Gressley at the former home of the AHC in Coe Library. AHC Photo Files.
Dr. Gene M. Gressley (1931-2026)
It is with sorrow and respect for his achievements that the American Heritage Center (AHC) announces the death of its long-serving and influential director, Gene Maurice Gressley. He passed away on May 24, 2026, just shy of his 95th birthday. Dr. Gressley led the Center from 1956 to 1988, during which time it grew from a small regional entity to a respected national archive.
Gene was born on June 20, 1931, in Antioch, Indiana. He was educated at Manchester College (B.S. 1952), Indiana University (M.A. 1956), and the University of Oregon (Ph.D. 1964). He married Joyce Elinor Burrous in 1952 and they had two children. Joyce Gressley passed away in 2000. He remarried in 2002, to Mae Wygant.
When Dr. Gressley arrived at the University of Wyoming in 1956, the archive contained only 284 collections. When he left more than 30 years later, the Center counted over 10,000 collections consisting of more than 80,000 cubic feet. The holdings had broadened from their primary emphasis on Wyoming and the West to a national focus that includes American entertainment and popular culture, economic geology, journalism, transportation, the agricultural industry, and conservation and natural resources. Notable collections came from Jack Benny, Barbara Stanwick, and Stan Lee as well as from William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, the Anaconda Copper Company, the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association and the American Sheep Industry. In 1976 – the bicentennial year – the archive was renamed the “American Heritage Center” to reflect this new, broader collecting approach.
During his career, Dr. Gressley published six books—the most notable being Bankers and Cattlemen (1966)—and numerous articles. He was active in the Western History Association, serving as its president in 1984-1985, and served on the board of its journal, Western History Quarterly. At UW, Dr. Gressley held the position of the head of American Studies from 1969 to the early 1980s. When he stepped down from the AHC’s directorship in 1988, he served as special assistant to the UW president for five years before entering retirement and relocating to Oregon where he continued to write historical articles and provide book reviews. When his health began to decline, he and his wife relocated to Chicago in 2013 where he passed away.
By Paul V. M. Flesher Director, American Heritage Center
Content Warning: This blogpost features discussion and images related to the Holocaust. Some readers may find this material distressing.
This is the second part in a two part series on the Nuremberg Trials.
Final Argument for the United States of America on the Indicted Organizations from 1946. Bernays’s strategy of declaring the Reich Cabinet, Political Leadership, the Schutzstaffel (S.S.), the Sicherheitsdienst (S.D.), Gestapo, and the Sturmabteilung (S.A.) as criminal organizations appears prominently in this document. Murray C. Bernays Papers, Coll. No. 03817, Box 6, American Heritage Center.
The International Military Tribunal began on November 20, 1945. In his opening statement, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson underscored the importance of the trial in establishing new legal norms. “The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive their being repeated,” Jackson argued. His hope was that the prosecution of war crimes would establish new processes through which any nation, including those victorious in World War II, could be held accountable should they commit crimes against the peace of the world.
Courtroom 600 of the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg Trials were carried out. Author photograph, June 2026.
Twenty-two defendants ultimately appeared before the tribunal. Three of the original 24 men indicted were unable to be tried. Robert Ley, the head of the German Labour Front, committed suicide in his cell before the trial began. Industrialist Gustav Krupp was deemed unfit to stand trial during preliminary hearings due to severe health issues. Martin Bormann, private secretary to Hitler, was tried in absentia because he could not be located, though it was later discovered that he died while trying to escape Berlin in 1945. The other defendants included prominent Nazi officials including Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Albert Speer and others. Over the following 10 months, prosecutors presented extensive evidence from military records, witness testimony, photographs and films, and German documents. Among the trial’s most significant moments was the November 29, 1945 screening of Nazi Concentration and Prison Camps, a film compiling footage recorded during the liberation of concentration camps in Europe.
On October 1, 1946, the tribunal delivered its verdicts: 12 defendants were sentenced to death, seven received prison sentences, and three (economic minister Hjalmar Schacht, former German Chancellor Franz von Papen, and radio propagandist Hans Fritzsche) were acquitted. Hermann Göring died by suicide the night before his scheduled execution, while the remaining 11 condemned defendants were executed on October 16, 1946.
These verdicts did not bring an end to the prosecution of Nazi crimes. Its judgments became a critical foundation for the development of international criminal law, and between 1946 and 1949, the United States conducted twelve subsequent trials at Nuremberg. The subsequent trials prosecuted physicians who took part in medical experimentation, judges and lawyers responsible for the implementation of Nazi racial policies, industrialists who benefitted from forced labor, and members of the aforementioned “criminal organizations.”
The American war-crimes program also included the trials held at Dachau Concentration Camp between 1945 and 1948, addressing crimes committed by concentration camp personnel. These trials dealt more intimately with crimes at the operational, rather than conspiratorial, level. Among the defendants was Austrian Nazi Party district leader Franz Strasser, who was convicted of killing five U.S. airmen after they had surrendered willingly. Video of Strasser’s execution is available in the AHC’s digital collections, though viewer discretion is advised. Also available in the Charles K. Vilim collection is silent footage of Dachau defendants testifying, including Ilse Koch, whose case became a media sensation due to reports of her particularly cruel treatment of prisoners while her husband was the commandant of Buchenwald.
Evidence used in the Dachau Trials, now stored in the special exhibition at the former Dachau Concentration Camp. Author photo, June 2026.
