TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary
Scope and Contents
Arrangement
Restrictions
Index Terms
Related Material
Administrative Information
Description of Series
Community,
1924-2010
Lago Oil & Transport Company, Ltd.,
1930-1990
World War II, 1941-2006
Aruba, 1943-1991
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A Guide to the Lago Colony (Aruba) Archives, 1924-2010
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Creator: |
Lago Colony |
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Title: |
Lago Colony (Aruba) Archives |
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Dates: |
1924-2010 |
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Abstract: |
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Accession No.: |
2006-214; 2007-121; 2007-122; 2007-168; 2007-172; 2007-230; 2007-249; 2008-054; 2008-057; 2008-288; 2009-253; 2010-074; 2010-188; 2010-332; 2011-285; 2011-373; 2012-084; 2012-114; 2012-165 |
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OCLC No.: |
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Extent: |
9 ft., 2.5 in. |
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Language: |
Materials are written in
English. |
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Repository: |
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,
The University of Texas at Austin |
Lago Colony was a community on the eastern end of Aruba, a Dutch island located roughly 17 miles north of Venezuela, in an area now called Seroe Colorado. The colony served, for the most part, as a company town for Lago Oil & Transport Company, Ltd., which owned and operated a refinery on the island. Lago Oil was a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), later known as Exxon Corporation.
At its peak, Lago Colony included about 700 homes for employees and their families and included amenities familiar to other communities, such as a school, a hospital, a church, and a variety of social and recreational opportunities. Residents of the colony were mostly Americans, though other nationalities represented were Dutch, Danish and Spanish as well as English, Irish and Scottish, many of whom served as officers of the lake tanker fleet.
The refinery, which began operating in 1924 as a trans-shipping facility for crude oil from Lake Maracaibo, was at one time the largest refinery complex in the world. The facility remained in operation until 1985 when Exxon moved to shut down and dismantle the refinery and Lago Colony. Parts of the facility were sold to the Aruban government and later to Coastal Petroleum. Though a much smaller operation today, Valero Energy Corporation now operates the refinery.
Sources:
Lago Colony & Lago Refinery, Aruba. Retrieved from http://www.lago-colony.com.
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The Lago Colony (Aruba) Archives, 1924-2010, documents, as much as possible, the lives of the American employees and their families who made the colony their home for over five decades. As such the archives is comprised of material related to the social, educational and recreational pursuits of colony residents and includes directories; school annuals and literary magazines; newspapers and clippings; programs for a variety of community events and activities; memoirs and diaries; photographic prints and albums; scrapbooks; and born-digital and digitized material. Material dating after the colony ceased relates to former residents’ work to stay connected through reunions, the Lago Colony web site and other means.
Printed material and other records of the Lago Oil & Transport Company document, to some extent, the operations of the company and refinery that employed colony residents. Also of note is material related generally to Aruba’s history, culture and tourism and the impact of World War II on the island and the colony.
The creation and continuing growth of the archives represents the efforts and contributions of a number of former residents of the Lago Colony, including Dan Jensen, Frank Binetti, Ginger Bassett, Walter Beyer, Ray Burson, Beverly Couch, Brenda Engle, Tina Evers, Peter Henriksen, Bobby Lewis, Billy Moyer, Stan Norcom, Janet Opdyke, Robert Pearson, Robert Rynalski, Bob Schlageter, Mary Spitzer, Joyce Stewart, Charles Stuart, Homer Waits and others.
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Arrangement |
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The papers are arranged in four series: |
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- I. Community
- II. Lago Oil & Transport Company
- III. Word War II
- IV. Aruba
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Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
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Subjects (Organizations) |
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Lago Oil and Transport Company. |
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Standard Oil Company. |
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Subjects |
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Company towns -- Aruba. |
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Petroleum industry and trade -- Aruba. |
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Places |
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Aruba. |
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Netherlands Antilles. |
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Lago Colony (Aruba) Archives, 1924-2010, Dolph Briscoe Center for
American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
This collection was processed by Mat Darby, 2006-2011.
