Archives & Special Collections

Just in time for both Archives Month (all of October) and Homecoming (October 16-17), we have a new display up in the Archives. The display celebrates the career of Ray “Rock” Hanson, Western’s beloved football coach and athletic director from the 1920s through the 1960s. Ray was not only responsible for bringing the Leathernecks moniker to Western’s sports teams, he was also the basis for our mascot — “Rocky” the bulldog. The display represents a fraction of the materials available in the newly-processed Ray Hanson collection, which includes documents and artifacts from throughout his life, covering both his personal life and his career at WIU. Ray is still remembered by many in the community as a man of extraordinary charisma, energy, and drive.

Over the summer, the library completed its latest digital project: the digitization of the full run of newsletters from the Hancock, McDonough, Rock Island, and Schuyler County Historical Societies. The newsletters are now all online through CARLI’s Digital Collections website.

These newsletters, which are all keyword searchable, are a wonderful asset to anyone studying the history of this region, looking for clues into their family history, or just looking for some interesting trivia. Thanks go out to Bill Thompson for initiating the project, Kylene Davenport for doing the scanning, Marty Fisher for donating the scanner, and Hunt Dunlap for getting the newsletters onto the Web.

The recent decision to eliminate the name Westerwinds (1977-2009) prompted me do some digging on WIU and use of the various monikers for its sports teams. First, a little history on Western…

Western began life as the Western Illinois State Normal School (WISNS) and the first students entered the new building (later Sherman Hall) on September 23, 1902. On June 3, 1921, the name was changed to Western Illinois State Teachers College (WISTC). The next (and current) name, Western Illinois University(WIU), was adopted on July 5, 1957.

Prior to Ray “Rock” Hanson’s arrival in 1926, Western’s monikers are rumored to have been the Pedagogs, the Teachers, and my personal favorite…The Howling Teachers.

After “Rock” Hanson was hired, he took it upon himself to find a more appropriate and perhaps aggressive name for WISTC. Having been a decorated Marine during World War I, “Rock” knew there was a name that would encompass courage, loyalty, and fierceness; all rolled into two words…”Fighting Leathernecks”. Although the Marine Corps held copyright to the term, “Rock” knew it was the name for Western. After a series of inquires and a long-distance telephone call to Washington, DC (which at the time was tantamount to calling the moon) permission was obtained from the United States Navy (remember, the Marines are a branch of the Navy) for use of the name “Fighting Leathernecks”. Which we’ve been ever since.

Although WIU women’s athletics will now go by the name ” Leathernecks”,the moniker “Westerwinds” and its important role in WIU history will live on here in the Archives…and even with this change I somehow I think ‘ol “Rock” would be proud!

For more on  the Westerwind name and an excellent overview of the pride asociated with the name, see former Westerwinds Head Softball Coach Kathy Veroni’s commentary here

K A C

I want you to be aware of an excellent new regional history book, “Hero Street, U.S.A.: The Story of Little Mexico’s Fallen Soldiers”. Author/journalist Marc Wilson tells the story of a single block in Silvis, Illinois (Rock Island County) in the city’s “Little Mexico” neighborhood.  This small street of 35 houses (including some  converted railroad boxcars) contributed 78 soliders to the U.S. military during World War II and Korea.  Eight of these soliders gave their lives in service to the United States, creating reportedly the highest casualty concentration of any street in the entire country.

Wilson tells a wonderful story of the early Mexican immigrant experience in the US and Illinois.  He also conducted countless interviews of friends and relatives of the deceased soliders and pieced together an excellent tale of what it means to be Mexican American and the many contributions the Mexican American community made to the Quad City community and beyond.

We have added this book to our collection in the WIU Archives, and it is available from the University of Oklahoma Press in bookstores and in online book outlets.  Check it out; it tells an important story that few people have ever heard about.  I grew up in the Quad Cities and knew a little about Hero Street, but I am much more informed about this important story now.  Hopefully a book from a major academic press like Oklahoma will help get the word of Hero Street out to a much larger audience.

-JH

For the first half of the twentieth century Western had what was affectionately known as The Wishing Well. It was a popular destination for both students and faculty. However, like so many other Forgotten Western entities it became a victim of an ever-expanding campus.

In 1867 a brickyard was started on the site now known as Western Illinois University. The Chase brothers, Henry and James, organized the company in order to provide bricks for the new county courthouse. The source for water was a well in which the pump was operated by a windmill. The photo below shows the well (with windmill) during brickyard operations.

After Western was established on the site, the well was covered and a hand-pump was placed. The photo below shows the brick structure surrounding the pump.

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It was located on the southwest side of what was then the athletic field, to the northwest of Sherman Hall. As the campus grew, new expansion required new buildings. By 1954, construction had begun on a new science building (designated Tillman Hall in 1968). Plans called for the new building’s southwest corner to sit directly over the well. As construction progressed, it was filled in with gravel and erased forever from Western’s footprint.

