Brisco Family Papers
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Date: 1923-1975 Extent: 1.5 cu. ft. (1 record box) Repository: Alfred M. Heston Collection, Atlantic City Free Public Library, 1 North Tennessee Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, (609) 345-2269. |
 Atlantic City Seagulls programs and photograph, part of Series I: Atlantic City Sea Gulls, 1937-42, 1949-1950. |
Creators:
Harriet Francis Brisco (1903-2001) and Florence Merlyn Brisco (1905-2006) were sisters who grew up in Atlantic City, worked here in the school system, and retired to Arizona. They were the daughters of Joseph and Florence Brisco and lived at 408 North Indiana Avenue.
Francis graduated from Atlantic City High School in 1921 and worked as a teacher for more than 40 years, first at West Side School and later at Indiana Avenue School and Central Junior High School. She taught Social Studies at Central until retirement in about 1973.
Merlyn was a 1923 Atlantic City High School graduate, and she worked at Indiana Avenue School for more than 20 years before moving to Central Junior High School where she also taught Social Studies until about 1973, spending more than 40 years as a teacher in Atlantic City schools.
Marven Hill, a former member of the Library Board of Trustees and a friend of the Briscos, donated the collection to the Atlantic City Free Public Library in 2003. Merlyn Brisco taught both Hill and his wife, Devolia, at Central Junior High School and Indiana Avenue School, respectively. Later, Hill was a colleague of both Briscos at Central Junior High School.
Sources
Atlantic City City Directories, various years.
Census of the United States, 1920. (Available through HeritageQuest )
Social Security Death Index , searched 1 May 2007.
Conversation with Marven Hill, June 2007.
IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Scope and Content:
This collection contains programs and memorabilia related to social activities in which the Brisco sisters participated: play programs from three Atlantic City theaters, souvenir game programs from ice hockey games, newsletters and memorabilia from the ice hockey boosters’ club, and memorabilia related to the Miss America Pageant and Atlantic City.
System of Arrangement:
The collection is arranged by subject into the following three series:
Series 1: Atlantic City Sea Gulls, 1937-42, 1949-1950
Items related to the Atlantic City Sea Gulls ice hockey team. (For a history of the team, please see collection H016, Atlantic City Sea Gulls Hockey Team Collection.) Included are souvenir programs from 6 seasons of Atlantic City Sea Gulls ice hockey, issues of Fanfare, the Official Boosters Club Publication, a photograph of the 1940-1941 team, and a postcard. Programs included articles, player line-up for each game, biographical sketches of the players, photographs, and scores. The programs and newsletters are arranged chronologically.
A more complete list of items included in this series is included below.
Series 2: Theater Programs Scrapbook, 1923-1933
Approximately 120 unbound scrapbook pages contain more than 200 programs from three theaters Nixon's Apollo Theatre, Globe Theatre, and the Garden Pier Theater. The programs are arranged chronologically.
Handwritten notes indicate other plays that particular actors appeared in, as well as other notes about the actors. Some of the famous actors that performed in the plays are Fred and Astele Astaire, Ethel Wilson, Al Jolson, and Mae West. A complete list of programs is not available.
Series 3: Memorabilia
Memorabilia in the collection are two vintage Miss America dolls, two 1975 Miss America ceramic plates, and two Old-Fashioned Atlantic City Bathing Dolls.
OTHER INFORMATION FOR USERS OF THE COLLECTION
Related Materials in the Heston Collection: The Heston Collection holds other materials related to the subjects in this collection. Some of these materials include the following:
Atlantic City Sea Gulls Hockey Team Collection (Collection H016)
Miss America Collection (Collection H029)
Samuel Formicola Miss America Collection, 1957-1968 (Collection H049)
Nixon's Apollo Theatre Program
Warner Theatre Inaugural Program
The Heston Collection also includes other theatre programs, which are not yet cataloged from various Atlantic City theatres. The collection of programs is not complete, nor is it comprehensive.
Access Points:
Atlantic City Sea Gulls
Garden Pier Theater - Atlantic City (N.J.)
Globe Theatre - Atlantic City (N.J.)
Miss America Pageant
Nixon's Apollo Theatre
Processing Note: The collection is processed. Finding aid written by Heather Halpin, archivist, May 2007; updated June 2007.
Copyright Notice: While the Atlantic City Free Public Library owns the collection, the Library may not own the copyright for all of the items. Researchers wishing to reproduce materials are responsible for obtaining the proper permissions.
BOX LIST
Box 1
Series 1: Atlantic City Sea Gulls, 1937-42, 1949-1950
This series contains the following items:
Ice Hockey Souvenir Program, published twice weekly by and for the Atlantic City Sea Gulls, editor Mall W. Dodson
1937-1938 Vol. I, issues 1-13, 15-37
1938-1939 Vol. II, issues 1-39
Ice Hockey Magazine and Skating News, published weekly for the EAHL, editor Mall W. Dodson
1939-1940 Vol. I, issues 1-11 (1st half of the season)
1940-1941 Vol. II, issues 16-41, and 14 unnumbered issues (1st half of the season)
1941-1942 Vol. III, issues 1-8, 10-44
1949-1950 2 issues: 27 Dec 1949, 10 Jan 1950
Ice Hockey Herald
1940 Vol. I, issues 1-13 (2nd half of the season)
Fanfare, Official Boosters Club Publication
1938-1939 Vol. I, issues 1-4
1939-1940 Vol. II, issues 1-3
1940-1941 Vol. III, issues 3-5
1941-1942 Vol. IV, issues 2-3
Series 2: Theater Programs Scrapbook, 1923-1933
Box 2
Series 3: Memorabilia
Two 12-inch Miss America vintage dolls (Barbie type)
Two first-edition Miss America ceramic plates, 1975 (by the Miss America Pageant)
Two 18-inch Old-Fashioned Bathing Dolls, 1975
Finding aid published 2 May 2007. Revised 28 June 2007.