Title: Joseph Marshall Krechniak and Helen Bullard Krechniak Papers

Date/Date Range :   circa 1930-2003 (bulk 1930s-1940s)

Extent: 6.0 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection contains manuscripts and published short stories of Joseph Marshall Krechniak as well as source materials for his writing, such as travel and military manuals. The collection also includes some materials relating to his wife, Helen Bullard Krechniak. Materials date from the 1930's to 2003. However, the bulk of the collection is from the 1930's and 40's.

Call number: MS-2678

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

This collection was donated to Special Collections.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Joseph Marshall Krechniak and Helen Bullard Krechniak Papers, MS-2678. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of five boxes divided into eleven series: Manuscripts of Joseph Marshall's short stories; Joseph Marshall Krechniak's Reference Books; Published Articles and Other Items bound by Author; Articles by other authors; Stamps With a Story; Correspondence; Notes; Helen Bullard--Articles by and About; Photo Copies of Joseph Marshall's Saturday Evening Post short stories; Electronic Files; and Oversized Materials.

To escape the high cost of living in Chicago, Joseph Marshall Krechniak and Helen Bullard Krechniak moved to Ozone, TN, during the Great Depression. In Tennessee they adopted a primitive lifestyle so that they could continue to write. Joseph Marshall published extensively for the Saturday Evening Post during World War II. Helen Bullard was renowned for her doll making and writings about the history and folkways of the Cumberland Plateau region of Tennessee.

They were also politically active during the late 1940s and early 1950s. They supported Estes Kefauver in his senatorial race in 1948 as well as in his bid for the Presidency in 1952. Joseph Marshall died on February 23, 1964, and Helen Bullard on October 31, 1996.

This collection contains articles by and about Joseph Marshall Krechniak and his wife, Helen Bullard Krechniak. Materials pertaining to Joseph Marshall date from the 1930's to the early 1950's. These include manuscripts of his short stories, clippings of his published stories (originally bound in a photo album), and photocopies of these articles. This collection also contains some of the reference books used by Joseph Marshall in his writing as well as various notes.

The Helen Bullard materials range from the 1930's through 2003. Most of the correspondence is from Helen Bullard. The majority of her collection consists of articles and brochures about her doll making. One example of Helen Bullard's craft work can be found in this collection - a hand-carved donkey with a fur hat, carved as a souvenir of the 1952 or 1956 presidential election. Most of her papers and craft work reside at The Southern Highlands Craft Guild.

Also contained in this collection is material related to "Stamps with a Story," a business venture of the Krechniak's. The premise of the business was that they would supply the story behind the stamps for stamp collectors.

• Krechniak, Joseph Marshall.
• Krechniak, Helen Bullard.
• Authors, American -- Tennessee.
• Handicraft -- Appalachian Region, Southern.
• United States -- Politics and government -- 1953-1961.