This blog post was written by Student Assistant Morgan Ballard. Morgan is a Senior Anthropology (Archeology) major in her second year at The Texas Collection. Morgan wrote this post as an analysis of research methods she learned while at Baylor compared to those used in a real-life scenario. Photos included were taken by Morgan as part of her research. 

The First Street Cemetery was one of the first public cemeteries in Waco, Texas which opened in 1852. The original plot is located on the corner lot of South University Parks Drive, formerly First Street, and North I-35 Frontage Road with additions reaching to the Brazos River and behind Hebrew Rest Cemetery. First Street Cemetery is recognizable by the sparse markers and many unmarked graves further back surrounding the Texas Ranger Museum. In contrast, Hebrew Rest, a perpetual care cemetery is recognizable by the clearly marked rows and ornate fence surrounding the property.

Buying plots was not a requirement for burial in this cemetery, which has continuously contributed to confusion related to finding graves. The lack of cemetery layout records led to reuse of several plots (stacked graves) as the cemetery filled quickly with various members of society including Civil War and World War I veterans as well as many members of the founding families of Waco. First Street Cemetery has never been a perpetual care establishment, which began to show in the late 1800s as the cemetery began to deteriorate. Headstones began to sink into the ground or were stolen and made identifying graves difficult at best. Considered full, the cemetery was officially closed to the public in 1897. Plots that were purchased, such as those by the Free Masons and the Odd Fellows of Waco, were used until the last interment in the 1920s, after World War I.

Record keeping for the First Street Cemetery has been poor from the beginning, a trend that has unfortunately continued for many years. In 1963, the publication of the McLennan County Cemetery Records, which can be found at the Texas Collection, was the first time intensive cataloging was conducted. However, because of the lack of initial record keeping, the cemetery records only record graves that were visible at the present time. In 1965, in preparation to build the Texas Ranger Museum on the northwest corner of First Street Cemetery, a map, also found at the Texas Collection, was plotted to identify known graves and move them within the confines of the original portion of the cemetery. At the time, legally, only headstones had to be removed from an area to build. No further documentation could be found that extensive searching for unmarked graves was conducted. As such, when looking at the old layout of the cemetery it is highly likely the areas initially checked for graves, including under the parking lot and main building, still contain burial sites.

In 2006 the Texas Ranger Museum set plans to build an additional meeting hall to the main building and hired archaeologist Michael Bradle to conduct an archaeological excavation in the area and report his findings. According to normal standards of archaeological research, reports should include detailed background research of the area, both historic and prehistoric, detailed methods of excavation and all findings, as well as an interpretation of the site including a full investigation if artifacts for cultural importance. An analysis of Bradle’s investigation shows no mention of the First Street Cemetery history or other historic references, nor does it mention artifacts he found. For example, in his report he briefly mentions a brick wall uncovered in one of the deeper excavations but does not list this as an artifact (the map created in 1965 clearly shows the bricks). In the case of known or supposed historic graves, the minimum depth of excavations should be at least six feet down as this is, and has been for some time, the most common burial depth. The report shows Bradle used scraping techniques over the entire site area, which only removes three inches of topsoil, using a shovel or trowel. He also dug trenches of three feet deep, but according to standards these should continue down to bedrock.

Bradle granted the museum permission to begin construction in 2007, however, it did not last long. As construction crews began digging trenches for utility lines, they uncovered several unmarked graves. A cause for alarm, this resulted in years of work on the part of several state archaeologists, archaeology students, legal teams, museum staff, and state officials to look over the original findings from Bradle. Over the span of three years, 200 people were disinterred.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2013, the First Street Cemetery Memorial Advisory Committee was formed. The committee was comprised of fifteen people including Baylor employees, Historic Waco Foundation members, funeral home directors, avocational historians from the Waco area, and various community leaders. The committee provided historical research on the cemetery, found an appropriate reburial site (Rosemound Cemetery), compiled biographical information of individuals, sought designation of the First Street Cemetery as a Texas Historical site, and submitted text for a historical marker for the reburial site. The committee was active until 2018, ceasing operation once most people were reburied, the First Street Cemetery was designated as a historic site, and the historic markers were placed.

Today the First Street Cemetery still surrounds the Texas Ranger Museum. The city remains in charge of the cemetery and museum grounds yet continues to neglect the cemetery. Efforts are currently being made by a small student organization at Baylor University to receive permission to take care of the cemetery.

