City. Lewis elaborated on his search for and described his new apartment at 300 Central Park West. Despite moving to New York City, Lewis longed for his University of Minnesota pupils and Minnesota, urging Joan to visit him in New York City, possibly working for him as a secretary. Lewis often mentioned spending the coming summer in Minnesota.

While in New York City, Lewis finished his novel, Gideon Planish. It was published that spring. Lewis was aware of the reviews he received for his book, noting to McQuary that the “furious attack” by literary critic Mumford Jones “is to be answered by yet more furious letters full of literary sniffing and thumbings of the philological nose…” He also mentioned on several occasions that he was sick of writing. After completing short stories for Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan in the spring of 1943, Lewis said the only writing he wanted to do was checks and luggage labels.

The Ida Compton papers contain mostly letters written to Ida Kay Compton by Sinclair Lewis and others, dating from 1947 to 1985. Also included are clippings about Sinclair Lewis, including some written by and about Ida Kay Compton. In addition, the papers contain audio recordings of Lewis in the 1940s.

Sinclair Lewis wrote 18 letters and one telegram to Ida Kay Compton from 1947 to 1950. In these letters, Lewis mostly lived or was traveling in Europe. He described the people he was met and his home in Florence. Lewis also wrote about his new secretary, Alex Manson. The remainder of his letters discussed Ida's upcoming visit to Europe in the summer of 1950.

Other correspondence includes letters from Claude and Helen Lewis. Dated mostly around the death of Sinclair Lewis in 1951, these letters chronicle Ida's trip to Minnesota for the memorial service, as well as the disposition of Sinclair's personal property.

Letters written by Mark Schorer, who was writing a biography of Lewis, asked Ida for her memories of Lewis, while letters from Bennett Cerf and Harry Maule discussed an incident involving a confrontation with Sinclair Lewis over World So Wide, a book published in 1951.

Especially noteworthy are letters written by and to Barnaby Conrad, detailing Ida's friendship with Sinclair Lewis. Conrad briefly served as Lewis' secretary in 1947.

Other significant material are the newspaper clippings collected by Ida Kay Compton. Many dealt with the death of Sinclair Lewis, book reviews about publications of Lewis' life, as well as a few about Ida Compton herself, which dated in 1985.

The papers include audio recordings of Lewis from the 1940s and may be the only recordings Lewis' voice that survive. The large vinyl records have been reformatted onto a reel-to-reel tape and an audio cassette.

In 1933, Lewis collaborated with Lloyd Lewis to write a play revolving around the Civil War called The Jayhawker. Lloyd Lewis was a noted Civil War historian, writing biographies of General William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant. In the fall of 1934, the play, which in early drafts collected by Hubert Gibson was called “The Skedaddler” and “The Glory Hole,” was performed in Philadelphia, Washington, and New York.

The Hubert Irey Collection of Sinclair Lewis consists of many drafts of the Sinclair Lewis and Lloyd Lewis collaboration The Jayhawker, as well as correspondence and news clippings, almost all dated in 1933. Most notable are the drafts of The Jayhawker, showing the evolution of the play from an idea to a finished script.

There is a small but significant collection of material from Hubert Gibson himself, including letters, photographs, and news clippings, dating from the 1930s to the 1990s. Highlights of the material include Gibson’s remarks about his time working on The Jayhawker, as well as his letter of recommendation from Sinclair Lewis.

Series 1: The Jayhawker

Subseries 1: Drafts

Arranged in chronological order, the drafts tell the story about how The Jayhawker evolved from an idea to a play. Most of the material is typewritten with varying degrees of handwritten revisions in pencil or ink. These revisions were in English and in shorthand, either written by Sinclair or Lloyd Lewis, as well as Hubert Gibson.

Especially significant is the final draft of The Jayhawker, then titled “The Glory Hole,” hand inscribed to Hubert:

“For Gib, Who not only typed this, but acted all the parts during his obstetrical ministrations to us in our confinement. Lloyd Lewis Sept. 29, 1933 Sinclair Lewis”

Subseries 2: Miscellaneous

Included here are correspondence, news clippings, and artifacts. Most significant are the letters between Sinclair and Lloyd Lewis, April 1933 to September 1933. Written mostly to Sinclair, Lloyd Lewis discussed the details of the plot of the play, which he was calling “The Skedaddler.” Other details include possible producers of the play, as well as arrangements for a room at Chicago’s Sherry Hotel.

Also included in this subseries is an empty box of paper, paper which was used to write the drafts of The Jayhawker.

Series 2: Hubert Irey Gibson

Correspondence, photographs, and news clippings are included here. Most significant are the letters between Gibson and his daughter, Barbara. These letters, as well as a 1960 news clipping, provides insight into Gibson’s experience as Lewis’ temporary secretary.

Also included in this subseries is a color photocopy of a 1935 letter of recommendation written by Sinclair Lewis for Hubert Gibson.