Tarleton History: J-TAC & Grassburr yearbooks

With homecoming just around the corner, it seems like a good time to re-post some information about ways to look up Tarleton State University history -- specifically how to locate J-TAC issues (online and print) and copies of the Grassburr yearbook:

• J-TAC student newspaper (online) -- Created through a Dick Smith Library project and made available via UNT's Portal to Texas History.
  -- You can use this direct link to the J-TAC (1919-2009) at the portal.
  ---- Browse issues by year.
  ---- Use the "Advanced Search" feature to search for topics, by time period, etc.



• You can also go to the Portal of Texas History.
  -- Enter JTAC in the search box & choose title from the drop-down menu.
  -- Click "Submit."
  -- Browse issues or finesse your search using the "Advanced Search" features.



• J-TAC student newspaper (microfilm) -- Photo negatives of print issues are available in Dick Smith Library's in-house collections.
  -- in Periodicals Collection (library's main level)
  ---- Use the library's new microform scanner to read, print, and save copies of articles/pages.



• Grassburr yearbooks-- Call number LD5271.T35G7
  ---- Limited Collection (lower level) houses the most complete set. In-house use only.
  ---- Curriculum Collection (lower level) yearbooks. Can be checked out.

Top Ten Halloween Movies for Younger Kids

It's easy to find a list of horror movies to watch for Halloween, but hard to find something in proper Halloween spirit that doesn't cause so many nightmares. The top ten for younger folks are:
1. The Nightmare Before Christmas
2. Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
3. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
4. The Addams Family
5. Corpse Bride
6. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
7. Cinderella
8. Beetlejuice
9. The Monster Squad
10. Ghostbusters

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/10/top-10-halloween-movies-for-younger-kids-geekdad-re-animator-2/

Al Capone Convicted Today in 1931

Today in 1931 the notorious gangster Al Capone was finally convicted of a crime. For years law enforcement authorities had been trying to convict Capone for crimes he either committed or were committed in his name. He was believed to be the person who ordered the Valentines Day Massacre. In 1930 he was indited on income tax evasion charges. He is attributed with saying "The income tax law is a lot of bunk. The government can't collect legal taxes from illegal money." It took the jury 9 hours to convict Capone of three felonies and two misdemeanors. He was sentenced to serve 11 years in prison and pay $80,000 in fines and court costs. A small price to pay for someone who was Public Enemy Number One. Part of Capone's time would be served in the new Alcatraz prison. For more information see this link:http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/

Fun Halloween Facts

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Halloween? Where did the idea come from? Why do we carve pumpkins? Since Halloween is right around the corner, I thought a fun Friday post would be about the origins and facts surrounding our common day celebration of Halloween.

According to the website, holidayinsights.com, “Halloween's roots can be traced back to Celtic culture in Ireland. According to their "Druid" religion, November 1st was New Years' on their calendar. The celebration would begin on October 31st and last into the following day. The spirits of all who died in the prior year would rise up and roam the earth on this night…The Irish carved Turnips and put coals or small candles inside. They were placed outside their homes on All Hallow's Eve to ward off evil spirits. They were also known to use potatoes and Rutabagas. When Irish Immigrants came to America, they quickly discovered that Jack O'Lanterns were much easier to carve out and began using them. This truly neat tradition quickly spread to the general population in America and elsewhere”.

If you would like to learn more about Halloween and the traditions surrounding it, you can check out the following books that we have here at the Dick Smith Library:

Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night
GT4965.R634

A Little Book of Halloween
GT4965.S45

Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween
GT4965.S58 2002

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

Spirits of Erath Cemetery Walk

Sunday October 30, 2011

2 PM

The Friends of the Tarleton Dick Smith Library and the Friends of the Stephenville Public Library are having their annual Spirits of Erath Cemetery Walk across the street at the West End Cemetery on Sunday afternoon October 30, 2011 at 2 PM. The cost is only $5. per person and is an entertaining afternoon!

