This collection contains fifteen portrait photographs of Texas A&M College students. The photographs were given to A. H. Neighbors by other classmates also graduating in the Class of 1911, and one portrait from a member of the Class of 1913. Only one of the photographs has yet to be identified. Also included is the letter accompanying the photographs when mailed to the Ex-student Association from A. H. Neighbors, Jr. in 1976.

General correspondence. UNPROCESSED

The Texas Aggie Countryman was a Texas A&M College monthly publication created in 1930 by students at the Texas A&M College Press. It is one of the first student-run publications at Texas A&M.

This collection contains articles, correspondence, photographs, news clippings, and other materials from the special courses offered by the Department of Agronomy during the 1940 summer session. Included are the lecture notes and related materials for Agronomy 526, Fundamentals of Grass & Pasture Improvement taught by Dr. Franklin D. Keim (University of Nebraska); the complete outline and references for Agronomy 525, Range Management and Ecology taught by Dr. William G. McGinnies (Southwestern Forest and Range Experiment Station, Tucson, AZ); the complete outline and references for Agronomy 527, Forest Soils taught by Dr. Robert F. Chandler, Jr. (Cornell University); and a tentative outline with proposed lab and field practice for Agronomy 410, Soil Classification and Mapping by E. A. Norton (USDA).

This collection contains documents, class schedule, and requirement list for the completion of the Army Specialized Training Program for the ROTC at Texas A&M College during 1943. Included are course descriptions for the various classes in the program, along with schedules and requirements.

This collection consists of letters between Robert H. Kokernot and his first wife, Edith May Babcock (Edith Kokernot Grinnell) during and after World War II from 1943-1946.

The majority of letters collected by Edith are from Robert with the exception of one folder of correspondence from Edith to Robert in March and April 1944, one folder of letters written to Edith's parents from Robert, and two folders of letters written by friends addressed to Robert and Edith.

The corresponding postmarked envelopes were not with their accompanying letter when the collection was processed. These are held in separate folders at the end of the collection.

This collection consists of letters (mostly to his mother and family between 1943-1944), newspaper clippings, and a few other materials detailing the life of Charles Walt Brown during his tenure in the US Army Air Force, especially his experiences while in the Air Crew Training Division on the Texas A&M campus.

From 1943 to 1944, Texas A&M College provided its land and facilities to the US Military to prepare soldiers for World War II (WWII). In Brown's letter to his mother, Mary Swan, and to other family members, he told of details of his life in the Army and at the different military facilities he was stationed at.

Unprocessed

Lubbock, 1914-1917; Iowa Park, 1924 and 1953; Del Ri0, 1916-1917; Nacogdoches 1912; Krum 1916

This collection contains eighteen letters from Duward to his parents dating from February to November 1953 during his time at Texas A&M College.

This collection contains papers from 1956, 1957, and 1958 Traffic Engineering Short School.

Unprocessed

This collection contains speeches from Ward during his time as Educational Director of the National Cottonseed Products Association.

This collection contains biographical data, publications, and data on the Biology Department at Texas A&M in which Sewell was a faculty member, as well as reports and other papers relating to oyster mortality research carried out through the Texas A&M Research Foundation Research Project 9 (February 1, 1947 - May 31, 1950).

The research project 9 was funded by six major oil companies and led by two Texas A & M University Professors, Sewell H. Hopkins (Head) and John G. Mackin (Associate Head).

Prompted by several lawsuits filed by Louisiana oystermen against major oil companies claiming damages to oyster fields as a result of drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico region, Project 9 was conducted under the auspices of the Texas A & M Research Foundation. Project 9 allowed researchers to design and implement field and laboratory studies seeking to determine the effects of oil production activities on oyster production. Eventually, a then as-yet-unknown parasite was discovered which preyed upon the oyster crop after they had begun to reach maturity.

