Homecoming 2018: Back to Our Roots - Sources on Tarleton History

Homecoming 2018 is this week, October 14-20.  Some of the Homecoming traditions, like the Silver Bugle Hunt and Beat the Drum, are tied into Tarleton's history.  Here are some sources to learn more about that history.

Books

John Tarleton and his legacy: the history of Tarleton State University, 1899-1999, by Christopher E. Guthrie, 1999.
--Call number LD5271 .T35 G88 1999 - in Special Collections, and in General Stacks when not on reserve.

The John Tarleton College story: the golden days of purple & white, by C. Richard King, 1998.
--Call number LD5271 .T33 K55 1998 - in Special Collections, and in General Stacks when not on reserve.

The history of John Tarleton College, by J. Rice Finley, 1933.
--Call number LD5271 .T35 A22 1933 - in Special Collections.

JOHN TARLETON : A MEMORIAL TO THE FOUNDER OF TARLETON COLLEGE.
--Call number LD5271 .T35 T3 - in Special Collections, and in General Stacks when not on reserve.

Tarleton State University: the traditions remain  by executive editor Stephen D. Giddens  and writer Catherine Mayhew, 2007.
--Call number LD5271 .T33 T37 2007 - in Special Collections.

The birth of Tarleton's spirit: the "heartbeat" of our traditions, 1899-1999, by Sharon McNeill Matherne, 1998.
--Call number LD5271 .T33 M38 1998 - in Special Collections.

The development of John Tarleton College, by Preston Breckenridge Grissom, 1933.
--Call number LD5271 .T35 A22 1933A  - in Special Collections.

Oscar P's alphabet adventure, written by Kathleen Davis, illustrated by Tiffanie Forbus, 2013.
--Call Number EDUC LD5271 .T33 D38 2013, in the Curriculum Collection on the lower level - a children's book about Tarleton traditions.

Grassburr yearbooks
Call number LD5271.T35G7.
-- Limited Collection houses the most complete set. In-house use only.
-- Curriculum Collection (lower level) yearbooks can be checked out.
-- Also available online - see the next section.


Online Resources

Grassburr yearbooks are in the Portal to Texas History.

J-TAC student newspapers are also in the Portal to Texas History.

Alumni J-TACs have recently been added to the Portal to Texas History.

HistoryPin tour (which is the basis for the Original 40 Acres Tour event during Homecoming weekend) is an interactive Google Maps based tour of the Stephenville campus created by the Library's Special Collections and Archives staff, with additional photographs, links, and source material.

Cross Timbers Historical Images Project (also linked here), spearheaded by Dick Smith Library staff, offers historical images and narrative descriptions of Tarleton and surrounding communities. Sources are cited to facilitate further research.

• Use Search features.
• Browse collections.
  -- Click "Collections" link.
  -- Choose desired collection.
  -- Browse narratives.

Tarleton History posts on Library Online Lounge blog are about Tarleton's history: events, people, and campus life.

Tarleton History & Traditions Pinterest board is curated by Tarleton Libraries staff, and links ot many of the Tarleton History posts on the library's blog.

Purple Book explains Tarleton traditions, legends, and landmarks.

Tarleton Traditions offers links to campus organizations information, the Purple Book, etc.

Tarleton's Historical Timeline is an interactive photographic exploration of Tarleton's history.

Tarleton Thursday: Historypin Tour of Campus

Just in time for Homecoming 2016, the Dick Smith Library is introducing a Historypin tour of the main campus in Stephenville!

What is Historypin?  It's a nonprofit organization with "a free website where anyone can upload and create collections of historical photos, videos and sounds."  You can also create a "tour," which is what we have done with some of the photographs from the University Photo Collection.

The Special Services and Archives Department of the Dick Smith Library (Coordinator Amanda Pape, Collections Archivist Gary Spurr, and former staff member Crystal Stanley) chose 18 photographs from this collection and uploaded them to Historypin.  In the process, you can actually "pin" the image on a Google Map.  If the location has a "Street View" available, there's a really neat "Dear Photograph"-like then-and-now feature you can activate.

