This series contains three negatives, 2 of which are unknown, and a third which illustrates diagrams relating to the molecular theory as to the origin of magnetism.

This series is arranged in alphabetical order according to the title of each book, then chronologically by date. One of the items is a photocopy of the Elon College Catalogue for 1891-1892 (2:1). The second item is a navigation notebook which contains documentation involving air navigation techniques, flights, and possible test questions. The book provides 4 pages of instruction and examples on how to use the notebook and diagrams provided (2:2).

The Correspondence series is arranged alphabetically by type of Correspondence and then chronologically where applicable. The types of Correspondence include greeting cards, letters, memos, and telegrams. Primarily, the Correspondence pertains to the following subject areas: the all men’s fraternity Sigma Phi Beta, Elon College athletics, Virginia-North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Elon College centennial celebration, physics and aeronautics departments of Elon College, Elon College sports hall of fame, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Elon College athletic committee, and much more.

Many of the Correspondences shed light onto the various events that took place specifically in relation to athletics and Elon College, which in turn resulted in significant decisions that helped shape the culture of athletics at Elon University today. Specifically, there is a letter from Dr. A.L. Hook in 1928 that formally withdrew Elon College from the Virginia-North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (3:9). Also, at this same time, Elon College became a major player in the North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (3:9).

In addition to the multiple Correspondences pertaining to Elon College athletics, there are quite a few letters written to Dr. A.L. Hook from students who were interested in participating in the aeronautics course that Dr. Hook taught during the early 1940’s. Also, there are letters written from Dr. Hook to various students (often replying to the students letters) praising the work they did in his classes and speaking of how proud he is of Elon students who have entered the US Military and Air Forces to serve in WWII (after being trained at Elon) (3:11). Furthermore, there are quite a few Correspondences that are both requests from students for letters of recommendation from Dr. Hook and letters Dr. Hook wrote to companies, organizations, and/or colleges/universities recommending former students.

Of particular historical significance, are a set of letters written back and forth from Dr. Hook and S.M. Broderick (Fulbright Visiting Professor, North Carolina A and T University) during 1967 (3:24). Mr. Broderick inquires in his letter as to whether any students from Africa have ever attended Elon. The repeated answer from Dr. Hook that he received was that no student from Africa had attended Elon. After much discussion, a male student from Africa was to be a part of the student body at Elon College during 1967-68 (3:24).

Additionally, there is a letter to William Y. Comninaki (President of Student Government, Elon College) from Dr. Hook in September of 1969 discussing a request that the students made to protest the Vietnam War by boycotting classes (3:26). In reply to the request, Dr. Hook states in his letter to William Y. Comninaki, “Please let me say I have a firm conviction there are other and more effective ways and means to make protests than to disrupt regular classes on college campus for such a cause” (3:26). This letter expresses how a national issue was brought to Elon and how individuals responded.

This series contains a set of miscellaneous hand drawn Diagrams. It is possible that most of the Diagrams relate to aircraft and flight patterns. In particular, there is one Diagram that pictures the “Split Circuit for President’s Office” (4:1).

Included in this series is a Wachovia Bank and Trust Company bank statement from Mrs. T.B. Dawson in 1960 (5:1). Also included are original blank checks of the Elon Banking and Trust Company (5:2). The only documentation that is included with these blank checks is a small stub that states a check was written to NC Public on June 19, 1931 for the amount of $12.80 (5:2).

The Lists in this series primarily pertain to alumni and students of Elon College, the Elon College sports hall of fame, and the civilian pilot training program that took place at Elon College. The List concerning the civilian pilot training program offers citations of sources that document this event during the 1940’s at Elon College (6:1).

Moreover, many of the Lists relating to alumni and students of Elon College mention members of the pre-centennial committee (6:2), deceased alumni (6:3, 6:4), and alumni who were inducted into the sports hall of fame at Elon College (6:5). The lists that mention students include members of the Dean’s list in 1981 (6:8) and students listed in the student registration book covering 1890-1903 (6:12).

A more comprehensive List can be found by looking at the members inducted into the sports hall of fame at Elon College, mostly during the 1960’s and 1970’s (6:11). Many of these Lists provide people’s names associated with Elon during different time periods and events over the course of many years.

Many of the Literary Productions in this series are essays and memoir’s written about Dr. A.L. Hook (7:1, 7:3, 7:5, 7:7). Much of the biographical information in the Biography Note above is derived from the documents in this series. Of particular interest is a copy of Dr. Hook’s “last lecture”, given in 1963. It is unclear who the audience was or where it took place. However, within it he discusses the philosophy of science, higher education, modern and future technology, religion, and communication (7:4) (see 10:37 for more information).

