Collins Unbound

“Studying the Home: Women and Home Economics at University of Puget Sound” is an exhibit that focuses on the transformation of the Home Economics department from its beginnings in 1910, when it was known as Domestic Science, to its final days in the early 1980s when the department was renamed Nutrition and Textiles. Over the course of the department’s seventy years, the program promoted individualism and provided women with the means to incorporate science into their daily lives.

In the early twentieth century, home economics empowered and encouraged women such as Ellen Swallow Richards, a pioneer of home economics, to incorporate science in their home life. The University of Puget Sound, following Ellen Richards’ example, developed the Home Economics department, allowing women to study science. The department focused on improving methods of homemaking and taught scientific efficiency in consumer goods. This education continued well into the mid-century, when consumer trends skyrocketed, allowing home economics students to work with businesses to educate consumers about new household technologies. In addition, home economics majors studied clothing and textiles, nutrition, and child development, and early classes were based upon chemistry and biology that better educated students in the food laboratory.

Towards the 1960s and 70s, the Home Economics department transformed and became less scientific and more focused on degrees in education. By 1970 most graduates within the Home Economics department placed an emphasis on K-12 education and went on to become teachers in middle schools and high schools. The rise of feminism also created issues for the Home Economics department, which may have contributed to the department’s name change in 1977 to Nutrition and Textiles and ultimately its dissolution in 1982.

This exhibit, curated by senior Halle Beitler, a major in the Science, Technology, and Society program, is currently on display on the 2nd floor of the Collins Memorial Library outside the Archives and Special Collections. There will also be a special exhibit presentation on April 30^th at 4:00pm in the Archives Seminar Room. This exhibit contains photographs, student newspaper articles, and items from the University of Puget Sound Archives & Special Collections.

The Archives & Special Collections is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Halle Beitler, Class of 2018

From Left: President Todd, President Thompson

Want to learn about the history of UPS, but don’t have the time or transportation to visit the Archives & Special Collections in person? Check out our digitized collection of university historical texts!

Two presidents – Edward H. Todd and R. Franklin Thompson – wrote histories of the university. Todd’s history is the earliest digitized history of the university; we do have an earlier autobiography of one of the ministers in the Puget Sound Conference of the Methodist Church at the time of the university’s founding, which discusses some of the history of the university but is primarily focused on the life and career of the minister in question, Rev. LeSourd. Todd’s history, which he titled College of Puget Sound: A Dream Realized, not only covers his own presidency, but also the 25 years of university history prior to his election. Some highlights include the origin of the university, President Todd’s successful fundraising campaigns, the move to the current campus location, the fiftieth anniversary of the university, and campus during World War II. The Thompson histories contain chapters covering such topics as President Thompson’s life and career, UPS traditions, the reorganization of the Board of Trustees, campus publications, and campus buildings (many of which were constructed during Thompson’s tenure). Thompson also included his interviews with notable figures in the university’s history, like Norton Clapp, the trustee for whom Norton Clapp Theater and the old law school building were named; James Slater, a professor of science who gave his name to the Slater Museum of Natural History; and Raymond and Olive Seward, the former a professor of physics and the track and football coach, the latter Dr. Todd’s secretary, and both of whom had given so much in service to the university that Thompson suggested that Seward Hall be named after them.

James Earley’s On the Frontier of Leadership is the most recent history of UPS that we have digitized. It was released for the centennial celebration in 1988, just two years after Earley graduated from UPS. This was his first published work as a freelance writer. He divides the history of UPS into two parts: before and after 1913, the year when President Todd assumed office. He considers the university prior to 1913 a “fledgling institution” that faced many struggles, while after 1913, UPS became “an institution destined for distinction.” Using photographs from the A&SC, Tacoma Public Library, and the Washington State Historical Society, Earley provides a glimpse into what campus life actually looked like, in addition to the written history.

Page 44 of On the Frontier of Leadership

John Finney ’67 published a history of the university last year, but it is not digitized. However, we do have a physical copy in the library’s general collection that is available for research. It includes comprehensive lists (to 2017) of the presidents, academic vice presidents and deans, registrars, bursars, deans of women, student body presidents, and chairs of the Board of Trustees. It also has information about the campus locations over the years. The majority of the book consists of a compilation of revised and expanded versions of Finney’s articles in Arches magazine regarding the history of the university. My personal favorite chapter is “My Life as a Cold War Spy”, in which Finney tells the story of when he and another Puget Sound student were arrested by Soviet police during their study abroad program in 1966 for taking photos of troops and vehicles.

The Archives & Special Collections is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Julia Masur

Figure 1 Event Poster for Friday’s event.

At the beginning of this academic year, the Archives & Special Collections department decided that one of our goals would be to collect more student life materials. With that in mind, I attended LogJam in September to meet some student club leaders and let them know that the archives existed and we’d be interested in preserving their materials. It was great to meet a few student leaders, but I left unsure whether I’d made an impression.

Much to my delight, I received a message from the Hawaiian student group, Ka ‘Ohana Me Ke Aloha. They said they’d recently gone through their storage area and realized that some of their belongings could be better protected in the archives. As of the beginning of the year, we only had a small box of Hawaiian student life items, containing three Lū’au programs and a few VHS tapes and CDs. We met a week or so later so I could get a feel for the types of things they had and then we discussed the logistics of transferring the items to the archives. Although it took a while to transfer the materials, we now have a collection of Ka ‘Ohana Me Ke Aloha materials that more accurately reflects their time and impact on campus.

Figure 2: Photo from the 1976 Lū’au

To celebrate nearly fifty years of Hawaiian student life on campus–their predecessor Hui O Hawaii became a ratified ASPUS club in November of 1970–the Archives & Special Collections is hosting an Open House to showcase the new materials before this year’s Lū’au. The Open House will highlight Lū’au and the other achievements of Ka ‘Ohana Me Ke Aloha over the years, including scrapbooks, awards, photographs, Lū’au programs and recordings. This event is free and open to campus members, alums, and the outside community. Our hope is that the Open House will honor the many contributions of our Hawaiian students to campus life, as well as garner excitement for their upcoming 50th anniversary in 2020. We highly encourage everyone to come to the Open House this Friday!!

Event details:
Date: Friday, April 13th
Time: 4-5pm
Location: Archives & Special Collections, 2nd floor Collins Memorial Library

If you’re a part of a student club that would like to transfer your materials (historic or current) to the archives, please contact Adriana Flores, Archivist & Special Collections Librarian, at archives@pugetsound.edu.

The Archives & Special Collections is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Adriana Flores