Turning Yearbooks into Lists

This past week, I finished up the list of students from Spring Hill's yearbooks up through 1928. From 1926 - 1927, this was a relatively easy task - the staff of The Corsair thoughtfully left a list of each member next to the composite pictures, and listed the officers' positions on a separate list. Beginning with the 1928 Corsair, however, things became much more difficult.

Apparently, the staff of the 1928 and 1929 Corsair did not feel the need to list members, but simply provide a composite and a history of the fraternity. While the history of the fraternity is extremely helpful (I knew absolutely nothing about Omicron Sigma's presence on campus before reading it), I'm really missing those lists - especially since I'm now finding every member of the fraternity by flipping through the yearbook and matching composite photos with yearbook photos (conveniently the same images, with the exception of the senior class).

The one nice thing is that, starting with 1929, Phi Omega has begun to make an appearance on campus! So if anyone knows anything about Phi Omega and their time on campus at Spring Hill, please feel free to let me know in the comments below!

Otherwise, I will continue to match faces and names, one face at a time.

Starting the Lists

Yesterday, I began typing out lists of Greek organization membership on campus. I'm using our campus' old yearbooks, The Torch and The Corsair, which start in 1925, to get a list of all members.

At this point, the only organization that I've found is Omicron Sigma, but I am only in 1927, so hopefully there will be more organizations soon! I also discovered that our yearbooks do not go back far enough to cover the arrival of Omicron Sigma, nor do they list the chapter name. If anyone has any information about either of those, please let me know in the comments below!

The one exciting thing that I've discovered so far is that one of our 1926 yearbooks was owned by a member of Omicron Sigma - it's even signed by members of the fraternity!

I am also compiling a list of student government members from 1925 to present. As soon as both lists have been compiled, they will be put up on the Archives website.

My music this week has, so far, been Fall Out Boy. It's kind of addicting - what can I say?

Fall Out Boy

Cut, Print, Moving On: Starting Part Two

This week, I had the chance to wrap up the first part of my project: I scanned the last pages of the Phi Kappa Theta scrapbook into the computer and completed the digital book.

I don't know how I feel about this, honestly. I kind of enjoyed the tangible feeling of knowing that I was holding the past within my fingers. But I suppose that it is time for me to work on the second half of my project, and learn about the other dimensions of archival work.

Starting next week, I will begin compiling a list of every Greek organization on Spring Hill's campus and its list of members, beginning with our first fraternity on campus, Omicron Sigma. I'm looking forward to this, since it will (possibly?) give me my first chance to work with sorority life on campus. I'm also excited to see just how much of the student body actually participated in Greek life. The current numbers are around 30% - I'm interested in seeing if this remains steady from the beginning of Greek life's introduction on campus to the present day.

This week's music was an eclectic blend of Fall Out Boy (I still can't shake the fact that all of their songs are extremely catchy) and Rascal Flatts' Rewind. I really love this album - it's super upbeat and great for a mid-afternoon pep talk.

A Quick Break from Scrapbooks: Scanning the Morris Gates Notebook

This week, I was given a brief interlude from scanning fraternity scrapbooks when the archivist told me that there was a priority project that needed work - and involved the scanner. One of the Jesuits on campus had requested a digital copy of a notebook in the archives owned by a former student, Morris Gates. The notebook is the oldest item in our archives, dating to the early 1830s.

Needless to say, I've been insanely careful all week with this notebook.

Most of what is written inside is Latin translations, especially from Cicero's In Catilinam. The handwriting is fairly neat for script, and most of the book is in black ink, with the exception of a penciled in signature on one of the back pages. I was also somewhat excited to see ink sketches of birds made completely out of flourishes on the first page - it's a craft that is rarely practiced anymore, and I thought it was really cool to see.

Scanning wise, this book wasn't much different than the scrapbooks. Because it is older than 1950, I did handle it with gloves (as per protocol), and made sure to be gentle while flipping pages to prevent any further damage from coming to it. But, despite its age, the notebook was relatively easy to scan, and was actually a little easier than the scrapbooks have been, mainly because I didn't have to worry about glare on photographs.

I've really enjoyed working with Gates' notebook this week, and I'm excited to wrap up the fraternity scrapbooks next week.

This week's playlist has been more Fall Out Boy - I'm really hooked on American Beauty/American Psycho. It's also really good for an energy boost just when scanning gets to be tedious.

Fall Out Boy

Below are some images (finally!) of the scrapbooks that I've been working with. Eventually, I will get them up on a website and you will be able to see them in their entirety.

Kappa Sigma Crest

Kappa Sigma Scrapbook

Phi Kappa Transition, Phi Kappa Theta 1959 Scrapbook

Phi Kappa Theta 1962-63 Scrapbook

Phi Kappa Theta 1964-65 Scrapbook