resurrect this thread, fossil!

Yeah,

Where is Fossil Ag???????

Another glimpse back at A&M history ... from a thread dated 8/26/2006 ... but the action was taking place almost 100 years before that.

Military Walk at A&M took shape in 1918 when the finishing touches were made to Guion Hall that was the keystone to the Walk.

quote:

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If this story did not have an interesting West Texas connection I probably would not be passing it along, since the majority of you have never heard of the walkway and the buildings that are involved in this bit of Texas A&M history. But for us in the dwindling bunch of old timers it does trigger a few memories of earlier times on campus.

Three weeks ago, August 5, 2006, was the deadline for Architectural/Engineering responses to a request for proposals from TAMU to RESTORE MILITARY WALK ... to some semblance of its former self.

The majority of you will reply "What and where was Military Walk?" And the remainder of you will be aware of the old location of the Walk but never had occasion to traverse it in an organized manner.

As a clue, this picture gives a glimpse of a remnant of Military Walk as it appears today. To see it, stand on the steps at the main entrance to Sbisa and look toward the Rudder Theater.



In earlier times, when Dr. Giesecke designed Sbisa Dining Hall, his center main portal opened on to the north end of Military Walk and it faced the building that would be the southern terminus of the Walk, which would be Guion Hall that was built in 1918. Guion Hall was majestically designed as a Chapel and Auditorium for the Cadet Corps. The Walk was wide enough for a 16-man front formation (approximately 40 feet), and connected the two primary interests of students (eating and entertainment), and was lined on either side by dormitories, academic and administrative buildings (most of which are long gone.) Military Walk in those early days was the center of Corps and academic life.



(Edit): Modifications to the original Military Walk began in the early 50s when the Walk was narrowed to provide more setback distance for new buildings facing Houston Street, i.e., Coke Bldg and Beutel Health Center. The narrowing reduced the width to about 15 feet and oak trees were planted along side per the photo above. In the 70s the south end of the Walk was torn out for a pedestrian plaza.

So back to the big question, how and why does one Restore Military Walk? .... when the military who had occasion to use it were displaced long ago, when the persons who might use it now know nothing of its significance, and mainly when its main terminus, Guion Hall, was demolished 35 years ago? (Can you un-ring a bell?) Oh well, the plan is to put MONUMENTS up as stand-ins for the old building that are no longer among us: Assembly Hall (1889-1929); Foster Hall (1899-1951); Ross Hall (1891-1955); Gathright Hall (1876-1933); Mitchell Hall (1912-1972); and Guion Hall (1918-1971.)

And they demolished beautiful Guion Hall in 1971 to make way for the Rudder Theater building ... what a travesty. Dr. Caroline Adair, Registrar in the 1960s and 1970s, told me in 1976 how the old-time faculty and staff watched and cried as the wrecking ball slammed into the sides of the old building and the structure resisted its best shots for two days before finally beginning to crumble. The last to fall were the six Greek columns. And that was the end of Military Walk.

Guion Hall was completed in 1918. I could not verify that the building was designed by Dr. Giesecke or that he supervised construction, but it was during his period and it had all the marks of a Giesecke building.



Guion Hall was constructed of poured concrete, granite and marble. The auditorium seated 2,000 and had a wrap-around balcony. The interior was formal with chandeliers and had Greek columns on either side of the stage. Sure the college had outgrown it for college-wide events but it had many uses similar to what the Rudder Theater hosts today.



For some reason, back in the early days our name for Guion Hall was "Gunion Hall." It was used in the 50s for formal events as well as concerts, stage shows, Aggie Players, etc. When not otherwise in use, it was the campus theater. Without doubt the antics and hi-jinx of the Corps audience was much more comical than whatever was on the screen and in itself well worth the 25 cents admission.

But back to the West Texas connection ... Guion Hall was named for Judge J. I. Guion of Ballinger. Judge Guion was a member of the Board of Regents at Texas A&M 1910-1918. This was the Board that was responsible for the grand and historic building construction on the early day campus. Judge Guion's father had been a Governor of Mississippi before the Civil War and because of exigencies of the times chose to move his family to Runnels County to resume life as a planter. No doubt Judge Guion's background figured significantly in his guidance of Texas A&M in those early times.

Of additional note, Judge Guion had a son, David W. Guion (1892-1981), a Ballinger boy who achieved world-wide fame as a musician and composer. After the best schooling in Europe, David Guion returned to his West Texas roots and concentrated his talents to tell the western story in music to a national audience.http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/guion.html

So, anyway, you can look forward in a few years for a new and revised version of Military Walk ... and you can take your family along the Walk and point out (as I did with my family in 1976) where certain buildings "Used To Be." My guided tour was not too well received in 1976 ... and I doubt if your family will be any more receptive when the Military Walk restoration work is completed.

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[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 8/27/2006 9:01p).]

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 8/27/2006 9:09p).]

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 8/7/2008 4:21p).]

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 8/8/2009 5:28p).]

I had heard of it from Dad and my Uncle. Not sure I was paying alot of attention then though.

[This message has been edited by TERRY L (edited 8/26/2006 9:53p).]

My post disappeared into Texags ether space!

..

[This message has been edited by powerbiscuit (edited 9/2/2006 5:08a).]

fossil,

that has happened to all of us at one time or another....one thing I try to remember to do on a long post before I hit "submit" is to highlight my post and copy it...you can easily copy text by highlighting it and pressing and holding the "ctrl" button and then pressing the "C" key....

then if your post disappears, just reply again, make sure your cursor is in the reply box, and type and hold "ctrl" and press "V" and it will paste your message back into the reply box



another thing you can try that works sometimes is clicking the "back" button on your browser....sometimes it will go back to your message, sometimes it's just lost...

What was life like in West Texas in the 1930s and 1940s? That is a question most of you have asked your parents and grandparents over the years. Chances are the answers you received from them regarding their experiences in the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and World War II were less bleak and austere as you were led to believe from books and movies about those periods.

Believe me, life for all West Texans was as bleak and austere as portrayed in the books and movies. Those were hard times and people suffered. I think older folks downplay those times is a concious effort to forget ... to forget the times their family had to go to bed hungry or sick or with faint hope for a secure tomorrow. I was a kid through those years so life for me was "normal" because everyone I knew was in the same boat. It was not a question of "haves and have nots"; for the most part we were all "have nots." For the older folks, I think there is a bit of unwarranted guilt at not being able to think of some way to ease the hardships ... and I think there was also a bit of deepseated shame at some of the humiliations they had to endure in trying to get a job, a loan, or just some assistance. The pain worked its way into men's souls.

The Great Depression is something younger folks cannot comprehend. By 1930 most of the banks in West Texas had failed (closed their doors, shut down, deposits lost) and the Money Supply you discussed in macroeconomics dried up. Businesses unable to get credit failed, workers were laid off, disposable cash disappeared, prices of all farm products hit the bottom. Subsistance and barter became the new economy. Crop failures added to the burden.

Two terms you have probably heard in descriptions of individual families during those years: "They didn't have anything" and "They didn't have nothin'." There was a fine distinction. Those that didn't have anything were broke ... but lived on a farm with a garden, hens, cows and chickens. Those who didn't have nothin' were broke and had no place for a garden, hens, cows and chickens. And the anything family could become a nothin' family with just a single stroke of misfortune.

So what was life like? Subsistance. Industrial and commercial innovation stopped in 1930 and for the most part we returned to a lifestyle of the 20s. Rural Texas did not have electricity until 1948 thus no indoor plumbing and we continued with outhouses, cisterns and windmills and kerosene lamps. Pharmaceuticals did not emerge until after WWII in 1946 so we relied on home remedies and some chemicals that could be mixed at the drug store. Food product selection in grocery stores at the time probably did not exceed 150 items where today the average grocery store will stock 6-10,000 line items.

I have described kitchens, cooking and heating in earlier articles and that was about the same until after WWII. But there were other differences from modern living. Most notable looking back was the lack of color, decor, fashion, or even nik-naks in the homes. Those were frivolities no one considered. Since older homes did not have built-in closets most had pieces called Chifferobes or Wardrobes for hanging clothing and Cedar Chests for storing mainly woolen goods. Some bedrooms had dressers and maybe even a chest of drawers. The floors were covered with Linoleum and in most cases bare wood with throw rugs. Living rooms usually had what we now call a couch but in those days called a Davenport or a Divan ... and always at least one rocking chair.