The legacy of Nuremberg continued long after the immediate postwar trials ended. As Cold War priorities shifted, many former Nazis were reintegrated into German society, and the prosecution of Nazi crimes became increasingly dependent on national courts and the denazification process. Nevertheless, later trials demonstrated that accountability for Nazi crimes remained an ongoing process. The 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem was an important turning point in the process. Israeli agents captured Eichmann from Argentina in 1960, and brought him to Jerusalem for trial. Unlike the Nuremberg proceedings, which focused heavily on documents and the responsibility of state leaders, the Eichmann trial placed survivor testimony at the center of the public record. More than one hundred witnesses testified about the Holocaust, bringing the experiences of victims before an international audience and contributing to broader public awareness of the genocide. He was sentenced to death and executed in 1962.
Visiting the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg offered a tangible connection to these historical events. Standing in Courtroom 600 with my classmates offered an opportunity to reflect on the human experiences and debates that shaped postwar justice efforts then, and the continued pursuit of justice today. The legacy of Nuremberg, Dachau, and later prosecutions such as the Eichmann trial continues to influence contemporary conversations about human rights, international law, and the responsibility to confront mass atrocities. The Murray C. Bernays Papers here at the American Heritage Center tell one part of that story– asking us all to consider how we respond when confronted with the consequences of hatred, violence, and state-sponsored persecution.
To learn more about the Holocaust and the postwar justice process, please visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, whose extensive archive and encyclopedia was an invaluable resource to this post. I would also like to extend a thank you to Dr. Melissa Hampton and Dr. Adam Blackler for their incredible support and instruction, both for this study abroad course and as members of my thesis committee.
Post contributed by UW History M.A. candidate and AHC Archives Aide Rhiannon Skye McLean.
United States Department of War copy of Robert H. Jackson’s opening statement for the International Military Tribunal. Murray C. Bernays Papers, Coll. No. 03817, Box 6, American Heritage Center.
Content Warning: This blogpost features discussion and images related to the Holocaust. Some readers may find this material distressing.
This is the first part in a two part series on the Nuremberg Trials.
In June 2026, I traveled to Germany and Poland as part of a study abroad program led by Dr. Adam Blackler and Dr. Melissa Hampton for the course Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. Throughout the program, we visited sites that reflected the history of Nazi persecution, resistance to National Socialism, and the pursuit of justice in the aftermath of the Second World War. Among these locations was the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, where, beginning in November 1945, the Allied Powers convened the International Military Tribunal.
Standing outside the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, I discussed the significance of the International Military Tribunal as part of the Nazi Germany and the Holocaust study abroad course. The site represents both a courtroom where Nazi leaders were held accountable and a lasting reminder of the challenges involved in confronting international violence through law. Photo by Dr. Adam Blackler.
Inside Courtroom 600, the site of the trial proceedings, 24 leading figures of the Third Reich were indicted on charges of crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy. The tribunal represented a landmark moment in international law, establishing a new framework for holding individuals accountable for state-sponsored violence and atrocities.
The story of Nuremberg’s legal foundation can be explored through the collections of the American Heritage Center, which houses the papers of Murray C. Bernays. A colonel and lawyer in the United States Army, Bernays played an influential role in developing the legal strategy used to prosecute Nazi leaders and worked alongside Associate Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief United States prosecutor at the International Military Tribunal. After returning from Germany, I turned to the papers of Colonel Bernays at the American Heritage Center to better understand the legal debates and strategies that shaped the Nuremberg Trials.
Murray C. Bernays (left) and Justice Robert H. Jackson (right), the chief counsel for the United States at Nuremberg, at Bovington Airport after returning from a trip to Nuremberg. Murray C. Bernays Papers, Coll. No. 03817, American Heritage Center.
When Germany surrendered in May 1945, the unprecedented task of holding the Third Reich accountable loomed before the Allied Powers. The scale of Nazi Germany’s crimes presented a unique challenge. The Nazi regime and its collaborators were responsible for the murder of approximately six million Jews during the Holocaust, as well as millions of other victims, including Soviet civilians, prisoners of war, political opponents, people with disabilities, and religious and sexual minorities. These staggering figures reflected both the actions of Nazi leadership, and the ideological, military, and administrative structures that enabled persecution and mass murder on an unprecedented scale.
The question facing the Allied powers was how to assign responsibility for crimes committed by such an expansive state apparatus. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, and other high-ranking officials responsible for Nazi atrocities had died before they could be held accountable. According to the German Federal Archives, 10 million Germans held membership in the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) at some point between its founding and its collapse in 1945. Many more accommodated, collaborated with, or benefited from the Nazi regime. For some, support for Adolf Hitler’s government was connected to the regime’s claim of restoring national unity and economic stability following the Great Depression. For others, the adaptation meant conforming to life under the dictatorship. However, the extent of the German public’s involvement presented a significant challenge for postwar justice. Legal notes found in Bernays’ papers reveal that Allied lawyers grappled with how to determine which Germans were believers in the National Socialist political project, or just complicit in order to survive under a dictatorship. The denazification process addressed German civilian involvement, but the International Military Tribunal remained focused on high profile defendants.
Widespread Nazi membership, paired with the dangers associated with political opposition, made a comprehensive prosecution of all individuals connected to National Socialism impractical in the International Military Tribunal. Instead, the Allied powers focused their efforts on those who held positions of authority and responsibility within the state. By prosecuting leading military, political, and economic figures, the Allies sought to demonstrate that individuals could be held accountable for crimes committed by the government.
The creation of an international tribunal raised significant legal challenges. Many of the crimes committed by Nazi Germany did not fit within existing categories of international law. Traditional categories of war crimes did not fully address the persecution and murder of European Jews and other targeted civilian populations. Prosecutors therefore developed new legal concepts. “Crimes against humanity” described the murder, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against civilian populations. “War crimes” described violations of the customs of war. “Crimes against peace” were defined as the initiation of aggressive wars. Allied lawyers were concerned that the introduction of the new legal categories could be interpreted as applying laws retroactively, or ex post facto, and thus undermine the legitimacy of the proceedings. The International Military Tribunal required a balance between the need for justice and the necessity of establishing legal proceedings that could create lasting norms and withstand judicial scrutiny.
