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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 118.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 40,800 items) |
| Abstract | John Marsden Ehle Jr., white author of novels and works of non-fiction, was born in Asheville, N.C., and has lived most of his adult life in Winston-Salem. He served as special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford, 1963-1964, and has been instrumental in establishing and furthering many significant educational, desegregation, and anti-poverty projects. He is married to British actress Rosemary Harris. The collection includes materials documenting both the literary career and public service activities of John Ehle. Literary materials include correspondence, clippings, and financial items relating to Ehle's novels and other works, as well as notes, drafts, and galleys. Family items include correspondence of Ehle's parents and a few items relating to Rosemary Harris. Other materials relate to Ehle's work with various public and private institutions. These include files generated in the course of Ehle's work in the Governor's Office, especially his efforts on behalf of the North Carolina School of the Arts and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. There are also files relating to the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Federation for the Arts and Humanities, Duke University, and the Penland School of Crafts. Photographs include family photographs and photographs by Ehle, Jim Wallace, and others of civil rights activists and protests in Chapel Hill, N.C., and other locations compiled for use in Ehle's book The Free Men. Audiovisual materials include audiodiscs of radio shows that Ehle wrote or acted in; audio recordings of interviews done for various books; and moving images, chiefly on North Carolina history, which Ehle produced, sometimes in collaboration with others. A few items relate to Rosemary Harris. The Addition of December 2010 is a journal with detailed entries, 1962-1964, about John Ehle's work as special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford, his writing career, the foundations and projects he supported, and his personal life. |
| Creator | Ehle, John, 1925- |
| Curatorial Unit | Southern Historical Collection |
| Language | English. |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Marla Miller and Jill Snider, 1995.
Encoded by: Jackie Dean, June 1998.
Updated by: Danielle Fasig, December 2012; Jackie Dean, February 2013; Anne Wells, January 2019; Nancy Kaiser, March 2021.
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
| 1925 | 13 December, born in Asheville, N.C. |
| 1949 | Received B.A. in Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from the University of North Carolina. |
| 1951-1963 | Faculty member, Department of Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| 1952 | 30 August, married Gail Oliver (divorced, 1967). |
| 1953 | Received M.A. in Dramatic Arts from the University of North Carolina. |
| 1957 | Move Over Mountain published. |
| 1958 | The Survivor published. |
| 1958-1959 | On faculty of New York University. |
| 1959 | Kingstree Island published. |
| 1960 | Shephard of the Streets published. |
| 1961 | Lion on the Hearth published. |
| 1963-1964 | Special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford. |
| 1964-1965 | Program officer of the Ford Foundation. |
| 1964-1966 | Served on the White House Group for Domestic Affairs. |
| 1965 | The Land Breakers published. |
| 1965 | The Free Men published. |
| 1965 | Consultant to the Ford Foundation. |
| 1965-1968 | Member, United States National Committee for UNESCO. |
| 1966-1970 | Worked with National Council for Humanities. |
| 1967 | The Road published. |
| 1967 | 22 October, married Rosemary Harris. |
| 1970 | Time of Drums published. |
| 1970-1975 | Worked with the North Carolina School of the Arts Foundation. |
| 1971 | Journey of August King published. |
| 1972 | Cheeses and Wines of England and France published. |
| 1974 | Changing of the Guard published. |
| 1976-1980 | Special Consultant, Duke University. |
| 1982 | Winter People published. |
| 1984 | Last One Home published. |
| 1988 | Trail of Tears published. |
| 1989 | Widow's Trial published. |
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Scope and Content
This collection documents both the literary career and public service activities of John Ehle. The general files comprising Series 1, arranged in chronological order by year, largely contain correspondence, clippings, and financial items relating to Ehle's novels and other works, and materials relating to Ehle's family. Additional material pertaining to Ehle's books can be found in Series 2, which includes mostly notes, drafts, galleys, and correspondence. Additional family items, including the correspondence of Ehle's parents and items related to John Ihli, Sr.'s business and civic activities in Asheville, N.C., appear in Series 12. Subsequent series contain material relevant to Ehle's work with various public and private institutions, though some of these papers can be found among the general files of Series 1 as well. The "Other Materials" series includes miscellaneous subject files, clippings, recipes, appointment and address books, and other personal items accumulated by Ehle. Photographs and audio-visual materials appear in Series 13 and 14, respectively, and include family photographs and photographs by Ehle, Jim Wallace, and others of civil rights activists and protests in Chapel Hill, N.C., and other locations compiled for use in Ehle's book The Free Men, audiodiscs of radio shows written, narrated, or acted in by Ehle, reel-to-reel tapes of interviews done for The Free Men, cassette-tapes of interviews conducted for his book Dr. Frank, filmstrips (mostly on N.C. history) Ehle either wrote or collaborated on, and microfiche of one of Ehle's novels.
