史先生
1986年的弗雷德·伯韦尔声称，当他从费城来到伯洛伊特学院时，“对伯洛伊特学院一无所知”, following a girlfriend who had enrolled at the college in 1983. The flame on that youthful relationship quickly flickered out, but 主任 soon found a new and enduring love—the college itself. And in a relationship that has spanned nearly four decades, 伯韦尔比世界上任何人都更了解伯洛伊特学院及其历史.
坚持准确的人, 主任, 长期的大学档案保管员, 可能会对这种说法提出异议，理由是它无法经过经验验证. But he’d be hard-pressed to refute it, 如果他想, he’d likely be drowned out by a chorus of admirers—students, 校友, 教师, and administrators—who have benefited from his knowledge, 指导, 多年来一直保持着良好的本性.
One of those admirers is professor Ellen Joyce, 历史系的系主任, 在他们共同教授的10堂课上，谁认为主任是一个平等的合作伙伴，用丰富的档案收藏来进行历史研究. 去年6月, 当时她收到了伯韦尔的一封电子邮件，告诉她他计划在8月底退休, “我很伤心, 我过了一个星期才回复,乔伊斯说。. “弗雷德的离开是一个巨大的损失.”
But it was a huge gain for the college 37 years ago, 当一个心怀感激的伯威尔, 尽管在佛蒙特州的本宁顿学院学习成绩参差不齐，之后又做了一系列的零售工作——包括一次为期两天的捞冰淇淋的不成功的工作——但他还是被转校生录取了. “我真正看重贝洛伊特的一点是，它让人们根据自己的潜力进入,他说. “A lot of people find their niche here. 当然了.”
那 niche mainly involved writing and editing, 乔伊斯所说的技能, 还有悠闲的举止, 让弗雷德, as he came to be known by everyone on campus, “the person to go to for students who wanted to improve their writing.当他自己还是个学生的时候, 伯韦尔是《菠菜白菜吧》和《菠菜白菜吧》文学杂志的联合编辑, working with English professor Clint McCown, helped found the 贝洛伊特 Fiction Journal, staying on as associate editor after graduating in 1986.
He also had a work-study job in the Morse Library, which led to his discovery of the College Archives, then located on the top floor behind a chain-link fence. 一个自称“收集狂”的人,” 主任 says he began collecting things—baseball cards, 邮票, 的照片, 甚至是岩石——在他很小的时候，他爱读书的父母带他去跳蚤市场, 二手商店, 还有二手书店. “I loved the thrill of the hunt, the search for treasure,他说. The archives, he felt pretty certain, were worthy of exploration.
主任 first had to hunt down Robert H. Irrmann, 1939年毕业于伯洛伊特学院，退休的历史学教授，校园里很多人都认为他自己是个宝贝. Irrmann served as the college’s second archivist, beginning in 1953 and taking over for his mentor, history professor Robert Kimball Richardson, who established the position and held it for 更多的 than half a century, 从1901年开始. Irrmann, 伯韦尔视其为导师, 很快就看中了这个好奇的学生，并提名他为自己的接班人.
主任 stayed on after graduation as a full-time library employee, dividing his efforts between the archives and the reference desk. Although he did not pursue an advanced degree, 伯韦尔能够从参考图书管理员克里斯汀·纳尔逊那里学到很多他在研究生院可能错过的东西. 他还在她身上发现了他在档案中找不到的东西——“我的灵魂伴侣”.” They were married in 1990 and had a son, Ben, in 1992. 主任 says “seeing Chris 更多的” is one of the benefits of retirement.
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第九学院院长Victor E. Ferrall, 谁认为他在伯洛伊特的任期是“我职业生涯中最重要的几年?,” describes 主任 as “delightful to work with, skilled and incredibly knowledgeable. He’s a treasure for a small college. He also had an incredibly messy office.”
“Even messier than mine,” says Joyce, “but he knows where everything is!她称赞伯韦尔将档案扩展到远远超出“学院官方记录”的范围，包括提供学生生活视角的材料. “He’d pull out underground newspapers, 姐妹会剪贴簿——这是我从未想过要寻找的真正吸引学生的资源,她说。. Joyce marvels at 主任’s ability to connect with students, especially those who may not have an interest in history, 通过引导他们查阅个人文件，说明伯洛伊特与重要历史事件的联系, from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement. He also created the Diary Repository at 十大菠菜台子, 来自各行各业的人写的与伯洛伊特无关的日记集.
