Dont’ worry, KUHT.  You’re not old, you’re just long in the tooth booth (broadcast booth, that is).

Before there was a Corporation for Public Broadcasting, before there was the Public Broadcasting Service, and before there was everyone’s favorite oversized fowl, KUHT was broadcasting on good ol’ Channel 8.

KUHT first hit the airwaves on May 25, 1953.  A first for the nation, it was originally licensed to both the Houston Independent School District and the University of Houston, envisioned as an educational channel serving both communities.  As the University of Houston became the sole licensee by the end of the 1950s, KUHT would become a home for UH’s first televised credit classes — continuing a UH tradition of expanding access to higher education in the city.  As similar televisions stations began to crop up around the country in its wake, KUHT would go on to become a member of National Education Television and later PBS, as a politically muddy merger of stations took place.  Programming has evolved throughout the years, but education has always remained at the forefront of the station’s mission.

KUHT program schedule from May 26, 1953. Who needs ESPN when “Spring Quarterback” is on at 6:30pm?!

As part of the University Archives here in Special Collections, the KUHT Collection looms large in our stacks, weighing in at nearly 500 archival boxes.  Not surprisingly, over half of those boxes are comprised of video material.  The challenges of preservation and the unique proprietary formats of the bygone eras dictate that not all of these videotapes are immediately available for public viewing.  The remainder of the boxes and materials contained therein record the history of pioneering educational television.  A finding aid is available for your review and our University Archivist should be able to help you with any specific questions regarding detailed inventories or the accessibility of specific materials.

Julia Child stops by the KUHT studios to give a cooking demonstration

If you’re just curious to take a glance, however, our Digital Library serves up some wonderful highlights from the collection.  Hundreds of black and white photographs provide glimpses into KUHT over the years.  In addition, a number of fascinating videos have been preserved, digitized, and are available for your viewing pleasure from the comfort of your computer.  For example, a scathingly forthright documentary on the business and politics of H.L. Hunt (1965) portends the coming political woes and merger of public television stations, while films like Integration: Two Towns in Texas; The World of Billy Joe (documenting the struggle of integrating public schools in Southeast Texas) show the critical role public television can play towards a greater society.

So, happy birthday, KUHT!  What’s on the tube tonight?  Looks like we’re going to have to choose between “Antique Roadshow” or “Family Planning” (no, it’s not what you think).

Foley Bros. on Main St. (1906) – available for high resolution download at our Digital Library

Too often the city of Houston has a tendency to discard or wash away its history.  The perpetual buzz of construction around the sprawling metropolis has become our recurring soundtrack.  We seem to relish in pulling down long-standing authenticity so we can build the artificial over it again with a restlessness that results in a sort of amnesia for long-time residents and a disconnect for newly-arriving transplants.

In short, Houston is a city where it can be difficult to hold onto the thin threads of history.

Foley’s Jewelry Counter

For just over a century the Foley’s Department Store served as a cornerstone in Houston, serving the needs of the population beyond simple commercial interests.  Paul and James Foley founded their Dry Goods Company in 1900.  By the twenty-first century, the shifting sands of business had seen Macy’s take over operations of the iconic building down on Main Street and, shortly thereafter, the registers ceased their chiming as Houston’s old department store was shuttered.  In-between those one hundred or so years, however, the Foley’s Department Store would be witness to and participant in the evolution and growth of Houston — and we have the records to prove it.

Picketing against segregation (July 1960)

Part of the Houston History Archives, the Foley’s Department Store Records may seem like an unlikely source for the interested scholar.  As one of the rare long-standing entities in Houston, however, the store’s records provide insight across a number of disciplines and attract scholars of different feathers.  With materials representing the operations of marketing, legal, financial, and public relations departments inside Foley’s, there is a little something for everyone.  Some are interested in studying the process of desegregation in the store’s dining facilities.  Others may be inclined to watch the changing trends in fashion.  Still others will want to look at the evolution of advertising and consumerism as it explodes in the post-World War II years.  The construction of the “store of tomorrow” will no doubt please those interested in architecture.  Studying transit and urban sprawl?  Foley’s planned expansions into the developing Houston suburbs are documented in studies analyzing, among other things, transportation.

