THE KELLERMAN FOUNDATION The Oliver Collection
“It feels like almost yesterday.” -Dr. Frank Nickell
The Nickell Regional Heritage Archive is a new initiative of The Kellerman Foundation. The goal of this project is to digitally archive the 50-plus year collection of Dr. Frank Nickell. It will provide an opportunity for the public to discover stories on a wide variety of local and regional personalities, families, traditions, values and mores of our collective history.
Dr. Nickell has spent his life collecting and gathering stories about the local and regional history of Southeast Missouri and the Mid-Mississippi Valley Region. His collection, as it is now, fills twenty, four-drawer file cabinets, many boxes and takes up two storage units (approximately 10 x 25 ft. each). The intent of The Kellerman Foundation is to document, archive, digitize and distribute these stories for future generations.
Please join us in our efforts to preserve this important collection by clicking the Donate button now. More about the Nickell Regional Archive (NRHA)…
On February 9, 2019, a reception to introduce the NRHA was held at Heritage Hall. An exhibit highlighting an assortment of Dr. Nickell’s collection was on display for guests to view, and a video to introduce the NRHA was shown (view on this page). Speakers included Drs. Mary Ann and Bert Kellerman (founders of The Kellerman Foundation), Seth Ward and Dennis Stroughmatt (former students of Dr. Nickell), and the guest of honor, Dr. Frank Nickell.
The Kellerman Foundation for Historic Preservation sponsored the reception in partnership with the Missouri Humanities and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres were donated by Celebrations Restaurant and a beautiful cake was donated by Jim and Nicole Thurmond. The video shown at the reception was produced by The Digital Foundry.