 

References

“1st Street Cemetery.” S.l: s.n.] 1968, Print.

Bradle, Michael R., Gilbert T. Bernhardt, and Ronald W. Ralph. Archaeological Survey and Monitoring of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum Expansion Project for the City of Waco, McLennan County, Texas. Lampasas, Tex: American Archaeology Group, 2006. Print.

Digital Sanborn Maps 1867-1970. S.l: Bell & Howell, UMI. Print.

First Street Cemetery Location Lists. S.l: s.n., 1992. Print.

First Street Cemetery Memorial Advisory Committee Records, 2013-2015 (bulk 2014). N.p., Print.

“Map of First Street Cemetery.” S.l: s.n.] Print.

Shaw, Rissa. “Waco: City Aims to Right Past Wrongs by Bringing Peace to Disturbed Graves.” Https://Www.kwtx.com, 19 May 2018,  www.kwtx.com/content/news/Local-city–483106341.html.

Smith, J.b. “Dead Await Reburial at Ranger Museum.” WacoTrib.com, 15 July 2020, wacotrib.com/news/government/dead-await-     reburial-at-ranger-museum/article_3576a4a0-5bfa-5e69-91db-bd656b1df48a.html.

Usry, John M. McLennan County, Texas, Cemetery Records. Waco: N.p., 1965. Print.

Robert Preston Taylor was born in Henderson, Texas, in 1909 and attended Baptist revivals from an early age. As a teenager he began preaching at the events, gaining a small following and lauded for his work. He attended Jacksonville (Texas) College Academy and Junior College, then Baylor University and Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, all while following his call to serve. But what happens when that call takes you to battle? To serve God while fighting for your life?

For Taylor, his journey to serve God and country began in 1938 while he was serving as a preacher at the South Fort Worth Baptist Church. He received a letter from the Chaplains Division of the War Department seeking men to minister to American troops. After praying, Taylor answered the call by joining as a Reservist. He was stationed at Fort Hood for two months later that year. In 1940, the call came once again from the War Department. This time to serve one year in the Army Air Corps as a Chaplain. Again, he prayed, and decide he would take a leave of absence from the church. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps, 31^st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division located at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. Because of rising tensions, the division was activated and arrived in the Philippines in May 1941.

While in the Philippines, Taylor was united with twenty-five other chaplains and provided servicemen regular chapel services until the attack on Pearl Harbor. Once the U.S. declared war, Manila was attacked by the Japanese. With casualties rising and a constant need for services, Chaplain Taylor was authorized to use one of the few remaining Jeeps to travel and minister to the troops. He saw a need for the presence of the Word. As circumstances worsened, services became mere scraps of paper passed about with hymns, a verse or two of song, and short bits of scripture.

In the Spring of 1942, U.S. and Filipino troops could no longer sustain action against the Japanese, and officially surrendered. As the Japanese prepared to transport the now prisoners of war, they began confiscating items of personal value. For Chaplain Taylor that meant the loss of his Baylor class ring. On April 8, the troops, already weakened by malaria and dysentery, were forced to endure over twenty-four hours without food or water at the beginning of a sixty-five-mile trek across the peninsula, what would be become known as the Bataan Death March.

The walk took about five days as Japanese troops inflicted many torturous acts upon the prisoners, pushing them to their brink. As they marched, Taylor became both a physical and spiritual pillar, literally holding up his comrades as he professed his faith. Through sheer luck, the chaplain was rescued before the end of his trek. An American ambulance patrol was given permission to collect those in the worst physical health. Although Taylor was not among them, he was recognized as a chaplain and for his need at the Japanese prison camp hospital ward.

The hospital provided a reprieve, if only temporary. It was bombed and evacuated; survivors were sent to Cabanatuan prison camp. In camp, Taylor learned only half of the chaplains in the unit survived. As new assignments were made within camp, Taylor chose to attend to the frailest, those in the “pearly gates ward,” or death house. After repeated denials by the strict Japanese camp management to perform any worship services, he ultimately joined the funeral detail to ease his thoughts of men being laid to rest without a final blessing.

Prisoners were denied many basic needs in Cabanatuan, including medicine. Aware of this, Chaplain Taylor, at his own risk, organized a smuggling operation to obtain supplies. The operation was only thwarted by his own request for a Greek New Testament Bible. This request sent him to the hot box, a 20 square foot cell he shared with one other. In confinement, Taylor’s faith waivered, but the hope of others and constant conversation with the Lord uplifted him when he was low.