This collection is a genuine cornucopia for the famished scholar of Houston history.

Given the recklessness with which we treat our history at times, those more interested in a simple look into Houston’s past will feel fortunate to be able to view it from this singular window over these many years (Never you mind that the revolutionary building design of Kenneth Franzheim wasn’t real big on windows!).

Modernism as showcased in the Foley’s building – the lack of windows serving as accents to the climate-controlled function

In typical Houston fashion, the late twentieth century saw a new “uptown” shopping district being developed out west of downtown.  The Galleria would go on to become synonymous with Houston, its commercial industry, and tourism.  As other downtown power players jumped at the chance to leave their urban center, Foley’s seemed to understand that the view from Main Street is different than that from the fringe.

We invite you to come share this historic view of our city.

1-5 on Saturdays, following Intersession

Alonso S. Perales (aged 17, 1915), available for high resolution download at our Digital Library here

This month, Arte Público Press publishes In Defense of My People edited by Professor Olivas.  The book assembles a collection of essays from Mexican and U.S. scholars on the life and legacy of Alonso S. Perales, initially presented as part of a 2012 conference and exhibit organized in conjunction with the University of Houston Special Collections and the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project.  Alonso S. Perales was noted for his civil rights legal work in the Mexican-American community as well as his influential and prolific writing on the topic of racial equality.  However, he is perhaps most remembered for the leadership he was able to provide in maneuvering the legal and logistical hurdles of uniting a number of disparate civil rights organizations under the banner of LULAC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf49nKtrECg&feature=youtu.be

(Professor Olivas provides some background and perspective on Alonso S. Perales)

Arte Público Press and Olivas will donate royalties from purchases of the book to establish a scholarship with the UH Law Center’s Hispanic Law Student Association.  The first scheduled award, to a recipient exhibiting “academic merit and a record of involvement in the Houston Latino community,” is slated for 2014.

Thanks to the generous donation of the Perales family, the Alonso S. Perales Papers are now more accessible to the community at large and we are pleased to have them available for study in the Special Collections reading room during normal reference hours.  This collection, a part of our larger Hispanic Collections, is a rich resource and draw for scholars still attempting to provide a robust picture of a region and time complicated by competing ambitions and voices.  For starters, the collection includes correspondence with other noted civil rights leaders, organizational documents for LULAC, as well as his notes regarding personal writings, interviews, and radio addresses.  However, the detailed finding aid will be able to guide your research and provide more insight into the contents.

“League of Latin American Citizens – Aims and Purposes,” from our Digital Library, available for high resolution download here

Our Digital Library has assembled a number of documents and photographs as highlights from this collection and they are available for viewing and high resolution download here.  In addition to the Perales papers, our Hispanic Collections offer a number of finding aid resources that may complement your study.

The history of “Aztlán” is infinitely complex and made more so when voices are muted.  We are pleased that, thanks to the efforts of scholars like Professor Olivas and others, those voices continue to garner an audience.  In addition, thanks to the continued generosity of he and his wife, Professor Augustina Reyes, now another scholarship has been established to ensure those futures voices are heard.

Please take a look at some of the online resources above.  If you are just beginning your education on Perales and his impact, videos from scholars on the exhibit page should provide a nice introduction.  However, if you are looking to expand your research, come visit us at your earliest convenience.

So, what does it mean for Don Draper to be reading The Last Picture Show? Well, we have some ideas, but don’t want to give away any spoilers in case you haven’t watched the episode yet.

Developers also received the list of metadata changes from MBS and checked CONTENTdm about the impact of potentially changing the display names of existing fields. The good news is that changes in metadata display names will not impact the system. The bad news is any field currently tied into customization that must be removed as part of the audit process will break the system. Developers sent MBS a list of metadata fields that are currently used for custom features, these fields are:

• Sort Date
• Author
• Creator
• Subject (Name)

Developers are confident they can work out solutions to these potential issues.  However, close coordination will be needed in the future regarding what changes are being made and when as part of the metadata audit project.

from the Houston Council of Texas Garden Clubs Records

Have you seen the tents in front of the grocery stores, bursting at the seams with blossoms and blooms?  You had not forgotten, had you?  She raised you better than that.