The Addition of December 2010 is a journal with detailed entries, 1962-1964, about John Ehle's work as special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford, his writing career, the foundations and projects he supported, and his personal life.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. General Files, 1942-1992.
Personal and professional correspondence of John Ehle and clippings regarding his literary career, as well as various financial materials relating to the Ehle family (including bank statements, bills, etc.) and clippings, playbills and some correspondence regarding the career of Ehle's wife, actress Rosemary Harris. Also included are telephone logs and annual reports from the various institutions with which Ehle was associated. Items are arranged in chronological order by year. Correspondents of note include Paul Green, Terry Sanford, and various Ehle family members.
| Box 1 |
1942, 1954, 1956-1957, 1960-1966 |
| Box 2 |
1966-1967 |
| Box 3 |
1968-1971 |
| Box 4 |
1972-1973 |
| Box 5 |
1974-1975 |
| Box 6 |
1975-1976 |
| Box 7 |
1977-1978 |
| Box 8 |
1978-1979 |
| Box 9 |
1979-1980 |
| Box 10 |
1980-1981 |
| Box 11 |
1982-1983 |
| Box 12 |
1984 |
| Box 13 |
1985-1986 |
| Box 14 |
1986-1988 |
| Box 15 |
1988-1989 |
| Box 16 |
1989-1982 |
| Box 17 |
A-Y |
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Series 2. Published Books, 1961-1993.
Drafts, galleys, notes, correspondence, and other material related to Ehle's published books, chiefly since 1965.
| Box 18 |
Lion on the Hearth and Time of Drums |
| Box 19 |
The Free Men |
Box 20-21
Box 20Box 21 |
The Road |
| Box 22 |
Journey of August King |
Box 23-25
Box 23Box 24Box 25 |
Cheeses and Wines of England and France |
Box 26-27
Box 26Box 27 |
Changing of the Guard |
Box 28-33
Box 28Box 29Box 30Box 31Box 32Box 33 |
Winter People |
Box 34-38
Box 34Box 35Box 36Box 37Box 38 |
Last One Home |
Box 39-42
Box 39Box 40Box 41Box 42 |
Trail of Tears |
| Box 43 |
Widow's Trial |
Box 44-47
Box 44Box 45Box 46Box 47 |
The Land Breakers |
Box 48-50
Box 48Box 49Box 50 |
Dr. Frank |
Box 51-53
Box 51Box 52Box 53 |
The Owen Wright Novel |
| Box 54 |
Copies of Ehle's books |
Box 55-56
Box 55Box 56 |
Copies of Ehle's books autographed for his parents |
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Series 3. Other Writings, 1950-1984. and undated.
An Ehle family history written in 1984; "American Adventure" series scripts (1955-1956 and undated); a script for the Orange County Bicentennial Pageant (1953); Volumes 1 and 2 of the large-print edition of Pursuits, a collection in which Ehle's short story "Emergency Call" appears; catalogs and other items related to radio shows written, narrated, or acted in by Ehle for the "University Hour" series broadcast by the Communications Center at UNC; a script for Ehle's play "Mystery of Theodosia Burr; " and a story fragment entitled "An Empire of Hate."
