George A. Beck papers
Scope and Contents
The collection contains a June 10, 1959 letter to Beck's Ohio State University professor on the occasion of the professor's retirement and a September 13, 1959 reply from Professor Dan H. Eikenberry, and 8 bound volumes: 1921-1929 course work of George Beck; July 1930 Child Labor and Compulsory Attendance Laws of West Virginia; June 1931 Syllabus for Ohio State University course 817, Seminary in Secondary School Administration; Beck's 1931 Ohio State University master's thesis High School Budgeting Procedures; 1938 Philosophy of Education; Duluth Public Schools Survey paper titled Educational TV As An Aid to Instruction by George A. Beck, December 1962; two spiral bound volumes, part 1, part II, April 1964 by George A. Beck as principal of Central High Duluth Public Schools Building Survey that include black and white photographs of buildings and classrooms.
Dates
- 1921-1964
Creator
- Beck, George A., 1896-1991 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Kathryn A. Martin Library, Archives and Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
George Alfred Beck (November 15, 1896-July 28, 1991) was an educator and longtime principal of Duluth’s Central High school. Born in Harrisville, Ohio, George Beck graduated from Lafayette, Ohio high school and Adrian College in Michigan. He received his master's degree from Ohio State University and an honorary doctorate from The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth. He came to Duluth's Central High as principal in 1939 from East Liverpool, Ohio after working for 19 years in education in Ohio and West Virginia. Beck co-authored the book Your Life Plans and the Armed Forces published by the American Council on Education for high schools and branches of the military at the request of the Department of Defense. In 1955, he took a leave from Central to become a consultant to the U. S. Air Force on improving high schools for children of service personnel stationed in Europe. He retired from Central after 26 years in 1965, the longest serving principal in Central's history. A Central scholarship in George Beck's name was first awarded in 1973. Before retirement, he was active in creating a public TV station in Duluth. He was the chair of a citizen group committed to that goal in 1953. By 1959, he and others had raised $350,000 needed to build the station which went on the air in 1964. WDSE first broadcast from a one-room studio in the former Bradley building at Lake Avenue and Superior Street, and later moved into its own Sax Memorial Building on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. At age 67, he began a second career as general manager of Duluth's public television station WDSE-TV, Channel 8. He retired from his TV post in 1980 at age 83. His spouse was Leila Beck who died in 1981. The Becks had one daughter, Eileen Maddy. He was a member of First Presbyterian church. He died at the Benedictine health Care Center at age 94. Mr. Beck is buried at Duluth's Forest Hill cemetery.
Extent
8.00 Volumes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains a June 10, 1959 letter to Beck's Ohio State University professor on the occasion of the professor's retirement and a September 13, 1959 reply from Professor Dan H. Eikenberry, and 8 bound volumes: 1921-1929 course work of George Beck; July 1930 Child Labor and Compulsory Attendance Laws of West Virginia; June 1931 Syllabus for Ohio State University course 817, Seminary in Secondary School Administration; Beck's 1931 Ohio State University master's thesis High School Budgeting Procedures; 1938 Philosophy of Education; Duluth Public Schools Survey paper titled Educational TV As An Aid to Instruction by George A. Beck, December 1962; two spiral bound volumes, part 1, part II, April 1964 by George A. Beck as principal of Central High Duluth Public Schools Building Survey that include black and white photographs of buildings and classrooms.
Physical Location
This collection is located at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives. For more information about this collection or to make an appointment, contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526.
General
This collection is owned by the Minnesota Historical Society, but is housed at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives.
- Childhood and youth Subject Source: Local sources
- Duluth (Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Duluth Public Schools (Duluth, Minn.)
- Education Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Educators Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Elementary schools Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- High school students Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Letters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Neighborhoods Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Photographs Subject Source: Local sources
- Public television Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Schools Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Students Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Teachers Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Teaching Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- University of Minnesota, Duluth
- WDSE-TV (Television station : Duluth, Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the George A. Beck papers
- Author
- Finding Aid Authors: P. Maus.
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University of Minnesota Duluth Archives and Special Collections Collecting Area
Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota Duluth
416 Library Drive
Duluth MN 55812-3001
(218) 726-8526
libarchives@d.umn.edu