By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials, and Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist
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!
Here are February’s finding aids:
BU records: School of Nursing, 1900-2008, undated (#BU/154): Includes extensive department correspondence and administrative files as well as some photographic materials regarding the history, formation, and accreditation of the school.
Most of the photographs in the School of Nursing collection are class photographs like the one shown here. Many of them include the names of faculty and students as well as the date and location of the photograph on the back. BU Records: School of Nursing, Accession #BU/154, Box 11 OVZ, Folder 2, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
Mike Cox papers, 1913-2014 (#3851): Papers contain information on the media relations of Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Department of Transportation, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Additionally, this collection consists of Mike Cox’s personal files and research on Henry Lee Lucas, the Texas Rangers, Texas history, and prominent leaders from Texas.
Here are February’s featured print materials: Annual Santa Rosa Roundup, Vernon, Texas. [Vernon], 1949. Filled with photographs, advertisements, and rodeo information, this beautiful and substantial souvenir album of the Santa Rosa Roundup and Rodeo offers an impressive look at the annual event. At the time of this publication, the event was only three years old. Today, the Santa Rosa Roundup enters its 70th year.
McCarty, John L. Amarillo: Welcome Stranger. Amarillo: Chamber of Commerce, [1940]. Dallas: a Friendly City in a Friendly State. [Dallas]: [Dallas Chamber of Commerce], [1934?]. The Texas Collection is home to many Texas promotionals, publications printed to entice citizens to visit or relocate to the Lone Star State. Promotionals often touted the abundances that can be found: natural resources, employment, city attractions, educational opportunities, etc.
D.M. Ferry & Co. D. M. Ferry & Co’s Universal Almanac and Annual Descriptive Catalogue of Garden and Flower Seeds. Detroit: D. M. Ferry & Co., 1896. The Ladies Birthday Almanac, for the Year … Chattanooga: Chattanooga Medicine Co., 1889. Capital Almanac Illustrated. J. S. McIntyre, 1890. These three volumes are a sampling of some of the late 19th and early 20th century almanacs in the collection. Though they aren’t about Texas, they do provide useful information about the time period in which each is published and also show the variety of almanacs available.
General Tire & Rubber Company’s Waco, TX, main building, with manufacturing spaces behind it, late 1940s or early 1950s. The Waco plant was dedicated on November 13, 1944, and was built in conjunction with the Defense Plant Corporation for wartime production. The first tires constructed there were for the U.S. Army and Navy. Thomas E. Turner, Sr. papers #2200, box 12, folder 5.
By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator
General Tire & Rubber Co. came to Waco in late 1944, the company’s second plant after its Akron, Ohio, headquarters. The plant was originally constructed to supply equipment for the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, and by January 1945, production began. According to William O’Neal, General Tire’s president, the new Waco location (off Business 77, near Orchard Lane) was established on acknowledging that “the war has dissipated the old idea that all manufacturing had to be done in the north, that the south could hope to be no more than an agricultural area.” O’Neal was guided in his decision to bring the company to this area by Congressman W.R. Poage of Texas.
This image shows the main front of the General Tire and Rubber Plant, Waco, TX, mid- to late-1960s. General photo files: Waco–Businesses–Tire And Rubber Companies–General Tire And Rubber Company.
Products coming out of the Waco plant included truck tires for the U.S. Army and Navy, and other rubber-based equipment such as rafts and specialized balloons for wartime use. After the war, once it acquired nearly full control from the U.S. government, the Waco plant began switching from military production to consumer and industrial based products. In November 1945, the first passenger car tire was built and soon after, 2,500 were made daily. By 1954, the plant doubled in size, and 6,000 passenger car, truck, tractor, and farm service tires were being built daily.
When photographer Fred Marlar took this image in 1951, General Tire & Rubber Company’s Waco facility was making more than 1.6 million tires a year. Company managers are shown here inspecting one of their famous bias-ply truck tires on the assembly line. General photo files: Waco–Businesses–Tire And Rubber Companies–General Tire And Rubber Company.
A very large surge in tire production occurred in 1955 when the company received a contract to make original equipment tires. Cars made by General Motors rolled off of the automaker’s assembly lines equipped with tires made in Waco. At the time, some models of General’s tires included the innovative tubeless design called the “Dual 90.” Other domestic automakers used Waco-built General products, and the plant ended up making millions of tires that rolled on American roads—and beyond.
