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