University of Mississippi Libraries

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Controlled Access Headings

Access Restriction

PURL

Collection Inventory

Box 1

Box 2

Box 3 (Oversized)

Box 5

Box 6 Press Service Clippings (2010 Donation)

Oversized Items

DVD Recordings

Access Restriction

Open for research. This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers interested in using this collection must
contact Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.

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PURL

http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM001697/

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Summary Information

Repository

University of Mississippi Libraries

Creator

University of Mississippi. Modern Political Archives.

Title

Presidential Debate Collection

ID

MUM01697

Date [inclusive]

2007-2009

Extent

10.5 Linear feet 6 boxes (Annex)

General Physical Description note

6 boxes (10.5 linear feet)

Location:

Modern Political Archives

Abstract:

Correspondence, press releases, reports, clippings, publications, posters, photograph, recordings and memorabilia associated
with the University of Mississippi hosting the presidential debate on 26 September 2008. In addition to the debate itself,
the university sponsored numerous academic courses, programs, and activities related to the debate and the election.

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Historical Note

In 2003, the University of Mississippi (UM) considered applying to host a presidential debate in 2004. However, since the
election contest would involve an incumbent president, the stringency of Secret Service requirements was too prohibitive.
Instead, university administrators pursued the possibility of hosting a debate during the 2008 election. Representatives from
the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates visited the campus to determine the feasibility of the site and encouraged the
university to make a formal application.

In November 2007, the Commission announced that the University of Mississippi would host the first presidential debate on
26 September 2008. Soon afterwards, the university administration requested faculty, staff, and students to develop academic
courses and programming related to the debate and the election. In the end, the university officially sponsored over ninety
events and nineteen courses.

In March 2008, John McCain became the clear frontrunner of the Republican Party, while Barack Obama secured enough delegates
in June to gain the Democratic nomination.

Originally, the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates selected domestic policy as the topic of the debate at UM. However,
a few weeks prior to the event, both candidates and the Commission agreed to switch the topic to foreign policy and national
security. Two days prior to the September 26th debate, McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign and return to Washington
DC to concentrate on the financial crisis and to help craft a legislative bailout for banks. However, McCain reversed his
decision on the day of the debate, arriving in Oxford to participate in the verbal contest with Obama moderated by PBS’s Jim
Lehrer. Lehrer spent the first thirty minutes of the debate on the current financial crisis and the national economy.

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Scope and Content Note

The first three boxes contain records, correspondence, publications, clippings, and ephemera associated with the September
26th presidential debate at UM. Of particular interest are the three large folders in Box 1 which hold the records of the
UM Debate Steering Committee. Other files contain more information related to the planning phase, as well as material related
to debate-related programming and classes on campus. Boxes 4 and 5 hold memorabilia and artifacts. Box 6 contains a 2010 donation
of press service clippings on the debate.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

University of Mississippi Libraries 2008

Access Restrictions

Open for research. This collection is stored at an off-site facility. Researchers interested in using this collection must
contact
Archives and Special Collections at least two business days in advance of their planned visit.

Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions
of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a
photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used
for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use”, that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

Ed Movitz and Bill Kingery, and Debra Riley-Huff transferred all copyright interest in their digital photographs (see Box
2, Folder 2.63) to the University of Mississippi.

Additions

Further additions to this collection are welcome. Please contact the Archives and Special Collections if you would like to
donate materials.

Acquisition Information

Donors include but are not limited to the following: Marie Barnard, Dr. Mary Carruth, Tony Coleman, Mitchell Diggs, Dr. Richard
Forgette, Micah Ginn, Dr. Kees Gispen, Dr. Andy Harper, Patricia Huggins, Chancellor Robert Khayat, Bill Kingery, Dr. Neil
Manson, Kelli Messer, Katherine R. Mikell, Traci L. Mitchell, Ed Movitz, Dr. Andy Mullins, Anne Percy, Joan Prewitt, Elaine
Pugh, Dean Sparky Reardon, Debra Riley-Huff, Errol Sayre, Genn S. Schove, Michael Upton, Dr. Joe Ward, Dr. Kathleen Wickham,
and Dr. Noel Wilkin.

