Each month, we post a processing update to notify our readers about the latest collections that have finding aids online and are primed for research. Here’s the scoop for March:
BU Records: Alumni Rebuilding Campaign, 1922-1923: The records of the Alumni Rebuilding Campaign consist of correspondence, financial documents, and administrative records regarding fundraising efforts to rebuild Baylor’s F. L. Carroll Chapel and Library after the building was destroyed by fire in 1922.
Hosea Garrett papers, 1856-1878: The Garrett papers contain correspondence and financial documents primarily produced by Hosea Garrett during 1856-1863. Garrett was a trustee of Baylor University at Independence and a major donor throughout the early years of Baylor.
In our previous BARD posts, we’ve been exploring how to make the most of our new database in various ways. In our last post in this series, we offer a few more ways to discover Texas Collection resources: tips on browsing larger collections, using BARD’s advanced search, and opening attachments to collections.
You can enter the BARD system by clicking the link on our home page. We have already learned how to search by keyword, but maybe you already know the title of the collection you want to see and just need to know which boxes to request. For example, you might want to look at Pat Neff’s finding aid. You could enter “Pat Neff” into the search field like we did before, or you could click on the blue “N” for “Neff” under “Browse Collections.” If the collection features a person, then it will be filed under their last name in the system.
As you can see below, clicking these letters can bring up a lot of collections! The Neff collection is in the center of the page. Once you have found the collection you want, click the title to bring up the finding aid.
The Neff collection finding aid is different from some others because it is so big. For example, on the left, there are blue + signs to the left of the series titles. In the first blog post in this series, we discovered that by clicking on the series titles, we could bring up just that part of the collection. In the Neff collection, you can click on the blue + symbols to expand your viewing options within the series. By clicking on these new options, you can go to an even more specific part of the collection.
Another way to search for collections is to use the advanced search feature. You can easily access this feature by clicking “Advanced Search” in the blue bar at the top of the page.
There are several handy things that can help in using this way to search. For titles, creators, and subjects, you can narrow the search by checking “exact match” so that the system is only searching using your exact words.
You can also enter a term to search in the title, creator, or subject box, and then press “Enter” or click “Get Hit Count” in the upper-right corner. The hit count number tells you how many times your term appears across all collections. This can be handy if you are looking for something specific; it can tell you quickly how many potential places you might need to research (or if perhaps you should refine your search terms).
Another helpful tool on Cuadra Star is the ability to view files attached to collections. Some collections may have examples of photographs found in collections, family trees, or other files attached to them. For example, the Edward C. Blomeyer Photographic Collection finding aid in BARD includes some samples of photographic materials in the collection. To get to them, search using the keyword “Blomeyer,” click on the finding aid, and expand out the blue + symbols. You can click on any of the titles next to the + links, but as an example I clicked on “Cameron Park, Rivers, and Bridges” under “Texas” and “Waco.”
Once you get here, you can peruse the thumbnail photographs as they are on the page, or you can expand them by clicking on a photo.
Usually in this view you can see information about the photograph, what we call “metadata”—information giving you context for the item, which may be helpful for your research and citation.
When you are done viewing finding aids in BARD, be sure to close down the system properly. In the main search page, in the upper right corner, click the red “Log Out” to exit from BARD. Leaving the system in this way is very important to ensure the proper functioning of the system.
This concludes our series of how to navigate in BARD. If you have any questions as you are using it, please let us know!
By Benna Vaughan, Special Collections and Manuscripts Archivist
Seeing twins everyday is somewhat unusual, but at Baylor University in March 1939, you could see twins everywhere you looked. The papers of Pat M. Neff at the Texas Collection document the event very well: the first Texas College Twin Convention, on March 24-25, 1939.
