Talking in the Library

K-State Olympians!

The 2012 Olympics are upon us and K-Staters have "been there, done that!"  To read about Wildcats who have performed in past Olympics please read K-State Keepsakes: Wildcat Olympians posted in 2008.

Six current of former Wildcats are in London to participate in the 2012 Games: Erik Kynard, high jump for Team USA, junior; Jeffrey Julmis, 110m hurdles for Haiti; Class of 2012; Beverly Ramos, steeplechase for Puerto Rico, Class of 2010; Darius Draudvila, decathlon for Lithuania, Class of 2006; Austra Skujyte, heptathlon for Lithuania, Class of 2002 (silver medal winner in the 2004 Olympics); and Korene Hinds, steeplechase for Jamaica, Class of 2001.

Six is a record number of Wildcats to perform in one Olympics surpassing the five who went in 1996 when gold medals were won by Kenny Harrison in the triple jump and Mitch Richmond in basketball. 

K-State head coach Cliff Rovelto has the distinction of being the personal coach for all three men's high jumpers for Team USA in the 2012 Olympics!

Go Cats!

 

Short Cuts: Uncover K-State's past and more in the Archives and Special Collections!

Just over 100 years ago, on October 28, 1911, K-State's football team battled Fairmount College from Wichita on the athletic field near present-day Memorial Stadium. After a back-and-forth struggle called "the fiercest game that has been played on the Aggie field this season," the dark-jerseyed Aggies clawed their way to their first win of 1911 with a score of 9 to 5. Amid claims of signal stealing, the K-State men punted their way to better field position, made defensive stands at important times, and scored enough points to seal the victory.

K-State vs Fairmount College football game (image from 1912 Royal Purple, courtesy of Morse Department of Special Collections)

As you can see from the action shot of the game, the athletic field ran east and west before Memorial Stadium was built, and in the background the power plant stacks, Seaton Hall, Anderson Hall, and Kedzie Hall are visible. The most notable Aggies from this game were L.L. Howenstine (punted 22 times for 1,015 yards, and kicked a field goal and an extra point) and Fred "Fritz" Loomis (scored the only touchdown of the game --- worth five points then instead of six). About 1,000 fans attended the game and watched the two teams battle on the muddy field, slowing all of the players.

How and where did we learn about the details of this game from 100 years ago? The research was done in the Richard L.D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections on the 5th floor of Hale Library. For those of you who have yet to venture to the Special Collections reading room, let's demystify that space.

First, the basics --- Special Collections is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. There are electrical outlets and wireless access for electronic devices, an overhead scanner, and friendly faculty and staff to assist with your research needs. Additionally, materials in Special Collections can be used only in the reading room and visitors must fill out a registration form when they arrive (it helps keep track of what collections are being used). So we encourage you to remember to bring your Wildcat card. Find out more about Special Collections policies and information.

Special Collections Reading Room (retrieved from the K-State Libraries Flickr)

The collections housed in Special Collections include the university archives, manuscript research collections, and special collections of printed materials. The university archives receives transferred records from campus departments and offices, as well as donations of university-related historical materials. The manuscript research collections generally include subject areas like agriculture, consumer movement, cookery, grain science and milling, Kansas life and culture, and military studies. The special collections of printed materials, also called rare books, generally include topics like agriculture, cookery, historical costumes and textiles, Kansas life and customs, military studies, and science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

The Special Collections department was named after Richard L.D. and Marjorie J. Morse. Richard was a faculty member from 1955 to 1987 in what is now the College of Human Ecology, and his papers are a foundational collection in our Consumer Movement Archives. Marjorie was involved in many community and university projects, and was a Riley County Commissioner from 1983 to 1993.

To discover more about what treasures you can find in Special Collections, search the library catalog, review our webpage of finding aids, or email or call us. Whether you have courses in agriculture, architecture, English, history, journalism, military studies, or any of a multitude of possibilities, Special Collections has primary sources that could provide a starting point for or add depth to your assignments.

For example, resources used from Special Collections for this simple football story included a few volumes of the Royal Purple yearbook, microfilm of the Students' Herald semi-weekly newspaper (predecessor of the Collegian), microfilm of the weekly alumni newspaper The Kansas Industrialist (predecessor of the K-Stater magazine), and a campus map from 1910.

K-State Manhattan campus skyline in 1910 (retrieved from K-State Libraries Flickr)

To read more about the game and the season, look in the 1912 Royal Purple on page 182. The Aggies ended the 1911 season with a record of 5-4-1. They defeated Arkansas, Creighton, Fairmount (now Wichita State), Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), and Washburn. Their stingy defense allowed only 10 points in games they won, while their offense scored 41 points.

If any of this piques your interest, we encourage you to visit Special Collections and use our wealth of resources. You can email archives@ksu.edu or call 785-532-7456. We hope to see you soon!

Cliff Hight, University Archivist

Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaks in Hale Library!

In honor of Black History Month and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the speech that Dr. King delivered at K-State on January 19,1968, several months before his assassination, will be played in the Hemisphere Room of Hale Library on February 22 and 23.  In order to accommodate class schedules, the speech begins at 9:30, 11:30, 1:05, and 3:30 on Tuesday; and  Wednesday at 9:30, 11:30. 1:30, and 3:30.

Until last year when the University Archives acquired a tape recording of Dr. King's speech from Galyn Vesey (director, Research on Black Wichita), an audio version of Dr. King's presentation 43 years ago was not known to exist!  The discovery provides everyone the opportunity to hear the entire program that took place that day in Ahearn.  In addition to the unedited speech that Dr. King presented, the recording includes radio coverage, K-State President James McCain's introduction of Dr. King, Dr. King's opening remarks, and the question and answer period at the end when Dr. King responded to questions from K-State students and the media. 