After fourteen weeks of confinement and reduced rations, dysentery took its toll on Taylor; his release to the hospital ward only came at the eminence of his death. Still unable to perform worship services, the prisoners defiantly sat in vigil outside the hospital ward and conducted prayer chains around the clock for two weeks. Taylor’s recovery brought a renewed hope and visible symbol of prayer to camp. After a two-month recovery, and change of camp management, Taylor helped perform the first camp wide religious service. In his time at Cabanatuan, Chaplain Taylor ministered to over 10,000 men, sharing his faith, and observing that of others.

Taylor’s call to ministry led him throughout his imprisonment and beyond. After nearly four years he was released and looked forward to seeing his wife, only to discover she believed him to be dead and had recently remarried. Not letting this affect his faith, the chaplain decided to continue military service over 105 days of convalescent leave. His decision made him one of only two chaplains in his unit who endured the atrocities of World War II to continue his career. Taylor’s experiences allowed him to share his faith through his chaplaincy and public speaking engagements. Eventually, Taylor remarried, had one son, and turned a one-year commitment into more than 25 years of service that culminated as the Chief of Chaplains for the United States Air Force.

 

By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. 

Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph and postcard collections. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” blog series that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, street scenes, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.

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At 601 Austin Avenue, Waco, Texas, stands the 9-story tall Liberty Building, also known as One Liberty Place. It was completed in 1923, and opened for business in May of that year. Its architect was Birch D. Easterwood and it was originally built as the Liberty National Bank building. The Liberty National Bank was chartered on February 1, 1918, and its first president was J.B. Earle. The Liberty Building was one of several high-rise commercial structures built in downtown Waco in the first two decades of the twentieth century. The much larger Alico Building was completed in 1911, The Raleigh Hotel in 1914, The Praetorian Building in 1915, the Stratton Building in 1921, and the Roosevelt Hotel in 1928. However, while the Liberty Building seems unassuming compared to some of these taller structures, it still holds a prominent place among the city’s surviving business buildings from this period. Indeed, at nearly 100 years old, the Liberty Building has stood the test of time and is still supplying much needed office space to a vibrant downtown Waco of the 2020’s.

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The “Then” picture from February 1960 in the image sequence below shows: the Liberty Building, located at 601 Austin Avenue, Waco, Texas. Photographer, Windy Drum, General Photo File, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. The “Now’ is a similar view of the building taken in 2020 by GH.

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Works Sourced:

“In Our New Home, The Liberty National Bank Building,” The Waco News-Tribune, May 19, 1923.

Waco Chamber of Commerce News, April 1923, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: “Waco Downtown Historic District.” Accessed March 25, 2021.

 

 

The Texas Collection posts newly accessible resources each month. If you have any questions or would like to use these materials, please let us know and we would be happy to assist!

MAPS

The Bankhead Highway from Roswell to Fort Worth and Dallas, circa 1926-1936

From the Automobile Club of Southern California, this set of maps shows the Bankhead Highway from Roswell, New Mexico to Fort Worth and Dallas. The maps are broken into segments and  denotes various travel stops such as hotels, gas stations, and garages.

 

Tauola dell’isole nuoue, le quali son nominate occidentali, & indiane per diuersi rispetto, 1558

A 1558 copy of the 1540 wood cut by Sebastian Münster. This map is the 8^th state and depicts Magellan’s ship as well as the Spanish flag over the Caribbean and the Portuguese flag near the coast of Brazil. Additionally, it was one of the earliest maps to identify Japan (“Zipangri”).

 

 