By 1957, due to demand, the Waco plant completed a 40 percent expansion in production capacity. By 1984, after many years of continued success, the size of the plant had grown enormously, with building space covering “49 acres under roof on 139 acres of land.” (In 1944, the original area covered “233,000 square feet of manufacturing space.”)
When the facility in Waco celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1984, reference was made for the next 40-year celebration, but this was not to be. In November 1985, General Tire & Rubber Co. announced the closure of its Waco, Texas, plant, which had a staff of more than 1,400 personnel, an annual payroll of $42 million, and was responsible for $18 million monthly in expenditures into the the area’s economy.
After news of the closure, the number without jobs amounted to nearly 10% of Waco’s manufacturing work force. Following the news, an editorial in the Waco Tribune-Herald stated: “The announced closing of Waco’s General Tire plant leaves a cavernous void in Waco’s economy. It could be compared only to Baylor University pulling up stakes.” The last employees to leave the plant were 130 workers who remained at the General Tire & Rubber mixing facility, making bulk rubber to supply other General plans, until December 1990.
The Waco General Tire & Rubber Co. plant gave livelihoods for thousands of men and women throughout its 41 years in operation. However, sudden and drastic changes in the automobile industry, inability to adapt or replace machinery to keep up with changing tire designs and demands, and competition from imports, all contributed to the demise of what was once Waco’s largest manufacturing facility.
Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC), Waco, TX, General Tire & Rubber Company. Photo by Geoff Hunt for The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
The old General Tire plant in Waco remained mainly in disuse for many years, but the empty facility still had enormous potential. The company’s main building was heavily renovated in 2010 for use by the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC). It now uses more than 300,000 square feet of the facility. Baylor University, Texas State Technical College, and leading industries utilize this space for advanced research in engineering, air science, quantum optics, and more. Students are able to experience some of the latest innovations in these fields and get hands-on experience in their fields of study—helping Waco continue to innovate and train a new generation well into the future.
“Industrial and Agricultural Development.” Annual Report Edition- WACO- The Hub of Texas: Official Publication of Waco Chamber of Commerce Waco, Texas (Waco, TX) Jan. 1944.
“Colorful Ceremony to Mark Dedication Of General Tire Plant Here On November 13th.” WACO-The Hub of Texas: Official Publication of Waco Chamber of Commerce Waco, Texas (Waco, TX) Oct. 1944.
“General Tire Officials, Newspapermen See Texas’ First Tire Plant Dedicated In Waco.” WACO- The Hub of Texas: Official Publication of Waco Chamber of Commerce Waco, Texas (Waco, TX) Nov. 1944.
”General Tire Plant Here Grew Out of War Needs” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), Oct. 31, 1948.
“Rubber Plant Employment Five Times 1944 Strength.” Waco Tribune-Herald (Waco, TX), Jan. 20, 1954.
By Benna Vaughan, Manuscripts and Special Collections Archivist
Thomas and Nancy Mann. Thomas C. Mann papers, Series XII, Box 38, Folder 3.
“We expect to speak with one voice on all matters affecting this hemisphere. Mr. Mann will be that voice.” Thomas Mann earned that vote of confidence from none other than Lyndon B. Johnson–by the early 1960s, Mann had twenty years of service in Latin American diplomatic relations and had earned the nickname, “Mr. Latin America.” The Thomas C. Mann papers at The Texas Collection provide a look at Latin America through the materials of a career foreign diplomat during the 1940s-1960s.
Thomas C. Mann was born in Laredo, Texas, on November 12, 1912, where he grew up bilingual due to the close proximity of his hometown to Mexico. Mann attended Baylor University from 1929-1934, earning a BA and then an LLB from Baylor Law School. He married Nancy Aynesworth, daughter of Dr. Kenneth H. Aynesworth (considered a founder of The Texas Collection), and spent 1934-1942 working at his father’s law firm in Laredo.
Thomas Mann to Mr. Hall (American Embassy, Mexico), 1961 June 30, Thomas C. Mann papers, Series XII, Box 38, Folder 3.