Collection History

In the Spring of 2008, the Archives and Special Collections distributed a memorandum on the creation of a Presidential Debate
Collection to all members of the university’s Debate Steering Committee. On 23 October 2008, Special Collections sponsored
a Brown Bag program entitled “History Lives in Mississippi: Creating the Presidential Debate Collection.” Dr. Andy Mullins,
Executive Assistant to the Chancellor and chair of the Debate Steering Committee, discussed the university’s application and
planning for the debate, while Dr. Andy Harper of the Center for Documentary Projects described his interactions with the
media and played footage from a future documentary on the debate. General publicity invited audience members to bring any
debate-related material they wished to donate to the collection. Members of the Steering Committee, contacts for debate-related
events, and faculty who taught debate-related courses received a letter personally inviting them to attend and contribute.

Processing Information

Collection processed and finding aid created by Leigh McWhite, February 2009. Updated on April 2010, November 2010, and October
2013. Finding aid encoded by Jason Kovari, 27 April 2009, and revised April 2011. Finding aid revised by Susan Ivey November
2013.

In 2010-2011, a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services enabled the archive to preserve and digitize all the
recordings in the Presidential Debate Collection. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed as part of
this project do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

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Related Materials

Resources at the University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi maintained an official debate website. (
https://www.olemiss.edu/debate/)

Separated Material

Curators decided not to retain most of the items in the two media gift bags distributed by the university. However, Folder
1.5 includes a typed inventory of the contents as well as photographic documentation. Those objects remaining in the collection
reside in Box 4 and are noted in the content list as a “Media Gift Bag item.”

Oversized items noted at the end of the finding aid are stored separately in Library Annex Map Case, Drawer 3. Box 5 is stored
separately with poster tubes.

The original print photographs in Box 2, Folder 2.62 are stored separately in Collection Photographs Box 46, Folder 10. Contact
sheets of born-digital photographs are in Box 2, Folder 2.63, but their digital files are stored separately on a Special Collections
hard drive.

DVD recordings of debate events listed at the end of the finding aid have been catalogued for Special Collections. DVD recordings
of debate events listed at the end of the finding aid have been catalogued for Special Collections. They are also available
as part of the Presidential Debate Digital Collection at
https://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/cdm/search/collection/debate.

An original, signed political cartoon by Marshall Ramsey of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger “And the Winner Is…” on the UM presidential
debate is on permanent exhibit in the Modern Political Archives space in the Library Annex.

The following publication is available in the archives book stacks: A Defining Moment: The Presidential Debate [University,
MS: University Communications, 2009]. 2007-2008 Chancellor’s Annual Report. Call Number:
JF2112 D43 D44 2009.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• University of Mississippi

Format(s)

• clippings (information artifacts)
• correspondence
• posters
• press releases
• publications
• streaming video
• video recordings

Subject(s)

• Campaign debates — United States
• Presidents — United States — Election — 2008
• Television in politics — United States

