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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 198.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 67,500 items) |
| Abstract | Charles Bishop Kuralt (1934-1997), newspaper, radio, and television journalist and author, was born in Wilmington, N.C. Kuralt attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1951-1955, where he served as editor of the Daily Tar Heel and worked for WUNC radio. Kuralt then joined the staff of the Charlotte News and, in 1957, became a writer for CBS in New York. As a correspondent for CBS, Kuralt was best known for his long-running television series On the Road and Sunday Morning. He was the author of several best-selling books based on his CBS experiences and the recipient of thirteen Emmy awards and three George Foster Peabody awards. Papers, 1934-1997, of Charles Kuralt, include personal and office mail, with extensive fan mail files and many letters in response to his retirement; scripts; speeches; background research materials relating to shows and books; clippings and souvenirs; publicity materials; oral history interviews with Kuralt's friends, family, and colleagues; photographs; calendars and notebooks; and audiotapes, videotapes, films, and other media. Among topics documented are early radio and television news writing and broadcasting, including the work of foreign correspondents in Latin America, Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, 1953-1994; American popular culture and folklore, 1950s-1990s; United States and international politics, especially in the 1960s; Appalachian poverty and culture, 1960s-1970s; the Plaisted Polar Expedition, 1967; fly fishing, 1970s-1990s; Olympics coverage, 1992-1994; and Kuralt family history. |
| Creator | Kuralt, Charles, 1934-1997. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Charles Bishop Kuralt, award-winning newspaper, radio, and television journalist and best-selling author, was born 10 September 1934 in Wilmington, N.C., the first child of Wallace Hamilton Kuralt, Sr., of Massachusetts and Ina Bishop Kuralt of rural Onslow County, N.C. Wallace Kuralt, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, pursued a career in social work, and Ina Kuralt found work as a schoolteacher. Charles spent his early years on his maternal grandparents' tobacco farm in Onslow County. The family, which expanded eventually to include Charles' two siblings, Wallace Hamilton Kuralt, Jr., and Catherine Kuralt Harris, then undertook a series of moves in response to career opportunities for his father. Living in Washington, N.C., Stedman, N.C., and Atlanta, Ga., the Kuralts finally settled in Charlotte in the mid 1940s, where Wallace Kuralt became director of the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services.
Charles attended Charlotte's Alexander Graham Junior High School from 1945 to 1948, where he received his first training in journalism in a class taught by Anne Batten. He also wrote a column, "The Kaleidoscope," for the school's newspaper. At the early age of fourteen, Kuralt began broadcasting baseball and football games for WAYS radio in Charlotte. After his graduation from Central High School in 1951 he also spent a summer as a disc jockey at the station. In addition, Kuralt proved a prize-winning writer, winning a national Voice of Democracy speech writing contest in 1949.
In the fall of 1951, Kuralt entered the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he majored in history and served as editor of the Daily Tar Heel. He also worked for WUNC radio, for WCHL in Chapel Hill, and for a Sanford radio station. Graduating in 1955, Kuralt returned to Charlotte to join the staff of the Charlotte News, where he wrote news and human interest stories, and penned a regular column, "People," for which he won the Ernie Pyle Memorial Award in 1956.
In May 1957, Kuralt accepted an offer from CBS to join their New York radio staff as a writer for Douglas Edwards With the News. In 1958, he sought and received a job on the CBS Television News assignment desk. One year later, CBS named Kuralt a full correspondent, and chose him to host the newly created weekly television show Eyewitness to History. During his career with CBS, which spanned 37 years, Kuralt worked on a variety of radio and television series and projects. He focused, during his early career, on radio news and commentary ( CBS Radio News and Dimensions on Health) and television documentaries and special reports ( CBS Reports, Eyewitness to History, and CBS News Specials). He gathered much of the background material for these programs as the network's News Chief for Latin America (1961-October 1962), News Chief for the West Coast (October 1962-1963), and as a special assignment correspondent for the CBS New York Bureau (1964-1967). In 1967, Kuralt traveled to Eureka, Canada, to cover the Plaisted Polar Expedition. His first book, To the Top of the World, published in 1968, resulted from his work there.
Kuralt was best known for his On the Road series, which began as a segment on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite in October 1967 and did not end, except for a brief interruption in 1980-1982 when he anchored the CBS Morning News, until 1988, and for his long-running television series Sunday Morning (1979-1994). He also served as host of a number of other CBS television programs, including Adventure and The American Parade. Material from his many years of traveling the countryside seeking out human interest stories provided the background for a number of books, including Dateline America (1979), based on a radio show of the same name that served as a companion to the On the Road broadcasts; On the Road with Charles Kuralt (1985), and his autobiographical A Life on the Road (1990).
During his career at CBS, Kuralt also proved a popular speaker on campus and organizational circuits and won a variety of awards for his television work, including three George Foster Peabody Awards and thirteen Emmy Awards. He retired in April 1994, but continued to work in the field of journalism, making a trek across America in 1994-1995 to gather material for his book Charles Kuralt's America (1995). He also kept a full calendar of speaking engagements and appearances for causes he supported; completed a number of narration projects; and, in 1995, became owner of WELY, a radio station in Ely, Minn.