Box 57-58
Box 57Box 58 |
Other Writings |
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Series 4. Governor's Office, 1963-1964.
Reports, minutes, agendas, and correspondence generated by various programs and institutions with which Ehle was involved during his tenure as special assistant to Terry Sanford, then governor of North Carolina. Materials remain arranged as received.
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Series 5. North Carolina School of the Arts, circa 1962-1989.
Correspondence, clippings, reports, and catalogs relating to the North Carolina School of the Arts.
| Box 65 |
North Carolina School of the Arts |
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Series 6. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, 1977-1985.
Includes correspondence, clippings, reports, and catalogs relating to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
Box 66-68
Box 66Box 67Box 68 |
North Carolina School of Science and Math |
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Series 7. Ford Foundation, circa 1964-1967.
Contains proposals, reports, correspondence, and clippings regarding programs assisted by the Ford Foundation.
Box 69-70
Box 69Box 70 |
Ford Foundation |
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Series 8. National Endowment for the Humanities/National Foundation for the Arts and
Humanities, circa 1966-1970.
Includes minutes, agendas, reports, and correspondence relating to Ehle's work under the National Council for the Humanities. The series is largely comprised of binders containing the council records of grant applications, grant recommendations, reports, proposals, memos, and some correspondence.
Box 71-73
Box 71Box 72Box 73 |
National Council for the Humanities |
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Series 9. Duke University, circa
1976-1980.
Chiefly correspondence from Ehle's tenure as special consultant to Terry Sanford, then president of Duke University.
| Box 74 |
Duke University |
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Series 10. Penland School of Crafts, 1967-1987.
Correspondence, proposals, clippings, catalogs and brochures and financial reports.
| Box 75 |
Penland School of Crafts |
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Series 11. Other Materials, 1918-1989.
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Series 12. Family Papers, 1918-1977 and undated.
Primarily the personal correspondence of John Ehle's parents, John and Gladys Ihli, Sr., and scattered items pertaining to the education and business and civic activities of John Ihli, Sr. One folder of advertising paraphenalia appears for the Imperial Life Insurance Company of Asheville, N.C. The company was started by John Ehle's maternal grandfather in 1904. A few items also appear for the Ehle Insurance Company of Asheville. Other miscellaneous items include World War II promotional materials, clippings, and genealogical records. While this series contains many of John Ehle's letters to his father, others appear in Series 1.
Box 79-80
Box 79Box 80 |
Family Papers |
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Series 13. Photographs, circa
1923-1989.
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Subseries 13.1. Family Photographs, 1923-1989 and undated.
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Subseries 13.2. The Free Men Photographs, circa 1963-1965.
Photographs compiled for inclusion in John Ehle's book The Free Men. Photographs are of civil rights protests primarily in Chapel Hill, N.C., and in other locations, 1963-1965. Some depict civil rights activists Quintin Baker, Charliese Cotton, Pat Cusick, John Dunne, and others. Photographs were taken by John Ehle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student and photographer Jim Wallace, and unidentifed photographers.
| Image Folder PF-4555/12 |
Contact sheets of prints by Jim Wallace |
| Image Folder PF-4555/13 |
Contact sheets of prints by John Ehle |
| Image Folder PF-4555/14 |
5x7 photographic prints by Jim Wallace |
| Image Folder PF-4555/15 |
Official police evidence photographs assembled by John Ehle |
| Image Folder PF-4555/16 |
8x10 photographic prints by John Ehle |
| Image Folder PF-4555/17 |
Negative prints by unidentified photographer |
| Image Folder PF-4555/18 |
Various size prints by unidentified photographer |
| Image Folder PF-4555/19 |
Photograph by Jim Wallace of protestors taken from the second floor of Chapel Hill Town Hall |
| Image Folder PF-4555/20 |
Photographic prints laid out for publication in The Free Men |
| Image Folder PF-4555/21 |
Photographs of student demonstrators. |
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Series 14. Audiovisual Material, 1949-1991 and undated.
