By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator
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” blog series 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.Continue Reading
Our Sharing Student Scholarship blog posts showcase original scholarship written by Baylor students who conducted research using primary source materials in The Texas Collection. This post is the first of five in a series of blog posts written by graduate and PhD students from the Fall 2018 Foundations & History of Higher Education Leadership course.
by Beth Benschoter, Delacy Carpenter, Liya Scott, and Zach Mills
The transition from the 19th Century and into the 20th Century was a time in American higher education of innovation and reform. Although within a matter of decades a uniquely American identity of higher education would emerge, at the turn of the century institutions were still experimenting, specifically with curriculum (Thelin, 2011). This was certainly true of Baylor University and from ~1890-1910, Baylor was exploring many curricular innovations, some lasting and others not. Four specific curricular changes that emerged during this time were: the construction of a new science building; a military science department; a growing religious curriculum; and a school of oratory.Continue Reading
by Thomas DeShong, Project Archivist
World War II witnessed the rise of the United States as a global superpower and the establishment of a new world order. Historians, amateur and professional alike, devote their entire lives to studying the complexities and intricate details of “The Good War” including its battles, politicians, military commanders, causes, effects, etc.
While seeking to comprehend the broader historical and social implications of World War II, we sometimes forget how these events impacted the life of an individual. Activities that we might take for granted, such as teaching and learning in a peaceful collegiate setting, were dramatically altered in a nation at war. Over the past few months, I have processed two small but fascinating collections concerning Baylor University during World War II. As a result, I have come to appreciate the sacrifices made by some of Baylor’s faculty and students during that time.
Merle Mears McClellan was one such remarkable faculty member. Merle had earned a double major in history and science from the University of Texas in 1917 and had taught for years in the Gatesville area. Following the death of her husband William, she earned her Master’s degree in 1941 at Baylor University where she taught various history courses over the next few years. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Baylor University President Pat Neff appointed Merle as the university’s Armed Services Representative in the spring of 1943. In this role, she acted as a liaison between the university and the military.
Reflecting on her experiences, Merle was one of the few women who had been appointed to such a task. In explaining why Neff had chosen her, she wrote, “He said, ‘You are a mother of one son in the Pacific. Your normal reaction would be to send everyone to help him fight. So if you say a boy is entitled to exemption no one on the McLennan Co. Draft Board will question your decision. Furthermore, I know you and I know the Baylor boys will get everything to which they are entitled.” Continue Reading
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!
December’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist
December’s print materials
By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials
![Cunningham, Eugene. Famous in the West. El Paso, TX: Hicks-Hayward Co., [1926]. Print.](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4737/27679186229_438e5ec3a1_o.jpg)
![College, Belton: For Women. [Belton, TX?]: [publisher not identified], [between 1925 and 1929?]. Print.](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4735/38748265324_f4cffd98a7_o.jpg)
![Waco 52 Playing Cards. [Waco, TX]: [publisher not identified], [2017]. Print.](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4646/39426131812_df48b1b35b_o.jpg)
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!
November’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist
November’s print materials
By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials
![Harding, Glenn T. Rails to the Rio. [Raymondville, TX]: [Glenn Harding], [2003]. Print.](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4554/37945624935_fc6272a6ef_o.jpg)
![Collias, Joe G. The Texas & Pacific Railway: Super-Power to Streamliners, 1925-1975. Crestwood, MO: M M Books, [1989]. Print.](https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4527/37945625075_147a4a9c1c_o.jpg)
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 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.
• Named after Lt. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, the camp was opened July 18th, 1917, to train men demobilized from service on the Mexican border at the end of World War I. It was in service for less than three years when it was abandoned on May 15, 1919.
• As well as a demobilization facility, Camp MacArthur served as an officer’s training school and an infantry replacement training camp.
• Located in northwest Waco, local businessmen helped to create a 10,700-acre complex from cotton fields and blackland farms.
• The estimated cost was five million dollars and included a base hospital, administration offices, tent housing for troops, and other military personnel buildings.
• The first commander was Major General James Parker who formed the 32nd U.S. Infantry Division later known as “Les Terribles” for their “successful, tenacious attacks” on enemy troops in Langres, France.
• The camp’s capacity could occupy over 45,000 troops but never exceeded 28,000 troops at a time.
• After the establishment of Camp MacArthur, the large influx of soldiers helped stimulate Waco’s economy until the Great Depression. The military presence also heavily influenced Waco’s Cotton Palace Exposition with an exhibit of a “bullet-ridden German biplane.”
Works Cited
• Kelley, Dayton. “Camp MacArthur.” The Handbook of Waco and McLennan County, Texas. Waco, TX: Texian, 1972. 47. Print.
• Amanda Sawyer, “Camp MacArthur,” Waco History, accessed July 6, 2016, http://wacohistory.org/items/show/48.
