| Title: | Ola Belle Reed collection |
| Call Number: | Coll122 |
| Creator: | Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002 |
| Dates: | 1888-1988; bulk 1933-1988 |
| Size: | 32 boxes (42 linear feet) |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The collection consists of audio, visual, and printed materials documenting the Appalachian migration to Maryland (1930s-1960s) and the career and family of musician Ola Belle Reed. The collection includes Reed's autoharp, personal effects and clothing, as well as recorded sound and photographs. |
| Citation: | Ola Belle Reed collection, Maryland Traditions Archives, Collection 122, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD). |
Ola Belle Reed (nee Campbell) (1916-2002) was a singer, songwriter and musician from Lansing, North Carolina. During the Great Depression, she moved with her family to Northeastern Maryland, where she lived until her death in 2002.
Reed’s grandfather Alexander Campbell was a Primitive Baptist preacher and fiddle player and her father played fiddle, banjo, guitar, and organ and formed a string band with his brother and sister Ellen. An uncle, Herb Osborne, sang mining songs from the coalfields of West Virginia. Her grandmother and mother sang ballads and topical songs in the Appalachian tradition. As a member of the North Carolina Ridge Runners with her brother Alex, Reed played oldtime banjo and sang for the Appalachian migrant audience in the Maryland-Delaware-Pennsylvania area.
From 1949-1960, local radio station WASA delivered a broadcast of “Campbell’s Corner,” a live broadcast from Campbell’s Corner – a general store located in Oxford, Pennsylvania, which was operated by Alex Campbell and Ola Belle (Campbell) Reed. The back of the store had a stage on which live music was played (typically bluegrass, including Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and others) and a small number of seats for a live audience. Alex and Ola Belle and the New River Boys were the musical hosts and emcees of the program, which expanded from a 30 minute broadcast to a 3 hour broadcast between 1949-1960. Beginning in 1960, the “Campbell’s Corner” show was broadcast on WCOJ in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, before being picked up by WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia. In addition to performing and broadcasting, the family opened a country music park called the New River Ranch near Rising Sun, MD.
Through the years, Reed wrote a number of songs about her Appalachian past and her commitment to family traditions, religious values, and social justice. In 1978, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, awarded her an honorary doctorate of letters for her contributions to the arts and culture of Maryland and the United States.
Organized into two series: Series I. Manuscript materials, files, and personal correspondence, 1888-1988. Series II. Ephemera, circa 1950-1980.
Series I. Manuscript materials, files, and personal correspondence
Series II: Ephemera
Collection donated to the Maryland Folklife Program by Jason David Pate in the 1980s. The collection was donated by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2014 in three accessions: the first on January 14, 2014 from the NCTA, the second on March 5, 2014 from the Arts Council's Ostend St. office, and the third in 2014 from the Maryland State Archives. Accessions: MSS 2013-06, MSS 2014-02, MSS 2014-08.
Ola Belle Reed duplication project, AFC 1970/020, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).Jason T. Pate Recording of Alex Campbell and Ola Belle Reed, AFC 1971/049, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).Henry Glassie collection of Ola Belle Reed and family recordings, AFC 1976/043, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).1977 Neptune Plaza Concert Series collection, AFC 1977/003, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).Henry Glassie duplication project, AFC 1979/085, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).1977 Inaugural folk dance and concert collection, AFC 1980/039, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).Mike Seeger collection, AFC 1995/004, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress (Washington, DC).
Processed primarily by Nichole Procopenko in 2015, with assistance from Yuri Zietz. Collection processing included reuniting a previously dispersed collection of materials that originated with the Reed family. Materials from the Maryland State Arts Council office consist of digitized copies and related printed material from selected audio tapes at the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). Materials from the NCTA consist of additional audio tapes. Materials at the Maryland State Archives include personal ephemera (musical instruments, stage outfits, crafts, letters, photo albums, etc.) donated by Ola Belle Reed to MSAC for use in museum exhibitions related to Maryland folklife. In 2022, Acadia Roher addressed conservation issues in the collection and rehoused textiles and instruments.
Describing Archives: a Content Standard (DACS)
Archives Processing Manual: Description (2015): The processing manual used in Special Collections for all descriptive platforms, including PastPerfect.
Finding aid available.