People in Stephenville's history are portrayed by actors and actresses in period costumes giving short vignettes of the past! This year we have a doctor, a cotton ginner, businessmen and women, a lawyer, musicians, artists, and we will even have some "special" entertainment not listed on the flyer! For more information call Glenda Stone, here in the library, at 968-9871.

The Spirits Walk is a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Hope to see you there!

Bird calls

Through Birds of North America Online, you can listen to a huge variety of bird calls. Here are a few strange, interesting, and/or eerie ones I've come across. Enjoy!

• Common Eider
• American Bittern
• Arctic Loon
• Sora
• Willow Ptarmigan
• Black-footed Albatross

Meet Our Staff: Lisa Wan

Lisa Wan
Tarleton - Fort Worth Librarian
817-732-7300 x7315
blackwell@tarleton.edu
Texan Hall Library, Room 445, Hickman Building, 4th floor, Fort Worth

I began working as the Off-Campus Librarian on September 1, 2011. I have been working in the Texan Hall Library and the Medical Laboratory Sciences library as a graduate student since February 2010. I provide reference and research services to students, faculty, and staff, as well as give presentations of library resources to classes. I work with librarians at the Dick Smith Library to market and promote library services to our off-campus students and faculty in the Southwest Metroplex. I love being a librarian, and one of my most favorite occasions is when a student has an “Ah-ha!” moment while doing research.

My library career started as a “Superseder” (a person who replaces the old material in legal materials with the new, updated materials) at the Duke Law School Library after my graduation from Baylor University. I loved being in the library and decided that my career path would be to become a librarian. I earned my Master in Library Science from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). I have worked mostly at university and law school libraries doing cataloging, acquisitions, and reference. I earned my most recent degree, Master of Education in Counseling, from Tarleton (all on the Southwest Metroplex campus) in August 2011. I will become a Licensed Professional Counselor and counsel adults in my time outside of the library.

I love being with my children whenever they are home, but my daughter and youngest son are at college back east; my oldest son has graduated from college and lives in San Antonio. I enjoy cooking, hiking, hunting with my significant other, and singing in my church choir. Whenever I get the chance to travel, I enjoy visiting friends in Durham, Chicago, and the tiny Appalachian coal mining town of Grundy, Virginia, all places that my family and I have lived.

Stephenville ISD banned books!

Although Banned Books Week is over, I did a little research on banned and challenged books. I saw many that I had read. The Grapes of Wrath and Catch-22 are two of them. I feel like such a rebel! (I have been known to be a bit on the conservative side.)

I was quite astonished to find that here in our little town, there have been books banned! Not challenged... but BANNED! I had no idea! I should really keep up with the news more.

Check out the links to find out what books have been banned, and why. What do you think?

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/sep/28/aclu-accuses-stephenville-isd-banning-books/

http://aclutx.org/files/FREE%20PEOPLE%20READ%20FREELY%20-%20available%20to%20public%2009.26%20revised.pdf

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

John Tarleton College Track Meet - October 1908

Over 100 years ago the 10th session of John Tarleton College, 1908-09, was the most prosperous in the school's history. Enrollment reached 287 - tuition had doubled - the $15,000 girls' dorm, Mary Corn Wilkerson, was built - and there were 16 graduates.

In 1908-09 the campus consisted of eight acres with natural grass lawns and shade trees. There were three basketball courts and two tennis courts. The athletic field was equiped for high jumping, vaulting, hurdle racing, etc. The baseball and football field had a grandstand and was enclosed by a picket & board fence. There was also a bath house equipped with dressing room, showers, and lockers.

The Athletic Association was composed of John Tarleton College students and faculty and directed all athletic events. To participate in athletics, the player had to be a bonafide student in good standing. John Tarleton College was a charter member of the West Texas College League which controlled intercollegiate meets. The West Texas College League had rigid rules which required high morals and scholarship for all participants.

Shown above is a John Tarleton College track meet in October 1908. It shows the field, the grandstand, and the board fence.

We have come a long way in the last 100+ years!

Cross Timbers Historic Images Project, Dick Smith Library.

John Tarleton College Bulletin, 1908-09.