Mother’s Day is this weekend, April showers have brought on May flowers, and, as I cannot move about our fair city without the sweet waft of offerings for Mom in my nose, there seems no better time to highlight the work of some of Houston’s green thumbs.  Their toiling ready to bear fruit, May is typically the time of year that garden and flower clubs in Houston begin to wind down their activities and meetings and take some time to bask in their handiwork.

In Houston, we are fortunate to be home to a number of garden and flower clubs that assist in the obvious, the beautification of the city, but also benefit the community in more subtle ways, through various service projects.  In addition, historically these types of organizations have allowed for an arena of subtle political action for women.   Having secured a right to vote early in the 20th century, equality remained elusive.  Prior to the Women’s Liberation struggles of the 1960s, it was not uncommon to think a woman “unladylike” for vociferously proclaiming her political opinions or for simply asserting herself in the public sphere.  These clubs and organizations, dominated by women and out of sight to about half the population, provided almost a parallel system of local political maneuvering.  Members were able to negotiate and channel their politics through the selection of service projects and causes championed, thereby impacting public life.

from the River Oaks Blossom Club Records

The Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive & Research Collection is proud to hold the archives of such organizations, with an eye towards beauty and enhancing society via service.  For example, the Houston Council of Texas Garden Clubs worked on projects benefiting the U.S.V.A. Hospital and sponsored the Lighthouse for the Blind Garden Club.  Meanwhile, the River Oaks Blossom Club members have donated their time and efforts to area hospitals, nursing homes, and even received recognition for their volunteer efforts during World War II.

The Houston Council of Texas Garden Clubs Records collects a number of scrapbooks and documents detailing the history and work of the chapter, including documents related to shows and service projects.  The River Oaks Blossom Club Records date back to 1939 and include scrapbooks, yearbooks, photographs, and administrative files.

also available through our Digital Library as part of the Park People Annual Award Dinner Invitations

Of course, if all of this beauty has you reassessing your stewardship of the environment, and you want to make sure you’re taking care of that other Mother of yours, our Houston History Archives hold a number of resources documenting the environmental history and activism of the Houston and Gulf Coast region.  Collection highlights there include the Park People Records, the Bayou Preservation Association, and, of course, the Terry Tarlton Hershey Papers.

Don’t forget to take care of your Mother on Sunday and be sure to come examine these wonderful resources and collections during the week.  Caps and gowns are fluttering across campus, but we remain open and at your service Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm.

To mine, to yours, to all, a Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s one of the reasons that we have such a rich professional literature sharing best practices and the results of teachers trying to improve their teaching.

So in this line of thought, I was very happy to see that recently a number of the talks from the TED talks YouTube channel have been Education based.

I encourage you to check some of them out. There are some big names like Bill Gates and Geoffrey Canada and a variety of topics from Preschool to learning Chinese.

Houston National Bank advertisement from 1951, part of their 75th anniversary

The Houston National Bank was founded in 1876, moved into the bustling and growing downtown area in 1928, and remained a financial cornerstone in the city until it merged with the Tennessee Bank and Trust Company in 1964.  Its former home, a beautiful neoclassical construction of limestone on a black granite base, sat vacant as the 20th century came to a close.  University of Houston alumnus Hakeem Olajuwan purchased the property and it now breathes new life as the Islamic Da’wah Center.

The Houston National Bank Records consist primarily of correspondence, photographs, news clippings, and promotional material related to the 75th and 85th anniversary celebrations in 1951 and 1961 respectively.  Personal papers and scrapbooks belonging to the likes of former bank president Melvin Rouff round out the collection.

Of course, we are excited about this new finding aid.  Please give it look and, should you find something of import to your research, please visit us at your earliest convenience.

Program of events from 1885 Saenger-Fest

This weekend the Houston Saengerbund Maennerchor will host the 67th annual Texas State Saengerfest in League City.  Houston’s oldest music organization will lead this two-day celebration of German music and culture while showcasing new and original music from Rebecca Oswald, R. Michael Daugherty, and Carlie Hunder Burdett.

