 Sanford Head Papers
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteSandford "Sandy" B. Head (1919-1999) was born in Stockbridge, Massachussetts. He attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where Stephen Sondheim was one of his classmates. Sandy Head served in the China-Burma-Indian theater during World War II as a 1st Lt. in I Company, 3rd Battalion 5307th/475th Infantry, U.S. Army. He was in charge of an African American unit in Burma whose job was to set up portable showers in advance of the combat soldiers' arrival. The equipment was hauled in on mules. He was one of the replacement units that joined the Composite Unit 5307th Provisional (Merrill's Mauraders), for the Battle for the town of Myitkyina, Burma at the end of May, 1944, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. Sandy Head was a Georgia sales representative for Wilen Professional Cleaning products, a janitorial/cleaning wholesaler. He purchased the property at 3047 Head Acres, Atlanta Highway (where the Target shopping center is currently), moving into an old cabin that was on the property and eventually expanding and renovating it to serve as his home, where he lived until his death in July 1999. He was an early advocate of opera in Athens, supported community theatre groups through volunteer work, and was an active participant and coordinator for the Georgia Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. Scope and ContentThe collection consists of photographs and photo albums that range in dates from 1959 through 1998. Also included are guest books from Head Acres and World War II correspondence. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationSanford Head papers, ms3008, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. General NotesRelated collections held by the Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection: Sandford Head home movies. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject Terms | ||||||||||||||||||||