Baylor University – Page 18 – The Texas Collection

A Day in the (Texas Collection) Life: Mary Ellen Stanley and Adina Johnson, Graduate Assistants

Posted on April 29, 2013

The Texas Collection turns 90 this year! But even though we’ve been at Baylor for so long, we realize people aren’t quite sure what goes on in a special collections library and archives. So over the course of 2013, we will feature monthly posts from our staff—from faculty to student workers—offering a little peek into the day-to-day work of The Texas Collection. This month you’ll learn about the work of two of our graduate assistants. Our graduate students come from Baylor’s history and museum studies departments and help with processing archives and curating exhibitions. Meet Mary Ellen Stanley and Adina Johnson:

Jules Bledsoe at sea with camera — Many photos of Jules Bledsoe are showcased in the exhibit Mary Ellen helped curate. In this image, we surmise that he’s en route to Europe, where he performed in numerous countries until the outbreak of WWII.

My name is Mary Ellen Stanley, and I am a second year museum studies master’s student from Fort Worth, Texas. I have worked at the Texas Collection (TC) since June 2011 as a graduate assistant.

Coming from my undergraduate institution, I previously had little experience working with archives, but a decent amount of museum experience through various internships. Although this previous knowledge has helped me in my work at the TC with object handling and tackling obscure software, I have learned that these two types of institutions are extremely different. Even though I was skeptical and thought that I would not like working in an archives as much as a museum, I have gradually grown to love archives more.

When I first started at the TC, my main focus was processing a part of the Pat Neff collection. The experience working on this large collection provided me with a wide variety of skills that I have continued to use both in and outside the Texas Collection. This past fall I helped work on processing numerous small collections while co-curating the exhibition, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: The Musical Heritage of Jules Bledsoe and New Hope Baptist Church.” Working on this exhibition was one of the highlights of my time at the Texas Collection because I got to utilize the knowledge I have gained from classes in a real world situation.

My favorite activity at the Texas Collection is processing photographs. With my work, I have truly grown to appreciate how history can be documented in one beautiful snapshot. Working with these photographs makes each day exciting and unique.

My name is Adina Johnson and I am a second year history master’s student from Tucson, Arizona, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have worked at The Texas Collection since May 2012, and I plan to continue working here while I pursue my PhD in history at Baylor.

Before working at the TC, I had little archival experience except for tasks I performed as an undergraduate assistant for a history professor. During my first year at Baylor, however, I had the privilege of working on a major research project where all of the primary and secondary documents were housed at the TC. Therefore, I was familiar with the archival organizational systems at the TC.

Grace and Jack Jones, undated — This photo depicts Grace Jones with her second husband, Jack, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. Grace became a model after serving during WWII as a WASP and before she opened her store, Grace Jones of Salado, and became “The Queen of Texas Fashion.”

The very first task I was assigned at the TC was to organize letters from the Dr. William Benjamin Worth Watkins papers. The dialogue between Dr. Watkins and his family that continued through his deployment for World War I instantly captivated me. When I found the envelope bearing the “deceased” stamp (Watkins was killed in the war), it affected me deeply. I began to see that my passion for history would lead to a love of archival work.

The rest of my first summer at the TC was spent processing a large number of scrapbooks for the Pat Neff collection. Since then I have processed 12 record groups on my own, including the Oscar “Doc” and Mary “Kitty” Jacques Du Congé papers (Waco’s first African American Mayor) and the Grace Rosanky Putnam Jones papers (Texas’ Queen of Fashion).

As I pursue my PhD in History, I am thankful for the experiences that I am gaining at the TC. I will be a better researcher, teacher, and writer because of my time here.

Baylor Responds to the West Fertilizer Co. Plant Explosion: Using Storify to Curate Social Media

Posted on April 26, 2013

After the April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. plant, the Baylor family almost immediately sprung into action via prayer and service. West is situated about 20 miles away from Waco, and many students, past and present, have enjoyed the small town’s culture. We used Storify to curate a selection of tweets, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram posts, as well as links from various websites, to tell the story of Baylor’s response to the tragedy through DiaDelWest, blood drives, volunteer work, and hosting the firefighters’ memorial service. You also can see a collection of archived web content on Baylor’s response to the tragedy on our Archive-It page.