Mann began his foreign diplomatic career when he hired on with the State Department in 1942. Mann tried to enlist in WWII military service but was turned down because of his poor vision. Instead, he was asked to join the State Department, partially because of his bilingual abilities–he was a perfect fit for service in Latin America. He was Special Assistant to Montevideo, Uruguay in 1942-1943. From there, he became Assistant Chief in the Division of World Trade Intelligence (1944-1945), Assistant Chief in the Division of Economic Security Controls (1945-1946), Chief of the Division of River Plate Affairs (1946-1947), and then Second Secretary in Caracas, Venezuela (1947-1949). Mann was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Middle American Affairs from 1949-1953, during which time he worked closely with the new Eisenhower Administration on Latin America policy.
The only break in Latin American diplomatic service was in 1953-1954, when Mann became Counselor to Greece. But when President Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown in Guatemala in 1954, Mann was quickly brought back and assigned the office of Deputy Chief of Mission to that country, where he served one year. In 1955-1957, Mann was the Ambassador to El Salvador, and then in 1957 was appointed Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, a post he would hold until 1960. Mann would hold the office of US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs twice, from 1960-1961 and then from 1964-1965. Between those years, from 1961-1963, he served as Ambassador to Mexico. Mann’s last diplomatic office was that of US Under-Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs from 1965-1966. Mann retired from diplomatic service in 1966 and went to work for the Automobile Manufacturer’s Association from 1967-1971.
One of the most remarkable series in the papers is the Oral History series. Mann served under five U.S. presidents (Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson) and the oral history interviews Mann did for the Presidential Libraries of four of the presidents are very insightful. The oral history for the Kennedy Library is particularly interesting as it discusses a foiled assassination attempt on Kennedy when he was in Mexico in 1962. Mann also goes into some detail on his thoughts and understanding regarding the Bay of Pigs and events surrounding it, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Each interview gives focus on a president, foreign policy and actions during that period (with the exception of the John Foster Dulles Oral History), and taken together, provide strong insights into the Latin American political landscape during those years.
Thomas Mann to Mr. Hall (American Embassy, Mexico), 1961 June 30, Thomas C. Mann papers, Series VII, Box 24, Folder 6, Book 45.
Mann was also instrumental in helping to finalize the decades-old dispute between the US and Mexico regarding the boundary lines between the two countries, during his tenure as Ambassador to Mexico from 1961-1963. The boundary between the two was the Rio Grande, which had changed its course over the years, sometimes adding land to one country while taking it from another. Attempts at defining the boundary to the satisfaction of both countries had failed up until this time, and Mann played a large part in the discussions and negotiations which formally finalized the dispute, called the Chamizal Agreement, in January 1963. There are also two folders of recorded telephone conversations with LBJ in the collection that are very interesting to read and detail many conversations between the two from January 1964-June 1966.
Mann’s career is full of interesting events and situations, and his papers reflect that diversity. He was involved in the the Panama Canal Dispute and the Dominican Crisis in the early 1960s. He helped secure aid for fledgling governments in countries such as Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile. During his career, there was not much that went on in Latin America that Thomas Mann didn’t know about. His papers provide great insights into this long and interesting diplomatic career and also provide a wealth of research potential in the area of US-Latin American relations.
Gross, Leonard, “The Man Behind Our Latin American Actions,” Look, June 15, 1965
O’Leary, Jerry, Jr., “Portrait of a Diplomat: Mann Is a Forceful Loner,” Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., September 13, 1964
Meyer, Ben F., “Thomas Clifton Mann Receives Mexican Citation For Outstanding International Relations Achievement,” Baylor Report, May 1968
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.
Images from the John Oscar Birgen “Swede” Johnson collection
On September 13, 1896, William George Crush organized the infamous collision of the Katy Roundhouses on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad.
Crush, as the new General Passenger Agent of the MKT System, had the idea to demonstrate a train crash as a publicity stunt and was assured by all but one mechanical engineer that the boilers of the trains would not explode.
For the price of $2 a ticket, over 40,000 spectators came out to the pop-up town of Crush, Texas, to see the “famous duel of the iron monsters.”
Just after 4 pm, Crush threw a hat up into the air, signaling red No. 1001 and green Old No. 99 to begin racing at 90 miles an hour towards each other. The thundering crash of the locomotives sent flying debris towards the massive crowd, causing three deaths and other injuries.
One of the two photographers capturing the event, Jarvis Deane, was among the injured. He lost his eyesight after a missile put out his eye and a metal bolt lodged into his head.
