Brian M. Simmons – Page 16 – The Texas Collection

Sharing Student Scholarship Online: Finance at Baylor, 1900-1920

Posted on January 29, 2013

For the first five weeks of the spring 2013 semester, we’re putting up teasers about the fascinating Baylor history that Higher Education and Student Affairs students analyzed and shared on the class’ blog. So far we’ve explored students and student organizations and curriculum at Baylor. This week we’re exploring Finance at Baylor, from how athletics activities were financed, to fundraising tactics employed by Baylor administrators, to how students earned money to pay for their Baylor education. Did you know that…

In 1915, alumni and Baylor’s athletics association raised $9,000 for a new bath house and grandstand to support Baylor football and other athletic endeavors. (With inflation, that would be around $200,000.) The 1915 grandstand seated only 1,000–seems small to us today, compared to the efforts for the new Baylor Stadium, but that was pretty big at the time. Read about how athletics were financed in the early 1900s at Baylor.
J.B. Tidwell (for whom Tidwell Bible Building is named) didn’t come to Baylor initially as a Bible and religion instructor–he gave up the presidency of Decatur College (another Baptist institution) in 1909 to serve as Baylor’s Endowment Secretary. In 15 months on that job, he raised more than $90,000–which would be more than $2 million in today’s dollars. Learn about the tactics Tidwell and other Baylor fundraisers used to persuade donors and organizations to support Baylor.
About one-third of the Baylor student body worked on campus to help pay for their education. Jobs ranged from library assistants to grounds keeping to teaching. Not so different from today! Explore other ways that Baylor students financed their education in the early 1900s.

We hope you’ll explore these blog posts and enjoy the benefits of the HESA students’ research and scholarship. If you’re inspired to dig deeper, most of their sources can be found in the University Archives within The Texas Collection and in our digitized materials available online in the Baylor University Libraries Digital Collections.

Background on this project: Students in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) masters program have taken on the challenge of creating original scholarship that adds to what is known about Baylor’s history between 1900 and 1920. As part of Dr. Nathan Alleman’s Foundations and History of Higher Education course, students were grouped under the five class themes: curriculum, finance, students/student groups, access, and religion. In collaboration with Texas Collection archivists and librarians, students mined bulletins, newspapers, correspondence, and other primary resources as they researched their topics. Final papers have now been posted on a University-hosted EduBlog site and grouped by their particular sub-topic so that patrons, researchers, and other interested persons could benefit from these students’ work. This is the first installment of an annual accumulating project–please visit again for future installments.

Research Ready: January 2013

Posted on January 28, 2013

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. As we did in December, we have a few special entries from the Archival Collections and Museums class that worked on an archival processing project with us here at The Texas Collection. (Read more about that project from a student’s perspective.) Here’s the scoop for January:

During the Civil War George F. Simons served in the Confederate army Company K, 2nd Texas Infantry Regiment, and participated in the Battle of Shiloh. He received this certificate of parole in 1865, which can be found in the Simons-Stoner-Rose Family Papers.

Bertie Routh Barron Papers, 1897-1972, undated: These papers contain correspondence, financial documents, literary productions and photographic materials pertaining to Barron’s life, particularly the time she spent at Baylor Female College.
De Cordova Family Papers, 1845-1956: The chronology of the collection ranges from 1845 to 1956, but the bulk of the materials originated from 1845 to 1863 when Jacob de Cordova was most active as a land agent in Texas. Most materials are correspondence or legal documents related to land sales in central Texas, particularly Bosque and McLennan counties. (Archives class)
Olive McGehee Denson Papers, 1916-1957, undated: The bulk of the Denson papers are scrapbooks about Texas and church history. There are also photographs from Independence, Texas. (Archives class)
James M. Kendrick Jr. Papers, 1922-1945: Kendrick’s papers include various items of correspondence between family and friends of Kendrick, as well as some financial and legal documents. There is a large number of literary productions, comprised of an assortment of documents and Kendrick’s own diaries. Also present are several photographs and artifacts pertaining to his time at Baylor University. (Archives class)
Harry Raymond Morse Jr. Collection, 2000: This collection consists of four cassette tapes containing oral history interviews related to the Waco Tornado of May 11, 1953.

