Articles from February 2018

Right Under Baylor’s NoZe

Baylor University, NoZe Brotherhood, student life
Posted on

by Joseph Griffith, Graduate Assistant

Circa 1941, the NoZe Brothers strike a pose. Notice the portrait of Brother Long Nose Shoaf, the first President of the club (center). General Photos collection, box 75.01, folder 1.

Hello! Or in the language of the NoZe Brotherhood: “Mini-Mini-Techni, Ufarsus; Keko-de-Muckity-Muck, Satchel!”

What did I just read, you’re asking? Welcome to the bizarre world of the NoZe Brotherhood, the secret and satirical society on the campus of Baylor University.

Named after its first president, Leonard Shoaf, whose nose was apparently so huge you could form a club around it, the NoZe Brotherhood was founded in the mid-1920s as a satire on men’s social organizations.

They’ve had a long and checkered history at Baylor University, to say the least. At best, university administration has tolerated their jokes. The oldest social club at Baylor University, the NoZe Brotherhood is not–I repeat, not–an official student organization.

Continue Reading

Jules Bledsoe: Waco’s Famous Baritone

archival research, Jules Bledsoe, New Hope Baptist Church
Posted on

by Amanda Neel, Graduate Assistant

Jules leads the program at New York City’s Town Hall on 28 July 1940. You’ll find this item in the Jules Bledsoe Papers #2086, box 4, folder 2, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

The shelves here at the Texas Collection hold many collections about the lives and experiences of African American Texans. One of these collections, the Jules Bledsoe Papers, concerns the life and musical career of Jules Bledsoe. Julian (Jules) Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe was born in Waco, Texas on December 18, 1898 and went on to travel the world for his career as a baritone singer. His papers include his library of sheet music, recordings of performances, personal correspondence, programs, and much more.

Jules served in the military during World War I and moved to New York City after the end of the war. While in New York, he received an Honorable Discharge. However, his stint in New York only lasted a short while. Jules signed a performance contract with the Young Men’s Christian Association, Colored Branch in Penniman, Virginia. While in Virginia, Jules sat for photographs in dress uniform for, in his own words, “40 years from now I might want to point back to when I was a soldier in the World War and you know nothing is better evidence than a picture.” Though he lived and performed in Virginia, he set his sights on returning to New York City.

Jules returned to New York by 1920 and saw his career take off by 1925. He performed in places like the Manhattan Opera House and critics hailed him as one of the greatest baritones of the day. His letters home mention his work with great New York composers. He even performed his own compositions during recitals, including his most well-known piece, “Old Man River.” Though based in New York City and traveling the world, Jules never forgot about home. He returned to Waco many times throughout his career and performed multiple times at the New Hope Baptist Church.Continue Reading

Looking Back at Baylor: ‘In Beautiful Groves…on the Edge of a Vast Prairie’

Baylor at Independence, Baylor University, First Baptist Waco, Waco, William Carey Crane
Posted on

This piece by former Texas Collection director Kent Keeth originally was published in The Baylor Line in November 1981, then was reprinted in Looking Back at Baylor (1985), a collection of Keeth and Harry Marsh’s historical columns for the Line. Blogging about Texas periodically features selections from Looking Back at Baylor, with hopes of sharing Keeth’s work with a new audience.

The beginning of this month marked the 173rd year since Baylor was chartered in Independence, Texas. This spring, it will be 132 years since Baylor moved to Waco, Texas. Which leads us to ask, what prompted the move? Read on to find out. 

In 1885 Baylor at Independence reached a turning point in its history. For the past quarter-century the forty-year-old school, whose heyday had occurred in the decade of the 1850’s, had suffered from a variety of social, political and economic problems in Southwest Texas which were beyond its control. The death in February, 1885, of President William Carey Crane, whose efforts alone had kept the struggle school alive, signaled the need of desperate measures if Baylor went to survive.

Drawing of the male campus of Baylor University, 1870s

Continue Reading

Texas over Time: Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute, Waco, TX

Texas over Time, Waco
Posted on

Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph and postcard collections. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” series of Meta Slider’s that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, street scenes, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.

Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute, Waco, TX

*Dr Pepper, America’s oldest major soft drink brand, had its origins in Waco, Texas.

*The Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute is housed in what was originally the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company. It would later become the first facility to produce the soft drink.

*This structure, located on the corner of 5th and Mary Street, Waco, Texas, was built in 1906 and designed by architect Milton Scott. Its brick walls measure 18 inches in thickness and are supported by a solid timber foundation.


1951 and 2018 Photos by Fred Marlar and GH, The Texas Collection, Baylor University

*Throughout the 20th century the building’s location on Mary Street allowed Dr Pepper easy access to shipping on the route of the St. Louis Southwestern “Cotton Belt” Railroad.

*On May 11, 1953, the structure was damaged by a large tornado that destroyed a section of the city’s central business district and caused the deaths of 114 people. The side of the building still bears the repair work done to the massive brick walls.


May 1953 and 2018 Photos by Unknown (General Slide collection) and GH, The Texas Collection, Baylor University

*The building served as the Dr Pepper Bottling Company for many years. When operations ceased at that location they moved to west Waco. In the 1980s businessmen Wilton Lanning and W.W. Clements conceived the idea to make it a museum dedicated to the soft drink, its history, and the idea of the free enterprise system. The museum opened to the public on May 11, 1991, the 38th anniversary of the tornado.

*At the time of its opening, it was viewed as a catalyst to revive that part of the downtown area. Its continued growth and success have helped Waco to become one of the state’s top tourist destinations.

Works Cited:

Ellis, Harry E., Dr Pepper-King of Beverages. Dallas, TX: Dr Pepper Co. 1986. Print.

Text and Meta Sliders by GH

Research Ready: January 2018

American West, Books, frontier and pioneer life, Frontier and pioneer life, Old West, Photographs, Research Ready, student life, West
Posted on

Each month, we post an update to notify our readers about the latest archival collections to be processed and some highlights of our print material acquisitions. These resources are primed for research and are just a sampling of the many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!

January’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist

Photo at Harry S. Truman Birthplace State Historic Site, Lamar, Missouri
Photo of Dr. Lois Marie Sutton, professor at Baylor University, at the Truman Birthplace State Historic Site. It was one of Sutton’s lifelong goals to see the birthplace of each United States president, and there are many pictures of her at these presidential sites in the collection. Lois Marie Sutton photographic collection, Accession #4035, box 1, folder 25, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

January’s print materials
By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials

Part of the Adams-Blakley collection, the volumes below recount the lives and legends of outlaw brothers Frank and Jesse James.

James, Edgar. The Notorious James Brothers: the latest and most complete story of the daring crimes of these famous desperadoes ever published : containing many sensational escapades never before made public. Baltimore: I. & M. Ottenheimer, 1913. Print.

James, Edgar. The Notorious James Brothers: the latest and most complete story of the daring crimes of these famous desperadoes ever published : containing many sensational escapades never before made public. Baltimore: I. & M. Ottenheimer, 1913. Print.

Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

 

 

 

The James Boys. A complete and accurate recital of the dare-devil criminal career of the famous bandit brothers, Frank and Jesse James and their noted band of bank plunderers, train robbers and murderers, specially compiled for the publishers. Chicago, He

The James Boys. A complete and accurate recital of the dare-devil criminal career of the famous bandit brothers, Frank and Jesse James and their noted band of bank plunderers, train robbers and murderers, specially compiled for the publishers. Chicago, Henneberry Co. [date of publication not identified]. Print.

Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

 

 

Frank James and His Brother Jesse: The Daring Border Bandits. Baltimore, MD: I. & M. Ottenheimer, 1915. Print.

Frank James and His Brother Jesse: The Daring Border Bandits. Baltimore, MD: I. & M. Ottenheimer, 1915. Print.

Click here to view in BearCat.

 

Copyright © 2024 Baylor University, The Texas Collection. All rights reserved.