The Leona (Woeszner) Neu Collection consists mostly of books – specifically hymnals and theology. Leona Neu acquired many of these books from the Zion Lutheran Church in Ashley and also from many other people in the McIntosh County area. A large number of the books in this collection either have a stamp from the church they were obtained from or a signature of a past owner – some even have short notes or printed and handwritten songs. This makes these books very significant to researchers and family historians as many of the signatures are from individuals who have since passed away. If a book contains a handwritten, embossed, or stamped signature or note it is put in brackets and quotations marks; for example: [“Mrs. J. F. Schneider”].

In the first folder there is a copy of the finding aid as well as detailed book descriptions that were prepared by Homer Rudolf. These descriptions include detailed content notes and some condition notes. The descriptions are separated by box.

The Personal and Biographical Materials Series contains materials handwritten in German, such as songs and letters. It also contains some correspondence and a few ephemeral items. The second folder in the series contains scans of biographical materials and photographs; digital copies can be found on the compact disc within the folder.

The Subject Series is comprised of miscellaneous items that did not directly relate to any other series. The series contains a program from the “Golden Anniversary of Enoch and Sophie Nitschke” which dates to 1983. Also in the series is an unidentified photograph of a woman, circa 1918. The photograph studio was E.A. Bjurn of Ashley, North Dakota.

The Object Series has two coffin plates, one says, “Our Darling,” while the other says, “At Rest.”

The Hymnal Series contains mostly Lutheran hymnals and nearly all are in German.

The Theology Series contains Bibles, catechisms, devotionals, prayer books; mostly in German.