Baylor University

Research Ready: December 2017

American West, Amicable Alico Building, Belton Texas, Books, Charles Wellborn, Cowboys, El Paso, Hippodrome, Lake Waco, letters, military history, Photographs, Research Ready, Texas, United States Armed Forces, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Waco, West, World War II
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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

  • Letter from Charles Wellborn to Elma Merle Mears McClellan Duncan
    Letter from Charles Wellborn, student at Baylor and future evangelist and pastor, to the Armed Services Representative for Baylor University. In the letter, Wellborn describes drilling for the past week, after enlisting in the United States Army in July 1943.

    • BU Records: Armed Services Representatives, 1942-1945, undated (#BU/12): Collection contains correspondence sent by former students, parents, and government officials to Merle Mears McClellan, Baylor University’s Armed Services Representative during World War II. Baylor President Pat Neff appointed McClellan as the acting liason between the university and the military, in conjunction with Baylor University becoming a training site for Army officers prior to World War II.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Cunningham, Eugene. Famous in the West. El Paso, TX: Hicks-Hayward Co., [1926]. Print. 

Originally published in El Paso as an advertisement for Rodeo Outdoor Clothes, this volume contains info on cowboys such as “Jim” Gillett, Dallas Stoudenmire, Billy the Kid, and Tom Threepersons. Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

 

 

 

College, Belton: For Women. [Belton, TX?]: [publisher not identified], [between 1925 and 1929?]. Print.

College, Belton: For Women. [Belton, TX?]: [publisher not identified], [between 1925 and 1929?]. Print. 

The purpose of this volume is two-fold. The many photographs of the grounds and student body show a beautiful, thriving Baylor College campus while the new development campaign seeks $500,000 to pay university debts and $250,000 to build a permanent endowment. Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

 

 

Waco 52 Playing Cards. [Waco, TX]: [publisher not identified], [2017]. Print.

Waco 52 Playing Cards. [Waco, TX]: [publisher not identified], [2017]. Print. 

Though not a traditional book, this set of playing cards is unique to Waco. Each card is designed by a different artist and contains images of locations throughout the city, including the ALICO building, Waco Suspension Bridge, Hippodrome, Lake Waco, etc. Click here to view in BearCat.

The 12 Days of a Baylor Christmas

Baylor University, Christmas
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by Sylvia Hernandez, BULAA Project Archivist

‘Tis the season to decorate trees, bake some cookies, visit our loved ones, and sing along to our favorite holiday tunes. Undoubtedly at least one version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” will grace our ears before the season ends, but which one? Will it be more traditional in the style of Burl Ives or more outlandish in the way of Jeff Foxworthy? How about one you may not know exists? How about a Baylor Football version?

Walter Abercrombie displaying his moves on a carry against Texas Tech.

The 1980 Baylor Football team finished the season as Southwest Conference Champions with an invitation to play in the 1981 Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day. Support for the team was shown with the creation of memorabilia – think bumper stickers, Dr Pepper bottles, t-shirts, etc.—and a few songs. Yes! More than one.

Tackling, catching, passing; all are represented in “The 12 Days of a Baylor Christmas” as follows:

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, Grant Teaff gave to me:

Robert Bledsoe kicking against Rice.
  • The Bears high in Cotton,
  • Joe Campbell tackling,
  • Doak Field Crushing,
  • Buzzy Nelson snapping,
  • McGeary blocking field goals,
  • McElroy’s interceptions,
  • Radar Holt catching,
  • Ab-er-crom-bie’s moves…
  • Singletary sacking,
  • Jeffrey throwing passes,
  • Robert Bledsoe kicking,
  • And a Baylor Bears Cotton Bowl Team.”

With lyrics written by Jean Kettler, Mack Hayes, Sandra Hayes, and vocals sung by Darrel John, the tune conjures memories from over 35 years ago as it recounts the feats of athleticism displayed by our beloved Bears. Although the Cotton Bowl didn’t end as hoped, songs and other items stand as the testament of ongoing support for our athletic programs.

Author’s Note: This song was played on local radio and released in local record stores. If you have a copy, let us know, we would love to hear it!

