The Changing Face of Nacogdoches | Austin Building Accepted | First Commencement | First Summer School

Introduction. This week the Heritage Series focuses on the events surrounding the move of SFA from its temporary home on Washington Square to its new campus north of town. The formal acceptance of the Austin Building in the late Spring of 1924, brought to a climax a year of many firsts. Traditions were quickly being set, academic programs expanded and solidified, and decisions which would affect the lives of hundreds of East Texan were being made. We will see these events through contemporary accounts recorded in the newspaper and documents, through the reflective memories of original faculty members, and through the scholarship of a variety of individuals.

The Changing Face of Nacogdoches

Not only was the college officially moving north, but Nacogdoches was also moving north&endash;a process which has not ceased to the present day. As the college's presence had quickened the pace in the Washington Square area, it began int 1924 to change the complexion of the property between town and the campus and the empty land north of the campus, along either side of North Street down to the banks of both creeks. An enterprising Zeno Cox offered lots for sale in the newspaper near the new college with the following caption: "Small acreage near the above school where you can get profits if ever you want to sell." People were building boarding house everywhere, on all sides of the campus. Small businesses were opening, at first in houses, and later in small strip shopping centers just north of the campus on North Street. The Burrows Brothers advertised a whole new collection of "campus caps" in the latest styles andcolors.

As one reads the newspaper of 1923-1924, many items of interest are interesting; while some do not necessarily relate to SFA, most do. For instance, King Tut's tomb was discovered in 1923. New popular books at Swift Brothers in downtown Nacogdoches, included works of Edgar Rice Burrows, Gene Stratton Porter, Zane Gray, Sinclair Lewis, and James Oliver Curwood. Branch-Patton Grocery Co., then in the Woodman of the World Building, was offering specials on one can of Eagle Chili at 15¢, one pound of sliced bacon at 40¢, one quart Mission Sweet Pickles 15¢, and a sack of flour at $1.75. Car sales, in particular, used car sales picked up dramatically during the first year of SFA. Whereas one auto dealer began 1923 advertising "a perfectly gentle 4 year old horse plus a single buggy for sale or trade," he ended the year unloading a car load of new Buick Sedans and pushing a large selection of used cars aimed the new academic crowd. A greater varieties in dresses suddenly became available. In the number of movies being advertised, however, the change was perhaps most noticeable.

The impact of the new school, however, was more than geographic and economic. In an article in December of 1923 with the title "New Names," The Daily Sentinel asked: "Have you noticed the new names in the social columns of the daily newspaper? The city is changing, changing fast. Newcomers there are by the score." The activities of the college would come to encompass the lives of not only the students, but also the whole of the town and East Texas, for that matter.

In a selection this week from Craddock's The Golden Years, one can see some of the traditions of the college emerging in this first year. At official, semi-official, and social gatherings, the heritage of the new college was beginning to take shape. The pace in Nacogdoches was picking up, and the town was actively a part of the new excitement. Parties for the students were being co-hosted by the town and the faculty. Faculty members and townspeople mixed effortlessly. For instance, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. L. McKnight, the drama club met for the first time. Professor T. E. Ferguson of the English Department and Miss Ruth Mays, Dean of Women, honorary members of the club, helped with the arrangements. At this gathering in November of 1923, the Drama Club named themselves the Karle Wilson Baker Dramatic Club. This was more than half a year before the famous poet laureate became a faculty member

One of the topics discussed this week is the perennial question of whether colleges should engage in remedial work or not. The dilemmas facing us today are quite different from the ones facing Birdwell and his fellow presidents in 1923-1924. The so-called "sub-college" dominated much of Birdwell's thinking and writing in 1924. His thinking was crucial to a vast number of East Texans.

Austin Building Accepted

The Board of Regents formally accepted the Austin Building on April 30, 1924. They first attended an assembly of the SFA students on the Washington Square campus, were feted at a luncheon, and after lunchthey toured the new campus.

The first official day on the new campus was May 1, 1924. Mrs. Birdwell, years later, recalled: "Mr. Birdwell told Mr. Wisely that he had an ambition to move without interfering with classes Accordingly, Dr. Thomas B. Ferguson had read at the last meeting of each class the announcement of its next meeting place in the new building. The library had been moved by the librarians giving to student helpers boxes containing books for a single shelf in the new library so that the students who took charge of those and were brought to the building set the books on the proper shelves, and the library was moved. It was not possible to have the scientific equipment moved so easily, and so a few classes were lost there."

