George D. Smith Papers

This collection is composed of essays and short stories about nature and ecology as well as photographs of nature. The photographs include a large collection of magic lantern slides that consist of wooded areas, the Red River Gorge, Cumberland Falls, etc. taken during EKU class excursions as well as many photographs of plants, mushrooms, lichens, birds and wildlife. There is also a set of photos showing Dr. Smith's peach orchard from planting to harvest and another set of baby photos of Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College faculty and staff. Dr. Smith believed that the young people of the early 20th century were "very deficient in a first hand acquaintance with the commonest things in nature" and attempted to create in his students an interest and "a burning desire" to know about nature. The short stories and essays written by Dr. Smith include the manuscript of a book he hoped to publish, "Back to Nature in Pictures and Story," as well as other stories. Some of the stories mention community members such as Cassius M. Clay or students such as Earle Combs. One story describes an excursion he took with his students and another inventories ferns that he photographed. Dr. Smith's essays show his love of nature and the outdoors as he writes about the flora and fauna of the locations he hikes. The photographs in this collection were pieced together from various other collections by using the handwriting on the back of the photos. A portion of the collection, including the magic lantern slides, came from the Dorris Museum collection and those have the number 668 penciled in on the back. A number of the lantern slides are copies of baby photos of Eastern faculty and students from the 1920s and 1930s.