Share

sepia image of a boat house by the water side

a young Leo sits apart from his family on the rocky beach at Lake Morey, Vermont, circa 1882

Thousands of alums live on in Special Collections. Kira writes about one.

Are you curious how it feels to meticulously sift and sort through the personal and professional ephemera of a long-dead Dartmouth alum? In Kira Parrish-Penny’s ‘24 evocative article for Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, she offers a peek inside the experience. Kira describes, with candor and the intimacy of a would-be friend or relative, the hypnotic experience of getting to know a stranger (though, never really knowing them).

For her first processing project as the Edward Connery Lathem ‘51 Special Collections Fellow, Joshua Lascell, Assistant Archivist for Acquisitions and Collections at Rauner Library, assigned Kira to Leon Burr Richardson’s files, class of 1900. “It takes only ten minutes of head-hunched paging...before I am swallowed, deafened, by the chatter of his letters, essays, pamphlets, and all his ephemera.” With many unprocessed boxes awaiting attention, Kira was advised to skim — not read — Leon's materials. Though she tried to follow that advice, she couldn't resist giving Leon her undivided attention.

Reading through this collection is like eavesdropping on a thin sliver of history. It’s metaphorical grave robbing: simultaneously intimate, sweet, nostalgic, and sad work. Sometimes, I feel I am invading Leon’s privacy. At other moments, I feel like I am somehow honoring him. When else might someone squint at his small, neat handwriting and study his two grandfathers’ matching white beards?

Kira Parrish-Penny '24
Back to top