To welcome a brand new finding aid, I have been tasked to tell you about the Base Histories collection in the Chanute Archives. The Base Histories collection is a twenty-four box collection detailing the yearly administrative history of Chanute Air Force Base, looking at the base's history, the courses students took, food served in the cafeteria, and personnel, etc. Basically, anything that you would want to learn about the administration of the base is in this collection! These histories were compiled by base historians and cover everything from the mess hall to nuclear training. They are arranged into chronological books and often span many volumes per year. The Base Histories collection covers the entirety of the Chanute Air Force Base (1917-1993), with the bulk of the histories falling from 1944-1993.
This blog post focuses on one year: 1987, which happened to be Chanute's 70th anniversary. In this base history (1987 Volume V), we see meeting minutes, agendas, and correspondence about the day-to-day running of the base.
There are also materials related to courses taught on the base. Items like this, especially cool cryogenics course supplies list, show us what the students on base were learning. Other courses represented in this collection include Weather Technician, Machinist, Fire Rescue, and Sewing Machine Maintenance. Here's a look at possible courses at the Chanute Technical Training Center!
Here are a few other items you can find in the Base Histories collection. A set of mission statements and a map of Chanute's economic impact. Histories of the base were often included in these economic write-ups.
These are just a few items you might find in the Base Histories collection in the Chanute Collection. For those interested in the happenings at the Chanute Air Force Base or those interested in the rest of this base history, check out the Base Histories finding aid here.
-Ani K.
Archives Intern