Dr. George E. Fay was an academic with a passion for anthropology. By the time of his passing at the age of 87 in 2015, he had amassed a collection of papers and artifacts that his descendants are still sorting through.
According to his son, Dave, “George was devoted to his career and passion for archaeology and anthropology, particularly in the study of Native cultures. He wrote many publications and books and traveled to many places for his research. He often would recall his stories and travels.”
Dave’s daughter, Andi, added, “I was born in Thailand, and he visited me as a young child. Later, I moved to the USA when I was 16 to continue high school, and lived with my grandparents until I went to Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He was an eclectic grandfather with many stories and experiences to relate.”
Last spring, Dave and Andi donated Fay’s files on the Menominee people to CMN. Comprised mostly of the papers from a non-Native Phebe Jewell Nichols, the files came to CMN for use as course materials.
Fay knew Nichols by the name she used in her private life to honor her Menominee husband — Mrs. Angus F. Lookaround. Fay had developed multiple friendships with members of the Menominee community, and Nichols’ files went to him after her passing in 1964.
Nichols was an avid chronicler of Menominee life. She famously lived in a museum showcasing Menominee artifacts and was a prolific newspaper columnist who chronicled tribal lifeways. It’s no wonder she attracted Fay’s academic curiosity.
Dave shared about his father, “During his time at UW-Oshkosh, he became interested in Indian affairs and created an Indian issues newsletter. He became close with several Menominee people, including Chief Roy Oshkosh and Mrs. Phebe Lookaround.”
In addition to teaching at UW-Oshkosh, Fay taught at Southern State College in Arkansas and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. He also conducted numerous archaeological field excavations in the United States and northern Mexico.
Dave said, “My father told many stories of his experiences. He had a vast accumulation of papers and materials covering his life and activities from the 1940s up through the present. Once, when sorting old papers, I came across a few of these, which led him to tell me about Mrs. Lookaround.
“Something stuck in my memory from that early story, and I kept all the papers relating to Mrs. Lookaround in a separate file, including those on which I could recognize her distinctive handwriting. When I realized that many of them were from a manuscript, I thought that they should be saved, but I wasn’t sure what to do with them.”
Speaking for both of them, Dave shared, “We felt that Mrs. Lookaround’s unpublished manuscript should be published — not lost. However, we didn’t know how to find the right people who would be the best for this. We searched for Menominee organizations but found nothing suitable. But eventually we found CMN. This seemed to be an excellent opportunity.”
The onset of COVID-19 offered the duo a chance to organize what they found.
“We had time to go through many of the remaining papers,” Dave said. “We saved any other related documents together. Then we approached CMN to see if they were interested in taking the project further.”
Accepting the donation for the betterment of CMN students, the college is appreciative of adding the author’s personal copies of some of her books, manuscripts and correspondence to its S. Verna Fowler Academic Library’s Special Collections. This is especially true of Nichols’ unpublished manuscript for “Drums in the Night” and her book that Fay published privately, titled “Straight as an Arrow.”
Fay’s descendants shared, “We hope that you can complete the publishing of ‘Drums in the Night.’ We think it is a great chance to study this work, and it’s an exciting project to realize the unpublished manuscript. Maybe it’s also possible to republish ‘Straight as an Arrow’ and get it back into circulation.”
They added, “We hope that the other materials are also helpful, including some historical materials and others that can be used in your classes for the students.”
Having already taught from some of Fay’s files during the spring 2025 semester, I can attest to their value in helping students understand community thinking during the mid-20th century.
The Fays’ donation is a testament to how files from the past can influence leaders of tomorrow.
Ryan Winn, Ph.D., teaches communications, English, history and theater at the College of Menominee Nation. Visit www.menominee.edu for information about the school.