Southwest Conference meeting minutes, April 24, 1922 (page 1) — These minutes are from the papers of Henry Trantham, who served as Baylor University faculty representative to the Southwest Athletic Conference from 1916 to 1923, and from 1925 to 1941. Trantham was the president of the conference from 1918 to 1919, and from 1938 to 1941, and in that position he assisted in the establishment of the Cotton Bowl Association.

Simons-Stoner-Rose Family Papers, 1828-1977, undated: The Simons-Stoner-Rose Family Papers are comprised of original correspondence, legal and financial documents, literary productions, military records, printed materials, family histories, and photographs pertaining to five families (including Wells, Simons, Kay, Stoner, and Rose) in Texas from its pre-republic days to the late twentieth century. (Archives class)
Henry Trantham Papers, 1894-1962, undated: Trantham’s papers consist of correspondence, administrative and academic materials, and other loose materials related to Baylor University and the Greek and Classics Departments, the Southwest Athletic Conference, and the Rhodes Scholarship program. (Archives class)
Charles Wellborn Papers, 1945-2009: This archives contains sermons and other materials primarily from Wellborn’s time as pastor of Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

Sharing Student Scholarship Online: Curriculum at Baylor, 1900-1920

Posted on January 22, 2013

For the first five weeks of the spring 2013 semester, we’re putting up teasers about the fascinating Baylor history that Higher Education and Student Affairs students analyzed and shared on the class’ blog. Last week we explored students and student organizations at Baylor. This week we’re looking at Curriculum at Baylor, with topics ranging from external and internal influences on the courses offered at Baylor, how faculty and student organizations influenced curriculum, and the changing role of Latin in a Baylor student’s education. Did you know that…

A bill introduced in 1919 could have ended the teaching of German at Baylor? In the wake of World War I, a Texas senator tried to pass bills forbidding the teaching of the language in any Texas schools, public or private. (He did not succeed.) Learn more about the various groups that influenced or attempted to influence Baylor’s curriculum in 1900-1920.
The courses offered in Baylor’s Oratory department were affected by student interests as reflected by student organizations. (For example, the literary societies we mentioned last week emphasized debate, and the oratory curriculum was adjusted to hone student speeches from “speaking pieces” to “masterpieces.”) Read more about the synergistic give-and-take between faculty curriculum development and student organizations.
In 1905, prospective Baylor students had to have taken four Latin classes to be considered for admission. By 1920, no Latin was required at all for graduation. Discover how the emphasis on Latin and classical education declined at Baylor.

Sharing Student Scholarship Online: Students at Baylor, 1900-1920

Posted on January 15, 2013

Although Baylor was a university by charter, it was not until the first decades of the 20th century that the institution, like many others in the United States, began to develop some of the hallmarks of university life and function that we now associate with them. These include intercollegiate athletics, a rich variety of student organizations, diverse students and curricula, and the development of endowments and other financial pillars to sustain and advance the institutions.

This year students in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) masters program have taken on the challenge of creating original scholarship that adds to what is known about Baylor’s history between 1900 and 1920. As part of Dr. Nathan Alleman’s Foundations and History of Higher Education course, students were grouped under the five class themes: curriculum, finance, students/student groups, access, and religion. In collaboration with Texas Collection archivists and librarians, students mined bulletins, newspapers, correspondence, and other primary resources as they researched their topics. Final papers have now been posted on a University-hosted EduBlog site and grouped by their particular sub-topic so that patrons, researchers, and other interested persons could benefit from these students’ work. This is the first installment of an annual accumulating project–please visit again for future installments.

