This collection contains Alvin M. Ferst's papers pertaining to his activities with Georgia Tech, particularly his involvement in the Georgia Tech Foundation as well as the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Less well documented are his various civic activities in Atlanta. Ferst's personal life and his professional career at Rich's department store are not covered in the collection.
The "Gold Star" records and related projects began as initiatives of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association as a way to memorialize Tech alumni and students who had given their lives or had been taken as prisoners of war or had been declared missing in action during service in the United States Armed Forces from World War I to the Vietnam War. Primary focus is on World War II and the Vietnam War.