Clothing was sparse in those days. Kids had school clothes but had to get out those and into "everyday clothes" as soon as they got home. Adults had one set of "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes for church and funerals and the rest of time in everyday clothes. Kid's shirts and underwear and girl's dresses were usually home made. "Store-bought" or ready-made were for grownups. Farmers and men who worked outside wore "Longhandle Underwear" that fit from the wrist to the neck to the ankles from about October to April (red ones were called "Red Handles." Women and girls wore Bonnets (Sun Bonnets or Poke Bonnets) any time when working outside along with long sleeve shirts and long pants (females did not allow sun to touch skin.) Everyone hated new shoes ... they were made of stiff leather and took drastic action to break in (such as filling with water or rubbing alcohol and wearing until they dried in the shape and width of the foot.) For work boots or cowboy boots the method sometime used to stretch the foot part was to fill it with dry red beans and water and to let the sprouting beans swell and stretch the leather.

A "Suit-of-clothes" was the most important event in a young man's life in those days. It happened at about age 18 when the parents took the kid to town to buy him his first suit, shirt and tie. That was the mark of adulthood ... and a ritual my father took pride in with his sons into the 50s and 60s. I followed the same ritual with my sons and grandson on their 18th birthday even though they had worn suits and sport suits for years. A suit of clothes meant so much? ... who would have thought it?

Automobiles in the 30s and 40s were interesting primarily because of the changing terminology between then and now. First, I suppose would be the accelerator ... then it was called the "Foot Feed." The parking brake was called the "Emergency Brake." The dash or dashboard has a more interesting history. This term was stolen from a buggy and it was a board on the front of a buggy that protected the occupants from flying mud, rocks and other objectionable material from the dashing horse. It was borrowed for horseless carriages for the same purpose when engines were in the rear but worked its way upward when engines moved to the front ... and finally became known as the part that holds the instrument cluster, speakers and glove compartment (?). On the dash in the 30s and 40s were two knobs for the Choke and Throttle which manually controlled the carureator before automatic controls came along. In the 20s automobiles did not have a storage space inside for tools and luggage so they mounted a small steamer trunk in front of the rear bumber. In the 30s a small compartment was built in to the rear of cars for tools and spares. This compartment was called the "Turtle" or "Turtleback." In the 40s this compartment was enlarged to hold some luggage ... and the name reverted to "Trunk."
The first after-market item added to cars in the 30s and 40s was a "Steering Wheel Knob." The reason was before power steering the steering gear box was geared very low to give leverage to turn the wheels. Those cars required two or three revolutions of the steering wheel to turn the same amount as a half turn of a power steering wheel. In those cars we also devised an early means of conserving gasoline ... it was called "Coasting." The driver would push down on the Foot Feed going up a hill then let off the gas to Idle and Coast down the other side.

Tires and wheels in the 30s and 40s deserve special attention. First, in those days a built up wheel consisted of a "Rim", an "Inner Tube" and a "Casing." Today the Rim is called a wheel and the Casing is now a tubeless tire.
Those early tires had a cotton cord for some strength but nylon belts and steel belts would be well after WWII. Those thin early tires would not stand up to mesquite thorns or even sharp rocks so everyone traveled with a tube patching kit and frequently had to fix flats along the roadway. This problem became acute during WWII because rubber was in short supply, tires were rationed and hard to come by, and tubes were made of a synthetic material inferior to rubber. Many sharp, sporty cars were traded for other klunkers that had the good feature of having a good set of tires.

Another interesting subject is what we ate during the Depression. Folks living on farms ate pretty well from home grown animals and garden produce. And they enlarged their gardens to accommodate friends and relatives from town. Blackeyed Peas which were easy to grow became a staple of most West Texas households. Turnips and greens were common and we supplement with wild plants that had fed the pioneers in the area. Poke Salet and Lambsquarters were sought out in the pastures, young jackrabbits, mustang grapes, algerita berries, wild plums filled in for variety. This continued until after WWII. During those times, most farm families like ours, had "guest" relatives, either passing through looking for work or just dropping in for Sunday dinner because we could always make room and the table was never bare.

The Depression did not end in West Texas until WWII began in 1941. Capital was slow working its way into rural areas and the need was so great after 10 years of Depression and drought that recovery was slow. One indication was in the automobiles people drove. Auto production was stopped for the war in 1942 and for the most part, whatever car you were driving when WWII broke out had to last you until after the war was over ... and this included the tires. And since the introduction and production of household items was curtailed, virtually no improvements to lifestyles could occur.

The WWII years from December 1941 to the end of 1945 consumed our lives ... unlike wars since that time. All single men between 18 and 40 were gone from our communities. I had eight first cousins serving somewhere in the world. The word of casualty notices spread throughout the county in a matter of hours. A girl in my class was called from the classroom and told her father had been killed in France. Grief from what we were aware of and what we feared for friends and relatives was pervasive.

