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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.

In 1969, St. Cloud State celebrated the centennial of it's establishment by the state of Minnesota in 1869. Many activities were planned that surrounded this anniversary. These volumes document those activities as well as the residential community that encomposed the campus, which stood almost exclusively on the Mississippi River along 1st Avenue South between 6th and 9th Street South.

L. Ruth Cadwell, a faculty member at St. Cloud State between 1924 and 1966, was responsible for the gathering and organization of information and images of these volumes. She organized them into nine separate volumes. This collection contains two sets of these volumes, though volume 8 is not included here.  According to the foreword that appears in volume 1, there are differences between the two sets, which are marked appropriately on the spine of each volume. The foreword reads, "Because of the difficulty of collecting materials it was necessary to have some variation between set one and set two. Therefore, should you desire to view the complete materials collected, you are urged to study both copies of the St. Cloud State College Centennial set."

Series 1: History

Ms. Cadwell organized the history into nine separate volumes, some that have two or more parts.

Volume 1 - Early Use of the Present Site: In three parts, volume 1 documents the early uses of the 1969 campus. Photographs of houses that stood on campus are organized by street.

Volume 2 - The Centennial Begins: This volume contains historic images and documents regarding the history of St. Cloud State.

Volume 3 - Brochures, Invitations, and Programs: This volume contains a wide variety of material related to the events and other activities related centennial and for the 1968/69 academic year.

Volume 4 - Centennial Events: This volume contains images and other related material regarding events for the centennial, including the Centennial Hall groundbreaking and Heritage Day.

Volume 5 - News Releases:This volume contains news releases for events, fundraisers, and other activities related to St. Cloud State's centennial.

Volume 6 - News reports: In three parts, this volume contains newspaper clippings about the centennial. Part 1 contains 1960 to October 1968; Part 2 contains November 1968 to March 1969; and Part 3 contains April 1969 to June 1969.

Volume 7 - Communication to Obtain Materials for History: Copies of letters written by Ms. Cadwell requesting photographs of the campus site and the responses received.

Volume 8 - The Chronicle, July 1968 to June 1969: Both copies are part of these records and bound in black with the title "The Centennial: 1869-1969, A Heritage of Excellence," as well as indicated as volume 8.

Volume 9 - The Reporter, July 1968 to June 1969: The volume contains copies of the alum newsletter, The Reporter, as well as men's basketball programs.

Series 2: Negatives and Slides

This series contains negatives of various homes, buildings, and other views of the campus area. It is not clear if the negatives were taken from the photographs, or if the photographs were created from the negatives.