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Community,
1924-2010 |
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Churches
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Lago Community Church,
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Certificates, 1950 |
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The Church Chronicle, 1957-1973 |
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Programs and invitations, 1948-1957 |
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The Women’s Guild |
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Aruba Home Cooking, 1960-1962 |
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Seroe Colorado Community Church |
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Program, 1988 |
| box |
| 2.207/M10 |
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Clubs and organizations
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American Legion Auxiliary |
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Cookbook, circa 1946 |
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Passing in Review, 1954 |
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Aruba Fraternal Association |
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Aruba Chronicle |
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1976-1993 |
| box |
| 2.207/M5 |
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1994-2007 |
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Aruba Flying Club, 1932-2002
[photocopies] |
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The Aruban Art Circle, 1948-1952 |
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Esso Club, 1948-1962, undated |
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Girls Scouts, 1957 |
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Grover Whalen Committee of Aruba, 1941 |
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Lago Community Fund |
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Pledge card [Edgar Jackson], 1959 |
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Lago Nurses Glee Club |
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Aruba Health Week program |
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Pan Am Club |
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Club Comment, August 13, 1931 |
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Invitation, 1937 |
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Menu, undated |
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Programs, 1930-1931 |
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Rotary Club of Aruba, 1958 |
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St. Christopher Club, circa 1951 |
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Woman’s Club |
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Tested Recipes Compiled by Home Arts Division of Woman’s Club, 1935 |
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Events calendar, 1 953-1954 |
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Ticket, 1958 |
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Directories
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Bungalow directories, 1956-1964 |
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Telephone book, 1962 |
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Hospitals and doctors |
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List of physicians 1947 through 1974, 1974 |
| box |
| 2.207/M1 |
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Local publications
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La Cruz [Catholic newspaper], 1955 |
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The Local, 1964-1976 |
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The News, 1989 |
| box |
| 2.207/M3 |
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The Pan-Aruban |
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1929 |
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1934-1962
[photocopies] |
| box |
| 2.207/M1 |
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The Sun, 1964 |
| box |
| 2.207/M11 |
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Memoirs and biographies
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Billy Sue (Miller) Lewis |
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Aruba Day by Day [chronicle of Lago Community activities] |
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1924-1954 |
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1950-1965 |
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Aruba, December 20, 1929 to December 8, 1954: From the scrapbook of Willie M. “Bill” Miller, 1929-1954 |
| box |
| 2.207/M12 |
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Charlotte Life Warden |
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Diary [transcript], August 1947 – February 1948 |
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William Reuben White |
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The Life and Times of a Wanderer, 1992 |
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Music and theater
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Aruba Community Christmas Choir |
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Programs, 1956-1976 |
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Aruba Waltzes [sheet music], circa 1952 |
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The Drama Workshop, circa 1955 |
| box |
| 2.207/M2 |
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Reunions
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Lago visit, June 1997 |
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Schools
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Lago Community School
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Class of 1941
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The First Ten Years, 1935-44,
1991 |
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Class of 1951,
1991 |
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Class of 1954
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Directory,
undated |
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Fiftieth Anniversary,
2003 |
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Class of 1957
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Directory,
2007 |
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Class of 1959
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Graduation speech by Billy McNutt,
1959 |
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Handbooks,
1948, 1958 |
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Ink Spots,
1938, 1946 |
| box |
| 2.207/M19 |
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Pan-O-Ram annuals,
1944-1960 |
| box |
| 2.207/M17 |
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Pan-O-Ram annuals,
1946-1961
[16 DVDs] |
| box |
| 2.207/M2 |
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Pan-O-Ram [school newspaper],
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1942-1947 |
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1948-1961 |
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Principal’s report, 1959 |
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Programs and other items,
1937-1956 |
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Tot Talk, 1947, undated |
| box |
| 2.207/M19 |
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Seroe Colorado School |
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The Phoenix annuals,
1966-1976 |
| box |
| 2.207/M2 |
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Sports and recreation
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Lago Softball, 1955 |
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Lago Sport-Park, 1941, 1956-1957 |
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Tours, Demonstrations, Lectures, 1958 |
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Travel
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Dollar Lines |
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Radio News, 1932 |
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Red D Line |
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Passenger list [arrival in New York City], June 17, 1936 |
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Grace Line |
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Advertisement, 1951 |
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Menus, 1958 |
| box |
| 2.207/M21 |
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United States Navy ships
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U.S.S. Omaha, 1936-1937 |
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U.S.S. Vincennes, 1940 |
| box |
| 2.207/M17 |
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Web site [www.lago-colony.com],
2005-2010
[4 DVDs] |
| box |
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Photographs
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| box |
| 2.203 |
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[Album containing circa 400 photos documenting Lago Colony reunions],
1970s-1980s |
| box |
| 2.207/M9 |
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Albums [further description available],
1930s-1980s |
| box |
| 2.207/M16 |
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Walter Beyer photographs
[2 prints with letter] |
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Fay Cross Keene photographs,
undated |
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Stephen Keibler photographs and papers,
1948-1951
[reproductions] |
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Springer family [Dorothy, Sandy, Janet],
