Latin School of Chicago

Latin's Archival Treasures Teresa Sutter is neither an archivist nor a professional historian. But that hasn't stopped her from tackling the daunting task of chronicling Latin School's nearly 125-year history – one vintage photograph, meal ticket and report card at a time. When Sutter joined Latin's staff in 2005 as alumni coordinator, the school's archival papers and photographs had been organized but were packed away in boxes and piled inside a closet. Sutter, who graduated with a degree in anthropology and serves as a docent at the Field Museum, knows a great historical narrative when she sees one. And she knew: Languishing inside those hastily stacked boxes were hundreds of stories just waiting to be told. But even she couldn't have guessed at some of the treasures she would uncover. "We didn't know the full extent of what we were looking at," said Sutter. In order for anyone to appreciate the contents of those boxes, they had to be unpacked, and the materials needed to be preserved on digital film. It was painstaking, delicate work, which Sutter focused on during the summer of 2010 alongside Carole Towne '69, a Latin alum who donated her time to the project. Armed with advice from experts at the Chicago History Museum and the Newberry Library, Sutter and Towne began to catalog the materials. "We went through the boxes and wrote down each item," Sutter said. "We decided which were most important and which were most likely to decay – and then we began the slow process of digitizing them." They wore gloves and masks to avoid damaging the delicate letters, student petitions and yearbooks, some of which date back to the first years of the 20th century. "Finding the first yearbook (1902) ever produced by Latin was pretty cool," she said. "It's a phenomenal piece of history – not just for Latin but for the city of Chicago." The list of remarkable discoveries goes on: a 1902 petition circulated by students who wanted to make Abraham Lincoln's birthday a school holiday, a 1918 petition asking to have Victory Day off, and a report card from 1908. "That student didn't do very well," said Sutter. "But the card's in pristine condition," and signed by head of school Robert Peck Bates and school founder Mabel Slade Vickery. Documents provide excellent historical fodder, but it's the photographs that pack a particularly emotional punch, Sutter said. Among her favorites: a 1907 photograph, taken when the school was on Division Street. "It's a photo that cuts you to the quick," said Sutter. "They're just having fun, an insignificant moment in their lives. But looking at it 100 years later you realize these kids back then were very much like our students today." Today, Sutter's task as unofficial archivist is still far from complete, but she is pleased with the progress she and her co-workers have made. The time they have put in has provided much of the visual and factual content for a multimedia display that was installed at Latin in the spring of 2011. The exhibit, funded through a generous gift by an anonymous donor, runs the length of the bridge that connects the middle and upper schools and features screens that show a looping slideshow of archival photos and other materials, a timeline of Latin School history and a light display. Established as another way to engage and connect current Latin families and alumni to the school and its history, the bridge project has turned out to be an archivist's dream. Not only does it allow Sutter to continue the work she has grown passionate about, but it also brings to light the treasures that were once hidden away. As she walked toward the end of the Bridge and leaned in to examine another favorite photograph, Sutter looked thoughtful. Then she smiled. "This is a project that will never end," she said. l – Jessica Reaves "Finding the first yearbook (1902) ever produced by Latin was pretty cool," she said. "It's a phenomenal piece of history – not just for Latin but for the city of Chicago." Latin School of Chicago 27

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