The original bench from Courtroom 600, on which Nazi defendants were seated for the course of the trial. Author photo, June 2026.
A fourth charge of “conspiracy” would prove significant. Bernays, working within the U.S. Army’s legal planning efforts, argued that the Nazi regime could not be simply understood as a collective of individuals committing separate crimes, but as a coordinated system whose leaders had participated in a criminal enterprise. Under this approach, prosecutors could argue that individuals who participated in planning of these crimes could be held responsible for crimes committed in furtherance of that plan, even if they had not personally carried out every criminal act. The conspiracy charge offered a way to connect high-ranking Nazi officials to the system of violence created by the regime, rather than requiring prosecutors to prove that each defendant had personally carried out specific atrocities– a hard task, given the administrative structure of the Third Reich.
Murray C. Bernays’ notes on the criminality of organizations. Bernays notes that only voluntary membership can be prosecuted, rather than coerced membership through threat of safety, and examines existing U.S. law about criminal organizations. [Bernays box 5]
Bernays also proposed prosecuting Nazi organizations as criminal entities. His plan recognized that the Nazi regime operated through interconnected institutions. This established the collective nature of the Nazi system, while still providing a legal foundation to prosecute individuals who had participated. Although Bernays’s proposal was modified during Allied negotiations, its central ideas influenced the final legal framework of the London Charter, which included conspiracy among the charges brought against the defendants. The final legal framework also retained provisions allowing the tribunal to declare Nazi organizations criminal. The Reich Cabinet, alongside paramilitary, police, and intelligence agencies were considered criminal organizations under this framework. Bernays did not participate in the final International Military Tribunal, though he was awarded the U.S. Legion of Merit for his work on the legal procedure before returning to his law practice in New York in 1945.
Part two in this series will appear on the AHC blog next week.
Post contributed by UW History M.A. candidate and AHC Archives Aide Rhiannon Skye McLean
July 26th marked the 71st anniversary of the premier of the horror-thriller The Night of the Hunter based on the novel by Davis Grubb. The film stars Robert Mitchum as the killer conman posing as a preacher, Harry Powell. Powell, during a brief incarceration, learns of a stash of $10,000 hidden by the condemned Ben Harper, played by Peter Graves, whose children hold the secret to the location of the hidden money. Seduction, charm, and murder are all tools utilized by Powell in his pursuit of the money. The movie was considerably a star-studded production with Shelley Winters as the widow Willa Harper and Lillian Gish as the fierce Rachel Cooper. Unfortunately, like a lot of art, this film wouldn’t gain true appreciation until many years after its initial release.
Paul Gregory papers (Coll. 8500) Box 20 “The Night of the Hunter” First Draft
The Night of the Hunter premiered in Des Moine Iowa on July 26th, 1955, as part of a fundraising event in the hometown of the movie’s producer, Paul Gregory. Failing to capture a broad audience and panned by critics, this would be the only solo directed film by Charles Laughton. The film would live on by the efforts of devoted fans being shown in museums and revival houses. The cult film would be subjected to reassessment through the 1970s, gaining greater appreciation as new generations discovered this Southern Gothic masterpiece. The film’s legacy of rediscovery would continue through its influence on modern directors and the spread of physical media.
Jacques Kapralik papers (Coll. 4064) Box 11 Folder 2 Charles Laughton caricature
The film is likely to find new audiences again as discussion will build around the adaptation in the works to be directed by Scott Derrickson. Derrickson, well known for psychological horror films such as The Black Phone and Sinister, is writing the script with his writing partner C. Robert Cargill. Together they have established a strong line of films that give good reason for excitement at the prospect of this new adaptation. How will their version match up against the 1955 film? We shall see.
The American Heritage Center has a wealth of materials related to the production of The Night of the Hunter. A teletype in the Columbia Pictures Records (Coll. 9355) discusses the original deal between the studio, Paul Gregory, and Lloyd Wright which shows Charles Laughton was already attached to direct and Robert Mitchum was willing to commit to summer filming. The sheet music of the score for the film can be found in the Walter Schumann papers (Coll. 3280). The AHC also holds the papers of Paul Gregory (Coll. 8500), which has the first draft of the script for the film.
Post contributed by AHC Reference Archivist Rob Kelly
Did you know the University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Applied Science has a Hall of Fame? We want to focus on a specific individual in the Hall of Fame who has had many successes inside and outside of Wyoming, fought against racial prejudice, and put forth efforts to pave a future for Wyoming students from any walk of life.
Wayman Chung Wing (1923-2020) is a scholar in the College of Engineering and Applied Science Hall of Fame. Wing, a first-generation Chinese American, grew up in Evanston, Wyoming. Following his high school education, Wing attended the University of Wyoming (UW) in 1941 to pursue a degree in engineering. Wing and his five siblings all graduated from college as first-generation Chinese Americans. However, Wing’s UW college career was put on pause when he decided to join the army after news of Pearl Harbor reached the U.S. in 1941. Wing states in his 2006 memoir, housed in the American Heritage Center, “I joined the Army Air Corps and waited to be called up.”
In 1943, two years after Wing joined the Army Air Corps, he was sent to New York. Wing shares in his memoir that “I was an engineering student with a background in science courses, I was one of a group of 175 sent by the Army Air Corp to an accelerated meteorology course at New York University” (Pictured below, bold in the original). Wing also expressed that he enjoyed his nine months in NY because he met more Chinese friends and experienced Chinese culture more than ever before in Wyoming. He then claims to have passed the meteorology program despite “the large amount of beer [he] consumed.”
