THE TEXAS COLLECTION
One Bear Place #97142
Waco, Texas 76798-7142
Believe Me Your Own
Civil War letters unveil story of enduring love
Discovering New Hope
Historic church lives on through its archives
Integrating Athletics
Wardlaw Fellow researches college football
Pro Texana
Support the Texas Collection
Visit The Texas Collection online
http://www.baylor.edu/lib/texas/
Upcoming Events
& Exhibits
Good Luck to Our Graduating
Student Workers!
Gloria Lee
(Brentwood, TN) will
receive a Bachelor of
Arts in Journalism
and Public Relations.
She has worked at
The Texas Collection
for one year.
Thomas DeShong
(Harrisonville,
PA) will receive a
Master of Arts in
History. He has
worked with us
for one year.
Megan Burleson
(Colleyville, TX)
will graduate with a
Bachelor of Arts in
Medical Humanities.
She has worked at
The Texas Collection
for one year.
Lily Espinosa
(Katy, TX) will
graduate with a
Bachelor of Arts
in Psychology. She
has worked with us
for one year.
Joanna Ayala
(El Paso, TX)
will receive a
Bachelor of Arts
in International
Studies. She has
been at The Texas
Collection for one
year.
A Homegrown Vision: Robert L. Smith &
the Farmer’s Improvement Society
Travis Porteous
(Houston, TX)
will receive a
Bachelor of Business
Administration in
Finance. Travis has
been at The Texas
Collection for two
years.
The Pro Texana Society
Renovation of the Guy B. Harrison, Jr. Reading Room Continues
In November, The Texas Collection
received a generous grant from the
Summerlee Foundation in Dallas.
These funds, along with funds from
the Pro Texana Society, enabled
us to move forward with updates
and improvements in the Guy B.
Harrison, Jr. Reading Room.
In early February, 14 new parabolic
lights were installed, replacing 32
fluorescent lights. In addition, 12
new globe lights were hung, and spot
lights were strategically placed in
the room to highlight artwork. The
goal was to update and improve the quality of
lighting for library users, enhancing research
as well as improving the aesthetic quality of
the room. Along with the new lighting, the
room was painted a light green with black
trim accents around the doors; this new color
beautifully highlights the warm tones of the
wood cabinets. The last part of this update
includes new sunscreens for the three windows
in the room. These screens will block the harsh
rays of the sun but allow soft natural light to
enter the room. I hope you will stop by and see
the changes the next time you are
on campus. All of these upgrades
were made possible by the generosity
of the Summerlee Foundation and
donors like you. Thank you for your
support.
The Texas Collection is open to
the public and the staff is here to
help answer questions about Texas
history, culture or literature. Please
join the Pro Texana Society and
support the important work of The
Texas Collection at the beginning
level of $50 on up to the $1,000
or more level. Make your check payable
to Baylor University and indicate “Pro
Texana Society” in the note field. Mail
to John S. Wilson, The Texas Collection,
Baylor University, One Bear Place #97142,
Waco, Texas 76798-7142.
February 1 - March 20, 2012
Materials from the Smith-Cobb family of Waco are
featured in this exhibit highlighting the FIS, which
helped tenant farmers out of a cycle of debt and
poverty at the turn of the twentieth century.
A Celebration of Texas: Literature,
Music & Film
March 28 - April 26, 2012
A month-long series of events and exhibits that
celebrate Texas literature, music and film presented
in conjunction with Humanities Texas, the Historic
Waco Foundation, the Department of English, the
School of Music, the School of Education, the Film
and Digital Media Division and Student Activities.
Each event is free and open to the public.
A Celebration of Texas Poets: Featuring 2012 Poet
Laureate Jan Epton Seale
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 • 1:00 p.m.
Armstrong Browning Library
A Celebration of Texas Music: Getting in the
“Swing” of Things
Featuring Dick Gimble, Jean Ann Boyd & the
Baylor Swing Dance Society
Thursday, March 29, 2012 • 7:00 p.m.
Moody Memorial Library, Allbritton Foyer
A Celebration of Texas Writers: Exploring Women
of the American West featuring Judy Alter
Monday, April 16, 2012 • 4:00 p.m.
Carroll Science Building, Room 101
A Celebration of Texas Film: The Cultural Impact
of Giant (1956) on the Idea of Texas
Thursday, April 26, 2012 • 7:00 p.m.