The convention, held at Baylor University, consisted of approximately 80-100 multiples and represented 20 colleges. The Keys Quads (Leota, Mary, Mona, and Roberta), who had graduated from Baylor in 1937, attended the event and participated in judging and entertainment. These four women promoted Baylor during the mid-1930s and were the most visible set of quadruplets in the country at that time. At this first convention there were not only the Keys Quads from Oklahoma, but also the nine-year-old Perricone Quads (Anthony, Bernard, Carl, and Donald) from Beaumont, three sets of triplets, and 80+ sets of twins.
The Twin Conventions were special events, and twins from numerous states competed for different awards. Categories included most identical (in-state and out-of state), best skit, and most unique experience. The Texas College Twin Association was formed at the convention, and the first officers for the organization were elected: Irene and Florene Rushing of Baylor were the first presidents; vice-presidents were Melvin and Elvin Franklin from the University of Texas at Austin; and the office of secretary went to the Crow twins, Douglas and David, from Hardin-Simmons.
The conventions were much more than just meetings—they were opportunities for recruitment and research. People wrote to Neff, telling him about their own twins or twins that they knew, wanting an invitation. Neff openly recruited twins such as Meryle and Beryle Mixon to Baylor, writing: “We have what is known to be the Twins club, an organization made up of twins now attending the institution. On March 20, we are having a twin convention to which a very large number of twins from other institutions as well as high schools have been invited.” Neff goes on to suggest that the girls should attend Baylor once they had completed high school.
In addition, Dr. Iva Cox Gardner, head of the psychology department, was doing research on multiple births at the time, and the twin conference gave her the opportunity to conduct further research. A copy of Dr. Gardner’s twin survey is in the Baylor Twin Club vertical file at the Texas Collection, along with sample letters and programs for the second and third conventions.
In efforts to gain students and support for Baylor, a promotional trip was planned for the Keys Quads and the Perricone Quads immediately after the 1939 convention. They visited the Badgetts, a set of quads who were only six months old, with the two-day affair in Galveston also including luncheons and vocal performances by the Keys. The meeting between the three sets of quads was well publicized and many came to view the “actual meeting.”
The Twin Conventions ended up being a short-lived tradition, with the last one in 1941. Baylor continued to encourage twins to attend college in Waco and awarded scholarships to twins who came to the University. One set of twins was already enrolled at Baylor before they were born! Although the Twin Conventions never regained momentum after World War II, they are remembered fondly in reminiscences, letters, and photographs housed in the Texas Collection.
Love the Lady Bears? Ever wonder about the beginnings of women’s athletics at Baylor? Well, we have a book for you!
We have many researchers visit The Texas Collection who are working on book projects, and we are always so excited when we hear one has been completed. Dr. Nancy Goodloe, emeritus professor of health education at Baylor, visited our collection several times while working on Before Brittney: A Legacy of Champions. Her recently published book explores the path from the first female varsity letter winners in 1904—and then there were no more varsity letters awarded to women until 1976—to the national prominence Baylor women’s athletics enjoys today.
Goodloe, a former Bearette, coach, and athletic trainer in the women’s programs (1965-76), places Baylor’s story in the national context of struggles for women’s intercollegiate athletics. At The Texas Collection, Goodloe drew on the Olga Fallen papers, presidential records, Lariats, Round-Ups, and our photograph files. She also interviewed various coaches, athletes, and other people who witnessed the development of women’s athletics at Baylor.
The Baylor Bookstore is hosting a book signing event on March 22 from 10-11:30 am. Books will be available for purchase at the event. If you can’t make it but would like to order the book, it is available for purchase via the publisher’s website.
Interested in hands-on exploration of women’s athletics at Baylor? Check out our blog post on the Olga Fallen papers and Flickr sets here, here, and here on women’s basketball, and there are some good tennis photos too. And then there are the athletics photos we’ve put on our Texas Collection photos page on Baylor’s digital collections site. But these online resources are just the tip of the iceberg, so come and do some research with us at The Texas Collection!
