Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! we continue on our journey of spooky items. Today I am sharing yet another item from the Herd family papers. With the collection spanning the time frame of 1817 to 2013, there is just about anything a person could be looking for. The item shown today is a dance card from KU’s third annual all-university Halloween party. It took place in 1917, six months after the U.S. entered World War I. The card shows that it was held in Robinson Gymnasium, which was located where Wescoe Hall now stands. The current Robinson Center is just east of Allen Fieldhouse.
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Pages from an All-University Halloween Party dance card, 1917. Herd Family Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1374. Click images to enlarge.
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Two articles about the party in the University Daily Kansan, October 29, 1917. Florence (Mrs. Eustace) Brown was the “advisor of women” at KU (and sometimes cited as the school’s first Dean of Women), 1914-1918. Courtesy Newspapers.com. Click images to enlarge.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing some photographs from University Archives. Housing all things KU related, University Archives collects and preserves manuscripts, maps, blueprints, artifacts, photos, and more. The collection houses over a million photographs alone. As with last week’s post, this week’s images come from the library’s digital collections, which can be found on the “Find Collections” page of Spencer’s website. While not nearly all of the photos from University Archives are digitized, there are a ton to browse in the online collection.
The images shared this week show various scenes from inside KU Libraries. KU Libraries consist of six locations across campus: Watson (which is turning 100 years old), Anschutz, Spencer, Spahr Engineering, Art & Architecture, and Music & Dance. With over 5.6 million items on campus and even more available online, the libraries offer a wide variety of materials that serve users – especially KU students, faculty, and staff – and help them reach their goals. The Libraries’ mission is to “advance research, teaching, and learning at the intersection of people and ideas.” So while I boast that Spencer has something for everyone, every library on campus has something to offer.
Library bookstacks, probably in Watson Library, 1954. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 32/0 1954 Prints: University of Kansas Libraries (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
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Two views of the Undergraduate Reading Room at Watson Library, 1955. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 32/0 1955 Prints: University of Kansas Libraries (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
Bookshelves for reserve materials, probably in Watson Library, 1996. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 32/0 1996 Prints: University of Kansas Libraries (Photos). Click image to enlarge (redirect to Spencer’s digital collections).
This weekend, alumni will gather to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Douthart and Grace Pearson Scholarship Halls on the KU campus. While Douthart was slated from the beginning as a scholarship hall, it appears that Grace Pearson was originally conceived as a “general” women’s residence hall and was added to the scholarship hall system a few years after it opened.
At the time it was built, Douthart Hall was the fourth women’s scholarship hall and ninth total in the system. The location had previously been the site of Carruth Hall, the former residence of Chancellors Snow through Lindley, and after 1940 a small student residence hall. An August 1953 KU News Bureau report noted that Douthart was “the gift of the late Miss Lela Douthart and the late Mrs. Ava Douthart Chronister of Kansas City, Kansas, and of Burt Chronister of Kansas City, Kansas. Douthart Hall will be built at the northwest corner of 14th and Louisiana streets.”
1954 construction of Grace Pearson Hall, with newly-built Douthart Hall in the background. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/26, University General: Buildings: Grace Pearson Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
The first residents of Douthart Hall, 1954-55. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 56/6, Housing: Douthart Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
J.R. Pearson and his wife Gertrude Sellards Pearson generously donated funds for various residence halls at the University of Kansas. Grace Pearson Hall, named in honor of J.R. Pearson’s mother, was built as a reverse copy of Douthart Hall and was situated between Douthart and the KU Faculty Club on Louisiana Street. It was designed to be a 48-student women’s dormitory but, as a KU News Bureau report from 1953 noted, “The new hall will not be a scholarship hall, but whether it will be used for freshman or upper class women has not been determined.” Within a few years it had become a men’s hall and is currently co-ed.
