LPA Archive

We are stepping into an exciting new phase! Thanks to the support of a generous grant from the Ford Foundation, LPA now has the means to create a digital space where LPA members and the general public can explore the history of LPA. This digital museum will include a robust database of the LPA Archive’s material. Digitization of the physical archive is already underway.

What You’ll Find in the Digital Museum

In late 2020, the LPA Archive began filming a collection of oral histories from our membership at national and regional meetings. We plan to complete 72 video histories in total. In addition to the database, the LPA Archive’s Oral Histories Project will be a major feature of the digital museum. See a few of the many oral histories we have already collected, below.

   

 

Why Do We Need a Digital Museum?

For two decades, our Historian Advisory Committee, led by LPA Historian Jim Kay, has carefully collected the physical history of LPA and its members in a in a records storage warehouse in Poway, CA. This analog collection has grown to an inventory of 220 boxes of historically relevant information that includes the Lee Kitchens papers, as well as various Scrapbooks, photographs, slides, home movies and other audio and video recordings.

LPA’s Historian estimates that only about 25 percent of our archive has been seen by our membership. With our new digital museum, we hope to reach many more of our members, so everyone can share in the collective pride we feel for our LPA community.

What is the LPA Archive?

The LPA Archive is the depository for items and materials that document the history of Little People of America. These materials include paper documents, films, audio recordings, photos, newsletters, etc. The collection effort began in 2004 with the donation of the personal papers of Lee Kitchens, President of LPA from 1964 – 1968, and an active and contributing member until his death in 2003.

A substantial portion of the materials in the LPA Archive are official documents such as administrative files, Chapter and District records, Board meeting minutes, back issues of newsletters, photos of conferences and meetings, etc. In addition to the official records, several individuals have donated photos, documents, scrapbooks, and other items that relate to the history of LPA or were significant to these individuals when they were a member of LPA.

Meet the Team

The LPA Archive is advised and supported by the Historian Advisory Committee whose members include:

  • Jim Kay -  Jim lives in National City, California, and has served as LPA Historian since 2004. A member of LPA since 1970, he has also served as Chapter Vice President and Treasurer in his local chapter.
  • Jessica Savage Cronin - Jessica is the project manager for our Virtual Archive Museum Project. A veteran of digital communications, she is new to our community, having joined LPA with the birth of her son in 2022.
  • Angie Giuffre - Angie served as staff to the Historian Committee for several years. Has a strong interest in LPA History and looks forward to supporting the work of the committee. 
  • Ryan Green - Ryan lives in Los Angeles and works in advertising. His main passion is documentary filmmaking. He was the producer, director, and force behind the film,  Hollywood Shorties, which can be viewed on Netflix.
  • Nic Novicki - Nick lives in Los Angeles and is an actor, comedian, and producer. He is the founder and director of the Easter Seals Disability Film Challenge.
  • Julie Wyman - Julie lives in Oakland, California, and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema and Digital Media at the University of California, Davis. Her Untitled Dwarfism Project was selected for the Sundance Producer’s Lab, in Utah. 

Donations of items are always welcome. The LPA Archive will accept paper, film, recordings, etc. in analog and digital format. Contact Jim Kay, LPA Historian, for information.

Learn more about the next phase of the LPA Archive: