If you haven’t stopped over to the John A. Day Gallery in the Warren M. Lee Center for the Fine Arts to see the 37th Annual Stilwell Student Awards Exhibition, you have a few more days to do so.
Banners featuring Wilber Stilwell, the exhibition’s namesake, are on display on the main gallery doors. The banners were created by Veronica Knippling as part of a summer U.Discover research project in the Archives and Special Collections. These panels will be used for years to come and feature Stilwell as artist, educator, advocate, and inventor.
What happens to a collection after it is donated to the Archives? Thousands of papers, receipts, envelopes, tickets, and magazines came to me in folders, stacked in boxes, and initially overwhelmed me. I had never received an assignment such as this prior to being honored as a U.Discover Scholar. As a student, I encounter secondary sources in the form of journal articles all the time, but it’s rare to come across a primary source, even in digital format. To have 13 boxes full of primary source material to sort through has been a challenge, but a fruitful one. The more I’ve learned about Wilber Stilwell, the morepassionate I’ve become about my job as a researcher.
I started sorting through the boxes, folder by folder, page by page. I was quickly familiarized to a name that I’ve heard often during my time here at the University of South Dakota: Wilber Stilwell. Wilber was a professor and Department Chair at USD for over 30 years, but that’s only the beginning of his story and legacy.
To start establishing points of interest, I bookmarked information that piqued my curiosity, all the while trying to develop a greater understanding of Wilber. He won a Medal of Honor, hand gifted to him from Lady Bird Johnson, for his dedication to art education. Where did this passion for art education begin? Wilber was an enthusiastic inventor. What planted the seed of innovation? I wished to see the bigger picture.
After this part of the project, comes the digitization process. Each folder will be described to ensure efficient search and retrieval efforts for scholars and researchers who wish to consult the “Stilwell Papers” as a resource. Whether they are interested in Wilber as a Regionalist artist, or an educator, or the inventor of the “Safe-T-Scissors,” they will be able to find it with the click of some buttons. Prior to this project, the “Stilwell Papers” were thousands of pages without descriptors, difficult to navigate with any certainty. With the description and digitization process, those who wish to utilize the resource will be able to do so much more efficiently.
All the while, I have kept a meticulous research journal, developing my premature ideas as more concrete themes. The four to arise are Wilber as an Educator, Advocate, Inventor, and Artist. In future blog posts, I will describe each of these themes with more detail, telling the story of Wilber Stilwell. Keep an eye out!
An opportunity that has truly helped my research blossom is the U.Discover Summer Scholar Program, which is open for application to all undergraduate students. The grant provides a generous stipend and freedom to conduct your research as necessary. Research was very intimidating to me before this process, until I was encouraged by my faculty mentor, Dr. Lauren Freese, to step out of the box. I had preconceptions about what research needed to look like. I was pleasantly surprised to unveil the possibilities that this grant can cover.
This isn’t to say that this summer hasn’t proven to be a challenge; it certainly has. Time management, critical thinking, and creativity have been skills that I have had to develop more thoroughly. Connecting the dots between the different milestones of Wilber’s life has been difficult, but so worthwhile. I feel like I’ve jumped into a time machine and been dropped into a tumultuous period of uncertainty; filled with war, societal disparities, a lack of appreciation for educators, and a difficult state economy. I’ve been able to develop a greater appreciation not only for Wilber, but for all educators, past and present, who have made my time at USD possible and enjoyable.
#ASummerOfStilwell
Here’s a link to the finding aid for the collection I’m researching.
April is National Poetry Month, and the Archives and Special Collections is celebrating with two exhibits on the 3rd floor of ID Weeks.
At the top of the main staircase sits a small exhibit containing samples from Linda Hasselstrom, James Foley, and Kathleen Norris; with art by Ed Colker accompanying Norris’s work.
Linda Hasselstrom’s works are particularly interesting here- the book displayed was made from her late husband’s clothing, and the pages colored with his favorite tobacco. All poems in the book relate to him in one way or another. Linda is a poet from Western South Dakota, famous for her writings (poems and otherwise) about her life on a ranch in Hermosa, south of Rapid City. Linda’s papers are held in the Archives, and are being processed this semester.
In the Archives Reading Room, Room 305, find many more examples of poetry from both the Archives and the main collection. Included in this exhibit are examples of ancient Greek poetry by Sappho, a sonnet by Petrarch, Old English poetry, samples of Beowulf, and some more modern poetry. The more modern examples include USD Law professor Frank Pommersheim, Linda Hasselstrom, Linda Whirlwind Soldier, and explanations of Old English from past USD professor Thomas J Gasque.
All of these materials and more can be found anytime in the Chilson collection of the Archives, or in the case of the Beowulf books, the main collection. If you are interested in more poetry from ID Weeks, and especially the Archives, check the library catalog and use the location search filter “Chilson Collection/3rd Floor” to find more.
A full list of the books and papers on display follows.
3rd Floor Case:
-Hasselstrom, Linda, Dakota Bones, 1993
-Hasselstrom, Linda, Telegram Announcing the Death of my Father, Dakota Bones Draft
-Foley, James W., A Toast to Merriment, 1913
-Hasselstrom, Linda, George R. Snell, Poems, 1994
-Kathleen Norris, All Souls: Poems from the Dakotas 1993, Art by Ed Colker
Room 305 Case:
-Petrarch, Sonnet 137, ca. 1346-1353
-Sappho, Ode to Aphrodite, ca. 600 BC; in Donaldson’s Lyra Graca and H. T. Wharton’s Sappho
–St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Laus de Virgine Maria, ca. 1091-1153
-Pope Innocent III, Ave Modi Spes Maria, ca. 1161-1216
-Cædmon, Cædmon’s Hymn, ca. 658-680
-Unknown Author, Beowulf, ca. 975-1010, translated by Stephen Mitchell, 2017
-Unknown Author, Beowulf, ca. 975-1010, illustrated by Marijane Osborn, 1983
-Shakespeare, William, Ariel’s Song from The Tempest, ca. 1610-1611
-Milton, John, L’Allegro, ca. 1645, accompanied by paintings by William Blake
-Pommersheim, Frank, At the Catholic Worker, Dreaming of my Children and Good Friday (Yankton Surgery Center) from Mindfulness and Home: Poetry and Prose from a Prairie Landscape, 1997
-Rincon, Enrique Ollivier, La Noche from Poemas del Corazon, 1975
-Buechel, Eugene SJ, Lakota Tales and Texts, Inyan Hoksila or Rock Boy, dictated by Walker from Rosebud, SD, 1904, compilation published in 1978
-Hasselstrom, Linda, Extended Forecast from Bitter Creek Junction, 2000
-Whirlwind Soldier, Linda, Journey Foreseen from Memory Songs, 1994
Pope Innocent III, Ave Modi Spes Maria, ca. 1161-1216 Cædmon, Cædmon’s Hymn, ca. 658-680 Shakespeare, William, Ariel’s Song from The Tempest, ca. 1610-1611 Milton, John, L’Allegro, ca. 1645, accompanied by paintings by William Blake Buechel, Eugene SJ, Lakota Tales and Texts, Inyan Hoksila or Rock Boy, dictated by Walker from Rosebud, SD, 1904, compilation published in 1978
Betty Turner Asher was the first woman president of any public higher education system in South Dakota. She served at USD from 1989-1996, resigning after seven years of service. At the time, her tenure was tied with two other presidents for the fourth longest term of any president at USD. Asher was previously the Vice President of Student Affairs for Arizona State University, and held three degrees: a bachelor’s in history, a master’s in counseling, and a doctorate in education.
Asher’s accomplishments while at USD are many, and some are listed here. Under President Asher:
-USD approved and began additions to the I.D. Weeks library
-Renovation was approved for the oldest building on campus, Old Main
-Construction was completed on the Health Sciences Center in Sioux Falls
-Funds were dedicated to expand the Lommen Health Sciences Library
-Enrollment hit a record high of 7,739 in 1989
-A record 1,118 degrees were conferred in May 1995
-USD Law rose to the top half of rankings in accredited institutions by the American Bar Association
-USD ranked in the top 5% of the nation’s colleges and universities, as reported by US News and World Report
-Psychology, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Administrative Studies, Counseling, Physician’s Assistant are just some of the programs that were added or experienced growth under her leadership
Asher was known to students and faculty for her open door policy, and made leaps and bounds in improving diversity at USD. In an interview with the South Dakotan in July 1996, she states: “But I am happy that our gay and lesbian students are comfortable enough to meet openly as a group…I have received all kinds of letters and notes from the Native American community. I have been deeply touched by their response.” Asher goes on to speak about how the students and faculty make USD a success, and that she appreciated the close relationships she had with USD and its faculty and students. She recalled students coming up to her home and inviting her to join them downtown, and said that USD is where she never woke up in the morning and did not want to go to work.
Asher is the first in a short list of female leadership at South Dakota public universities. Only seven women have served as university presidents in South Dakota since Asher’s term. They are:
Peggy Gordon-Miller, South Dakota State University, 1998-2006
Kay Schallenkamp, Black Hills State University, 2006-2015
Laurie S. Nichols (interim), Northern State University, 2008-2009
Heather Ann Wilson, South Dakota School of Mines, 2013-2017
Maria Ramos (interim), Dakota State University, 2014-2015
Jose-Marie Griffiths, Dakota State University, 2015-Present
Sheila K. Gestring, University of South Dakota, 2018-Present
Betty Turner Asher’s papers are held at the Archives and Special Collections at USD.
Betty Turner Asher, from USD’s Past President’s website, sourced below
The 36th Division Campaign Maps mystery has been solved. After speaking with many other archives and museums that had the same amount of information as the USD archives, I spoke with someone from the Texas Military Forces Museum. She was able to provide much more information than we were expecting, and it’s some interesting stuff!
The maps were printed and distributed by the 36th Division during their German occupation in 1945 and handed out to soldiers, like a souvenir to take home. They show major battles, including ones we now know for certain Frederick Cullen Burton played a role.
The Texas Military Forces Museum was also able to tell us more about the battles Burton fought. Burton served with Company F of the 143rd Infantry Regiment under the 36th Infantry Division from December 4, 1943 to January 12, 1945. Burton joined the 36th right before the Rapido River battle in Italy, where he was one of fifteen men of his unit of 153 not be killed, wounded, or missing in action. The two day Rapido River battle can be seen on the map in the previous post. He later transferred to Company G and was Killed in Action on January 21, 1945, in Germany. The assumption is that he was killed during the battle at Bowden Woods where both his previous and current companies were under heavy attack. This battle is shown on the map below provided by the Texas Military Forces Museum, and the town Hagenau/Haguenau can be found on both the previously posted map of Germany and the new map below.
The new materials have been added to Burton’s collection, and the maps now have some context. Thanks to the archivists we spoke to in the past weeks and the Texas Military Forces Museum for helping us solve this mystery!
The Archives and Special Collections contain some great materials, but we don’t always know the full story behind them.
To provide some background, the maps below are from Frederick Cullen Burton’s collection of manuscripts, photos, documents, and poems. Frederick attended USD as a journalism major before joining the Royal Air Force in Canada to fight in World War II. He was discharged and joined the Army when the US joined the war. Frederick was killed in action and is buried in Epinal, France at the American Military Cemetery. His papers, poems, maps, diaries, and short stories are here in the Archives.
Frederick Cullen Burton’s collection was pulled this week, and some maps from the 36th Infantry were found, following their campaign through Italy and then through France, Germany, and Austria during World War II. These maps are drawn almost like a cartoon, with surrendering Nazi soldiers and little doodles indicating regions, like grapes in southern France and olive oil bottles in Italy. The maps are perfectly accurate, following the 36th as they moved through Italy, were then relieved after Rome was taken by Allied powers, and then began their French and German campaign. They show where the 36th encountered major battles and where they ended before shipping home. What the maps don’t show is where they were printed, when they were printed, or who even printed them.
They could be a publication from the 36th themselves, printed on base, or from the Army, or from the Fort Worth base they were deployed from. Maps similar to these exist for other divisions, though they aren’t nearly as fun. Other archives and collections have copies of these same maps, but these entities don’t list the origin either. Were maps like these printed as souvenirs once the war ended, or were they an unauthorized joke among the veterans? Were they printed by a private company that worked with someone from the 36th, and distributed them to show where their soldiers went during the conflict? These questions are important, because our man Frederick was killed long before the 36th ended their campaign, and these maps made their way into his papers and collections. How did his friends and family come to have them? Why?
I’ll be looking deeper into the origin of these maps this week, and hopefully have an answer soon!
The 36th infantry landed in France and moved through Germany, ending their campaign in Austria. Frederick Cullen Burton was killed in action in France, and is buried at the American cemetery in Epinal.
Before moving on to France, the 36th began the war in Italy, helping the Allied powers regain Rome from the Axis.
Blachnik’s watercolor designs – Top left: Mt. Rushmore Visitor’s Center; Top right: USD Fine Arts building; Bottom left: ID Weeks Library; Bottom right: mid-century modernist house design.
When you’re walking through USD’s buildings, whether you’re trying to get to class on time or deciding if getting that bagel is worth being late – and let’s face it, sometimes it is – do you ever think about how this campus used to exist only in the minds of skilled artists? Although American culture places high value on STEM fields over the arts, the world of architecture offers a unique look into a field that needs both mathematics and art in order to be successful.
One thing I learned about architecture is that the field needs more than calculated blueprint squares to convince a building investor. A good interior plan will demonstrate a strong sense of size, space, and functionality, but it falls short in one area: what is this building actually going to look like?
Enter architectural illustrator and artist Robert Blachnik. Although many today use technology to help bring their visions to life, many buildings that we still use frequently (hello ID Weeks Library!) first became actualized through hands-on art techniques that Blachnik and many other designers used: hand-drawn illustration and watercolor painting.