The incident inspired Scott Joplin to write “The Great Crush Collision March.”
See all of the images in our Flickr set. GIFs and factoids prepared by Haley Rodriguez, archives student assistant.
Friday’s Lariat announced the expectation of a performance on Monday by Marian Anderson. Baylor Lariat, March 24, 1939.
“Armstrong’s Stars” is a collaboration between the Armstrong Browning Library and Baylor’s Texas Collection. Once a month we feature a story about a celebrity who Dr. A.J. Armstrong brought to Baylor. These stories highlight an interesting part of Baylor’s history and include collection materials housed in both the Armstrong Browning Library and the Texas Collection.
This month’s story was contributed by Amanda Mylin, graduate assistant, The Texas Collection.
When renowned African-American singer Marian Anderson was not permitted to sing in the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C. in March 1939, the nation reacted (in large part) with astonishment. Anderson is quoted in an article published in the Baylor Lariat saying, “It shocks me beyond words that after having appeared in the capitols of most of the countries of the world, I am not wanted in the capitol of my own country” (“D.A.R. and Americanism,” 2).
Eleanor Roosevelt’s response was the most notable: the First Lady protested the move by resigning from the DAR, and encouraging a concert at an even more prominent venue. Anderson performed a free open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, encouraged and arranged by the First Lady, Anderson’s manager, Walter White of the NAACP, and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes.
In the midst of this drama, Anderson came to Baylor. Two weeks before her famed Easter concert, Anderson performed at Baylor University’s Waco Hall at the behest of Dr. A. J. Armstrong and Sigma Tau Delta. She was the first African-American soloist to grace the Hall. Her March 27 performance included an array of spirituals and compositions by Handel, Schubert, and Carissimi. The Baylor Lariat for March 3 stated that Sigma Tau Delta had taken the “liberal side of the week’s race question” by selecting Marian Anderson to perform (“Negro Singer Will Follow First Lady,” 4). The same article also noted that Mrs. Roosevelt would speak in Waco Hall on March 13, two weeks before the concert. A nationwide commotion had found its way to Baylor’s campus in a small capacity.
“‘Procrastination is the thief of time’–and good seats!” Tickets sold quickly for Anderson’s upcoming performance, according to this ad in tThe Waco News-Tribune, February 26, 1939. Newspapers.com.
Anderson’s performance was well-received by the Waco audience even though it was primarily formed of a distinct “cross-section of the community’s white citizenship.” The Waco News-Tribune for the next day stated that this turn-out “was pretty much proof that the DAR of Washington, D. C., acted in silly fashion to say the least” (“Marian Anderson is Well Received by Waco Audience”). Furthermore, this article mentioned that Anderson’s well-attended performance was an instance of a slow but steady “solution of a leading American problem.”
Interestingly enough, even Waco Hall remained segregated for Anderson’s concert, with a special portion of the balcony reserved for African-Americans. Eventually, Anderson would insist upon what she called “vertical” seating for her concerts, with available seats throughout the auditorium reserved for African-Americans, and by 1950, she refused to sing for segregated audiences. Yet in the wake of the Constitution Hall incident, Anderson was pleased to perform at Baylor by invitation of Dr. Armstrong.
Dr. Armstrong attempted to bring Anderson back to Waco again in the 1940s, but her schedule was full. Her booking agency offered instead the Don Cossack Chorus, which did come to Waco that February. Anderson, Marian, Records of Visiting Celebrities, Armstrong Browning Library.
Although Anderson was in a hurry and allegedly declined to discuss her recent deterrence by the DAR and the First Lady’s defense of her attempt to perform, she did offer a small informal interview to the Baylor Lariat. She had never been to Waco and commented on the beauty of driving through the Texas countryside from San Antonio. Her enthusiasm and unstoppable energy seemed to bubble over as she explained, “I think America offers vast unlimited opportunities for youthful singers who have the seriousness and determination to become great artists no matter what their race of color” (“Eleanor Roosevelt Versus D.A.R. Feud is Closed; Field Unlimited, Says Anderson,” 1).
By Amanda Gesiorski, Texas Collection graduate assistant and museum studies graduate student
Letter from Onnie E. Clem, Jr. to his fiancée, Julie, during his time at home in Dallas, Texas, circa 1944-1945. Onnie E. Clem, Jr. papers, #3939, Box 1, Folder 2.
