By: Genya O'Gara

Contributed by Samantha Rich

Clyda Weeks Lutz

On March 30-31, 2012 the NC State’s class of 1962 celebrated their 50th anniversary with a reunion that included tours of the chancellor’s residence, the Memorial Tower, and D.H. Hill Library followed by a keynote address from former University of North Carolina President William Friday, who also addressed the group fifty years earlier at their graduation commencement. Those alumni who attended the weekend’s events were also invited to participate in brief interview sessions with NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center. Participants recalled their time attending college-sporting events, studying and working on campus, and maintaining membership in student clubs.

Clyda Weeks Lutz

Clyda Weeks Lutz, one of the few female graduates of the class of 1962, shared her experiences transferring to State from the University of Arizona. The Garner North Carolina native said her decision to enroll at State was influenced by her family’s longstanding history of attendance and the fact that she lived “nine miles from campus and I could stay at home and come to school because there was no housing for girls on campus.” Lutz was active in many student organizations including Friends of the College. As a junior, Lutz was elected president of the College Union, making her one of the first women to head in a campus-wide student organization.

William Eddie Knox

Frances Goodwin Holt

Milton Holt and his wife Frances Goodwin Holt detailed how they began their relationship on campus, dating as students. Milton, a member of the State College band, noticed Frances, a Wolfpack cheerleader, at sporting events and the couple was later set-up with her through a mutual friend. Frances also discussed how her experiences as a minority female student influenced her life and her career in the U.S. Navy stating, “I think the confidence that I gained from being here at North Carolina State was extremely helpful to me. It was a wonderful grounding for everything.”

Frances Goodwin Holt and Milton Holt

William Eddie Knox cited NC State’s strong Air Force ROTC program as the main reason for his decision to attend NC State in 1958. Knox declared, “there were about thirty or forty of us they wanted to fly and so I was one of the students that when I graduated I went into pilotry;” Knox served in the U.S. Air Force from 1962 to 1968 and was stationed in Alaska, Spain and southeast Asia.

William Eddie Knox

These are just a few of the rich stories the class of 1962 shared during their reunion. For more information about student life at NC State in the 1950s and 60s, please visit Historical State.

By: Jonathan Holloway

Contributed by Samantha Rich

On February 1, 1960, four African American college students sat down at a lunch counter in Greensboro, NC and politely asked for service. After employees refused to meet their requests, they remained in their seats. Their passive resistance ignited a student-led movement across the South challenging racial inequalities.

Activist Stokely Carmichael speaks on NC State's campus in the 1960s. The civil rights movement was slow to take hold at NC State.

While articles describing the events of that February day appeared in newspapers across the state, NC State College’s Technician remained silent on the protest and subsequent sit-ins until March 10, when it picked up a story describing the arrest of student protesters in Nashville, TN. This total lack of discussion may have stemmed from the poor integration policies at NC State during this time; NC State had begun admitting African American students to its undergraduate programs only four years earlier (1956). Irwin Holmes, one of the first four African American students enrolled at State, would graduate from the electrical engineering program later that year.

Campus silence broke again on March 21, following the annual North Carolina Student Legislative Assembly meeting at the state Capitol days earlier. In an article entitled “Student Legislature Passes Lunch Counter Legislation,” the Technician reported that students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (A&T), a historically black college, proposed legislation that declared “all establishments offering service to the general public be hereafter and forever forbidden to refuse service to anyone on a basis of creed, color, or ethnic origin.” The bill passed 51 to 17, however the article noted, “It might be pointed out at this point that about half of the assembly was made up of Negro students.” While this suggests that the author believed the bill would not have passed had African American students not been present, the actions of the State College Student Government that followed indicated that students at A&T presented a persuasive argument in support of the bill and anti-discrimination laws.

Two-weeks after the Student Legislative Assembly, State College Student Government passed a Civil Rights Declaration that stated that North Carolina businesses should not refuse to serve any member of the public based on their appearance. It is important to note, however, that NC State student legislators utilized the word “appearance” not “race” or “color” within the declaration. Further, Student Government declared that the bill reflected “no particular concern for the rights of any race or minority group,” only “each and every citizen of the State of North Carolina in general.” This emphasis on vocabulary may have been meant to ease the minds of more conservative senators who would not discuss discrimination in terms of race. The bill went on to state that any discrimination based on appearance could “[set] the precedent that [placed] the rights of every other citizen in jeopardy.”