Below is one example.  The very first John Tarleton College building was located at the northwest corner of what is now N. McIlhaney Street and W. Tarleton Street / Military Drive.  Below is a screen capture from our tour on Historypin, showing a 1900 photograph of the building superimposed over its approximate site.

Note the slider bar at the top of the photograph?  If you slide the red dot all the way over to the left, you get a more contemporary view of the same site (in this case, where the Hunewell Bandstand is now located):

Below is an outline of the "stops" on the Tarleton State University Campus History Tour.  The six spots with an orange figure in the upper right corner are along the campus perimeter and thus had Google Map Street Views available where we could use this feature.

Even better for the research and history geeks in our library department, there is lots of space to include a detailed history of each site, including links to other resources, such as the Cross Timber Historic Images Project photographs and narratives, and relevant pages and articles from the collection of Grassburr yearbooks and J-TAC student newspapers online at the Portal to Texas History.  The Grassburrs and J-TACs often provide descriptions and other details written in the same years the photographs were taken, resulting in more accuracy.

We invite all alumni, students, and current and previous faculty and staff to take the tour!  Let us know in the comments (here on the blog or on the Historypin site) what you think, and if you have any stories (or photos) to add! 

Search the Grassburr Yearbooks

Do you know how to search the Grassburr Yearbook archives online? Through the Portal to Texas History, Tarleton has made over 40 years of Grassburrs available and searchable online.

Currently, the yearbooks from 1970-2012 are available, and more years are added frequently. Once you are on the Portal website, you can browse through the yearbooks, or search inside them to find yourself and your friends. Have fun walking down memory lane this Homecoming!

1984

On August 23, 1984, I was born. I can't believe that I'll be thirty soon. I'll be celebrating in truly age appropriate style: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pizza party at Cici's. I began to wonder what was going on at Tarleton 30 years ago. We have so many traditions. I wanted to see what has and hasn't stuck around and if any neat things happened.

The '84 Grassburr has activities from the '83-'84 school year. Looks like homecoming week had a lot of the same activities: bonfire, parade, football, queen and plenty of Poo antics. The '85 Grassburr has activities from the '84-'85 school year. A lot of cool things happened in the Fall of 1984. The GoGo's gave a concert. It would be awesome to have a big named talent on campus to give a concert! Tarleton beat Sul Ross 37-14 at the homecoming game. 

I'm looking forward to another thirty years and can't wait to see what Tarleton will be doing then, too. #TarletonRocks #Purple Pride #Turning30

If you need assistance, email reference@tarleton.edu or call 254-968-9249

JTACs

Most old issues of the J-TAC student newspaper, through 2007 and going back 90 years to 1919, are now available on microfilm in the Periodicals section on the main floor of the library. The Periodicals department is open anytime the library is open, and the friendly student workers, led by Periodicals Specialist Sandy Dennis, will help you use the microfilm reader-printers. You can print a copy of the page for ten cents cash (or use your Texan card to reduce the cost to eight cents per copy).

These J-TACs are also available as paper copies in the Tarleton Room in the library's Special Collections Suite on the lower level. The Suite is open Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, and the newspapers must be used in house - but we do have a copy machine available for your use at ten cents a page (eight cents with your Texan card). Some of the older issues are quite fragile, and we encourage you to use the microfilm instead.

Issues from August 2007 on are available online and also in the Tarleton Room in the Special Collections Suite. The Grassburr yearbooks are also available; read this post to learn more. The Special Collections Suite will be open this Saturday, October 24, for Homecoming, after the parade at 10 AM and before the football game at 6 PM.

Top Ten Tuesday – Homecoming Themes

It's homecoming week! That means lots of activities with old friends and alumni stopping by! This year Tarleton's theme for homecoming is "Texans Today…Legends Tomorrow". That got me to thinking about other homecoming themes, so I did a little research and found this post about Top Ten Homecoming Themes. Here are some ideas I've heard of in the past…

• Stars over Texas
  
• Casino
  
• {Mascots} Forever - i.e. Texans Forever!
  
• Golden Age of Hollywood
  
• Rock 'n Roll Superstars
  
• Masquerade
  
• Under the Sea
  
• Jungle Nights
  
• Storybooks
  
• Under the Big Top
  

I like Tarleton themes…they always have great ideas. If you have heard of strange or different homecoming themes, post a comment and share.

