SMITHY NORTON:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Norton, Lorenze Smythe, 1911-1999, creator. | |
| Title: | Smithy Norton papers. | |
| Dates: | [circa 1918]-1999 (bulk 1924-1983). | |
| Abstract: | Papers documenting the life and career of an African American who spent his youth in Minneapolis; served (1942-1945) in the United States Army during World War II at bases in the American South, where his duties involved public relations and special services assignments relating to African American troops; was a public and community relations consultant and agency owner in Chicago (ca. 1935-1941, 1948-1951), where he undertook a variety of advertising and publicity projects directed primarily at the African American community; continued these activities following his return (ca. 1952) to Minneapolis, where he was a pioneer in promoting an awareness and knowledge of national and state African American history through his educational exhibits and was actively involved (ca. 1969-1979) in Black History Week/Month activities; and was a long-time employee (1954 - 197-) of Greyhound Lines at the Minneapolis terminal. | |
| Quantity: | 3.5 cubic feet (4 boxes and 1 oversize folder), 5 master audio files: WAV (468 MB), and 5 user audio files: MP3 (82.9 MB). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for shelf and oversize folder locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Information for the chronology was compiled from the collection.
| Date | Event |
| 1911 June 9. | Lorenze Smythe Norton, generally known as Smithy Norton, born in Opelousas, Louisiana to Samuel and Nancy Norton. |
| 1924-1925 | Attended school in Beaumont, Texas. |
| 1925-1926 | Moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Attended Franklin Junior High School, from which he was promoted to high school. |
| 1926-1930 | Attended and graduated from North High School, where he was a member of the football and track teams and the art club. |
| 1930 | Occupation listed as caretaker, settlement house in the 1930 federal census for Minnesota; Nancy Norton's marital status is given as widow. |
| ca. 193- - 1934 | Studied commercial art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis Extension Division. |
| Worked as director of boys athletic and recreational activities at the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House. | |
| 1935-1941 | Moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he began a public and community relations career. Established the firm Lorenze and Associates and undertook work directed primarily at Chicago's African American community as an advertising sales representative; publicity campaign manager for commercial enterprises, civic organizations, and entertainment events; business window and radio broadcaster; newspaper commentator and advertising tabloid newspaper publisher; commercial artist; and art advertiser. He also began to create photo-story mural exhibits depicting the community life of groups with differing racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. |
| 1942-1945 | Enlisted (February 1942) and served in the United States Army during World War II. Posted to bases in the American South, including Fort Benning, Georgia (1942-1943), Camp Swift, Texas (1943-1944), and Camp Claiborne, Louisiana (1944-1945), where his duties involved public relations and special services assignments relating to African American troops. His final posting was to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, where he was honorably discharged (July 1945). |
| 1946-1947 | Employed at the Minneapolis office of Western Union Telegraph Company as a maintenance worker. |
| 1948-1951 | Resumed public and community relations career in Chicago and founded the firm Lorenze-Smith and Associates. In addition to doing commercial work, he continued to produce and exhibit community life photo-story mural displays. |
| ca. 1952 | Returned to Minneapolis. |
| 1954-197- | Employed at Greyhound Lines, Minneapolis terminal, initially as a baggage clerk and later as a dispatcher/announcer; was an active member of Amalgamated Transit Union (earlier known as Amalgamated Association of Street, Electric Railway, and Motor Coaches Employees), serving as shop steward 1959-1961. |
| ca. 1954-1968 | Continued to develop and exhibit educational photo-story murals under the name Community Life Exhibits U.S.A. Established (1956) an office and display studio where he presented his exhibits and conducted workshops. The exhibits increasingly focused on national and Minnesota African American community life and history. Was a pioneer in promoting an awareness and knowledge of national and Minnesota African American history in the Twin Cities and elsewhere in the state. |
| 1968-1969 | Served as information specialist for the Urban Coalition of Minneapolis while on a one-year leave of absence from Greyhound Lines; his duties included coordinating the coalition's community relations program, "What Do You Care Anyway?" |
| Established the public and community relations agency Lorenze Smythe Norton and Associates to formalize his growing involvement with African American community life and history projects. | |
| 1969-1979 | Actively involved in state and Twin Cities annual observances of Negro/Afro-American/Black History Week/Month, including participating in proclamation signings and other official events, mounting his exhibits, and in some years serving as the event's coordinator. |
| 1980-199- | Operated his public and community relations firm at least into the early 1980s. During retirement remained interested and involved in activities relating to public and community relations, black history and culture, religion, and politics. |
| 1999 March 18. | Smithy Norton died in Minneapolis at the age of 87. |
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The papers relate to Norton's life and career as outlined in the biography. They include biographical information; photographs; dismantled and intact photograph albums; advertising, publicity, and promotional materials; dismantled portfolios containing a variety of formats and content; African American research and exhibit files; letters and memoranda; newspaper and magazine articles; press releases; bulletins and newsletters; and audio recordings.