Pauline Pipkin Garrett studied music at Baylor in the 1920s, but then the family business came a-calling. Under her leadership, W.P. Pipkin Drugs became one of the Southwest’s largest independently owned drugstore chains. The story of the businesswoman who carried on her father’s work and progressive ideas contains many “firsts” for a Waco business and women in the workplace.
Begun by her father, William P. Pipkin in 1898, the store started out as W.P. Pipkin Drugs, with its first store located at 418 Elm Avenue. After graduating from Baylor University in 1923 with a BA in music, Pauline’s interests turned to the family business. She went on to the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, where she excelled. The Waco News-Tribune on December 21, 1924, reported that she made the “highest grades in her class in a competitive examination.” The article also stated that the college had 3,000 men and only 100 women enrolled at the time.
In 1926, Pauline received a BA in pharmacology, became a licensed pharmacist, and joined her father in his business. William Pipkin was the first drugstore owner in Waco to hire women. In a recollection published in the May 26, 1957, Waco Tribune-Herald, Pauline recalls a customer asking, “‘You reckon that’ll do—a girl selling cigars?’ He [W.P. Pipkin] said, ‘They’ll do better than some of these jelly beans.’ They called the boys ‘jelly beans’ in those days.”
Pauline worked in several departments, including the soda fountain and washing dishes. In doing so, she got to know more about her employees and work practices. This would help in later years when she took over management after her father’s death in 1935, and full ownership when her mother, Irene, died in 1953. After Pauline took over full operations, the Pipkin chain then grew from three to seven stores and was recognized nationally as an award-winning seller of Rexall products—Pipkin’s main product line.
By 1957, the firm had a staff that included 50 women holding duties in all departments. The Pipkin chain’s leadership and quantity of female staff was not the norm, nationally—men dominated the field of licensed pharmacists. Even in the mid-1960s, only 8% of pharmacists were women. Women who owned and operated stores were even fewer in number.
In 1961, the Pipkin Drug Store chain was also one of Waco’s first establishments to desegregate their lunch counters and serve African-Americans. Their first store to do so was the 700 Elm Street location near Paul Quinn College. The company already had a well-established number of African-Americans working in various positions throughout the company.
Life wasn’t all about work for Pauline—she did maintain her love for music. While in pharmacy school, according to the December 1924, Waco News-Tribune article, “she made several vocal and cello records for the Victor Company at Camden, N.J.” Back at home, she played the cello in various Waco orchestras. In 1930, she was given the opportunity to go to Europe and play with a symphony.
Pauline married Waco attorney, Barney Garrett, on January 15, 1936. They purchased one of Waco’s most distinctive homes—the Cottonland Castle, on 3300 Austin Avenue. She dedicated one of the rooms to music, filling it with a grand piano and several string instruments.
Pauline passed away at home in 1963. Her husband sold Pipkin Drugs to a firm in Garland, Texas, and it became a Rexall drugstore. By 1967, all but one of the former seven Pipkin stores had closed, with the last location at 3900 Bosque Boulevard.
Love the photos above? Check out our Flickr set below to view a few more photos featuring Pipkin’s, mostly from the Ava Storey and Dixie Anderson Butcher collection. (Click on the crosshairs in the bottom right corner to make it full-screen).
Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph collection. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” series of gifs that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, changing aerial views, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.
Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas construction (8th Street side), 1948-1949
The Waco Masonic Lodge, also known as The Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas, is the headquarters for the Texas Freemasons. It is located at 715 Columbus Avenue. The original headquarters were in Houston but were moved to Waco during the early 1900s.
Many noted figures in Texas and Baylor history were freemasons, including Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, R.E.B. Baylor, George W. Truett, and many of Baylor’s presidents.
The building is intended to be modeled after King Solomon’s temple.
Here’s a Flickr set of the images used to compiled this animation (plus a few more of the Masonic Grand Lodge), should you want to examine each individually. Most of the pictures are scanned from negatives in the Fred Marlar photographic collection. Enjoy!
Gif and factoids prepared by Timothy Brestowski, student library assistant