In 1952, Kuralt married Sory Guthery of Charlotte. They had two children, Susan Guthery Bowers and Lisa Bowers White. After the Kuralts divorced, Sory married Henry Bowers, and Lisa and Susan adopted their stepfather's surname. In 1962, Kuralt married Suzanne (Petie) Folsom Baird Kuralt (b. 1929), to whom he was married until his death on 4 July 1997.
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Scope and Content
The collection is arranged in six main series: Early Papers and Family Photographs; CBS Office Files; Audiovisual Materials; Retirement; Oral Histories; and Donated Materials.
The bulk of the items in the collection pertain to Kuralt's career between the 1970s and the 1990s. Although smaller in number, there are important materials for the first decade Kuralt spent at CBS (see especially the subject files in Series 2.1, the early personal and office mail in Series 2.2, and the clippings and souvenirs in Series 2.5). Only a few items relate to Kuralt's childhood or to his time at the University of North Carolina. Biographers of Kuralt will find the amount of personal material in the collection limited. Important exceptions are scattered family photographs and personal correspondence with friends and family members, especially his brother Wallace and his parents.
About forty percent of the manuscript material in the collection consists of letters Kuralt received from fans responding to his various shows and offering story ideas. Considerable personal and office mail, although it consists primarily of letters received, also appears. With the exception of the years 1988-1992, for which two folders labeled "Correspondence Copies" (filed at the beginning of 1990 and 1992) appear, replies are only infrequent. Note that additional letters written by Kuralt to friends can be found in the Donated Materials (Series 6).
Other materials in the collection include subject files, which contain draft and final scripts, speeches, and background research materials; a clippings and souvenirs file, which comprises publicity items (posters, advertising broadsides, programs from appearances, snapshots and publicity shots, clippings) and personal mementos; daily calendars and notebooks; book files, which contain correspondence with publishers, drafts, scattered reader response mail, and background research files and notes; audio and visual materials; and oral histories (1994, 1998-1999) conducted by Ralph Grizzle with Kuralt friends, colleagues, and family members. A significant number of popular artifacts (e.g., buttons, bumper stickers, and lapel pins) appear in the response/story idea mail and in the clippings and souvenirs.
The On the Road series is the best documented show in the collection. Over one-third of the subject files, clippings and souvenirs, response/story-idea mail, and audiovisual material relates to story possibilities, background research, and actual taped segments for the series. With the exception of a large amount of response/story-idea mail, considerably less material appears for Sunday Morning. Scattered scripts, response mail, and publicity items also can be found for most of Kuralt's other series, though not all.
Please note that, while the correspondence in the collection is divided by types, Kuralt did not always adhere strictly to the categories he created. Letters containing both personal matter and story ideas, for instance, were alternately filed in his personal mail or story-idea mail. In addition, folders labeled "story-idea mail" often contained many letters responding to specific radio and television shows, or to writings by Kuralt, whereas at times Kuralt kept such letters separate, filed under the particular show or book. Moreover, mail filed as "Personal" by Kuralt frequently contained not only letters from family and friends, but also a great deal of general office mail (e.g., invitations to speak). Thus, the archivist has taken the liberty of renaming the "Personal Mail," "Personal and Office Mail," and of labeling the "Story-Idea Mail," "Response/Story-Idea Mail." Where Kuralt labeled letters as response mail to specific shows, these titles have been retained.
Note also that the arrangement scheme of the Personal and Office Mail Series has been altered. Personal mail as received was arranged in rough chronological order by year. Some evidence indicates that Kuralt at one point may have filed much of his early mail (1960s) in alphabetical order by surname. Occasional letters bear instructions in his handwriting such as "file in O." At the time of receipt, however, this original order had been destroyed. To facilitate use by researchers, the archivist has arranged the Personal and Office Mail alphabetically by year. So, for example, to find correspondence from Kuralt's friend Hugh Morton, one need only consult letters in the folder(s) labeled "M" for each year for which the two were likely to have corresponded. Note that a check in the upper right-hand corner of correspondence indicates that it was answered, whether or not a reply appears with the letter.
The collection provides opportunities for research in a variety of fields. It offers perhaps the most to American Studies scholars desirous of examining the role journalists assume in shaping and reflecting American national identity. Kuralt, during his many public appearances, as well as in his writings and in his radio and television work, consciously placed himself in the middle of the long-established debate over who and what best represented America, not so much as a geographical entity, but as a cultural concept. When Kuralt's speeches, writings, and media work are coupled with the response mail and story ideas he received from colleagues and the public, a rich discourse on the cultural myth of America emerges. Kuralt's story selection process and comments he received from his audience provide a perfect opportunity for examining conflicting ideas about the meaning of America and how America should be portrayed to its citizens and to the world.
Students of the history of journalism can find here a rich array of sources for examining the beginnings of radio and television news; the relationship of radio, television, and print journalism; the experiences of foreign correspondents in a variety of locations, including Latin America, Vietnam, and Moscow; and public perceptions of the emerging media. The papers also speak to the changing role of the journalist in the debate over social issues. In addition, the response mail in the collection presents social historians of technology an opportunity to study the ways in which radio and television technologies have changed the nature of journalism by increasing the visibility of the individual reporter and the immediacy and emotional impact of events. This mail should appeal, too, to students of popular culture interested in researching the nature of celebrity. Moreover, historians of popular culture, as well as folklorists, may use the mail, along with publicity and audiovisual materials in the collection, to observe the interaction of folk and popular culture(s) with the news media and for tracing the fate of many late 19th- and early 20th-century entertainment traditions, such as rodeos and medicine shows, in the latter half of the 20th century.