Blachnik’s story begins like many other American stories. Born in 1922, he was raised in a small town called Tyndall, South Dakota. Even though he was a second-generation American, Blachnik did not speak English until he was old enough to attend school because his family wanted to keep their Bohemian language and culture alive. Blachnik was smart, too. Eventually, he received a scholarship to attend Harvard’s architectural design program and studied under world-famous German architect Walter Gropius. If you don’t know who he is, he’s the trailblazer for the mid-century modernist style of architecture prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s. After studying under the architectural genius and obtaining his master’s degree, Blachnik was ready create his own space in the world by creating spaces for everyday people.
Blachnik illustrated buildings that we are familiar with on campus, including the ID Weeks Library and the Fine Arts building. Blachnik also designed other buildings around Southeastern South Dakota: apartments, other college campus buildings, public schools, hospitals, religious buildings, office buildings, and shopping centers – even the visitor’s center at Mt. Rushmore – all these first came to life through his hand-drawn illustrations and watercolors.
The Archives and Special Collections at USD is thrilled to have nearly all of Blachnik’s photographic renderings. His collection is almost 3.5 feet long and is filled with photographs of his beautiful watercolors. If you attend USD, you will likely find an artistic vision that materialized into a structure you now see every day. If you’re a local South Dakotan, you’re bound to see several buildings you will recognize. We may not always think of something like our own campus or town as art when we’re going through our daily routines, but looking at Blachnik’s photographs reminds us of the simple beauty that surrounds us every day, in the buildings that are markers of who we are.
When I took the graduate class in historiography in Fall 2016 as a requirement of the Master’s degree program in USD’s history department, I was very excited when my professor Dr. Molly Rozum announced that the class would be working directly with historical materials in the USD archives. My class had the responsibility of doing the preliminary organization and processing of the Krueger-Kruse collection, the personal correspondence and papers of Carrie and Herman Krueger, written at the end of the 19th century – the Krueger family donated the collection to the care of the USD archivists. I had some experience with archiving as an undergraduate, having taken an archiving class at Augustana, so I was looking forward to the chance to dig into historical documents again with the Krueger-Kruse collection.
The sense of connection with the past was palpable as I propped open the lid of the acid-free box and gently lifted out the letters from their folders, the correspondence still neatly tucked into envelopes postmarked with dates from more than a century before. The contents of the box I worked on mainly consisted of letters from relatives and friends to the future Carrie Krueger, then Carrie Kruse, during her time as a young unmarried woman working as a teacher in a schoolhouse in rural Illinois. The authors of the letters, usually Carrie’s brother and sisters or her sister in law Emma, were frequent correspondents, often writing several times a month to fill Carrie in on the news back home.
The letters contained some unexpected items as well, slipped in between the musty folds of letter paper – in one I found a small brown twig Carrie’s brother sent her as a souvenir of his mother in law’s attempts as an amateur naturalist during a family stroll in the countryside. I found myself chuckling at Fred’s account to Carrie in the accompanying letter, describing his good humored impatience with “Ma’s” interest in collecting odds and ends on their walk. In another I discovered several fronds of dried fern leaves pressed between the musty folds of letter paper, so delicate they threatened to disintegrate with the lightest touch. The little scrap of paper with a child’s drawing of a little girl in nineteenth century clothing was probably my favorite find though, tucked in with a letter detailing news of the family Christmas.
What I remember best about my experience archiving the collection though was the emotional connection I felt with Carrie and her relatives when reading her letters. Having worked as a teacher’s aid in a preschool in the past, I sympathised when Carrie’s relatives tried to offer consolation for her stories of the sometimes bumpy process of starting her job as a schoolteacher. And I could not help but be drawn in to the series of letters between Carrie and Emma in which they discussed Carrie’s then secret feelings for her future husband Herman, and enthusiastically discussed Carrie and Herman’s planned summer meeting at the Chicago World’s Fair, where Carrie felt she would finally decide if Herman was Mr. Right. It seems obvious that people of all times have always gone through the everyday things of life like the anxiety of starting a new job, or the excitement, sometimes thrilling but sometimes exasperating, of a budding relationship. However, reading all about it in the spidery handwriting of a nineteenth century woman, different from me and yet in many ways the same, was a poignant reminder that everyone can relate to the struggles of young adulthood, even people from over a century ago.
It’s that time of year again! Halloween is slowly approaching once again. If you are a book lover and very festive during this time of year, come take a look in the Archives and Special Collections. We have some very interesting and spooky stories up here. From documents of ghost towns to books with murder mysteries. We also have some interesting books in the Mahoney Music Collection. Such as the Vampires Violin by, Michael Romkey. A story about a Vampire who is in dire need to find his lost violin once again. Yet a young woman named Maggie O’Hara now possess it, and she has no idea what is lurking in the dark, determined to have his violin back by any means. This book is a good choice for this time of year.
The views and opinions expressed in these pages are strictly those of the Archives and Special Collections staff. The University of South Dakota disclaims all liability for any data, information or opinions contained in this blog.
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