It would be three years before Hillsborough Street businesses integrated and more than ten years before NC State began implementing serious integration and African American recruitment programs. However, the discourse surrounding anti-discrimination laws during the sit-in movement did prompt a previously silent campus to develop a response to contemporary segregation practices.

To learn more about African American history at NC State, please visit Historical State or check out the Red, White & Black mobile walking tour.

Sources: Technician (10 March 1960, 21 March 1960, 11 April 1960); Smithsonian National Museum of American History, “Sitting for Justice: Woolworth’s Lunch Counter,” Separate is not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education, available from http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/6-legacy/freedom-struggle-2.html, accessed 17 February 2012; “Media/Headlines,” Greensboro Sit-ins: Launch of a Civil Rights Movement, available from http://www.sitins.com/media_hl.shtml, accessed 17 February 2012.

By: Jonathan Holloway

Contributed by Samantha Rich

Since 1921, Technician has served as NC State’s primary student newspaper. Although other student publications have attempted to supplement or compete with Technician, such as the State Sentinel (published between 1973 and 1974), none have influenced the NC State community as much as the Nubian Message, described as the “sentinel of the N.C. State African-American community.” The paper has published news, opinion, and entertainment articles dedicated to African American history, culture, and current events weekly since 1996.

Tony Williamson, first editor of the Nubian Message

Tony Williamson, an NC State student, founded the paper following allegations from the NC State African American community that Technician was racially biased. Students declared that Technician did not adequately cover news and events for African American students. In September 1992, more than two-hundred students gathered in the Brickyard to burn copies of the campus newspaper. The protest resulted in students’ calls for an African American run student paper, a request that Williamson and his staff fulfilled two months later.

On November 30, 1992, Williamson described the Nubian Message in its inaugural issue as the “media voice” for African Americans at NC State. He also stated his intention to “totally, truthfully, and faithfully . . . cover every aspect of African American life at NCSU” and his hope that the Nubian Message would become “a publication where people can learn about different aspects of [African American] culture, as well as find useful information about State’s campus.”

Initially, the Nubian Message received no university funding and Nubian staff were prohibited from utilizing NCSU Student Media equipment. Due to the lack of university support, Williamson turned to North Carolina Central University for assistance. He credited NC Central’s Campus Echo staff for helping to publish the first issue, “It was a real pain to have to go all the way to Durham to work, but the people at Central were very helpful and understanding. We owe them a lot. If it wasn’t for their newspaper staff, we probably would never have had a first issue.”

Cover of the November 30, 1992 edition of the Nubian Message

Students released the first edition of the Nubian Message on December 2, 1992 in front of approximately seventy-five students in Talley Student Center. The first issue featured articles outlining the history of the NC State African American Cultural Center and the importance of an “Afrocentric Christmas.” Noting the success of the first issue, the University allowed Nubian staff to utilize campus media equipment to publish the paper’s bimonthly issues. On March 9, 1994, the Student Media Authority voted 7-0 to make the Nubian Message a permanent NCSU newspaper.

For more information about the Nubian Message or to view archived copies of the newspaper, please visit the NCSU Libraries Special Collection Research Center. To learn more about African American history at NC State, check out the Red, White & Black app and take a self-guided walking tour of campus.

Sources: Technician (25 September 1992, 4 December 1992, 26 August 1996); Nubian Message (30 November 1992, 10 March 1992)

By: Jonathan Holloway

Contributed by Samantha Rich

Student Supply Store, students shopping for books

As the last student organizations vacate the old Talley Student Center due to ongoing renovations, construction continues on the new $120 million Talley Student Center project. The new Talley building will house Student Government, Student Affairs, University Dining, and NC State Bookstores, among other campus organizations. The new bookstore will boast a coffee house and ample room for textbooks, school supplies, apparel, and gifts.