We did not complain about rationing of sugar, tires, gasoline and meat. We took pride in living within our Ration Stamp allotments. Every week my mother took her can of bacon and other fat drippings to the Piggly Wiggly store in Sweetwater for the collection of such for glycerine to make bombs amd bullets. Women cleaned out their cupboards of aluminum pans and utensils in metal drives to make airplanes. Farmers sorted through machinery for items that could be turned in to scrap iron drives to build tanks and other war machinery. Junk cars were dragged from pastures and anything else metal and movable was turned in. Kids bought Savings Stamps (10 cents) with allowances and parents bought War Bonds if they could afford them. Travel by train or bus was virtually impossible because soldiers and sailors had priority. Everyone sacrificed and there was no complaint. When Victory in Europe (VE Day) and Victory in Japan (VJ Day) were declared, each of us felt we shared in those victories.

Crops were good and prices for farm products were good during the War years so for us the Depression was over. Automobiles began coming off the assembly lines in late 1946 and folks who could afford a $1000 premium to purchase a new car got one. Other buyers were on waiting lists. We made our way to top of the list in late 1948 and finally were able to replace the old 1937 Chevrolet that had carried us through the end of the Depression and through WWII.

Those were interesting times to have survived, and I hope none of you ever have to share a like experience.



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/2/2006 12:35a).]

I haven't heard the word "divan" in a long, long time....

fossil_ag,

Your thoughts about Military Walk brought back memories of my grandfather, class of '28. He played center and ??? for the Aggies and would trade out football gear for a horn and march with the band at halftime.

When we were gathered together to celebrate our grandparent's 60th anniversary, he shared a story about Military Walk that he had never told a soul. During the first week of his senior year he was leading the Corps to Sbisa as the new drum major. When the sky's opened up with a gully washer of a storm, he broke into a full sprint with the rest of the Corps at his heel's. Before the day was done his short career as drum major was over, only to be revealed 60-something years later.

81TAMU
That is a good bull post. It would be a good story to pass along to the Archives.

I found some photos of Military Walk in the Cushing Collections in the section Student Life in 1930. I could not get the images to transfer to this thread but the url works OK so you will just have to open up with that. The first is up now and I will search for a few more. It is time consuming to search through 570 someoff photos.

Military Walk With Guion Hall in the Background
http://cushing.tamu.edu/collections/images/Pages/viewtext.php?s=search&tid=5510&route=basicsearch.php&start=128&sterms=student%20life%20%201930&s=browse#

Military Walk at Sbisa 1920
http://cushing.tamu.edu/collections/images/Pages/viewtext.php?s=search&tid=4439&route=basicsearch.php&sterms=campus%20view%20%201920&s=browse

Off the subject but posted for the benefit of those persons who thought Stacking Someone's Room was invented in the recent past:

http://cushing.tamu.edu/collections/images/Pages/viewtext.php?s=search&tid=5340&route=basicsearch.php&start=48&sterms=Student&s=browse#

I will stop searching for Military Walk photos in the 1930 because the 1922 photo in the next post is better than any I had located earlier. These remarks apply to the url/photo in the next post.

The formation has reached the front steps of Guion Hall. Guion was built in 1918.

The building nearest on the right side is Assembly Hall which was the chapel and assembly hall before Guion was built. Assembly Hall was razed in 1929 and Hart Hall was built at that location.

The next building on the right hand side is Foster Hall. It was built in 1899 and razed in 1951. to the best of my knowledge it was used as a student dormitory the entire time.

Next to Foster Hall was where Old Main sat until it burned down in 1911. The Academic Building was sat back from the original location of Old Main and finished in 1914. It is not visible in this photo.

Past Old Main/Academic Building location on the right side is Ross Hall. Up through the 1930s the flag pole was in front of Ross Hall which was the Commandants domain. Ross was built in 1891 and razed in 1955 following a plumbing problem of mysterious nature.

Beyond Ross Hall on the right are Leggett and Milner Halls that are still in use. In the movie "We've Never Been Licked", Milner and Leggett were the locations of dorm scenes.

Sbisa Hall was the building at the far end of Military Walk.