Two other large research groups investigating the same allegations against oil production in the Gulf headed by H. Malcome Owen (Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission) and Albert W. Collier (Gulf Oil Company) compared notes with the Heads of Project 9, coming to the same conclusion. As a result of this collaboration, a description of this newly discovered parasite called Dermocystidium marinum was published in 1950. The lawsuits were subsequently dropped or settled out of court.

More importantly for the history of the Texas A & M University System, however, is the fact that Research Project 9 led ultimately to the creation and expansion of a Marine Sciences program, represented by the newly established (1949) Department of Oceanography at Texas A & M University in College Station. On 1 June 1950, after the termination of Research Project 9, Research Project 23 was begun to continue studies on oyster disease and maintain a Marine Laboratory at Grand Isle, La. The Texas A & M Marine Laboratory was established (1952) at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Tex. In 1968 Texas A & M University was named a Sea Grant College. The Marine Laboratory and the Texas Maritime Academy were merged in 1971, which is now known as Texas A & M University at Galveston.

These papers, therefore, form a picture of the ground-breaking research in oyster mortality conducted by Sewell H. Hopkins as head of Project 9, which led to increased sensitivity of the interplay of industry and the ecosystem, and to the formalized study at the university level of marine biology in the Gulf area.

Other researchers whose work is represented in the papers include Jay Donald Andrews, A. D. Bajkov, Harry J. Bennet, James L. Boswell, Clair Brown, Sidney O. Brown, M.D. Burkenroad, Fred Caulthron, C. Ray Elsey, I. I. Gardescu, Gordon Gunter, C. K. Hancock, Harold W. Harry, Joel W. Hedgpeth, Willis G. Hewatt, A. A. Jakkula, Fred W. Jensen, P. Korringa, Louis Lambert, Hugh B. Lofland, Elmer J. Lund, G. Robert Lunz, Jr., John C. Aull, Alvin F. Dodds, Shirley Alfred Lynch, John G. Mackin, Wiley G. Lastrapes, H. A. Marmer, R. Winston Menzel, Thurlow C. Nelson, Joseph F. Prokop, W. C. Rasmussen, Sammy M. Ray, J. H. Roberts, Fred W. Sieling, John J. Sperry, Victor Sprague, and Claude E. ZoBell.

    * Bibliography

    * Ray, Sammy M. "Historical Perspective on Perkinsus Marinus Disease of Oysters in the Gulf of Mexico." Journal of Shellfish Research. Vol. 15, No. 1:9-11.

    * Ray, Sammy M. "Texas A & M University's Contributions to Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Research." [Viewed 2002-10-10 at: ]

This collection consists of bound volumes containing reprints of previously published leaflets, research reports, newsletters and other publications put out by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES).

These scrapbooks contain clippings, pictures, and other materials Dewey accumulated as a member of the Texas Legislature.

This collection contains TEES reprint reports #1-149 and research reports #3 - #67.

This collection consist of correspondence, telegrams, notes, reports, speeches, newspaper clippings, and publications which span most of Trotter's career in Agricultural Education.

Some periods are much better documented than are others. Materials for the period before 1936 include some leaflets, a few letters, circulars and clippings, and one pamphlet. Trotter's move from Missouri to Texas is well documented in letters, bills, and telegrams, but his transfer to Agricultural Extension and then to the Graduate School at Texas A&M College in College Station, Texas are poorly covered. Most of the available information is in the newspaper clippings. Both moves were made during periods of controversy. Hopefully additional documentation can be found elsewhere in the records of Texas A&M University.

Trotter's activities as Director of Extension and Dean of the Graduate School at Texas A&M College should be fairly well covered in the records of those two offices. Unfortunately his personal papers conatain very little information on them. The only documentation on Trotter's two periods of foreign service is in the reports he wrote on his cotton surveys in 1948. Some special activities such as service on the Postwar Planning Committee and participation in Rural Church Conference are fairly well documented.

This collection contains the personal papers of Kate Adele Hill during her time as an employee of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service. Included are correspondence, speeches, clippings, articles, photos about extension work, pioneer women in Texas, demonstration work, and agriculture.