Specifically relating to the history of Elon, there is a copy of a report that includes a proposal for an official student government constitution, but the date is unknown (7:8). In addition, there is also a 1982 report of the General Studies distribution requirements (7:10). Furthermore, a copy of Phillip W. Sumner’s thesis is included in this series (7:13). The title of his thesis is , and was submitted October 5, 1957 (7:13). Included in the thesis are diagrams explaining in more detail what Mr. Sumner covers in the majority of the text (7:13).

The majority of the Minutes in this series relate to various committees, specifically relating to Elon College. The committees are: Carolina’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, alumni association, athletic committee, centennial committee, and the Virginia-North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Of particular historical interest is the set of Minutes from the centennial committee in 1976, offering a proposal that a book needs to be written about the history of Elon and be available for the Centennial year (1989) (8:6). The history book was written by Durward T. Stokes and the copyright is 1982. The title of the book is .

For documentation relating specifically to the status and development of the archives at Elon over the years, see the Minutes for the pre-centennial committee in 1975 (8:7). Within these Minutes, Dr. Hook suggests “to put an appeal for archival material in the alumni magazine once a year” (8:7). Furthermore, there was some discussion in these Minutes as to how the College Archives needed to be developed and what sort of supervision needed to take place while patrons were using archival materials (8:7). There was also mention of oral history tapes of prominent and important historical figures in Elon’s history, where the tapes should be housed, and how they were to be handled (8:7).

The majority of the Photographs in this series include Dr. A.L. Hook either by himself or in pictures with other individuals. In addition to Photographs that include Dr. Hook, there are a fair amount of images that show the buildings on Elon’s campus. All of the images included in this series document various events during different time periods on campus such as Dr. Hook teaching in a classroom, birthday parties, award ceremonies, the death of the Senior Oak Tree, commencement, and building dedication ceremonies. Since the Photographs cover a longer period of time, they do a good job of visually showing a time line of various events and people that have been associated with Elon over the years.

The Printed Material series is the largest series in the collection. It is arranged alphabetically by type of material, then chronologically by date. Of particular interest is an application from 1966 of a student named Christel Maria Peterson from Denmark. She was applying for a scholarship from Elon to attend during 1966 (10:3). In addition, there are about seven booklets that explain the constitution and by-laws of various intercollegiate athletic conferences, mostly during the 1960’s (10:4-10:8). There is one booklet that is from 1923, outlining the constitution and by-laws of the Virginia-North Carolina Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (10:4).

In relation to Dr. Hook’s teaching career, there are sets of examinations that he gave to his students in the department of physics and aeronautics (10:14-10:17). Specifically, there are a set of exams from students in the department of physics that clearly define what the object of the experiment is, the apparatus and materials, and the description of method (10:15). Many of the exams have detailed descriptions in the method sections, all written in the student’s handwriting (10:15). Moreover, many of these exams dealt specifically with photography experiments during 1964 (10:15).

Included in this series are a set of nomination forms for “your favorite Elon athlete for the 1970 sports hall of fame” (10:33-10:34). Each nomination form includes the candidates name, years when he/she attended Elon, what sport they participated in, their hometown, current occupation, present address, reasons for nomination, and the name and contact information of the person nominating the candidate (10:33-10:34). Most of the newsletters in this series pertain directly to the athletic program at Elon College (10:36-10:40).

The newspaper clippings in this series cover the late 1950’s and continue through the late 1970’s. Each clipping deals with a different event, person, and place that primarily relates to either Dr. A.L. Hook or Elon College. The majority of the programs in the series relate to other colleges and universities. However, there are a few programs that relate directly to Elon College. For example, there is a photocopy of the first commencement program from 1891 (10:67). Also related to Elon College are programs of awards luncheons and sports hall of fame events. Of particular historical interest is a program that lists all the names that remained in the Los Angeles to New York foot race that took place in 1928 (10:69). Paul Simpson, who attended Elon College for two years before he entered the foot race, is listed on this program (10:69).

Also included in this series is a time line of the intercollegiate athletic conference, specifically during the 1920’s (10:95). Of particular biographical significance, this series includes Dr. Hook’s transcripts from Elon College and Cornell University (10:96, 10:97).

This small series has only one folder that relates directly to Elon College, and no folders that relate to Dr. Hook. The first Print and Drawing is a map of an interior and exterior drawing of the Field House at Elon College during 1976 (11:1). The other two Prints and Drawings are of school campuses. For example, one of the schools represented is the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary during 1963 and the other is Wofford College during 1969 (11:2, 11:3).

The Recordings series is one of the smallest in the collection. It contains four small cassette tapes, in which the content and dates are unknown (12:1).