Residents of Grace Pearson Hall, 1978-79. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 56/5, Housing: Grace Pearson Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
Scholarship halls were designed to provide an economical place to live on campus, with residents assuming cooking and cleaning duties to cut costs and foster a cooperative sense of community living. Residents were selected on the basis of need, scholarship, and character. A 1954 KU News Bureau report stated that the first residents received room and board “for about $300 a year less than the outlay for comparable accommodations” and also received $300 scholarships when admitted to a scholarship hall. Originally each scholarship hall also housed a housemother, later replaced by a scholarship hall director.
Resident of Douthart Hall washing dishes, 1987. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 56/6, Housing: Douthart Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
We hope that the former and current residents of Douthart and Grace Pearson Halls who gather in Lawrence this weekend have a wonderful time reminiscing about their experiences living on the Hill.
Douthart Hall (left) and Grace Pearson Hall (right), 1956. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/16, University General: Buildings: Douthart Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
Whitney Baker Head, Conservation Services (and former Douthart Hall resident)
A collage of materials related to Jayhawks at the Olympics. Click image to enlarge.
Did you know that ten participants with ties to the University of Kansas are currently in Paris competing in the 2024 Olympics? Michael Joseph, Yoveinny Mota, Sharon Lokedi, Bryce Hoppel, Hussain Al Hizam, Alexander Emilianov, Head Coach Stanley Redwine, and Event Manager Tim Weaver will be present at various track and field events. Joel Embiid will be competing on Team USA for men’s basketball, and Liana Salazar will be competing for Colombia in soccer.
Did you also know that these Jayhawks are the most recent of the sixty-four coaches and athletes who have competed in twenty-two different Olympic Games over the past 120 years?
A 1900 KU graduate, Fay Moulton became the first Jayhawk to compete at the Olympics. Moulton won a bronze medal in the 60 meter dash at the 1904 games. Here, Moulton is shown as a member of KU’s track team in The Galaxy yearbook, 1900. Call Number: LD2697 .J3. Click image to enlarge.
You can now learn more about KU’s incredible Olympians through a new online exhibit, Celebrating the Olympic Spirit: KU Olympians. The exhibit includes digital reproductions of selected photographs, letters, news releases, newspaper clippings, fliers, handouts, and other items from University Archives documenting selected athletes and coaches with ties to the University of Kansas.
Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a University of Kansas campus map from August 1947. Usually KU related items are housed in University Archives, but this particular map belongs to the Kansas Collection. It was created by Frank A. Russell with contributions by KU’s Department of Engineering Drawing. The map was donated by Clayton Crosier, who has other collections at Spencer Research Library. This includes a collection of photographs and papers in the Kansas Collection and a collection of personal papers related to his time at KU in University Archives. Crosier (1903-1984) received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas. Later, in 1945, he joined KU as a faculty member teaching Applied Mechanics and Civil Engineering. He retired in 1971.
Upon close inspection, one can see that some buildings remain in the same place today while others have moved around quite drastically. Some notable buildings that can still be found in the same location today include the Memorial Union, Spooner Hall (though it is listed as the art museum), and Watson Library. Some buildings that have moved locations include Green Hall and Robinson Gymnasium. Additionally, there are some buildings now on campus that did not yet exist such as Joseph R. Pearson Hall and, most notably, Spencer Research Library. Before the library opened in 1968, several annex buildings occupied the space behind Strong Hall.
Looking at the way campus has changed over time can be interesting given we are so used to the way it is now. As a former religious studies student, I find it interesting that the former religious studies building known as Smith Hall is titled on the map “Bible Chair.” It implies that the building served the same purpose, but the name shifted over time. Smith Hall was slated to be demolished in the 2023 fiscal year, but plans to do so have been postponed. In 2022 the University Daily Kansan (UDK) published an article about initial reactions to the announcement of the potential demolition. Smith Hall has since been added to the University of Kansas East Historic District.
Looking at the map, it is also interesting to think about why buildings moved significantly rather than staying where they were. The ways in which campus has shifted over time tell a story about the needs of the university. Despite all the changes, I hope there is something on the map you find interesting or did not know before.
Map of Campus of the University at Lawrence, Kansas, by Frank A. Russell. Lawrence: KU Department of Engineering Drawing, 1947. Call Number: RH Map R355. Click image to enlarge.