Letters received by Kuralt upon his departure from CBS in 1994 illuminate the growing phenomenon of retirement in the 20th century, and thus merit the attention of historians of leisure and recreation. Many of the letters describe fans' attitudes toward retirement and their activities, including travel. Finally, the many retirement letters, when coupled with other materials in the collection,especially Kuralt's own travel writings, should prove of interest to literary critics studying the road as a metaphor in American culture.
Note that additions received after 1998 have not been integrated into the original deposit.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Early Papers and Family Photographs, 1935-1994 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological within types.
Scattered photographs and clippings and a poster documenting Kuralt's childhood and family, his years at the University of North Carolina, and his early radio and newspaper career. Included are snapshots and portraits of Kuralt, his wife Suzanne (Petie) Kuralt, his daughters Susan Bowers and Lisa Bowers White, his parents, Wallace Kuralt and Ina Kuralt, and his brother Wallace Kuralt, Jr., and sister Catherine, and their children. Two clippings (1947 and undated) pertain to Kuralt's early journalism/broadcasting activities. Also appearing are a 1950 copy of the student issue of the North Carolina English Teacher, which contains an article by Kuralt; Kuralt's Daily Tar Heel editor's campaign poster (1954); clippings of Daily Tar Heel editorials, unsigned but probably written by Kuralt (1955 and undated); clippings of news stories and his "People" column from the Charlotte News (1956-1957); and two 8 x 10 black-and-white photographs of Kuralt with Thomas Robinson, publisher, and Dick Young, managing editor, of the Charlotte News, showing Kuralt holding the Ernie Pyle Memorial Award he won in 1956.
The Daily Tar Heel editorials cover a wide range of topics, among them United States-Soviet relations; the hydrogen bomb; campus, state, and national politics; liberalism; segregation; WUNC; and student life. Charlotte News items include local human interest stories and news.
Other important items related to Kuralt's early life and education are filed elsewhere. Two cassette tapes (Series 3.1.1) contain broadcasting work Kuralt did at the University of North Carolina. Significant photographic sources include a black-and-white snapshot of Wallace Kuralt, Sr., upon his graduation from the University of North Carolina, and a black-and white snapshot of Wallace, Ina, and Charles Kuralt (1937) in Stedman, N.C. (Series 2.2, 1991, letter from Doris Kuralt Lowe); a 5 x 7 black-and-white portrait of Kuralt's sixth grade class (Series 2.2, 1992, letter from Barbara Ladd ); the 1948 issue of the Alexander Graham Junior High School yearbook (Series 2.2, 1993, letter from James C. Boyer); an 8 x 10 black-and-white portrait of Kuralt's Central High School graduating class (Series 2.2, 1987, letter from Rudolph Singleton, Jr.); an 8 x 10 black-and-white photo of Kuralt in Washington, D.C., with President Harry Truman and fellow winners of the Voice of Democracy contest in 1949 (Series 2.7, Most Important Mail, letter, 13 May 1994, from Lenore K. Bradley); a black-and-white snapshot (ca. 1951) of Kuralt with an unidentified woman at a Christmas dance (Series 2.7, Most Important Mail, letter, 7 April 1994, from Emily Heaton); and a letter from Anne Batten with a photocopy of a photograph of the staff of The Broadcaster, the junior high school newspaper on which Kuralt worked (see Series 4.1, 1996, letter from Anne Batten). A small snapshot of Kuralt's brother Wallace as a teenager is filed in Series 2.2, attached to a letter from Doris Kuralt Lowe (1995). A photocopy of the winning speech Kuralt wrote for the 1949 Voice of Democracy contest, which appeared in the April 1949 issue of School Life, is filed in Series 4.4, May 1994. Additional similar items are scattered throughout the collection, and are present especially in the retirement materials, when old friends often sent Kuralt notes reminiscing about their early experiences together.
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Series 2. CBS Office Files, 1957-1994 and undated.
Subject files, personal and office mail, letters received in response to radio and television shows and books Kuralt wrote, hip-pocket notebooks Kuralt carried with him on assignment and daily desk calendars he kept of appointments, clippings and souvenirs, book files on works Kuralt authored while at CBS, and mail he received upon his retirement. For audiovisual materials related to Kuralt's CBS projects, see Series 3 and Additions after 1998.
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Subseries 2.1. Subject Files, 1865, 1957-1994.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Subject files maintained by Kuralt on his CBS radio and television work, as well as for his numerous public appearances and speaking engagements, writings he did for popular magazines, his family history, and the CBS organization. The bulk of the files pertain to the period between 1960 and 1985, with many fewer files for the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Radio-related items are mostly scripts for CBS Radio News, Dimension, Dateline America, Exploring America, Newsmark, and Newsnotes. Other items consist of publicity materials (posters, clippings, and newspaper advertisements) and a small amount of fan mail. No documentation of Kuralt's early work on Douglas Edwards with the News appears.
