a dozen linear feet of notebooks, correspondence, and other materials." Noting Latvala's shift from dedicated fan to actual archivist, Nicholas Meriwether highlighted the three major themes reflected by Dick Latvala's story and his collection: the "porous the boundary between band and fan in the Grateful Dead phenomenon... how participation in the Dead phenomenon instilled a sense of historicity in fans... Most of all, the collection Latvala built demonstrates that it is impossible to tell the story of the Dead without discussing their fans. Deadheads are not only an inextricable part of the phenomenon, they are a vital part of the Archive. That connection goes to the heart of what Latvala’s collection also says about the phenomenon, for Latvala made the transition from amateur to professional, from fan to insider, eventually earning a living from his passion for the band." In an obituary published by the Chicago Tribune, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart said his strongest memory of Latvala was the image of him blaring Grateful Dead music at high volumes: "The neighbors would complain, the cops might call, he wouldn't care... In those moments, he was communing with God." References Grateful Dead 1943 births 1999 deaths American people of Finnish descent 20th-century American musicians