Bill Daniel Student Center
Keep up with The Texas Collection
on Facebook, Twitter & Flickr
www.facebook.com/texascollection
twitter.com/texascollection
www.flickr.com
The Texas Collection Welcomes
Two New Archivists
The 5th Street curb in front of
the Bill Daniel Student Center
was her favorite childhood spot
during Baylor’s Homecoming
Parades. Now, Amanda Keys
Norman returns to the Baylor
family with a new spot down the
road at The Texas Collection, as
the new University Archivist.
“The Texas Collection is
where I found my calling,” she
said. “So I appreciate the poetry
of returning to this archive to
put that calling into action.”
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in English and
Communication at Trinity University, Norman ventured to
Waco, where she served as Communications Specialist and
then Development Writer for Baylor University Development.
By 2009, she earned her Master of Arts in English Literature
as a Bear.
As a Development Writer, Norman realized her love for
archives during her frequent research visits in The Texas
Collection and felt a calling to the profession. That calling
led her to the University of Texas at Austin’s School of
Information, where she obtained her Master of Science in
Information Studies, with an emphasis on archives and records
management. Norman immersed herself in the world of
archiving while at UT, serving as treasurer of the UT chapter
of the Society of American Archivists, as Editorial Fellow and
Interim Managing Editor for Libraries & the Cultural Record
journal, curating two digital exhibitions for the Alexander
Architectural Archive and volunteering at the Harry Ransom
Center.
“Archival collections are the records we create in the course
of our daily activities,” she said. “It’s so important that we
recognize their value not just as historical documents but as
records that are central to our current lives as well. We have to
know where we’ve been to know where we’re going.”
Norman spent the past few months as a Project Archivist
and a Research Associate for the National Digital Newspaper
Program at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
But she could not pass up an opportunity to return to the place
where she discovered her love for archives.
“I’ve always enjoyed Baylor’s commitment to preserving
tradition. However, there is so much more to do,” she said,
noting that The Texas Collection has only been the official
university archives since 2007. “I look forward to working
with the different constituencies of the Baylor family—faculty,
staff, students, alumni—to prepare a plan for the University
Archives to document more comprehensively the history of
this great institution.”
Norman sees her new role at The Texas Collection as a
return to home. “A Bear I grew up, and a Bear I always will be,”
she said. “I loved my time at Trinity and had a great experience
at UT, but Baylor holds a special place in my heart.”
For Benna Vaughan, the
new Special Collections and
Manuscripts Archivist at The
Texas Collection, “excitement
is infectious,” and nothing
excites Vaughan more than
historical discoveries and the
mystery of archiving.
With an interest in the
archives field, Vaughan first
came to Baylor as an intern
for the Poage Legislative
Library. In 2001, she became
the Bullock Archive Project Director at Poage, a position that
focused on exhibitions and patron services for the Bullock
Collection.
Eleven years later, Vaughan’s tireless dedication and
enthusiasm brought her to The Texas Collection, where she
is the new Special Collections and Manuscripts Archivist.
Vaughan sees importance and value in the job of archiving.
She loves the “mystery and discovery” of researching the
origin of a particular item and what it says about a culture
or time period. An archivist is vital to the preservation of
important records and works to preserve and provide access
to materials for generations to come.
Vaughan eagerly anticipates the work that awaits her in
The Texas Collection, where she hopes to hone her skills
and contribute to the growth of The Texas Collection. She
jokes, “The Texas Collection is like Christmas every day of
the year… you are always coming across something new and
fresh.”
Vaughan attended the University of Texas at Arlington,
where she received her Bachelor of Arts in History and a
Master of Arts in Public History with an archival emphasis.
However, the acceptance she felt from the Baylor family
solidified her commitment to the university. “Baylor is just
different than other workplaces, but you don’t realize how
different until you get here,” she said.
Not only does Vaughan have experience with Baylor,
but also her dedication to patron services made her
the perfect candidate for her new position at The Texas
Collection. Vaughan believes that it is important to have
“an understanding and willingness to provide patrons and
researchers with good public service.”
This devotion and excitement drives Vaughan to share
her work with other people. “When you are excited about
what you do and what you are providing for your patrons,
it becomes a shared experience which is very fulfilling, so
loving what you do is very important to me,” she commented.