This picture is a great view of Military Walk. In the 50s most of it had been altered but we could see enough of it to get the idea. This only brings the question back to my mind: How and why would the university even begin to restore Military Walk to its former condition? Many oak trees and a lot of construction will have to be removed ... oh well, we have lots of money.



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/11/2006 10:19a).]

Here's a good picture that I believe is looking north towards Sbisa.

http://cushing.tamu.edu/collections/images/Pages/viewtext.php?s=search&tid=4383&route=basicsearch.php&sterms=1928&s=browse

The url to begin a browse through the Cushing Archive Photo Collection is:

http://cushing.tamu.edu/collections/images/Pages/basicsearch.php?s=search

At that site click on Search, then fill in a category of photos you wish to search.

If you find a photo that you consider interesting feel free to post the url on this thread.

I love thumbing through the old yearbooks

http://dl.tamu.edu/static/aggiana/collections/Longhorn/main.html
check out page 143 for the 1903 version of Military walk in The Longhorn

also check out the 1895 Olio
http://dl.tamu.edu/projects

fossilag,

to link the pictures, click on the "+" underneath the pictures in the links that you provided which will enlarge them....once enlarged, right click on the picture, select properties and copy the location of the picture....then paste it where you want to post it and put your "image code" around it and you should be set






[This message has been edited by powerbiscuit (edited 9/12/2006 12:43a).]

[This message has been edited by powerbiscuit (edited 9/12/2006 12:48a).]

This is a home most of you never had a chance to see. This was the President's Home on campus. It was built in 1892 for President Lawrence Sullivan Ross and was considered to be a "grand mansion." The home served as the residence of all Presidents until it burned in 1963.



The home was located approximately 150 yards in back of the rear of the current All Faiths Chapel. I visited in the home twice during the administration of David Morgan. The home was truly elegant and the furniture was antique, many pieces dating back to the days of Sully and family.

Another interesting old house on campus that many of you saw in earlier times but did not know its background. This house was the hostelry for members of the Board of Directors when they were on campus in the early days. It was built in 1912. In 1975 it was the first home of the University Press. It was destroyed by fire in 1979 while serving as the residence of Former President Jack K. Williams.

The Director's House was located next door to the backside of Sbisa Hall on the street and facing Walton Hall. (Hotard Hall was located behind it.)



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/13/2006 11:29p).]

Aggieland Inn 1925-1966.

This was a hotel on campus, and the only rooming house in College Station until the MSC was built in 1950. If I remember correctly it was located back from the street approximately across the street from where Beutel Health Clinic is now located. It was torn down in 1966.

I never considered reserving a room there or at the MSC for my dates because of the rates. It was cheaper to rent a bedroom from a faculty or staff member in CS for $3 per night ... most students chose that avenue. We weren't cheap ... we were broke. (Ed Garner built the Sands Hotel in 1955, the first motel in College Station (vacant lot on Texas next to University Tower.)



Edit: I had trouble placing in my mind the Aggieland Inn during my period 1952-56. I recall now that it was not an Inn in 1952 but was the office building for what was then known as the Basic Division ... a sort of department that guided freshman students. Administrative offices were on the first floor and some classrooms were on the upper floors. The division taught remedial courses for students requiring such as referred by other faculty such as reading, basic algebra, etc. They presented another required course in ethics and character development which was taught in the YMCA across the street. Sometimes it takes a while to dredge up obscure items in the memory bank ... guess I should not be too surprised.

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/15/2006 11:42p).]

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but A&M had 3 girls that attended in 1903?? I didn't think women were allowed until the 70's?

TayAg

The three young ladies you are speaking of are in photos on about page 10 of the 1903 Longhorn (precursor of the Aggieland yearbook) posted by The Sheik above.

Two of the three were the Hutson Twins, Sophie and Mary, daughters of Professor Hutson. Daughters of faculty and staff were permitted to attend classes in those years. They were not awarded Diplomas upon completion of course work but given Letters of Completion. (All faculty and staff lived in cottages on campus in those early days ... many of those old homes were moved off campus in the 1930s and 40s and are now located in the area just south of George Bush Drive in the CS "Historic District."

In 1975 I was in charge of the Muster at Biloxi, MS. When I reviewed the names provided by the Former Students Assn of graduates in the MS gulf coast area I noted the name of Sophie Rollins '03, a resident of nearby Gulfport. A call to the number given confirmed it to be Sophie Hutson Rollins, and that she was still quite active, and that she would love to attend the Muster.