• Stanton, John. “Camp MacArthur.” FortWiki. MediaWiki, 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 July 2016.
• Handbook of Texas Online, Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl, “Camp MacArthur,” accessed July 07, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qcc27.
See the still images in our Flickr set.
By Sean Todd, Library Assistant
On August 3, 1914, the British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey remarked, “The lamps are going out all over Europe, and we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” Grey was commenting on the seemingly unstoppable slide into a cataclysmic war that was overtaking his country and all of Europe. The lights being extinguished across Europe did not go unnoticed in central Texas. A survey of Waco newspapers from early August 1914 demonstrates that people in Texas had practical economic concerns about the events in Europe as well as deep personal connections to the land and people that would soon be plunged into World War I.
The events following the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914, were fast moving and complex. Over the course of July and early August, the major European powers found themselves tangled in alliances that resulted in a major war. Even a century later the situation can be hard to fully understand, and this was no different for people all over the globe in 1914. Local newspapers had the difficult job of tracking and reporting each turn in the unfolding events. On August 5, 1914, the popular daily newspaper The Waco Morning News displayed in red ink across the front-page “GERMANY VS. WORLD” to mark the news that Great Britain had declared war on Germany. The Waco Morning News typically focused on national and international news stories from the Associated Press. On the front page of the August 5, 1914, edition, stories were filed from London, Berlin, Paris, New York, Quebec, New Orleans, and Constantinople, giving Waco readers a truly global perspective on the war.
However, on the editorial page a voice was given to local uneasiness about the developing conflict. Titled “Cotton and War,” the article points out that nearly 10 million bales of cotton that the United States annually exports were currently being readied for the international market, a market that was in danger of disappearing due to the war. If that were to happen, the cotton prices could plummet, causing an economic crisis for Texas and the entire US south. A proposal was put forth that if the cotton cannot be shipped overseas, then the federal government should buy the surplus. In one action the United States could aid cotton farmers and invest in a soon-to-be high demand commodity. It wouldn’t be long before European armies clamored for cheap fabric for uniforms and war material.
Another perspective on the war, unique to Waco, can be found in the August 8, 1914, edition of The Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune. This newspaper focused more on local events and was able to capture personal reactions to the outbreak of the war. The article, “Thoughts Evoked by the War,” recognized that many Wacoans were German veterans of the Franco-Prussian War of the early 1870s. With the Germans and French again marching to war, these residents were most likely feeling a mix of emotions over the lands of their birth. Ultimately, the editorial called for understanding of people’s regional loyalties.
Both articles concluded with the hope that the conflict would be short-lived. Unfortunately the War only grew larger in scale and loss. By 1917 these Waco newspapers would be printing the names of drafted local men as the United States entered World War I.
Bibliography
Spender, J.A. Life, Journalism and Politics, Volume II. New York: Fredrick A. Stokes Company, 1927.
The Waco Morning News, “Cotton and War,” August 5, 1914.
The Waco Semi-Weekly Tribune, “Thoughts Evoked by the War,” August 8, 1914.
“Print Peeks” is a regular feature highlighting select items from our print collection.
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’s finding aids include several produced by the Archival Collections and Museum class from spring 2014. Topics include the papers of a Paul Quinn College professor, a Texas lawyer involved with the Nazi war trials right after World War II, and a committee that considered moving Baylor University from Waco to Dallas, Texas. Here are July’s finding aids:
Walking across the Baylor campus, you may have noticed that your way is marked by distinctive lampposts, some of which bear plaques honoring Baylor men and women killed serving their country. These memorial lampposts are said to serve as honor guards by day and to illuminate the campus by night and are part of a tradition that began in 1946.
One day, Frank Jasek, a preservation specialist for the Baylor libraries, paused to read one of the plaques, and he recalls that “I felt as though that plaque was a portal to a friend that I was to meet.” Thus began the project that would become Soldiers of the Wooden Cross, a book compiling information, stories, and photos on each of the men and women memorialized by the lampposts. “It is my hope that after reading what is presented on the pages you will gain some insight into who this hero was.”
Jasek started his research at The Texas Collection, but he also used government documents and even reached out to the families of the deceased, who in some cases were able to provide photos, letters, and other valuable artifacts. Soldiers of the Wooden Cross: Military Memorials of Baylor University is available at The Texas Collection, as is the Frank Jasek papers, which feature the research files compiled in the process of completing the book.
The Waco Tribune-Herald and the Baylor Lariat also have done articles on Jasek’s labor of love. Visit the University Development website for information on campus memorials and tributes.
Working with the Waco Foundation, Jasek started the Soldiers of the Wooden Cross Scholarship Fund for veterans, family members of veterans, ROTC cadets, and active duty military. All proceeds of book sales will benefit this scholarship fund.
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:
