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This bulletin was mailed to prospective students for the 1926 Winter and Spring Quarters at Radford College. A few things of interest:
Happy Holidays from Archives and Special Collections! Here’s a few seasonal images from our collection:
 Christmas card from M'Ledge Moffett, Dean of Students, 1955.
 Christmas card from State Teachers' College, date unknown  Radford students playing folk music at Christmas, 1965  Stories of haunted buildings and ghostly sightings have been part of Radford University’s folklore for decades. In 1995, Dean of Students Bonnie Hurlburt described “a tradition, so to speak, to initiate and expose new co-eds to stories of ghosts.” Orientation, it seems, just might involve more than meets the eye.  From the October 30, 2002 issue of The Tartan. One of the most famous tales involves a girl who hanged herself in the elevator shaft at Tyler Hall. Different versions of the story persist – students in Tyler have heard strange noises and attempts to “explain” the story have often left more questions unanswered than answered. Some think that the ghost has moved to different buildings over time, including Russell Hall. You can read an account of the Tyler Hall ghost in this issue of The Tartan from October, 1995. As the “Top Ten Haunted Places” box from a 2002 Halloween article in The Tartan illustrates, Radford has had its share of haunted places. The tunnel system underneath RU’s campus is fertile ground for ghost stories. In 1984, Tartan columnist Richie Ellis related the sad tale of Elizabeth, teased by her peers, who met a terrible fate in the tunnels after a Halloween party. Legend has it she haunts Radford’s Halloween parties, looking for those who did her wrong. You can read his account of Elizabeth’s tragic fate here. It seems that Radford students don’t have to live on campus to live in haunted buildings – in fact, several student houses seem to be home to uninvited ghostly guests . A Tartan article from 2002 describes several houses on nearby streets that are purportedly haunted. You can read Jacqueline Storm’s Tartan article about these houses here. One of the most infamous stories involves a 1980 murder and the allegations that the body was buried under the Dedmon Center. The murder is, sadly, a true story involving a missing RU student, and it was legally significant in that it was the first murder conviction in Virginia with no confession, body, or eyewitness. Our colleagues at the Library of Virginia have collected the legal documents about the case, and you can read the finding aid and summary of the case here.  Radford students in 1975, serving as Hallowen pallbearers.
Can’t get enough? Whim has collected RU ghost stories in the past, and you can read some of them here. If you have an interest in the folklore involving Halloween, the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center has an excellent short article here. Here in the RU Archives, we don’t have all the answers about the “top ten” places mentioned in the 2002 Tartan. Many things remained unanswered – so be careful around campus this Halloween weekend! Many thanks to Paige Nolen for her research assistance on this project. Start Slide Show with PicLens LiteCompleted in 1970, Muse Hall stands in the corner of campus that was once home to Founders Hall. The change from the stately columns and dome of Founders Hall to the modern high-rise profile of Muse dramatically changed the landscape of Radford’s campus. These photos document the building of Muse Hall in 1968-1970, as well as the demolition of Founders Hall.  Muse Hall under construction behind Founders Hall Founders Hall, originally called the Administration Building, was the first building constructed on the Radford campus. The two-story building featured a distinctive golden dome, and housed classrooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, and a pool. Construction began in 1911, and the building was open when the first classes at the State Normal and Industrial School (the original name of Radford University) were held on September 17, 1913.  Founders Hall, as pictured on a postcard from the 1920s. By 1968, Radford had nearly 3,600 students, and was the second-largest woman’s college in the country, second to Texas Woman’s University. The campus was growing rapidly in the mid-to-late 1960s, with the addition of seven new dorms, the fountain in the middle of the campus, an expansion to McConnell Library, and Powell, Curie, and Young halls. Despite all this growth there was still the need for more dorm space. Consequently, construction was started on Muse Hall in 1968 behind Founders Hall – and Founders was slated for demolition.  The demolition of Founders Hall. As Founders Hall came down, Muse Hall went up. Muse was named for Leonard Muse, who served as Rector of the Board of Visitors, and was built at a cost of $5.5 million.  Muse Hall under construction - and Founders Hall is gone. Muse Hall has provided a photographic vantage point for the Radford campus, a trend that started before the building was completed. The following photos were taken in 1969 from somewhere near the top of Muse:  A wide-angle view from Muse Hall while under construction. The following photo is from same vantage point, but without the wide-angle perspective. You can see McConnell Library and Reed and Curie Hall to the left. The President’s House stands between Russell and Whitt, where Heth Hall now stands.  View of the Radford campus and surrounding area from Muse Hall, 1969. The Grapurchat (the student newspaper before The Tartan) described Muse Hall in January 1969:
In the photo above, students are walking down the sidewalk near the library, with Muse Hall in the background. Note the chain fence beside the sidewalk. As reported in the January 29, 1969 issue of Grapurchat, in an article about the construction of the fountain and the sidewalks on campus, “It is necessary to remind students that it is still not permissible to walk on the grass. The purpose is not to conserve the grass….but to prevent the tracking of mud into the buildings. Warnings are still in process for this infraction.”  A creative way to cross campus without walking on the grass.
Sources: Radford University: Investing In Lifetimes. 2006 (LD4701.R332 R3345 2006); online issues of Grapurchat, and photos from the Radford University Archives. Start Slide Show with PicLens LiteWelcome to the new blog for McConnell Library’s Archives and Special Collections. We’ll use this blog to post historical photographs and highlight events from Radford’s history, especially as we celebrate Radford’s Centennial in 2010. We’ll also use the blog to post exhibits and memorabilia from our Special Collections. Since we’re posting our first blog entry on Moving Day in 2009, we thought it fitting to initiate this new blog by posting some historical photos from previous Moving Days at Radford. Ever since Radford first offered classes in September, 1913, Moving Day has been a rite of passage for students coming to the campus. In the early days, before automobiles were widespread, it was common for many students came to Radford by train. Here’s a few photos of students arriving at the Radford train depot in 1935:  Students at the Radford train depot, 1935.
 Students at the train depot, 1935. Moving Day, especially for first-year students, is typically an exciting and tiring time. Automobiles soon replaced the train as the most popular way of getting to campus, but once you got here the basic tasks remained the same: moving possessions to your room, saying goodbye to your family, meeting new roomates, and adjusting to life on the Radford campus. Here’s a few photos showing how Radford students have coped with Moving Day over the decades  Cars lined up on Moving Day, sometime in the late 1950s.  Moving into a dorm room, 1969.  The whole family helping on Moving Day in 1972. Once everyone is moved in and settled, it’s time to register for classes. While students in 2009 are accustomed to computerized registration, there was a time when it was done by hand, with long lines, paper registration forms, and relatively complicated procedures. This photo from the 1982 Beehive shows what registration used to be like. Bear in mind that 1982 was early in the era of computerization (the Apple II was just coming into use in college computer labs at the time, and the Macintosh was introduced a few years later), but the Beehive staff was eager to jump to the era computerized registration:
 Pre-computer registration woes from the 1982 Beehive. Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite |
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