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Special Collections and Archives
VAUGHN MONROE
researched by Music Librarian Christopher Popa
For several reasons, Martin Memorial Medical Center in Stuart, FL has a special significance in the story of Vaughn Monroe.
see http://www.mmhs.com/content/AboutUs.htm
First, that was the facility where he passed away in 1973.
Second, it's where his widow, Marian, volunteered 15,000 service hours, becoming a member of its Board of Directors from 1977 to 1986, including Board President in 1984-85 and 1985-86.
And third, in a first floor visiting room for family and friends of patients in the intensive care unit, the Center displays an exhibit case with a special grouping of Monroe artifacts. They are a large portrait of Monroe; two of his gold records (There, I've Said It Again and Riders in the Sky); the red jacket he wore as RCA's spokesman (with a color photo of him wearing it); his first trumpet; and some souvenir coins with his signature engraved on them.
The nearby Elliott Museum, operated by the Historical Society of Martin County, also has a few unusual items which were donated by Mrs. Monroe. Among them are his 1959 Mercedes roadster; an Indian headdress presented to him in 1960; and his motorcycle.
More recently, scans of a large number of scripts from Monroe's "Camel Caravan" radio show was placed online at the website TobbacoDocuments.org.
see http://tobaccodocuments.org/all/documents.php?pattern=%22vaughn+monroe%22
Other Monroe memorabilia, such as the photo of him with songwriter Hoagy Carmichael, taken at the Stork Club in New York City, is in the hands of private collectors.