For the next five weeks, we’ll put up teasers about the fascinating Baylor history this year’s HESA students analyzed and shared on the class blog. We’re starting with the Students at Baylor group, which covered student government, athletics, literary societies, and Homecoming. Did you know that…

In the 1910s, the Student Self-Government Association’s responsibilities included student discipline. For example, when a student raised a “Fish 22” flag on the university flagpole, the organization’s Judicial Council voted to suspend him for the remainder of the term. (It was May, so the punishment isn’t quite as harsh as it sounds.) Explore the rise of student self-governance at Baylor.
Baylor football had a new coach every year for its first few years, due to wage disagreements and poor team performance…and then the whole program was canceled due to nationwide concerns about the brutality of the sport. The loss of football moved students to poetry–read the mournful verse written on the occasion and learn more about the beginnings of Baylor athletics in the early 1900s.
The Philomathesian, Erisophian, Calliopean, and Rufus C. Burleson Literary Societies all offered generous scholarships to members who excelled in speech and debate activities in society competitions. Find out the other benefits of literary society membership and how Baylor students socialized and learned in these predecessors both to Greek organizations and debate at Baylor.
Baylor’s Homecoming Parade was not an annual feature of Homecoming till 1945, and in some years, it was called a “pageant.” The first parade, at the first Homecoming in 1909, was hailed as perhaps the most remarkable event of the weekend. Learn more about the origins of some of Baylor’s fondest Homecoming traditions.

From Museums to Archives: A Graduate Student Journey

Posted on January 11, 2013

In fall 2012, The Texas Collection worked with Julie Holcomb’s Archival Collections and Museums class within Baylor’s Museum Studies program to provide hands-on experience with processing archival records. You can read more about some of these 14 collections in Research Ready: December 2012 and the upcoming January 2013 entry, but we thought we’d ask a student to share her archives experience. Guest blogger Danica Galbraith, a second-year Museum Studies master’s student, gives her perspective:

For those who do not know the subtle differences between museum collections and archival management, it would seem that such a jump from museums to archives would not be overly challenging. At least, that’s what my cohorts and I thought when this class began. However, we quickly found that what is done within the walls of the Texas Collection is very different from what we initially envisioned.

James M. Kendrick, Jr., undated (probably 1940s) — Galbraith processed the papers of James Kendrick Jr., a Wacoan, Baylor student, and WWII veteran.

Armed with tentative knowledge about archival processing, ethics, and theory, along with much needed help (and some emotional support) from Dr. Holcomb and Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist at the Texas Collection, we began processing our assigned collections. Some collections were only a few document boxes, while others took up an entire length of a table. Each brought its own complications, roadblocks, and frustrations.

In order to process our collections, we were required to create an initial inventory. Then we grouped and described the records by series based on theme or material type. This differs from museums because in that setting, each item in a collection is given its own accession (or identification) number, and then cataloged or described individually. Another big difference between the two is that in archives, some items are disposed of due to redundancy, condition, or irrelevance. While this is common practice in the archival world, it left our heads spinning!

Personally, I was given the task of processing the James M. Kendrick, Jr. Papers, a records group which initially included five document boxes filled to the brim with random clutter and materials spanning from correspondence to financial productions and everything in between. I would be lying if I said that I was not overwhelmed that first day of processing in late August.

"Principles of Accounting" textbook, owned by James Kendrick, 1940s — Items of interest in Kendrick’s papers include his very worn copy of an accounting textbook, which can be used to learn how business education was taught in the 1940s.

However, I soon found that by operating at a slow and steady pace––taking each box and each material type one at a time––that the collection was not as frightening as I originally thought. Furthermore, as I began to piece the collection together I realized I was learning a lot about Kendrick.

James M. Kendrick, Jr. came from a prominent family within the city of Waco: his great-grandfather fought in the Civil War, his grandfather was an esteemed Baptist minister, and his father was a strong presence in the early Waco business community. However, Kendrick’s records did not focus on grand achievements, nor did it initially scream of overwhelming historical significance. My collection mostly focused on Kendrick’s time as a student at Baylor, and his journey from adolescence to manhood.

Letter of recommendation for James M. Kendrick from Baylor professor Monroe S. Carroll, for application to Naval Reserve, 1942 — While Kendrick was going about his schoolwork, he also was looking into possibilities for military service during World War II. This recommendation notes that Kendrick comes from “one of Waco’s most substantial and patriotic families.”

The archives offered very interesting insight into the world of a college student in the late 1930s and early 1940s, and highlights the all too real ups and downs of a Baylor student required to balance school work, campus organizational responsibilities, family life, and friendships. While Kendrick was living during a time torn by WWII, and actually entered the service after graduation in 1943, I felt that, even in 2012, I could relate to many of his daily dilemmas.