As impressive as the recent movie Unbroken may be, a better story about a WWII prisoner of war can be found within the Onnie E. Clem, Jr. papers. Not only do we learn about Onnie’s harrowing experience overseas, but we also get a firsthand account of his passionate love affair with his future wife, Julie.
Onnie E. Clem, Jr. was born in Dallas, Texas, and joined the United States Marine Corps in 1938 to see the world. He became a radio operator and was stationed in Peking, China, at the US Embassy. When the United States entered World War II, Onnie took part in the battles of the Bataan and was part of the Bataan Death March. Onnie survived the march only to become a POW at Camp O’ Donnell and Cabanatuan for two and a half years.
On August 19, 1944, Onnie was put into the hull of a Japanese “hell ship” with 750 other American prisoners. Nineteen days later, the ship was hit by an American torpedo. As the ship was sinking, the Japanese tossed a grenade into the hull and shot Americans as they tried to escape. Although injured from the torpedo and shot by the Japanese, Onnie managed to escape and swim three miles to shore, where he was rescued by Filipino guerilla fighters. Onnie was one of only 83 known survivors of this incident. By September 1944, Onnie was on his way back home. A transcribed interview with Onnie from 1972 reveals this harrowing experience.
Onnie’s story does not end there, though. Things heat up when Onnie arrives in San Diego, California, where he meets Staff Sergeant “Julie” Cecile Lorraine Julian, who was a member of the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve (USMCWR). She served as secretary to the general in charge of public relations along the west coast in San Diego and later at the office in San Francisco.
This photograph shows Staff Sergeant “Julie” Cecile Lorraine Julian wearing her official United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve uniform, circa 1944-1945. It was enclosed in a letter she sent to her fiancée, Onnie, while he was in Texas. Onnie E. Clem, Jr. papers, #3939, Box 1, Folder 3.
Julie’s office coordinated Onnie’s war bond tour in California. When Onnie walked into her office one day, there was an instant attraction. The couple had a whirlwind romance, and when Onnie returned home to Texas in November 1944, there was a passionate exchange of letters. In these letters, we learn about Julie and Onnie’s relationship as well as their social and work lives. We get a glimpse of Julie’s romantic history with other soldiers, and Onnie’s attempt to re-assimilate into civilian life. We also learn that upon returning home, Onnie is plagued by a constant stream of inquiries from people wanting to know if he has news about their loved ones. Also woven within these letters is the life of Onnie’s fellow escapee, Verks D. Cutter, and Cutter’s wife Janet Elliot, including their secret marriage. While Julie, Janet, Onnie, and Verks are friends at the beginning, as the letters continue we learn about a falling out between them. Onnie and Julie marry on July 13, 1945, and move to Texas, where they work and raise two children.
Onnie joined the Marines to see the world, and in that he succeeded—his papers tell that story. The Onnie E. Clem, Jr. papers read like a novel full of passion and drama, but they also provide a unique historical insight into the daily personal, professional, and social lives of two Marines during WWII.
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 are March’s finding aids:
This letter from Elizabeth Thatcher recounts the grim aftermath of the 1900 Galveston storm. One of the worst national disasters in United States history, Thatcher gives an eyewitness account of the aftermath of the storm: thousands of people dead, all communication to the island cut off, and the city placed under martial law. Galveston Storm letters, 1700, box 1, folder 1.
Contains research, teaching, and personal materials of noted Southern folklorist Dorothy Scarborough, who taught English at Baylor University for ten years.
Materials include documents relating to Mann’s professional career in the United States State Department as a Foreign Service diplomat.
This document is a preface to Mann’s Memos of Telephone Conversations books and explains why he kept written records of all telephone conversations generated by his office while working for the United States government. Thomas C. Mann papers, 2461, box 16, folder 2.
This image shows the Huaco Club clubhouse a few years after its 1912 construction, as the shrubbery and landscaping look to have flourished. The water tank can be seen in the back right of the photo. Photo was taken not long before the entire facility was destroyed by fire in January 1917. Roy Ellsworth Lane collection, box 2, folder 1.
Built in 1912, the Huaco Club was one of the places to be for Wacoans of the 1910s. From golf and tennis to social events, wealthier Wacoans enjoyed spending time at the country club, located near Sanger Avenue and 29th Street.
