The collection contains the manuscript, "Drill Cores: Folklore of Michigan's Upper Peninsula from the collection of Walter F. Gries," which pertains to the development of the mining regions around the Keweenaw Peninsula and portrays the richness of the ethnic cultures which contributed to this development. The bulk of the manuscript contains stories and poems, primarily Cornish, but also includes Finnish, Italian, German, French Canadian, and Scandinavian folklore. This material was collected by Walter F. Gries (1892-1959), a native of Ishpeming, whose grandfather immigrated from Germany to the Upper Peninsula. His premature death in 1959 prevented the publication of this material and the task was taken up by his wife's brother-in-law, Donald D. Kinsey.

Donald D. Kinsey, a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan, became enamored of the Upper Peninsula when he visited Gries' home in 1929.

Description in Printed Sources: Powers, Thomas E. and McNitt, William H. "Michigan Historical Collections" (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan, 1976), p. 122.