Inventory of the Herman and Hazel Fetzer Papers, 1918-1973

Biography of Herman Fetzer

Herman Fetzer was born on a farm in Copley Township (now a part of the City of Akron) on June 24, 1899. Fetzer attended Maple Valley School and South and West high schools. In 1916, he joined the staff of the Akron Times as the Kenmore and Cuyahoga Falls reporter. The following year, he was a student at the University of Akron for a brief time. Fetzer began writing his column Pippins and Cheese in 1920 under the pen-name Jake Falstaff. He was also visiting editor with the St. Petersburg Times during this year. Between 1920 and 1925, Fetzer returned to Akron and started Keeping Up with The Times and At Large in Akron. He also wrote editorials and an editorial page feature, News From Utopia, and contributed to Franklin Pierce Adams' (better known by his initials, F.P.A.) Conning Tower column in the New York World as well as writing occasional pieces for magazines. In the spring of 1925, Fetzer was listed as assistant editor of the Akron Times when it was sold to the Scripps-Howard league and merged with the Akron Press. He continued Pippins and Cheese and also wrote At Large in Akron as Afternoons Around Akron for the Akron Beacon Journal. He also wrote an outline of the city's history serialized in the paper and later published with supplementary segments as a book, A Centennial History of Akron. In 1925, Fetzer wrote The Songs and Ballads of Reini Kugel, which was designed and printed on the Mumaugh Press in Akron by Paul Mumaugh. In 1927, Fetzer wrote a weekly book review column and gave up Pippins and Cheese for A Voice from the Gallery, a column discussing current events. Fetzer dropped this column in 1928 in favor of rewrites, feature stories, and interviews on a half day basis, while writing Afternoons Around Akron and his editorials. He also wrote The Book of Rabelais, a fictional biography of Francois Rabelais (1494-1553), a famous French Renaissance writer, humanist, doctor, scholar, and monk. Fetzer brought Pippins and Cheese back from November 1928 to April 1929. After this, he departed from the Akron Beacon Journal. For a few weeks, Falstaff was with the Akron-Times Press as a rewrite man, but he soon left to substitute for F.P.A. on the New York World. Later this same year, Falstaff tried his hand at free-lancing and published Reini Kugel: Lover of this Earth. During 1930, Falstaff joined the Cleveland Press and revived Pippins and Cheese one last time. He also went to fill in for F.P.A. in New York for a second time. He stayed with the Cleveland Press doubling as columnist and rewrite man until his death in Cleveland, Ohio on January 17, 1935. After Fetzer's death, his wife, Hazel "Toni" Fetzer, and a New York agent, Sally Harrison, edited his poetry and prose and published many more of his works posthumously including The Bulls of Spring, Jacoby's Corners, and others

Scope and Content

This collection contains letters, manuscripts, columns, clippings and photographs relating to the life of Herman Fetzer. Among these items are manuscripts and correspondence of his wife, Hazel "Toni" Fetzer and her literary agent, Sally Harrison. The collection is divided into 12 series. Of these, series I-V contain materials directly related to Herman Fetzer. Series I, Herman Fetzer Correspondence, contains letters to and from the author. Among the correspondents are Franklin Booth, Bruce Bliven, editor of The New Republic, Rupert Hughes, Franklin P. Adams, Ring Lardner and Ogden Nash. Of particular interest to researchers are folders 11-15 which contain Fetzer's letters to Dorothy Powell, a long-time friend and confidant. In these letters, he expressed his opinions on art, writing and life in general. Also of interest are letters from other authors especially those of Ring Lardner. In one letter, Lardner discusses a particular article he had written for The New Yorker on smut in popular songs. Series II contains manuscripts of Fetzer's work. These are grouped by published typescript, unpublished typescript, short stories, poems, and other prose. Series III contains reviews of various works of Fetzers as well as articles about Fetzer. Series IV contains Newspaper Columns written by Fetzer, most popular of which is Pippins and Cheese. Series V contains obituaries and tributes to Fetzer, including letters, articles, and poetry. Series VI and VII contain materials related to Herman Fetzer's Wife, Hazel "Toni" Fetzer. Series VI consists of Hazel's manuscripts, including The Story of Jake Series VII contains her correspondence, a large portion of which is with Dorothy Powell, a friend to both Herman and Hazel. Series VIII contains various subject files such as notebooks and scrapbooks. Series IX contains New York literary agent, Sally Harrison's, files. Series X is made up of audiovisual material including photographs and tapes. Series XI contains Fetzer's first serial, The Akron-Times Press, 1930 and a poster concerning the first serial. Series XII consists of oversize materials including diaries, scrapbooks, magazines, and other works.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

No access restrictions. David C. Meyers, Robert K. Meyers, Theodore F. Meyers, and Judith A. Rogers retain such literary property rights as they may possess in the Materials.

John S. Knight Papers Donald R. Mellett Collection

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Herman and Hazel Fetzer Papers, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Processing Information

Arranged by Archival Services staff. Finding aid prepared by Suzanne S. Mann, 1982. Updated by Sarah Highman, 2013

Detailed Description of The Collection