The television files, much more numerous, document Kuralt's work on several CBS series, including Adventure; Eyewitness to History; the CBS Evening News; the CBS Morning News; CBS News Reports; On the Road; The American Parade; Crossroads; and Sunday Morning; as well as CBS News Specials and Kuralt's coverage of national political conventions and the Olympics. Over one-half of the television files pertain to the On the Road series, with only scattered files for Sunday Morning. Note that a few background files for On the Road and Sunday Morning subjects and others, including the Chandler family, Nikita Aseyev, Eddie Lovett, Pete Seeger, Alf Landon, and Marlon Brando appear in Series 2.6 with Kuralt's book files for A Life on the Road.
Television files include scripts (draft and final); research files; response mail (filed under "Fan Mail" or at times under the name of individual shows); story-idea and finished story files for On the Road; CBS memoranda; and scattered publicity materials. Items in the finished story files include research summaries prepared by staff members, clippings, pamphlets, letters, photographs, and items of popular culture, including bumper stickers and buttons, posters, flyers, tourist brochures, and postcards.
In addition to materials related to specific radio and television shows, Kuralt maintained records of his CBS expenses, articles he wrote for popular magazines, speeches he delivered, awards he won, the motor homes he traveled in, and miscellaneous topics of interest to him. Files marked "Speeches" contain texts of many of his speeches (1966-1994); files entitled "Speech Files" include mostly correspondence concerning contracts and travel arrangements. Additional contracts and paperwork related to speaking engagements are in files entitled "Artists Agency Corporation ", "Marvin Josephson Associates", "International Famous Agency, Inc.", and "Podium Management".
The subject files document United States national politics and foreign affairs in the 1960s, including the assassination of President Kennedy, Latin American politics, United States relations with Cuba and Cuban exiles' sentiments in the same period; soldiers in the Vietnam War; the United States space program; poverty in the rural South, especially Appalachia; national and international politics in the 1980s and early 1990s, including political conventions, the Gulf War, and the student uprising in China; Kuralt's Slovenian ancestry; and American folklore and popular culture, including rodeos, fairs, medicine shows, festivals and parades, social organizations, collectors, and railroad nostalgia.
CBS coworkers frequently appearing in the files include Karen Beckers, Joe Bellon, Burton Benjamin, Russ Bensley, Bernard Birnbaum, Louise Colon, Walter Cronkite, Irv Drasnin, Cathy Lewis, Gordon Manning, Ralph Paskman, Richard Salant, and Emerson Stone.
Items of particular note for researchers include a blueprint of the first motor home CBS purchased for Kuralt (see XOP-4882/1-4); a photocopy of an undated letter Kuralt wrote to Wes (possibly Wesley Wallace), ca. 1972, relating how he became involved in journalism and describing his early experiences in radio broadcasting at WAYS in Charlotte, N.C., WCHL in Chapel Hill, and an unnamed station in Sanford, N.C. (see file entitled "Biography"); and a short memoir Kuralt wrote of living with his grandparents in Onslow County, N.C., as a child (see file entitled "Timberlake Book, 1976"). Of particular interest are early photographs of Kuralt scattered throughout the files.
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Subseries 2.2. Personal and Office Mail, 1958-1994.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: alphabetical by year.
The bulk of the correspondence in this series consists of general office mail, interspersed with personal letters from a number of regular correspondents, including friends and family, as well as long-time colleagues and individuals on whom Kuralt did programs. The general office mail comprises mostly invitations to speak or to appear at various social, organizational, charity, and fundraising events; requests for Kuralt's participation in film, television, radio, writing, or business projects; and letters from junior journalists and others seeking career advice or help. Scattered letters are addressed to Walter Cronkite and other CBS staff members, who clearly routed them to Kuralt. Note that a check in the upper right-hand corner of a letter indicates that it was answered. Letters written by individuals whose surnames do not appear on their letters are filed at the end of each alphabetical run and are marked "No Surname." The researcher is encouraged to consult these files since many of Kuralt's close friends signed only their first names.
The years best represented in the mail are 1971 to 1979 and 1984 to 1994. Only scattered items (fewer than 100) are dated between 1958 and 1970. No letters for 1964 and only a few for 1980 and 1983 appear. Most of the mail consists of items received, with only occasional replies by Kuralt. Note that a larger percentage of the letters for 1958-1970 have replies than do later ones. Exceptions are folders labeled "Correspondence Copies", which appear at the beginning of 1990 and 1992. (The 1992 file contains letters dated between 1988-1992.) Additionally, copies of letters dictated by Kuralt appear for 1973, 1982, 1989, and 1990. One audiotape (T-4882/106) in Series 3.1.4 also contains letters dictated by Kuralt.
Early correspondence, 1958-1970, consists of letters Kuralt exchanged with family members, friends, and colleagues across the United States and abroad, and letters he received from individuals on whom he did stories, from contacts he maintained throughout the country (many of whom wrote him frequently with story ideas), and from numerous individuals requesting him to speak or participate in events or projects. Between 1958-late 1961 and 1964-1970, letters are addressed to Kuralt at CBS in New York. From late 1961 until October 1962, they are addressed to him in Rio de Janeiro, and, in 1963, they are addressed to him in Los Angeles.
