Collections : [Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library]

Born on December 15, 1893, Michael V. Simko was a Bridgeport based podiatrist as well as a prolific writer. He wrote a prodigious amount of short stories, as well as two novels: White Birch Mystery and Mila Nadya which was influenced by Simko's experiences with the Bridgeport's Slovakian community, where Simko grew up.

Peter Arnell, a Bridgeport native, took up radio performance and production when he attended the University of Michigan, graduating in 1941. After working as a disc jockey for several stations across the U.S., he developed a number of popular, nationally-broadcasted television game shows of the 1950s, including the original version of Wheel of Fortune. His papers include promotional materials seeking shows' support from consumer-goods companies, as well as scripts, photos of participants, entertainment-industry journals, and newspaper clippings.

Rev. Charles William Simpson ran the original Bridgeport Christian Union when it began in 1910, staying on for a number of years. Material in the collection primarily relates to Rev. Simpson's tenure in overseeing the Bridgeport Christian Union, and includes early correspondence related to establishing the union, as well as some personal papers related to himself and his family.

One of the greatest resources on the city's history at the Bridgeport History Center is the work of Reverend Samuel Orcutt, who wrote one of the first major histories (1886) of Bridgeport. Within his papers are correspondence as well as the research notes he used in creating this important work.

Rev. Robert Beach was a minister at Howard Avenue Methodist-Episcopal Church in Bridgeport, and the son of the colonial Beach and Silliman families. This collection contains material relating to both families in the form of photographs and some documentation, as well as some personal papers.

Reverend Roger Wentworth Floyd (October 8, 1930-August 2, 2013) was a Methodist minister who served in New Haven, Waterbury, and in the Greater Bridgeport area during his lifetime. He was active in the city's political scene as well, and ran for mayor twice against John C. Mandanici – in 1977 and 1979. He also served as the chairman of the Congress Plaza Planning Council Inc., which was the first urban renewal project in the city that was developed with Bridgeport residents.

Rufus Cushman worked at City Savings Bank starting in 1949 and was heavily involved in various Bridgeport community groups including Community Chest, the Boys Club, and the Bridgeport Public Library board. This collection features a selection of correspondence, speeches, and citations from the community groups he worked with.

The Kaplans were both graduates of Central High School, originally known as Bridgeport High School. Their collection focuses on school memorabilia including class histories and yearbooks.

Columbia Records was a major employer in Bridgeport, and had its origins in the American Graphophone Company, which was based in the city. Starting in the 1960s and well into the 1980s, Sam Burger saw the transition of Columbia Records from LP to tapes to CDs. Also in his records is a notebook belonging to Alfred VanSant Bodine, which contains the exact chemical makeups of various records during the late 1919s and into the 1920s, offering insight into manufacture and production in the company's early days, as well as the mid 20th century.

Willis McDonald served in Connecticut's 17th regiment during the American Civil War, and acted as the regimental historian. He recorded both his own accounts and that of other men in the regiment of major events such as Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. The scant correspondence offers light into his own personal experiences of the conflict.