Arrangement: by format.
Acquisitions information: Videotapes (VT-4555/1-2) received as Addition of January 2000 (Acc. 98545)
Radio episodes and filmstrips written, produced, or narrated by John Ehle; audio recordings of interviews conducted for his books The Free Men and Dr. Frank; audio recordings of two talks given by Ehle; microfiche of one of his novels; and videotapes of short films on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the state of North Carolina.
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Subseries 14.1. Radio Discs, 1949-1951.
Radio discs (33 1/3 rpm) of "University Hour" episodes which John Ehle either wrote, narrated, or appeared in. Produced by the UNC Communication Center. Additional recordings of "University Hour" episodes are included in the Department of Radio, Television, and Motion Pictures of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records (#40086).
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Subseries 14.2. Moving Image Film, 1964 and undated.
Filmstrips wholly or partially written and/or directed by John Ehle. Hard-copy guide books appear for "North Carolina, Units I-XII."
| Film F-4555/1 |
"Dare, Birthplace of America," undated1 reel 16mm moving image film Written, directed, and narrated by John Ehle |
Film F-4555/2-12
F-4555/2F-4555/3F-4555/4F-4555/5F-4555/6F-4555/7F-4555/8F-4555/9F-4555/10F-4555/11F-4555/12 |
North Carolina, Units I-XII, 196411 rolls Filmstrip Filmstrip history of North Carolina prepared by John Ehle and Hugh T. Lefler, 1964. See also guide books to the filmstrips in box 80. |
| Film F-4555/13 |
Historic North Carolina: How White Men First Came to North Carolina1 roll Filmstrip |
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Subseries 14.3. Audio Recordings, 1964-1991 and undated.
Arrangement: by type.
26 open reel audio recordings of interviews conducted in 1964 for Ehle's book The Free Men; 31 audiocassette tapes of interviews conducted in 1990-1991 for his book Dr. Frank; and one cassette tape containing two talks given by Ehle, one at Duke University in 1981 and the other at Salzburg in 1977. The open reel tapes include interviews with Charliese Cotton, John Foushee, Bob Brown, Woody Kline, John Dunne, Pat Cusick, Dave Ethridge, Thomas Cooper, Gary Blanchard, Harold Foster, [Quinton?] Baker, Lou Calhoun, Charles Jones, Herman Holman, and a Mrs. Bynum. Cassette tapes includes interviews with Bill and Ida Friday, Terry Sanford, Sophia Cody, Doug Hunt, Gladys Coates, Arnold King, and others.
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Subseries 14.4. Microfiche, undated.
| Reel M-4555/1 |
"Microfilm of the first basic draft of Paris novel" |
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Subseries 14.5. Videotapes, undated.
Acquisitions information: VT-4555/1-3 recevied as Addition of January 2000 (Acc. 098545).
| Videotape VT-4555/1 |
"In the Name of Freedom: The Story of Chapel Hill," 1950VHS Video viewing copy of 16mm moving image film. |
| Videotape VT-4555/2 |
N.C. The Tarheel StateVHS Produced by Long Communications Group |
| Videotape VT-4555/3 |
N.C. Variety Vacation LandVHS Produced by Long Communications Group |
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Addition of December 2010: John Ehle Journal, 10 January 1962-29 July 1964.
| Box 81 |
John Ehle journal, 10 January 1962-29 July 1964Contains detailed entries about John Ehle's work as special assistant to North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford, his writing career, the foundations and projects he supported, and his personal life. Topics include the University of North Carolina, desegregation efforts and civil rights protests in North Carolina, North Carolina politics, Ehle's work as advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House Group for Domestic Affaris, and the assasination of John F. Kennedy. The journal also contains John Ehle's reflections on William C. Friday, Vittorio Giannini, Frank Porter Graham, Paul Green, W. MacNeil Lowry, and Paul Ylvisaker. The journal is mainly typescript, although some pages are handwritten. Many entries are on stationery belonging to the governor or the lieutenant governor of North Carolina. |
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Items Separated