Overall, I gained some wonderful experience out of the class, as did my other Museum Studies peers. Not only did we learn some great lessons about archival processing, we also gained some great connections within The Texas Collection, as well as an online publication with our finding aids on The Texas Collection’s website. I urge you all to go take a look at what we accomplished!

By Danica Galbraith, Museum Studies graduate student, Baylor University

Research Ready: December 2012

Posted on December 21, 2012

"Dialogue on Race Relations," Waco Community Race Relations Coalition flyer — The Community Race Relations Coalition (CRRC) began as a series of grassroots dialogues on race in Waco. The First Anniversary Dialogue was held in 2000.

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. This month we have a few special entries from the Archival Collections and Museums class that worked on an archival processing project with us here at The Texas Collection. (You’ll learn more about that in a guest post by a student in January.) We’re not quite done proofreading all of the students’ finding aids, so there will be a few more finding aids coming from that group. Here’s the scoop for December:

BU Records: Adelphian Theological Society, 1889-1916: The Adelphian Theological Society was formed in 1889 by Baylor ministerial students. The records group contains correspondence, financial records, legal documents, and ledgers that reflect how the Society operated. (Archives class)
Roberta Lucille Malone Bailey Papers, 1936, undated: This small collection contains two items: a letter written by Pat Neff to William and Ada May congratulating them on 50 years of marriage and a photocopy of a journal entry citing this letter.
Raymond E. Biles Collection, 1954-1973: The Biles Collection consists primarily of newspaper clippings covering the educational desegregation era in Texas from 1956-1973. Also included is correspondence to Mr. Biles and other materials relating to his role as an adviser to the Waco Citizen’s Advisory Committee, which was tasked with reviewing local desegregation policies. (Archives class)
[Waco] Calvary Baptist Church Records, 1929-1955, undated: Calvary’s church records consist of literary documents created by church members including church publications and a directory. (Archives class)
[Waco] Caritas Records, 1965-1988: The [Waco] Caritas Records represents organizational records from the Caritas Catholic charity located in Waco, Texas. The records follow the meetings, programs, and public image of Caritas from its creation in the 1960s through its continued service in the 1980s. (Archives class)
James Milton Carroll Papers, 1898-1929: Centered around Carroll’s writings, these documents include manuscripts, proof sheets, sermons, tracts, and other writings. (Archives class)
[Waco] Community Race Relations Coalition Records, 1998-2011: The Waco Community Race Relations Coalition Records consist of correspondence, legal and financial documents, literary productions, photographs, and media documenting the coalition’s efforts to promote racial awareness in the community of Waco, Texas.
[Waco] First Baptist Church Collection, 1892-1978, undated: The First Baptist Church of Waco was established on 1851 May 31 by four charter members along with Noah T. Byars, who became their first pastor on June 1. Their records consist of correspondence, literary documents, and financial records. (Archives class)
Historic Waco Foundation Records, 1954-2005: The Historic Waco Foundation is a nonprofit institution that was created in 1967 after the merger of three Waco
foundations: the Heritage Society of Waco, the Society of Historic Preservation, and the Duncan Foundation. These documents consist of correspondence, financial documents, legal documents, literary papers, and oversized materials. (Archives class)
Huston-Tillotson University Records, 1930-1935: The Huston-Tillotson University Records consist of correspondence and financial documents from Tillotson College as University President Mary Elizabeth Branch tried to keep the college open during the Great Depression.
BU Records: Philomathesian Literary Society, 1859-1951: Established in 1851 while Baylor University was located in Independence, Texas, the Philomathesian Literary Society was the first literary society to be established in Texas. The records include roll books, minutes books, general business records, library records, their constitution, contest records, and records on their fight with the Erisophian Literary Society from 1912-1913. (Archives class)
Quanah, Seymour, Dublin, and Rockport Railroad Records. 1836 (copy)-
1922, undated: The Quanah, Seymour, Dublin and Rockport Railroad Records consist of correspondence, legal documents, financial documents, field notes and maps
produced by the railroad company and associated small companies in South
Texas. (Archives class)

Philomathesian vs. Erisophian debate letter, January 10, 1913 — In this letter from J.W. Thomas to R.E. Dudley, Thomas refers to recent “squabbles” between the Philomathesian and Erisophian Literary Societies at Baylor. The question of who should debate first at the 1913 match apparently caused much controversy…and occasional name-calling.

