Jennifer Coggins, Collections Management and Engagement Archivist – Page 4

GOOOOOOAL! Soccer’s illustrious history at UNC

From the Department of Athletic Communications Records (#40308), University Archives.

All eyes are on soccer this summer as countries from around the globe compete in the World Cup, so we thought it would be a good time to take a look at the history of soccer at UNC.

In the 1930s, soccer was offered as an activity in Physical Education classes and as a club sport. Men’s soccer gained varsity status in 1947, and just one year later the team won the Southern Conference title. In 1963, Nigerian student Edwin Okoroma joined the soccer team, becoming the first black varsity athlete at the university.

Eddie Pope, from the 1994 Yackety Yack, North Carolina Collection. — Eddie Pope, from the 1994 *Yackety Yack*, North Carolina Collection.

UNC joined the ACC in 1953, and since then the men’s soccer team has won four ACC titles and two NCAA Championships. In 2002, the ACC named its top 50 soccer players in ACC history and included five from UNC: David Smyth, Gregg Berhalter, Eddie Pope, Carey Talley, and Chris Carrieri. Pope played for the US Men’s National Team in the 1996, 2002, and 2006 World Cups, and Berhalter did so in 1994, 2002, and 2006.

Mia Hamm, from the UNC Department of Athletics Records (#40093)

Women’s soccer gained varsity status in 1979, and has become the most successful athletic program in the university’s history. The team has won 21 national titles, nine of them earned consecutively between 1986 and 1994. In 1992, the team set the NCAA record for uninterrupted wins (58). Twenty-five former or current players—including Mia Hamm, Heather O’Reilly, Kristine Lilly, Tobin Heath, Lorrie Fair, April Heinrichs, and Cat Whitehill—have appeared in the Women’s World Cup either as players or as coaches. UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance also coached the US women’s national team to victory in the very first Women’s World Cup in 1991.

UNC Parachute Club records make a landing at University Archives

Flyer for the 1971-1972 National Collegiate Parachuting Championships. From the Records of the UNC Parachute Club (#40390), University Archives.

Last week, University Archives was excited to receive the records of the UNC Sport Parachute Club, a student organization founded in 1969.

The team represented the University in inter-collegiate competitions including the 1971-1972 National Collegiate Parachuting Championships (flyer above). Notice the spot below the falling parachutist—in competitions, participants were judged upon the accuracy of their landing in relation to a 10-centimeter disc.

Club member and records donor F. J. Hale recalls:

All of us saw similar rewards in parachuting; its beauty and exhilaration, and the unsurpassed freedom of being flung through the sky, and sailing gradually to earth under a huge nylon cloud.

Members of the UNC Sport Parachute Team in 1971.

A club member packs a parachute during a training session at Roanoke Rapids Air Force Station.

Club members at the National Collegiate Parachuting Championships.

Photos from the Records of the UNC Parachute Club (#40390), University Archives.

Note: The materials referenced in this blog post have not yet been processed and are currently not available to researchers. If you are interested in viewing these materials in person, please contact University Archives before your visit to determine their availability.

A Fond Farewell to Electronic Records Archivist Meg Tuomala

This week we say goodbye to our dear friend and colleague Meg Tuomala, who departs University Archives for a new opportunity.

Tuomala, a UNC alum, has served Wilson Library in several capacities–first as a graduate assistant in Special Collections Technical Services processing UARMS collections, then as Records Services Archivist (2010-2011), and most recently as Electronic Records Archivist (2012-present). In her position as Electronic Records Archivist, she has worked to ensure the proper management and preservation of the University’s growing collections of born-digital materials.

Due to recent departures, University Archives will be without permanent staff for the time being. Requests for consultations and trainings may be put on hold until permanent replacements are hired, but UARMS will continue to approve and accept records transfers and answer any questions about records retention and disposition in the interim.

Please continue to email transfer forms, questions, and general inquiries to recman@unc.edu. Staff at the Wilson Special Collections Library will continue to monitor this email and respond to incoming messages. You may also call (919) 962-6402 to speak with staff who can answer your records management questions.

