Charles "Chuck" Remsberg Papers

The Chuck Remsberg Papers fill 146 boxes and 2.09 gigabytes of born-digital files and span the years from 1936-2014, comprising materials that cover his journalistic career of over 40 years. Contained within the collection are scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, personal journal notes, cards, diplomas, artwork, drafts and notes for articles both published and non-published, books, audio cassettes, videocassettes, CDs, promotional clothing, police patches, artifacts from his childhood and youth, and artifacts from his years as a freelance journalist.

The collection is organized into nine series: Biographical Materials; Early Career and Freelance Writing; Calibre Press; Force Science News; PoliceOne Materials; Scrapbooks; Audiovisual Materials; Artifacts, and Oversized Materials. For the most part, materials have been kept in their original, following a chronological time line as established by Mr. Remsberg.

Biographical Materials, found in boxes 1-9, include artifacts, baby books, scrapbooks, photographs, journals, early writings, school activities and memorabilia, Northwestern University High School Institute activities and papers, articles and editorials from The Daily Northwestern, Hutchinson News-Herald, Chicago City News Bureau, the Associated Press and The Chicago Sun-Times. Of particular interest in box 1, folder 6 are copies of The Spy, a grade school newspaper Remsberg started. Miscellaneous correspondence in box 5, folder 48, includes a transcription of an interview Remsberg conducted with his uncle, where he recounts interesting people he met as a young journalist. Box 4, folder 41 includes an article by Remsberg about painting the Rock during his undergraduate years at Northwestern University. Box 8, folder 90 contains journal notes recounting Remsberg’s experience at the Our Lady of Angels School fire.

Early Career and Freelance Writing, spanning the years from 1960-1979, includes resumes, correspondence, press badges, honors, photographs, article manuscripts, and drafts and manuscripts of Remsberg’s unpublished book, Baby Doe. Of special interest is Turn Left at the Cat Box (boxes 17-20), a 12-volume set of original magazine covers and freelance articles written by Remsberg found in box 138 (oversize).

Materials relating to Calibre Press, founded in 1979 by Chuck Remsberg and Dennis Anderson, can be found in boxes 30-59. This series contains books and seminar materials published between 1980 and 1999. Publications include Street Survival: Tactics for Armed Encounters (1980), The Tactical Edge: Surviving High-Risk Patrol (1986), 10-8: a Cops Honest Look at Life on the Street (1994), Tactics for Criminal Patrol (1995, 1997), and Blood Lessons (2008). Also included are bound volumes of Street Survival Newsline, an online journal published from 1995-2000; the first electronic publication for a law enforcement audience. Early drafts of Street Survival and other published books, catalogs, reviews, publicity, brochures, advertisements, photographs, videocassettes, CDs, and other memorabilia are included here as well.

Force Science News, boxes 58-88, contains research notes, correspondence, drafts and final articles written for Force Science News, a publication of the Force Science Institute based in Mankato, Minnesota. These articles cover the time period from about 2004-2014. The original order of this series has been maintained, and it is important to note that items in each folder contain either specific notes, research and drafts of articles written for Force Science News, or materials that relate to research for subjects Remsberg was working on or considering writing about.

PoliceOne Materials, found in boxes 88-104, includes research notes, correspondence, drafts and final articles written for PoliceOne, online news source for law enforcement. Materials here cover the years 2004-2014. Original order has been maintained in this series.

Remsberg’s Scrapbooks can be found in boxes 105-110, and total eight scrapbooks covering Remsberg’s birth and early childhood, as well as news articles written by him for the Hutchinson News-Herald, The Daily Northwestern, the Chicago City News Bureau, Associated Press and the Chicago Sun-Times. Most of the newspaper articles and stories were not attributed to Remsberg and these scrapbooks help to identify stories that he did cover and write.

Audiovisual Materials, boxes 111-112, box 147, include audiocassettes and tapes of the complete Street Survival Seminar, tapes associated with training materials, CD audio recordings of untitled police training programs, advertisements, and a podcast, as well as radio interviews and voice-over work.

Artifacts can be found in boxes 113-136, and include a collection of over 2,400 police patches received from seminar attendees, various honors for both freelance and police training work, and Calibre Press promotional items comprising mostly of t-shirts, polo shirts, sweaters and caps.

Finally, Oversize Materials reside in boxes 137-146. Included here is a variety of photographs, posters, book covers, original artwork, school yearbooks, The Buzz (Hutchinson High School newspaper), and Boy Scout memorabilia, among other items.