1941-1945
[2 prints] |
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“Teet” Mingus photographs,
undated |
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Oranjestad, Aruba,
undated |
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Students leaving Aruba on KLM,
undated |
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Canteen Picnic at Dos Playas,
undated |
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Queen Juliana’s visit at the airport,
October 1955 |
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Juniro Church,
1954 |
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Girl Mariners,
1956 |
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Joe Carroll photographs [with descriptions]
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| box |
| 2.207/M14 |
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U.S.S. Vincennes,
January 1940 |
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Lago Oil & Transport Company, Ltd.,
1930-1990 |
| box |
| 2.207/M20 |
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Calendars, 1950-1970 |
| box |
| 2.207/M8 |
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Correspondence, 1943-1951 |
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Employee information |
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Employee and Community Interests of Lago, 1952 |
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Employee policies, 1951 |
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Employment Conditions [Frank R. Burson contract], 1938 |
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History of Aruba, 1950 |
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An Introduction to Lago, 1957 |
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The Island of Aruba: Information of Interest to Prospective Employees & Visitors, circa 1940 |
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Organization chart, 1959 |
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Residential and Community Information, 1960-1963 |
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Electronic Data Processing, 1956, 1958 |
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Foreign Staff Elected Representatives’ Party, December 6, 1947 |
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Hydrodesulfurization Complex, circa 1972 |
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Lago Employee Council |
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Cartoons by Carl Baumann, |
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Maps, 1948-1970 |
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Marine Activities |
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Annual Report, 1958 |
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Lago Marine Club, 1948 |
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Marketing Department, 1952-1956 |
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Minutes |
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Housing & Commissary Advisory Committee, 1942 |
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Lago Colony Advisory Committee, 1946 |
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News clippings, 1930-1990 |
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Notices and announcements, 1938-1964 |
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Process Division, 1947, 1959 |
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Programs, 1940-1941 |
| box |
| 2.207/M3 |
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Publications |
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Aruba Esso News, 1942-1983 |
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1942, 1944 |
| box |
| 2.207/M1 |
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1946-1967 |
| box |
| 2.207/M3 |
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1968-1983 |
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Colony News, 1954 |
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N.W.I. News/Netherland Antilles News, 1953-1958 |
| box |
| 2.207/M6 |
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Pioneers in Oil Cracking: Newcomen Society Address by Robert Wilson, 1946 |
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Traffic in Aruba, circa 1946 |
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Your Aruba Home, 1946 |
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Your Job with Lago in Aruba, 1946 |
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An Introduction to Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), 1947 |
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Your Visit to Lago, circa 1949 |
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This is Lago, 1949 |
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Proving Ground, 1950 |
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Can’t We Talk It Over: A Guide for Improving Supervisory Communication, 1951 |
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Caribbean Careers, 1952 |
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May We Quote You?, circa 1952 |
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Guide to Safe Driving, 1953 |
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Twenty-five Years of Refining at Lago, 1954 |
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Lago Highlights in 1955, 1955 |
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Aruba: brief bits on one of the blue Caribbean’s sunshine isles, 1957 |
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Your Visit to Lago, 1959 |
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This is Standard Oil Company (New Jersey), 1967 |
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Lago: A Partner in Aruba’s Progress, 1968 |
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Lago: A Partner in Progress in Aruba, 1971 |
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Safety Division, 1955, 1964 |
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Technical Service Department, 1946 |
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Telephone directories, 1948-1981 |
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Training |
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Papiamentu Course for Medical Department Employees, circa 1950 |
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The Wind-Blown Language: Papiamento, 1945 |
| box |
| 2.207/M16 |
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Photographs |
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Refinery safety, 1960-1961 |
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A Gallery of Aruba Photographs, undated |
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Refinery, circa 1970 |
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Lago promotional prints [girls on the beach], circa 1957 |
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Esso Memphis, undated |
| box |
| 2.203 |
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Artifacts and memorabilia |
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Lago anniversary medallions, 1974, 1984 |
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[Two porcelain bowls commemorating the production of three billion barrels of oil at Lago Refinery], 1959 |
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Refinery badge [Walter G. Spitzer], undated |
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| box |
| 2.207/M7 |
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World War II, 1941-2006 |
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Articles and book excerpts, 1947-1984 |
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Aruba Digest by Hud McGlynn, 1992 |
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German U-Boat 156 Brought War to Aruba February 16, 1942, 1962, 2002 |
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News clippings and printed material, 1941-1945 |
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U.S. Department of State records [photocopies], 1942 |
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When Lago Was Lucky: The U-Boat Attack on Aruba by Ray Burson, 2006 |
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| box |
| 2.207/M7 |
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Aruba, 1943-1991 |
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History |
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Aruba’s Ships by Bill Moyer, 1991 |
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Aruban Annals by Chaplain William Refus Rings, 1943 |
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News clippings, 1956, undated |
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Postcards, undated |
| box |
| 2.207/M21 |
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Royal Family |
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Royal Visit: A pictorial review of The Netherlands reigning monarch’s visit to Aruba, N. A., October 21, 22, 23, 1950, 1950
[donated by Francis (Teet) Mingus] |
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Souvenir Album: A pictorial review of The Netherlands reigning monarch’s visit to Aruba, N. A., October 21, 22, 23, 1950, 1950 |
| box |
| 2.207/M7 |
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Tourism, 1954-1986 |
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Photographs |
| box |
| 2.207/M18 |
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Aerial [eastern end of Aruba], 1990 |
| box |
| 2.203 |
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[Four large format black and white prints of Aruba], undated |
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