During the speech, photographs of Dr. King's visit to K-State will be shown to enhance the experience of those who attend.  The event is free and people can come and go at their convenience during the times indicated above.

Presented by the University Archives and K-State Libraries.

 

Lost Dr. King Audio Coming Home To K-State

The photos shown in this video are housed in the Richard L. D. and Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections in Hale Library. If you would like to see more or have any questions, please contact contact Anthony Crawford, University Archivist.

Vintage Photo: Santa is coming!

Photo circa 1925 courtesy of the University Archives

Veterans Day

 

 

VETERANS DAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010!

 

Memorial Stadium, Kansas State University (University Archives photograph)

 

 

 

 

 

Iraq War, 2003 (Lonnie Maynard Collection)

 

 

 

Today we recognize those in the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present, and call attention to the military history holdings in the Morse Department of Special Collections, many of which were donated by veterans.  There are approximately 50 major collections in the department that document various branches of the military from the Civil War through the Iraq War. Examples include images that illustrate General Richard B. Myers' (Class of  1965) tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2001-2005), the papers of  Lt. Marjorie  Honstead Feldhausen who served in Europe as a U.S. Army nurse in WWII, the collection of Capt. Nels Tornquist who was in charge of a battalion in WWI consisting of Black troops, to name a few examples.

 

For more information about the military history collections in University Archives & Manuscripts, contact Tony Crawford, arcford@k-state.edu

 

Left. Liberation of German concentration camp, 1945, Linz, Austria; photo taken  by Lt. Victor Roper (Victor and Alice Roper Papers)

 

Right. Civil War General John Casement (Dan D. Casement Papers)

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Kansas State University (University Archives photo)

Celebrate Anniversaries 3, Wed 10/13 at 3:30 pm

Mark your calendars! Join us for a triple celebration event sponsored by the Morse Department of Special Collections as we commemorate the centennials of the Department of Grain Science and Industry and the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications along with the 40th anniversary of the McCain Auditorium.

What: Anniversaries 3
When: Wednesday, October 13 at 3:30 pm
Where: Hale Library Hemisphere Room

Seven Transformational Weeks in Ghana

Erin White, recipient of the Marjorie J. and Richard L.D. Morse Family and Community Public Policy Scholarship for the summer of 2010, will present a slide program  describing her internship experience in Ghana. Erin’s project involved volunteering and teaching in an orphanage in Sogakofe, Ghana, under the auspices of Disaster Volunteers of Ghana, a nonprofit organization.

What:  “Human Connection and Social Development: Seven Transformational Weeks in Ghana,” by Erin White
When: Wed, 10/6 at 3:30 pm
Where: Hemisphere Room, Hale Library 5th floor

Everyone is invited to join us for an informative and inspiring visit to Ghana through the images of someone who experienced what it was like to improve the lives of children living in poverty in that country.

Vintage Photo Friday: The Library

Little known library secret-the books on the top shelves are all fake! No one was tall enough to reach, so no one ever found out. Until now...

Document Delivery Lives...and Dies!

One hundred fifty years ago on April 3, 1860 document delivery via the Pony Express was born!  In October, 1861, less than two years later, it died!  Starting in St. Joesph, Missouri, the Pony Express route ran through northeast Kansas for approximately 125 miles before it snaked into Nebraska and continued westward to

Sacramento, California.  The most visible evidence of the Pony Express to most of us is the historical station and statue of a Pony Express rider in Marysville.

The private entrepreneurs who invested in the Pony Express hoped to establish a lucrative business taking mail to and from California. Delivery time for the nearly 2,000 mile trek from St. Joseph to the end of the line was around 10 days.  Riders averaged 75-100 miles before a new rider took over at one of the approximately 165 stations along the route. 

In the beginning it cost $5.00 a half ounce to mail a letter, by the time the business died the same letter cost $1.00 to send.  Nonetheless, Pony Express document delivery was a failure and came to a fast and fatal end when the transcontinental telegraph was completed on October 24, 1861, nearly 18 months after delivery by horse was born!  The scenario is easy for us to recognize, technology is destined to expunge hard copy mail regardless of the circumstances!  Is the discontinuance of document delivery on Saturdays by the U.S. Postal Service the beginning of the end as hand delivered mail is replaced by the Internet, email, text messaging, imaging, electronic media, voice technology, and other forms of communication and document delivery?

What about the telephone you ask?  Go figure, suffice it to say the telephone was invented much earlier but it is reported that the first transcontinental telephone call wasn't completed until 1915!  Alexander Graham Bell (who else?!?!) in New York City to Thomas A. Watson, San Francisco.

Thirsting for more information about the Pony Express?  It can be delivered to your electronic device via the Internet with the click of a finger.  The more discriminating researcher can trust the K-State Libraries for a variety of documentation via books, journals, Special Collections, government publications, data bases, etc.; of course, many of these resources are available electronically and in full text! 

As you might expect there is more to the history of mail delivery in the United States, but April 3, 2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of rapid (!) transcontinental hard copy document delivery by the Pony Express being replaced by another format! 

Ride 'em cowboy!

Anthony R. Crawford, University Archivist

Credit: illustration of Pony Express rider from A Thrilling and Truthful History of The Pony Express by William Lightfoot Visscher. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1908 (Special Collections F/594.V83)