letter from Parents of Gays, Pensacola, FL to Chief Justice Warren Burger, regarding 1976 Supreme Court ruling upholding state sodomy laws that outlaw homosexual acts

Pride Week is upon us y’all and, like everything else in Texas, we do things a little bigger in Houston.

Now, with one more reason to celebrate, hundreds of thousands of Houstonians will defy our grinding heat and humidity, jamming the streets and locales of Montrose in celebration of Pride Week.  For more than 34 years Pride Houston has played a central role in coordinating this massive undertaking and the volunteers needed to make it the success it is every year.  About a decade after Stonewall, the LGBT community in Houston joined with others around the world to mark the anniversary of this crucial turning point in the movement for equal rights.  Houston held its first celebration in 1979 and has been going strong since.

Saturday, June 29th marks the fever pitch of the week’s events.  A festival leading up to the parade, featuring exhibits and entertainment, will begin at 1pm on Saturday.  The parade will follow at 8pm (or shortly thereafter) when Houstonians will pack the parade’s route along Westheimer to show the city’s support of the LGBT community and celebrate like no other evening of the year.

We would like to encourage everyone to drop by the History Tent during the festival leading up to the parade.  Staffed by volunteers, including librarians and archivists representing a number of institutions here in Houston, the Pride Houston History Tent will showcase a number of items outlining the history of the LGBT community in Houston and beyond.  Our own Vince Lee, Archivist for the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection, will be present with materials from the Hazelwitch Productions Inc. Records, the Annise Parker Papers, and gay and lesbian materials and ephemera from the Houston Area NOW and Other Feminist Activities Collection.  In addition, Vince plans to showcase works from our Norma J. Lee Lesbian & Feminist Collection and Edward Lukasek Gay Studies Collection.

Feeling the Pride this week (or any other)?  Thanks to the efforts and generosity of so many, the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archive and Research Collection has grown into a hub for research relating to the LGBT community in the Houston area and far beyond.  The materials listed above, as well as others, remind scholars that they would do well to make this a first stop when conducting related research.

Special Collections was well represented at the Society of Southwest Archivists’ annual meeting last week in Austin. Ryder Kouba, the University Archives Fellow, presented “Developing Policies and Procedures for Incoming Digital Materials at the University of Houston,” a case study on the steps taken to accession digital materials, which was attended and well received by SAA President Jackie Dooley. Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archivist Vince Lee presented “And Justice for All: Women’s Liberation and the Feminist Movement during the 1970s and 1980s,” which detailed important collections in the Shuart Women’s Archives in a session chaired by Mary Manning, the University Archivist. Vince also chaired the “Architecture in the Archives” session. Alison Clemens, the Houston and Texas Archives Fellow, presented “From Flows to Finding Aids: Processing the Houston Hip Hop Collections at the University of Houston Libraries” which discussed the challenges she faced processing the DJ Screw Papers and other Houston Hip Hop Collections. All staff members had a wonderful time in the state capital and enjoyed sharing the work of UH Special Collections with the archival community.

This weekend the University of Houston campus will welcome over 30,000 visitors as we host Houston’s March for Babies, a fundraising event that has become a mainstay for the March of Dimes in their efforts to improve the health of babies.  While the mission of March of Dimes has evolved over the years (having been founded as an agency by President Franklin Roosevelt to battle polio), their commitment to the health of newborns has made the March for Babies an event to rally around year after year.

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.

On Saturday, April 20th, the Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band will be performing a very experimental, very groundbreaking “site specific performance,” a four-hour “deconstructed parade” at Discovery Green Houston.  Beginning at 4pm, the ambitious work from Daniel Bernard Roumain, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Troy Bennefield, En Masse, will last until 8pm.

This is not your father’s marching band.

While a deconstructed parade is a far cry from the military marching or corps style many associate historically with marching bands, this is not the first time the Spirit of Houston has pushed the boundaries of what a marching band is or what it can do.  For over two decades Bill Moffit wowed audiences with his revolutionary Patterns of Motion as he served as Director of the University of Houston Marching Band.  The latter half of the twentieth century saw his ideas and unique style permeate show bands of every affiliation across the country.

A prolific arranger as well, Moffit directed the Fanfare Trumpets at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.  His hundreds of arrangements published as the immensely popular Soundpower Series, as well as patrons continuing to visit our reading room to pore over his Patterns of Motion, ensure that the unique Moffit sound and style can still be heard in stadiums across the country.

In addition to Patterns of Motion, the University of Houston Special Collections is also pleased to offer the Professor William C. Moffit Papers for study as part of our University Archives.  This collection is impressive in its size and scope, offering a look into the teaching, writing, and arrangement of Professor Moffit both at the University of Houston and also his time spent working with the Spartan Marching Band of Michigan State University and the Purdue All-American Marching Band.

“Texas Fite,” Oct. 31, 1976, from the Professor William C. Moffit Papers

Of particular note, Professor Moffit’s papers also include his personal arrangements of school fight songs from the University of Houston’s days in the old Southwest Conference.  So if you bleed maroon, green and gold, or your burnt orange gets boiling when you hear “Texas Fite” (pictured here), you are sure to find something to make your visit a memorable one.

A sign telling visitors about the gypsy wagon

Wandering Book Artists Donna and Peter Thomas visited the University of Houston Libraries today for a lecture, meet and greet, and tours of their Gypsy Wagon Bookmobile.

The Thomas’s gypsy wagon

The artists, who have been making artists’ books together for more than 30 years, entertained and educated those in attendance with stories, songs and demonstrations of their many handmade books, including miniature books, books made of wood, and books made with unusual items, including a can, a ukulele, and an accordion. They also answered questions about their creative process and the craft of bookmaking.

Donna Thomas at the door of the gypsy wagon

Attendees were also able to get a look at the  Gypsy Wagon Bookmobile that the Thomases use as they travel across the country. The bookmobile, built on a 16-foot flat bed trailer, provides a place to sleep, dine, and conduct business. Influenced by vintage pictures, it is painted in bright bold colors and uses reclaimed wood, wrought iron, and stained glass.

For more information about the Thomas’s books and wagon, visit their blog and website.

To experience a Peter and Donna Thomas book yourself, come to the Special Collections reading room and ask to view Cannery row: A book in a tin or one of these titles.