The fireproof nature of the building and its steam heating were among the things which everyone seem to be the most proud. The building had 25 classrooms, or "recitation rooms" as they were called, in addition to the president office, 6 teachers offices, and the offices and quarters for demonstration school. The city, according to promise, provided the lights and water for free. (This promise for free power and power for 25 years would cause trouble in the future.)

The daythey moved into the Austin Building, there were 609 enrolled in the college. The college operated on a quarter system at the time. There was a fall, a winter, a spring term, and two six week summer terms. Classes were held on Monday-Wednesday-Friday and on Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. There were Saturday classes, as a part of the TTS schedule, but there were also Saturday classes so that teachers who were working could come to the college. Education, Agriculture, English, and History classes met on Saturdays for extended hours. Normally, classes began at 8:00 and usually were held for an hour until, the last being about 3:00 in the afternoon. There were no classes from 10 to 11 on MWF. On Mondays at this time, the Literary Societies and the Dramatic Club met. On Wednesdays at 10, there was Assembly. On Fridays, the Choral Club and the Glee Clubs met.

The ground floor accommodated lecture-type classes; the agriculture laboratory was also down there. For instance, English, History, Government, Education, Library Science, Math, and Agriculture classes were held on the ground floor. The physics lab, classified as a specially equipped lecture room, was on the ground floor, too.

The second floor held the Library, the administrative offices, and the Business Administration laboratory with it "modern equipment in the way of typewriters, desks for bookkeeping, an adding machine, and a mimeograph." Dr. Birdwell's office was on the second floor, for instance. Miss Ruth Mays held her Spanish classes there also. Some music and education classes were occasionally held on the second floor.

The third floor had the chemistry labs, the four model kitchens for the Home Economics Department, and a dining room. Art and music were also held on the third floor.

The Austin Building was terribly over-crowded from the beginning. Had a second building for SFA been funded&endash;the building which would eventually become the Rusk Building, the campus would still have lacked a major component. Dr. Birdwell immediately saw that a gymnasium, a multi-purpose building would have to be built. Mr. Tom McKinneydiscusses the contributions of SFA's first major benefactor, Frank Aikman, in an article this week. Learning of the plans of the citizens of the town to raise by public subscription enough money to pay for the building of an auditorium and gymnasium, Mr. F. S. Aikman, president of the Mahdeen Company, donated the total estimated cost of the building in cash.

First Commencement Held

SFA held it first Commencement Exercises in June. Although there were no college graduates to receive degrees, there were students from the Sub-College to receive diplomas. On Sunday, June 1 they held a Service with a Bach Chorale, a Gounod Anthem, and a message. On Monday evening, a play by the children of the Demonstration School was scheduled. The Daily Sentinel reported that "a crowd of some three hundred came to the college in response to an invitation to open house." On June 3, the Baccalaureat program included "The Pine Tree Hymn" and Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory," and a message from one of the members of the Board of Regents from Dallas. The printed programs do not tell the full story. Here is what happened in Mrs. Birdwell's words.

For the first Commencement it was decided to hold open house so that every one might come to see the new building. The entertainment was to consist of a play in the auditorium--a play which was prepared by the practice teachers and the two-grade Demonstration school. It rained, and rained, and rained. Very few people came to the reception because most of them wanted to see the overflowing creeks.

The next morning when I went to the auditorium to attend the Commencement Exercises, soon after I took my seat in the room, my husband put a baby in my lap and said: "Keep this baby quiet." She was the granddaughter of the elderly minister who was to give the invocation in the ceremony. The grandfather feared someone would take her away from him, so he wished to sit on the platform and hold her while the entire service took place. I kept her quiet, but I said to the speaker, who was a luncheon guest that day: "I do not know what you said, but I am sure it was proper."

First Summer School

SFA's first Summer School started on June 4. Bulletin No. 4, a small pocket-size pamphlet of 24 pages, featured among its five photographs only one person -- Karle Wilson Baker. Mrs. Baker brought to SFA its first national reputation, Birdwell knew this. Mrs. Baker's career as a faculty member at SFA is detailed in this week's series by original research done by Sarah Jackson with Mrs. Baker's former students from the 1920's. The delightful soiree in the spring of 1924, where Karle Wilson Baker's "The Pine Tree Hymn" was sung for the first time, is recounted in the pages this week from a 1948 article written by long-time Librarian Mildred Wyatt.