After completing his Army Air Corps training, Wing was deployed overseas to a British base on the island of Azore during WWII. Then, after the Allied Forces’ D-Day victory, Wing returned to Wyoming to finish his college career. In 1947, Wing graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Wing’s engineering degree from the University of Wyoming. Box 3, Wayman C. Wing Papers, 1941, 1982-2006, Coll. No. 11463, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Wing was compelled to continue his education journey. He applied and was accepted into Stanford University, where he earned his master’s degree in Engineering. According to Wing, his education at UW prepared and propelled him to study at Stanford: “I found the engineering studies much easier than at UW.” He even had the time to take extra courses in law and business despite the rigorous nature of his engineering master’s program. The extra courses would inspire Wing to start his own engineering firm years later.
After graduating with his M.S. in engineering in 1948, Wing worked for about a decade before he started his Engineering firm in 1960 called Wayman C. Wing Consulting Engineers. Wing’s firm was highly successful as its clients included the Hilton and Sheraton hotel chains. His firm received prestigious national awards for developing earthquake-absorbent structures worldwide. Some of the most notable include the Meridien Hotel in Egypt, the Great Wall Hotel in China, the Hartford National Bank, the Indonesian Pavilion at the New York World’s Fair, and the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Along with his firm’s success, Wing was admitted into the Omega Chapter of Sigma Tau (now known as Tau Beta Pi). Wing was admitted for his success as a UW student and for the help he received from UW faculty members who fought alongside him for his admission into the honorary fraternity. Wing had to fight for admittance because, in 1942, he first tried to join the society but was barred from joining because of a “Caucasians Only” clause in their constitution. However, in 1949, Wing was finally inducted into the society. The images below show Wing recollecting his realization as to why he was not first accepted into the honorary fraternity, followed by his correspondence with the chapter when his case was appealed.
Wing’s acceptance into the honorary fraternity was not his only achievement. In 1999, Wing was inducted into the College of Engineering and Applied Science Hall of Fame because of his revolutionary work as a seismic design engineer and his many accolades throughout his career.
A copy of a newspaper clipping about Wing and the rest of the second class of the Engineering Hall of Fame in 1999. Folder 1, Wayman C. Wing Papers, 1941, 1982-2006, Coll. No. 11463, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Wing’s work ethic, determination, and vocalization against discrimination are exemplary traits of a Wyoming Cowboy that should be celebrated today and every day. To learn more about Wayman C. Wing and his contributions to engineering and the larger Wyoming community, you can find the Wayman C. Wing Collection at the American Heritage Center.
Post contributed by English graduate students Katelyn Hayward, Cheyenne Hume, and Makayla Kocher.
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of America, the American Heritage Center staff curated an exhibit called Wyoming Voices: Our Stories of America to showcase the ways in which people across Wyoming have gathered and communicated with each other. Cookery has a way of bringing people together, and wherever cookbooks are found so are networks of women who prepare and share cultural and familial recipes. As cultural artifacts, cookbooks respond to the needs of communities in specific times and places. Through all of this, some dishes emerge as iconic symbols of what it means to be American. One such dish is macaroni and cheese.
For over 2,000 years, macaroni and cheese has indelibly linked people across time, class, race, and culture. Many readers here may be drawn to this post because macaroni and cheese lives somewhere in their memories. As food historian Karima Moyer-Nocchi of The Epic History of Macaroni and Cheese shows, this dish has jumped borders and oceans and moved from elite dining tables to become an economical dinner staple.
The irresistible bowl of tubular pasta dripping in creamy, orange cheese dates its earliest ancestor to 160 BCE in Ancient Rome. Not so tubular in shape, placenta (pronounced like plakenta) was the first recipe to combine dough and cheese to create a lasagna-like dish. A reserve of the elite palate, placenta was covered in goat or sheep cheese and sweetened with honey. Into the Early Modern period, it was common to sweeten macaroni and cheese dishes with cinnamon and sugar. The expense of these sweeteners—before the spice trade helped reduce their cost—contributed to macaroni and cheese’s history as a dish for the wealthy.
Although Bradley’s recipe crafted for wartime rationing uses modern ingredients, her instructions here result in a macaroni and cheese dish that resembles the look of medieval macaroni and cheese. Alice Bradley, The Wartime Cook Book, TX715 .B804 1943, Vandel Family Collection
By the late 1500s, macaroni and cheese had jumped to England and France. French culinary artists and their cookbooks were the first to opt for salt and pepper over cinnamon. Macaroni pasta itself and the type of cheese used continued to affect the dish’s affordability. Durum wheat used to make macaroni was extremely difficult to produce without exacting technique and climatic conditions. Parmesan cheese was also an expensive commodity, and although many recipes called for it, less expensive cheeses like Gruyère and English Cheshire were commonly pointed to as suitable substitutes. When America perfected Cheddar cheese in the 1790s and began exporting it back to Europe, it, too, found its way into macaroni and cheese recipes.
Isabella Beeton, Beeton’s Book of Household Management, TX717 .B4 1968, Gene Gurney Collection
Isabella Beeton, Mrs. Beeton’s Family Cookery, TX717 .B46, Fred and Clara Toppan Collection
Macaroni and cheese officially crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the American colonies as French and English cookbooks were picked up by American presses. Perhaps the most well-known early macaroni and cheese recipe comes from Elizabeth Raffald’s (1733-1781) The Experienced English Housekeeper (1769). Although using recipes without giving credit to their original source was common in cookbooks, Raffald’s is still one of the most plagiarized versions. This is true for a community cookbook put together by the Laramie Civic League.