来源:格雷格·安德森
“Students love working with Fred,” says history professor Beatrice McKenzie. “他热情而开放，但总是很专业，是一个外表古怪的人文主义者.麦肯齐说，伯韦尔是“一个非常有趣的人”，她让学生分组为他写传记. “这是一个方法任务, 所以他们可以看到, 以一种元叙事的方式, how people would write differing accounts of the same events,她说。. 弗雷德自己的经历中有各种各样的奇闻轶事，他都很乐意和学生们分享.”
McKenzie also notes 主任’s “unfailing attention to detail,她当时正在写一篇关于19世纪末和20世纪初贝洛伊特镇的历史文章，请他审阅她的初稿，这一点再清楚不过了. “One of the pages had 更多的 red from Fred’s pen than there was type,她说。. “I saved it and showed it to my students.” Not only did it provide some laughs, 她补充说, it also illustrated the usefulness of criticism, which students can mistakenly perceive as disapproval.
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当高年级学生伊娃·朗-史密斯不忙着创造历史创造全美田径运动员记录的时候, she can often be found in the library basement, 学院档案之家. 大二前的那个夏天，她开始给伯韦尔当助理, 在为一年级历史课做研究时认识了他.
“Fred is legitimately my biggest influence at 贝洛伊特,她说。. “I don’t think I actually knew what an archivist was when I entered college. 现在我在申请富布赖特奖学金, 我想获得档案科学和数字历史领域的硕士学位.“直到雇了一个新的档案管理员, 一个大学图书管理员, Laun-Smith, and several other student workers are filling in.
“弗雷德告诉我的第一件事是，在档案馆工作是一种服务，”朗-史密斯说. “人们会问各种各样的问题，你必须准备好并愿意提供帮助. 这就是他对这份工作的看法.”
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In 2010, 主任 began bringing college history to life for students, 教师, and 校友 by writing an online column titled 星期五和弗雷德在一起 in which he related stories from the archives in narrative history form. 在六年的时间里, he penned a total of 150 nearly weekly installments, 创建了一个可访问的资源，它本身已经成为贝罗伊特历史记录的一部分. He also found time to write and publish a novel, 草原山, a reminder to himself that he really enjoys writing. 那, 他说, is what he hopes to do in retirement, with a second half-completed novel waiting among projects to pursue.
主任, 谁住在伯洛伊特, 预计与同事保持联系不会有什么麻烦，但他说他会怀念与学生的互动. 他回忆起几年前的一次偶遇，当时一位读过他的一些专栏的学生见到他时表示惊讶, 说, “真的有一个弗雷德?”
这不难想象, 在未来的某一天, a future college archivist telling a student, “是的, 真的有一个弗雷德.”
保罗Engleman 76 is a writer based in Chicago. 他打算把这篇文章的稿费捐给伯洛伊特大学的斯蒂芬·蒙卡达街77年奖学金基金.
弗雷德的发现
弗雷德·伯韦尔(Fred 主任)曾将学院档案馆描述为“埋藏着许多伯洛伊特故事的地方”, 耐心等待再次觉醒.” Here are a few items that he unearthed and finds interesting:
- 在19世纪, the first college janitor was Johnny Pfeffer, a beloved figure nicknamed “The Professor of Dust and Ashes.“传说如此, 作为大学的敲钟人, if he saw a favorite student running late to class or chapel services, he would ring the bell longer so they appeared to be on time.
- 1864年毕业典礼被取消了，因为所有高年级学生都去参加内战了.
- In 1926, 西奥多·莱曼·赖特教授在北学院(现在的坎贝尔大厅)被发现时全身赤裸，血迹斑斑，不久就在医院去世了, 一桩明显的谋杀案从未侦破.
- 大萧条时期, the college accepted farm produce in lieu of money as payment for tuition.
- In 1961, 1962年的自由骑士吉姆·茨威格唤醒了伯洛伊特大学保守的学生群体，让他们意识到民权运动的可能性. 后来在60年代, the anti-war movement saw draft card burnings on campus, and the feminist movement brought about the college’s “Sisterhood,，后来成为了妇女中心, now known as the Feminist Collective.