During the 19th century German immigrants were drawn to Texas, spurred on by a number of factors.  Early settlers like Johann Friedrich Ernst (or Friedrich Diercks) sought independence and economic opportunity.  Ernst’s letters home championed the cheap and readily available land through Empresario Austin, the mild winters, and the wide-open landscape teeming with game and natural resources.  These letters were published in Germany and they spurred on a wave of wide-eyed optimists ready to make their new lives.  Later, a number of colonization programs would try to capitalize on this popularity with Germans and ramped up immigration into Texas.  By the 1890s rural German enclaves peppered across the Texas landscape while significant percentages of the population had been established in San Antonio, Galveston, and Houston, creating a virtual German Belt.

Houston Saengerbund meeting minutes reflecting the shift in name and language from German to English as the U.S. enters WWII

This German influx led to the establishment of a number of singing societies, not only in Texas but around the country, embracing the old Germanic culture of the Saengerfest.  Those longing for the Fatherland could return home, if only in song, for those few happy hours of meeting and celebration.  However, during the first half of the 20th century, membership numbers would reflect concerns over anti-German sentiment as horrific warfare dominated the European landscape and spilled over into the rest of the world.  Shortly after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Houston Saengerbund changed their name to “The Houston Singing Society,” ceased singing German songs, and began using English as their official language of operation (as reflected in the recorded minutes).  Following World War II, as tensions subsided, the club restored their official name and purpose — the celebration of German music.

Houston Saengerbund 1906 Tenor I songbook

Today, 130 years after its founding, the Houston Saengerbund continues that celebration.

At the University of Houston Special Collections, our Houston Saengerbund Records stand ready to share in that rich history of celebration.  The collection contains materials dating back to the society’s inception up to the present day, including records, Saengerfest songbooks, and programs (some as early as the 19th century).  Whether you are a vokalist looking to add to your repertoire or you just want a little sampling of the Vaterland, drop by Special Collections and have a look.

Fulton sent this postcard to his parents the week after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war on Japan by the United States.

Fulton was aboard the Houston when she was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in the Java Sea on Feb. 28, 1942, and he, along with more than 300 survivors of the sinking, was taken prisoner by the Japanese. Fulton spent most of the duration of the war in Zentsuji POW Camp in Japan before being liberated from Rokuroshi POW Camp on Sept. 7, 1945.

The heart of this collection is Fulton’s letters home. These provide insight into the experience of a naval officer on the USS Houston during the build up to war in the Pacific and during the conflict’s early months. Fulton describes daily activities on the ship, excursions and picnics, and the mounting tension in the area. Censorship prevents him from relaying the whereabouts or engagements of the ship.

Equally interesting are the colorful greeting cards Fulton received in POW camp, which contain handwritten messages and drawings.

This handmade card was sent to Fulton by fellow POWs.

Special Collections is dedicated to preserving and sharing the story of the Houston and her crew through archival and digital collections, as well as a permanent exhibit in M.D. Anderson Library. Additional digital library collections include the William Slough USS Houston Letters and the USS Houston Blue Bonnet Newsletters. While not related to the Houston, the Marine Bombing Squadron (VMB-613) Photos also contain World War II-related materials.

The original material for all these collections are available in Special Collections, which is open to the public. Be sure to take a look at these digital collections or come view the originals in our Reading Room.

Lynn Eusan (image available for high resolution download at our Digital Library)

Earlier this month the University of Houston community cut the ribbon on a new and improved stage at Lynn Eusan Park.  This new stage will provide improved sound, lighting, better sight lines for audience members, and will inject new life into a park named in honor of one of UH’s own.  Lynn Eusan was a member of the Spirit of Houston, organizer of the Committee on Better Race Relations, founder of the Afro-Americans for Black Liberation (AABL), charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha (UH’s first black sorority), and, probably most notably, the first African-American homecoming queen at UH and, as best we can tell, the first African-American homecoming queen elected in the South not from a historically black college.