However, the club didn’t last long. On January 4, 1917, the Huaco Club lost its clubhouse and surrounding structures to a devastating fire. A three-story building designed by architect Roy Lane, the clubhouse included two dining rooms, a parlor, offices, living rooms, reading room, and ballroom. The club also featured a nine-hole golf course, bowling alley, and tennis courts, on 50 acres. The next morning’s Waco Morning News reported: “Not a stick of the building or its contents was saved.”
This image shows what remained of the Huaco Club the day after the fire. The fire’s intensity is evident–members survey melted steel lockers with hopes of retrieving any spared belongings. The frames of the lockers and the limestone mantel were among the only remaining structures. Photograph by E.C. Blomeyer, President of the Texas Telephone Company, and member of the Huaco Club. E.C. Blomeyer photographic collection, box 2, folder 9.
The club’s president, Dr. J.W. Hale, estimated that the fire’s destruction of the facility amounted to $70,000. In 1917, that was a hefty sum—in today’s money, that would equal nearly $2.3 million! Apart from the clubhouse, estimated at $35,000, and furnishings, the club’s stock of golf equipment for sale, and members’ personal gear were lost as well.
A report published soon after the fire in Safety Engineering, “Recent Fires and Their Lessons,” stated “Cause unknown” for the Huaco Club fire. But fire investigators concluded that losses were aided in part by the club’s late fire alarm system causing a delayed response by firefighters. It was also believed that its construction of easily combustible material enabled structures to become quickly engulfed by the flames.
The Huaco Club was the first golfing facility of its kind in Waco. In a 1915 article in The Waco Morning News, James Hays Quarles attributes Walter V. Fort with bringing golf to Waco in 1896. Fort was inspired by golf courses he saw in Dallas and worked with other prominent local citizens to assemble assets needed to establish a golf club.
A view of one of the many luxurious spaces at the Huaco Club’s clubhouse. This three-story building was once host to many social gatherings. The club not only served as a golf course but also hosted luncheons, dinner parties, dances, weddings, and banquets. Many of these occasions were mentioned in the society columns of Waco newspapers. Roy Ellsworth Lane collection, box 1, folder 16.
The charter for the Huaco Club was organized and signed on May 20, 1910. It called for $40,000 to be raised with 200 members purchasing shares of $200 apiece. The charter stated: “The purpose for which this corporation is formed is to support and maintain a country club for the promotion and encouragement of outdoor life, the games of golf and tennis and other innocent sports and amusements.” In 1913, the shareholder number met its goal. By October 1915, it had 183 stockholders with 63 associate members.
The club was more than just about sports—it was a meeting place for many Wacoans and out of town visitors. Many well-known Waco businessmen and prominent male and female citizens were on its membership rolls. The club frequently hosted luncheons, dinner parties, dances, weddings, and banquets, mentioned in the society columns of Waco newspapers on many occasions.
The remains of the white limestone mantel, a gift from the Huaco clubhouse’s architect, Roy Lane, mostly withstood the inferno. Here, it stands isolated as one of the last noticeable features of a once prominent building. E.C. Blomeyer photographic collection, box 2, folder 9.
Even though the Huaco Club and its contents were insured for approximately $26,000—far less than the $70,000 loss caused by the fire—plans for another golf facility were soon made. Chartered on August 27, 1917, and built circa 1920, the remaining club members opened a new facility, Spring Lake Country Club, at Day’s Lake in what is now Lacy-Lakeview. It included a larger course with 18 holes and an elaborate clubhouse. In a similar fashion as its predecessor, the new club continued to carry on various recreational as well as social functions. Meanwhile, the land the club occupied around 29th and Sanger Avenue was developed into one of Waco’s early “suburbs.”
The early days of golfing in the Waco area did have its setbacks and losses. But the sport that was once referred to as “pasture pool,” played in areas shared with grazing cattle, overcame such setbacks as the Huaco Club fire. Indeed, the love of the game, as well as the way it brings people together, still makes golf and its related activities thrive to this day, in and around Waco.
See more photos of the Huaco Club—before and after—in the Flickr slideshow below.
Texas Jewish Historical Society members exploring display in Texas Collection reading room. The materials on display for society members to view included representative items from over nineteen collections documenting the life and faith experience of Jewish people in Waco.
