128 years ago, on January 5th, 1893, Frankie Smith wrote a letter on stationery of “Office of C.R. Breedlove, Horse Brand TZ, Cattle Brand X-Z” to her husband W.R. Smith in Colorado, Texas. Her honest and rather “frank” note details their affairs at home including their infant son (“the lad”), visiting Aunt J. and Lulu…Continue Reading My dear husband…
On October 1st, 1918, The Campus, SMU’s student newspaper, led with stories on an upcoming football game between the Mustangs and the Texas Longhorns, a look at how SMU was losing faculty to war work, and an exploration of street car service in University Park. News about the First World War was found throughout the…Continue Reading SMU and the Spanish Flu
“I’ll be home for Christmas,” promised Bing Crosby in 1943 in one of that year’s top hits. “I’ve been here all year anyway,” quips one of the myriad of memes trending on social media at the end of 2020. Both allude to situations in which protagonists long to be reunited with their loved ones for…Continue Reading (Not) home for the holidays
Tidings of Comfort and Joy Joy may not be a word often associated with the year 2020. This year has presented numerous hardships and challenges for everyone. However, it has also presented opportunities for us to slow down, explore different hobbies, and develop new skills. Over the course of 2020 I have read more, advanced…Continue Reading Tidings of Comfort and Joy
It’s not hard to figure out why Turkey, and its preceding political entities, the former Ottoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, and Eastern Roman Empire, have been written about at length by western European diplomats, historians, and travelers. The region which encompasses some of the earliest sites of permeant human settlement, is positioned at a critical geographic…Continue Reading Turkey Season
Hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving. It is even harder to believe how different the holidays might look. Last year I spent Thanksgiving with my family, and whipped up a traditional feast of turkey, stuffing, and assorted sides. In my post from last fall, “Someone’s in the Kitchen,” I scoped out some fun…Continue Reading Someone’s back in the Kitchen…
“The air is cool, the season fall, soon Halloween will come to all…” This week brings October to a close and with that my favorite holiday of the year is fast approaching. Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is celebrated in many countries on October 31st. It is a time dedicated…Continue Reading The Season of Halloween and Day of the Dead
October is by far my favorite month of the year, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. The creepy, the kooky, and the altogether spooky has fascinated me since I was a small child. Working in the archives, you occasionally come across an image, artifact, or letter than literally sends chills down your spine. From…Continue Reading Gettin’ Spooky with Special Collections
In the early 1880s, Dallas was a rapidly growing city, but it did not yet have a thriving daily newspaper to report on the life of the community. That need was fulfilled by The Dallas Morning News. A sister publication of the Texas’ oldest periodical The Galveston News, owned by A.H. Belo, The Dallas Morning…Continue Reading The Dallas Morning News is 135 years old
The Reeves family papers comprise documents related to the African American Community in Austin, Texas circa 1920s to 1940s. There are approximately 60 letters, programs, essays and other items of ephemera compiled by four sisters who lived together on Nueces Street: Mary (1890-1934), Anna (1911-?) and Estella Reeves (1904-1932), and Carrie Warren (1892-1965). Part of…Continue Reading Ideals of Womanhood