Biography

Alfred Leland Crabb was born in Plum Springs, Warren County, Kentucky on January 22, 1884. He attended Bethel College and the Southern Normal School, and received a Life Certificate in 1910 from the Western Kentucky State Normal School. He received a B. S. from George Peabody College, an M. A. from Columbia, and a Ph.D. from Peabody. He served as principal of schools in Louisiana and Kentucky before joining the faculty of Western in 1916 and serving as dean. He left in 1927 to join the faculty of Peabody College. Crabb was editor of the Peabody Journal of Education from 1932 1967, and wrote numerous historical novels set in Nashville. He died on October 1, 1979.

Collection

The collection consists of some early correspondence and writings of Crabb, including a 1916 letter to Henry Hardin’s Cherry’s secretary, Mattie McLean, outlining qualities required of young women teachers coming to Louisville, and criticizing Western’s publication The Elevator. The text of his 1942 Founders Day address is included, which contains numerous reminiscences about Western faculty. In 1922, Crabb sent a letter to alumni inviting them to write “a long, plethoric letter” relating their activities since leaving school. He received numerous replies which are included in the collection.

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Volume

0.4 cubic feet