Delivering the Bicentennial: Postal Commemorations of UNC’s 200th

From fall 1993 to spring 1994, the University celebrated its bicentennial with a year of special events. One way the University commemorated its 200th anniversary was through the Bicentennial Postal Series. The first item in the series was a post card issued by the U.S. Postal Service, featuring a watercolor of Playmakers’ Theatre by Bob Timberlake. Five postal cachets—commemorative printed designs on envelopes bearing a custom UNC Bicentennial cancellation and postmark—followed. Click on the thumbnails in the gallery below to view the card and cachets in full.

Post card featuring Bob Timberlake’s watercolor of Playmakers’ Theatre. Issued September 14, 1993.

Postal cachet by artist Maud Gatewood on the theme “Art and Culture.” Issued November 19, 1993.

Postal cachet by artist Bart Forbes on the theme “Freedom of Expression.” Issued January 28, 1994.

Postal cachet by artist David K. Stone on the theme “Science, Technology, and Health.” Issued February 16, 1994.

Postal cachet by *Shoe* creator Jeff MacNelly on the theme “Teaching and Learning.” Issued March 18, 1994.

Postal cachet by artist Allen “Big Al” Carter on the theme “Community.” Issued April 9, 1994.

Post card and cachets from University Relations: Bicentennial Observance Office Records (#40135), University Archives.

“I don’t know what he means unless it was the bell ringing or the fireball.”

John Stronach's letter to his father, responding to President Battle's accusations of bad behavior. — John Stronach’s letter to his father, responding to President Battle’s accusations of bad behavior. (University of North Carolina Papers #40005, University Archives)

If you’re looking for someone to help you plan an April Fool’s Day prank, look no further than John B. Stronach, class of 1893. President of the Eating Club (“Record, 31 bananas in 13 ¾ minutes,” according to the 1890 Hellenian), and member of both the “Gunning Club” and “Whist Club,” the Raleigh native seems to have had a knack for getting into trouble.

In February, 1890, UNC President Kemp Battle wrote to John Stronach’s father, W.C. Stronach, concerned about the young student’s behavior. His shocked and dismayed father responded immediately to President Battle, enclosing his son’s own version of events (transcribed in full below).

March 2, 1890

Dear Father,

I am very sorry indeed that Dr. Battle had to write to you about me, but think he has it a little larger than it was. I will tell you just how it is and what I did. You remember when I told you about my shooting the gun, ever since then every thing that is done he calls me up. Once again, I was beating on a tin tub in my room and Prof. Cain came in and asked me to stop. Those two times are the only ones that I have been caught and about the only times I have done anything again. The night some boys wrung [sic] the bell, I was in my room and did not even go out again. He had me up. Thursday night a crowd of boys wrung [sic] the bell and made a ball of fire and went around to scare the boys by turning it around before the windows and crying fire. I was down town in Lee Woodard’s room when they made the ball. I came up in a little while and went around to see the fire but did not touch it. I hollered as everybody else did and this is about all I have done as for the late at night, etc. I don’t know what he means unless it was the bell ringing or the fire ball.

Mike is coming down Thursday or Friday and will come to see you. I am very sorry that I have caused you so much trouble and hope that you will see that it is not as bad as Dr. Battle makes it out. I hope mother will not be very sick and is even now better. Doctor as [sic] been very sick for the last three or four days with his temper but is very much better today.

Give love to every.

Your loveing [sic] son,

Jno. B. Stronach

Happy 120th birthday, Paul Green!

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so lots of people are wearing green. But at UNC, we’re celebrating another kind of Green—playwright Paul Green, who was born 120 years ago today.

lc_paulgreen — Author Paul Green (from the UNC Press Records, #40073, University Archives).

