Everyone who had the chance to know Joan Gosnell immediately loved her. I first encountered Joan during my first year as a student at SMU, when I asked if she might be able to find any information on my great-grandfather who lived in Dallas. In a move that would surprise nobody who has worked with…Continue Reading Remembering Joan Gosnell, SMU Treasure
When the SMU Mustangs play the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Durham, N.C., it will be only the third time the two programs have met on the gridiron. SMU and Duke met for the very first time on Sept. 26, 1952, in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. SMU lost 14-7 in…Continue Reading SMU vs Duke, 1952
Fan of the Golden Age of Hollywood? Then make sure to check out TCM’s newest season of The Plot Thickens, its podcast dedicated to in-depth explorations of Hollywood history. This season is all about director John Ford, winner of six Academy Awards and considered one of Hollywood’s first auteurs. To tell the story of the…Continue Reading The Plot Thickens…for the Ron Davis Oral History Collection
Robert T. Anderson was an internationally renowned organist who taught at Southern Methodist University from 1960-1996. He was also the organist for Perkins Chapel during his distinguished career at SMU. Robert Theodore Anderson was born 90 years ago on October 5 in Chicago, Illinois, and began studying piano at age 5 and organ at the…Continue Reading Remembering Robert T. Anderson
Ephemera is the plural form of the Greek word Ephemeron (Epi = on, about, round; Hemera = day). Literally, it refers to something that lasts through the day. And here at the DeGolyer, it refers to one of our favorite categories of collecting. Among our holdings of Ephemera are such things as almanacs, advertisements, bank…Continue Reading Welcome to the Hotel California
Researchers turn to cookbooks, obviously, for the recipes, especially in tracing change in culinary habits over time. But that’s not all cookbooks have to offer. Among the standard reasons why we collect cookbooks we can say that, especially in the 19th and early 20th century, they help to document local printing practices, to identify community…Continue Reading P.T.A. Cookoff
WFAA-TV first broadcast in North Texas on September 17, 1949 as KBTV. In 1950 Channel 8’s call letters changed to WFAA and the station became an ABC affiliate. For 75 years WFAA has covered local news, world events, and provided original programming such as Peppermint Place, PM Magazine, and Good Morning Texas. In 2010,…Continue Reading WFAA-TV’s 75th anniversary
Fondren Library is undergoing a major renovation ahead of the opening of the Rees-Jones Library of the American West. This renovation involves relocating one-third of the library’s collection, giving staff a chance to review books that haven’t been handled in a long time. Janet Allmon in the cataloging department had one such experience. The book…Continue Reading Ellis Shuler and the Creation of the Geology Library
In the spring of 2024, DeGolyer Library hosted the exhibit Taming the Tongue in the Heyday of English Grammar (1711-1851). The exhibit was curated by lexicographer and legal scholar Bryan A. Garner, who has authored more than two dozen books on English usage and style. Missed the exhibit? Check out this virtual tour, hosted by…Continue Reading A Tour of Taming the Tongue
We dug through the Hervey Priddy Collection of American Presidential and Political Memorabilia digital collection to find examples of political messaging from a time when the medium was slower, and the attacks could be just as nasty as they are today. From the Willie Horton ad to “It’s the Economy, Stupid,” to swift boats and…Continue Reading Campaign Pins and Presidential Elections