I hope you all enjoy homecoming. Be sure and look for the Library's float in the Parade on Saturday!

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

As we near Homecoming it is only fitting that we feature our benefactor, John Tarleton. Ten years ago this month, during our Tarleton Centennial Celebration, a memorial service to John Tarleton was held at his gravesite across the street.

Members of the ROTC laid the wreath and gave a 21 gun salute in John Tarleton's honor. Colonel Will Tate gave the invocation, followed by President Dennis McCabe, who gave the welcome speech. In addition, President McCabe unveiled the newly named Centennial Lane, the street on the south side of the gravesite. Student representative Michelle Mauch presented the Tarleton Creed, which was written by Robert Wood, a JTAC student in 1927-28. The Tarleton band played "Amazing Grace," "Taps," and the Tarleton color song.

Dr. Christopher E. Guthrie, author of the newly released book John Tarleton and His Legacy, spoke on John Tarleton's life. He stated "thank you, Mr. Tarleton, for creating the opportunity for tens of thousands of young Texans to attend college and make something of their lives." Because John Tarleton, an orphan, had little formal education, he wanted to provide money for the establishment of a school for young people. Prior to coming to Texas, he had lived in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he also left money for a school in Knoxville. It is still there today and is called the Tarleton Home. Guthrie concluded by saying of John Tarleton, "you have performed a truly great thing, and everyone here gives thanks to you."

Following the ceremony everyone enjoyed a reception on the lawn of Bender Hall. John Tarleton would be amazed at how Tarleton has grown and at how it looks today! He truly is the founding father of - Texans Today ~ Legends Tomorrow!
Come to the library and see the display in the foyer on John Tarleton and on the history of Tarleton State University!

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

October is here and the Tarleton campus will soon be in full swing with preparations for Homecoming! Recognizing our alumni is always a big part of Homecoming. In 2008 and 2009 two national events celebrated anniversaries. October 1, 1958 marked the beginning of NASA, making 2008 its 50th anniversary! And 2009 is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo program, including the Apollo moon landing on July 20, 1969! This summer the Dick Smith Library featured a display on NASA and on the Apollo moon landing. Today's blog features Tarleton Alum Dr. Millie Hughes-Fulford, a former NASA payload specialist!
Millie Hughes-Fulford received her BS degree in chemistry and biology from Tarleton State College in 1968. She then began her graduate work studying plasma chemistry at Texas Woman's University as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, completing her doctorate in 1972. She joined the faculty of Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas, Dallas as a postdoctoral fellow, with her research focusing on the regulation of cholesterol metabolism. She has contributed over 90 papers and abstracts on bone and cancer growth regulation.
Selected as a payload specialist by NASA in January 1983, Dr. Hughes-Fulford flew in June 1991 aboard STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences, the first Spacelab mission dedicated to biomedical studies. It flew over 3.2 million miles in 146 orbits and its crew completed over 18 experiments during a 9 day period bringing back more medical data than any previous NASA flight. Mission duration was 218 hours, 14 minutes and 20 seconds.

Currently Dr. Hughes-Fulford is an Adjunct Professor at the University of California Medical Center at San Francisco where she continues her research. As Director of the Laboratory for Cell Growth and Scientific Advisor to the UnderSecretary of Veteran's Affairs, she studies the control of human prostate cancer growth with VA grants and the regulation of bone and lymphocyte activation with NASA grants. (Biographical information: http://www.nasa.gov )

Dr. Hughes-Fulford was awarded Tarleton's Distinguished Alumna in 1990. She recalled fondly her days at Tarleton and said faculty members such as Provost Emeritus Dr. Robert Fain, Associate Professor Emeritus Joy Terry, and Professor Emeritus Dr. Sam McInnis had been very important in her educational background. She also remembered that long time chemistry lab manager George Weidebusch had "saved her life" many times by making sure she had turned off all the equipment at the end of an experiment! She concluded by saying that "I am proud to be from Tarleton and thank you for this special recognition". (Alumni J-TAC, Homecoming edition, 1990, p.14)