The well is located approximately 11.5 feet north from the southwest corner of Tillman Hall (directly under the lower-right corner of the window located in the center of photo below) along the west wall. Although there are no physical traces evident, we can still identify the spot that was so important to so many who call Western, Alma Mater. For more information visit us in the Archives and Special Collections!

Starting this month, we’ll be running a (roughly) monthly series of blog entries entitled “Forgotten Western,” describing forgotten pieces of history relating to WIU, Macomb, and the Western Illinois region. To begin with, the series will be focusing on forgotten places of WIU and Macomb. This summer, we’ll be photographing pieces of history still evident in our local landscape, and if possible, comparing them with older photos of the same place — a kind of then-and-now type of thing. We’ll post both the photos with a brief history of the place we’ve photographed. We expect to include things like old train lines, hidden sculptures on WIU’s campus, and evidence of past uses of current buildings.

We also welcome input from the public. If you know about a forgotten place in Macomb or at WIU that you think we should include, feel free to contact Heather or Keel at the Archives at 298-2717.

In January, the Archives and Special Collections welcomed Keel Clemmens on board as our newest staff member. Keel has lived in Macomb for almost 20 years, and comes to us with archival experience and with extensive knowledge of the history of this region. Keel was Curator of the Western Illinois Museum from 2006-2008, and he currently serves on the Macomb Historic Preservation Commission, the Steering Committee of the McDonough County Historical Society, and as a Trustee of the Macomb Public Library. Before coming to Macomb, Keel lived in Arizona, where he helped process the Barry Goldwater Papers for Arizona State University. Keel has been a great addition to the Archives and Special Collections – he brings insight, historical knowledge, and a positive attitude to the job, not to mention a terrific sense of humor. His focus is the University Archives, and he is currently working on processing the papers of Stix Morley and Ray “Rock” Hanson.

Welcome Keel!

After working in WIU’s Archives and Special Collections for 29 years, Marla Vizdal is retiring at the end of December; her last day of work will be Monday, December 22, 2008. We will miss her immensely here in the archives; during her tenure here, she has been integral to the development and the maintenance of all aspects of the unit, and she is arguably the most recognized and well-respected staff member on campus. The archives, and no doubt the entire campus, will miss her wit, intelligence, common sense, and friendliness. Luckily for us she’s staying here in town — come back and visit us often, Marla!

Below are some photos from Marla’s well-attended retirement party on December 11.

WIU President Al Golfarb and Provost and Academic Vice President Jack Thomas were both in attendance, as well as several other WIU luminaries.

Recently and not-so-recently retired library colleagues traveled from far and wide to celebrate Marla’s wide-ranging contributions to the University community and to the West Central Illinois region as a whole. Left to Right: Marla, Bonnie Johnson, Jean Stierman, Loren Johnson, Kenny Moore, Pat Walters, Doris Derry, Carolyn Chapman, and Pat Moore.

Former archives faculty and staff were also in attendance and mingling with current archives faculty and staff. Left to right: Jeff Hancks, Heather Richmond, Gordana Rezab, Marla Vizdal.

Former student workers also came to Marla’s farewell party; here former archives student worker Rachael Smith reminisces with Marla.

Check out Dean Self’s blog for more images of the party.

On Friday, November 7, Marla paid a visit to Macomb’s Day Health and Lifeline to give a talk on Vishnu Springs. The clients there heartily enjoyed hearing the history of the hotel, springs, and property, and they had some of their own stories to add. Many reminisced about visiting the hotel decades ago, before it fell into disrepair. Luckily the University bought the property in 2003 for use as a wildlife refuge, and the nonprofit group, Friends of Vishnu, is working to preserve the hotel.

Capitol Hotel at Vishnu Springs

In the past several months, we have acquired a few new manuscript collections.

In August, we acquired the first item in what will become a collection of historical records from the McDonough District Hospital. Steve Hopper, President and CEO of McDonough District Hospital, donated the first volume of MDH Board Minutes in a ceremony on August 12, 2008. See Dean Self’s blog for photos of the event.

Also in August, the archives accessioned and processed a collection of 47 historical ledgers originally collected by the Henderson County Historical Museum. The ledgers come from businesses throughout Henderson County, including general stores, apothecaries, doctors, livery stables, insurance agents, mills, and lumber yards. Vintage car buffs will be interested to learn that the collection includes two automobile dealership ledgers from the mid-twentieth century. They list information such as the types of cars purchased, how much the purchasers paid, and the names of the individuals buying the cars.

For the genealogists and regional historians out there, we’ve acquired three collections of cemetery and/or church records: the Friendship and Tennessee Church records, the Scotts Church and Cemetery history, and a collection of veterans burials ledgers from cemeteries in Macomb. These are all processed and available to the public.