The Comprehensive Pat Neff: Texas Governor, Baylor President, and Much More

Posted on April 25, 2013

The name Pat Neff is known by every Baylor Bear. Perhaps his influence is most markedly demonstrated by Pat Neff Hall. Built in 1939 and named in honor of Baylor’s eighth president, its tower can be seen for miles and is a ready landmark for Wacoans and Texas travelers. But before Neff came to the Baylor presidency, he served the state of Texas in several offices, including two terms as Governor.

Pat Neff with horse — Neff maintained his ramrod posture and dapper dress even when riding horseback. Photo undated.

The Texas Collection is proud to house his papers and has been hard at work on processing his voluminous records (about 643 archival boxes). After a couple of years, multiple archivists and students, and generous gifts from Terrell Blodgett, among others, we have a completed finding aid for the Pat Neff collection.

The importance of these records can’t be overstated. They span a century of this important Texas family’s activities. Neff’s records offer a comprehensive view into the life and work of a public servant and educator.

And we do mean comprehensive—the man appears to have kept everything. Researchers, even those who know a lot about Neff, are bound to learn something they didn’t know. Here’s some of what you can discover, just from reading the biographical history in the finding aid.

He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives just four years after graduating from Baylor with his bachelor’s degree.
When he ran for governor, he was thought to be the first Texas candidate to travel by airplane for his campaigning efforts.
He was a staunch supporter of Prohibition—that you might already know. The stories about his public expulsions of students for drinking (and other misdeeds) are legendary at Baylor. But he also stood for everything from women’s suffrage to prison reform to water conservation.
After oil was discovered in Mexia, chaos ensued. Neff declared martial law in 1922 and called in the Texas National Guard and Texas Rangers. Later that year he declared martial law again, this time in Denison due to violence following a strike by the Federated Railroad Shopmen’s Union.
In the 1920s, Neff considered the possibility of running for US president and serving as president of the University of Texas.
As Baylor president, he accepted livestock as tuition payment and was known to occasionally pay part of a student’s bill out of his own pocket.

Pat Neff, "How I Spent the Holidays," 1890 — The “how I spent my vacation” has long been a popular theme, as evidenced by this essay Neff wrote for his rhetoric class in his second semester at Baylor University in 1890.

Digging into the records themselves, you’re sure to learn much more about Pat Neff. We’ll highlight some of his records in upcoming blog posts and hope you’ll visit the reading room to explore Neff’s life and his impact on Texas and Baylor.

Learn more about Pat Neff:

Read a book—The Land, the Law, and the Lord: The Life of Pat Neff, by Dorothy Jean Blodgett, Terrell Blodgett and David L. Scott.

Listen to a podcast—Treasures of The Texas Collection: Pat Neff, an interview with Hans Christianson, hosted by Mary Landon Darden.

Explore an online exhibit—Pat Neff: “The Plain Democrat” Governor of Texas, 1921-1925, curated by Mark Firmin.

Find out about an interesting discovery made recently in the Pat Neff collection—Bonnie and Clyde (and Pat) and The Texas Collection Artifact That Ties Them Together.

Contact us for more information about the collection—the front matter of the finding aid is online as a PDF, but the box listing is so intricate that it didn’t translate well into that format. An archivist can help point you in the right direction for your research on Neff and his contributions to Texas.

And check out a few of our favorite photos from the Pat Neff collection. There is much more where this came from!

