Ralph O. Brown papers

The Ralph O. Brown papers document Brown's businesses, Southside Studio, Huntington, Indiana and the Northern Indiana Aerial Photographic and Survey Service. The papers are comprised of Ralph O. Brown's pilot flight records and log books, which include his remarks and notations and Brown's journal which contains stories, including, "My First Solo Flight," and "Flying Dangerous or Not?" Also included are business receipts (1950s), business related correspondence, two clippings about Brown and other miscellaneous business related items.

Some of the unique features of the papers are the extensive collection of aerial negatives and photographs taken by Brown of Northern Indiana farms, churches, schools and businesses, including airports. Some of the original envelopes which held the negatives have notations about the farms and their occupants. Also included in the papers are Brown's Department of Commerce, Civil Aeronautics Administration airman, certification/identification card, 1945 mileage ration stamps and his homemade aerial photography equipment.

Per Tony Mayo's biography, "Prior to each flight, he cut 50 pieces of 5"x7" undeveloped film and slipped each one into a wooden film holder. Flying 30-40 miles with Huntington as the hub, and just 200-300 feet above the ground, his photos were crystal clear. Just seconds before he snapped the pictures, he let go of the plane's joy stick to focus on the image below. The plane was unmanned for several seconds."

"Today the photographs are significant as they depict exactly what the family farm looked like 50 to 70 years ago. From huge groomed gardens, to freshly painted out buildings and out houses, to piles of derelict machinery, to clean clothes waving on a wire, from shocks of corn and wheat in perfect symmetry, to animals grazing in fields, the diverse family farm was captured from above. After looking at the first 100 photographs, it becomes apparent just how unique the family farm was, with no two alike. Brown captured an era that will never again be experienced or seen."

Types of materials include: aerial photographs, aerial photography equipment, artifacts, clippings (information artifacts), correspondence, business records, flight logs, a journal, negatives and papers.