Mark G. Noffsinger’s tenure as Associate Dean of Students at UMass Amherst was relatively brief, but tumultuous. Brought in during the fall semester 1964 as coordinator of student activities, he was promoted to Director of the Student Union in 1966 and Associate Dean of Students in 1968. Although he earned a reputation as a supporter of the student press, he became a focal point of controversy during the school year 1967-1968, when he prohibited the sale of the underground “hippie” newspaper, Mother of Voices on campus. Published by UMass students, the paper drew wider fire when John Norton and David Bourbeau were arrested and convicted on charges of selling obscene matter to a minor. The Mother of Voices folded in March 1969. After resigning in 1969 to accept a position at Baldwin-Wallace College, Noffsinger went on to a distinguished career as a university administrator before his death in 1994.

Tightly focused on the controversy in 1968 over banning sale of the Mother of Voices in the UMass Student Union, the Noffsinger collection includes a folder of newspaper clippings relating to underground press publications at UMass and other colleges in the Commonwealth, along with a run of the offending periodical retained by the office of the Dean of Students’ office. Additional copies of the periodical are located in the Social Change Periodicals Collection.

Born in Springfield in 1960 and raised in the Pioneer Valley, Mark A. Baszak received a bachelors degree in music composition and MEd. from UMass Amherst. Beginning shortly after completing graduate study, Baszak played a prominent part for over two decades in promoting the arts at his alma mater, serving as Acting Director of the Performing Arts Division (1987-1989), Coordinator and then Director of the Jazz in July program (1990-2008), Associate Director of Multicultural Programs (1993), and organizer of the Black Musicians Conferences and Festival (1989-1999). As an arts and culture representative of the Massachusetts Hokkaido Sister State Association in the early 1990s, Baszak helped foster exchanges between the sister states, visiting Hokkaido with the first official state delegation in 1991. Baszak died after a brief illness on September 25, 2008.

Documenting the early efforts to build upon the 1990 designation of Hokkaido and Massachusetts as sister states, the Baszak collection includes materials concentrated on the first Hokkaido Week in Amherst and the delegation that accompanied Gov. William Weld to Hokkaido in 1991. In addition to correspondence and memos, the collection includes ephemera collected by Baszak during the various ceremonies and transcripts of speeches delivered.

Mark Bartlett Aldrich was employed for many years at the Montague Rod and Reel Co. in Montague City. His grandfather, Eugene Bartlett, was the founder of the firm, which made split-bamboo fishing rods. He owned and operated Aldrich’s New England store from 1948 until selling it in 1962. Aldrich then sold cars for Spenser Brothers Ford in Northfield until he and his wife Edith moved to Florida in 1964.

The collection consists primarily of family records relating to the wedding, anniversaries, and funerals of Edith and Mark Aldrich. The Aldrich Family Papers are organized into three series: Wedding and Anniversaries, Funeral and Legal, and Personal.

Founded in 1977, the Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) is an international organization dedicated to furthering the study and preservation of gravestones. Based in Greenfield, Mass., the Association promotes the study of gravestones from historical and artistic perspectives. To raise public awareness about the significance of historic gravemarkers and the issues surrounding their preservation, the AGS sponsors conferences and workshops, publishes both a quarterly newsletter and annual journal, Markers, and has built an archive of collections documenting gravestones and the memorial industry.

The AGS Books Collection contains scarce, out of print, and rare printed works on cemeteries and graveyards, epitaphs and inscriptions, and gravemarkers, with an emphasis on North America. The collection is divided into two series: Series 1 (Monographs and Offprints) and Series 2 (Theses and Dissertations).

Elwood Babbitt, 1970. Photo by Gary Cohen

Clairvoyant from his youth, Elwood Babbitt developed his psychic abilities at the Edgar Cayce Institute, and by the mid-1960s, was well known in Western Massachusetts through his readings and lectures, often opening his home to other seekers. Charles Hapgood, a professor at Keene State College, worked closely with Babbitt studying the physical effects of the medium’s trance lectures, and by 1967, he began to take on the painstaking process of transcribing and copying them. With communications purporting to come from Jesus, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, and the Hindu god Vishnu, among others, these lectures formed the basis for several books by Hapgood and Babbitt, including Voices of Spirit (1975) and Talks with Christ (1981). Babbitt ultimately established a non-profit, alternative school, the Opie Mountain Citadel, which was essentially run out of Babbitt’s home in Northfield.

