The collection consists of a memoir written in 1982, a topic heading list for the memoir, two undated papers, and an undated photograph of one of the units that provided variable voltage power (AC and DC) for Clemson's Physics Department. The memoirs concentrate on the machines and apparatus he created and the scientific problems he solved as a boy and during his career at Clemson and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory. Biographical details include his studies at Wofford College, meeting his wife, and his retirement. The memoir also has a 1982 color photograph of Reed and his wife Margery, a copy of an undated clipping from The Tiger on the Foucault pendulum he created for the Physics Department, a drawing of a circular wave generator, and calculations on the number of molecules in a drop of water. One of the papers, entitled "Two Important Pieces of Equipment," describes the accelerated motion machine for laboratory use, and the "shoot the can" set for lecture demonstration, both of which were omitted from his memoirs. The second paper, "Some Notes On The Early Development of The Clemson Physics Department," gives a short history of the Department from 1925-1961.