University of South Dakota President I. D. Weeks and the South Dakota Tuberculosis Association

In the late 1900s to the mid-twentieth century tuberculosis (TB) increased the morbidity and mortality of South Dakota residents especially those confined to asylums, hospitals, and reservations. A marked decrease in cases and deaths occurred by isolating TB patients in sanatoria, better diagnosis methods, and with the advent of chemotherapy agents by the late 1950s.

In response to health threat posed by TB, the National TB Association (NTA) was formed in 1907. A South Dakota chapter organization, the SDTA, was formed in 1925. Much of the funding in South Dakota to enhance TB case finding, health education of students and medical staff, maintain TB statistics, and rehabilitate TB patients was garnered through the sale of Christmas Seals and donations. In South Dakota the organization also ran Camp Wanzer (Pactola, SD, Pennington County) from 1926 until 1949 for underprivileged children to help prevent TB by exposing children to clean air, good food, and a clean environment.

President I. D. Weeks was directly involved in the SDTA first as a board member, then as vice president and finally as president of the SDTA for twenty years from 1946-1966. In Dr. Week’s files at USD Archives and Special Collections, his prominent role in the organization is apparent. During annual meetings sections were devoted to improving methods of preventing the spread of TB and diagnosing and treating patients with TB. An emphasis was place upon the poorer health status among Native Americans that contributed to the spread of TB in reservations.

 A seminal meeting about the status of TB in the United States was held on November 29 – December 2, 1959 in conjunction with the US Public Health Service and the NTA at the Arden House Conference on Tuberculosis (Harriman, NY). The role overcrowding in urban settings was mentioned as well as the use chemotherapy to treat TB patients. Most importantly, the conference attendees recognized that “the social, psychological, and economic aspects of TB were sometimes drastically subordinated to the medical”. As an appreciation of this concept now known as the “social determinants of health” is recognized as contributory to health and disease. Thus, the health status of patients compromised by additional diseases, poverty, and poor access to health care faired worst. In South Dakota, cases of TB among Native Americans in 1958 were 8 times higher than among Caucasians.

As the number of cases of TB plummeted in South Dakota by the 1950s (https://doh.sd.gov/documents/diseases/infectious/TB/2020TuberculosisControlProgram_AnnualReport.pdf), the SDTA morphed into the SD Tuberculosis and Health Association (SDTHA) focusing on lung diseases caused by infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, as well as those related to behavioral consequences such as smoking and poor air hygiene associated with air pollution in environmental and work settings. Throughout this transition, I. D. Weeks, as president of the organization, promoted lung health through education, use of tuberculin tests and X-rays to detect TB, and the publication of the Health-O-Gram that provided information about cases and deaths associated with lung disease and progress made in fighting lung disease in South Dakota.

In 1973 the SDTHA became the SD Lung Association, a chapter of the American Lung Association. The following year Dr. I. D. Weeks received the Agnes M. Holdridge Award for his long-term promotion of lung health. This highest award of the SD Lung Association was named after Agnes M. Holdridge who spent over 40 years promoting lung health in South Dakota.  As USD president for 31 years, I. D. Weeks was known for his leadership in education and of the University of South Dakota. As documented in his files, I. D. Weeks also needs to be remembered and recognized as a leader in the fight against lung disease in South Dakota.

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President I. D. Weeks (Coyote Yearbook, 1940).

Letterhead of the South Dakota Tuberculosis and Health Association (I. D. Weeks files).

Chest X-raying of USD students (The University of South Dakota Photography Collection: Preserving our Past in Images, 1930-1999, Sarah Hanson, Curator, 2005)

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University of South Dakota Women’s Basketball: 1900s

According to Herbert Schell’s book Clay County: Chapters Out of the Past, Chapter 15, and review of Coyote Yearbooks from the early 20th century, University of South Dakota (USD) men’s athletics boasted early on Base Ball, Track and Football teams. Little was mentioned regarding athletics among women students. Basketball at the University of South Dakota would develop helped by the construction of the Armory and Gymnasium in 1905. Not only did basketball become a colligate sport, but high schools also adopted the sport.

A striking photograph in the 1903 Coyote Yearbook pictures members of the 1902 Women’s Basket Ball (as the sport was called then) team. In the 1904 Coyote another photograph of the women’s Basket Ball team appears. In the 1908 and 1913 Coyotes, no mention is made of this women’s sport, but pictures show that women took “Physical Culture”.

Photograph from the 1903 Coyote Yearbook of the 1902 women’s basketball team.  

Images from the 1910 Coyote Yearbook. Drawings at the top demonstrate that type of outfits men and women wore playing basketball. The bottom photographs show scenes of the inside of the Armory building where basketball was played.