This collection consists of term papers, course handouts, folklore fieldnotes, news clippings, a report, a document, maps, photographs, materials about folksingers, pamphlets on wildlife, materials about vaudeville and North Carolina, the information given to Dr. Anderson on Texas, correspondence, and information on The Texas Folklore Society and The John A. Lomax Folklore Society.

The majority of the material is from Dr. John Q. Anderson's students at Texas A&M. Dr. Anderson assigned his students to write term papers on folklore from many locales, including Texas. Because Dr. Anderson felt that some of these student papers were so exceptional, he collected, edited, and had them published in a book he titled, Texas Lore: A Collection of Student Papers on Texas Folklore. As additional information on some of the term papers, some of the students gave Dr. Anderson information on North Carolina, and Billy Arlington and Co. Dr. Anderson also requested that his students collect information on folklore by interviewing people and recording this information in fieldnotes. The information was gathered and is represented in the collection on topics including folk medicine, games, children's lore, folk beliefs, folk sayings, proverbs, rhymes, riddles, tree and plant lore, and Aggie lore.

Along with interviews and fieldnotes contributed by the students, many news clippings were collected, mostly relating to Texas and pertaining to people, places, folk medicine, folk singers, folk games, folklore book reviews, anthropology, superstitions, magic, and etymology. Also present is one document on folk medicine, an article on folksinger Joan Baez, a few articles on certain Texas counties, and special editions of some Texas newspapers.

Other materials include correspondence between Dr. John Q. Anderson and the Texas Folklore Society or the John A. Lomax Society, and with people interested in folklore. There is also information about meetings and conferences to be held by the Texas Folklore Society, including a program that Dr. Anderson sponsored at Texas A&M for the John A. Lomax Society.

This collection contains account ledgers, employee rosters, and a couple of photographs from the Texas A&M A-C Network Calculator Lab. Also included are multiple news articles regarding the lab.

This collection contains materials such as guest books, yearbooks, a scrapbook, information books, and annual reports of the Texas A&M University-affiliated women's Newcomers Club.

This collection contains biographical materials, correspondence, programs of conferences attended and/or participated in, notes, photographs, memos, reports, proposals, itineraries, lists of contacts, minutes of committee meetings, news releases, newspaper clippings, articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, and notes, outlines, slide lists, abstracts, and texts of speeches given by Dr. Aebersold. The materials document Dr. Aebersold's career well from graduate student days to Atomic Energy Commission officials. A considerable amount of additional information should be available in the files of the Manhattan Project and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Among the most important items in the papers are the 294 speeches and 100 articles and other writings by Dr. Aebersold, the 37 speeches and 180 articles he collected, and the 1,200 newspaper clippings. The speeches and articles reflect the latest thinking and reveal the broadest picture of developments even though they represent only a minute historical significance of the early activities of the Isotopes Branch and the use of isotopes in the immediate post-war period, Dr. Aebersold began to collect clippings about isotopes in earnest in 1946. Unfortunately, this extensive collection lasted only until 1949. During these three years, however, there certainly are very few aspects of isotope production, distribution, and use that are not mentioned in the clippings.

Although most of the correspondence deals with commitments to speak before various groups or with attendance at numerous conferences, some of the early letters prior to 1940 do record some of the thoughts and activities of Dr. Aebersold’s early associates at the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. Many congratulatory letters in 1957, when Dr. Aebersold moved from Oak Ridge to Washing, serve as a measure of his stature in the atomic energy field throughout the United States as well as South America and parts of Europe.

From time-to-time aspects of Dr. Aebersold’s character and philosophy are revealed in rather unexpected areas. That he enjoyed a good story is shown in numerous handwritten notes and a few typed introductory remarks to speeches. Unfortunately, only in a few cases did he write out the whole story. Usually, he only jotted a brief note to remind himself of a particular story. In speaking before the Knife and Fork Clubs of McAllen and Dallas, Texas on March 23 and November 16, 1948, Dr. Aebersold recalled his experiences in and reactions to the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico. These are about the only personal references to his wartime activities.

