Inventory of the Alfred Cunningham Papers, 1910 and 1931 – 1937
Descriptive Summary
Abstract: Alfred "Charlie" Cunningham was an American printer who attended the Biltmore Forest School in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1910.
Papers generated and collected by Alfred Cunningham. Includes correspondence from Cunningham to his sister while he was on a Biltmore Forest School field trip to Europe in 1910; correspondence written in the 1930s from German forester and former Biltmore Forest School director Carl Alwin Schenck to Alfred Cunningham; an undated death announcement for Carl Schenck's first wife Adele; and a marriage announcement for Schenck and his second wife Marie-Louise printed in 1932.
Title: Alfred Cunningham Papers, 1910 and 1931 - 1937
Creator: Cunningham, Alfred
Repository: Forest History Society Library and Archives
Call Number: 7278
Language of Material: Material in English
Extent: 7 items
Biographical Note
Alfred "Charlie" Cunningham's parents lived in Cadillac, Michigan, where the Biltmore Forest School conducted annual field trips during most of its years of operation from 1898 to 1913. The documents in this collection indicate Cunningham was a Biltmore Forest School student in 1910 who seemed to have given up forestry for a career as a printer in Denver, Colorado, by the early 1930s. No further biographical information about this individual is known.
Collection Overview
The Alfred Cunningham Papers contain correspondence and printed materials pertaining to Cunningham's experiences while on a Biltmore Forest School field trip to Europe in 1910, and relating to his ongoing friendship with German forester and former Biltmore Forest School Director Carl Alwin Schenck (1868-1955) in the 1930s. Most of the correspondence in this collection is from Carl Schenck to his former student and includes descriptions of Schenck's travels, home life, and forestry activities during the 1930s. Also included are printed notices about the death of Schenck's first wife and his subsequent marriage to a second wife.
This finding aid includes hyperlinks to digital representations of each item comprising these papers. Electronic transcriptions of the materials were produced in Microsoft Word 2000. Embedded within the Word files at the end of each transcription are True Color scans of each item. Adobe Acrobat .pdf files were produced as the final output. Item titles are hyperlinked to the .pdf files.
Collection Arrangement
- Correspondence, 1910 and 1931-1937
- Adele Schenck Obituary Notice, undated
- Carl Schenck Marriage Notice, 1932
Subject Headings
- Biltmore Forest School -- History
- Biltmore Forest School -- Students
- Cunningham, Alfred
- Forestry schools and education -- North Carolina
- Schenck, Carl Alwin, 1868-1955
Detailed Description of the Collection
1. Correspondence, 1910 and 1931-1937.
Includes correspondence from Alfred Cunningham to his sister Kate while he was a student on a Biltmore Forest School field trip to Europe in 1910, and letters sent from German forester and former Biltmore Forest School director Carl Alwin Schenck to his former student Alfred Cunningham in the 1930s. Materials in this series are arranged in chronological order.
- Item
Letter from Alfred Cunningham to Sister Kate, October 11, 1910- Letter written on Holland-America Line stationary sized 6 15/16 x 9 2/16 inches addressed to "Dear Sister Kate" from Alfred Cunningham. Cunningham penned the letter while traveling aboard the Holland-America Line's S.S. New Amsterdam ship en route to Europe with other Biltmore Forest School students for a field trip. In the letter Cunningham describes what his typical day on ship is like, mentions his health and the weather, and describes his interest in a female passenger who seems to prefer the attentions of fellow Biltmore Forest School student Jonathan Keith Esser.
- Item
Letter from Carl A. Schenck to Alfred Cunningham, April 26, 1931- Letter written on Holland-America Line stationary sized 6 15/16 x 8 13/16 inches addressed to "My dear Charlie" from Carl Alwin Schenck penned aboard the Holland-America Line's S.S. Statendam ship. In the letter, Schenck thanks Cunningham for his continued friendship and support even after Cunningham's change in profession from forester to printer.
- Item
Christmas Letter from Carl A. Schenck, December 1934- Four-page letter typed on paper sized 8 4/16 x 11 6/16 inches from Dr. Carl Schenck in Darmstadt, Germany, addressed to "Dear friends anywhere in [sic] notably in the USA." In the letter Schenck sends Christmas greetings and describes his work and leisure activities during the year 1934. Topics covered include: his and Mrs. Schenck's European travels; their hikes through German forests; game-watching, fishing, and hunting activities in Europe; Schenck's correspondence with forestry leaders in the United States during the year; and the saltless diet Dr. and Mrs. Schenck were on for much of the year.
- Item 4
Christmas Letter from Carl A. Schenck, December 1937- Three-page Christmas letter typed on paper sized 8 4/16 x 11 6/16 inches penned in Lindenfels and Darmstadt, Germany, by Carl Schenck. The letter is addressed to "Dear friends anywhere and notably in America" and contains Schenck's wishes for a happy Christmas and new year and discusses such topics as: his and Mrs. Schenck's European travels during 1937; a trip he took to the Canadian Labrador which enabled him to renew forestry acquaintances made years before in Canada and the United States; and European forestry association meetings he attended and forestry lectures he gave during the year. The letter includes one paragraph on politics, concluding that "Hitler's regime has done, however and undeniably, more for good forestry and more for good game laws than what was done by all imperial and democratic governments before him." [p. 3, middle paragraph]
2. Adele Schenck Obituary Notice, undated.
Undated note printed in German announcing the death of Adele Schenck (wife of German forester Dr. Carl Alwin Schenck); and one page of undated typed correspondence written by Dr. Schenck describing the circumstances surrounding her death.
- Item 5
Notice Announcing Death of Adele Bopp Schenck, undated- Notice printed on paper sized 5 4/16" x 6 12/16" in German announcing the death of Adele Bopp Schenck, first wife of Carl Alwin Schenck, on August 14 [1929].
- Item 6
Letter Describing Adele Schenck's Demise, undated- Typed letter written by Carl Schenck describing the circumstances that led to the death of his first wife, Adele Bopp Schenck, on August 14 [1929]. The letter is addressed "Dear friends in America: You will be anxious to know how the end came on August 14th." Dr. Schenck describes how his wife had been called from their home in Lindenfels, Germany, to her mother's bedside in Darmstadt, Germany, on July 29 to care for her after a long illness. While attending to her mother, Adele Schenck developed mumps. She was attended to by a home nurse for a couple of weeks prior to being admitted to a hospital in Darmstadt, where she died in the evening on August 14. Her body was cremated on August 17, and her ashes were interred in the family tomb at Lindenfels.
3. Carl Schenck Marriage Notice, 1932.
Printed notice announcing the second marriage of German forester and former Biltmore Forest School director Carl Alwin Schenck.
- Item 7
Schenck Marriage Notice, April 10, 1932- Notice printed in Darmstadt, Germany, on paper sized 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches announcing the marriage of German forester Carl Alwin Schenck to his second wife, Marie-Louise Kulenkampff-Post. Dated April 10, 1932, the notice states that the two married in Bremen a few days previously and that they plan to reside during the summer at the Schencks' summer place in Lindenfels-Odenwald, Germany, and during the fall and winter at a residence in Missoula, Montana.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
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Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Alfred Cunningham Papers, Library and Archives, Forest History Society, Durham, NC, USA.
Processing Information
Processed by Michael Crotty, June 2003
Encoded by Amanda Ross, January 2009
Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission supported the encoding of this finding aid. Support for digitization and outreach provided by the Alvin J. Huss Endowment.