Family correspondents of note in the early mail are Kuralt's brother, Wallace Kuralt, Jr., who wrote describing student life at the University of North Carolina, family, and politics and Kuralt's cousin, Ransom Gurganus, who sent family news from Atlanta. There are also scattered notes from Kuralt's parents in Charlotte. Among Kuralt's friends and early radio and newspaper colleagues, Charles Crutchfield, Phyllis Dennery, John Ehle, Bill Friday, Bill Geer, Ralph Gibson (Raff), Donald F. MacDonald, Perry Morgan, Ruth Jones Pentes, Fred Powledge, Bob Raiford, J. Reece, Wesley Wallace, and others wrote with some frequency, discussing their families and careers and mentioning old friends and classmates in Charlotte and Chapel Hill and colleagues at the Charlotte News. On occasion, the letters also discuss North Carolina politics and education (see especially letters of John Ehle), the field of journalism, and social and economic issues. Many other radio and television colleagues, including, Dan Rather, Harry Reasoner, Louis Kraar, Hughes Rudd, Robert Schanke, John Sharnik, and Hunter S. Thompson of Woody Creek, Colorado, also wrote Kuralt, informing him of internal politics at CBS; domestic and overseas reporting in Rio de Janeiro, Panama, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Moscow; and family news. Also included are many notes of congratulation on Kuralt's Eyewitness to History series and frequent invitations to speak. Of interest are two letters Kuralt wrote to his daughters, Lisa and Susan, in 1963 from Nicaragua, describing social problems there, and in 1967 from New York, describing his preparations to go to Eureka, Canada, to cover the Plaisted Polar Expedition.
Letters received by Kuralt at his New York office between 1971 and April 1994 contain a much greater proportion of general office mail (e.g., invitations to speak and letters concerning special projects), than purely personal items. There are, however, many personal letters from friends and family, as well as from CBS and other colleagues, story contacts, publishers, and associates.
Immediate family members who wrote with some frequency include Kuralt's brother, Wallace Kuralt, Jr., and sister-in-law Brenda, his parents (first from Charlotte and later from Kitty Hawk, N.C.), and his nephew Justin. Wallace wrote often with news of his bookselling business in Chapel Hill and concerning Kuralt family history and Slovenian relatives (see especially 1985-1986, 1993). A significant number of letters from relatives in Massachusetts, especially Charlotte MacLeod of Longmeadow, Mass., and Mrs. Leo Kuralt of Williamston, Mass., also discuss Kuralt family history as well as news of New England relations.
Among his friends, Kuralt's most prolific correspondent was folklorist Roger Welsch, who contributed the "Postcards from Nebraska" segment on Sunday Morning. Welsch wrote between 1974 and 1994 from Lincoln, Neb., giving news of his family and mutual friends, sharing humorous anecdotes, discussing his work on tall tales and his forays into mechanics and other pursuits, and offering story ideas. Later letters (see Series 4.1) also provide news of Isadore Bleckman (Izzy). Others of note who wrote frequently were Judge John Voelker, a.k.a. Robert Traver, of Ishpeming, Mich., whose letters, 1971-1991, often discuss fishing, and Virginia Bailey, J. George Butler, Tom Rooney, Al Rung, and Thad Sandstrom, who were regular contributors of story ideas and kept Kuralt informed on events in their regions. Rita Shaw wrote consistently between 1973 and 1994 from St. Paul, Minn., and later from Santa Barbara, Cal., discussing her television work, her daily activities, her family, and mutual friends. Considerable correspondence also appears from the following friends and colleagues: Ed Bliss; Cornell Capa; Henry Chase; Plez Chase; Norman Corwin (Bud); Elizabeth Dumbell; Granville Hall of Gloucester, Va.; Hunter S. Thompson of Woody Creek, Col.; Loonis McGlohon; Hugh Morton of Grandfather Mountain, N.C.; Rolphe Neill; Ralph Gibson (Raff) of Washington, D.C.; Jim Babb of Charlotte; Bill Friday; Tom Spain; Betty Stevens; Jane Tolbert (Tolbert-Rouchaleau after 1974); Robert T. And Alice Raleigh of Somerset, Wisconsin; C. D. Spangler; Bob Timberlake; Calvin Trillin; Marlene VerPlanck; Billy VerPlanck; Ed Yoder of Greensboro, N.C.; Eugenia Zukerman; and Bea Taylor.
Kuralt also received numerous letters from individuals on whom he did On the Road segments. Of note are Patty Nelson, whose letters, 1972-1994, discuss her studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz and Yale University, as well as her subsequent career, and Korczak Ziolkowski, who wrote from South Dakota, and his daughters Dawn and Jadwiga, who wrote frequently in the early 1980s from the University of Wyoming at Laramie. Other On the Road subjects who maintained a correspondence with Kuralt include Bill Bodisch of Iowa, Eddie Lovett, Stanley Marsh of Amarillo, Tex., and Bob Arrol of Arcola, Ill.
Letters and memoranda from CBS colleagues include many from Joe Bellon, Russ Bensley, Burton Benjamin, Bernard Birnbaum, Irv Drasnin, Peter Herford, Gordon Manning, Shad Northshield, Richard Salant, Bill Small, Tom Spain, and others.
