Saving Susquehanna's History

Susquehanna on the Avenue
Print Helps Preserve
the Story of Susquehanna

Jennifer McGillan didn’t think much about it when she uncovered a dusty old box marked “Handwritten OT” during the early days of her one-year term as project archivist organizing the Susquehanna University Archives. The label seemed straightforward enough – handwritten Old Testament – and at first glance, that is exactly what the pile of papers inside the box looked like.

But as McGillan rummaged farther into the university’s history she learned that a Dr. Jonathan Rose Dimm, a doctor of divinity who served as president of Susquehanna from 1895 to 1899, began all his sermons with a quote from the Old Testament of the Bible. Armed with this new information, McGillan went back to the box marked “Handwritten OT,” only to find that it in fact was a collection of sermons penned by Dimm. Soon after, she was able to put a face with the name when she uncovered a portrait of Dimm amid a stack of pictures of former university presidents.

Kim Kardos'06 donducts a preservation assessment in the archives

“After reading his sermons, you realize he had a very rigorous mind,” McGillan says.

But the state of having his papers mislabeled and unpreserved was anything but rigorous. The sermons are among the many historical treasures that lay buried for decades in disorganized piles of books and other materials in the basement of the university’s Blough-Weis Library.

Among just a few of the other treasures are letters from alumni serving on the front lines of World War II and articles on the infamous April 14, 1966, “Chapel Revolt,” in which students protested the university policy requiring them to attend church service.

"Building the archives has been a voyage of discovery," McGillan says.

McGillan believes these artifacts are vital to Susquehanna's heritage. "There is nothing useless down here," she said.

McGillan believes these artifacts are vital to Susquehanna’s heritage. Take, for instance, the Dimm sermons. McGillan says they provide real insights into the life of a man who helped shape the university during its infancy.

In Danger of Being Lost
Not long ago, many of the documents tracing Susquehanna’s history were in danger of being lost forever. According to Rebecca Wilson, associate director of the Blough-Weis Library, for many years the archives room, located in the lower level of the library, was treated as a “a catch-all storage area.”

Boxes of unrelated historical documents and pictures were intermingled with insignificant storage items and stacked on floors and shelves in no particular order. There was no filing system and no system for access. It was not uncommon for people from both on and off campus to take materials from the archives without as much as a sign-out sheet to track their removal.

“It was really an undesirable situation. Things were out of control, and we had to close the archives,” Wilson says.

Gift Turns Tides of Fate
Last year, in celebration of their 35th reunion, members of the Class of 1968 made a generous gift that turned the tides of fate for the Susquehanna archives. The gift, coupled with discretionary funds from the president’s office, made approximately $75,000 available for archival supplies and the hiring of a professional archivist on a one-year, fixed-term appointment.

In August, McGillan, who holds a master of science in information science with a concentration in archives from the University of Pittsburgh, began the monumental task of reorganizing and revitalizing the university archives. Her assignment also involved setting policies and procedures for accessing the material. McGillan is also reviewing various archival finding aids and creating new ones for the university’s collections.

Past President of the Susquehanna University Alumni Association Samuel Clapper ’68 says he and his classmates felt the archives were a worthwhile investment for the preservation of their own history, as well as that of the university at large.

“As students we challenged a lot of things, and things were changed during and after our years on campus,” he says. The class had scarcely arrived on campus in 1964 when historic Gustavus Adolphus Hall burned and forced many members to spend their early Susquehanna days living in a nearby Holiday Inn. By the time the Class of 1968 graduated, compulsory chapel at Susquehanna had become a thing of the past and the social and political changes that accompanied the Vietnam War era were in full swing on America’s campuses.

“We thought our campus activities, as well as those of classes that went before us and came after us, should be preserved in a fashion that would make them accessible and useful,” says Clapper.

An Interest Beyond History

Before last year, the university's Charles B. Degenstein Professor of History Donald Housley and his students were among the few individuals to venture into the archives. "Primary documents were collected and kept in the vault, but there was no organization," says Housley, who relied on archival materials for his comprehensive history, A Goodly Heritage: Susquehanna University, 1858-1985, now in the editing phase. (See story, page 7).

Over the years, Housley and students -- including university assistants Jacob Waybright '98 and Jennifer Wright '99 and history major Michael Miller '97 -- worked with Becky Wilson and the library staff to bring some semblance of order to the archives.

But, Housley said, the archives didn't make a real turn for the better until professional help arrived in the form of McGillan. Now, in addition to the Department of History, students and faculty in disciplines such as religion, political science and anthropology are beginning to take advantage of the archives.

"The real difference is that collections are organized for scholars to easily find," Housley says.

Internship and Work Study Opportunities

But McGillan hasn't done it alone. She's also had the help of numerous students. Together they have organized everything into record group order, the Dewey decimal system for archives, and brought everything up to archival-safe storage standards using preservation tools like acid-free file folders and plastic paper clips.

Working as an intern in the archives last semester, history major Tracey Craley '05 earned two class credits and learned the intricacies of archival theory and records management in a project to organize, catalogue, and preserve the university's Underkoffler music holdings, a collection of popular vintage sheet music. In just 14 weeks, Craley transformed the more than 300 pieces of sheet music into a viable resource for generations to come.

"I experienced firsthand how every person that enters this university leaves a little behind," says Craley. "It is amazing to think of all those who have walked the same paths, slept in the same dorms, and in some cases, been taught by the same professors that still teach SU students."

Evolution and Appreciation

"There is so much information in this room," says Kimberly Kardos '06, who is studying political science/international studies with an emphasis on history. Kardos is currently organizing a large audio-visual collection held in the archives, and says the work is well-suited to her personality. "I really like working down here because I like to be nosey," she admits.

And according to elementary education major Amy Golumbeski '07, the archives are the perfect workplace for someone who likes to dig through the history of the Susquehanna community. Among her favorite discoveries is a student handbook from the early 1900s. "One of the school rules was that you had to dress up for dinner.," says Golumbeski, who says she finds it fascinating to see how Susquehanna has evolved.

University trivia aside, Golumbeski says the archives have put campus life into perspective for her. "By knowing the university's history, you have a greater appreciation for it," she says.

Archival exhibits on the main floor of the library have brought that appreciation to a wider audience. Intern Katherine Morgan '05, a history major, created a display featuring newspaper clippings, a scrapbook, programs, and a vintage "Book of Gems" highlighting the history and contributions of the Susquehanna University Women's Association. Another exhibit focused on Craley's work on the Underkoffler sheet music collection. With help from the Departments of Music and History, a public concert featuring some works from the collection will be organized for the fall of 2004.

Sustaining the Connections of History

The progress made by McGillan and her students will slow down once the archivist's one-year term expires in August.

"This is a fabulous collection and a lot can be done with it," says McGillan. She and Wilson would love to see the archives have a more complete presence on the university's Web site and more collaboration with archives at other universities.

"Many times, people think of the archives as a collection of old papers that have been put into storage to make room for new information, but the archives are so much more than that," explains Craley. "The documents housed in the Susquehanna University Archives tell the story of this institution and all those who have passed through it. Even though we graduate and live very different lives, history connects us all to Susquehanna."