Paul Green, born in Lillington, North Carolina, enrolled at UNC in 1916. However, his academic career was interrupted by World War I—he enlisted in 1917 and served overseas before returning to UNC in 1919. During his time at UNC, he was a student of Fredrick Koch, the head of the UNC Department of Dramatic Arts and the founder of the Carolina Playmakers. He graduated in 1922 with a degree in philosophy. The same year, he married a fellow student of Koch, Elizabeth Lay. In 1923, after his graduate studies, Green returned to UNC as a professor of philosophy.

During this time, Green published many acclaimed works, including In Abraham’s Bosom (1929), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The House of Connelly (1931) , Roll Sweet Chariot (1935), and Johnny Johnson (1937), which featured music by Kurt Weill. In 1941, he collaborated with Richard Wright to adapt Wright’s Native Son for the stage. Many of his works addressed themes of racism, and poverty, and war, reflecting his lifelong activism for human rights.

lc_performance_1937 — A scene from an early production of *the Lost Colony* in which Sir Walter Raleigh speaks with Queen Elizabeth I (from the UNC Press Records, #40073, University Archives).

While Green’s work was well-received on New York stages, one of his greatest contributions to American theatre happened far from Broadway. In 1937, he published The Lost Colony, a “symphonic drama” about the ill-fated Roanoke Island Colony to be performed on the island itself, off the coast of North Carolina. The play, first performed in 1937 as part of the celebration of the 350th anniversary of Virginia Dare’s birth, is still running today. Having only suspended production during the years of World War II, it is the longest-running outdoor drama in the country. The Lost Colony established the genre of outdoor drama in the United States, and Green went on to write 14 more plays of this type.

From 1939 to 1944, Green worked as a professor of dramatic arts at UNC, then devoted himself solely to writing. His work includes not only plays but essays, short stories, screenplays, radio dramas, two novels, and music.

In 1968, UNC built the Paul Green Theatre, which is named in his honor. In 1979, Green was named North Carolina Dramatist Laureate. After his death in 1981, Green was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame (1993) and the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame (1996), reflecting his impact on the literary world on both a national and local level.

February 11, 1926: The Playmakers Meet the President

The Carolina Playmakers at the White House following their visit with the President. (Dramatic Art Department Records #40080, University Archives.) — The Carolina Playmakers at the White House following their visit with the President. (Dramatic Art Department Photographs, P0035, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archive).

In February 1926, the Carolina Playmakers embarked on their second Southern Tour, performing across North Carolina and Virginia, in Baltimore, and Washington DC. Led by founder, professor Frederick Koch, the theater company performed three of their signature “folk plays”—plays intended to reflect real North Carolina life—at each stop on the tour. The plays were Quare Medicine by Paul Green, Fixin’s by Paul and Erma Green, and Gaius and Gaius, Jr. by Lucy M. Cobb. The troupe received positive reviews throughout their tour, despite setbacks—near Sweetbriar, Virginia, their truck overturned and many set pieces were damaged.

The Carolina Playmakers on the road during their second Southern Tour, 1926. (Dramatic Art Department Records #40080, University Archives.) — The Carolina Playmakers on the road during their second Southern Tour, 1926. (Dramatic Art Department Photographs, P0035, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archive).

The day after their performance in Washington, the theater company visited the White House and had the opportunity to meet President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, First Lady Grace Coolidge. The President and First Lady were unable to attend the Playmakers performance, but expressed interest in their work. Professor Koch presented the Coolidges with two volumes of the Playmakers’ folk plays, which the President said looked “very interesting indeed.”

Read! Mark! Digest! The Order of the Golden Fleece turns 110!

Sign for University Archives' new exhibit on the Order of the Golden Fleece, now in the fourth floor reading room of Wilson Library. — Sign for University Archives’ new exhibit on the Order of the Golden Fleece, now in the fourth floor reading room of Wilson Library.

This year the Order of the Golden Fleece celebrates its 110th anniversary, and University Archives is recognizing this milestone with an exhibit tracing the history and influence of the society on campus.

The Order, UNC’s oldest honor society, was founded in 1904 with the purpose of “restor[ing] unity to campus life.” Bringing together leaders from many different aspects of student life–athletics, debating societies, fraternities, and other areas–the Order hoped to alleviate factionalism and conflict on campus through cooperative leadership.