Songs of the Past and Present: Baylor Sheet Music at The Texas Collection

Baylor School of Music, Baylor University, Music teachers, Roxy Grove, That Good Old Baylor Line
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by Joseph Lipham, Student Assistant

In 1930, the illustrious Baylor University became officially accredited as a School of Music by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Under the guidance of the School of Music director, Roxy Grove, who was granted the position in 1926, the Baylor School of Music would have quite the pivotal impact on the university. Grove, being a proud Baylor alumna, noticed that the university lacked a solidified alumni song. In 1928, Grove put her ideas to paper and music, and thus, “Alma Mater” was born. Her take on an alumni song for Baylor is quite powerful and somewhat poignant; perhaps the most pervasive line of the tune being, “…All hail Alma Mater, all hail to thee thou guiding star of our destiny…”. Lyrics like these make it undoubtedly evident that Grove, like thousands of Baylor alumni, held the school in the highest of regards. While this song was quite the powerful homage to the beloved alma mater, it did not stick around long; the song would be completely replaced in 1931 by another Baylor alumna, Enid Eastland Markham.

Enid Eastland Markham, wife of Robert Markham, a senior professor of music at Baylor, can be credited for one of the most beloved pieces of Baylor music. In 1931, a large gathering of Baylor exes (also known as alumni), flooded through the doors of the newly constructed Waco Hall. This tradition of Baylor exes meeting to relive the euphoric splendor that was college, was nothing new to Baylor University, as the first such tradition began nearly 22 years prior. However, something was quite different this time; Markham, playing the organ and leading the exes in singing of one of Baylor’s most well-known songs, “That Good Old Baylor Line”, was quite shocked. The origins of “That Good Old Baylor Line” can be traced all the way back to 1907 when a young student named George Baines Rosborough jokingly pinned lyrics for a song based off the Broadway hit, “In the Good Old Summertime.” Rosborough, clamoring for a song to sing at Baylor Bear football games, sat and wrote lyrics that mocked Baylor’s then crosstown rival, Texas Christian University (TCU). The original parody lyrics spoke of the Baylor football team doing the opposing team “…up in turpentine…”. Markham, in one of her correspondences regarding her version of the song, claimed the words “…remained inadequate and even absurd…”. Markham even went as far as to say “…I was struck anew with their utter unworthiness as I watched a group of dignified, middle-aged Exes solemnly intoning the ridiculous little turpentine words…”

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Research Ready: November 2017

Baylor athletics, Baylor traditions, Books, genealogy, military history, Research Ready, Texas Artists, Texas Painters, United States Armed Forces
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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

    • Texas Sheet Music collection, 1836-1979, undated (#258): An assortment of songs and sheet music relating to Texas. Many of these songs pertain to the Texas War of Independence, famous military leaders, Christmas in Texas, the state flower, the state song, the city of Waco, and life in the American Southwest.
BU Home Economics Department Pamphlets
These departmental pamphlets found in the collection highlight the variety of opportunities available at Baylor and historical changes in higher education for home economics as a whole You’ll find these items in the BU Records: Home Economics Department (#BU/107) at The Texas Collection, Baylor University. Rights: Some rights reserved. E-mail txcoll@baylor.edu for information about the use of our images. Visit www.baylor.edu/lib/texas/ for more information about our collections.

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.

Harding, Glenn T. Rails to the Rio. [Raymondville, TX]: [Glenn Harding], [2003]. Print.

Highlighting the 2004 centennial of the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railroad, this volume also provides information on towns created and/or affected by rail construction. Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

Collias, Joe G. The Texas & Pacific Railway: Super-Power to Streamliners, 1925-1975. Crestwood, MO: M M Books, [1989]. Print.

 

Collias, Joe G. The Texas & Pacific Railway: Super-Power to Streamliners, 1925-1975. Crestwood, MO: M M Books, [1989]. Print.

This volume provides a deeper look at 50 years of the Texas & Pacific Railway and is filled with many photographs of trains, depots, and rail yards. Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

Christmas Spirit at Baylor

Baylor traditions, Baylor University, Christmas, student life
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Although it rarely snows in Waco, these Baylor students had quite a bit of fun on their snow day! Check out our Flickr album for more snow day photos by clicking on this photo.

by Joseph Lipham, Student Assistant

As the chilling winter winds approach Baylor’s campus and the ominous cloud of finals looms near, so does one of Baylor’s most beloved traditions. Christmas on 5th Street ushers in the jolliness of Christmas right in the heart of the Baylor campus. While students are away spending Thanksgiving with their families, the campus is adorned with oversized candy canes, ornaments and as many Christmas decorations as one could possibly imagine. Returning home from Thanksgiving to find their campus completely remodeled into a Winter Wonderland, it is no wonder why this is every student’s favorite time of the year.