The year was 1968.  College campuses around the nation were centers of dissent and quickly becoming laboratories for social change.  The University of Houston was certainly not Columbia, certainly not Howard, but if one thumbs through the Daily Cougar editions from the autumn of 1968, it drives home that the atmosphere on campus certainly reflected the ferment in Houston and other cities at home and abroad.  In the midst of protests against police brutality, foreign policy, and parking fees (which I’m sure today’s students would find just shocking), the election of a homecoming queen seemed about the most apolitical and innocuous event taking place on campus.  However, frustration was beginning to form as more and more students of different races seemed to be attending parallel universities separate from one another and the race for homecoming queen would become a stage for these divides to play out.

Lynn Eusan’s candidacy was noteworthy not only because of the color of her skin, but also because she had no major Greek support or backing.  When the Daily Cougar asked why she was running for homecoming queen, Eusan replied, “I feel it is an honorable, very respectful position that any girl would be honored to have.  I feel that there is not enough representation of non-Greek minorities on campus.”  She was not alone.  An ad running regularly for another candidate in the Daily Cougar urged students to, “Forget the Greeks.  GO LATIN!”

The day of the election, the Daily Cougar ran an editorial (pictured here) imploring the student body to get over their “hang-ups” regarding color, to “exercise student power,” and elect a queen that “would represent… a liberal-minded, progressive student body.”  A coalition of student groups and organizations rallied around this idea of a racial integration that broke down the walls of these parallel universities and they turned out to vote.

Eusan was already involved in arguably larger social justice issues being tackled by the AABL on campus and in the community.  She worked to help establish and promote the new S.H.A.P.E. Community Center, she contributed to Voice of Hope (a newspaper covering the African-American community in Houston, they would later establish a scholarship in Eusan’s name), and her AABL organization would be instrumental in establishing the African American Studies program here at UH.  Therefore, her candidacy, campaign, and eventual crowning as homecoming queen became more a sign or emblem of a movement building on campus rather than some prize won in the end.

In retrospect and compared to her work, it seems almost trivial.  A crown.  A tiara.  Some flowers.  For one moment, though, on the floor of the Astrodome on November 23, 1968, a coalition of students who had previously felt stripped of their voices rallied around a queen celebrating in disbelief.

Only three years later, in 1971, her life would come to a baffling and tragic end.  The University of Houston would dedicate the park in her honor in 1976.

While the cultural and racial novelty of her being crowned homecoming queen will likely remain the lead attached to her life and legacy, the social and ethnic diversity that constitute the University of Houston in the 21st century is due in no small part to her work.  No.  Racism has not been eliminated at UH, but we are not alone in carrying that burden.  However, as one of the most ethnically diverse research universities in the nation, reaping the benefits from its truly integrated global village on a daily basis, UH owes a debt to a movement that championed a woman like Eusan for a title like homecoming queen.

Here in Special Collections our University Archives offer a handful of items related to Eusan for study.  In addition to the aforementioned back copies of the Daily Cougar, we are pleased to offer a number of items that may be of interest.  Our African American Studies Records have materials related to a tribute to Eusan, the UH Photographs Collection holds the photo featured above and can also be found over at the Digital Library, the President’s Office Records hold reams of notes, articles, and correspondence providing a blow by blow record of AABL protests and their “ten demands” (as well as the ire and passions of a divided community), and Professor Patrick J. Nicholson Papers outline the work behind the scenes to establish what would eventually become the African American Studies program.

As we ring in a new era for Lynn Eusan Park, take an opportunity to explore and celebrate a life that tells a story unique to the University of Houston.  As we move into summer and the campus din quiets down, remember that we remain open for study and eager to assist your research.