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Collection Inventory

Box 1
1.1 Presidential Debate Steering Committee Records
1.2 Presidential Debate Steering Committee Records
1.3 Presidential Debate Steering Committee Records
1.4 “Application to Host a 2008 Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS.”
Binder
CD: “Application to Host a 2008 Presidential Debate: Building Schemes & Schematics”
CD: “Ford Center Maps, March 2007”
CD: “2008 Presidential Debate: Application Proposal Documents.”
1.5 Media Relations  Separated Materials note Artifacts & Memorabilia – see “Separated Material” note above.
Memorandum
Correspondence
Broadsides
Forms
ID Tags
Office of Media & Public Relations Binder
Layout
Inventory of media gift bags
Photographs of media gift bags & contents
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Box 2
2.1 File of campus and local information publications provided in the gift bag for visiting media
2.2 Debate Ticket Distribution
Email correspondence
Memorandum
2.3 Debate Traffic & Parking
Maps
Service vehicle pass for “Rock the Debate”    (3 copies)
Planning Records
2.4 Debate Planning, General
2.5 Debate Lodging
Report
Screenshots of Web Pages
Presidential Debate Housing Rentals Card
Flyer
2.6 Volunteer Training – Schedule
2.7 Debate Dining – Aramark binder
2.8 Campus Listserv E-mails
2.9 Debate-Related Academic Activities – Preliminary Calendars
2.10 Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi,  , Academic Activities   (2 copies)
2.11 Program “The 2008 Presidential Campaign and Health Care” () sponsored by the School of Pharmacy, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and the American Heart Association – Invitation 28 August 2008
2.12 Program “Capitol Steps” sponsored by the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts – 2008-09 Season program 29 August 2008
2.13 Program “Naturalization Proceedings” 2 September 2008   (2 copies)
Program
Information sheet
2.14 “National Health Care Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention” () sponsored by the School of Applied Sciences, American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association, and Center for Mississippi Health Policy – Program 8 September 2008   (2 copies) Separated Materials note Artifacts & Memorabilia – Candies with program title and debate logo on wrappers ; Pen with program title
Program
Invitations
Correspondence
2.15 “We Could Be Making History: Kennedy-Nixon Debates Revisited” () sponsored by the History Department – Program 11 September 2008   (2 copies)
Broadside
Ole Miss Community Calendar announcement
Biographical information on speaker James L. Baughman
2.16 “Debate Kickoff”- Program 21 September 2008
2.17 “Debating the Stakes for Mississippi” sponsored by the Department of Political Science – Program 23 September 2008
Broadsides
Photographs
Speaker invitation
2.18 Program “Robert Wuhl – Assume the Position” sponsored by Campus Programming – Ticket 23 September 2008
2.19 Program “Hot Issues Heated Debates” sponsored by the Chinese Language Flagship, the Department of Modern Languages, and the Croft Institute of International Studies – Broadside 24 September 2008
2.20 Program “Educational Policy and the 44th U.S. President: National Educational Policy Forum” sponsored by the School of Education 25 September 2008
Transcript
Program   (2 copies)
Logistics records
Correspondence
Planning Committee records
Publicity flyer
Proposal records
Invitations
2.21 Program “Rock the Debate” 26 September 2008
Planning Records
Correspondence
2.22 Program Nutt Auditorium Screening of Debate – Invitation 26 September 2008
2.23 Program “A Women’s Agenda: Having Our Say in 2008 and Beyond” () sponsored by the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, Academic Debate-related Events Committee, Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College – Invitation 14 October 2008
2.24 “It Takes a Book to Know a Candidate: An Online Book Club” sponsored by the University of Mississippi chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists – Broadside
2.25 Dean of Students Office
Correspondence
Business Cards
2.26 Political Science Department
Records on Alumni Reception () 23 September 2008
Correspondence
2.27 Sarah Isom Center for Women – Printed E-mail Listserv Announcements
2.28 Student Media Center
DVD-R Recording of Debate Coverage
Copy of typed letter from James Meredith to Tyler Clemons, editor of the Daily Mississippian
2.29 University Libraries
Archives Press Packet
Library Debate Flyer
A Keepsake of Presidential Portraits
Keywords Spring 2008 – Fall 2008
Correspondence
Publicity & Clippings
2.30 Course. Political Science 100 “The 2008 Election,” Fall 2008
2.31 Course. Political Science 303 “The American Presidency” taught by Dr. Richard Forgette, Fall 2008
2.32 Course. Political Science 367, Section 2 “Closing the Gap: A Policy Analysis of Education in the Mid-South” taught by Dr. Richard Forgette, Fall 2008
2.33 Office of Information Technology
Binder. “Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008: Office of Information Technology Final Report, October 2008.”