In general, Norton's organization and arrangement of his papers have been maintained. As a result, the papers exhibit fragmented documentation, overlapping date spans, and an intermingling of personal and professional materials within and among the collection's sections, making a search of the entire collection advisable if complete documentation of his life and career as reflected in the papers is desired. Researchers will also encounter a certain amount of duplication.
ARRANGEMENT
These papers are arranged in the following five sections:
| Personal Papers | ||
| Military Service, World War II | ||
| Greyhound Lines and Urban Coalition of Minneapolis | ||
| Public and Community Relations Career | ||
| Photograph Albums | ||
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Smithy Norton Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 15,697
Location of Master Files:
Digital masters of the audio reels, and audiocassettes are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and is managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.
The original audio reels, and audiocassettes were disposed after the material was digitally reformatted into wav files.
Processing Information:
Processed by: Deborah Kahn, March 2006
Digital audio transferred from the master audio reels and audiocassettes by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (December 2020).
Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.
Catalog ID number: 990052958700104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
PERSONAL PAPERS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Family and Friends: | |||||||||||
| Vital records and other papers, 1930-1999. | |||||||||||||
| Includes death certificates and newspaper obituaries compiled by the cataloger, census records, newspaper articles, financial information, and correspondence relating to Norton, his mother, stepfather (James Guilbert), and an uncle. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs, [192-]-1995. | |||||||||||||
| Education, 1924-1930. | |||||||||||||
| Report cards, high school diploma and yearbook, and a YMCA swimming certificate. | |||||||||||||
| Religion, 1928-1996. | |||||||||||||
| Materials relating to Zion Baptist Church, Minneapolis, where Norton was an active member, and other churches and religious institutions; prayers, devotional readings, and inspirational verses; mission tracts; and newspaper columns and articles. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +300 | Photograph: Identified as "Minn. Baptist Ass'n Women's Convention. Sunday School and Young Peoples Union, Zion Baptist Church. July 1928." 1 oversize item. | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Politics, [198-?], 1996; Black History Month, 1995. | |||||||||||
| Includes a letter pertaining to Norton's election as a delegate to a Democratic Farmer Labor Party (DFL) district convention in Minneapolis. | |||||||||||||
MILITARY SERVICE, WORLD WAR
II:
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Correspondence and other papers: | |||||||||||
| Materials documenting Norton's public relations and special services work while stationed at Fort Benning, Camp Swift, and Camp Claiborne army bases, including letters and memoranda; press releases; newspaper articles; camp bulletins and newsletters; a program and poster for army-produced variety shows featuring African American service men and women that benefited the country's War Bond drive; his recommendations to the army for public relations and special services programs to African American troops, especially with respect to morale; his army discharge papers; and a resum� titled "Soldier to Civilian 1942-1945" detailing his civilian and military public relations qualifications. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Fort Benning and Camp Swift, 1942-1944. | |||||||||||
| Camp Claiborne and Fort Snelling, 1944-1945. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +300 | Poster for the variety show Bronze Bivouac Brevities, Camp Claiborne, 1944. 1 oversize item. | ||||||||||||
| Photographs: | |||||||||||||
| Mostly eight-by-ten-inch black and white official army photographs, many credited to the U.S. Army Signal Corps, that have been removed from three loose-leaf notebooks and rehoused in folders for preservation. They are arranged by notebook and thereunder by military base. Also present are photocopied newspaper clippings from notebooks 1 and 2 on Norton, his public relations work, and blacks in the military. | |||||||||||||
| Norton appears to have assembled the photographs for use in his public relations and special services work. Most relate to Fort Benning and Camp Claiborne; only a few were taken at Camp Swift; and some are questionably identified by place. Most depict African American male and female army personnel (including Norton) stationed at these bases engaged in both military and recreational activities, including performing in War Bond drive musical variety shows, as well as informational and promotional displays possibly created by Norton. | |||||||||||||
| Many of the Fort Benning photographs are accompanied by annotations that generally give file number; date; content description, sometimes identifying individual subjects by name; and occasionally the photographer's name. Some of the Camp Claiborne photographs are annotated, but most are not. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Fort Benning, undated and 1942 (notebook 1). 2 folders. | |||||||||||
| Fort Benning, Camp Swift, and Camp Claiborne, 1942-1944 (notebook 2). 3 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Fort Benning and Camp Claiborne, undated and 1942, [1944] (notebook 3). 2 folders. | |||||||||||||