In their first year, they were called upon to mediate a conflict between the sophomore class and a group of medical students. In what was called the “Soph-Med Affair,” a group of sophomores had insulted some first year medical students, and the medical students had called for the sophomores to be expelled. In order to ease the conflict, the Order of the Golden Fleece worked with the sophomore class to produce a kind of anti-hazing campaign that –in contrast to anti-hazing campaigns of today — placed responsibility for preventing hazing on first-year students themselves.

Text of a poster produced as part of an anti-hazing campaign recorded in the Order of the Golden Fleece Minutes, November 1904. From the Records of the Order of the Golden Fleece, (#40161), University Archives.

In posters across campus (the text of which is reproduced in the Order’s minutes, seen at right) first year students were urged to “be seen and not heard” to avoid drawing the ire of older students.

Another product of the “Soph-Med Affair” was the university’s first student government. The conflict highlighted the need for a mediating organization to handle such conflicts within the student body, and the Order met with President Francis P. Venable to discuss the possibility of a “University Council.” The seven-member council they proposed would mediate disputes, handle honor code violations, and investigate hazing incidents. The University Council was established later that year, and became the first student government established at UNC.

Over the years, the Order has continued to unite campus leaders and influence student life. To learn more about the Golden Fleece’s history, check out the new exhibit in the fourth floor reading room of Wilson Library! The exhibit will be open through March 7th.

Members of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1999. From the Records of the Order of the Golden Fleece, University Archives.

November 22, 1963

diphi_resolution — The resolution passed by the Di-Phi Joint Senate on November 22, 1963. Di-Phi Joint Senate Records (#40153), University Archives.

Today, people around the country and around the world are commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of President John F. Kennedy, sharing remembrances of the president and of the day that shook the nation.

In Chapel Hill, the campus came to a standstill as news of the President’s death spread. The next day, Daily Tar Heel writers recalled the moment that the word entered the newsroom:

“There were no warning bells on the UPI wire in the newspaper office here, as is customary when big news breaks. The first knowledge was the editor’s cry, ‘What’s this on the wire about the President being killed?’ No one believed he was serious.”

As word spread, students gathered around radios and televisions, abandoning their preparations for the “Beat Dook” parade scheduled for that afternoon. The parade and other campus events were cancelled, including that weekend’s football game against Duke.

Many on campus thought back to the President’s visit to campus two years earlier, and UNC President William C. Friday, who had visited Kennedy at the White House several times, said that he was “stunned” by this “terrible tragedy for our nation.”

That evening, the Di and Phi Joint Senate passed a resolution expressing their grief and sympathy. They sent a telegram to Jacqueline Kennedy and the newly sworn-in President Lyndon Johnson, saying “the Di-Phi Senate wishes to express its profoundest shock and grief at the death of our beloved president. May God keep you.”

johnson_note — Note from President Lyndon Johnson received by the Di-Phi Joint Senate, Di-Phi Joint Senate Records (#40153), University Archives.

kennedy_note — Note from Jacqueline Kennedy received by the Di-Phi Joint Senate, Di-Phi Joint Senate Records (#40153), University Archives.

Read the Daily Tar Heel from November 23, 1963 on the Internet Archive.

A Visit from NPR’s Carl Kasell

Last month, as NPR’s Carl Kasell visited campus, we were excited to welcome him to Wilson Library for a tour. Graduate assistants Kate Ceronie and Jennifer Coggins, who did research for the event and put together an exhibit for the reception that evening, gave Kasell a preview of the exhibit and chose additional materials for viewing in the Grand Reading Room of Wilson Library. He viewed photos of the early days of WUNC, letters from WUNC listeners, scripts from the American Adventure radio series for which he was an announcer, a yearbook from his sophomore year, scripts of advertisements he and Charles Kuralt recorded as students, and more. Enjoy the photos below of Kasell’s visit, taken by Mark Perry.