An Independence Commencement: How Baylor&#x27s Earliest Graduates Celebrated

Posted on December 14, 2012

Baylor University Commencement party invitation, 1859 — One of The Texas Collection’s earliest records of Baylor Commencement, dated 1859. The “managers” of the party, the Erisophians and Philomathesians, were prominent (and often rival) literary societies that began when Baylor was in Independence.

We introduced Margaret Hall Hicks, a Baylor alumna from the 1870s, this summer in our “Looking Back at Baylor: Simple Pleasures in Independence” post. We encourage you to read it for a view of Christmas celebrations in Baylor’s early years. Pretty different from Christmas on 5^th Street, but as Hicks said, they enjoyed their Yuletide festivities “to the fullest.”

Now we look to Hicks’ remembrances of Independence again as another Baylor Commencement approaches. December’s commencement isn’t nearly as large as the spring celebration, but every graduation is an exciting day for the Baylor family. But what did Commencement look like back in Independence? For starters, people came from all over Texas, the celebrations lasted a week, and included the examination period. (Students spoke recitations that essentially were their final exams. Hey, class of 2012—aren’t you glad you didn’t have oral examinations for all of your classes?)

Baylor University Commencement invitation, 1888 — The invitation hails the 1888 ceremony as Baylor’s 42nd commencement, but Baylor actually did not graduate any students until 1854, when the Board of Trustees voted to award Stephen Decatur Rowe his degree. This invitation is a good example of the deteriorating effects of tape on paper.

Hicks’ memoir, Memories of Ancestors, tells us that in 1866, “Commencement Week was the gala time of the whole year. People from all over the state made their plans to attend the Commencement of the two Baylor schools, and the little town of Independence was taxed to its utmost, both the hotels and private homes, to care for the great number of visitors.”

Of course, in Baylor’s early years, the university’s students all hailed from Texas (although many students’ families probably hadn’t been in the state for very long). But people came from all over the state to attend the fine university. That was a feat by itself, considering the small size of the school and the large size of Texas!

Baylor University Commencement in Carroll Chapel and Library, 1920s — Commencement was held in Carroll Chapel before the building burnt in 1922. This might have been one of the last graduation ceremonies hosted in what is now simply Carroll Library (and the home of The Texas Collection).

“Relatives of the students felt it a duty as well as a pleasure to attend Commencement exercises in the schools in which their children were pupils. So we had all kinds of visitors for this season. Very fashionable people from Galveston and Houston, moderately dressed people from the small towns and the country around Independence, and pioneer people with their primitive styles from the northern part of the State. Of course, we found much delight in seeing and mingling with all of these people. Many of them stayed in the rooms with us, and we thought it no hardship to sleep three or four in a bed or on a pallet on the floor that the visitors might have our beds.”

In addition to the public examinations, students held debates and gave speeches. Every night of Commencement Week, there was some kind of program, with the younger Baylor primary school students participating as well as the university students. Baylor University and Baylor Female College took turns hosting the “entertainments,” which culminated with a “grand Senior Concert.” On the last night of Commencement Week, the faculty and students of Baylor University hosted a party for the faculty and students of Baylor Female College.

Baylor University Commencement, 1966 — Judge Baylor watches over the soon-to-be graduates of 1966 as they process into Waco Hall.

This “crowning event of the season” was held in the Burleson Domicile, which was President Rufus C. Burleson’s home and a dormitory for male students. The octagonal shape of the building created nooks that were perfect for courting on the third floor veranda, as Hicks tells us: “The veranda was furnished with chairs and benches, dimly lighted, just the place to fill young heads with thoughts of love and romance. Many of the young men and maidens, knowing this would be the last meeting of the happy school days, plighted their troth, which resulted in the future marriages of some of the best people of our state.” Well, that sounds familiar—plenty of marriage proposals still happen on or around Commencement day at Baylor! And we like to think that the best people in the state (and the world!) come here.