To make way for the Talley addition, the university demolished State’s fifty-one year old bookstore this past summer. The bookstore building, then known as the Student Service Center, was the talk of campus when it first opened in January 1960. The Technician celebrated the building’s opening on January 18 with a front-page drawing of the center’s façade along with the headline, “Things Will Never Be The Same Again: gone are the old days, gone are the only ways, this is to tell you OUR DREAM HAS COME TRUE…” Described as “ultra modern,” the new building cost an estimated $350,000. G. Milton Small, Jr. served as the architect of the 21,000 square foot Student Service Center, which housed the Student Supply Store and a “fountain snack-bar.” A former State College professor in the School of Design, Small was a student of Henry L. Kamphoefner, the founder and first dean of the design school. In addition to the Student Service Center, Small also designed the Burlington Nuclear Laboratories Building on NC State’s Central Campus and Carter-Finley Stadium. According to the Technician, Chancellor John Caldwell made the first purchase in the supply store on opening day.

The January 18, 1960 issue of Technician also included an essay from English professor Alvin Marcus Fountain describing the history of the NC State Student Supply Store. Fountain revealed, “When the first students came that early fall day in October 1889…books and supplies had to be brought in by hand from the down-town stores.” Students purchased textbooks from Raleigh merchants for many years until a formal Student Supply Store was established in the basement of Leazar Hall (then the college cafeteria) in 1922. Fountain credited the Technician (established only a year earlier) for raising awareness of the new store and providing the advertisement necessary to allow for its success. From 1922 to the 1950s, the supply store relocated to the YMCA Building, benefiting from increased student patronage as college enrollment grew. In 1955, SSS manager L. L. Ivey approached the college with calls for a new building. This initial request led to the construction of the building students and alumni have come to know as the NC State Bookstore.

Student Supply Store, entrance

The Technician declared the grand opening a “great success.” Students who attended the celebration could register for more than 172 prizes, including a drafting table, a transistor radio, and a Sheaffer gold pen and pencil set. Ivey stated, “We are proud of the store and feel that we have a book and supply of which State College can be proud” [sic].

To learn more about the history of university buildings, visit the NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center to view the University Buildings, Sites, & Landmark Files, 1888-2009. While you’re there, make sure you check out the G. Milton Small Papers, 1950-1984 to learn more about Small’s modernist influence on North Carolina architecture.

Sources: Technician (18 January 1960, 11 February 1960, 9 January 2012); John Morris, “NC State: Please Don’t Destroy the Bookstore,” Goodnight Raleigh (blog), 10 January 2011, http://goodnightraleigh.com/2011/01/nc-state-please-dont-destroy-the-bookstore/; North Carolina State University: Talley Renovation and Addition, “Building Occupants in the New Talley,” http://web.ncsu.edu/campusenterprises/talley/BuildingOccupants.php.

By: Kristen Merryman

This post was contributed by Anne Barrett.

Cultivating a Revolution: Science, Technology and Change in North Carolina Agriculture, 1950-1979 is a two-year, LSTA-funded project to digitize films and other archival records pertaining to the modernization of agriculture throughout North Carolina. The project, which started in July 2011, aims to provide researchers with primary source documentation and related historical information regarding the evolution of modern agricultural practices in North Carolina.

The “Cultivating a Revolution” collection can be accessed at: http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog?f[ispartof_facet][]=Cultivating%20a%20Revolution. Access to the collections is provided through folders, much as if you were in our reading room flipping through the pages in a folder physically.

The images displayed on the landing page for the collection represent folders, and the captions under the images indicate the contents of the folder. When you click on one of these images, a new page is loaded, with the representative image displayed with its associated information.

Landing Page View for CAR project

By scrolling down on the individual image page, you can see thumbnails of the other items in the same folder.

Pages in a folder view

To navigate among items within the same folder, simply click on the largely displayed image, and click the “next” button in the upper right-hand corner of the window that pops up.

Additionally, you will see links (at the bottom of the page) to other folders in the same box, allowing navigation between items within a folder, and folders within the same box, quite easy.

Navigating through folders from a box that are scanned

As of now, two collections have been or are in the process of being digitized. These collections are the William H. Johnson Papers and the William E. Splinter Papers.