CD-R “Presidential Debate IT – Final Report.” October 2008
TechNews Note: “IT Plays Role in Success of Debate ’08.”
2.34 University of Mississippi, re: debate
2.35 Official Media Press Kit, Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, 26 September 2008
2.36
2.37  The 2008 Presidential Debates. Commission on Presidential Debates, 2008 2008
2.38 Debate Program
2.39 University of Mississippi Presidential Debate Final Report. (Cirlot Agency) 12 December 2008
2.40 Invitation addressed to Chancellor Robert Khayat to the Inauguration of Barack Obama
2.41 University Press Releases on Debate 2 April 2007 – 16 October 2008
2.42 Debate Website
Correspondence
Planning document
2.43 Ole Miss Alumni Review Summer 2008
2.44 The Southern Register Fall 2008
2.45 Fine Tuning (Mississippi Public Broadcasting) September 2008
2.46 Chronicle of Higher Education articles
2.47 Square Books Speed Reader 11 August 2008
2.48 Presidential Debate University of Mississippi window decals
2.49 Presidential Debate University of Mississippi notepads and folder
2.50 Presidential Debate University of Mississippi postcard (postmarked on at University, MS) 26 September 2008   (2 copies)
2.51 Khayat’s engraved thank you card for debate participation
2.52 Clippings, June 2007
2.53 Clippings, November 2007
2.54 Clippings, April 2008
2.55 Clippings, May 2008
2.56 Clippings, June 2008
2.57 Clippings, July 2008
2.58 Clippings, August 2008
2.59 Clippings, September 2008
2.60 Clippings, October 2008
2.61 Clippings, Undated
2.62 Print Photographs  Conditions Governing Access note Photocopies only, originals are stored in Collection Photographs Box 46, Folder 10; researchers must provide two days advance notice to view the originals
2.63 Digital Photographs
Photographs taken by Ed Movitz in Oxford and on the University of Mississippi campus. 25-26 September 2008   (340 Photographs)
Photographs taken by Bill Kingeny of “Rock the Debate” in the University of Mississippi grove. 26 September 2008   (90 Photographs)
Photographs taken by Debra Riley-Huff on campus the day of the debate. 26 September 2008   (17 Photographs)
Box 4
“Ole Miss Presidential Debate” flash drives (Media Gift Bag item)   (3)
Candy wrappers “National Healthcare Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention, School of Applied Sciences”   (3)
Presidential Debate nametag for “Michael Upton”
Backstage Pass to the Debate for “Andy Mullins”
Backstage Pass to Tom Brocaw Event for “Andy Mullins”
Button “The True Candidate for Change, U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish”
Label with UM debate logo “IT Support Center”
Lariat with UM logo (Media Gift Bag)
Pen with UM debate logo (Media Gift Bag)
“Ole Miss” keychain (Media Gift Bag)
Hooded Poncho rainwear with Ole Miss logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Box for Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory Traditional Cheddar Cheese Straws with UM logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Pen “Moving from Treatment to Prevention, School of Applied Sciences, ” 8 September 2008
Travel coffee mug with Ole Miss logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Leeds bag with university presidential debate logo (Media Gift Bag item)
Ole Miss baseball cap (Media Gift Bag item)
Silver frame with UM debate logo   (2)
T-shirt “Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi” 26 September 2008
Knit shirt with UM debate logo
Hotflops flip-flop sandals with Barack Obama heads
Hotflops flip-flop sandals with John McCain heads
Baseball cap “Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008.”
Coca-Cola bottle with “Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008” label.
T-shirt “Ole Miss Obama ‘08”
Campaign button. “Obama Biden 08 Change We Can Believe In”
Campaign button. “Ole Miss”
Knit shirt. “Ole Miss” (Nike), re: from Presidential Debate.
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Box 3 (Oversized)
Street post banner “Ole Miss Presidential Debate” (8’x2″)   (8’ x 2’)
Street post banner “The Debate Starts Here, ” (8’x2″) September 26, 2008   (8’ x 2’)
3.1 Magazines
Folder 1
Invitation Oxford (September 2008) ;  Mzine Vol. 2, No. 2 (13 October 2008 ), re: issue devoted to the debate and election (2 copies) ;  The View from Ventress: News from the College of Liberal Arts (Spring 2009), re: cover article “College takes leading role in Debate ’08” and “A Full Slate for the Debate,” (pp. 8-9)
3.2 Newspapers
Folder 2
Daily Mississippian issues: 11 September 2008 ; 16 September 2008 ; 17 September 2008 ; 18 September 2008 ; 19 September 2008 ; 22 September 2008 ; 23 September 2008 ; 24 September 2008 ; 25 September 2008 ; 26 September 2008 ; 27 September 2008 ; 28 September 2008 ; 29 September 2008
Folder 3
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (21 September 2008): Special Presidential Debate Supplement ; 26 September 2008 ; 27 September 2008.
Oxford Eagle (29 September 2008), re: Special Commemorative Edition.
Oxford Town (18-24 September 2008) & (25 September – 1 October 2008).
Commercial Appeal issues: 24 September 2008 ; 25 September 2008 ; 26 September 2008 ; 27 September 2008.
The Guardian (25 September 2008): 20.