Not only does this recipe read like it is 200 years old, but it is also an interesting combination of macaroni and cheese recipes in Raffald’s, Richard Briggs’ and Eliza Leslie’s (1787-1858) cookbooks. The “gill of milk” (¼ pint) echoes Raffald while the use of a “red-hot” shovel to broil the top shows up in Leslie’s version, an alternative to the salamander broiler called for in Briggs’ version. Another peculiarity of Katherine Greenaway’s contribution to Frontier Favorites is the direction to wash the macaroni. Before it was mass produced in factories, macaroni pasta crossed oceans by ship stored in barrels where bugs liked to burrow in the tubular shapes. Some cookbook authors recommend this preemptive washing while others say that the boiling process suffices.
Maria Parloa, The Appledore Cook Book, TX715 .P258 1878, Eliza Toppan Collection
D. A. Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln’s Boston Cook Book, TX715 .L737 1884, Eliza Toppan Collection
Macaroni and cheese in colonial America would have been perfected by enslaved Black cooks as they were fluent in American, French, and English culinary traditions as well as those of their own cultures. Perhaps one of the most widely propagated myths around macaroni and cheese involves Thomas Jefferson and his slave, James Hemings. It is true that Jefferson was a fervent lover of macaroni and cheese, having ordered hundreds of pounds of macaroni pasta between 1803 and his death in 1826. It is also true that Jefferson brought Hemings with him to France when he took up the Minister Plenipotentiary post to have Hemings classically trained in the French culinary arts. Hemings mastered French delicacies like macaroni and cheese and likely cooked it often at Monticello. However, Hemings neither left a written recipe nor cooked macaroni and cheese in the presidential kitchens. Rather, it was Edith Hern Fossett, another of Jefferson’s enslaved cooks, who moved to the Presidential House where she probably made macaroni and cheese ad nauseum for Jefferson and his guests.
The idea of macaroni and cheese as a signature American food really began to take shape in the 19th century. As countries endured economic downturns, cookbooks of this era emphasized cheap, no-nonsense recipes to their new middle-class readership. In her cookbook, Mrs. Lincoln wrote, “Macaroni is a nutritious and economical food, and should be used more extensively than it is.” Another 19th century development in the history of macaroni and cheese was its utility for the growing vegetarian movement. Indeed, macaroni and cheese is often found in the vegetable and salad sections of cookbooks published in the second half of the 19th century and into the early 20th century, including those of Mary Tyson Rorer and Olive Green.
Sarah Tyson Rorer, Mrs. Rorer’s Vegetable Cookery, TX837 .R8 1909, Eliza Toppan Collection
Olive Green, How to Cook Vegetables, TX801 .R5 1909, Eliza Toppan Collection
Macaroni and cheese became even more reliable as a staple for cash-strapped families when America figured out how to produce durum wheat in home soil in the late 19th century. Industrialization also enabled macaroni to be produced en masse and cheaply. The cleanliness of factory production was a favorite marketing technique that heightened macaroni’s suitability for growing children.
Caroline French Benton, A Little Cook Book for a Little Girl, TX652.5 .B8 1905, Eliza Toppan Collection
With the onset of World War I, macaroni and cheese became a star of wartime conservation. It was championed by the federal government for its cheap overhead production cost and its ability to feed whole families a nutritious, patriotic meal. By this point, James Lewis Kraft had patented shelf-stable, pasteurized cheese. Fast-cooking packages of macaroni like Tenderoni and Creamettes quickly became economical staples, especially when the Great Depression strained families’ wallets through the 1930s. In 1937, Kraft debuted a blockbuster idea: boxed macaroni and cheese. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner cost less than twenty cents a box and dialed hours-long processes in the kitchen down to less than ten minutes. During World War II, a single ration ticket could buy two boxes of Kraft.
Good Housekeeping Cook Book, TX715 .G624 1933, Leon and Gertrude Richardson Collection
Marjorie Mills, Cooking on a Ration, TX715 .M653 1943, Eliza Toppan Collection
The popularity of macaroni and cheese lies in its capacity since the beginning of the 19th century to communicate core American values and bridge the communities that make America what it is. Community cookbooks have remained a part of our cookbook culture since the Civil War when networks of women turned their culinary knowledge and skills into cash for the war effort. Even into the present day, community cookbooks are a way for any organization from schools and churches to animal shelters and civic groups to fundraise for their respective causes. These cookbooks often have casserole sections where macaroni and cheese dishes fit nicely, but what truly ties them all together is that they pull together comfort food recipes that define the communities that relied on them.
Women’s Civic League of Cheyenne, Afternoon Gourmet Group, The Pleasure of Your Company, TX715 .W664 1996
Mac and Cheese (for a crowd). St. Matthew’s Cathedral, Laramie, Wyoming, Taste and See, TX715 .S76 2013
Given the centuries-long history of macaroni and cheese, it is almost impossible to say that there is one “true” macaroni and cheese recipe. Perhaps that is not the point. This means that macaroni and cheese can remain a staple for the masses and continue to play a role in various cultures across time and place. Whether you try out one of these recipes from the Toppan Rare Books collection or stick to the tried-and-true boxed macaroni and cheese, remember the culinary journey that macaroni and cheese has taken to get to your table. To all who celebrate, happy National Macaroni and Cheese Day!
Post contributed by Toppan Rare Books Library Archives Specialist Emma Comstock.
Moyer-Nocchi, Karima. The Epic History of Macaroni and Cheese: From Ancient Rome to Modern America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2026.
Raffald, Elizabeth. The Experienced English House-keeper, for the Use and Ease of Ladies, House-keepers, Cooks, &c. Printed by J. Harrop. London: Fletcher and Anderson, 1769. https://archive.org/details/b30522134/page/n3/mode/2up
Theophano, Janet. Eat My Words: Reading Women’s Lives through the Cookbooks They Wrote. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
In celebration of the United States Semiqunincentennial, the American Heritage Center is hosting three exhibits that examine our nation through its people—its citizens, authors, poets, workers, innovators, and leaders. These exhibits explore the diversity of thought and communication in the United States, how these differences unite us, and how they have shaped the country we live in today.