Finding Aid: http://library.umbc.edu/speccoll/findingaids/coll122.php
No restrictions.
Reproductions allowed for research purposes. Copyright maintained by the creator.
Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002
Pate, Jason Thomas
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass musicians
Folk music -- Appalachian Region, Southern
Folk musicians
Folk songs, English -- Appalachian Region, Southern
Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002 -- Archives
Date: 1888-1988
Extent: 20 boxes (23 linear ft.)
Description: This series collects files, handwritten notes, promotional materials, correspondence, and miscellaneous paper holdings from Ola Belle Reed. Series arranged by type of material.
Date: 1906-1988
Extent: 11 boxes (14 linear ft.)
Description: This subseries collects posters and fliers, music programs, and other materials related to Ola Belle Reed's professional career.
| Folder Title/Description | Date | Box # | Folder # | Additional Info. |
| Recognitions | 1982-1984 | 1 | 1 | |
| Correspondence from binder | 1935-1976 | 1 | 2 | |
| Fliers and program materials | undated | 1 | 3 | |
| 1970 - PA Civic Center programs | 1970 | 1 | 4 | |
| 1971 - PA Civic Center program materials | 1971 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1973 - National Folk Festival Assn. program | 1973 | 1 | 6 | |
| 1974 - Various program materials | 1974 | 1 | 7 | |
| 1975 - Ticket stub | 1975 | 1 | 8 | |
| 1977 - Program materials | 1977 | 1 | 9 | |
| 1978 - Fliers and program materials | 1978 | 1 | 10 | |
| 1979 - Delaware Bluegrass program | 1979 | 1 | 11 | |
| 1981 - Fliers | 1981 | 1 | 12 | |
| 1982 - Program materials | 1982 | 1 | 13 | |
| 1983 - Fliers and program materials | 1983 | 1 | 14 | |
| 1988 - Fliers | 1988 | 1 | 15 | |
| Southern Appalachian Video Ethnography Series (SAVES) | undated | 1 | 16 | |
| Newsletters/mailers/Ola Belle/J. Pate | ca. 1969-1971 | 1 | 17 | |
| Newsletters/mailers/Ola Belle/J. Pate | ca. 1968-1975 | 1 | 18 | |
| Ola Belle photographs and ephemera | 1969-1972 | 1 | 19 | |
| MFPR C. Camp posters and ephemera | ca. 1970-1974 | 1 | 20 | |
| MFPR C. Camp posters and ephemera | undated | 1 | 21 | |
| Concert fliers: Ola Belle or Jason Pate | ca. 1976-1978 | 1 | 22 | |
| Fliers and program materials | ca. 1970-1974 | 1 | 23 | |
| Fliers and correspondence | undated | 1 | 24 | |
| Oversized fliers | 1968-1972 | 2 | ||
| Fliers and ephemera - Charley Camp | ca. 1971-1974 | 3 | ||
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1967-1975 | 4 | 1 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1975-1977 | 4 | 2 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1978-1980 | 4 | 3 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1982-1983 | 4 | 4 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1906-1962 | 5 | 1 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1963-1967 | 5 | 2 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1976-1978 | 5 | 3 | |
| Music publications, songbooks, and programs | 1979-1982 | 5 | 4 | |
| Press clippings and music publications | ca. 1965-1980 | 6 | ||
| Personal ephemera and framed photographs | ca. 1976-1977 | 7 | ||
| Personal correspondence: Candlewood Elementary | 1977 | 8 | ||
| News clippings: Ola Belle | ca. 1970-1983 | 9 | ||
| Havre de Grace scrapbook | 1951-1953 | 10 | ||
| Concert fliers, Winter Folk Festival and Carousel Concerts | ca. 1971 | 11 |
Date: 1966-1984
| Folder Title/Description | Date | Box # | Folder # | Additional Info. |
| Correspondence, Agnes Thomas poetry | undated | 12 | 1 | |
| Travel ephemera, brochures | undated | 12 | 2 | |
| Personal correspondence - Glassie, Henry, 1 of 2 | 1966-1969 | 12 | 3 | |