Unprocessed

This collection contains metal markers with the names, class year, date, and location of the death of A&M men who died during their service in World War I. The markers were used to identify trees that were planted for these men around the Drill Field. These are the first two versions of the markers, the originals were made of brass and the second version was made of aluminum.

During the November 24, 1919 Board of Directors meeting in Fort Worth, Board of Directors' President L. J. Hart suggested that the college plant a tree commemorating the death of each student of the college who gave up his life in the great war. The board agreed and authorized the planting of oak trees. President William B. Bizzell formed a committee to make arrangements for the Tree Planting Day. The committee consisted of R. F. Smith, chairman and Associate Professor of Mathematics; E. O. Siecke, Professor of Forestry; A. T. Potts, Professor of Vegetable Gardening; S. W. Bilings, Professor of Entomology; and A. B. LaRoache, Professor of Architecture and Architectural Engineering. The Memorial Tree Planting Committee was charged with the selection of the variety of trees, location for planting the trees, and the selection of a date and preparation of a program for the occasion. The Committee chose live oaks and set a date of February 23, 1920, for the memorial exercises.

At 2:00 PM on February 23, 1920, President Bizzell, five members of the Board of Directors, President L. J. Hart, W. A. Miller, Jr., John T. Dickison, J. R. Kubena, and H. A. Breihan together with several hundred cadets, a number of faculty members, and family members of those being honored gathered in front of Guion Hall. The ceremony started with Dr. John. A Held, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Bryan giving a blessing, followed by the College Band playing "God Save the Queen", and President Bizzell introducing the day's speaker, L. J. Hart, President of the Board of Directors. Mr. Hart went on to give a speech extolling the sacrifice that these 52 men gave to preserve freedom and by commemorating them with the planting of the trees.

Upon the completion of Mr. Hart's speech, Professor Smith read the names of the 52 men, and members of the Federal and College students, alumni, and faculty were placed in charge of a squad of four cadets to plant a tree for each one of the heroes. The College Band started playing the French National Anthem "Marseillaise", and the squads marched to their sites around the south side of the drill field, around the corner of Houston and Lamar Streets (near present-day Bizzell Hall), and to the south of Hart Hall. As the tree planting began the College Band played "America" and on completion of the planting the "Star-Spangled Banner" closed out the ceremony.

In 1930 the trees were identified with a bronze plaque inscribed with the name, class year, location, and date of their death was mounted on a small limestone obelisk at the foot of each tree. These markers stood until 1971 when national service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega came to their aid. The markers had generally fallen into disrepair, with some missing altogether while others were missing the memorial plaques. After receiving approval from the Board of Directors in February, APO's General James Earl Rudder Pledge Class relocated 15 of the markers that were to the South of Bizzell and Hart Halls on March 25, 1971. These 15 markers were moved to the drill field with the additional 37 that had lined it. On April 18, 1971, during Parent's Weekend, APO held a rededication ceremony. At this ceremony the names of the heroes were read, a small American flag was placed at each tree, and new aluminum plaques were unveiled and mounted on spring-loaded bolts embedded in the trees with the idea to allow for normal growth. During the process of renovating the memorials with Physical Plant personnel and Robert H. Rucker, the university's landscape architect, APO members found that three additional markers were needed, bringing the total to 55.

This collection consists of the white, extra copies of the correspondence of the Dean of Agriculture. Most of the correspondence dates from 1960-1968. It should be noted that there is some overlap with material for the Texas Agriculture Experiment Station. This is due to the fact that both R. E. Patterson and H. O. Kunkel who were Deans of Agriculture during this time span also served as Directors of the Experiment Station simultaneously.

The papers from 1959 are from the tenure of Dr. R. E. Patterson as Vice Chancellor for Agriculture. In 1960 he was appointed Dean of Agriculture and simply continued this white copy file until his resignation and departure in August of 1967. Dr. H. O. Kunkel, upon his assumption of duty as the Dean of Agriculture, chose to continue to add to the files of his predecessor rather than creating his own. These files cover virtually the entire time span in which the Dean of Agriculture and Director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station were posts held concurrently by the same individual (1960-1972).