Wyoming Voices: Our Stories of America
Created in conjunction with the United States’ 250th anniversary, “Wyoming Voices: Our Stories of America” explores how communication has shaped Wyoming’s past and present. Drawing from photographs, letters, newspapers, and media held at the American Heritage Center, the exhibit highlights the many voices that have contributed to the state’s identity and invites visitors to reflect on how stories are shared—and remembered.
Pull caption from exhibit
Rather than presenting a single narrative, Wyoming Voices brings together a wide range of perspectives. Each section of the exhibit was researched and curated by a different contributor, resulting in a collection of panels that examine historical moments, themes, and experiences in American history. Some focus on political or social movements, others on cultural life, innovation, or the everyday experiences of people living in the region.
“Wyoming Voices: Our Stories of America” is on display through February 26, 2027.
Nellie: The First Woman Governor at America’s Milestones
Drawing primarily from the AHC’s Nellie Tayloe Ross papers, the exhibition examines Ross’s life and career through key moments in American history. Born in 1876 during the nation’s Centennial, Ross became the first woman governor in the United States in 1925 and later served for two decades as Director of the United States Mint. She lived to see the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976.
Guests explore the exhibit at the AHC’s Nellie Tayloe Ross Reception in May. Photo by UW Photographer Ian Bondi.
The exhibition uses the nation’s 100th, 150th, and 200th anniversaries to trace Ross’s development from her early life through her years in public service. It highlights her governorship during a period of economic hardship in Wyoming, her transition to federal leadership during the Great Depression, and her long tenure overseeing the Mint through major national events, including the Second World War.
Items on display include photographs, her Oath of Office, a scrapbook documenting her inauguration, the certificate signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointing her to the Mint, and a coin bearing her likeness.
“Nellie Tayloe Ross is a central figure in Wyoming and American history,” said Kail Moede, exhibit curator. “In curating this exhibit, I wanted to frame her life through key national milestones, especially as the country approaches its 250th anniversary. To highlight Nellie is to highlight Wyoming’s place in American history. The exhibit, designed to reflect her scrapbooks, brings those connections together.”
The exhibit features photos and objects from across Ross’ 100 year life.
Ross later chose to donate her papers to the American Heritage Center, ensuring her legacy would remain in Wyoming. As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, her life continues to offer a clear connection to the nation’s second century and its evolving history.
“Nellie: The First Woman Governor at America’s Milestones” is on display through April 2027 in the AHC’s Gallery One.
Turning the Pages of America: Celebrating 250 Years of the USA with a Roadtrip Across the Country Through Books
Curated by Laurel Carr, an intern at the Toppan Rare Books Library at the AHC, “Turning the Pages of America” celebrates the Semiquincentennial with a literary roadtrip across the country. The exhibit features a book for each of the 50 states from several of the rare book collections. Each book is representative of its state and shows the diversity of the country and its different regions. The books are from various genres, including fiction, nonfiction, memoirs, and photography, and date from 1627–1963.
Wyoming’s featured book is Women of Wyoming by Cora M. Beach, which highlights significant and influential women from Wyoming, such as Nellie Tayloe Ross and Grace Raymond Hebard. Other books include Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington, for Alabama, which is his autobiography describing his life, from growing up in slavery to founding a university, and As Maine Goes by Alta Smith and Esther Dunham, which presents photos of the state to show its essence and scenery.
Illustrated version of “The Ohio” by R.E. Banta. From the AHC’s Rea Family Collection.
“Books have long been a key way to communicate culture and character,” AHC Director Paul Flesher said. “Seeing books from every state provides an itinerary that reminds us of the shared elements of our national culture and the variety of our states’ cultures that seasons every citizen’s life.”
The books present the exhibit’s attendees with diverse views and lived experiences of the country through the medium of storytelling. They also highlight notable aspects of each of the 50 states and show the importance of literature throughout the history of the U.S.
“Turning the Pages of America” is on display through Friday, December 18th, 2026.
Universal Studios “For Your Consideration” poster sent to Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters. Entertainment Industry collection, 1926–1982, 1979, Coll. No. 10513, Box 2 American Heritage Center.
When I got to the AHC in the spring of 2023, the material that excited me most was our Wizard of Oz related holdings. As a fan of L. Frank Baum’s fantastical novel, Oz and its many adaptations are an archival favorite of mine. Among these is the original script for The Wiz.
The Wiz, an all-Black adaptation of L Frank Baum’s book and the 1939 MGM film, was not popular when it came out. Marred with controversy about racial politics and casting choices, The Wiz did not break even at the box office. Despite this, The Wiz has been solidified in pop culture history for its iconic cast of stars, phenomenal score, and innovative interpretation of Baum’s story.
The cover of an early script treatment for the film adaptation of The Wiz for Universal and Motown. The Wizard of Oz scripts, 1976, Coll. No. 12780, American Heritage Center.
As discussed in my previous Oz film blogpost, the Wizard of Oz (1939) was not an immediate financial success. Nevertheless, it became the definitive Oz adaptation for a long time. From 1939 to 1978, there had only been a handful of adaptations, and they had mostly been adaptations that played on the 1939 MGM film. Television broadcasts of the 1939 film helped cement its status as an American classic, while animated productions introduced the story to younger audiences.
Meanwhile, stage adaptations kept the story alive in theaters across the United States. These reinterpretations demonstrated the enduring popularity of Oz and laid the groundwork for The Wiz.