Young Pat Neff, 1890s — Young Neff, 1890s

Pat Neff with Native Americans — Neff with Native Americans, undated

Pat Neff breaks up illegal drinking and gambling in Mexia, 1922 — Neff (sixth from right, behind the roulette wheel) breaks up illegal drinking and gambling in Mexia, 1922

Pat Neff at Mother Neff State Park dedication, May 14, 1938

Baylor President Pat Neff outside Pat Neff Hall, 1940s

Pat Neff studying a portrait of Texas hero Sam Houston — Neff studying a portrait of Texas hero Sam Houston, undated

Pat Neff tries out a saddle, 1930s — Neff tries out a saddle, 1930s

By Benna Vaughan, Manuscripts Archivist, and Amanda Norman, University Archivist

The Tragedy of William Cowper Brann, Waco's Infamous Firebrand

Posted on April 1, 2013

By the later decades of the 1800s, Waco, Texas, had become the epitome of a western town. Violent duels were all too common on its dusty streets—Waco earned the nickname “Six Shooter Junction.” On the evening of April 1, 1898, another gunfight ensued in which both of the men involved died from fatal wounds. Why have we singled out this particular altercation (aside from its date, 115 years ago today)? Because one of the duelers was one of Waco’s most controversial figures, William Cowper Brann.

William Cowper Brann in his Iconoclast office in Waco, undated

Brann gained significant clout as the editor of Brann’s Iconoclast, a journal he started in Waco in February 1895. Throughout his lifetime, Brann had striven to succeed as a writer. In the late 1890s, Brann discovered his niche in the central Texas region. The Iconoclast had an enormous circle of influence, with a readership of approximately 100,000 people across the nation. Such fame did not come without a price, however. Brann, who was openly critical of Baylor University, Baptists, Episcopalians, women, African Americans, and the British (to name a few), made a number of enemies. A sample of his writing:

“The Tyler Telegram humbly apologizes for having called that wide-lipped blather-skite, T. DeWitt Talmage, ‘a religious fakir.’ Next thing we know our Tyler contemporary will apologize for having inadvertently hazarded the statement that water is wet. …The Iconoclast will pay any man $10 who will demonstrate that T. DeWitt Talmage ever originated an idea, good, bad or indifferent…. The man who can find intellectual food in Talmage’s sermons could acquire a case of delirium tremens by drinking the froth out of a pop bottle.”—Brann on Talmage, a significant religious leader during the mid- to late-19th century.

Brann's Iconoclast, November 1897 — Brann’s Iconoclast, November 1897. In this issue he describes one of the times he was attacked for his writings: “When we find a contumacious sinner we waste no time in theological controversy or moral suasion, but promptly round him up with a rope and bump his head, and we bump it hard.”

But as usual, there’s more to Brann’s story than meets the eye. Indeed, his life was truly tragic, from beginning to end. Brann was born the son of a Presbyterian minister on January 4, 1855, in Coles County, Illinois. After his mother passed away two years later, Brann was given over to the care of a neighboring couple. By the age of thirteen, Brann decided to head out west to find his fortune.

Brann married Carrie Martin of Illinois in 1877. They had three children, one of whom eventually committed suicide at the age of twelve. In addition to his family struggles, Brann could not find stable work in editing. His first attempt at starting a newspaper in Austin failed miserably. Not until he relocated to Waco did Brann find success.

"The Brazilian Girl and Baylor University," 1895 — In 1895, President Rufus Burleson sought to defend the integrity of both his family and Baylor University by calling into question the character of the young Brazilian girl.

One of the most controversial issues Brann wrote about was the impregnation of a fourteen-year-old Brazilian girl. Baylor University President Rufus Burleson took Antonia Teixeira, an orphan brought to the US by a Baptist missionary, into his home to care for her. After it was revealed that the young girl was pregnant, Brann seized the story and used it to tarnish the reputation of Burleson and Baylor. Steen Morris, the brother of Burleson’s son-in-law, was accused of rape but ultimately acquitted. Burleson’s transition from the Baylor presidency to becoming president emeritus was in part due to the scandal.

Brann received much criticism for his assaults on Baylor University—he was even attacked. Newspapers from the time period (including the Iconoclast) report that Brann was kidnapped by a large mob of Baylor students and dragged through campus by a rope secured around his neck. On another occasion, Brann was jumped by three men— reportedly a Baylor trustee and two students—beaten, and left in the streets to die. Yet Brann was not swayed from his purpose.

