“By These Good Images”, 1988

The Harold F. Barrett Papers include materials pertaining to his labor organizing efforts, his newspaper editorials, music he composed as well as his drawings and poetry.

Series 1 is a collection of correspondence, reports, essays, articles, and personal papers connected with Barrett's life in the labor union. The first part of the series is a short manuscript focusing on Barrett's work during a critical period of growth of unionism in the public sector of the United States. The volume specifically points to his experiences as a labor journalist, educator, organizer, and advocate. The manuscript is titled, "Working in the Vineyard...for a Taste of Bitter Wine." There are three sections to the manuscript with dates spanning from 1953-1962. The last section of the manuscript contains a collection of Federal Machinist News, of which Barrett was the creator and working editor from 1957-1960. Barrett is missing Vol. 1, Nos. 1, 4; Nos. 3, 10, and 11. It ran from May 1958 to May 1960.

The rest of the series contains articles and correspondence, a paper submitted in competition for the Thomas A. DeSciscolo Federal Labor Relations Writing Competition in 1978, and a paper written for a seminar on Full Employment while teaching at Sinclair Community College in 1979. The span dates for the entire series run from 1953 to 1988. It is arranged so that the short manuscript has its own folders while the remainder of the series is arranged chronologically.

Series 2 is a Scrapbook of editorials and newspaper clippings arranged in chronological order. Series 2 consists of copies of editorials Barrett has written and published beginning in 1982 until 1990. Topics range from armed intervention in El Salvador to anti-union bias.

Series 3 is titled The Illuminator and is arranged in chronological order. Series 3 is a collection of journals called The Illuminator, which is a newsletter for members and friends of the First Unitarian Church of Dayton. There is a complete set with a time span from September 1982 to June 1987.

Music is the name of Series 4 and it is a collection of music books and song books that Barrett has either written of compiled, and then published. It is arranged in chronological order from 1938 to 1990. A songbook called "All Together, Now!" 8 pieces for liberal religious expression, is only one of 8 books in this series. Others include songs for family occasions, holidays, and concerts.

Hal Barrett's Pastel Drawings, Series 5, is a unique collection in an art sketch book. Barrett called this sketchbook his "travelin' companion-for pastel work." Also in the sketchbook are some loose sketches, one of which is very interesting of his son, Paul Barrett. The sketchbook itself is dated 1977, but other drawings are dated up to 1984.

Series 6 consists of miscellaneous materials and other works. These include Barrett's published booklets of short stories he wrote for his grandchildren; a manual, Principles of Church Newsletter Planning, Design, Writing and Production; and a handbook for political action, Networking: Antidote for Isolation. Also in the series is a booklet of poetry with charcoal sketches of Field Work for Union called "The Wanderer." "The Wanderer" is a "reflection of the secret heart on the moody-mundane-magnificence of the workday world of a traveling union representative in love with life." There is a collection of comment pages to The Illuminator from 1982-1987, his own biographical sketch, sermons, and poetry. This series is arranges in chronological order. The span dates of this series run from 1938 to 1990.