Enter The Wiz. The aftermath of the 1960s Civil Rights movement and the explosive popularity of the Motown Music scene increased the demand for Black musical productions on Broadway. The Wiz premiered on Broadway in 1975, featuring a book by William F. Brown, music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and one song by an up-and-coming Luther Vandross, though that’s a blogpost for another day!). Rather than simply retelling Baum’s story, the production reimagined Oz through the lens of African American culture, incorporating soul, gospel, funk, and rhythm and blues into its score while celebrating Black identity and community. In Brown’s Oz, little Dorothy Gale is still a farm girl in a strange land, but she also becomes a liberator for the people around her.
Stephanie Mills as a young Dorothy on Broadway. Despite critical acclaim, Mills was not chosen for the film adaptation. Image from Blackfilm.com.
Its initial opening in Baltimore received mixed reviews, and its early Broadway performances struggled to attract audiences. Producer Ken Harper brought in director Geoffrey Holder to redesign the production, along with choreographer George Faison, whose energetic choreography became one of the musical’s defining features.
The Wiz finally opened on Broadway on January 5, 1975, at the Majestic Theatre and eventually ran for more than 1,600 performances. At the 29th Tony Awards, the musical won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Direction of a Musical (presented by none other than Ray Bolger of the 1939 film), and Best Choreography.
Adapting The Wiz into the 1978 film involved major creative decisions that reshaped the story for cinema while preserving its central themes of self-discovery, friendship, and believing in oneself. Universal, along with the newly conceived Motown Pictures, expanded the Broadway production into a large-scale fantasy that could take advantage of film’s visual possibilities, while producers made several high-profile casting choices that significantly influenced the adaptation.
Inside page of The Wiz script. The Wizard of Oz scripts, 1976, Coll. No. 12780, American Heritage Center.
Perhaps the most controversial decision was casting Diana Ross as Dorothy. In the stage musical, Dorothy is a 12-year-old girl, much closer to the character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Ross, however, was 33 years old during filming and had actively campaigned for the role after the success of Lady Sings the Blues. Her persistence for the role is what helped get the film financed; Universal did not believe teenage Broadway actress Stephanie Mills to be a big enough box office draw to fund the film. To make the casting more believable, the screenplay reimagined Dorothy as a shy, 24-year-old Harlem schoolteacher living with her family. This change shifted the story’s focus from childhood innocence to adult insecurity. Dorothy earns her independence rather than simply finding a way home. The early script treatment we hold at the AHC still imagines Dorothy as a child, leading me to believe it may have been written while they were debating between Mills and Ross.
Universal campaigned all of the film’s actors for Academy Award nominations, including the controversial performance of Diana Ross as Dorothy. Entertainment Industry collection, 1926–1982, 1979, Coll. No. 10513, Box 2 American Heritage Center.
Another major casting decision was selecting Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Although Jackson was already internationally famous as a musician with his brothers in the Jackson 5, The Wiz marked his first major feature-film acting role. Raised in an abusive household with his siblings, Jackson cited his time working on The Wiz as integral to his career. He lived in New York alone without his father while transitioning from Motown to Epic Records. The Wiz’s musical director Quincy Jones would be so impressed with Jackson that they would collaborate on three albums—Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). This collaboration evolved Jackson from teen heartthrob to pop royalty.
Nineteen-year-old Michael Jackson was already a star when he stepped foot on The Wiz’s set, but the film established his longevity as a solo performer. Entertainment Industry collection, 1926–1982, 1979, Coll. No. 10513, Box 2 American Heritage Center.
The supporting cast featured some of the most accomplished Black performers of the era. Nipsey Russell portrayed the Tin Man, Ted Ross reprised his Tony Award-winning Broadway role as the Cowardly Lion, and stand-up legend Richard Pryor played the Wiz himself. The film also featured acclaimed performers such as Lena Horne as Glinda and Mabel King as Evillene. Their inclusion reflected the filmmakers’ desire to assemble a cast that celebrated Black excellence across music, theatre, comedy, and film.
For Your Consideration posters for Nipsey Russell (The Tin Man) and Ted Ross (The Lion), respectively. Entertainment Industry collection, 1926–1982, 1979, Coll. No. 10513, Box 2 American Heritage Center.
Beyond casting, the adaptation expanded the visual scale of the story. Rather than relying on theatrical sets, director Sidney Lumet, known primarily for his work on dramatic films shot in and around New York City, transforming familiar urban locations into the fantastical Land of Oz. Lumet employed Quincy Jones to add, reduce, or altogether delete musical sequences to heighten the visual presence of the film.
The film was considered for Best Picture, but in the end, only secured four nominations in music and technical categories. It ultimately went home empty handed. Entertainment Industry collection, 1926–1982, 1979, Coll. No. 10513, Box 2 American Heritage Center.
The film cost $24 million to produce, but only grossed $13.6 million, making the film a massive commercial failure. Critiques against the film from Oz fans who disliked the film’s all Black cast paired with the narrative that Ross has pushed Stephanie Mills out of the role of Dorothy plagued the film’s critical response. Nevertheless, the film’s impact is felt even now. When Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline Coachella, she opened her set with an altered version of Quincy Jones’ “Emerald City Sequence” from the film. Hip hop fans will remember Kendrick Lamar’s infamous “Euphoria” diss track against Canadian rapper Drake, which opens with Richard Pryor’s voice in reverse shouting, “Everything they say about me is true!” as he admits to Dorothy that he is a fraud.
The Wiz, despite being star studded and bleeding into modern popular culture, is still an under appreciated adaptation of Oz. While working on this post and doing this research, I’ve been fortunate to introduce this film to my friends and family for the first time.
Representing a shift in cinema where Black actors were no longer held back by the all-white studio system the original film was produced in, The Wiz has inspired multiple generations of people to feel a brand new day.
