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Guide to the Herbert Willsmore Papers, 1968-1993
BANC MSS 99/249 c  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Collection Summary
  • Information for Researchers
  • Administrative Information
  • Biography
  • Scope and Content of Collection

  • Collection Summary

    Collection Title: Herbert Willsmore Papers,
    Date (inclusive): 1968-1993
    Collection Number: BANC MSS 99/249 c
    Creator: Willsmore, Herbert
    Extent: 1 box (.2 linear ft.) 41 digital objects
    Repository: The Bancroft Library
    Berkeley, California 94720-6000
    Abstract: The Herbert Willsmore papers, 1968-1993, document his residency at Cowell Hospital, his involvement with the Rolling Quads, and his work with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. The materials consist of correspondence, press releases, school papers relating to his matriculation at the University of California at Berkeley, professional writing, and newspaper clippings.
    Languages Represented: English

    Information for Researchers

    Access

    Collection is open for research.

    Publication Rights

    Copyright has been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the appropriate curator or the Head of Public Services for forwarding. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and the copyright.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Herbert Willsmore Papers, BANC MSS 99/249 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

    Indexing Terms

    The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
    Willsmore, Herbert--Archives.
    University of California, Berkeley--Students.
    Rolling Quads.
    Students with disabilities--California--Berkeley.
    Online Archive of California.
    Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement collection.

    Administrative Information

    Provenance

    The Herbert Willsmore Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Herbert Willsmore in 1999.

    Biography

    Herb Willsmore was a University of California student in the Cowell Hospital residence program and one of the first students to move from Cowell into the community. He was president of the Rolling Quads in the late sixties, participated in the establishment of the Physically Disabled Students' Program in 1970 and the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in 1972, and managed the Business Enterprise division of CIL from 1975 to 1977.
    In some ways Herb Willsmore typifies the early students with disabilities at Cowell. He sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident at age nineteen in 1966 and lived at home with his parents until he learned of the Cowell program at the university. He completed two degrees there, a B.A. and an M.A. in City and Regional Planning. He left Berkeley in 1977 and has been a commercial real estate broker in Santa Rosa, California, for many years.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Herbert Willsmore papers, 1968-1993, document his residency at Cowell Hospital, his involvement with the Rolling Quads, and his work with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. The materials consist of correspondence, press releases, school papers relating to his matriculation at the University of California at Berkeley, professional writing, and newspaper clippings. At UC Berkeley Mr. Willsmore, a disabled student, lived at Cowell Hospital, was the first president of the Rolling Quads, and went on to complete a masters in City and Regional Planning. The students living in Cowell Hospital were part of the beginning of a nationwide social movement for disability rights and independent living. The materials include the incorporation papers for the Rolling Quads; reports written for the Department of Rehabilitation; correspondence with the city of Berkeley regarding curb cuts, an area where Berkeley was in the vanguard; and press releases and a letter from Ronald Reagan regarding proposed cuts to the Attendant Care Program when he was governor of California.
    The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject matter, except for Willsmore's autobiographical summary, which comes first.