Of special interest in the 1990 mail is a letter from Anne Batten, reminiscing about Kuralt as a student and his junior high school newspaper staff.
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Subseries 2.3. Response/Story-Idea Mail, 1970-1994.
Mail received from fans and friends offering story ideas, responses (pro and con) to specific shows and writings by Kuralt, as well as general commentary on his career, politics, and the state of television and the country. Radio series represented are Dimension, Exploring America, Dateline America, and Newnotes. Television series covered include CBS News Reports, On the Road, Sunday Morning, Morning News (1980-1981), the CBS Evening News, Crossroads, and The American Parade. Letters also appear in response to Kuralt's coverage of national political conventions, 1972 and 1980, and the Olympics, 1992 and 1994, as well as to the many CBS News Specials he hosted over the years and to books he authored. Additional response mail may be found in the subject files, filed under either "Fan Mail" or in folders bearing the titles of individual shows.
Those submitting story ideas frequently enclosed popular culture items, including bumper stickers, buttons, press kits, photographs, posters, tourist and promotional brochures, restaurant menus, advertisements, and maps. Many letters contain memoirs of personal experiences and family stories.
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Subseries 2.3.1. Alphabetical File, 1970-1972.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Alphabetical file, by surname of sender, of response and story-idea mail received by Kuralt between 1970 and 1972. Many of the letters are accompanied by form-letter replies. Replies by Kuralt appear only on occasion.
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Subseries 2.3.2. Chronological File, 1973-1974.
Arrangement: chronological.
Chronological file of response and story-idea mail received by Kuralt between 1973 and 1994. Responses to specific shows are indicated on folder titles. Many of the letters are accompanied by form-letter replies. Replies by Kuralt appear only on occasion. Of interest is a set of letters (folder 2428) for September 1981 in response to a Sunday Morning program Kuralt did concerning desegregation of the University of North Carolina.
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Subseries 2.4. Calendars and Hip-Pocket Notebooks, 1966-1993 and undated.
Daily calendars and hip-pocket notebooks Kuralt kept while traveling.
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Subseries 2.4.1. Calendars, 1966-1994.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: chronological.
Daily calendars showing appointments and containing occasional notes Kuralt made to himself.
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Subseries 2.4.2. Hip-Pocket Notebooks, 1973-1993 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
Hip-pocket notebooks containing Kuralt's notes on stories and filming, appointments, addresses, phone numbers, directions, and reminders to himself. One item (1979?) is an address book. A few similar notebooks can also be found in the Finished Story files in Series 2.1.
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Subseries 2.5. Clippings and Souvenirs, 1956-1994.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: chronological.
Newspaper and magazine clippings containing interviews with Kuralt, stories by him, and coverage of his career; clippings concerning his family, friends, colleagues, and some of his On the Road subjects; publicity materials, including posters, advertisements, and press releases for his shows; personal notes of congratulation from colleagues and friends; programs, agendas, and promotional materials from speaking engagements and other public appearances; programs from award ceremonies; snapshots of Kuralt and his crew and subjects on the road; publicity stills; signed photographs of celebrities as diverse as Wahoo McDaniel and Placido Domingo; personal mementos (buttons, bumper stickers, personalized cigarette lighters, hotel keys, matchbook covers, press identification cards and passports, fishing licenses); and souvenirs from vacations. Of note is a copy of Kuralt's resignation letter from CBS (see folder 3431b). For similar materials collected by Kuralt after March 1994, see the Press File in Series 4.
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Subseries 2.6. Books Based on CBS Work, 1967-1968, 1979, 1984-1985, 1990.
Arrangement: by book.
Files Kuralt maintained on books he wrote based on his coverage of the Plaisted Polar Expedition in 1967 and his On the Road series between 1967 and 1985. Included are book drafts and galleys, correspondence with publishers, reader response mail, and background research files for To the Top of the World, Dateline America, On the Road with Charles Kuralt, and A Life on the Road. For files on Charles Kuralt's America, see Series 4.3.
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Subseries 2.6.1. To the Top of the World, 1967-1968.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
The book contract and correspondence Kuralt had with Holt, Rinehart & Winston; publicity items, including clippings and ads; reviews; and the book cover. For letters in response to To the Top of the World, see the subject files under CBS News Special "Destination North Pole" and "Fan Mail" here as well as the response/story-idea mail for 1970. For additional publicity related to the book, see the clippings and souvenirs file in Series 2.5 for the same period.
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Subseries 2.6.2. Dateline America, 1979.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
The book contract Kuralt signed with Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; correspondence with the publisher, especially Peggy Brooks; lists of promotional interviews and appearances; letters from readers; rough drafts and galleys; reviews; publicity materials; photographs considered for the book; and a book cover.
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Subseries 2.6.3. On the Road with Charles Kuralt, 1984-1985.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Draft book proposal; book contract and correspondence with Putnam, the publisher; rough drafts and galleys; publicity items and reviews; and a book distribution list. For additional publicity materials, see the clippings and souvenirs file. For reader letters, see the response/story-idea mail for 1985.