Post contributed by AHC Archives Aide Rhiannon Skye McLean
Many people remember Popeye the sailor man, either from the various cartoon iterations, the live action movie starring Robin Williams, or his beginnings as a comic strip. In the latter half of the 1930s, he also had a radio adventure series. Popeye would be joined by known characters like Olive Oyl, Whimpy, and the reprehensible Bluto in 15-minute episodes broadcast first by NBC radio then later by CBS radio on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In these adventures, though, he no longer relied on his trusty spinach, as the first two seasons were sponsored by Wheatena, a hot breakfast cereal, and the final season was sponsored by Popsicle brand ice pops, which was a part of the Joe Lowe Corporation at the time. Though critically panned, the thrice weekly radio serial ended with an impressive 117 episodes.
Scripts for Popeye – May to July 1938 – The Anne and Frank Hummert scripts collection #7867
Housed at the American Heritage Center, the Anne and Frank Hummert scripts collection has drafts for all 39 episodes of the Popeye radio show’s final season. The Hummerts created and produced the first radio soap operas, going on to build an exceptional catalog of radio serials such as The Romance of Helen Trent and Backstage Wife. Their collection at the AHC is contained in 432 boxes, totaling 460 cubic ft of materials. The Popeye scripts are bound together in one large volume. The episodes of Popeye were written while they were working at Blackett, Sample & Hummert before Anne and Frank started their own production company.
Every Popeye script in the Hummert collection starts and ends with a reminder for kids to save their bags from their Popsicles, Fudgicles, and Creamsicles to send in for amazing prizes like roller skates, fishing tackle, and wrist watches. Fudgicles, while sounding exactly like what Popeye would call them, would later be renamed to the now familiar “Fudgesicles.” The same promotion would be heard for the “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” radio program. Kids could even obtain a prize catalog that had a coupon worth 10 bags. After reading some of the scripts, the Popsicle ads might have been the bigger draw.
Popeye’s radio program was criticized for its poor production quality, sounding like it was recorded in a tin can. Noticeably absent from the series were Popeye’s use of spinach for strength and the well-known musical theme. Without these hallmarks, the show felt disconnected from other Popeye media, and struggled to maintain an audience. The show further struggled as each season saw a new voice actor for Popeye. Popsicle pulled their sponsorship at the end of the season, seeing greater success with Buck Rogers, and the Popeye radio show ended as they were unable to secure sponsorship for a 4th season.
It is well known that travel in the 1950s and 60s in America was highlighted by decadence. Everyone has seen the ads for airplane luxuries like cocktail lounges and sleeping sections—unfathomable to the contemporary air traveler in America—but the railroad had just as much luxury. In the AHC’s Paul Victor De Ford collection, meticulous records of rail menus have been preserved for us to look at.
It is important to note that rails hadn’t always had food on them, and in fact the creation of a food cart was such a revolution that it changed the way that rails functioned. Before meal carts, it wasn’t uncommon for passengers to stop for food during short stops (30 minutes), but it also wasn’t uncommon for them to miss the departure and be forgotten by the rails, leaving them stranded without their luggage.
Amtrak passenger menu, which, in addition to illustrating the prevalence of chicken and beef dishes, also includes such staples as Bismarck Hering in Cream with Sliced Apple and Seafood Newburg with Rice Pilaf. Paul Victor De Ford railroad collection.
The creation of the luxurious food cart can be chalked up to one man: Fred Harvey. Fred Harvey worked with the Santa Fe Railway to create a food cart that would elevate the experience of the ride. He originally pitched the idea to another railway but was turned down. His close connection to the CEO of the Santa Fe Railway also helped him get a sweetheart deal he likely wouldn’t have gotten elsewhere.
Harvey’s company hired attractive young women to run the front of the cart. These employees were called Harvey Girls, which even inspired a movie with Judy Garland in 1946. To become a Harvey Girl was to achieve high status as a young lady. Harvey Girls were often highly sought after by suitors, and the girls were paid very handsomely for their time and received free meals, housing, and even laundry.
Golden State breakfast menu featuring Kippered Herring on Toast and Shirred Eggs with Chicken Livers in Sauce Bercy (a reduction sauce made with white wine, shallots, and fish velouté). Paul Victor De Ford railroad collection.
In the De Ford collection, the average price of a morning cup of coffee (from 1946–1972) was only 32 cents. If you wanted some eggs for breakfast, you’d spend about $1.12 on average. But there were some choices that were a little more unique, like the Southern Pacific’s 40 cent stewed prunes, or the luxury Golden State liner’s kippered herring on toast, or shirred eggs with chicken liver. Safe to say there was something for everyone!
If you were looking at getting any other beverage, you were in for a treat too. You could purchase the obvious—sodas, juices, and teas—but there were also some rarer finds. One example is medication-based drinks like laxative water and Bromo seltzer, which contain aspirin for headaches and stomach issues, both for 25 cents. Cordials could range from 75 cents to $1.35. Hard liquors like whisky and gin were around the same price.
Cocktail menu advertising various beverages, including Alka Seltzer and Bromo Seltzer in the “Miscellaneous” section. Paul Victor De Ford railroad collection.
For lunch or dinner, there were some common options. Almost every meal was a protein, vegetable, and other side like a bread roll or starch. You could also get a la carte options like hot broth for 15 cents, salad for 30 cents, and crackers for 10 cents. Steak and chicken were the most common mains, with vegetables being whatever was in season. Potatoes came in many shapes and forms like lyonnaise (which is thinly sliced with butter and parsley), persillade (fried cubed potatoes in butter and herbs), Delmonico, mashed, and even french fries in the later rail rides. Cottage cheese was also a common side one could order. For pescatarians, there were imported sardines and even Beluga caviar for a steep $2.35.