She was my secret guest at the Muster, even from others on the committee. After I introduced the other distinguished guests at the dinner, I then introduced my tiny guest, Sophie Hutson, Class of '03 as the featured speaker. The crowd of attendees was blown away.

She spoke for about 10 minutes about her teenage and student years on the A&M campus. Her family lived next door to the Ross mansion pictured above. She described President Ross as a courtly gentleman who did not mind children in the neighborhood playing on the large verandas of the mansion.

After graduation, Sophie married and raised a family. Mary became a practicing civil engineer and spent her life in New Orleans helping with design and construction of the earliest levee system.

The twins were sponsors (more like mascots) of the Corps during their years as students. Their mother made them "uniforms" of the same grey wool material as the Corps with snug short jackets, long skirts and pillbox hats. They did not lack for attention. (And she did not lack for attention at the Muster ... every Ag there got to meet her ... and there were tears in the eyes of those who were aware beforehand of the legends of the Twins in the early history of TAMC.)

Edit: This picture of Sophie and Mary Hutson and its caption were borrowed from The Sheik's post above about the 1903 Longhorn yearbook.



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/15/2006 11:24p).]

Fossil,

Great story about Sophie. Thanks for sharing it.

A lot of early day history of A&M College is buried in time and it takes some digging to bring it back to light. Since we are on the subject of the Lawrence Sullivan Ross period, perhaps you may find the following story interesting.

President (Governor) Ross died in office on January 3, 1898. He was buried in Waco at the Oakwood Cemetery.

His successor as President was Lafayette Lumpkin Foster whose term was to be effective July 1, 1898. Professor R.H. Whitlock was appointed to serve as Interim President for six months until Foster took office.

President Foster died in office December 2, 1901.

Lafayette Lumpkin Foster
President July 1, 1898-December 2, 1901
Born: Cummings, Georgia; November 17, 1851
Died: Dallas, Texas; December 2, 1901; buried in College Station, Texas
Member of State Legislature, Speaker of the House, State Commissioner of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, History, member of State Railroad Commission. Elected President of A&M College on June 7, 1898, and by agreement with the Board of Directors set the effective date as July 1, 1898. Served until his death on December 2, 1901. President Foster was buried in the College Cemetery, a small burial plot which was originally on the site where Duncan Hall is now located. His remains and those of several others were moved in late 1938 or early 1939 to their present location on University property west of the Southern Pacific tracks. Source:

http://library.tamu.edu/cushing/collectn/univarch/presidents.html

At the time of Foster's death there was no cemetery on campus. F.E. Giesecke (that name again) was a member of a committee that selected the location of the cemetery. Thus, President L.L. Foster was the first person to be buried on campus. Over time about ten more persons were buried there.

As stated above, the location of that first cemetery was in the approximate location of where Duncan Dining Hall was sited to be built in 1939. Thus, in 1939, the bodies in the graves of Foster and others were disinterred and moved to a location "on University property west of the Southern Pacific tracks."

I thought I was familiar with all property west of the tracks and had never seen a cemetery. Apparently over the years others had been searching also. Fortunately it was located a couple of years ago, overgrown with brush and weeds with a falling down fence. Today, the location has been cleared, appropriately fenced and adorned with a State Historical Marker.

Of the original graves, some had no markers and some of the markers on others are so weathered that dates are illegible, but 1909 appears to be date of the last burials there. Other than Foster, persons interred seem to have been A&M employees ... janitors, dairy workers, one professor and wife.

Three persons were buried in the cemetery in its new location ... 30-year employee C.O. Watkins and his daughter (1940), and the infant son of CG (Spike) White who some may remember as long time head of the Student Activities Dept (1942).

To locate the cemetery: Going west on George Bush Drive take the first left after crossing the tracks onto Marion Pugh Drive (between Dairy Queen and Callaway House.) Proceed about 1/2 mile to westbound Luther Street. The cemetery is on the right on the northwest corner of the intersection. (This is the corner of the horse pasture that connects to the Horse Center that faces on George Bush.)

So after 100 years, President Foster finally at rest in an appropriate and dignified setting suitable to his stature in A&M history. An oak tree at his headstone appropriately rivals the Century Oak on campus.



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/18/2006 2:21p).]

OK, call me crazy, but what about a cemetary at that area, or on other reasonable University land, for Former Students? You know, some sort of endowment to qualify, etc. That way you are never away from Aggieland.