“I love being a part of something permanent and important
to the future… These discoveries intrigue me,” Vaughan said.
And her excitement will provide a fresh outlook to an already
thriving archival collection.
Visit The Texas Collection online
THE TEXAS COLLECTION
http://www.baylor.edu/lib/texas/
“Believe me your own”
Letters from the Battlefield to Fanny from Alex (1862-1865)
“I will allow one hour in the day, my
favourite hour, twilight. You + the
children, my little world, are hardly
ever out of my mind, but at that
particular time of day I am most apt to
dream of you.”
--Alex Morgan, “In the Trenches near
Marietta, Georgia - June 30, 1864”
From the Director
Thank you for supporting The Texas
Collection with your gifts to the Pro Texana
Society and for your gifts of archival
collections, books, and most importantly,
your interest in all things “Texas.”
This spring, I hope you will join us
on the Baylor campus for a month-long
“Celebration of Texas: Literature, Music
and Film” exhibit, which will begin on
March 28. Events include a “Celebration
of Texas Music: Getting into the ‘Swing’
of Things” featuring fiddle player and
McLennan Community College Professor
Dick Gimble, the Baylor Swing Dance
Society, and Professor Jean Boyd discussing
her new book Dance All Night. “The
Celebration of Texas” runs through April
26 and finishes with the program “A
Celebration of Texas Film: The Cultural
Impact of Giant (1956) on the Idea of
Texas,” which will be held in the Den at
the Bill Daniel Student Center at 7:00 p.m.
These are just two of the scheduled events!
You can take a look at a full schedule at
www.baylor.edu/lib/celebratetexas.
Special library exhibits will also be a
part of this “Celebration of Texas.” The
Texas Collection will feature the works
of Dorothy Scarborough and the Texas
Folklore Society. The Armstrong Browning
Library will host an exhibit of works of the
Poet Laureates of Texas; Moody Memorial
Library will feature Texas writers, and the
Poage Library will celebrate with an exhibit
of signed books by Texas authors.
Please take a moment to read about our
newly hired University Archivist Amanda
Keys Norman and our new Special
Collections and Manuscripts Archivist
Benna Vaughan. I truly believe they will
have a lasting and important impact upon
The Texas Collection. Finally, I hope you
have a moment to visit our website and
click on “Believe Me Your Own: Letters
From the Battlefield to Fanny From Alex
(1862-1865),” an amazing story of love,
hope and commitment during a war that
tore apart the nation.
A newscast. The Internet. YouTube. Even a
Twitter feed. In 2012, these sources give us a sense
of immediacy and connect us to the people living
the stories that make up the news. But once the
events become history—especially if that history
is more than one hundred years in the past—then
we need another way to connect. Letters, what
Tennyson called “those fallen leaves that keep their
green,” are our link to this past.
The American Civil War yielded many such fallen
leaves, carefully preserved by families through the
intervening years. One striking set came from a
man named Alex Morgan. In November 1861, Dr.
Nathaniel Alexander “Alex” Morgan enlisted in the
Confederate Army with Company F of the 19th
Louisiana Infantry. He served without furlough
until the war’s end in April 1865, traveling from
Louisiana to the Carolinas. Morgan’s letters home
to his beloved wife Fanny tell a story of faithful love
in a time of great hardship.
Written with tender affection and thoughtful
honesty, the Morgan letters reveal an educated
man’s meditations on the war, medicine, human
nature, marriage and family. Alex writes Fanny,
“not an account of the battle, that you will see in the
paper, but ... my own impressions of things, as they
passed before me.” His letters begin immediately
after the Battle of Shiloh and continue through
Sherman’s march.
The Texas Collection is releasing Alex Morgan’s
letters in an online exhibition with annotations,
maps, photos and music. Visit us at www.baylor.
edu/lib/believemeyourown and experience the
anticipation and drama of reading news from the
battlefield with “Believe me your own…Letters to
Fanny from Alex.”
These letters were donated in loving memory of
Maggie Scott Logue, granddaughter of Dr. and Mrs.
N.A. Morgan, by her children and grandchildren.
twice in his active public career. Smith directed
FIS as it provided life insurance, financed a bank
in Waco, operated an agricultural boarding
school and provided a social life in a religious and
fraternal setting for African-Americans across
Texas. Members enjoyed these benefits and others
for about forty years, before Smith’s death in
1942 and the beginning of the Great Depression
signaled the end of the FIS.