           A photograph of the Armory and Gymnasium from the 1910 Coyote.

To accommodate the larger student population and athletics, in 1929 a new Armory building was constructed which was used for basketball games until the DakotaDome was built in 1979. Finally, as USD moved into Division 1 status, the Sanford Coyote Sports Center was constructed in 2016 which allowed basketball and volleyball teams to have their own facilities.

Although there is evidence at the University of South Dakota that women played basketball in physical education classes, clubs and some intramurals but, it was not until the 1971-1972 season that USD Athletics included an intercollegiate Women’s Basketball team (https://goyotes.com/news/2020/10/2/fifty-years-of-coyote-womens-basketball). In the intervening years, the Women’s Basketball team gained a national reputation. In the 2019-20 season, the Women’s Basketball team was nationally ranked and became the undefeated Summit champions in 2021 and 2022.  Thus, it took over 60 years for the USD women’s basketball team to exist. It became one of the premier athletic teams at the University of South Dakota.

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Harold Edwin Brookman: A Beloved Engineering Professor

Harold Edwin Brookman was born on November 5, 1886, in Vermillion, Dakota Territory. He was the oldest of four sons born to Edwin and Anna Brookman. St. Claire Edwin (S.E.) Brookman and his twin brother Edgar were born in 1855 in New York and arrived in Vermillion in the early 1880s. The Brookman twins were millers and later instrumental in the development of electricity in Vermillion. Harold Brookman’s brother Lowell became a city electrician working for the city-owned power plant for several decades.

Harold Brookman was educated in Vermillion, attending the State University (University of South Dakota, USD) majoring in engineering. At USD the School of Engineering existed from 1907 until 1933. Brookman graduated in 1910 and was described in the 1911 Coyote Yearbook as an “athlete (football and track), engineering student and a lady’s man”. A photograph from that yearbook shows Brookman, captain of the track team, with a coyote pup on his lap sitting in the center of  his teammates.

Brookman went on to earn a master’s degree in engineering at State College in Brookings and became a licensed, professional engineer qualifying in drainage, architecture, heating, and ventilation, as well as mechanical engineering. He also studied art at the Trenton Art School. His family mentioned to me that in his spare time, Brookman painted and constructed scaled down exact models of wagons and stage coaches. During World War I, Brookman supervised the manufacture of materials for the Navy.

Harold Brookman was a member of the USD faculty since 1921 garnering honors for his work and admiration from President ID Weeks. When the School of Engineering ended, Brookman developed a program in Applied Science and was Professor and Chair until his retirement in 1959. As part of the program, he helped graduates find jobs or further educational prospects. When Brookman retired received the status of Professor Emeritus and continued to serve the University until his death in 1967.

A letter dated October 26, 1956, found in Brookman’s files in Archives and Special Collections (please see below) was written by President I. D. Weeks to Brookman. A portion of the letter stated “Your genuine interest in all of the University and willingness to do anything to contribute to its welfare has been an inspiration to me. My life has been enriched by being associated with you and I know this is true for countless numbers of students and faculty.”  Friends and associates honored Brookman by endowing a scholarship in his name. Moreover, Brookman Hall, constructed in 1963 was named after him.

Brookman designed the Danforth Chapel and helped renovate several buildings on campus. In a 2019 Volante article, his work on tunnels on the USD campus is described as follows: “Harry E. Brookman, professor of applied science and Brookman Hall’s namesake, designed the first tunnel in 1928 to carry power and steam lines from the old campus power plant to Old Main, a much more pacified purpose than protection from nuclear fallout. As the campus expanded through the next few decades, so did the tunnels underneath them.” (https://volanteonline.com/2019/10/underneath-the-u-the-strange-history-behind-usds-tunnel-system/)

Aside from his service to USD as faculty and university engineer, Brookman was an alderman for the City of Vermillion for six years. In 1929 he helped oversee the construction of the first swimming pool in Prentis Park. The vote from Vermillionites to go ahead with the project received only four more votes than the descenders! In 1936 Brookman designed the Prentis Park caretaker’s house constructed from wood taken from the Municipal Golf Club House.  

Brookman also contributed architectural drawings for a Progress Works Adminsitration grant submitted in 1934 by USD on behalf of the Dakota Hospital Association to construct Dakota Hospital. The Dakota Hospital Association got its money, but the construction of the building was under the auspices of USD that held the warranty deed. Brookman was City Engineer during the late 1930’s to early 1940’s. Brookman also served on the board of the Vermillion Chamber of Commerce. Harold Brookman died at the age of 80 years on October 7, 1967.