On January 24, The Texas Collection welcomed the Texas Jewish Historical Society to a special display of materials on Jewish life and faith in Central Texas. Members of the society viewed many different kinds of materials, including:
a letter to a German Jewish family by the German secret police, warning them to leave the country (they later came to Waco, Texas),
an elaborate green velvet scrapbook with photographs from the 1800s of the Goldstein family in Waco,
photographs of Jewish-owned businesses in Waco, such as the Goldstein-Migel and Sanger Brothers department stores,
membership cards and past meeting pamphlets from the Texas Jewish Historical Society, and
photographs of Temple Rodef Sholom and Congregation Agudath Jacob in Waco from the early 1900s.
Photographic scrapbook of the Goldstein family in Waco, Texas, from the early 1900s.
All together, The Texas Collection has more than 20 Jewish-related collections available for researchers to explore. Most of these collections are unprocessed, meaning they are not yet described through a finding aid in BARD or housed in modern acid-free boxes and folders. However, two Jewish collections have been processed recently, the De Cordova Family papers 1845-1956 and the Waco Chapter of Hadassah records 1928-2009, and we hope to process the rest of them soon. Stay tuned for more news about our Jewish collections!
By Casey Schumacher, Texas Collection graduate assistant and museum studies graduate student
The extent of John Borden’s property is shown in this 1876 land tract of San Felipe, TX. Land deeds in the collection indicate that the four Borden brothers purchased several hundred acres in the Austin County region, often from one another. Borden family collection #78, box 1, folder 1.
The Borden family collection at The Texas Collection has nothing to say about Lizzie Borden, the infamous Massachusetts ax-slinger. Believe me, I checked. However, in 1908, another notable Lizzie Borden, daughter of John P. Borden, wrote a brief history of her family’s deep Texan roots. Together, Lizzie’s father, her uncles, and her brothers helped create a family legacy that played a key role in establishing the Republic of Texas.
Gail Borden Sr. had four sons who were all very proud, upstanding Texans. The family owned extensive property in Austin and San Patricio County, some of which we can see in the land plots and deeds included in the collection. All four sons were landowners and prominent businessmen in south Texas, but their devotion to the Republic had a ripple effect across the state and into the ports of Galveston.
Gail Jr., the oldest of the four brothers, partnered with his closest brother Thomas and a family friend to establish Texas’ first newspaper, the Telegraph and Texas Registerin San Felipe de Austin in 1835. Circulation increased rapidly and within a year, they had 700 subscribers. After encroaching Mexicans threw their press into Buffalo Bayou, Gail traveled to Cincinnati to purchase a new press. The next issue, dated August 2, 1836, included a reprint of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. Even after the Borden brothers left the printing company, the newspaper continued to publish important documents that organized the Republic of Texas.
This 1921 reprint celebrates the first edition of the Telegraph and Texas Register, published by the Borden & Baker printing company on October 1, 1835.
The Borden family didn’t just write about their Texas pride, however. In 1836, Gail Jr. presented Captain Moseley Baker with a flag he helped design for San Felipe. After leaving the newspaper, he went on to prepare the first topographical map of Texas. Soon after, he became the first collector of the port of Galveston and eventually founded the Borden Company.
At the same time Gail Jr. presented the flag at San Felipe, his younger brother John, Lizzie’s father, was a First Lieutenant under Captain Baker. John fought in the Battle of San Jacinto when he was 24 years old, and he was later appointed by Sam Houston as Commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas. Both of John’s sons would also leave home to fight for the Republic. The oldest son, Thaddeus, joined the Confederate Army at age 17 and was killed. John’s second son Sidney joined the Confederate Army at age 19 and eventually returned to establish the river port at Sharpsburg.
In her family history, Lizzie tells her nieces and nephews about each of her uncles and their dedication to the Republic of Texas. Naturally, she favors her father’s accomplishments and pays special homage to her brothers, Thaddeus and Sidney. She closes with a story of her and Sidney’s trip to the Philadelphia Centennial. Needless to say, the Bordens were a very close-knit and proud Texas family. The Borden family collection sheds some light on their influence in the Austin County and San Patricio County areas, as well as their dedication to the Republic of Texas.
Joe B. Frantz, “Borden, Gail Jr.,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed December 16, 2014. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Modified on October 28, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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