Ambassadors and members of the Foreign Service represent United States interests abroad, implement foreign policy, and maintain peaceful relationships with other countries. The DeGolyer Library has a few collections from United States diplomats who served in Latin America. The earliest manuscript is not from an American, rather it is a diary from Spanish Minister to…Continue Reading Diplomats in DeGolyer Library
In 1956, the business leaders of Dallas were watching the flight of businesses from the city center to the suburbs. To combat this exodus, the Dallas Chamber of Commerce and local businesses decided to launch a campaign focusing on the purchasing power of the 112, 308 “career girls” concentrated in downtown office buildings. The Dallas…Continue Reading The Charm Offensive
In 1965 Maurice Acers proposed marriage to Ebby Halliday. They first met in 1958 in Beaumont, Texas when they shared a limousine to the airport. He was going to Houston, she was returning back home to Dallas. Today, think of it as a shared-Uber, meet-cute. The following letters from Maurice written shortly after their first…Continue Reading Modern Love
April 6 is opening day for the Texas League, the minor league baseball organization that includes teams from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, and Tennessee. The Frisco Rough Riders are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and over the years these notable players have moved up to the Texas Rangers: Elvis…Continue Reading Texas League opening day
The DeGolyer Library lost a shining light and mentor on March 18. Gerry York, 87, class of 58, Southern Methodist University sports historian, fan, volunteer, and loving husband, father, and grandfather, died from complications from a stroke. Almost 25 years ago, Gerry and Ed Wisneski created Heritage Hall, a museum documenting SMU’s athletics history and…Continue Reading Gerry York — A Team Player
Tender Mercies was released in American theaters forty years ago this month. The story of a troubled Texas country singer on the verge of a comeback who must choose between his career and new family was nominated for multiple Academy Awards. Although the film did not win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Horton Foote…Continue Reading Tender Mercies 40th anniversary
Ebby Halliday lived to see 104 birthdays and once she turned 90 years old each succeeding milestone was celebrated with more festivities and more grandeur. Ebby’s photographs, scrapbooks, and correspondence document the public adoration of the Queen Mum of Real Estate. In 2001, for her 90th birthday, the Communities Foundation of Texas honored her with…Continue Reading Happy Birthday, Ebby!
In the first of a two-part essay in Glasstire, Ruben C. Cordova writes about the artist, Octavio Medellín, featured in his retrospective show at the Dallas Museum of Art. Curated by the DMA’s Mark Castro, Octavio Medellín: Spirit and Form extensively features the artist’s archives from SMU Libraries Bywaters Special Collections at the Hamon Arts…Continue Reading Octavio Medellín: Spirit and Form at the DMA – featured in Glasstire
The Ebby Halliday Papers contain 25 years of Christmas holiday greetings sent by Ebby and her husband Maurice Acers. These undated, paper postcards and folded cards are all 8 inches by 9 inches and feature a photograph of Ebby and Maurice from a special event or celebration that took place that year. The back of…Continue Reading Ebby’s Christmas Greetings
Texas didn’t make Thanksgiving an official holiday until 1848. But in 1961, the Lone Star State became a special place in the holiday’s history, as home to the world’s only Thanksgiving shrine, known as Thanks-Giving Square. Today, Thanks-Giving Square is a unique, interfaith, multicultural site and research center on a 3.5-acre site in the heart…Continue Reading Ebby’s Thanksgiving Wish