Stanton R. Cook (1925-2015) Papers

The Stanton R. Cook papers are arranged into the following series: general professional and personal files; World War II and United States Army records; Northwestern University records; Tribune Company records; baseball/Chicago Cubs records; travel files; professional affiliations; correspondence; events; awards, medals and coins; audiovisual materials; photographs; artifacts; and oversize materials (including photographs, posters, magazines, and artifacts).

The professional and personal records (boxes 1 through 15) include documents, photographs, calendars, and newspaper clippings relating to Stanton Cook’s professional career and personal life. Family materials, dating back to the lives of his parents and grandparents, are found here. Also included in this series are mostly personal materials from and relating to Barbara Cook. Folders are grouped into four broad categories: Cook’s personal and professional materials, Cook’s calendars, records pertaining to Barbara Cook, and records associated with Cook’s military service in World War II and to his involvement with veterans’ associations. Thereafter, materials are organized into a chronological arrangement. Items within each folder have been placed in chronological order. Military related files are arranged alphabetically by topical headings and then chronologically within folders.

Northwestern University records (boxes 15 through 19) consist of materials relating to Stanton Cook’s experiences as a student as well as his involvement with the university as an alumnus and as a trustee. Folders are arranged by topical headings in alphabetical order. Items within folders are chronologically arranged.

Boxes 19 through 39 contain materials on Stanton Cook’s professional career at the Tribune Company. Folders are arranged in alphabetical order by topical heading; items within each folder are arranged chronologically.

Records on baseball in general and on the Chicago Cubs specifically, as well as documents relating to the involvement of the Chicago Tribune in the purchase of the Chicago Cubs, are included in boxes 40 through 45. Folders are arranged by their headings in alphabetical order, and items within each folder are arranged chronologically. Boxes 45 through 54 include materials on Stanton Cook’s foreign travels to Asia, including mainly the People’s Republic of China but also Hong Kong and Korea; to Japan; to countries in the Middle East; and to the Northwest Territories of Canada. Folders are arranged first into two categories: travel to China, Hong Kong, and Korea; and travel elsewhere. Thereafter, within those categories, folders have been placed in alphabetical order by subject headings. Items within each folder are arranged chronologically.

Professional Affiliations (Boxes 54 through 62) include mainly materials relating to Stanton Cook’s involvement with the Associated Press (AP), the American Newspaper Publishers Association (ANPA), the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), the Shedd Aquarium Society, and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation/Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois. Folders are arranged alphabetically according to name of association with which Cook held a professional affiliation. Sometimes there are multiple folders which document a sustained or extensive affiliation.

Correspondence (letters, cards, and postcards) written to Stanton Cook, associates, friends, and neighbors; by family members; and by prominent individuals fill boxes 63-79. Included are also copies of Cook’s written responses. Folders are arranged first by the categories noted above and thereafter in chronological order. Those folders which include letters and cards written by notable personalities are arranged alphabetically by the surnames of correspondents (box 79).

Audio tapes are contained in boxes 80-81 and are arranged in numerical order of the tapes.

Box 82 contains VHS video cassettes, arranged alphabetically by their titles.

Professional and personal photographs, negatives, slides, and transparencies depicting Stanton and Barbara Cook, their families, and their friends and acquaintances are located in boxes 83 through 97. These are arranged principally by format and chronology.

Boxes 98 through 120 contain artifacts relating to Stanton Cook’s travels, to The Chicago Tribune, and to the Chicago Cubs. Found here is a small collection of Cook’s State of Illinois license plates. Items within this category are arranged by descriptive identification in alphabetical order.

Oversized materials, found in boxes 121 through 124, include posters, newspapers, magazines, photographs, and photographic transparencies. Items placed into dropfront boxes are arranged alphabetically according to their identifications as well as physical format, size, and shape.