Thus, Professor Harold Brookman was a dedicated faculty member, supportive of his students, and honored by his colleagues. In addition, he served his community as alderman, Chamber of Commerce board member, and city engineer. Looking through his files at USD Archives and Special Collections, it was evident that Brookman was a student of history who believed that understanding the past would help prepare for the future.

Professor Harold Edwin Brookman (Photograph curtesy of David Gross)

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The USD Professor behind the invention of the Safety Scissors, Blottergraph, and more: Wilber Stilwell.

Upon starting my research, my knowledge of Wilber Stilwell was very base level; I knew that he was Chair of the Department of Art for over 30 years, I had heard that he had won a Medal of Honor, awarded by First Lady Johnson, for his dedication to art education, and there’s a student exhibition every year in his honor. As my research went on, and I got a greater sense of Wilber, I realized that there’s much more to the story than the headlines. Somewhere along the way, we’ve forgotten many of his efforts. The first of these I’d like to share is Wilber Stilwell as an inventor.

            From the beginning of the collection until the end, Wilber was overflowing with innovation. Scrawled in the margins of every page are notes that imagine the possibilities to surpass the limitations of our everyday lifestyle. He wasn’t alone, either; his wife, Gladys, had an innovative side as well, pioneering different gadgets to make life easier. She was particularly interested in fashion design and pursued a patent for a hem measuring tool. It’s obvious, and heartwarming, that the pair were inspired by one another, and supported each other’s creative endeavors. 

            During his time as a student at the Kansas City Art Institute, Wilber experimented with inventive techniques to inform his artwork – this includes trial and error with his Transfer Wax process, and the Blottergraph. The Blottergraph would later become a staple in many classrooms as an introduction to relief printing. Wilber even developed his own color wheel after much experimentation. 

            Gladys and Wilber becoming parents seemed to have spurred more inspiration for their inventions. They clearly had a passion for making art safe and accessible for children and young adults. Many of these techniques found their home in classrooms, especially after they were published in art process magazines. It was around this time that Wilber developed the idea of the “Safe-T-Scissors.” Wilber was in contact with attorneys and material companies throughout this time, to see if this was even possible. He created hundreds of sketches, and after much trial and error, was granted a patent for the invention. The safety scissors, something we’ve all probably used at some point or another, were a revolutionary possibility, and eventual reality. Below is the official patent found in Box 9, Folder 41.

            Behind the success of their inventions was a fair amount of failure and rejection. There is a significant amount of correspondence in which their lawyers told them their inventions were unpatentable, or that the idea didn’t hold enough merit for a company to invest money into. Throughout all of this, Wilber and Gladys persevered for their passions. 

            During a tumultuous economy, and a lack of state funding for education, Wilber and Gladys utilized accessible materials, like tin foil, basic crayons, freezer paper, even face powder, to help students make “fine art” without access to the prestigious materials usually utilized. In all of this lies a profound lesson: There can and often will be adversity and rejection in our lives, but it can lead to greater inspiration and success.

#ASummerOfStilwell

Here’s a link to the finding aid for the collection I’m researching.    https://archives.usd.edu/repositories/2/resources/99

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Kent Scribner Collection

Kent Scribner Collection (MS 270) is now open to researchers.

This newly processed collection consists of the campus events from Scribner’s time as a University of South Dakota undergraduate student from 1956-1960. The other part of the collection consists of Scribner’s work at the USD Foundation mostly with the capital campaign named Campaign South Dakota.

This collection is organized into seven series: Diaries, Fraternity Materials, USD Event Programs, USD Foundation, USD Publications, Photographs, and Video Tapes.

Scribner’s collection includes his correspondence with Mary Jean (Hynes) Fine, and his role in the translation and obtainment for the Archives and Special Collections of her Native American family diaries. These are in the Mary Jean Fine Collection of Thomas Hunter Diaries, likewise in the Richardson Collection.

Scribner also kept copies of Blast, a student magazine that includes what campus life was like in 1959 and in 1967.

This collection also includes information for the USD building dedications programs, history and videos that relate to the Buildings, Other Structures, and Utilities Collection in the University Archives.

Contact the Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the guide to the collection.