Students (and their families) come to Baylor Commencement from all over the world now, and the official Commencement ceremonies don’t span a week anymore. But the thrill of sending new Baylor graduates out to “fling the green and gold afar” hasn’t changed since Baylor graduated its first student in 1854. Congratulations, class of 2012!

Looking Back at Baylor: The Good Ship “Baylor Victory”

Posted on December 7, 2012

This piece by former Texas Collection director Kent Keeth originally was published in The Baylor Line in June 1979, 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.

We dedicate this post to the military men and women who serve our country and to the memory of those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

S.S. Baylor Victory publicity photo — You can *just* make out the “Victory” on the left and “Baylor” on the right of this photo, taken at the shipyard before launching.

Early in 1945 Baylor President Pat M. Neff received an unexpected communication from the United States Maritime Commission. This letter informed him that a new ship, then under construction in a shipyard near Los Angeles, would be named in honor of Baylor University. It would be one of the “Victory” series of merchant vessels, intended to provide “muscle behind the fists of the armed services,” and was designed for use in either war or peace. According to early information, its date of launching would be “on or about March 1, 1945.”

Neff soon wrote to inquire whether Baylor University might have a part in the launching of its namesake vessel. Informed that a representative of the university would be permitted to make a brief address during the christening ceremonies, Neff arranged for Los Angeles District Judge Minor L. Moore, a Baylor graduate of 1900 who had been an outstanding student orator, to participate in the program. He also raised a hundred dollars for the purchase of a library of about forty volumes for use by the ship’s crew.

Baylor Lariat article about the launch of the S.S. Baylor Victory — “In the year of grace when the whole world is convulsed by the totality of war, when the vicious are allied with the enemies of freedom, the naval arm of our government should christen a fighting ship with the name of Baylor,” Moore declared, according to this March 9 article in the Baylor *Lariat*.

When the schedule of the launching became known, Judge Moore wrote wryly to President Neff of his discovery that “the limit of the speech to be made by the representative of Baylor is one and a half minutes.” Neff, amused by the strictures which this limitation would impose upon his old friend’s easy flow of words, replied with some tongue-in-cheek advice: “Now, Minor, you need not feel that you must use all of this time unless the inspiration of the occasion just compels you to do so. The early morning air will be so invigorating that I feel sure as you stand on the deck of this ship bearing the Baylor name and look out onto the great Pacific, you will have inspiration to occupy nearly all of your minute and a half.”

As matters developed, the date of the launching was moved from March 1 to March 6, and the time, which was regulated by the occurrence of high tide, was set for 1:20 a.m. A participant later described the scene in a letter to President Neff: “The night was very dark; but time and time we were almost awed by the myriad of lights which illuminated the different war plants and ship yards. The display was far more breathtaking than the lighting of any great fair or centennial. Some of the buildings of Standard Oil rose like domes of light or spread into a cascading shower of individual lights which reminded one of some dream or fairyland. Our passes cleared heavily policed gates and doors…Then we went to the dock for the launching. Flood lights brilliantly illuminated…the ship which loomed so far up, up above us that we had to look very high up with heads way back to see all of her: yet, we were aware that by comparison she was a small ship.”

Despite the inconvenience and lateness of the hour, Baylor was represented at the launching by a total of about a dozen and a half graduates and friends, one of whom carried in her arms a plush teddy bear with a green and gold ribbon around its neck. Judge Moore delivered his address of 185 well-chosen words, ending with the valedictory, “All hail, Baylor Victory!” Then, as the ship’s sponsor christened the vessel with a bottle of champagne, the S.S. Baylor Victory glided into the water of the Pacific Ocean and began her naval career.

S.S. Baylor Victory was launched only a few months before the Allies celebrated V-E Day. We assume the ship was used in the last months of World War II; we know it went to Korea. We believe it may have become part of a shipping company’s fleet after that.

S.S. Baylor Victory, photo and model — The top photo is the ship; the bottom one also is labeled “Baylor Victory,” but the model doesn’t look the same as the real ship. What do you think? (Updated: We’ve been informed that the upper image is indeed a Victory ship, while the lower is a tanker. We’re not sure why the images were put together, though–that’s still a mystery!)