GREYHOUND LINES AND URBAN COALITION OF
MINNEAPOLIS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Greyhound Lines, 1954-1975. | |||||||||||
| A small number of company and union papers and photographs (prints and negatives). | |||||||||||||
| Urban Coalition of Minneapolis, 1968-1973, 1983. | |||||||||||||
| Papers and photographs primarily relating to Norton's work as the coalition's information specialist while on leave from Greyhound Lines, including the exhibit What Do You Care Anyway? | |||||||||||||
PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS
CAREER
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Chicago: | |||||||||||
| Includes advertising, publicity, promotional, and educational materials such as fliers, broadsides, programs, tabloid newspapers published by Norton, advertisements, and a photographic postcard; correspondence; business proposals; newspaper articles; and photographs. | |||||||||||||
| Undated and 1935-1941. | |||||||||||||
| 1946-1951. | |||||||||||||
| Advertising tabloid newspapers, 1940-1941, 1950-1951. | |||||||||||||
| Includes issues of the Chicago Negro Chamber of Commerce Journal and Regal Bronzeman. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +300 | Advertising broadsides and a publicity flier, undated and 1941. 4 oversize items. | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.11B | 1 | Los Angeles, circa 1950-1951. | |||||||||||
| Proposals to take advantage of the "emerging Negro market." | |||||||||||||
| Minneapolis: | |||||||||||||
| Materials documenting Norton's public and community relations activities not only following his return to Minnesota but also during his years in Chicago and the army. A significant portion reflect his pioneering efforts to heighten the awareness of, and to educate Minnesota residents about, national and local African American history, community life, and culture through his educational exhibits, especially during annual celebrations of Negro/Afro-American/Black History Week/Month. | |||||||||||||
| Business correspondence and related papers, 1958-1981, 1993. | |||||||||||||
| Includes letters, business proposals, and photographs, including some of Norton. | |||||||||||||
| Advertising and publicity items, undated and [195-] - 1985: | |||||||||||||
| Materials created and used by Norton to illustrate and promote his public and community relations work. Although most were produced during the 1960s-1980s, the images depicted span the full length and breadth of his civilian and military work. Additional materials are present in the dismantled portfolios (described below). | |||||||||||||
| Folders 1-2. Business cards and stationery; newsletters, fliers, covers, templates, and mock-ups. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +300 | Broadsides. 6 oversize items. | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.12F | 2 | Folders 3-5. Photographic postcards. | |||||||||||
| Dismantled portfolios: | |||||||||||||
| The portfolios have been dismantled and their contents rehoused in folders. for preservation. | |||||||||||||
| Portfolios 1-15, 1937-1983. 15 volumes in 16 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Apparently assembled and used by Norton during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s to demonstrate and promote his public and community relations work and to document his keen interest in and enduring commitment to promoting knowledge of African American history and culture. | |||||||||||||
| The portfolios exhibit the same wide variety of formats and subject matter present in other sections of the collection, including some of a personal nature. The contents of individual portfolios and their arrangement by Norton have been left intact. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +300 | Broadsides and a newspaper special edition from the portfolios, [circa 1974]-1978. 3 oversize items. | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.12F | 2 | Portfolio 16: W. Harry Davis testimonial dinner, July 1973. | |||||||||||
| African American community life and history: | |||||||||||||
| Papers relating primarily to exhibits Norton mounted under the auspices of his public and community relations firms during the 1950s-1970s and to state and local observances of Negro/Afro-American/Black History Week/Month. | |||||||||||||
| Also present are materials relating to an African American art show held in conjunction with Afro-American History Week, 1973. | |||||||||||||
| Research files, undated and 1955-1996. 5 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Includes Norton's notes; quotations; and a variety of print, near-print, and photocopied materials, including booklets, pamphlets, newspaper and magazine articles, and lists pertaining to national and Minnesota African American history, biography, organizations, community life, arts and culture, education, and press. They appear to represent only a sampling of research materials used by Norton in developing his exhibits. | |||||||||||||
| Exhibit files: | |||||||||||||
| Includes letters, proposals, financial information, exhibit programs, official proclamations, promotional materials, press releases, newspaper clippings, and a few photographs. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.13B | 3 | Community Life Exhibits U.S.A., 1954-[196-]. | |||||||||||
