Herbert Willsmore Papers, 1968-1993

Summary

Creators:

Willsmore, Herbert

Abstract:

The Herbert Willsmore papers, 1968-1993, document his residency at Cowell Hospital, his involvement with the Rolling Quads, and his work with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. The materials consist of correspondence, press releases, school papers relating to his matriculation at the University of California at Berkeley, professional writing, and newspaper clippings.

Extent:

1 box (.2 linear ft.) 41 digital objects

Language:

English

Background

Scope and content:

The Herbert Willsmore papers, 1968-1993, document his residency at Cowell Hospital, his involvement with the Rolling Quads, and his work with the California State Department of Rehabilitation. The materials consist of correspondence, press releases, school papers relating to his matriculation at the University of California at Berkeley, professional writing, and newspaper clippings. At UC Berkeley Mr. Willsmore, a disabled student, lived at Cowell Hospital, was the first president of the Rolling Quads, and went on to complete a masters in City and Regional Planning. The students living in Cowell Hospital were part of the beginning of a nationwide social movement for disability rights and independent living. The materials include the incorporation papers for the Rolling Quads; reports written for the Department of Rehabilitation; correspondence with the city of Berkeley regarding curb cuts, an area where Berkeley was in the vanguard; and press releases and a letter from Ronald Reagan regarding proposed cuts to the Attendant Care Program when he was governor of California.

The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject matter, except for Willsmore's autobiographical summary, which comes first.

Biographical / historical:

Herb Willsmore was a University of California student in the Cowell Hospital residence program and one of the first students to move from Cowell into the community. He was president of the Rolling Quads in the late sixties, participated in the establishment of the Physically Disabled Students' Program in 1970 and the Center for Independent Living (CIL) in 1972, and managed the Business Enterprise division of CIL from 1975 to 1977.

In some ways Herb Willsmore typifies the early students with disabilities at Cowell. He sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident at age nineteen in 1966 and lived at home with his parents until he learned of the Cowell program at the university. He completed two degrees there, a B.A. and an M.A. in City and Regional Planning. He left Berkeley in 1977 and has been a commercial real estate broker in Santa Rosa, California, for many years.

Acquisition information:

The Herbert Willsmore Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by Herbert Willsmore in 1999.

Location of this collection:

UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US

Contact:

510-642-6481

bancref-library@berkeley.edu

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