The finding aid for the Terry Tarlton Hershey Papers is now available online. The materials described in this finding aid include biographical information on the environmental activist and materials on the local groups she supported. The collection also includes background information on groups who have solitcited or recieved philanthropic support from Hershey or the Hershey Foundation.
Terry Hershey became involved in environmental activism in the Houston area in the 1960s, when she joined the Buffalo Bayou Preservation Association (later the Bayou Preservation Association). Hershey was outraged by the condition of the bayou and Harris County Flood Control District’s plan to re-route the bayou without public notification. She eventually testified before the House Appropriations Sub-Committee, and this testimony led to a halt to the work on Buffalo Bayou.
Hershey continues to be a central figure in Houston’s environmental activism. Other organizations dealt with in the collection include the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, the Houston Audubon Society, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and Urban Harvest. Special Collections also holds archival records from the Citizens’ Enivronmental Coalition and the Bayou Preservation Association.
The original materials are available for use by the public in the Special Collections Reading Room.