Finding AIDS

JANUARY

• BU Records: Baylor Religious Hour Choir BU/311
  • The BU Records: Baylor Religious Hour Choir contains correspondence, programs, and audio recordings of the Baylor Religious Hour Choir. The choir is a student-led religious choir that is known for their singing at Baylor campus events, local area churches, and international mission trips.
• BU Records: Continuing Education BU/356
  • BU Records: Continuing Education contains a wide variety of documents related to the operation of Baylor Continuing Education program from the late 1970s up to 2005, including correspondence, memos, annual reports, course materials, grant and scholarship applications, financial documents, and other administrative files.
• BU Records: First Families of Baylor Award BU/222
  • The BU Records: First Families of Baylor Club includes minutes, correspondence, membership lists, and other materials. The club was a student organization that Baylor students could join if they had a previous relative attend Baylor.
• BU Records: Native American Student Association BU/410
  • The Native American Student Association records contain correspondence, contracts, membership records, financial documents, publicity, and a grant proposal related to the activities of the student group.
• BU Records: Retired Professors and Administrators Program BU/312
  • BU Records: Retired Professors and Administrators Program contains correspondence, faculty information and obituaries, newsletters, and other materials from the program’s efforts to connect, engage, and honor the legacy of retired faculty and administrators.
• Normand Louis LaRoche papers #643
  • The Normand Louis LaRoche papers contain a variety of documents and materials related to LaRoche’s experiences serving in the United States Army during World War II, including his time overseeing prisoners of war in Camp Milam, Texas, and serving in the military police in Europe.
• J.C. McGary papers #377
  • The J.C. McGary papers include one transcribed letter that McGary wrote as a soldier in the American Civil War.
• Waco Civic Theatre #2231
  • The Waco Civic Theatre records document business operations and performances of the community volunteer theatre group from 1931-2020. Notable documents include minutes, programs, scrapbooks, photographs, clippings, and correspondence.
• [Waco] Hamilton House Records #3048
  • The [Waco] Hamilton House records document the history and use of the house as a place for women’s clubs to meet and operate in Waco, Texas. Some clubs include the American Association of University Women, the Baylor Round Table, and Altrusa of Waco. Clippings, meeting minutes, membership lists, notes, cookbooks, newsletters, brochures, yearbooks, and financial documents are included.
• Washington County Tennant Farm ledgers #3971
  • The Washington County Tenant Farm ledgers contain small bound ledger books kept by Washington County landowners.

 

FEBRUARY

• American Association of University Women, Waco Branch records # 232
  • The American Association of University Women Waco Branch records contain correspondence, membership listings, yearbooks, by-laws, and publications for local, state, and national levels. Branch projects and scrapbooks are also included.
• [Waco] Austin Avenue Methodist Church records #2912
  • The [Waco] Austin Avenue Methodist Church records document a limited history of the church from 1900 to 1970. Charter membership lists, baptism records, minutes, and yearbooks are present, in addition to other materials.
• Belton Brick Manufacturing Company records #1520
  • The Belton Brick Manufacturing Company records document the company from incorporation in 1883 until 1889. The collection includes stock certificates, legal documents, company minutes, and financial ledgers and daybooks.
• [Waco] Brookview Neighborhood Association records #3700
  • The [Waco] Brookview Neighborhood Association records documents the early stages of development for the community program. Minutes, by-laws, membership rosters, various reports and correspondence are included. A neighborhood housing survey is also available as it was the basis for early projects.
• Fiesta de San Jacinto Invitations #459
  • The Fiesta de San Jacinto invitations include oversize invitations for the annual Fiesta de San Jacinto activities in San Antonio, Texas. The oversize items are dated 1937-1959 and include art prints and Fiesta history.
• Edward Clark proclamations #285
  • The Edward Clark proclamation contains two photocopies of an 1861 proclamation by Texas Governor Edward Clark, calling for a military force of 2,000 to be raised for service in the Confederate Army.
• Confederate Veterans collection #1864
  • The Confederate Veterans collection contains a program and delegate’s certificate to United Confederate Veterans reunions and two essays about veterans.
• J.W. Curtis papers #355
  • The J.W. Curtis papers contain a single transcribed letter from Curtis, describing his work at a California gold field near Sacramento.
• Gay Family collection #2229
  • The Gay Family collection contains genealogies of the Gay, Mann, and Ellis families, along with news clippings about Texas independence and Baylor University President Reddin Andrews. There is also a poem written in tribute to Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
• Sinia Reaves Brewer Harris papers #3016
  • The Sinia Reaves Brewer Harris papers contain correspondence, clippings, photographs, manuals, and other materials documenting Harris’ life and work as a a schoolteacher and project director for the National Youth Administration.
• Pan American Round Table of Waco, Texas Scrapbooks #2964
  • The Pan American Round Table of Waco, Texas scrapbooks include seven books documenting events and membership of the organization. Scrapbooks consist of newspaper clippings, photographs, newsletters, conference programs, correspondence, and other related materials.
• Reconstruction collection #2288
  • The Reconstruction collection contains general military orders #1 and #11 from the Reconstruction period in Texas history.
• Henry C. Smith papers # 3784
  • The Henry C. Smith papers consist of letters and a few photographs recounting Smith’s daily experiences in the United States Army in flight cadet training school in Ithaca, New York; Dallas, Texas; and Waco, Texas during World War I.