Maybe not for everyone, but some folks, myself included, don't have kids or large extended family and therefore not many ties to dictate where they want to be buried. I mean gosh, if the Rev's have their spot, why not Good Ol' Ags?

Fossil's story got me to thinking, that is all.

EMc77

A couple of years ago I read in the BCS paper that some group was planning to construct a private cemetery for A&M former students. It was my understanding at the time that it would be located just west of FM2818 and across SH60 from Easterwood Airport. I have heard no details since that initial article. I suppose it is still in the works.

I thought this was a sad story, losing the college cemetery for 60 someodd years right on campus. Record keeping was understandably scant in the period 100 years ago, but it appears that recordkeeping after 1939 was equally lacking. Some of the remains moved in 1939 were not identified and the reburial locations in the new cemetery were not marked. Even today the college cemetery in its "new" location is not identified in the Brazos County list of 43 cemetery sites.

President Foster can rest in peace now that he has been relocated, thanks to the internet which permitted access to clues that he was "lost", and to recent commercial developments on Marion Pugh Drive that revealed his whereabouts. Every person deserves a lasting acknowledgement that he existed and he now rests at this spot.

"Please sir, may I have some more..." love the history.

EMc77
Your last post got me to thinking ... about the circumstance you describe of someone alone with no family ties to a specific burial location ... but a connection to the a&M campus.

The small College Cemetery I described above is now approximately 50-60 feet square. Ten spaces are occupied by identified and marked remains and there may possibly be 3 or 4 more with unidentified remains. By my rough estimate, figuring a standard 5X10 foot size plot with some space for headline walkways, there is adequate space for 30-40 more burial plots.

It is now in a beautiful location, nicely maintained (at the present), about 1/2 mile from Kyle Field and Olsen Field, and bordered on two sides by the A&M horse pasture. The streets on the other two sides are well maintained and the across-the-streets neighbors are upscale apartments. You cannot find a final resting place closer to TAMU. As they say, location, location, location (unless you are concerned about the booming of the cannon each time the Ags score at Kyle.)

If you are interested in this I recommend you call Dr. Gates office quickly because with this post I have just announced this possibility to the Aggie World. The University may turn thumbs down on the idea completely but one cannot know for sure how attractive a $2-5,000 bid for a plot may be until you ask.

I would be interested except I have a family plot in the College Station cemetery a mile or so away.

All of this is just off the wall speculation on my part ... but a hundred thousand plus income from plot sales would pay for perpetual care of the little cemetery and relieve the University of the expense.

President Foster deserves to be in a crowd of Aggies. He led the school through difficult times.

Fossil,

Your idea is good. (Man, I bet we get blasted for turning this thread to the morbid.) Anyway, Mrs.EMc77 hasn't been consulted and she does have spaces in a family area in Angelo, so this probably won't fly.

I guess I was just thinking out loud. And the cannon wouldn't bother an ond CT...

And who in the crowd would care to hear the story about the A&M College Zoo? Yep, we had one.

William Bennett Bizzell, PhD, was President of A&M College from August 25, 1914 to September 1, 1925. (His birthplace was Independence, Texas ... just down SH50 a ways in the direction of Brenham. He resigned his post at A&M in 1925 to become President of Oklahoma University.)

One of the accomplishments of the Bizzell administration was to create a Zoo on campus. During its tenure the zoo eventually acquired several lions and tigers, an elephant, an ostrich, and other native animals. The location of the Zoo was "west of the tracks."

Shortly after Bizzell's departure the Zoo was closed. The reason given was that it had become "time consuming, expensive and noisy." (Recall that housing for the faculty and staff was just east of the tracks in the vicinity of the drill field and on the south side of the campus ... I can imagine the wake up commotion of hungry jungle cats was a problem for the neighborhood.

And I am sure the Cadet Corps was typically outraged at the closing of the Zoo. "Old Army had surely gone to Hell."

"Where is the mummy?"

This was a question that bedeviled Corps Fish for decades in Sbisa and Duncan Dining Halls. The dreaded "mummy" question routinely dampened all hopes of dessert at that mealtime for decades of Fish who at the end of the meal had requested a "Cush Question" from the ranking upperclassman at the table in order to qualify for dessert. The questions were always concerned with A&M historical trivia ... and depending on the quality of the dessert for that meal ranged from difficult to impossible. The "mummy" question was considered impossible.

Now for all you old timers who searched diligently about the campus for the mummy during your Fish years, and failed, here is the answer.