William Cowper Brann funeral notice, 1898 — This is the original funeral notice printed after Brann’s death. He died several hours after the gunfight and was eventually buried in Oakwood Cemetery, not far from The Texas Collection. Brann’s funeral service took place in his Waco residence which has since been torn down. He was 43 years old.

On April 1, 1898, Brann was approached from behind by Tom Davis, a disgruntled father of a Baylor student. Davis shot Brann three times. Amazingly, Brann had the wherewithal to turn around and fire all six of his bullets into Davis. Both men eventually died from the encounter, and a number of bystanders were also wounded.

William Cowper Brann's tombstone in Waco's Oakwood Cemetery — Brann was buried in Oakwood Cemetery on April 3, 1898. His unique tombstone represents the “lamp of truth” and has been the unfortunate subject of much vandalism over the years. It was stolen in 2009.

Some have admired Brann for his devotion to presenting what he believed was the truth, while others discounted him as a radical seeking to stir up the masses. The Texas Collection houses the William Cooper Brann collection and a sizable run of Brann’s Iconoclast, among other resources on and relating to him in our library and archives. I encourage you to make the trip to our reading room and decide for yourself!

By Thomas DeShong, Archival Assistant and Digital Input Specialist

A Day in the (Texas Collection) Life: Jynnifer McClinton and Samantha Buerger, Student Assistants

Posted on March 28, 2013

The Texas Collection turns 90 this year! But even though we’ve been at Baylor for so long, we realize people aren’t quite sure what goes on in a special collections library and archives. So over the course of 2013, we will feature monthly posts from our staff—from faculty to student workers—offering a little peek into the day-to-day work of The Texas Collection. This month you’ll learn about the work of two of our undergraduate student assistants. Our student employees help us with many projects, and all of their jobs are a little different. Meet Baylor senior Jynnifer McClinton and sophomore Samantha Buerger:

Creating a Mylar encapsulation for a newspaper — Jynnifer is creating a Mylar encapsulation for an issue of the *Hillsboro Mirror* from 1935

My name is Jynnifer McClinton, and I am a senior psychology major (pre-PT) from San Angelo, Texas. I have been a library student worker at The Texas Collection (TC) for seven months.

When I first started at the TC, my main priority was helping with a huge project: a complete reorganization of all the newspaper holdings. The work of putting in order thousands of issues was more alphabetizing and numbering than I had done since kindergarten! I now help preserve those rare and fragile papers by making Mylar encapsulations for them.

Material retrieval is one of my daily tasks. Due to the unique and valuable nature of the items that we house, only TC staff is allowed into the stacks to retrieve requested items for patrons, and we must take proper care in the transportation of our many fragile items. I also am one of two students entrusted with preparing periodicals for binding so that they will be better protected and preserved.

Preparing periodicals for binding is only one of many tasks at The Texas Collection — Periodicals back from the bindery (that show the wide range of topics represented at The Texas Collection)

Maintaining and updating vertical files by clipping old newspaper articles is my favorite duty. I sometimes get caught up reading articles more often than I probably should, but some of the articles are ones that I would likely never have seen if I did not work here. I have come across articles about the Titanic only a day after it sank, Albert Einstein showcasing a new invention, Wild West shootouts and robberies (sensationalism at its best), the JFK assassination, and my favorite—historic articles about my hometown.

My least favorite task at the TC also involves vertical files: copying old articles before filing them. We have to make sure that copies are as neat as possible—so no crooked titles, shadows, or any extra marks on the copies.

One perk of my job is the great work environment. It has a very laid-back and casual feel. On holidays, we have parties with a boat-load of food. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this TC family?

Each duty I perform is a necessary component in maintaining the validity and integrity of our materials in order to provide TC patrons with access to treasured and hard-to-find materials. It is truly incredible the amount of history that we have housed in this building, and due to our work here, we have access to it every day.