The collection consists of proofs of publications, lectures, some correspondence, film reels, and transcripts of spiritual communications for which Babbitt was the medium.

Brotherhood of the Spirit, 1968-1973

	Michael Metelica at the treehouse: Leyden, Mass., 1968. (Ref. no. car1)
	The treehouse: Blueberry Hill, Leyden, 1968. (Ref. no. car2)
	The Treehouse Gang, Leyden 1968: (L – R) top: Dale Sluter, Chris Garland, Doug Edson, Jim Kolokowski, Eddie Evans, Brian Smith on shoulders, Jim Sullivan. Bottom: Wayne Duda, Gene Lewis (Cricket), Tom Howes. (Ref. no. car3)
	The Founding Mothers, 1969: Micky Shean (?) and baby, Heidi Bushell, Laurel Artus holding Leah Artus, Wendy Crowell. (Ref. no. car4)
	Meditation at Beth Hapgood’ s home at 88 Main St, Northfield, Mass. 1969. (Ref. no. car5)
	Elwood Babbitt, 1970. (Ref. no. car6) Photo by: Gary Cohen
	Heidi Bushell and Michael Metelica reading Lopsang Rampa, early source of spiritual inspiration. Leyden, 1968. (Ref. no. car7)
	Winter scene. Chris Garland, Michael Metelica, unidentified, Dale Sluter, Jim Kolokowski. Heath, 1969. (Ref. no. car8)
	Maple sugaring, Charlemont, Mass. 1969. Gene (Cricket) Lewis, Eddie, Michael. (Ref. no. car9)
	Maple sugaring, Charlemont, 1969. Various visitors and members. (Ref. no. car10)
	Heath, Mass. 1969,. Far left, Nate Tilton and Steve Wolfson. Band is early forerunner to in Flesh. (Ref. no. car11)
	Warwick, Mass. Summer of 1970, photo from Greenfield Recorder newspaper in foreground is Susan Meyer and Jeff Lister. (Ref. no. car12)
	Warwick group shot, summer 1970. Publication unknown. (Ref. no. car13)
	“LOOK” magazine photo. Taken July 1970, published December 1970. (Ref. no. car14)
	Spiritual Graffiti, Warwick main house, 1970-71. Such spontaneously inspired writingswere common during the Warwick era. (Ref. no. car15)
	Concert at St. James Church, Greenfield, Mass. 1970. Robert Hincks and Michael Metelica. This church was one of the few local ones that was welcoming to the Brotherhood and hosted many events and weddings during this period. (Ref. no. car16)
	Members listening to Spirit in Flesh rehearse at Warwick Studio. Note looks of ecstasy on individual faces. Top; Vicki Locatelli, unidentified, Steve Abrahamson, John Pollard, unidentified. Middle; Jacquie Metelica, Mark Alvin, Brian McCue. Bottom; Jackie Odess, Annette Laufe. (Ref. no. car17) Photo by: Gary Cohen
	Summer invasion of visitors, sometimes several hundred a day. Summer of 1970, Warwick. Garden between house and future Dorm. (Ref. no. car18)
	the “PM Tent”. Warwick, summer 1970. This huge plastic tent housed “Prospective Members” who went through a two-week trial period before begin voted on for membership. The PM tent was also notorious for forbidden (and frequent) amorous activity between members and PM’s. (Ref. no. car19)
	Temporary Encampment, Guilford, VT. Summer 1970. Overwhelmed by visitors, long-term members set up a temporary retreat in the wilds of Guilford, near the Johnson’s Pasture commune. (Ref. no. car20)
	Wedding at Warwick, July 1970, Michael playing guitar with Donna Braden (R). (Ref. no. car21)
	“Commune Gothic” Summer 1970. Heidi Bushell and Mike McCarty. (Ref. no. car22)
	The Logging Crew, Winter 1970-71. Carol and Eddie Evans, Mitch Sieser, Greg Fitzgerald, Nate Tilton in back. Crew leader, Geoff, “Gurf” Nuckols in front. (Ref. no. car23)
	Warwick Kitchen, 1972. Meg, “Nutmeg” Rich stirring dinner, probably brown rice, squash or mashed potatoes. (Ref. no. car24)
	Breakfast in Warwick 1971. Mark Alvin (foreground) shares a moment with Rita Raymond. Deborah Starobin looks on. (Ref. no. car25)