 

This blog post was written by Graduate Student Assistant B.J. Thome. B.J. is a Ph.D. candidate in English Literature in his first year at The Texas Collection. He processed and wrote a finding aid for the Henry C. Smith papers, #3784. 

Concerned that his mother might worry about his health given the epidemic raging throughout the United States, Henry C. Smith sends her a message: “No mother, I am not sick with the Influenza nor am I dead.” Replace “Influenza” with “Coronavirus,” and Henry’s message might resemble messages we’ve sent our own mothers recently. But Henry’s message isn’t recent. It is, in fact, more than one hundred years old, written to his mother on October 11, 1918. Despite the century-long gap between Henry’s experience and our own, his descriptions of quarantine and his attempts to deemphasize the epidemic’s effects on his life might feel eerily familiar to our own pandemic experiences.

Henry C. Smith enlisted in the Army near the end of World War I, seeking a commission as a pilot. Throughout 1918, he studied in various camps and flight schools: first at Cornell, then at Camp Dick near Dallas, and ultimately learning to fly at Rich Field in Waco, Texas. (Rich Field was an army air base founded in Waco in 1917.  The Extraco Events Center and Waco High School now sit on the land formerly occupied by Rich Field.)

As a cadet, Henry wrote almost daily to his mother; his letters from October reference the ongoing Influenza epidemic and the quarantine measures put in place to slow its spread. In one letter, he notes, “We are not allowed to go in public gatherings from today on.” In another, he tells his mother, “Did I tell you we are under quarantine. We have to sleep with out [sic] bunks at least five feet apart and they prefer having you sleep under the stars.” Avoiding crowds, staying several feet apart, and being safer outside than inside—sound familiar?

Even as Henry frequently notes the quarantine procedures, he attempts to downplay their importance, preferring to focus on his flight training. The October 11 letter, for example, discusses the flu and quarantine in only a few lines, most of which have already been quoted. The bulk of the letter describes his first solo flight and the wonder of that experience. Other letters referencing the flu are similar: lines mentioning that he feels fine and quarantine safeguards, while the rest of the letter recounts his experiences training.

However, despite his tendency to deemphasize the impact of the epidemic and quarantine, his brief mentions of it reveal a more significant effect on Henry’s life than he probably wanted to admit. In a letter from October 13, he notes, seemingly in passing, that the nearby Camp MacArthur is hauling out the dead: “Thirty-three dead ones were shipped out yesterday.” In a letter from October 19, he notes that he loaned his last dollar to one of his bunkmates so that he could go home to care for his sick wife. Given how often Henry’s letters emphasize his lack of money, he obviously thought being sick with the flu was serious enough to give away his last dollar.

Most telling of Henry’s influenza-related fears, is the brief letter from October 23. In it, Henry writes: “I don’t really have the time to write but no letter came today and I am afraid someone is sick. Please write if it is only a note and let me know if everything is alright.” Henry’s mother and sisters had the habit of writing to Henry at least as often as he wrote to them. When he didn’t receive a letter for some time, he began to worry that someone might be sick—and given the ongoing epidemic and his frequent assertions that he doesn’t have it, the clear implication is that he worries someone in his family might be sick with the flu.

Henry’s letters demonstrate experiences from 1918 which we, having survived 2020, might well share. The precautions we are encouraged to undertake during our own pandemic resemble the precautions Henry took during his quarantine. Our own complex responses to the current pandemic allow us to sympathize with the complicated mix of Henry’s desire to focus on the normalcy of his training rather than the danger of the spreading disease while still fearing that it might harm his loved ones.

 

By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. 

Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph and postcard collections. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” blog series that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, street scenes, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.

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Waco’s Alico Building has been known to photographers as a “22-story tripod” since its completion in 1911. Setting up a camera on top of the 22-story building gives a spectacular view of the city’s downtown and into East Waco looking over the Brazos River. To help demonstrate this, we have selected a few photographs taken from several vantage points from the Alico’s roof-top from the 1940’s and early 1950’s. These were taken before the 1953 Waco tornado and other changes permanently altered the city’s skyline. The first image is a “slider” which shows a “Then and Now” view of Waco City Hall and the old City Square. The following images are “Then and Now” still photos. We hope you enjoy this selection of photos and views of old Waco in this installment of “Texas Over Time” from The Texas Collection at Baylor University.