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Subseries 2.6.4. A Life on the Road, 1990.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Book notes, background research files, publicity materials and reviews, drafts and galleys. Many of the background research files seem to have been pulled from the subject files (see Series 2.1) and pertain to individuals on whom Kuralt did On the Road or Sunday Morning segments, including the Chandler family, Eddie Lovett, Nikita Aseyev (the "Russian Dentist"), Alf Landon, Pete Seeger, Marlon Brando, and the Writers Guild of America.
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Subseries 2.7. Retirement Mail, 1994.
Arrangement: chronological.
Letters and greeting cards Kuralt received from fans upon announcement of his retirement from CBS. Letters from long-term fans, former colleagues, friends, and family are marked "Most Important Mail." Because of Kuralt's association with the Sunday Morning show, which used sun imagery as a backdrop, many of these letters contain artifacts (drawings, paintings, photographs, jewelry, postcards, greeting cards, knitted/quilted/cross stitched items, a tie, etc.) bearing images of the sun. The letters often comment on and relate personal experiences of retirement.
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Series 3. Audiovisual Materials, 1953-1997.
Audio and visual materials documenting Kuralt's work at WUNC in Chapel Hill; radio and television programming he did for CBS and other networks; speeches he gave; appearances he made on behalf of causes he supported; interviews he granted to discuss his career and promote his books; documentaries and educational materials he narrated; and miscellaneous items related to his career.
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Subseries 3.1. Audiotapes, 1953-1997.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Reel-to-reel and audiocassette tapes related to Kuralt's work with WUNC Radio, 1953 and undated; his Dimensions on Health, Dateline America, Newsmark, and Exploring America radio broadcasts; and his work on CBS Reports, On the Road, and Sunday Morning television series. Included are radio broadcasts; interviews he conducted with individuals featured on his shows, as well as interviews with him by others; recordings of speeches he made; and audiotapes he narrated. There are also recordings (both commercial and self-produced) sent to him by fans and others. Included are tapes of jazz musician Billy Taylor and Maine humorist Tim Sample, who frequently appeared on Sunday Morning. Of note are the theme song to On the Road and a song entitled "Charles Kuralt: A Life on the Road," composed for Kuralt by singer-songwriter Steve Key. The designation "lc" indicates that a listening copy is available.
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Subseries 3.1.1. UNC and Early CBS Years, 1953-1970.
Two tapes are of WUNC programs in which Kuralt participated, including a broadcast by several students from the top of Mt. Mitchell, N.C., and the station's first show, for which Kuralt performed a dramatic reading on the inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Four additional tapes contain Dimension on Health , 21st Century, and other radio pieces Kuralt did on the Plaisted Polar Expedition, crime, the 1966 presidential election, farming and rural life, conservation, and the 1916 Easter Uprising in Ireland.
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Subseries 3.1.2. On the Road, 1970s-1980s.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
On the Road music, unedited interviews with On the Road subjects, and recordings of gandy dancers and others. Of note is T-4882/15 on which Kuralt reminisces about his experiences on the road and his friend Korczak Ziolkowski.
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Subseries 3.1.3. Shows, Speeches, and Interviews, 1980s.
Recordings, 1980s, of Kuralt's Newsmark and Exploring America radio shows; speeches he gave; interviews he granted; and narration projects he completed; and miscellaneous tapes, commercial and noncommercial, of performances by individuals who appeared on On the Road and Sunday Morning.
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Subseries 3.1.4. Shows, Speeches, Interviews, and Other Tapes, 1990s.
Recordings, 1990s, of Dateline America, interviews with Kuralt, and speeches and narration projects by Kuralt, as well as miscellaneous tapes sent to Kuralt by fans and others for his various shows. Of note is tape T-4882/107, on which Kuralt reminisces about Chapel Hill).
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Subseries 3.1.5. Miscellaneous Tapes, 1970s-1990s.
Miscellaneous tapes, many sent to Kuralt by friends, fans, or others submitting story ideas or seeking advice on their work. Also included are scattered tapes used as background materials for shows.
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Subseries 3.2. Audiodiscs, 1967-1986.
Five LPs and one CD representing early narration projects Kuralt did for CBS, his personal recording effort in North Carolina Is My Home, his role in producing Vladimir Horowitz's return concert in Moscow; and his work related to The Bob Timberlake Collection. Also seven 45-rpm records (most sent by fans) documenting social and economic issues in the 1970s and 1980s; and one 33 1/3 photorecord documenting Korczak Ziolkowski's monument to Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
The LPs comprise a recording entitled 1969: A Record of the Year (1970), produced by CBS and narrated by Kuralt; a recording named Spaceship Earth (1972), which contains cuts by Kuralt entitled "Earth Day" and "Spaceship Earth", as well as cuts by CBS correspondent Charles Osgood and songs by Pete Seeger; a recording of Kuralt's North Carolina Is My Home (1985) with words by Kuralt and music by Loonis McGlohon; a recording entitled Horowitz in Moscow (1986), with an introduction by Kuralt on the album sleeve (also appears on CD); and a recording entitled Charles Kuralt from the Bob Timberlake Collection (1977).