| Personal correspondence - Glassie, Henry | 1966-1969 | 12 | 4 | |
| Correspondence, accounts | 1977-1984 | 12 | 5 | |
| Business correspondence | 1971-1982 | 12 | 6 | |
| Personal correspondence | 1975-1983 | 12 | 7 | |
| Personal correspondence - N. Carolina Folklife Programs | 1980 | 12 | 8 | |
| Personal correspondence - Wake Forest Elementary | 1980 | 12 | 9 | |
| Personal correspondence - Phelps Luck Elementary School | 1980 | 12 | 10 | |
| Miscellaneous | undated | 12 | 11 | |
| Correspondence | 1971-1984 | 12 | 12 | |
| Ralph Reed - High School Reunion | undated | 12 | 13 | |
| Reed Family Songbook | 1974 | 12 | 14 | |
| Jerry Campbell | 1975 | 12 | 15 | |
| Misc. - financial/business | 1975-1979 | 12 | 16 | |
| Stamp Saver Booklet | undated | 12 | 17 | |
| Correspondence, photocopies, To Lie down in Peace | 1980-1982 | 12 | 18 | |
| Concert fliers, receipts, personal ephemera | ca. 1974-1983 | 13 | ||
| Certificate, First Continental Congress | 1974 | 14 | ||
| Personal calendars (with notes) | 1966-1984 | 15 | 1 | |
| Vintage catalogs | 1904-1908 | 15 | 2 |
Date: ca. 1888-1980
Extent: 5 boxes (4.5 linear ft.)
Description: Collected in this subseries are audiovisual materials from Ola Belle Reed's personal collection, including family photographs and memorabilia from her career in music.
| Folder Title/Description | Date | Box # | Folder # | Additional Info. |
| Photographs - Reed family | 1939-1975 | 16 | 1 | |
| Photographs and postcards, Ola Belle and family | ca. 1938-1975 | 16 | 2 | |
| Photographs, postcards, slides | 1933-1975 | 16 | 3 | |
| Photographs ABC | undated | 16 | 4 | |
| Photographs D-Q | undated | 16 | 5 | |
| Photographs RST | undated | 16 | 6 | |
| Photographs XYZ | undated | 16 | 7 | |
| From packet of loose images - photographs, pencil drawings, and postcards | ca. 1920-1980 | 16 | 8 | |
| Green Binder photos | ca. 1936-1970 | 16 | 9 | |
| The Campbell family | undated | 16 | 10 | |
| James Dennis Wallace, Carter family | undated | 16 | 11 | |
| Ola Belle Reed and unidentified | undated | 16 | 12 | |
| Ola Belle Reed photographs, album | undated | 16 | 13 | |
| Ola Belle Reed photographs, album (scanned) | undated | 16 | 14 | |
| Osborne family photo | undated | 17 | ||
| Umatic videocassette | undated | 13 | 1 | |
| Vinyl LP and 78 RPM disc, Alex Campbell/New River Boys + Ola Belle | undated | 13 | 2 | |
| Collection of hymnals and songbooks | 1888-1929 | 18 | 1 | |
| Digitized tapes from NCTA | undated | 32 | 1 |
Date: ca. 1950-1980
Extent: 13 boxes (19 linear ft.)
Description: This series collects musical instruments from Ola Belle Reed's personal collection as well as textiles made and worn by Reed. Dates are rough estimates as nearly all of the items in this series are undated.
Date: ca. 1950-1980
Extent: 10 boxes (14.5 linear ft.)
Description: Textiles made by Ola Belle Reed. These items are undated, and inclusive dates are a best estimate.
| Folder Title/Description | Date | Box # | Folder # | Additional Info. |
| Needlepoint | undated | 19 | ||
| Various textiles | undated | 20 | ||
| Cushion/textile | undated | 21 | ||
| Skirt | undated | 22 | ||
| Tapestry | undated | 23 | ||
| Hat | undated | 24 | ||
| Belt | undated | 25 | ||
| Shawl | undated | 26 | ||
| Dress | undated | 27 | ||
| Sweater | undated | 28 |
Date: undated
Extent: 3 boxes (4.5 linear ft.)
Description: Musical instruments from Ola Belle's personal collection. Exact dates are unavailable for either instruments' manufacture or when Ms. Reed came to possess them.
| Folder Title/Description | Date | Box # | Folder # | Additional Info. |
| Toy banjo | undated | 29 | ||
| Six harmonicas | undated | 30 | ||
| Autoharp with note | undated | 31 |