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The “Then” image is looking towards Waco City Hall and the City Square from the top of the Alico Building, 1952. Photographer Fred Marlar, Fred Marlar papers, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. The “Now” image is from a similar view from Google Earth, 2021. 

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This piece by former Texas Collection director Kent Keeth was originally published in The Baylor Line in February 1979. Blogging About Texas periodically features selections from Looking Back at Baylor, with hopes of sharing Keeth’s work with a new audience.

As we enter a new semester in the dreary, cold of winter there is always warmth in the red brick surrounding campus. Read on to find out how the brick came to be, where it is found, and the man who watched it happen. 

Neill Coker Morris worked his way through Baylor with the help of a part-time job in the campus heating plant, the building whose tall white smokestack remained a campus landmark for five decades. When he graduated in 1927 he was immediately hired by his alma mater as assistant superintendent of buildings and grounds. Retiring in 1973 as Director of Plant Operations, he assumed the emeritus title of Adviser to Plant Operations, a position which he held at the time of his death in June, 1978. In addition to participating in most major building projects on the campus, Morris accumulated during his half-century at Baylor a vast fund of knowledge about the minutiae of its development. Interviewed in 1975 by Baylor’s Program for Oral History, he recorded for future reference some of these facts which might otherwise have become lost with the passage of time. The following excerpt from his memoir, which has been edited and slightly paraphrased for the purpose of clarity, tells of one almost unnoticed transition in the appearance of the campus: the heyday and the eventual supersession of the type of bricks known as “Baylor Red.”

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INTERVIEWER: Was there any attempt to make the campus buildings uniform in architectural design?

MORRIS: The planning committee tried to stick to the same color as a rule, on the buildings, with the red brick which became so popular that the brick company at Brownwood named it the Baylor Red. It’s on Memorial and Allen-Dawson and Alexander [dormitories] and Pat Neff Hall. The planning committee always tried to hold to the red brick, but we had varied from the Baylor Reds on two or three buildings. Collins [dormitory] was made out of a Mineral Wells red brick that matched very closely; but Mans McLean Science Building, Sid Richardson Science Building, the air-conditioning center, and Moody Library are all out of a different brick entirely.

INTERVIEWER: Why? Why didn’t you stick to the original Baylor Red; do you know?

MORRIS: Yes, the architects on Mars McLean convinced the building committee that they could use red, but shouldn’t use the Baylor Red because it had a little orange in it. They wanted a straight red. The building committee went along with them. Then, after they got that one in, there wasn’t anything else to do with Sid Richardson and Moody Library but to use the same brick. You couldn’t get that close together with two different bricks.

INTERVIEWER: Why did the architects insist on the darker red? Was it just a matter of personal preference with them?

MORRIS: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: Did you agree with that at the time?

MORRIS: As long as it was red it didn’t make me too much difference. I don’t remember now who was on that building committee, but they — or the board of trustees — liked it all right, so we went ahead with it.

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The old heating plant, in which Morris had first stoked the furnaces as a student and later had supervised the maintenance of campus building and grounds, was remodeled in the mid-1970s. With its smokestack removed and its interior reshaped, it became an administrative annex to Pat Neff Hall, and also remained the headquarters of plant operations. In January 1979, with the approval of Baylor’s Board of Trustees, the building which had served as Morris’ campus base for more than half a century — constructed in the early 1920s of a brick which antedates the popularity of the Baylor Red — was officially renamed and dedicated in his honor as “Neill Morris Hall.”

 

Neill Morris Hall, built in 1921, was also the long time home for the Baylor Communication Sciences and Disorders department. An anonymous  $10 million gift allowed Baylor CSD to renovate and move into the Cashion Academic Center after the relocation of the Hankamer School of Business to the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. Neill Morris Hall was demolished in 2017. 

A full transcript for the Neill Coker Morris oral history interview can be found in the libraries’ digital collections while an audio file is available by contacting the Baylor University Institute for Oral History.  

This post was written by Sylvia Hernandez, Archivist at The Texas Collection. 

