Wheaton Archives & Special Collections

10/15/2026

Join the Batson Shakespeare Society on Thursday, October 29th for the annual Fall Shakespeare Lecture with Dr. Richard Gibson, featuring performances from Prof. Mark Lewis, Chad Hague '06, and professional actor Gary Sloan!

Shakespeare's King Lear has long been viewed as theologically problematic and has even been accused of being an irreligious play. In this talk, Dr. Richard Hughes Gibson will examine the responses of writers who own up to the play’s bleakness and yet nonetheless find in it profound religious insights. Drawing on the works of George MacDonald, Leo Tolstoy, W.H. Auden, Frederick Buechner, and Wendell Berry, this talk will reveal how particular episodes from Lear have fueled meditations on grace, compassion, and the power of moments of divine absence.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 PM in the Bakke Auditorium at the Marion E. Wade Center. This event is free and open to the public.

10/12/2026

A recent donation from Ray Smith '54 and the Smith family adds a rich new resource to Wheaton Archives & Special Collections on missionary life in Gansu Province, in northwestern China. Dating from the 1890s onward, the collection includes hundreds of photographs, as well as correspondence, memoirs, and clippings documenting the Smith, Ekvall, and Simpson families’ missionary service with the Christian & Missionary Alliance. The materials also offer a fascinating window into the people, culture, and landscapes of Gansu Province during the first decades of the 20th century.

This collection is open for research - Visit the Manuscripts Reading Room at Wheaton College to explore more!

Photos: (1). Left to right: Scott Smith '80, Ray Smith '54, Heidi Smith Truty '82, and Head Archivist Katherine Graber. (2-5). Scenes from northwestern China and the missionary work of Howard Smith, 1935.

09/29/2026

Join the Batson Shakespeare Society tomorrow for Sonnets & C***r! With the rain forecasted for tomorrow, Sonnets and C***r will be moved to the Great Hall of the Melvin Banks Center. Come at 7PM to enjoy a time of sonnets, c***r, and snacks!

09/28/2026

Seventy-five years ago, Wheaton College established the HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Since its founding in February 1951, HoneyRock has grown from sparse camping grounds into a robust 1,000-acre campus with an education center, dining hall, health center, chapel, and dozens of cabins. Its programs have also expanded over the decades, now serving everyone from elementary students to Wheaton faculty. This month on the new From the Vault, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections celebrates the history of HoneyRock by featuring a few photographs and artifacts from the College Archives' collections. Read more at: https://fromthevault.wheaton.edu/2026/09/28/artifacts-from-75-years-of-honeyrock/

09/25/2026

Today Wheaton Archives & Special Collections remembers and celebrates the life of David McCasland, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 83. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, David graduated from Oklahoma State University before coming to Wheaton College, where he earned his master's degree in communications in 1975.

An educator, U.S. Army veteran, and writer, David brought renewed attention and understanding to influential Christian figures of the 20th century through books such as "Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God" and "Eric Liddell: Pure Gold," among others.

David was also a special friend to the Archives. He donated his own research files and helped bring the Oswald Chambers Papers (SC-122) to Wheaton College in 2001. After his retirement from the board of the Oswald Chambers Publications Association Limited (OCPAL), the Wheaton Archives and OCPAL established The David McCasland Research Grant in his honor. The grant supports researchers traveling to use the Oswald Chambers Papers held in Wheaton Archives & Special Collections.

We are deeply grateful for David McCasland's faithful support, friendship, and lasting legacy.

Photographs: (1). A portrait of David McCasland featured on Our Daily Bread Ministries Canada, where David contributed a monthly devotional for several years. (2). Sermons and other work from Oswald Chambers, held as part of the Oswald Chambers Collection at Wheaton College.

09/16/2026

Join the Batson Shakespeare Society for the fifth annual Sonnets & C***r! Gather around the fire on Wednesday, September 30 @ 7PM, as we read, perform, and listen to favorite Shakespearean sonnets. Learn more at: https://calendar.library.wheaton.edu/event/17582878

09/11/2026

On September 11, 2001, reports of a plane crash in New York began reaching Wheaton's campus just as the first classes of the day were coming to an end. In the hours and days that followed, the extent of the tragedy emerged, including the deaths of three Wheaton alumni, Todd Beamer '91, Jeffrey Mladenik '95, and Jason Oswald '95.

Reports from the Wheaton College Record document that students' first response was prayer, as the campus gathered together for an impromptu morning service. Special evening services continued throughout the week as students met to pray and worship together.

The meetings led to a new tradition on campus. Before 2001, Wheaton students had gathered for All-School Communion just twice a year. After the days of prayer and special meetings following September 11, the Student Chaplains and Chapel Worship team advocated for a monthly "All-School," where the entire campus could come together for a dedicated time of worship and communion.

Photograph: The first All-School Communion of the 2001-2002 academic year, with the Freshmen Choir on the stage of Edman Chapel, pictured in the Wheaton College Tower Yearbook (2002).

09/07/2026

09/04/2026

Happy Labor Day weekend from the Wheaton Archives & Special Collections!

For many Americans, Labor Day now means barbecues, shopping, and end-of-summer vacations. But the holiday began in the late 1800s through the efforts of the American labor movement to publicize the work of labor unions and celebrate American workers.

In honor of that history, we’re sharing a collage of rare items from our National Christian Association Collection (SC-29) that document some of the many debates and discussions surrounding the labor movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Founded in 1868, the National Christian Association was dedicated to organizing Christian opposition to secret societies. As part of that work, the NCA collected research files on a wide range of American organizations, from the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor to the Boy Scouts of America and the Kiwanis Club.

Visit the Reading Room at Wheaton Archives & Special Collections to explore more from the files of the NCA and browse the online guide to the collection at: https://archives.wheaton.edu/repositories/5/resources/1026

08/27/2026

As students start their first week of classes, Wheaton Archives & Special Collections looks back at over a century of classroom adventures at Wheaton - from alfresco painting and rhythm gymnastics to geological encounters and electrical experiments. Here's to another great year!