The exhibit features photographs and documents
of the Society and its leaders, including displays on
the overall history of the FIS, the bank in Waco,
the boarding school and other topics related to
the society. Notable photographs include pictures
of the children attending the boarding school,
various members of the Society and of the bank
in Waco.
This fascinating exhibit will be on display until
March 20. Come learn about R.L. Smith, the
Farmers Improvement Society and their work in
Texas during the early 1900s.
Introducing the 2012 Wardlaw
Research Fellow: Dr. Zeb Baker
Dr. Zeb Baker, instructor in the Department
of History at Georgia Southern University, is
the 2012 Wardlaw Fellowship Fund for Texas
Studies recipient. Dr. Baker’s research focuses on
desegregation in college football, specifically for
the time period after World War II and into the
1970s.
While at The Texas Collection, Dr. Baker
researched the Baylor University presidential
papers of W. R. White and Abner McCall. From
his research, he hopes to publish a book tentatively
titled Forward Progress: Desegregating College
Football 1945-1975.
New Hope Baptist Church
New Hope Baptist Church, one of the oldest
African-American churches in Waco, Texas, was
founded in 1866. From at least 1905, and probably
before that, New Hope Baptist Church was famous
for its musical programs.
Notable members through the years include Jules
Bledsoe, later an international African-American
opera star, and Vivienne Malone-Mayes, one of
Farmers Improvement Society Exhibit
Between Feb. 1 and March 20, The Texas
Collection presents the exhibit “A Homegrown
Vision: Robert L. Smith and the Farmers
Improvement Society.” Robert L. Smith, founder
of the Farmers Improvement Society (FIS), was a
noted Texas educator during the early 1900s. He
also served as a member of the Texas legislature
From the Collections...
To learn more about Baker’s research, visit our
YouTube channel: YouTube.com/texascollection.
the first African-Americans to receive multiple
graduate degrees in mathematics and the first
African-American professor at Baylor University.
The Texas Collection has at least seven collections
that relate to New Hope, with wonderful letters
and photographs about this important church’s
147-year history.
Raising Our Banners
If you have been by the Carroll Library
in the past few months, you may have
noticed our new building banners. The
four banners that adorn the building
were designed using images from our
photograph collection and feature rarelyseen photos of Baylor students from the
turn of the century up to the 1990s. We
hope that these banners help patrons
easily identify our location and that the
descriptive words will give passersby
a glimpse of what we do at The Texas
Collection!
Carter-Harrison
Family Collection
In 1861, a group of Texans were sent to modernday Oklahoma to find out how the American
Indian tribes would respond if there was a civil war.
McLennan County resident James Harrison, a
wealthy cotton planter and former frontier trader,
was a member of this fact-finding mission. His
report back to the governor of Texas in what is
believed to be his original handwriting is in the
Carter-Harrison Family Collection, held by The
Texas Collection.
Many Native American tribes did side with the
Confederacy and lost everything by the end of
the war. James Harrison went on to become a
Confederate general in the Civil War and is buried
in First Street Cemetery, Waco, Texas.
Texas Collection
Staff Achievements
Amie Oliver and Tiffany Sowell will
present at the Texas Library Association
Annual Conference in April in Houston.
Their presentation, “All are Welcome!
Accessibility in Special Collections,” will be
featured in the 1001 Great Ideas session.
History and Topography of the United States
The Texas Collection recently acquired a copy of
The History and Topography of the United States.
The two-volume set was compiled and edited
by John Howard Hinton, an English author and
Baptist minister. Samuel Walker of Boston first
published the title in 1834.
Our copy is the third edition with information
updated to 1842. In addition to color maps of the
states and territories there are steel engravings of
many public buildings of the era.
Congratulations to Librarian Michael
Toon on his 25 years of service and to
Archives Assistant Geoff Hunt and
Coordinator for User and Access Services
Amie Oliver on their 5 years each of
service to Baylor University and The Texas
Collection.
Grandfather Clock
Restoration Fund
In the last issue of Viva Texas, we asked
for donations to repair our beautiful
grandfather clock. A generous gift has us
on the right track, but we still need your
support. Won’t you consider helping us
restore this dignified piece of history?