Research Ready: November 2012

Posted on November 29, 2012

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 November:

Gene Autrey entertaining veterans at a military hospital, 1945 — Gene Autrey entertains veterans at a military hospital in 1945. Hannibal “Joe” Jaworski’s photo album includes photos of several notable figures who visited soldiers during World War II.

Baylor-Carrington Family Papers, 1715-2007, undated: These family papers consist of correspondence, financial and legal documents, literary productions, books, photographs, artifacts, and scrapbooks pertaining to the Baylor and Carrington families. The bulk of the collection spans from 1840-1930.
Eleanor McLerran DeLancey Collection, 1944-1946: This collection consists of a scrapbook relating to Eleanor’s service in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II.
Hannibal “Joe” Lucas Jaworski Papers, 1895-1987: The Hannibal “Joe” Lucas Jaworski Papers include correspondence, literary productions, books, and photographic materials related to his service in World War II and his response to the Waco Tornado of 1953.
BU Records: Student Volunteer Band, 1900-1957: This archives consists of organizational records, missionary correspondence, and a history of the origin of the band. The group originated to inspire students to missionary action and involvement by educating them about world missionary movements.

Baylor University Student Volunteer Band Minutes Book, 1940s-1950s — The Student Volunteer Band, or Foreign Missionary Band, kept meticulous minutes of the organization’s meetings, from its earliest days in 1900 through the 1950s. Note Dick Baker’s name on the right side of the book–Baker would go on to be a leader in Baylor’s Youth Revival Movement and began the Baylor Religious Hour Choir.

How the McLane Carillon Missed Its Stop (But Has Been Making Beautiful Music Ever Since)

Posted on November 8, 2012

Did you listen for the bells this Homecoming weekend? So many Baylor alums talk about missing the beautiful hymns played on the McLane Carillon, or just the chiming of the time. From getting students to class on time to September 11 memorial recitals, the bells are an integral part of the Baylor experience. But did you know that on their way to Waco, they took an accidental trip to Mexico?

McLane Carillon dedication program cover, 1988 — The smallest bell in the McLane Carillon weighs 29 pounds, and the largest weighs 4,370 pounds.

The 48 bells of the McLane Carillon were made by the Paccard Bell Foundry in Annecy, France, a company whose bells can be heard around the world. After they were finished in 1988, a freighter picked them up and was to unload them in Houston, and a trucking company would complete their journey to Waco.

Paccard Fonderie de Cloches brochure, 1980s — The bells of the McLane Carillon took about a year to craft.

Yet the best laid plans can go astray—the ship failed to stop, and the bells went on their way to Mexico. Of course, the error was discovered, the freighter returned to Houston, and the bells made it to Baylor, just a few days later than planned.

But wait, you’re thinking—weren’t there bells ringing from Pat Neff before 1988? Yes! But unfortunately, the Cullen F. Thomas chimes had fallen into disrepair after 50 years of music, and the tower fell silent. Thanks to the generosity of the Drayton McLane family and the McLane Company, Inc., of Temple, Texas, Baylor was able to purchase a new carillon.

Yet the bells are a bit of a mystery—you can’t really see them, after all. Did you know that they’re played using both feet on the pedal board and closed fists on a keyboard? (The carillon is connected to a computer programmed to play the Westminster chimes and some songs, but yes, real people play the carillon too! Lynnette Geary is the current carillonneur, and she even teaches carillon classes.)

McLane Carillon dedication program, quotation pages, 1988 — Inscribed quotes on the bells include wisdom from Baylor presidents up to the time the McLane Carillon was dedicated in 1988. (A quote from Herbert H. Reynolds is on the preceding page of the program.)

And Baylor’s bells are inscribed with biblical and literary quotations. Selected by the McLane family, there is a quote from each of the Baylor presidents up to the 1980s, a bell dedicated to the faculty of Baylor University with a line by Geoffrey Chaucer (“And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche”), and much more. The quotations can be seen on a plaque in the Pat Neff Hall entryway.

So next time you hear “Doxology” or “That Good Old Baylor Line” pealing across the campus, stop and listen a moment. The Baylor soundscape wouldn’t be the same without them.

Source: Baylor University Subject File: Buildings: Pat Neff Hall: McLane Carillon, at The Texas Collection

Articles by Brian M. Simmons