Baylor Bear mascots embrace at a football game — One of Samantha’s favorite photos: Mascots embrace at the 1975 Cotton Bowl game versus Penn State (Baylor–Mascots–General (8x10s)

My name is Samantha Buerger, and I am a sophomore earth science major from Friendswood, Texas. I have been working at The Texas Collection as a photography archives student worker since the beginning of my freshman year.

When I started I had no experience with negatives or scanning pictures and knowing the correct resolution to use, but while working here I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about photography and the scanning of pictures and negatives. I have worked with a large range of negatives, anywhere from 35 mm negatives to 8×10 cellulose negatives. I appreciate and enjoy photography from the past, which is mainly what I work with.

I have contributed to a multitude of projects while working here. For example, I am scanning some of the many Fred Gildersleeve negatives to get a positive image, making a spreadsheet inventory of our (quite immense) photo collection, and entering metadata into a spreadsheet on KWTX broadcasts from the 1970s and ’80s, as well as some other smaller projects.

Baylor students enjoy some horseplay in a fountain, 1940s — Baylor students enjoy some fun and games in a fountain, 1940s, in another one of Samantha’s favorites (Baylor Students–Horseplay–1940s)

For the KWTX metadata project, we are putting together an inventory of the approximately 2,000 KWTX newscasts we have in our collection. The inventory includes the specific stories on that tape, their length, and the date of the story. The newscasts are kept on VHS and U-Matic tapes. The KWTX project is demanding because of its considerable size.

My favorite project so far has been making the spreadsheet inventory of our photo collection, because to do that you must look at every single photo we have, which is really fascinating because we have so many photos and the majority of them have to do with Baylor and Waco. This project is challenging due to the fact that we have over 300 boxes of pictures in our photo file collection.

Overall I have learned a lot about photography and the history of Baylor and Waco while working at The Texas Collection.

Research Ready: March 2013

Posted on March 26, 2013

"Ask the American boy why he prefers Kellogg's" — A patriotic advertisement for Kellogg’s Toasted Corn Flakes during WWI. The Thomas L. and Pit Dodson Collection has hundreds of similar early- to mid-twentieth-century art prints and clippings, providing a colorful window into American culture.

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:

Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth papers, 1826-1965, undated: Aynesworth’s papers consist of family materials, correspondence, literary productions, collected materials, and medical records collected by Kenneth Hazen Aynesworth, a local doctor who gave the first donation to establish The Texas Collection in 1923.
[Waco] Branch Davidians: “The Facts About Mt. Carmel” Exhibit collection, 1961-2004, undated: This records group contains materials collected by various groups and individuals (including Calvin Smith of the Strecker Museum) to organize an exhibit about the history of the Waco Branch Davidians. The exhibit, entitled “The Facts About Mt. Carmel,” was featured at the Helen Marie Taylor Museum in Waco, Texas, in February 1994.
Adina E. De Zavala papers, 1830 (copy) -1940, undated: These papers document De Zavala’s historic preservation efforts in Texas to protect significant architecture in the state.

Correspondence from the Adina De Zavala papers — A letter of recommendation written by the Mexican Consul in San Antonio, Dr. Plutarco Ornelas, for Adina De Zavala on her historical research trip to Mexico in 1902.

Thomas L. and Pit Dodson collection, 1710-1991, undated: The Thomas L. and Pit Dodson collection contains a wide variety of collected materials, including literary productions, books, photographic materials, and scrapbooks. While spanning three centuries, this collection consists primarily of early- to mid-twentieth-century art prints and periodical clippings.
Marvin C. Griffin papers, 1940-2010, undated: The Griffin papers contain literary productions, photographic materials, audio recordings, and other materials pertaining to Reverend Marvin Griffin, an African American pastor who fought for the spiritual and political freedoms of his congregations at New Hope Baptist Church (Waco) and Ebenezer Baptist Church (Austin).
Roxie Henderson collection, 1852-1919: This collection contains personal items and collected materials of Roxie Henderson, a Baylor graduate who served during World War I as an American Red Cross nurse. Learn more.
Isabella M. Henry papers, 1931-1981, undated: Henry’s papers features manuscripts detailing her career in the Women’s Army Corps and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II. Learn more.
Lula Pace collection, 1895-1969, undated: This collection contains student notebooks, topographical maps, and scholarly publications by Lula Pace, a PhD graduate of the University of Chicago who served as a science professor at Baylor University in the early 1900s. Learn more.

