In a small and symbolic way, Maxine Sullivan's career has come full circle.

The diminutive vocalist whose voice has been characterized as "sweet and cool" made her first public appearance in 1918 at the Carnegie Library of Homestead before gaining international stardom.

Now, 90 years later, library officials are preparing to unveil a collection of memorabilia that not only pays homage to her but also helps to bring Sullivan's career into focus.

Some of the artifacts are available for viewing now as part of the celebration of Black History Month.

In April, officials will display the entire collection and host a concert in Sullivan's honor. Sullivan died of cancer in 1987. She was 76.

"So much of her contributions have gone unnoticed," said Tyrone Ward, director of the Carnegie Library of Homestead. "Having these archives is great. In many ways it's a reawakening of jazz as an art form in this area."

The collection is relatively small but includes a few chestnuts, including old photographs and slides and a birthday wish on White House stationery from former President Ronald Reagan.

Last month, the library received the artifacts from Ed Poteat, a New York-based real estate developer and investor who found the collection after purchasing Sullivan's home on Ritter Place in the Bronx a few years ago. Most of the material was donated to the Schomberg Museum in Harlem.

Mark Fallon, who serves on the library's board of directors, said he first learned that the artifacts were available through George Nama, an internationally known artist and sculptor who grew up in Munhall but now lives on the tip of Long Island, New York.

"George and I have become friends over the years, and last March, he called me and told me about what was found in Maxine's attic," said Fallon. "He said, 'Wouldn't that be nice to get some of that stuff for the library?' "

After a few more conversations with Nama, Fallon decided to contact Poteat.

"It took a couple of months to line things up," Fallon continued. "We were playing phone tag for a while, and then we had to figure out the best way to have it sent. But it arrived, and we are so happy to have it here."

Sullivan, whose real name was Marietta Williams, grew up in Homestead and started singing as a teen in her uncle Harry Williams' band.

In 1936, she landed a gig singing at the Benjamin Harrison Literary Society, a Downtown after-hours bistro on Liberty Avenue between Smithfield and Grant.

The club was a gathering place for local and visiting musicians. It was there she developed her pipes, singing from table to table -- there were only eight.

One night, she took the advice of a musician who urged her to head for New York. When she boarded the train, she had in her purse an excursion-rate, round-trip ticket. She never used the return half.

After a short time, she was working at the Onyx Club on 52nd Street. Within a year she was married to the club's bandleader, John Kirby, and became famous singing Claude Thornhill's arrangement of "Loch Lomond" and other hits such as "Molly Malone" and "Who Is Sylvia?"

The stardom earned her a CBS radio show, record deals and a spot singing in two movies: "St. Louis Blues," starring Lloyd Nolan and Dorothy Lamour, and "Going Places," featuring Dick Powell, Anita Louise, Louis Armstrong and a young unknown named Ronald Reagan.

"It was about a horse named Jeepers Creepers," Sullivan once said of the movie. "Well, somebody horse-napped him. So, somebody says, What should we do? And Ronald Reagan said his one line -- 'Call the cops.' "

Sullivan and Kirby had two children, Orville and Paula. The couple later divorced. Her second husband, pianist Cliff Jackson, died in 1970.

Except for an occasional performance, Sullivan retired from show business in 1957 to take care of her children.

With Paula in junior high school, Sullivan became active in education and started working as a teacher's aide. She also served as president of the Parents Association at Walter Damrosch Junior High School in the Bronx and served as a member of the New York Local School Board, Districts 17 and 18.

In 1967, she returned to music part time after a performance at Town Hall. A 1969 engagement in Denver with Bobby Hackett and the World's Greatest Jazz Band put her back in show business on a more regular basis. She performed in Nice, France; Newport, R.I.; and the Conneaut Lake Jazz Festival, sponsored by the Allegheny Jazz Society.

On March 15, 1984, she performed a concert at Walt Harper's in One Oxford Centre. Earlier that day, Mayor Richard Caliguiri proclaimed the day "Maxine Sullivan Day" and state Rep. Mike Dawida of Homestead read a citation from the state House of Representatives assuring Sullivan officially that "the state of Pennsylvania hasn't forgotten you."

The year of her death, she was to be the guest of honor at the Mellon Jazz Festival.

Back in the library, Fallon slowly begins the cataloging process. Some of the material will have to be restored because of water damage and decay.

Inside a small box is a collection of slides featuring famous jazz musicians and venues, manuscripts, reel-to-reel tapes and letters to Sullivan from former New York Mayor Ed Koch and pianist Eubie Blake.

There are also photographs, including some of her second husband and other musicians. There's even one of Claudette Colbert, the actress known for her performances in screwball comedies.

Conspicuously absent, however, is the iconic 1958 Art Kane photograph titled "A Great Day in Harlem" that depicts 57 famous jazz musicians posing for the camera. Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland and Sullivan were the only three women to appear in the photograph.

Still, there is much to delight in this small but intimate collection.

"It's modest but it's a beginning," said Nama from his home in Montauk. "It's also nice that that beginning is in Homestead, where it all began."