Folder 4
Clarion-Ledger issues: 15 June 2008 ; 21 September 2008: Section J ; 25 September 2008 ; 26 September 2008 ; 27 September 2008 ; 05 October 2008
Posters
Folder 5
“Anticipating the Debate: A Week of Special Programs” (Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics).
“Hail to the Chief!: An Exhibit on Presidents & Mississippi in Presidential Elections” (Archives & Special Collections).
Poster “Play Nice,” re: University of Mississippi creed with image of Barak Obama and John McCain shaking hands at the 2008 Presidential Debate.
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Box 5  General note Stored separately with poster tubes
Fathead wall poster of Barack Obama
Fathead wall poster of John McCain
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Box 6 Press Service Clippings (2010 Donation)
6.1 Clippings June 2008
6.2 Clippings July 2008
6.3 Clippings August 2008
6.4 Clippings September 2008 (1 of 7)
6.5 Clippings September 2008 (2 of 7)
6.6 Clippings September 2008 (3 of 7)
6.7 Clippings September 2008 (4 of 7)
6.8 Clippings September 2008 (5 of 7)
6.9 Clippings September 2008 (6 of 7)
6.10 Clippings September 2008 (7 of 7)
6.11 Clippings October 2008
6.12 Clippings November 2008
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Oversized Items  General note (stored separately in Library Annex Map Case, Drawer 3, Folder: Presidential Debate Collection)
Sign with UM debate logo “Republican Party Guests”
Sign with UM debate logo “Democratic Party Guests”
Sign “Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, ” September 26, 2008
Map “Media Filing Center Layout & Details, Revision 6 8-5-08”
Map “University of Mississippi — Oxford, Revision 9 7-1-08”
Map “Standup Platform “A” – Plan View…Platform Outside Debate Hall”
Poster “Presidential Debate, The University of Mississippi, September 26, 2008” (#17 of 250 signed in pencil by artist Pam Locke).
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DVD Recordings  General note All recordings are cataloged and available in Special Collections. They are also available as part of the Presidential Debate Digital Collection at https://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/cdm/search/collection/debate.
Michael Graves. The Debate Starts Here: The Presidential Debate Comes to Ole Miss.. University, MS: Media & Documentary Projects, 2009. JF2112 D43 D434 2008
2008 Presidential Debate Highlights Video. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 D433 2008
Brown Bag Lecture: Building a Nuclear Weapons-Free World, Bobbie Wrenn Banks, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JZ5675 .B365 2008
History Lives in Mississippi: Creating the Presidential Debate Collection, Dr. Andy Mullins and Dr. Andy Harper, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 H578 2008
2008 Presidential Election: “Teens and Politics, ” . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HQ784.P5 R654 2008
“We Could Be Making History”: The Kennedy-Nixon Debates Revisited, Dr. James Baughman, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 B384 2008
2008 Presidential Campaign and Health Care, Dr. Daniel W. Jones,. University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. RA395.A3 J653 2008
Politics around the World: Moderator Michael Johansson, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF1001 .P655 2008
Women in Politics: The Archival Record in Special Collections, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HQ1438.M7 W664 2008
Student Debate: College Republicans vs. College Democrats, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. PN4189.M6 S783 2008
Homeland Security 2015, Moderator Carl Jensen, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HV6432.4 H664 2008
A Consumer’s Guide to the Presidential Debate, Dr. Michael Nelson, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. JF2112.D43 N457 2008
State of Disaster Recovery Efforts: John M. Barry, Reilly Morse, Tracie L. Washington, Moderator Deborah Bell, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HV636 2005 .S738 2008
“Can America Compete for 21st Century Jobs?”: Norman R. Augustine, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. HF1414 .A948 2008
National Health Care Reform: Moving from Treatment to Prevention: Steven N. Blair, Evelyn Crayton, John Clymer, Moderator: Therese Hanna, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. RA395.A3 N375 2008
National Educational Policy Forum, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. LC89 .E273 2008
U.S. Science Policy: What Should Be on the President’s Agenda: Christopher Mooney, Johnathan Moreno, Ronald Bailey, Moderator: Neil Manson, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. Q127.U6 U558 2008
Tell Every President to Listen to the Blues: Presidents, Politics and the Blues, . University of Mississippi Center for Documentary Projects, 2008. ML3521 .T455 2008
Decision 08: Focus on Mississippi, International Journalists Discuss U.S. Politics and Elections,  , University of Mississippi. Mississippi Public Broadcasting, 2008. PN4888.F69 D435 2008
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