Mexican culture and Catholicism are very much intertwined. I identify in both traditions and attend a church where my culture is highly visible. I remember going as a child during the Christmas season and participating in several traditional events. My family went to Las Posadas, traversing church grounds singing songs and seeking shelter for Mary and Joseph. The Nacimiento (Nativity Scene) was set up and the manger remained empty until Midnight Mass, as Christmas Eve turned to Christmas Day. It was always a joy watching the padrinos (godparents) rock the baby Jesus in his basket down the aisle and gently placing him with Mary and Joseph. As a kid though, I fondly remember receiving a bag with an apple, orange, and a few pieces of candy at the end of mass. A small treat to celebrate the birth of Christ.

I preface this blog with my own story because memories came tumbling back as I processed the Pan American Round Table of Waco scrapbooks. The Pan American Round Table was established in 1916 as part of a larger movement to promote international relations in the western hemisphere. The Waco Chapter was established in 1957 as a local women’s group that met regularly and discussed culture and politics of the twenty-two countries in North, Central, and South America as well as the Caribbean. The scrapbooks document activities of the group from 1957-1995 through newsletters, photographs, yearbooks, correspondence, and photographs.

 

As I went through the books, the Christmas cards stood out for their visual content. Several of the cards, mostly from Mexico in the 1960s, depict the imagery I grew up with; Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem, los peregrinos (pilgrims), burros (donkeys), estrellas (stars), velas (candles), and piñatas. I mentioned these images to my coworkers, and they didn’t quite understand why I was so excited. In response, I have prepared the following as my quick interpretation of these images, what they represent, and why they are important from my point of view as a Mexican American Catholic.

Las Posadas/ Los Peregrinos– Las Posadas is a reenactment of the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem taken by Mary and Joseph. For nine nights prior to Christmas, los peregrinos visit houses, predetermined by the church, singing traditional songs seeking shelter for Mary and Joseph. They are denied over and over until finally, los peregrinos are granted shelter and celebrate with a large party. Members of the church dress up to represent Mary and Joseph, or a platform with their likenesses is carried throughout the journey.

Burros- Mary is often seen riding atop a donkey led by Joseph. It is unclear whether it happened or not but would make her journey easier at nine months of pregnancy. Burros are also seen ridden by others, usually children, as they reenact the journey by the wise men to bestow gifts upon the newborn king.

Estrellas/ Velas- La estrella is a depiction of the guiding star followed by Mary and Joseph as well as the wise men as they sought out Jesus after his birth. It is recognizable amongst other stars as it is often depicted larger and looks more illuminated than the rest. Velas are carried by los peregrinos on their journey also to guide them to shelter and Jesus.

Piñatas– In celebration of finding shelter Las Posadas ends with a party to celebrate the coming of our savior. There is a piñata broken by children in attendance, often in the shape of a star. Again, a guiding light to Christ.

The impact of the images in the scrapbooks provided a reminder of the true reason for the season, but also an opportunity to share and spread knowledge through alternate approaches. Our understanding of Christmas traditions is unique to our upbringing. Faith and culture were equally present in mine, therefore traditional images take the form of religious symbols heralded by those who look like me. They bring about memories if family lost and traditions upheld, a common thread no matter how you celebrate.

 

 

 

 

By Geoff Hunt, Audio and Visual Curator, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. 

Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph and postcard collections. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” blog series that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, street scenes, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.

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Waco was once home to Sanger Brother’s Department Store, the city’s largest and most prestigious retail establishment. Outside of the store’s building on 321 Austin Avenue the business hosted Christmas events such as the one held in December 1913, when Santa Clause arrived via a Southern Traction Company railway car accompanied by the Alessandro Band. Santa’s arrival was sponsored by the railway company and Sanger Brothers, bringing in crowds of people numbering in the hundreds. It was a yearly tradition that filled the streets of downtown Waco with citizens trying to catch a glimpse of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas and listen to the band playing Christmas music.  

Waco’s Sanger Brothers Department Sore was founded by Sam Sanger and first opened for business on March 4, 1873. Sanger arrived in the U.S. from Germany in 1866, moving to Cincinnati, where he served as a Rabbi. He was then a teacher in Philadelphia from 1869 to 1872. He then went into the retail industry in 1872, opening a shoe store in New York City. Four of Sanger’s brothers, Isaac, Lehman, Philip, and Alexander, had also emigrated from Germany to the U.S., and were already in Texas when Sam Sanger arrived in the state. Sam Sangers’ brothers had opened dry goods stores in McKinney, Decatur, Weatherford, Bryan, Calvert, Hearne, Kosse, Bremond, Groesbeck, Corsicana, and Dallas, before brother Sam’s arrival. The McKinney store was the first and opened by Isaac Sanger in 1857. Sam Sanger merged the Bryan store to form the one in Waco. Sam Sanger died on December 18, 1919. His son, Asher Sanger, took over the business until 1926, when it was sold to a St. Louis based company. On March 15, 1931, the Waco branch of the Sanger Brother’s Department Store chain went out of business after 58 years. 

