Over 122 years ago, James C. Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. We have launched a new digital collection of photographs of JCPenney stores, photographs of Mr. Penney or his projects, and a sampling of the first JCPenney newspaper for associates (employees) called The Dynamo. SMU received the JCPenney collections in 2004. The…Continue Reading JCPenney joins digital collections
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
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”
Ebby Halliday did not graduate from SMU, but many in her close circle of friends and family did. Her husband Maurice Wilson Acers belonged to the class of 1925, majoring in political science with a minor in religion and received the SMU’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1984. Her mother-in-law, Effie Elizabeth Acers was a charter…Continue Reading Ebby and SMU
Ebby Halliday Realtors, Inc. was operating for eight years when Ebby opened her second office at 8117 Preston Road on December 13, 1953. It was during this time that Ebby became an early adopter of the multiple listing service (M.L.S.) organized by the Dallas Realtor Board and was one of the brokers to handle the…Continue Reading Ebby and M.L.S. Enter the Computer Age
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
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