Blast, 1967 in Kent Scribner Papers (MS 270), Richardson Collection, Archives and Special Collections, The University of South Dakota

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New additions to the digital library

English-Dakota vocabulary; Waśicun iapi ieska wowapi, John Poage Williamson

Chilson Collection PM1023 .W6

Oscar Howe photographs, USD Photograph Collection

Oscar Howe: the Sioux painter, University of South Dakota

USD Archives ND 237.H79 O7 1983

William J. Janklow Gubernatorial Papers, Richardson Collection

• Selections from Canadian trade and hog embargo
• Selections from capital restoration
• Selections from Citibank documents

William J. Janklow Personal and Political Papers, Richardson Collection

• South Dakota budget briefs

Mamie Shields Pyle Papers, Richardson Collection

• Discerning voter
• Women’s work and war

Report to the members of the visiting Congressional Committee regarding the Standing Rock Indian Agency, Fort Yates, North Dakota, E.D. Mossman

Special Collections Books

Translation of the Sioux Indian language into English; Figures, money definitions, words, sentences, etc., O.H. Bonnell

Oscar Howe Papers

University of South Dakota, 1862-1966, Cedric Cummins

USD Archives LD5073 .C85x

Vermillion and vicinity , George T. Jordan

Vermillion, South Dakota, Richardson Collection

 

New materials coming this summer!

Bound and Unbound V: Altered Book Exhibition – August 26^th

Oscar Howe Photographic Materials, Oscar Howe Papers – selections from…

William J. Janklow Gubernatorial Papers – continued additions…

Mabel Townsley Papers

 

 

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Betty Turner Asher- South Dakota’s First Woman University President

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

Sources:

South Dakotan, July 1996 Issue

Karl Mundt Library, Dakota State University

https://www.sdstate.edu/about-us/hall-presidents

http://www.northern.edu/pastpresidents

https://www.bhsu.edu/About-BHSU/President-Jackson/Past-Presidents

https://www.usd.edu/about-usd/past-usd-presidents

https://www.sdsmt.edu/About/History/History-of-the-Presidency/

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Black Friday

Freshmen Initiation

Friday, September 19, 1913, otherwise known as Black Friday, the newly acquired graduating class of 1917, gathered outside of Main Hall (today one could assume they meant Old Main) promptly at 7:30 pm to begin their journey through the time honored tradition of hazing the incoming freshmen. Though this practice has gone by the way side in recent decades, the memory of the events live on in the stories that remain and a poster found while cleaning in the Archives.

The poster details the rules of decorum which the freshmen class were required to follow. As well as a large paragraph of colorful descriptions (for the time period, mind you) the upper classmen threw at the freshmen. As the poster states, any rumors that certain freshmen were exempt from the activities of freshmen initiation were utter lies and all freshmen were required to participate in any events demanded by the upper classes. In accordance with the poster laying out the rules of the initiation, the Volante followed up with tales of the event in the first issue of the Volante published that school year.  In an article titled “Initiation—Black Friday” the article’s author briefly lays out what went down and encourages the freshmen to pick up their caps at the end of the article.

The jocularity of the event didn’t last long, as two weeks later another article was published in the Volante that described a certain student who was blatantly ignoring the rules. The student body called for the punishment of the student, which led to an article that detailed the suspension of five students who brutishly and publicly tried to bring the student to heel in accordance with the rules set up for the freshmen class. A week after the first article detailing the suspensions was released, a follow up of the proceedings were published and detailed further what had caused the suspensions. As well as they would enforce the student’s suspensions until January 6, 1914, when they would be able to return to classes at the university.

The poster and volante are now on display in the archives for a limited time so stop in and read about the events that freshmen today no longer have to fear.

 

Black Friday Poster. USD Archive Oversize Material: Photographs—USD Panoramas.

The Volante. Vol. 27-30. May 1913 – July 1916.

1915 Coyote. Pg. 229

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University of South Dakota Buildings – Dean Belbas Center

During the 1980s and 1990s, University of South Dakota commencement program covers often presented brief descriptions of USD buildings.

 

 

In 2004, this building was remodeled and renamed the Dean Belbas Center. It houses Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar.

 

 

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Faculty Woman’s Club Collection Now Available

The Faculty Woman’s Club collection has been processed and is available for research.

The Faculty Woman’s Club was a group at USD that was formed for female faculty members and wives of professors. On a program cover letter from September 21, 1954, program chairwoman Edith M. Eyres states that the Faculty Woman’s Club’s “purpose is simply to bring you and your family into the larger family of the University faculty, and to let you meet your University friends and enjoy their fellowship.”

Throughout its years of existence, the Faculty Woman’s Club has coordinated several events. Annually, they would hold a President’s reception, which was traditionally hosted at the university president’s house. Other annual events include salad luncheons, fall brunches, and spring parties. Occasionally, the Faculty Woman’s Club would arrange additional events for fundraisers. The proceeds usually went to a scholarship fund. One such event was Meeting of the Minds, which was a quiz competition that any faculty member or their spouse could participate in.

Another charitable deed that the Faculty Woman’s Club organized was helping with the maintenance on the Danforth Chapel. They funded the insurance policy on the stained glass windows and also helped the Alumni Association raise funds for their restoration.

Below is a photograph from the dedication of a tree that the Faculty Woman’s Club donated.

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