Six of the seven 45s are self-published with original lyrics. These include Johnny Knapp's 1979 record with titles "Odd or Even" and "Inflation"; Fred Hatchett's 1972 recording of "Golden Link of Love" and "First Monday at Scottsboro, Ala."; Terry Burford, Jr.'s, (a child's) "I'm in Love with Amy" and "The Birds and the Bees " (1977); Leslie Isaiah Gaines and the I. C. Hot Band's "Reaganomic Blues" (1981); Pat Jobe's "Crafted with Pride" and "Cotton Mill Momma" (Marion, N.C., 1985); and Clifford J. Buckosh's "Confusion Corner" and "Armadillo" (1985). The remaining 45 is a recorded commercial for Tommy Scott's Old Time Medicine Show (1979). Most of the 45s are accompanied by their original sleeves and, in a few cases, by sheet music.
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Subseries 3.3. Videotapes, 1963-1997.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Mostly videotapes related to Kuralt's On the Road and Sunday Morning series. There are also a significant number of tapes pertaining to his work on early documentaries and specials for CBS; coverage of political conventions and the Olympics; anchoring of the CBS Evening News; and his work on network shows, such as The American Parade and 48 Hours, as well as the non-CBS series I Remember and An American Moment. In addition, there are interviews with Kuralt, interviews by Kuralt, tributes to Kuralt upon his retirement, tapes of documentaries (CBS and non-CBS) that he narrated and special events he hosted, as well as awards ceremonies and miscellaneous tapes documenting his entrance into American popular culture and his relationship with CBS colleagues and others. There are additionally a number of story-idea offerings. A notebook listing the titles of all Travel Channel Episodes for On the Road is filed in Series 2.1, folder 562. Note that the designation "vc" indicates that a viewing copy is available.
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Subseries 3.3.1. Early CBS Work, 1960-1970.
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Subseries 3.3.2. On the Road, 1970s-1980s.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
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Subseries 3.3.3. Sunday Morning, 1979-1995.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
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Subseries 3.3.4. CBS Evening News, 1985-1988.
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Subseries 3.3.5. The American Parade, 1984.
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Subseries 3.3.6. Political Convention Coverage, 1972-1980.
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Subseries 3.3.7. CBS News Specials, 1976-1995.
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Subseries 3.3.8. 48 Hours, 1988-1989.
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Subseries 3.3.9. Olympics Coverage, 1973-1994.
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Subseries 3.3.10. I Remember, 1997.
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Subseries 3.3.11. An American Moment, 1996-1997.
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Subseries 3.3.12. North Carolina Is My Home, 1986-1992.
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Subseries 3.3.13. Hosted Projects, 1992-1996.
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Subseries 3.3.14. Speeches, 1985-1995.
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Subseries 3.3.15. Kuralt in the Work of Others, 1976-1993.
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Subseries 3.3.16. Interviews with and Guest Appearances by Kuralt, 1993-1997 and undated.
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Subseries 3.3.17. Narration Projects, 1970-1997.
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Subseries 3.3.18. Book Promotions, 1980-1995.
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Subseries 3.3.19. Kuralt Tributes and Awards, 1987-1996.
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Subseries 3.3.20. Miscellaneous Videotapes, 1980-1996.
Various tapes of television shows mentioning Kuralt, horse races involving the thoroughbred horse "Sunday's Kuralt," tapes related to miscellaneous projects Kuralt undertook, and tapes made for Kuralt by personal friends and colleagues with personal greetings or humorous skits.
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Subseries 3.4. Multimedia Materials, 1974-1996.
Two 16-mm filmstrips, one filmstrip set, one CD-ROM, and one videodisc/CD-ROM package documenting Kuralt's film work for CBS in his early career and personal projects he undertook in instructional materials.
The two 16-mm films (undated) comprise a piece Kuralt did on a meeting of President Lyndon Johnson and a foreign dignitary in Palm Springs, Cal. (F-4882/1) and an American Cancer Society documentary on cancer survivors (F-4882/2). The filmstrip set, entitled An American Sampler by Charles Kuralt (1974), served as a social studies curriculum aid (F-4882/3).
The CD-ROM, entitled Material World: A Global Family Portrait (1994), is narrated by Kuralt and gives glimpses into daily life among world cultures. See CDROM-4882/1. The CD-ROM/Videodisc package entitled The American History Videodisc and CD-ROM (1996), produced by Instructional Resources Corporation, is also narrated by Kuralt. See CDROM-4882/2.
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Series 4. Retirement, 1994-1997.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Personal and office correspondence, project files, book files, and publicity files maintained by Kuralt after his retirement from CBS.
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Subseries 4.1. Personal and Office Mail, 1994-1997.
Processing Note: See also Additions after 1998.
Arrangement: alphabetical by year.
A mixture of general office mail, including many invitations to speak, requests for Kuralt's participation in educational, charitable, and fundraising projects, and scattered fan mail, and personal mail, including letters from friends, family, and business associates. Frequent correspondents are Rita Shaw, Betty Stevens, Granville Hall, Jim Babb, Greg Bellon, Cornell Capa, Bill Friday, Al Rung, Roger Welsch, Hugh Morton, Loonis McGlohon, Eugenia Zukerman, and Eli Evans. Of note are letters, 1996-1997, from Michael Hillman and Julie Hillman concerning radio station WELY in Ely, Minn., which Kuralt owned. Also of interest are letters from Roger Welsch describing his activities and family in Lincoln, Neb., and giving news of Isadore Bleckman (Izzy), and letters of sympathy Kuralt received in late 1994 upon his father's death.