Your learning philosophy

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." -Alvin Toffler

I gave a library tour to a class recently. At the end of the tour, the instructor asked her students to write down information about several of the locations we had just visited. She also asked them to write down their philosophy of learning.

This really got my attention, and has been residing in the back of my mind ever since.

I'm a former public school teacher. As part of student-teaching (and, later, job-hunting) we all dutifully recorded our philosophy of teaching.

But no one had ever asked me about my philosophy of learning. What could be more important?

How do you learn best?

What are some of your positive and negative learning experiences?

What is YOUR philosophy of learning?

Stories and Tales of Halloween

It's almost that time of year, to read tales and stories of Halloween, to name a few:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, by Washington Irving
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Raven, by Edgar Allen Poe
• Rip Van Winkle, by Washington Irving 
• Ulalume, by Edgar Allen Poe

http://www.halloween.com/halloween-stories.php

Banned Books Week

The Dick Smith Library's 2011 "Banned Books Week" Display

This is "Banned Books Week" in the United States, September 24 through October 1.  It really should be called "Challenged Books Week," because not that many books are actually banned.  Many books are challenged in schools and libraries in the United States each year. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, while a banning reflects the actual removal of those materials. The American Library Association (ALA) tracks challenges that occur, recording 348 challenges in 2010 (the fewest since 1990).  However, the ALA estimates that this number reflects only 20-25% of actual challenges, as many are not reported.

You might want to check out this interesting infographic about the top ten challenged books of 2010, or join the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out on YouTube.

[photo above and the others at the link on the caption by Tracy Holtman; the display was put together by Rashelle Hansen and Sharon Alexander.]

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

Parent's Day at Tarleton

This weekend is family weekend at Tarleton. Our campus will be filled with many of our students and their families. This is a long-standing tradition at Tarleton. The 1926 Grassburr first mentions Parent's Day, which was held in conjunction with May Fete. This annual event went on well into the 1990s without too much change. The May Fete was discontinued and Parent's Day was moved from the spring to the fall, and became Parent's Weekend. Always a highlight of May Fete/Parent's Day/Parent's Weekend was the selection of a queen, as shown in the 1966 J-TAC above. Take a look at the old Grassburrs in the library to see how the "queen" fashions have changed over the last 75+ years.

The February 23, 1995 J-TAC reports that Rusty Jergins, Dean of Students, was working toward revamping Parent's Weekend to support a mix of gender and a balance of traditional and non-traditional age students. As a result, we have the Family Weekend as we know today. It is nice to know that Parent's/Family/Day/Weekend is such a long standing event at Tarleton.

We hope that you attend the Family Weekend activities this weekend......you might even see the library staff and our Friends of the Library participating! Come out and let the library staff serve you some delicious lemonade............and while you're there, purchase a Tarleton Traditions book for $5 and a Friends' book bag for $4!

See you Saturday!

October is American Archives Month

Did you know that October is American Archives month? American Archives Month is a collaborative effort by professional organizations and repositories around the nation to highlight the importance of records of enduring value.

Whether or not you realize it, you probably have an archive in your home. This is your personal archives: a collection of material that records important events from your family’s history. This collection can include letters, photos, scrapbooks, important documents.

At Tarleton, the archives are located in the Dick Smith Library. Collections in the archive include the Charles W. Stenholm Congressional papers, C. Richard King papers, Richard Thompson papers, Randall Popken papers, and the state Senatorial papers of Mike Moncrief, to name a few. The University Archives are also housed in the Dick Smith Library. Collections in the University Archives include the papers of presidents and university committees, photographs, the J-Tac, Grassburrs, and the Cross Timbers Historic Images Project.

The W. K. Gordon Center for Industrial History of Texas, in Thurber also houses archival and manuscript collections. Collections at the Center the records of the Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company, which includes reports on the mines and maps of the mines. Other collections at the Center relate to the town of Thurber and its citizens. These collections contain personal papers and photographs.

For more information about the archives contact the Collections Archivist, Gary Spurr at spurr@tarleton.edu of 254-968-1808.