Women on the War Front: Central Texas Women in World War I and World War II

Posted on March 21, 2013

Major Henry does paperwork at her desk in this undated photo — Major Isabella Henry does paperwork at her desk in this undated photo

Throughout World War I and World War II, in addition to the men who were deemed heroes for their military service, women also served pivotal roles in war efforts and support. Last week, in celebration of Women’s History Month, we looked at Lula Pace, a Central Texas woman who pioneered the way for female scientists and professors at Baylor. This week, we highlight two more interesting Central Texas women, Roxie Henderson and Isabella M. Henry, who served overseas during World War I and World War II.

World War I postcard: American Red Cross; from the Roxie Henderson collection

Roxie Henderson was born in West, Texas, and attended Baylor University from 1917-1920, earning her bachelor’s degree in education. While at Baylor, Henderson was an active member of the Baylor student community, serving as the secretary for the Overseas Club. Henderson then filled those travel aspirations by serving overseas, mostly in France, as a member of the American Red Cross during World War I.

While abroad, Henderson maintained contact with Baylor University through the university’s student newspaper, the Lariat. She wrote about her observations of the war and about her experiences while serving in the American Red Cross. In World War I, the American Red Cross played a critical role in the war by helping staff hospitals and serving ambulance companies while also providing national and international relief. Throughout World War I, more than eighteen thousand Red Cross nurses served throughout Europe.

Baylor Lariat, May 29, 1919 — This issue of the *Lariat* student newspaper includes excerpts from a letter by Roxie Henderson, who served in the American Red Cross during WWI. She wrote, “My work in the hospitals was rich in experience. The spirit of the men and their appreciation of small services was wonderful. I truly hope these men will not be disappointed in the American girls.”

After the completion of her service, Henderson returned to the Waco area and resided in Hill County. The Roxie Henderson collection includes a variety of collected items, including the bible Henderson used during her service, an autograph book, historical signatures, letters, postcards, and periodicals produced during World War I.

Certificate appointing Isabella Henry First Lieutenant in the Women's Army Corps, 1948 — Certificate appointing Isabella Henry First Lieutenant in the Women’s Army Corps, 1948

During World War II, Isabella Martin Henry, like Henderson, served overseas. Henry was born in Waco, Texas on September 27, 1910, and went on to an extremely successful career in the United States Armed forces throughout and after World War II. Since Henry had no dependents, she was able to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps in 1942. She was later appointed to the rank of Third Officer in January 1943. In December 1948, Henry was eventually promoted to First Lieutenant in the Women’s Army Corps. She also received honors including the Army Commendation ribbon and a Certificate of Achievement from the United States Continental Army Command.

Henry served in the armed forces for 19 years. After the completion of her military service, Henry returned to Waco. Upon her death, her sister, Mary Catherine Henry, donated her papers to The Texas Collection. The manuscripts include correspondence concerning her time in the military, her military personal records, certificates, news clippings, and portraits of Isabella.

These two collections shed light on the roles a few women from Central Texas played in the war effort. The Isabella M. Henry papers and the Roxie Henderson collection both are open for research at The Texas Collection.

By Mary Ellen Stanley, graduate assistant at The Texas Collection and museum studies master’s candidate

Setting a New Pace: Baylor University's First Female Professor with a PhD

Posted on March 13, 2013

1919 Baylor University Round-Up faculty page — When Pace was first hired at Baylor, she was one of only five female professors. Due in large part to the success of these individuals, the number steadily grew as time went along. Pace, a professor of botany, is pictured in the bottom left corner of this page from the 1919 Baylor Round-Up.