This collection contains scrapbooks, treasurer's books, and a minute book from the Women's Social Club.

This collection contains official documents from the Office of the President at Texas A&M University. A PDF finding aid is available upon request.

Presidents included are:

Gibb Gilchrist, C. E.

• President May 27, 1944 - September 1, 1948
• Chancellor of the Texas A&M System September 1, 1948 - August 31, 1953
• Born: Wills Point, Texas; December 23, 1887
• Died: College Station, Texas; May 12, 1972; buried in College Station
• Appointed dean of the School of Engineering in 1937; elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas May 27, 1944; served until September 1, 1948, when the Texas A&M System was created and he became the first chancellor of the System, serving until his retirement on August 31, 1953.

Marion Thomas Harrington, Ph.D.

• President June 3, 1950 - September 1, 1953, and September 1, 1957 - July 1, 1959
• Chancellor September 1, 1953 - August 31, 1965
• Born: Plano, Texas; September 8, 1901
• Dean of the College when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on September 22, 1949, effective "at the end of the present school year." This was interpreted to be June 3, 1950, and on that date, he officially took over the reins of the presidency. He served until September 1, 1953; when he became the second chancellor of the System, succeeding Mr. Gilchrist. Dr. Harrington was elected president a second time on August 23, 1957, and in addition to his duties as chancellor served as president from September 1, 1957, until July 1, 1959. He retired as chancellor on August 31, 1965. He was the first graduate of Texas A&M University to serve as president and also as chancellor.

David Hitchens Morgan, Ph.D.

• President September 1, 1953 - December 21, 1956
• Born: Portsmouth, Virginia; January 2, 1909
• Died: St. Petersburg, FL; April 21, 1974
• Dean of the College when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on June 17, 1953, effective September 1, 1953; resigned December 21, 1956.

David Willard Williams, M.S.

• Acting President December 22, 1956 - September 1, 1957
• Born: Venedocia, Ohio; August 20, 1892
• Died: Bryan, TX; October 30, 1985; buried in Bryan.
• Vice President for agriculture when appointed acting President on December 22, 1956; served until September 1, 1957.

James Earl Rudder, LL.D.

• President of Texas A&M University July 1, 1959 - March 23, 1970
• President of the Texas A&M University system September 1, 1965 - March 23, 1970
• Born: Eden, Texas; May 6, 1910
• Died: Houston, Texas; March 23, 1970; buried at College Station.
• Vice President when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas June 27, 1959, effective July 1, 1959. On September 1, 1965, when Dr. Harrington retired as chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, the title was changed to president, and Mr. Rudder, in addition to his duties as president of Texas A&M University, became president of the Texas A&M University System, which dual position he held until his death on March 23, 1970.

Alvin Roubal Luedecke, LL.D.

• Acting President March 30, 1970 - November 1, 1970
• Born: Eldorado, Texas; October 1, 1910
• Died: San Antonio, Texas; August 9, 1998; buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
• Associate dean of the College of Engineering when appointed acting president on March 30, 1970; served until November 1, 1970.

Jack Kenny Williams, Ph.D.

• President of Texas A&M University November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977
• President of the Texas A&M University System November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977
• Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System August 1, 1977 - January 24, 1979
• Born: Galax, Virginia; April 5, 1920
• Died: Houston, Texas; September 28, 1981; buried in Clemson, South Carolina, on the campus of Clemson University.
• Vice-President for academic affairs, University of Tennessee System, when elected President of Texas A&M University and president of the Texas A&M University System on September 11, 1970, effective November 1, 1970; Elevated to Chancellor of the System on May 24, 1977; Resigned as Chancellor on January 24, 1979, to return to teaching.

This collection contains files accumulated by Robert W. "Bill" Barzak as a member of the ad hoc Committee to Propose a Faculty Grievance System, 1972; of the Faculty Advisory Committee, 1970-1971; and the ad hoc Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, circa 1965-1970.