These traditions takes place on 5th Street, the central street on campus that runs by the Student Union Building (SUB) and Fountain Mall. Taking place on November 30 the every year, Christmas on 5th kicks off the winter holiday. A variety of activities are set up at Fountain Mall, including a petting zoo filled with animals and “Santa’s Workshop.” There’s even a life-sized Nativity scene set up in front of the SUB. While these activities take place throughout the entirety of the day, the most exciting and event begins roughly around 8:15 P.M each year.

Christmas Tree Lighting program from 1977.

The annual Kappa Omega Tau Christmas Tree Lighting has begun around the same time each year, since it began in 1965. The annual tree lighting is an opportunity to bring Baylor students and faculty together to bask in the bright lights of the ginormous tree. Housed in the center of Burleson Quadrangle, the large Christmas tree is decorated by Kappa Omega Tau and the Department of Student Activities. The tree is adorned with bright white lights and red bows. Accompanying these festive decorations are presents at the base of the tree, donated by Baylor students for children in need.
Christmas on 5th even brings snow to Central Texas; in Vera Daniel Plaza, a snow machine is set up to give students a true Winter Wonderland experience. While the weather may be chilly, and the threat of finals may loom near, Christmas on 5th pulls out nearly all the stops to warm the hearts of all Baylor students and instill the spirit of Christmas into every person who engages in the activities strewn throughout Baylor’s campus.

This year, the festivities will begin at 5:30pm on November 30th. For more information about this event, please visit this website.

If you are an alum who has photographs or materials related to the Christmas Tree Lighting and are interested in sharing these with The Texas Collection, please contact our University Archivist, Leanna Barcelona.

Texas over Time: Texarkana, Texas

Margaret Hall Hicks, Texas, Uncategorized
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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.

Texarkana, Texas

•At the junction of Interstate 30 and U.S. highways 59, 67, 71 and 82 lies the town of Texarkana, Texas.

•The name Texarkana is coined for its location on the Texas

•Arkansas border and proximity to Louisiana.

•There is no certainty where the exact name came from but there were a few theories told over time:

The name’s origin belongs to a steamboat that voyaged the Red River in the late 1800s.

That a man named Swindle in Red Land, Bossier Parish, Louisiana who manufactured a drink called “Texarkana Bitters”
inspired the town’s name.

Or that Col. Gus Knobel, an Iron Mountain surveyor, coined the name while building the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and
Southern Railroad.

•The site that Texarkana lies on is the same site the Caddo Indian village was located. The Great Southwest Trail passed by this village for hundreds of years to the Mississippi River country and back.

•The city’s history and beginning development thrived because of its position on the Texas Arkansas border.

•Plots of land were first sold on Dec. 8, 1873 by the builders of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. The first plot was bought by J.W. Davis.

•State line Avenue separates the north and southbound lanes of this arterial road with the Texas side to the west and Arkansas’ side to the east.

•Bowie County, Texas remains a dry county resulting in several liquor stores lining the Arkansas side of midtown State Line Avenue.

•The city is considered one entity but has two municipalities, including two mayors and two sets of councilmen and city officials.

•There are agreements for joint fire departments, respective state inspections and recreational programs.

•In an eerie light, Texarkana is home to the unsolved

Texarkana Moonlight Murders of spring 1946. The town was sent into a state of panic that summer because of the still unidentified “Phantom Slayer.” The Texas Rangers kept watch over the inhabitants of Texarkana until they quietly and slowly left as so did the Phantom.

Works Cited

Handbook of Texas Online, “Texarkana, TX,” accessed July 18, 2016,

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hdt02.

Newton, Michael. The Texarkana Moonlight Murders: The Unsolved Case of the 1946 Phantom Killer. Jefferson: McFarland &, 2013. Print.

See the still images in our Flickr set.

Text and GIF by Haley Rodriguez

Looking Back at Baylor: ‘Hurrah! It’s a BEAR!’

Baylor football, Baylor Lariat, Baylor Round Up, Baylor traditions, Baylor University, Looking Back at Baylor, mascot program
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Bob Nelson carries Baylor's mascot on his back, 1940.
Bob Nelson carries Baylor’s mascot on his back, 1940.

This piece by former Texas Collection director Kent Keeth originally was published in The Baylor Line in June 1980, 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.

Students and alumni proudly say, “I’m a bear!” when speaking of their time at Baylor. But, had history played out differently, they could have been saying, “I’m a buffalo!” or even “I’m a bookworm!” Neither has the same charm. Today, in honor of National “Hug A Bear Day,” learn more about how the Baylor Bear came to be (Note: we do not recommend trying to hug Joy or Lady!). 