Bulk Curing Experiments

The William H. Johnson Papers consist of research notes, correspondence, drawings and photographs relating to Johnson’s career at North Carolina State University. Johnson was a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, who developed bulk curing technology for tobacco. Johnson was active professionally both on and off-campus, and the papers reflect his international prominence, as he served on many committees and corresponded with prominent international tobacco companies including Philip Morris, Liggett & Myers, R.J. Reynolds, and others.

Modular curing unit drawing from William Johnson Papers

The William E. Splinter Papers include correspondence, logs, data sheets and reports produced in conjunction with Splinter’s research on agricultural mechanization. Splinter was a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University, and he assisted in the development of electrostatic spraying and dusting systems and a mechanical tobacco harvester.

Letter from John Deere Company to William Splinter regarding him using one of their Ellis Transplanters

Make sure to visit the project on-line often! Since this is an active digitization project, new images are added routinely as we scan more items.

By: Jonathan Holloway

Contributed by Samantha Rich

Almost 70 years ago, North Carolina State College began an accelerated graduation program for students in degree programs vital to the advancement of the United States’ war efforts, particularly in fields of science and engineering. The war industry demanded more workers educated in the construction of machinery and weaponry as the nation began building airplanes, tanks, warships, and rifles.

In January 1941, the State College Faculty Council proposed to advance the graduation of seniors by twenty-five days. The Technician declared, “The change in the date of graduation would permit the engineering senior especially to start at their positions in industry almost a month early” [sic]. Administrators eliminated spring holiday, final exams, and senior inspection trips to allow for the twenty-five day advancement. Simultaneously, college administrators began implementing a curriculum that allowed students to graduate from the engineering school in three years. Administrators altered the calendar year to include four quarters instead of the previous three quarter system. On January 26, 1942, State College enrolled a special group of eleven freshmen to participate in the new three-year program; the students took courses through the summer in an effort obtain a sophomore status by fall. Under this program, the freshman class graduated in September 1944.

Dr. E. E. Randolph, listening to ROTC Cadets explain the operation of a machine gun, 1942.

Throughout 1942, State College administrators raised awareness of the money and resources students utilized for special campus events, often encouraging students to conserve. In March, Chancellor Harrelson asked students to sign “no name,” or unpopular, bands for social events in order to reduce costs during the “present emergency.” The Technician blasted State College leadership for announcing these new stipulations after students had purchased their dance tickets. Students also argued that seniors who were preparing to enter the military should have a good music at their last college dance. However, students did try to comply with the new conservation regulations; for example, students combined the annual Military Ball and the Engineers’ Brawl to form the Offense Ball.

During World War II, students and administrators worked to reduce spending and conserve resources to advance the war effort. For more information about campus life during this time, please visit Historical State.

Sources: Technician (9 January 1942, 23 January 1942, 30 January 1942, 6 February 1942, 16 March 1942, 1 May 1942)

By: Todd Kosmerick

Raymond L. Murray, Professor of Physics

The NCSU Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center is please to announce the availability of the papers of Raymond L. Murray.   Dr. Murray was a professor of physics at North Carolina State University, and during the 1950s he was a key figure in establishing and operating the university’s NCSU’s nuclear reactor, which was the first one operated on a college campus anywhere.

From the Manhattan Project to the Three Mile Island recovery, Dr. Murray took part in milestones of nuclear engineering and atomic power.  His career in physics and nuclear engineering began at the Oak Ridge atomic research center in Tennessee during World War II. In 1950 he joined the the faculty of NC State.  In 1957 he was named Burlington Professor of Physics, and from 1963 to 1974 he headed the Department of Nuclear Engineering. After retiring from teaching at NC State in 1980, he remained active in research and consulting, and he was an advocate of the beneficial aspects of nuclear energy. Murray received many honors, including the O. Max Gardner Award from the University of North Carolina system, the Arthur Holly Compton Award, and the Eugene Wigner Reactor Physicist Award of the American Nuclear Society.