1979 March of Dimes Gourmet Gala

However, fundraising for the March of Dimes does not begin and end in Houston on one weekend in April.  The grind and grunt work of charitable fundraising is a year-round job and no name is more synonymous with that exceptional effort than the first lady of philanthropy, one Carolyn Farb.  The March of Dimes as well as so many others have benefited from her tireless efforts over the years.  Author of How to Raise Millions:  Helping Others, Having a Ball!  A Guide to Fundraising as well as The Fine Art of Fundraising:  Secrets for Successful Volunteers (with an introduction from Robin Leach), Farb has been involved in fundraising in Houston since the 1970s and we are pleased to offer for study a vast treasure trove of her personal papers.  It would be quite impossible to list here the number of charitable and non-profit organizations that have benefited from Farb’s efforts but, as the campus gets set to host the March for Babies, a journey into her archives sheds light on just some of her work with the March of Dimes during the 1970s and beyond.

In 1979 the old Summit sports arena hosted the March of Dimes Gourmet Gala that pitted local and national celebrities against one another as would-be chefs, preparing culinary concoctions in kitchen stations conceived by some of Houston’s top designers.  Bernice and Bob Welch of Houston would take top honors with their symphony of Shrimp Crepes with Brie and Pinenut Sauce, but the Baked Alaska of Carolyn Farb and her partner, fashion designer Jimmy Galanos, held its own as it took home the second place prize.  Of course, the March of Dimes and the children they serve were the real winners that evening.

Jimmy Galanos and Carolyn Farb prepare their award-winning Baked Alaska, during the March of Dimes Gourmet Gala, 1979

Photographs, press coverage, and artifacts from the 1979 March of Dimes Gourmet Gala provide just one whimsical snapshot of Farb’s work in fundraising.  For a more robust picture of the resources available related to Carolyn Farb and her charitable work, take a look at the detailed finding aid.  As the spring semester winds down and students scramble to the task of final exams, opportunities for research on Saturdays are dwindling.  Be sure to take some time to come see us on Saturday before you go out and March for Babies on Sunday.

University of Houston Special Collections recently acquired a new addition for our Kenneth Patchen Collection.  This nine page letter from the poet’s wife, Miriam Patchen, to Ida Hodes is dated May 31, 1963 and includes Ms. Hodes’s response.  The letter highlights the physical and financial struggles of both Kenneth and Miriam and will be included alongside other correspondence in the collection.

Kenneth Patchen

The arc of Kenneth Patchen’s life and artistic career reads like an outsider artist archetype.  Born in Niles, Ohio in 1911, his father was a steelworker in the heart of the nation’s thriving foundry.  A ravenous reader and writer at a young age, Patchen sidestepped his blue-collar inevitability to forge and enter an artistic world.  Earning a scholarship to Alexander Meiklejohn’s Experimental College at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Patchen would have his first taste of publishing success (a poem in the New York Times, no less) and cut his formal education short, traveling around the country, writing, and working odd jobs for a number of years.  It was during this time he would meet Miriam Oikemus, with whom he would spend his life as she worked beside him and cared for him while he battled crippling pain from a back injury he suffered in his twenties.

Before there was the stereotype of the beatnik poet capped by a black beret, reading poetry in a coffeehouse while the lurid notes of jazz trip through the smoky air, Kenneth Patchen was appearing in nightclubs along the West Coast, reading on college campuses, and recording with jazz ensembles.    Before the Beat Generation’s seething and bubbling of the 1950s threatened to explode into the counterculture of the 1960s, there was the small, devoted following of a poet named Patchen, who had a habit of mixing his media.  His poetry spoke too boldly to simply be confined to the page as he experimented with poetry-jazz (the mixture of the language of poetry fused with the improvisational medium of music) and the picture poem (where the words are given opportunity to play off the visuals of the paint).

first page of the new acquisition.

Patchen struggled with pain, however, and the financial impact was pronounced.  Fellowships and income from publishing no doubt helped, but limited ability to tour, lecture, or give readings kept money tight.  A surgery fund established by fellow poets (including such luminaries as T.S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, and W.H. Auden) helped and, with proper medical care, Patchen seemed to be headed towards a better quality of life.  It was the 1959 surgical debacle however, resulting in severe injury to his back, that left Patchen bedridden for the majority of the last 13 years of his life.  By the time he passed away in 1972, Patchen had published 43 books of poetry, prose, and picture poems, though his creative successes were no doubt cut short by the physical pain with which he struggled.  The balancing of finances as well as the day to day drudgery and heartache proved difficult for both Kenneth and Miriam as we see highlighted in this new acquisition.