During the first seventy years of Baylor’s existence, the university chose no mascot with which to identify itself. Even when The University of Texas had become known as the “Longhorns,” Rice Institute had adopted the “Owls,” and Texas A&M employed the alternate designations of “Aggies and “Farmers,” Baylor’s intramural teams were known simply by the university’s name. After the selection of the school’s official colors in 1897, the athletes sometimes referred to themselves as the “Green-and-Golders.”Continue Reading

Looking Back at Baylor: The First Homecoming

Baylor athletics, Baylor football, Baylor traditions, Baylor University, Homecoming, Looking Back at Baylor
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This piece by former Texas Collection director Kent Keeth originally was published in The Baylor Line in September 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.

With Homecoming in full swing this weekend, it is the perfect time to take a moment and look back at how it all started. Baylor was one of the first schools to organize a Homecoming event for alumni over a century ago, and today it is one of the most widely celebrated Baylor traditions. 

Invitation to the first Homecoming in 1909

In 1909, when Baylor held its first Homecoming, a pattern was set which holds remarkably true even today. Though seven decades have passed, and generations of alumni have come and gone, the traditional highlights and festivities of Baylor’s annual “family reunion” have retained a remarkable likeness to those of their distant prototype.

The purpose of the original Homecoming in 1909 was “to give an opportunity for the joyful meeting of former student friends, an occasion when old classmates could again feel the warm hand-clasp of their fellows, recall old memories and associations, and catch the Baylor spirit again.” To this end members of student organizations, local alumni and representatives of each graduation class launched a campaign of correspondence and advertisements in major state newspapers, inviting all former Baylor students to spend Thanksgiving at the Homecoming celebration.

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Research Ready: September 2017

Adventure, American West, Archives, Books, Cowboys, Falls County Texas, Frontier and pioneer life, frontier and pioneer life, letters, Old West, Photographs, Printing, Race relations, rare books, Research Ready, Screenplays, W.R. White, Waco, Waco race relations, West
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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!

September’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist

  • Santa Fe Railroad Route Map, undated
    Two historical markers now commemorate Long Branch Cemetery: one recounting the history of the cemetery and the other honoring a former slave named Sylvia King who is buried there. Long Branch is one of the oldest cemeteries in central Texas. You’ll find these items in the Long Branch Cemetery collection, 2009-2016, undated (#4020), box 1 OVZ, folder 4, at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

     

  • September’s print materials
    By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print MaterialsEllis, Edward Sylvester. Lightning Jo: The Terror of the Santa Fe Trail. New York: Beadle and Adams, [1874]. Print.Ellis, Edward Sylvester. Lightning Jo: The Terror of the Santa Fe Trail. New York: Beadle and Adams, [1874]. Print. 

    Part of the Beadle Pocket Novels series, Lightning Jo is the adventure story of a scout leading a party through treacherous Comanche country. Click here to view in BearCat.

     

    Lafrentz, F. W. Cowboy Stuff: Poems. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1927. Print.

     

     

     

     

    Lafrentz, F. W. Cowboy Stuff: Poems. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1927. Print. 

    Number 98 of 500 copies produced, this special edition volume of Cowboy Stuff, complete with handmade laid paper, is signed by the author, Illustrator, and publisher. Each poem, written by F. W. Lafrentz, who, at 14-years-old immigrated to the U.S. from Germany, has an accompanying etching by Henry Ziegler, noted British artist. Click here to view in BearCat.

From Page to Air: Sharing Baylor Football since 1951

Baylor athletics, Baylor football, Baylor University
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by Sylvia Hernandez, BULAA Project Archivist

Cover of the 1951 Baylor Football Data guide.
Cover of the 1951 Baylor Football Data guide.

As football season gets underway, we find ourselves in the stands of our favorite stadium watching the game, hoping the best for our team. But what about the times you can’t make it? Have you ever listened on the radio or watched the television broadcast? Where do they get those stories? How do they know those stats? How do you say that name?

Media guides have all the answers. Most of them.

While processing a large collection of Baylor Athletics materials, a “Baylor University Football Data” guide from 1951 was found, one of the earliest in the collection. It features several players on the cover, season schedule, coach and player bio’s, school record holders, and yes, even a key for “those hard-to-say names.” These guides were, and still are, made available by the Athletic Department to sports editors, radio/television announcers, and several others who may be covering the game in some capacity.

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