The mummy was located in the college museum.

Still lost? I can understand that. Nowadays it seems every department on campus has a museum of some sort, including the former President of the United States. But before 1965 there was only one.

The reason you can't place it is because it was located in the back half of a building named the Serum Laboratory. Do you understand now why Fish had such a tough time finding it?

The Serum Laboratory was constructed in 1917 in what was then part of the college cow pasture. It was located close to the northwest corner of the Systems Administration Building which was not built until 1933 and due north of the O&M building when it was built in 1973. It was razed sometime between '73 and '76 when that location was readied for construction of the Langford Architecture Center in 1978.

Do you recognize this building? The Serum Laboratory (and Museum.)



Anyway, the first museum on campus, located in the Serum Laboratory, existed from 1937 to 1965. And an Egyptian Mummy was part of its collections. When the museum was discontinued in 1965 the mummy was loaned to the Houston Museum of Natural History.

Hey, that is still a good question: "Where is A&M's old mummy located NOW?"


Edit: In the background of the picture are a 1940 Ford Coupe and a 1937 Chevrolet. If that '40 Ford continued straight ahead it would hit Old College Road at the intersection with University Drive (where a traffic circle was located in the '50s.)



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/26/2006 4:57p).]

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/26/2006 5:07p).]

The Building That Turned the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas Around ...



The System Administration Building was constructed in 1933. This building was a radical departure from the layout and design of all prior buildings on the campus ... It was the first building on campus to face the EAST.

Before 1932 the campus layout was oriented toward the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks and its adjoining road that connected Bryan to Wellborn to Millican to Navasota on the west side of the campus.

In 1931 the college donated 7.9 acres along the eastern edge of the campus for right-of-way for the construction of State Highway 6. By the time this highway was completed in 1936, A&M had completed a street named New Main Drive to connect Highway 6 with the campus in front of the System Administration Building.

And Main Drive that had in prior years connected the campus to the railroad station and to what is now Wellborn Road was renamed Old Main.

Edit: Note only the Texas flag on the flagpole. I suspect this was a special arrangement for this photo to promote Texas pride in this grand edifice.

Edit: Note the one story Serum Laboratory/Museum building on the right edge of the pic.



[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/28/2006 11:19a).]

Powerbiscuit ...

Thanks for the tip a couple of weeks ago on how to link on pics from the Archives. That sure makes story telling much easier.

FYI I talked the folks at the Cushing Archives several days ago and asked about some pics of the Twins that I had given them several years ago and had not been able to find in their website. The fellow explained that they were uploading pics diligently but still had a backlog of 200,000 pics that had been donated. That will make for some browsing for your grandkids.

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 9/28/2006 11:33a).]

I'm glad to have been able to help... I really enjoy your tidbits of history and story-telling

The YMCA building was completed on Campus in 1915.

Quote from the Brazos Genealogy Website:

"The new YMCA building opens its doors. Col. Edward B. Cushing '80 of the Southern Pacific railroad headed a committee of former students and with a pledge of $30,000 from John D. Rockefeller secured the funds for the building. The classical structure provided the students with a multitude of services and facilities which included reading rooms, Bible study rooms, an ornate tiled swimming pool, dining room, kitchen, alumni association rooms, auditorium and bowling alleys. Two large fireplaces added to the overall ambiance of what came to be thought of as the campus parlor. As predicted by Cushing, the new 'Y' became the center of campus social life until the MSC was constructed in 1950."



One notable feature of the YMCA in the early days was that it was one of the very few buildings on campus that had a ladies' restroom. In 1921 a Women's Club was given space on the third floor as a place for women working on campus to have lunch.

The original construction cost of the YMCA was $120,000. The amenities described in the quote above were of highest quality. The barber shop had about 6 chairs and all the interior fixtures were white marble. It was a very comfortable "living room" where one could relax and be free for a while of Corps life.

In 1954 the crunch for office space on Campus put an end to the elegance and "broken-in" comfort of the YMCA and it was remodeled as an office building. The tiled swimming pool in the bottom floor was filled in and turned into cubicles. All the ornate furnishings and decor on the upper floors were sheetrocked over or torn out. What a shame to subject that beautiful building to such an innappropriate end.

Note that the Bugle Stand was not located on Military Walk (through the 50s) but in a small circle in the street in front of the Y. The picture appears to have been taken in about 1941.

[This message has been edited by fossil_ag (edited 10/1/2006 5:41p).]