This collection contains papers from Dr. Murray’s research, teaching, consulting, and other activities. Included are conference papers, class lecture notes, talking points, reports, publication drafts, calendars/schedules, research files, subject/reference files, and article reprints. There are substantial materials on the following topics related to nuclear energy: NEV, Bechtel, buckling, radon, criticality, LLRWMA, reactor analysis, kinetics, and migration.

There is an online guide available that provides more information about the collection.  Please contact the Special Collections Research Center of the D.H. Hill Library for more information on how to access these materials.

By: Jonathan Holloway

Contributed by Samantha Rich

Currently on display in the circulation lobby of D.H. Hill Library is an exhibit honoring the life of former NC State Chancellor John Tyler Caldwell (1959-1975). The exhibit explores Caldwell’s life through photographs and documents and includes a video montage of former student’s reflection of the former chancellor.

Carol Erskine Caldwell

While designing the exhibit, researchers relied upon documents from the John Tyler Caldwell Papers, 1893-1995. The documents revealed that Mrs. Carol Erskine Caldwell, his second wife and the “first lady” of NC State, was an invaluable source of support for Caldwell during his tenure as chancellor. Mrs. Caldwell graduated from Northwestern University with a Masters degree in English and taught in the public school system for approximately 15 years.

As the chancellor’s wife, Mrs. Caldwell was often responsible for hosting social events and fundraisers and frequently appeared by Chancellor Caldwell’s side at campus events. In 1973, Mrs. Caldwell described her responsibilities as the chancellor’s wife in an interview with the attractor, Technician’s magazine of the arts. “It’s almost a full-time job being married to the chancellor of a large University,” Mrs. Caldwell explained, “but it’s one I enjoy immensely.” When Dr. and Mrs. John Caldwell married in 1963, both were widows with six children between them from previous marriages. Mrs. Caldwell explained, “At the time I was teaching English, raising my two children and had even built a house. I was happy and my life was settled and then to my surprise I met John . . . now my life is different but it’s better.” Mrs. Caldwell found her responsibility as an entertainer and host very rewarding. “We do a considerable amount of it [entertaining] in the course of the year-mostly the informal kind. There’s nothing Dr. Caldwell likes better, for instance, than picking up students on campus and bringing them home for supper,” Mrs. Caldwell stated.

Mrs. Caldwell was involved in many women’s organizations including the North Carolina Women’s Club and the League of Women Voters. Mrs. Caldwell explained, “The Chancellor’s job is so very large, covering every avenue of the University. I would not be content if I weren’t ready to help him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in women’s rights!” As a member of the League of Women Voters, she lobbied the public school system, often “looking for other solutions than just a training school for the truant, delinquent or neglected child.” Dr. and Mrs. Caldwell enjoyed bike riding and gardening as a family. They also enjoyed the benefits of living at the Chancellor’s Residence, particularly the ability to interact with students because of its close proximity to campus.

For more information about the Caldwells and their contributions to NC State, please visit the NCSU Libraries Special Collections Research Center.

Source: “Mrs. Caldwell: an atypical housewife,” attractor, November 16, 1973.

By: Jonathan Holloway

John Tyler Caldwell

An exhibit currently on display in the lobby of D.H. Hill Library celebrates the life and legacy of John Tyler Caldwell, one of NC State’s most influential chancellors, who would have turned 100 last month.

The exhibit draws from various university history resources available from the Special Collections Research Center, including the John Tyler Caldwell Papers, 1893 – 1995. This manuscript collection documents the busy public life of Caldwell, whose tenure as chancellor lasted from 1959 to 1975.

Among the materials available to researchers in this collection are certificates marking some of the honors and memberships bestowed on Caldwell during and after his time as chancellor. One of these, a copy of which can be seen in the exhibit, commemorates Caldwell’s induction into the Golden Chain Honor Society, the oldest honor society exclusive to NC State. A group of exceptional seniors is inducted each year, along with occasional faculty, staff, and alumni who have been significant to the university. As of 2011, there were 1,069 “links” in the Golden Chain, including former Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., President Emeritus of the UNC System William C. Friday, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Henry Hugh Shelton, and Basketball Hall of Famer Coach Kay Yow.