Today we might be tempted to take for granted the many female professors who teach at Baylor and the numerous women who are earning doctoral degrees. However, it wasn’t such a long time ago that female PhDs, JDs, and so forth, were few and far between at Baylor and at other institutions of higher education. So today, in honor of Women’s History Month, we look back at Lula Pace, one woman who proved that hard work and brilliance outweighed the gender-based stereotypes of her day.

Pace was born in Newton, Mississippi on November 3, 1868, a mere three years after the end of the Civil War. Before she had turned a year old, her parents decided to relocate to the central Texas area. The move proved to be advantageous for her. She was able to attend school at Baylor Female College—now the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor—in Belton, Texas, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1890. Upon graduation, she began teaching in the public schools in Temple.

But Pace’s aspirations for education were not yet satisfied. During her summers off, Pace attended the University of Chicago, a newly constructed school whose reputation was rising thanks to the support of the Rockefeller family.

Cytology notebook, 1905 — Lula Pace’s notebooks, which she composed as a student at the University of Chicago, comprise most of the collection. Cytology is the study of cells.

By 1902, Pace had attained her Master of Science degree, and she applied for a teaching position at Baylor University. When she was accepted, she became one of only five female professors at the school. Even more impressive was the fact that she was the only female professor in the male-dominated science department.

Drawing for botany studies, undated — In order to succeed as a student of botany, Pace had to learn how to draw diagrams. This cross-section of a plant is but one of the examples in which Pace demonstrated her artistic ability.

Seeking to increase her education and credibility, Pace continued taking classes during the summers and graduated with her PhD from the University of Chicago in 1907. Her dissertation focused on the study of plant cytology (cells). This achievement placed Pace in a class all her own: she became the first female professor at Baylor University to hold a PhD.

For 22 years (1903-1925), Dr. Pace taught courses in biology, geology, and botany. Not only was she accomplished as a scholar, but she also had a good reputation among students and offered innovative classes, such as a summer 1917 course held on-site at the Chatauqua grounds at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A student, J. Weldon Jones, was a member of that class and recalls being “struck by Dr. Pace’s knowledge of organizing a camp, cooking, laying in provisions, etc…her knowledge of first aid—avoiding dangers in the mountains, edible wild fruits, poisonous plants etc. was far beyond that of a ‘plainsman’”—and on top of all that, she maintained an orderly classroom while in the field.

Reminiscence on Lula Pace by J. Weldon Jones, 1969 — Dr. Pace had a reputation for being strict, but she often had a powerful impact on the lives of her students. This reminiscence from a former student records some of Dr. Pace’s most perceptible traits: her knowledge of botany, a quiet sense of humor, and even her physical stamina!

Her prowess as a scientist and skill as a professor led to Pace’s appointment as the Chair of the Department of Botany and Geology, another first—she was the first woman to be the chair of a science department at Baylor. She held the position until she died in 1925.

The Lula Pace collection represents the life work of a woman who followed her passions in spite of what society’s norms dictated. Researchers who examine this collection will find notebooks that Pace composed as a graduate student, scholarly articles she wrote as contributions to the scientific community, as well as various maps which Pace collected in her studies. (In the Burleson Quad, just outside Carroll Library, you also can see another part of Pace’s legacy—one of the gingko biloba trees she planted on campus.) Please come down to The Texas Collection and celebrate with us as we commemorate one of Baylor University’s history trailblazers.

The Geology of McLennan County, by Lula Pace, 1921 (published under the Baylor Bulletin imprint) — Even after securing her position as a professor in Baylor University’s science department, Pace continued to contribute to her field. In 1921, Dr. Pace published the “Geology of McLennan County, Texas.”

By Thomas DeShong, Archival Assistant and Digital Input Specialist

The Brazos River and the Baylor Archives: A History of Floods and Droughts, a Story of Resilience and Ideals

Posted on March 8, 2013

Elm Street in East Waco flooded by the Brazos River, 1908. Photo by C.M. Seley.

