Penn State Behrend Unveils Archives at Open House

Mary Behrend’s grandsons attended July 9th event

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, unveiled its archives at an open house on July 9 as part of the kick-off for the college’s yearlong 60th anniversary celebration. The archive comprises three permanent collections: the Behrend Family Collection, the Hammermill Paper Company Collection and the Penn State Behrend Collection. The open house was held in the Archives Room of the John M. Lilley Library.

July 10 marks the beginning of the two-day Penn State Board of Trustees’ visit in Erie. The Trustees’ meeting is the official start of Penn State Behrend’s 60th anniversary, which will be celebrated throughout the 2008-09 academic year.

Two years ago, Penn State Behrend began an intensive effort to preserve, interpret and display historical objects and documents related to the Behrend family; Hammermill, the paper company the family founded; and Penn State Behrend, which was established on the grounds of Ernst and Mary Behrend’s estate. The archival project was supported in part by Ernst and Mary’s grandsons, Richard H. Sayre of Winchester, Mass., and his brother, William B. Sayre of Williamsburg, Mass.

Mary Behrend's grandsons (l-r) Dick and Bill Sayre helped support the archival project and attended the open house.

“Our thanks go to Dick and Bill Sayre, who supported the research, staff and materials needed to prepare this important collection of Erie history and their family’s legacy,” said Penn State Behrend Chancellor Jack Burke.
“It is truly a benefit to
have these three collections available to access and draw upon going forward.”

More than 100 people attended the open house, including the Sayres. The event included remarks by Jack Burke, Dick Sayre, Candy Burke, chair of the 60th anniversary committee, Rick Hart, director of the Lilley Library, and Ethel Kochel, widow of longtime college leader Irvin Kochel. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by a reception, complete with peanut lace, sugar and ginger cookies made with Mary Behrend's recipes.

Mary Behrend

The Behrend Family Collection contains birth certificates, wills, deeds, photographs, scrapbooks, portraits and home movies. Some of the memorabilia relates to the family’s hobbies and extensive travels.

The Hammermill Collection includes business correspondence, family papers, personal letters, annual reports, ledgers, company magazines, advertising posters, tensile strength testers, Army and Navy production awards, and the original Hammermill watermark seals.

“Hammermill’s records are a first-person walk through the early part of the last century,” Jane Ingold, college archivist, said. “They touch on the influenza epidemic of 1918, the Mill Creek flood of 1912 and the World War II-era bias against German-Americans. There are files on a number of local organizations that the family was involved with, such as the Erie Playhouse and Hamot Hospital, and records of early efforts to protect Lake Erie from industrial pollution. There’s material of historic significance to a number of audiences.”

The Penn State Behrend Collection begins with Mary Behrend’s 1948 donation of Glenhill Farm, the family’s 400-acre estate, to Penn State. It includes documents associated with the donation, Mary Behrend’s correspondence with college administrators, early advisory board minutes, records from the Faculty Women and Wives organization, two dozen scrapbooks, videotapes, oral histories and thousands of photographs.

The archives are open for public viewing by appointment. Contact Jane Ingold at jli4@psu.edu or 814-898-7278 to schedule.