Caldwell's signature on his Golden Chain certificate. Note the exclamation point.

Like many university honors, the certificates presented to Golden Chain inductees include the signature of the chancellor. In Caldwell’s case, this created the unusual situation of signing his own induction certificate. Perhaps noting the humor in this, Caldwell included an exclamation point in parentheses after his signature (see image to the right).

Another certificate marks the establishment of the Caldwell Scholarship program by the NC State University Alumni Association. Now known as the Caldwell Fellows, the program promotes the development of leadership skills through service learning opportunities. Funds for experiential learning and a tuition stipend are awarded to students like Saul Flores, who spent the summer of 2010 walking, riding buses, and hitchhiking over 5,000 miles from Ecuador to North Carolina. Photographs he took during his journey will be the subject of “The Walk of the Immigrants,” an upcoming exhibit in D. H. Hill’s Exhibit Gallery.

Also included is a certificate naming Caldwell as an honorary associate member of the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Caldwell was honored for his “encouragement and support” of the architecture programs in NC State’s College of Design. To learn more about the lives of architecture students during Caldwell’s tenure, please watch our oral history with John Atkins, who served as Student Body President from 1964 to 1965.

Oral histories with other former student leaders are available as part of the Student Leadership Initiative. For more information about the initiative, contact Genya O’Gara at genya_ogara@ncsu.edu or (919)513-2605.

To learn more about the Caldwell manuscript collection, please see the collection guide. If you are interested in using the collection for research, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.

To learn more about the history of NC State University, please visit Historical State and the NCSU Libraries’ Digital Collections.

By: Jennifer Baker

Hello 2012! After an incredibly busy fall semester, the SCRC is ready to “spring” into the new semester!

On January 18, 2012,  “The Walk of the Immigrants,” photographs by Saul Flores, will open at D. H. Hill Library. In the summer of 2010, Flores, an NC State Caldwell Fellow, undertook a journey from Ecuador to his home in Charlotte, NC.  His route through Latin America paralleled the arduous and often-dangerous trip that many take as they travel north in an attempt to move into the U.S.  He documented the lives of people and places along the way, taking thousands of photographs.  ”The Walk of the Immigrants” highlights some of the most striking work from Flores’ collection. At 4 p.m. on Wed, January 18, in the 2nd floor, east wing Assembly Room, Saul will speak about his project as part of NCSU Libraries’ Stellar Student Series, which is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. A reception in the gallery will follow at 5 p.m. Proceeds from the sale of his photographs and sponsorships of his journey are aiding an elementary school in his mother’s hometown, the small rural community of Atencingo, Mexico.

In honor of NCSU’s 125th Anniversary, the campus-wide, year long celebration will begin on Founder’s Day -March 5, 2012, our University Archives Specialist is processing the Memorabilia Collection (UA 020). Items in this collection include, amongst other things, a copper time capsule from the old YMCA building, a 1916 row marker from the old Riddick Stadium, and an oil burning slide projector!

Since starting Cultivating a Revolution: Science, Technology, and Change in North Carolina Agriculture, 1950-1979, a LSTA funded grant project, in July 2011, we have digitized over 2,200 pages of archival materials from the William Splinter and William Johnson agricultural research collections related to crop dusting and bulk curing tobacco.  Materials relating to mechanical harvesters and plant breeding are slated to be digitized this spring, as well as over 90 films documenting agricultural research here at NCSU in the 1950s – 1970s.  To see what has been digitized so far, please visit: http://go.ncsu.edu/cultivatingarevolution .

Fall of 2011 also saw the introduction of our new digital images website. Unlike Historical State , which has a more curatorial approach to NCSU history, the NCSU Libraries’ Digital Collection of Rare and Unique Materials is home to thousands of photographs and blueprints, searchable by keyword.

Finally, our two year CLIR-funded grant, the Changing the Landscape project, will come to a close at the end of the spring semester.  To date project staff have processed 1841 linear feet and 116 gigabytes.  Staff plan to continue processing and publishing finding aids for collections.  You can follow their progress on the project blog .

With all of this, why go anywhere else? For more information on NCSU Special Collections, please visit http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/ .