Please join The Texas Collection for a lecture by Dr. Kenna Lang Archer,

The Brazos River and the Baylor Archives–
A History of Floods and Droughts, a Story of Resilience and Ideals

Tuesday, March 19, 2013
3:30 pm
Bennett Auditorium
Baylor University

Reception to follow at The Texas Collection

More information: http://www.baylor.edu/lib/texas/brazos

Watch our YouTube video below to learn more about Dr. Archer’s research
at The Texas Collection and how the Wardlaw Fellowship Fund for Texas Studies
helped support her dissertation work.

A Day in the (Texas Collection) Life: Amanda Norman, University Archivist

Posted on February 28, 2013

The Texas Collection turns 90 this year! But even though we’ve been at Baylor for so long, we realize people aren’t quite sure what goes on in a special collections library and archives. So over the course of 2013, we will feature monthly posts from our staff—from faculty to student workers—offering a little peek into the day-to-day work of The Texas Collection. Meet Amanda Norman, Baylor graduate (M.A. 2009), native Texan, and University Archivist:

Baylor University Student Union calendar, October 1963 — This 1963-1964 calendar illustrates just how busy Baylor’s Student Union and Baylor student life in general could be, with organization meetings, Coke and Dr Pepper parties, lectures, movie screenings, and more.

I am the keeper of Baylor history. That’s the short version I tell people when they ask what I do. The usual reaction is something like, “Wow. That’s a big job.” It is—Baylor has grown quite a bit since its founding in 1845, and it has a wonderfully complex and storied past. And it’s a joy to share that history with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and others interested in Baylor’s heritage.

My goal as University Archivist is to document the life of Baylor University by collecting, preserving, and providing access to university records. The Texas Collection became the official university archives in 2007, which is pretty late in the game for an institution that’s over 160 years old. Fortunately, The Texas Collection had been the accepted de facto institutional repository for many years, so we do have a very healthy-sized University Archives.

Problem is, it should be bigger. The records haven’t necessarily come in consistently—the archives tended to receive records when someone retired or an office moved, and not on a regular schedule. And I’m the first dedicated University Archivist. So I’m working to fill in the gaps from the past and lay the groundwork for scheduled deposits to the University Archives from departments, student organizations, and more.

Baylor University Immortal Ten scrapbook page — This scrapbook page from the Samuel Palmer Brooks papers features a few of the many telegrams Baylor University received after the Immortal Ten bus accident. The scrapbook is the second of three volumes documenting the tragedy.

I just began my second year in this role, although I am the child of two Baylor graduates and I worked in Baylor University Development for almost 5 years before I found my calling in the archives—I have a history with Baylor. (Pun intended.) My first year was one of planting seeds. I met with key Baylor administrators and leaders to discuss the role of the archives and the kinds of records that should be transferred to the University Archives. (We can’t keep everything, but we want the documents that we believe will have enduring, historic value.) I contributed to preparations to roll out Baylor’s new Record Retention and Archival Policy. I began a web archives program using Archive-It to document Baylor’s ever-changing web presence. With the help of graduate assistants and student workers, we organize record groups, address the backlog of materials to be processed, and other projects.

Baylor University Catalogue, 1851-52 — This 1851-1852 catalogue, the earliest one from Baylor’s initial campus at Independence, tells current and prospective students about the Male Department.

I also contribute to The Texas Collection’s access, instruction, and outreach efforts. I facilitate this blog as a part of our integrated social media policy. I worked with a graduate class to assist with its Baylor history blog project, and spoke to several other classes and groups about resources that can be found in the University Archives. I responded to more than 200 research requests in my first year, ranging from simple questions about when an administrator was at Baylor to detailed fact-checking for historical timelines and exhibits on Baylor traditions.

When I talk to researchers and other visitors to The Texas Collection about the University Archives, I keep hearing, “You really love your job, don’t you?” Apparently I can’t hide it, and why would I? My archives work helps researchers access information they would not be able to find elsewhere. The records found in the University Archives were created when the history was happening—when traditions like the first Homecoming in 1909 began, when the university mourned the Immortal Ten, and more. I’m proud to be a part of preserving that history, these documents that tell the Baylor story.