Category: DeGolyer Library

Ebby and the Legends of St. Paul

One of the many charitable organizations Ebby Halliday supported was the St. Paul Medical Foundation. Originally established in 1964 by the Daughters of Charity, the Foundation’s mission was provide the finest healthcare for all people. This aligned with Ebby and Maurice Acers’ lifelong credo of “doing good for others” and they both devoted their resources…Continue Reading Ebby and the Legends of St. Paul

Veteran and Congressman Sam Johnson ’51

Sam Johnson (’51) served 29 years as an Air Force pilot before representing Texas 3rd District in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2019. Johnson grew up in Dallas, and joined the ROTC while he was a student at SMU. After serving multiple combat tours in the Korean War and the Vietnam…Continue Reading Veteran and Congressman Sam Johnson ’51

Exploring the Doris A. and Lawrence H. Budner Collection on Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, was born on this day in 1858. Famous for his exploits as a soldier, conservationist, and statesman, he was also defined by his progressive politics and cultivated image as a cowboy outdoorsman, forever linked in the popular imagination to images of the American West. From its…Continue Reading Exploring the Doris A. and Lawrence H. Budner Collection on Theodore Roosevelt

“I’m mad.”…Feminist activist Maura McNiel

The DeGolyer Library has processed the working and research papers of pioneering feminist and women’s rights activist Maura McNiel known as “mother of the women’s liberation movement in Dallas”. McNiel’s interest and activism had its roots at Southern Methodist University, when McNiel attended the Symposium on the Education of Women for Social and Political Leadership…Continue Reading “I’m mad.”…Feminist activist Maura McNiel

“Dandy” Don Meredith comes to the SMU Archives

Cowboys Quarterback Don Meredith on the field

  The papers of Don Meredith—SMU alum, Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, sports commentator, and actor are now available to researchers at the SMU Archives. Joseph “Dandy” Don Meredith (1938-2010) was born and raised in east Texas, where he acted in school plays, excelled in basketball and football, and graduated second in his class.  Meredith was a…Continue Reading “Dandy” Don Meredith comes to the SMU Archives

Have you heard the tale of the haunted library?

a dark library floor

Legend has it that the ghost of former SMU President Umphrey Lee prowls the west stacks of Fondren Library.  Visitors have reported hearing unexplained noises, walking through strange cold spots, and finding books that have mysteriously fallen off the shelves and onto the floor. Is the ghost of SMU’s fourth president to blame?   As…Continue Reading Have you heard the tale of the haunted library?

National Comic Book Day

National Comic Book Day on September 25 is a time to celebrate the artists, writers, and fans of the genre that became popular in the 1930s. Cartoons and comic strips appeared in newspapers in the late nineteenth century, and collections of these strips were published in book form in the early twentieth century. Slim paperback…Continue Reading National Comic Book Day

News from the DeGolyer Library August 2023

News from the DeGolyer Library August 2023 News & Notes DeGolyer Library was happy to provide reference material for Tracy Daugherty’s latest biography, Larry McMurtry: A Life, which will be released September 12th. Daugherty, a Midland, Texas, native and SMU alum, is a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Oregon State University, and has previously…Continue Reading News from the DeGolyer Library August 2023

“You’re in Ebby Halliday Country”

An award-winning advertising strategy played an important role in Ebby Halliday Realtors, Inc. decades long success. Weekly ads in the major newspapers: The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Times Herald and Fort Worth Star Telegram reached millions of potential clients and made the company’s brand a household name and generated millions in sales.  The Ebby Halliday papers…Continue Reading “You’re in Ebby Halliday Country”