David McMahon and Barbara Keeling Collection

Collection

Identifier: RHC-RC-329

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The David McMahon and Barbara Keeling Collection consists of material on Rockford, Illinois collected by David McMahon and Barbara Keeling from the 1910s to 2011. The materials document the various religious, social, political, medical, and entertainment organizations, businesses, and events of Rockford, Illinois primarily in the later half of the twentieth century. The collection also reflects McMahon and Keeling’s interest in Rockford history as they saved images and material related to Rockford’s early history while also saving material on important events and organizations in Rockford during the late twentieth century. The collection consists of museum invitations and programs, political material, material on local educational institutions, newspaper clippings, newspapers, audiovisual material, and material from various organizations and events. Of particular note are the photos of President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, that were mailed to voters in 2004 located in box 4, folder 39. Also of note is a high school scrapbook of Elizabeth “Ellis” Raffl given to David McMahon by Ellis’ granddaughter, Lynn Boreen of Rockford, Illinois, located in Series IV. Though the collection documents the history of Rockford, it also reflects the professional and social organizations of interest to Keeling and McMahon. The collection has little personal correspondence and material related to McMahon and Keeling’s daily lives.

Dates

created: 1910-2013
Other: Majority of material found in 1950-2011
Other: Date acquired: 01/30/2013

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights in the collection belong to the Regional History Center; literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

David W. McMahon David W. McMahon was born in Rockford, Illinois and lives in Rockford with his wife Marcie. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1973 with a Graphics/ Communications BFA degree. After graduation, McMahon worked in marketing and management until his retirement in 2007. He has been a board member for several Rockford area organizations including: The Rockford Art Museum, Winnebago County Health Department Advisory, and Rockford College Social Work Advisory Committee. In 1975 he met Barbara W. Keeling who shared an interest in Rockford and Winnebago County history. In 1995, Barbara Keeling gave McMahon an “early inheritance.” The inheritance was Keeling’s historical files which were then added to McMahon’s files. Barbara W. Keeling Barbara W. Keeling was born March 15, 1918 in Bemidji, Minnesota, the daughter of Arthur Guiteau Wedge and Margaret Wilford (Ford). She married Dr. Virgil Craig Keeling on November 24, 1945. They shared 53 years together before his death on April 30, 1999. They had 5 children together: Michael, James, Katherine, Timothy, and Thomas. Barbara Keeling was a devoted volunteer during the sixty years she lived in Rockford and her legacy includes the Keeling-Puri Peace Plaza. She died February 12, 2008.

Note written by

Extent

7.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement Note

The collection is divided into four series: (I) Rockford History, Companies, and Organizations; (II) Newspaper Clippings; (III) Audio Visual Material; and (IV) Oversize Material. The Audio Visual and Oversize series are further divided with Audio Visual divided into (A) Slides; (B) Tapes;( C) Buttons, Passes, and Artifacts; and (D) Photographs. Oversize (IV) is divided into (A) Newspapers and (B) Various Oversize material. The donor originally organized material in Series I roughly by decade. It has been further divided by topic and chronologically within. This means that information for an organization like Tinker Swiss Cottage, will appear numerous times throughout Series I. Series II is arranged chronologically and consists primarily of 1950s Rockford newspaper reprints of turn of the century Rockford photos. Series III, Audio Visual, is organized by subject and type, and then chronologically. Subseries D, Photographs, consist of photographs taken by David McMahon. Series IV is organized chronologically. For additional information on the Rockford Institute/ Howard Center, see the Howard Center for the Family, Religion, and Society/Rockford Institute (RC 238) For information on the Rockford Historical Society see RC 268. For additional information on Rockford, Illinois please consult the Regional History Center guides for further collections.

Source of Acquisition

David McMahon

Method of Acquisition

David McMahon of Rockford, Illinois received material from Barbara Keeling, also of Rockford, Illinois, in 1995 which was combined with his material and donated to the Regional History Center as the David McMahon and Barbara Keeling Collection on January 30, 2013. Additional records were donated at a later time.