The diary maintained by Marion Eaton Woodruff, a resident of Elgin, Illinois during the early 20th century includes entries made during two lengthy European trips in the 1920s.

This collection includes three memoir volumes and three diaries written by John Henning Woods, a Southern Unionist, Confederate conscript, and eventual Union soldier during the American Civil War. While the collection spans the period of years from 1856 through 1873, the majority of the collection focuses on the years during the Civil War.

This collection includes a letter dated May 13, 1864, from a Union soldier named Charley at a camp near Woodstock, Virginia, during the American Civil War. He writes about plans to return to Martinsburg, Virginia, and about General Sigel.

This collection contains a poster from World War I recruiting bakers and cooks for the U. S. Army. It likely dates from around 1917 from New York City.

This collection contains a World War I era song sheet printed by C.C. Cappel in Roanoke, Virginia. The purpose of this song sheet was so that the community could sing songs together at events in Southwest Virginia. Cappel (1887-1948) was a musical manager for the National Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Orchestra, as well as working with the U.S. Marine Band and Army Band, war camp community service during World War I, and the USO in World War II.

The collection consists of 33 postcards and 8 photos, from World Wars I and II.

The World War II Food Ephemera Collection consists of pamphlets, booklets, newsletters, and canning labels. They contain topics on canning, home economics, meats, nutrition, hospitality, meal planning, wheat and flour, menus, vegetables, and desserts. Many of the materials describe the signficance of rationing during the wartime.

This collection contains an American war ration book printed during World War II, issued to Mart Barton of Alton, Missouri.

The World War II Sugar Rationing Pamphlets include four pamphlets published during the height of food rationing in the United States during the Second World War. The pamphlets promote rationing of sugar at the homefront and provide recipes that can be made using a substitute for sugar.

This collection contains three holiday menus for U. S. Army soldiers stationed in Iceland during World War II. The dinner menus are for Thanksgiving and Christmas 1943 and Thanksgiving 1944. The 1943 menus are both for the 824th Engineers Aviation Battalion and list some of the personnel. The Thanksgiving 1943 menu also includes signatures of several soldiers.