Collins Unbound

Do you ever wonder what campus was like back in the day? Here in the Archives & Special Collections, we have lots of material about campus history, which gives us an opportunity to look back on our university’s history, and how much it’s changed. Today, we’re looking back 50 years to the 1967-1968 school year.

From left: Thompson at Thompson Hall, 1968; 1968 Tamanawas, page 72.

1968 Tamanawas, page 139.

Did you know that back then…

… tuition for the whole year only cost $1,150?

… 32 Puget Sound students were named to Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges, which honored students who demonstrated exceptional scholarship, citizenship, and involvement?

… homecoming included a parade through the streets of Tacoma, the election of a royal court, and a trike race?

… someone put soap in the fountain in Jones Circle?

… we had an organization called House of Critics who met occasionally to discuss “topics of debatable interest”? During the 1967-1968 school year, these topics included the draft, deferred recruitment for Greek life, and birth control.

… elected ASUPS officers included a Song Queen, Songleaders, a Yell King, and Cheerleaders?

… construction on Thompson Hall was completed, making it both the largest and tallest building on campus?

… campus organizations included a synchronized swimming team called the Silver Seals?

… KUPS was founded? It became fully functional the following school year, but after two years of work, they secured funding, equipment, and a location on campus during the 1967-1968 school year. (The Trail, May 24, 1968)

… the athletics department’s colors were green and gold, not maroon and white?

… activity credits included ice skating, skiing, and posture?

Some things, however, haven’t changed much. Many of our current student organizations, including Greek chapters, academic and pre-professional organizations, and musical groups, were active on campus by the 1967-1968 school year. You could take classes in many of the departments that we still have at Puget Sound, and many students today would recognize the names of past faculty members such as James R. Slater, John D. Regester, Raymond S. Seward, and, of course, President R. Franklin Thompson, all of whom have given their name to places on campus. Most of the dorms had also been completed by then and were occupied by students.

All information was taken from the 1967-1968 bulletin and 1968 Tamanawas unless otherwise noted.

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

By Julia Masur

Are you following the Archives & Special Collections on social media yet? If not, you should be! We created Twitter and Instagram accounts last fall where we post information about interesting items from our collections, historic photographs, and reminders about upcoming events. We also have an active Tumblr account that is run by our A&SC Peer Research Specialist (student Julia Masur ’19) and has been in existence for several years. It has been really fun to interact with current students and alumni on our social media accounts, and we’ve even gotten responses from several Puget Sound alums who are now archivists themselves!

In addition to interacting with the Puget Sound community, we are enjoying following other archival repositories on social media. It is interesting to see other archivists post about how they are using archival materials in the classroom, the events they are organizing, and the types of collections that they are responsible for. Social media is a great way to connect with people on campus and beyond and we look forward to sharing more pieces from our collections with you!

The Archives & Special Collections is open Mondays through Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM or by appointment.

By Laura Edgar, Assistant Archivist

(Pictures rom Left, top, bottom) 1.) Eunice Williams at Pacific Beach, 1951. 2.) Women’s field hockey, 1948. Williams is on the far right. 3.) Eunice Williams ’51 and friends, 1949. Williams is second from the right.

One of the most important ways that the Archives & Special Collections collects new materials is through donations from students and alumni. Eunice Williams Goldsmith ’51 is an excellent example of this; she donated a significant collection of photographs in 2008 (available on A Sound Past, our digital image repository) that give us a better idea of what her college experience was like.

Williams was an exchange student from Cornwall, England, who came to what was then the College of Puget Sound in the fall of 1947. She graduated in August 1951, with a Bachelor’s of Science in home economics. During her time here, she was very active in campus life, especially athletics. She was a member of Alpha Beta Upsilon, a local sorority that became Delta Delta Delta in 1952, and competed for the Betas (as they were known) in intramural badminton and skiing. In addition, she was involved in the Women’s Athletics Association as a member of the field hockey team. She played left wing and served as both the team manager and team captain during her time at CPS.

On top of being so involved on campus, Williams had some interesting experiences with politics during her time here. In 1948, she and three other students participated in a discussion on whether a two-party system could endure in the United States. The discussion was broadcasted on the radio station KBTI, and covered in The Trail. She was also one of 22 international students to meet Governor Arthur B. Langlie and Secretary of State Earl Coe in Olympia in 1949.

We’re thankful for students and alumni like Eunice Williams who have chosen to donate documentation of their student days to us here at the A&SC. If you have anything that you think could help us document the student experience, please contact us and let us know!

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