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Dale F. Oliver ephemera collection

Call Number

2012.010

Date

1925-1941, inclusive

Creator

Oliver, Elizabeth Dale (Role: Donor)
Harris, Jeanne Oliver (Role: Donor)
Oliver, Dale F.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet
in five folders

Language of Materials

English .

Abstract

The collection consists of 20th century ephemera belonging to Dale F. Oliver. Included is a railway token for the C.R. & L. Lines, a dog tag for Dale Oliver, a service pin, a Brooklyn Vocational School pin, a metal dog license, Brooklyn, 1941 issued by the A.S.P.C.A., a complaint letter from a neighbor to Dale F. Oliver, a Brooklyn Technical High School diploma for Dale Oliver, a Brooklyn Technical High School yearbook from 1933 called "The Blue Print", and an autograph book for Bedford School, PS 3 from 1929.

Biographical note

Dale Oliver was born in New York on May 28, 1914, to George Oliver, an immigrant from Scotland, and Eleanor Kraft, whose father was an immigrant from Germany (a baker who lived in Brooklyn, New York). He had two siblings, Robert (born around 1911) and a younger brother who died of a contagious disease as an infant. In 1915, the family resided in Oyster Bay, on Long Island, and by 1925 they had relocated to Brooklyn. Dale attended the Bedford School, PS 3 at Bedford Avenue, graduating on June 26, 1929. He continued at the Brooklyn Technical High School, finishing there in 1933. He attended college briefly, then worked for restaurant equipment manufacturer.

During World War II, the factory was retooled to make shell casings. Although he enlisted to fight in the war, he was never called to serve. He eventually worked at Revere Copper and Brass as a sales manager, specializing in aluminum products. Dale left Brooklyn sometime after he married Florence "Mickey" Schmueck, in August 1941, and before their first son, Robert was born in November 1942. They lived for a while in New City, New York, then relocated to Somers, New York around 1951. They had five children, Robert, John, Elizabeth, George, and Jeanne. Dale died in 1974 and Mickey became the Town Historian in Somers shortly after that, a position which she held until her death in May 2011.

Sources:

New York State census records, 1915 and 1925

Donor correspondence, 2011

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 20th century ephemera which belonged to Dale F. Oliver. It includes a railway token for the C.R. & L. Lines, a dog tag for Dale Oliver, an unidentified service pin, a Brooklyn Vocational School pin from 1925, a metal dog license from Brooklyn 1941 issued by the A.S.P.C.A., a complaint letter from an anonymous neighbor to Oliver requesting he turn down his radio, Oliver's Brooklyn Technical High School diploma, a Brooklyn Technical High School yearbook from 1933 called "The Blue Print", and an autograph book for Bedford School, PS 3 from 1929.

Overall the collection documents the student life of a second generation immigrant in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1920s and 1930s. The collection does not include any materials that provide greater insight into Dale Oliver's life outside of his education and the information provided by the pins and token.

Conditions Governing Access

Open to researchers without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Anonymous letter will enter the public domain in 2053. Copyright status for the other items in the collection has not been evaluated. Please consult library staff for more details.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date (if known); Dale F. Oliver ephemera collection, 2012.010, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Historical Society.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Jeanne Oliver Harris and Elizabeth Dale Oliver, 2012.

Related Materials

Related archival collections at the Brooklyn Historical Society:

Missing Title

  1. Brooklyn schools collection, 1828 – 1975 (1985.054)
  2. Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute collection, 1854 – 1981 (1985.055)
  3. Helen Rodzevich school ephemera collection, 1944 – 1947 (2000.006)

Collection processed by

Stephanie Coy

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 11:20:35 +0000.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Processed to the folder level.

Repository

Brooklyn Historical Society

Container

Box: A0042 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)
Center for Brooklyn History
128 Pierrepont Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201