Browse Items (666 total)

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  Letter from Col. John C. Nickerson at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, to Gen. James A. Pickering in Atlanta, Georgia.

  In this letter, Nickerson thanks Gen. Pickering for his support and explains why he believes the Army is the best service branch to develop ballistic missiles. He also discusses the need for missiles in case of war with the Soviet Union. Nickerson was a staff officer at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal assigned to work on the Jupiter, the United States' first mid-range ballistic missile. He was arrested and court martialed for espionage in 1957 after releasing sensitive documents about the United States missile program to the press. At the time, Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson granted the Air Force sole authority to develop intermediate range ballistic missile systems. Nickerson disagreed with this policy, and in response, leaked documents that demonstrated the superiority of Army missiles compared to those developed by the Air Force. He eventually pled guilty to lesser charges and was suspended from the Army for one year and was fined $1,500. Dr. Wernher von Braun was among those who testified on Nickerson's behalf.
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  Letter from Sen. Lister Hill, Sen. John Sparkman, and Rep. Bob Jones to Huntsville radio stations.

  Addressed to stations WBHP and WFUN, the letter announces that the U. S. Senate passed "legislation authorizing construction work for Redstone Arsenal totaling $4,250,000." The letter also mentions building rocket test stations and a flight test range.
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  Materials from Rep. Bob Jones' visit to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi after Hurricane Camille.

  The materials include correspondence between Jones and Major General T. E. Moore, commander of the Keesler Technical Training Center, and a photo of Jones with Moore, Congressman William Colmer of Mississippi and General Sam Maddux.
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  Correspondence between I. Schiffman and Co. in Huntsville, Alabama, and Allen Northington of the Alabama Farm Bureau Cotton Association in Montgomery, Alabama.

  From the business records of I. Schiffman and Company. In the first letter, Lawrence B. Goldsmith of I. Schiffman and Co. inquires about selling cotton through the Alabama Farm Bureau Cotton Association. In his reply, Northington asserts that "we will be glad to handle any cotton for you that was grown on your farm and make the government advance up to 15.64� Middling basis."
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  Correspondence concerning cooperative marketing of Huntsville-area farmers' cotton.

  From the business records of I. Schiffman and Company. The letters contain lists of farmers whose cotton I. Schiffman & Co. is marketing through the Alabama Farm Bureau Cotton Association. The materials include notes from each farmer instructing the Association to hold their cotton in the "regular annual pool [...] subject to lien on same held by I. Schiffman & Company." Each letter indicates the value of the cotton.
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  Materials regarding prices and cooperative marketing of the 1930 cotton crop.

  From the business records of I. Schiffman and Company. The materials include letters and instructions for handling and delivering the 1930-31 cotton crop to the Alabama Farm Bureau Cotton Association. The instructions describe the different pools available for marketing cotton and lists warehouses throughout Alabama to be used for storing cotton. The last item, a letter from N. S. Stewart, discusses low cotton prices since 1926 and lists advantages of marketing cotton through the Association.
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  Report from the Alabama sesquicentennial celebration held in Huntsville, Alabama.

  This report was written by Frederic F. Mellen of Jackson, Mississippi. Mellen was a descendant of Arthur F. Hopkins, a Lawrence County delegate to the 1819 constitutional convention. Mellen recounts his experience at the sesquicentennial events on August 2, 1969, including the birthday luncheon and the ceremony commemorating the signing of the 1819 constitution. He notes that "it is pleasing to see and realize how Huntsville has grown, and that now it is a vast educational and scientific research and development center."
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  Letter from Arthur E. Sanderson at Marshall Space Flight Center to Berta Mrazek in Huntsville, Alabama.

  In the letter, Sanderson authorizes Mrazek to travel to Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California "to participate in activities in connection with the Apollo 11 mission, at the invitation of the President of the United States."
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  Letter from Christel Ludewig in Montevallo, Alabama to Hermann and Emmy Ludewig in Huntsville, Alabama.

  In the letter, Christel congratulates her father on the success of Alan Shepard's flight as the first American in space and comments on aspects of her life as a college student.
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  Letter from George L. von Pragenau in Huntsville, Alabama to Senator John J. Sparkman in Washington, D.C.

  Von Pragenau suggests to Sparkman that residents of Huntsville should display American flags outside their homes and businesses at the same moment that "astronaut Neil Armstrong will plant the American flag onto the lunar soil." He wrote a similar letter to Huntsville mayor Joe Davis.