Sanger Brothers continued to operate stores in North Texas, and the company remained successful for decades after the Waco store’s closure. In 1961, Sanger Brothers joined with A. Harris and Co., to become Sanger-Harris. Many Sanger-Harris stores were located in shopping malls as anchor stores such as the ones at Valley View Mall in Dallas and Six Flags Mall in Arlington, TX. Sanger-Harris also operated stores in Ft. Worth, Mesquite, Irving, Plano, and Tyler. One former Sanger-Harris building was even modified to serve as the headquarters for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit System (DART). Sanger-Harris merged with Foley’s Department Stores in 1987, and in 2005, the once venerable firm merged with Macy’s. 

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The “Then” in December 1913 photograph shows a Southern Traction Company railway car that has just transported Santa Claus and the Alessandro Band to Waco, from Dallas. The location is outside of the famous Sanger Brothers’ Department Store, once located at 321 Austin Avenue, Waco, TX. Santa Claus came to this store yearly at Christmas time and the event drew hundreds of onlookers. The “Now” image is of the same location in 2020, image by G.H. “Then” image is from: “Gildersleeve : Waco’s Photographer. Waco, Texas: 1845 Books, 2019. Print.”

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A similar view to the above but taken in 1914. Santa Claus, accompanied by soldiers, stands in front of the large gathering. The slider or zoom feature shows a close-up of what the crowd came to see. “Then” image is from: “Gildersleeve : Waco’s Photographer. Waco, Texas: 1845 Books, 2019. Print.”

 

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Works Sourced:

Amanda Sawyer, “Sanger Brothers Department Store,” Waco History, accessed December 10, 2020, https://wacohistory.org/items/show/85.

Anderson, Jennifer. “Sanger Brothers in Dallas,” City of Dallas Office of Historic Preservation, accessed December 10, 2020, https://cityofdallaspreservation.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/sanger-brothers-in-dallas/

Gildersleeve, Fred A., Geoff Hunt, and John S. Wilson. Gildersleeve : Waco’s Photographer . Waco, Texas: 1845 Books, 2019. Print.

“The Story of Sanger Brothers, Pioneer Retail Store of Texas,” The Southwest Jewish Chronicle (Oklahoma City, Ok.), September 1, 1950.

“Sanger-Harris,” The Department Store Museum, http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2010/05/sanger-harris-dallas-texas.html

The Texas Collection posts newly accessible resources each month. If you have any questions or would like to use these materials, please let us know and we would be happy to assist!

Finding Aids

• P. B. McKay papers #375
  • The P.B. McKay papers include three transcribed letters that McKay wrote as a soldier in the American Civil War.
• John D. Dace papers #385
  • The John D. Dace papers contain a single transcribed letter from Dace, describing how he hopes Vicksburg can outlast the siege taking place at the time.
• Thomas Travis Moore collection #3450
  • The Thomas Travis Moore collection contains letters and military records from Moore’s service in World War II, as well as research and writings from Moore’s great-nephews concerning his service.
• Alexander Archer Beville papers #2048
  • The Alexander Archer Beville papers contain a 2nd lieutenant’s commission in the Texas militia, receipts, and check stubs from Waco area businesses.

Maps

There are two new additions to the Frances C. Poage map collection: Texas (1835) and Nueva Hispania Tabula Nova (1548). The cartographer for Texas was David H. Burr, who created five editions of this map (1833, 1834, 1835, 1845 and 1846). The 1835 edition show a much larger Texas extending west to the 106th meridian and north to the Arkansas River.

The second map, Nueva Hispania Tabula Nova, is now the oldest in the map collection and is a first edition. California is depicted as a peninsula, and the Yucatán Peninsula is depicted as an island. The Yucatán would be correctly drawn as a peninsula in the 1561 edition. However, cartographers continued to struggle with California, even in later years, as some would depict the territory as an island.