| Negro/Afro-American/Black History Week/Month exhibits, 1968-1981. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| +300 | Table-top display and broadsides, undated, [post-1958], 1970-1974. 6 oversize items. | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.13B | 3 | Dismantled photograph albums 1-7, [circa 1918-1979]. 7 volumes in 10 folders | |||||||||||
| Eight-by-ten- and five-by-seven-inch black and white photographs taken by professional photographers, along with a small quantity of related manuscript and print items. They have been removed from albums and rehoused in folders for preservation. | |||||||||||||
| The photographs depict Norton's Community Life Exhibits U.S.A. and those he mounted for Negro/Afro-American/Black History Week/Month and, to a lesser extent, the Minneapolis Urban Coalition, as well as History Week/Month proclamation signings and other official events involving state and local government officials and Minnesota African Americans, including Norton, ca. 1956-1979. Also present are photographs featuring various aspects of African American history and a few personal photographs. | |||||||||||||
| The photographs are not annotated as to date or content; the materials in each album generally document events spanning multiple years or decades. The contents of individual portfolios and their arrangement by Norton have been maintained. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs, [circa 1969-1979]. | |||||||||||||
| These photographs are similar in content to, but smaller in size than, those in dismantled albums 1-7. | |||||||||||||
| Dismantled photograph album 8: NAACP march on Boston in support of quality, desegregated education, May 1975. | |||||||||||||
| Eight-by-ten-inch black and white photographs, taken by a professional photographer, depicting march participants, including at least one of the Minneapolis NAACP contingent. Also includes a program for a rally held on the Boston Common. | |||||||||||||
| Internet | Audio recordings: | ||||||||||||
| Afro-American Profiles, narrated by Lillian Warren and Cecil Newman, undated. 1 master audio file (22 minutes, 3 seconds): WAV (111 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (19 MB). | |||||||||||||
Digital audio
| |||||||||||||
| Afro-American Profiles, narrated by Wenda Moore and Fred Pinkard, 1973. 1 master audio file (32 minutes, 08 seconds): WAV (164 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (28 MB). | |||||||||||||
|
Digital audio
| |||||||||||||
| Afro-American History, undated. 1 master audio file (4 minutes, 3 seconds): WAV (20.4 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (4.3 MB). | |||||||||||||
| Introduction to Afro-American History and Heritage month as proclaimed by Governor Wendell Anderson to take place during the month of February. | |||||||||||||
|
Digital audio
| |||||||||||||
| Afro-American [History] Week: Introduction by Governor Wendell Anderson, 1975. 1 master audio file (1 minute, 28 seconds): WAV (14.8 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (1.4 MB). | |||||||||||||
|
Digital audio
| |||||||||||||
| Minneapolis Chamber: Norm McGrew, W. Harry Davis, and Otto Byer, February 10, 1974. 1 master audio file (31 minutes, 11 seconds): WAV (157 MB) and 1 user audio file: MP3 (30.2 MB). | |||||||||||||
| News and Views from the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce presented by the public affairs department of KSTP radio. | |||||||||||||
|
Digital audio
| |||||||||||||
PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.13B | 3 | Dismantled photograph albums 9-16, [circa 192- - 199-]. 8 volumes in 6 folders. | |||||||||||
| Black and white and color snapshots and black and white photographic postcards relating to Norton's personal and professional activities. Individual albums generally include snapshots and postcards that reflect both aspects of his life and encompass more than one decade. The contents and internal arrangement of the albums have been maintained. Although some items are duplicates of those located in other parts of the collection, many are not. | |||||||||||||
| The albums have been rehoused in folders. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 151.I.8.14F | 4 | Photograph albums, nos. 17-19, [circa 192- - 199-]. 3 volumes. | |||||||||||
| Similar in format, content, and date span to those in dismantled albums 9-16. | |||||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- African American art -- Middle West -- Exhibitions.
- African American History Month -- Minnesota.
- African American military personnel -- United States.
- African American soldiers -- United States.
- African Americans -- History -- Exhibitions.
- African Americans -- Illinois -- Chicago.
- African Americans -- Minnesota.
- Black History Week -- Minnesota.
- Public relations firms -- Illinois -- Chicago.
- Public relations firms -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- African Americans.
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, African Americans.
- Persons:
- Davis, W. Harry, 1923- .
- Moore, Wenda.
- Newman, Cecil E., 1903- .
- Warren, Lillian.
- Organizations:
- United States. Army -- African American troops.
- United States. Army -- Public relations.
- Urban Coalition of Minneapolis.
- Types of Documentation:
- Advertisements.
- Advertising postcards.
- Sound recordings.
- Photographic postcards.
- Photographs.
- Portfolios (groups of works).
- Occupations:
- African American public relations personnel -- Illinois - Chicago.
- African American public relations personnel -- Minnesota - Minneapolis.
- African American radio broadcasters -- Illinois - Chicago.
- Titles:
- Chicago Negro Chamber of Commerce Journal.
- Regal Bronzeman.
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