By UNIVERSITY RELATIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For decades, Special Collections and Archives at Fort Hays State University\u2019s Forsyth Library has been developing and preserving research collections that tell the story of the cultural histories of the Great Plains with a concentration on central and western Kansas communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A recent\ndonation from FHSU alum Tim Johnson completes the Tim Johnson postcard\ncollection, which \u200b<\/strong>contains thousands of photographic and \u201creal photo\u201d\npostcards. The cards were created by renowned national photographers, such as\nHal Reid, traveling lensmen, and local photographers who captured unique\nmoments of ordinary Americans in turn-of-the-century Kansas communities through the Great Depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deborah\nLudwig, Dean of Forsyth Library, elaborated: \u201cThese remarkable historical\npostcards provide a window through which we can better know and understand the\npeople, places, and events that came before us and the many ways in which our\nstate and our communities have grown and changed over the previous century.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This\ncollection captures moments frozen in time, telling the story of main streets,\nstore interiors, horse-drawn wagons, industries, and neighborhoods that evolved\nand devolved throughout a span of several decades. It includes several rare\npostcards, such as \u201cHamburger Gene\u201d<\/em>, one of Johnson\u2019s prized pieces and\nonly one of six cards known to exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n