In piecing together a medical malpractice suit related to his injury, Miriam’s frustration is evident as she attempts to placate their attorneys and place a price tag on her husband’s worth.  Miriam writes to Ms. Hodes, a former contact at the Poetry Center, “Apparently, the only crime is to deprive a wage-earner of a salary.  That’s all we get from the law.  ‘How much have you lost?’  When?  How?  My apologies–I’m nearly hysterical with the weight of these 4 years.”

from CCCLXXIV Poems, author inscription alongside customary dedication to Miriam

Kenneth Patchen would pass away in 1972 while Miriam Patchen, to whom Kenneth would dedicate all of his works, passed away in 2000.

A number of Patchen’s works are available in a variety of media in Special Collections.  If you see something of interest, please let us know and we’ll set it aside for your visit.  Of course, no trip would be complete without a peek into Patchen’s papers, a collection including materials related to his diverse creative works and their promotion as well as personal correspondence and photographs.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Jan de Hartog, University of Houston, 1962

Jan de Hartog (1914-2002) was born in Haarlem, Netherlands on this day in 1914 and, while he passed away from us nearly eleven years ago, we would like to offer our warmest birthday wishes here at the University of Houston Special Collections.

A prolific novelist and playwright, de Hartog may best be known for his play “The Fourposter” (winning the Tony for Best Play in 1952), his historical novel The Peaceable Kingdom:  An American Saga, but his connection with Houston will be forever cemented with his non-fiction memoir The Hospital, a work that helped transform healthcare in Houston.

Marjorie and Jan de Hartog with Red Cross Volunteers

Having recently moved to the United States, Jan began the work of his residency at the University of Houston while Marjorie de Hartog began volunteering at the old Jefferson Davis County Hospital.  Realizing the enormity of the hospital’s challenge as it tried in vain to serve those with nowhere else to turn, she shared with her husband her exasperation over the demand that seemed to dwarf the resources.  This became the impetus for the writing and publication of The Hospital.  The book, giving voice to the frustrations of some of the city’s most vulnerable and needy, certainly had a national impact, but its influence on local involvement in healthcare policy and funding in Houston was immediate and lasting.  As a result, Jan de Hartog’s  connection to the city would be permanent.  He passed away in Houston in 2002 at the age of 88.

Here in Special Collections we are happy to have the papers of Jan de Hartog available for study.  These papers include correspondence, press, and materials directly related to the writing and publication of The Hospital as well as the reaction and support of the community following its publication.  While this transformative work is sadly out of print, it is available for checkout in the M.D. Anderson Library (among others) and we are also pleased to offer for study a publisher’s proof copy of The Hospital inscribed by the author.

Publisher’s Proof Copy of The Hospital (with inscription)

We invite you to celebrate the legacy of Jan de Hartog.  Take a look at the detailed finding aid outlining the materials in the collection, take a look at our catalog of his works, and stop by and wish him a happy birthday (belated or not) when you have the time.

DJ Screw began DJing and making mixtapes as a teenager while living on the Southside of Houston. By the early 1990s, he began to develop his innovative “chopped and screwed” technique of using recording technology to repeat phrases (a process known as chopping) and slow a song’s tempo (known as screwing). DJ Screw began to receive requests to make tapes tailored for friends and local rappers. He began selling copies of these “screw tapes” from his home. The screw tapes helped to develop the careers of numerous major rappers in the Houston scene, who would subsequently become known as the Screwed Up Click (S.U.C.).

DJ Screw achieved broader popularity in the mid-1990s, and he continued to sell tapes while releasing four studio albums on Bigtyme Recordz: “All Screwed Up,” “3 ‘N The Mornin’ (Part One),” “3 ‘N The Mornin’ (Part Two),” and “I Wanna Get High with Da Blanksta.” In 1998, DJ Screw opened the store Screwed Up Records and Tapes in order to meet demand for his mixtapes.

Especially interesting items in the collection include song lists for the screw tapes, music production equipment, business documents, and photographs. If you’d like to take a look, come visit us in Special Collections!