The collection consists of materials relating to the civic and personal lives of Charles and Marian Oldham and their families. The collection is divided into five series: Family, Civil Rights, University of Missouri, Marian Oldham Scholarship Fund, and The Oaks. The collection spans from circa 1900 to 2006 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1989 to 2006. There is a large gap between 1901 and 1920. Folders within the five series are arranged alphabetically by name, topic, and/or type of document. The Family Series dates from 1900 to 2006, with a date gap between 1901 and 1920, and contains personal items relating primarily to Charles and Marian. Folders are arranged alphabetically by personal name and then by topic or type of document. There are folders relating to other family members such as their parents, children, and Charles’s siblings and his Walter family ancestors. There are funeral and death notices for Valetta O’Fallon, Marian’s mother, and for Charles’s family members including Henry Oldham (father), Henry George Oldham (brother), Myrl Oldham (mother), and George Walter (grandfather). There is also a file of Walter family research. There are a few school items and newspaper clippings for Jo Anne Oldham (sister), Lisa Oldham (daughter), and John Oldham (son). For both Charles and Marian, there are various honors and certificates, obituaries and biographies, and limited personal correspondence. In 1959, the St. Louis Branch of the NAACP presented its Walter White Memorial Citation to Marian (B2/f.9). In 1992, the National Bar Association inducted Charles into its Hall of Fame (B1/f.8). Several assignments from courses in the Army Specialized Training Program (1943) are present. There is also one 1990 newsletter and roster from the 43rd Bombardment Group Association (B1/f.11-14). Marian used a high school scrapbook to record memories from her 1942-1943 senior year at Sumner High School. There are additional school items tucked into the covers of the scrapbook such as programs, newspaper clippings, and graduation greeting cards (B1/f.15-19). In the printed scrapbook, Marian added notes on music and fashion trends such as “slacks” and “drapes.” She also used the blank pages for classmates’ graduation name cards and photographs, of which there are only a small number present. Marian identified each space used for photographs, and many of the photos present are inscribed. Additional items from Marian’s school days include a short story about V-E Day in St. Louis and a clipping about the retirement of Sumner and Vashon High School cafeteria manager Addie Hairston (possibly a relative, B2/f.13). The newspaper clippings about Marian Oldham in the Family Series relate primarily to her work with civic organizations and board positions, excluding the University of Missouri, which is in a separate series. A clipping from February 4, 1969, congratulates the Oldhams on the adoption of their second child, Lisa. On May 31, 1951, The St. Louis American published photos from the wedding of Gertrude S. Young, daughter of the paper’s co-founder, and future judge Nathan B Young, Jr. Marian O’Fallon and Charles Oldham were both members of the wedding party. The Civil RightsSeries dates from 1954 to 2003 and contains primarily items relating to CORE and to individuals who were active in CORE, both nationally and in St. Louis. There are also single meeting agendas for two St. Louis civil rights committees active in 1996. Two contemporary papers written about the civil rights movement are present. Charles Oldham wrote one paper entitled Progress in Civil Rights in St. Louis for the St. Louis Conference on Religion and Race in 1965 (B3.f.24). St. Louis CORE files relate to the book Victory Without Violence, some miscellaneous items dating from 1961 to 2000 (B3/f.21), and many newspaper clippings and anniversary events relating to the 1963 Jefferson Bank protest (B3/f.18-20). In 1973, St. Louis CORE’s commemorative committee planned events around the 10th anniversary of the Jefferson Bank protest. It presented a booklet to Marian Oldham and Kenneth Lee, which contained the printed trial record of Curtis vs. Tozer. In his position as national chairman of CORE, Charles Oldham met many well-known historical figures in the civil rights movement. He contributed recollections of James Farmer to Special Collections at Mary Washington College when it paid tribute to Farmer in 2001. The Victory Without Violence book research led to interest in a CORE reunion in 1999. Oldham reconnected with James R. Robinson (1918-2016), a pacifist who worked with CORE in Chicago and then in New York. Robinson sent Oldham copies of his memoirs and its revisions (B3/f.10-15), which recount his time in a conscientious objector camp during WWII (B3/f.11), his experiences with CORE in Chicago and New York, the Miami Institute (B3/f.15), and the formation of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) (B3/f.15). There is also correspondence about a reunion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides. The University of Missouri Series dates from 1977 to 2006 and includes correspondence and newspaper clippings relating to Marian Oldham's long association with the University, including her appointment to the Board of Curators in 1977 and to her tenure in the position through 1985. She also served on committees after her board term expired. Various groups within the University bestowed honors upon Oldham for her service; there are certificates and copies of photographs of plaques in this series, including the 1992 honorary doctorate degree of human letters (B4/f.2). Oldham closely watched the rate of minority enrollment and saved newspaper clippings about race relations at the University of Missouri (B4/f.4). The Marian Oldham Scholarship Fund Series dates from 1989 to 2005 and relates to the endowed scholarship created by Marian Oldham and her friends in 1990 for African American students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). There are several brochures for the scholarship and for the annual fundraising event, usually a musical performance. There are several mailing lists, correspondence, and committee assignments relating to the benefit. There are also scattered scholarship committee meeting minutes and agenda. Some of the meetings include academic updates about students who received scholarship funds. There is correspondence that reveals the relationship between the scholarship committee and UMSL. Marian Oldham was the first chairperson of the scholarship committee. Upon her death in March 1994, Charles Oldham became the chairman, which was a stipulation in the agreement when the scholarship was established in 1990. In 2004, the University of Missouri made changes to its scholarship system and folded the Marian Oldham Scholarship Committee into its new African American Scholarship Initiative Committee. The Oaks Series dates from 1970 to 2003 with the following date gaps: April 1977 to 1992, 1997, and 1999-2002. It contains meeting minutes, financial data, bylaws and constitution, some correspondence, and events information for The Oaks Social Club, which was a St. Louis men’s social club founded in 1955. It met monthly and collected monthly assessments for club trips and outings. The earliest records are in a bound volume (B5/f.14-15) and date from March 1970 to March 1976. Charles Oldham became an Oaks member in December 1972 and became president in December 1975. The 1973 meeting records list the following members: Charles Brown; Larry Falwell; W. S. Duiguid; Amos Berry; Lucian Garrett ( -July 1973); Philmore Glover; Robert Gooch; Donald Hammonds; James Hurt; James Longley; Elmer Sharpe; Jesse Temple; Dr. R. Jerome Williams, Sr. (1925-2013); and Alonzo “Lonnie” Williamson (-1997).