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Campus Postings

University hits history right on the markers

President Keith McFarland and Alumna Carol Taylor unveil the new state historical marker in front of the BA building.

Two brand new signs of the times gone by are now a part of the University setting.
One of two new historical markers on campus is affixed to the front porch of the Heritage House, and the second is posted near what are arguably the more well-traveled steps on campus.
The fact that the business administration building is one of the most visited sites on campus is precisely the reason Alumnus Ted Crim (BS ’70) suggested one of the historical markers be placed there, as President Keith McFarland noted in his address at the marker’s unveiling.
Dr. McFarland also told those gathered for a brief ceremony at the new marker site: “My mother always said you need to remember where you came from because that determines who you are.”

Alumnus instigates marker and placement
An older state historical marker outlining University history was erected in 1967 between Gee Lake and Highway 50, and Ted had said that it would be nice for another marker to be placed in a more accessible location.
The new state marker, which includes more recent benchmarks of University history, was erected very much along the beaten path as it is stationed adjacent to the paved entrance to the McDowell Administration Building, with seating located conveniently nearby.

‘Dream continues’
As the local representative of the historical commission, Carol Taylor (M.Ed. ’69) presented the plaques, saying “Professor Mayo’s dream has continued to lead this fine University dedicated to quality education for all.”
A second marker at the Heritage House is one that designates it as being a part of the National Register of Historic Places.
The Heritage House already had a Texas Historical Landmark plaque and has since passed the even stricter guidelines for national recognition as a historically significant site. The Heritage House, or president’s old home as it has been known, is the second oldest building still standing today on campus and has served as the residence of three University presidents: Dr. Samuel Whitley, Dr. James G. Gee and Dr. D. Whitney Halladay.
In 1927 the legislature allotted $15,000 for construction of the house, completed at the end of that same year.
Notables spending the night there were composer John Phillip Sousa, author Anna H. Pennybacker, Secretary of Labor under FDR Frances Perkins (who was the first woman to serve in the cabinet), Governors Jim and Ma Ferguson and James V. Allred, and gourmet author Helen Corbett.

Whitley thumbs his cigar at the governor
Carol noted that there was a struggle to get the Texas legislature to fund the project. In a letter written June 21, 1927, Dr. Whitley wrote his predecessor, Dr. Binnion, that “I have actually secured an appropriation for the President’s home and this … has not been vetoed by the Governor. I am going to build as fine a home as can be built. … Just as soon as I have it finished I am going to put a center table right in the middle of the reception room, get me a big arm chair, a 25-cent cigar, some of my old friends like yourself to help celebrate, a few pretty maids to pass the punch, and I am going to see just for one time what it feels like to rear back in a little bit of comfort and ease with the full knowledge that no living governor can veto the item.”
After the home became too small for the requisite programs and receptions a college president is required to host, a new president’s home was built on Highway 50 south of the campus. The Halladays were the first presidential couple to move in, and they did so in May 1968.
In 1989 the former president’s home was renamed the Heritage House and since has been refurbished to showcase campus memorabilia downstairs. Foundation offices are located on the home’s second floor.
The Heritage Gardens on the west side of the home were created and dedicated last year. A number of Alumni contributed to both refurbishing the house and creating the gardens.

History at home here in the University’s nooks and niches

The A&M-Commerce campus boasts several historical landmarks familiar to most Alumni.
Though not the most famous, certainly the most significant in terms of the institution’s history is the Mayo Monument, a polished red granite stone that covers the founder’s grave on the northeast corner of the campus.
After the death of Professor Mayo in March 1917, students, friends and Commerce citizens collected more than $3,000 in donations to purchase the monument. It was erected and dedicated in the mid-1920s and since has become the site for the annual Memorial Service.
The Victory Bell is a much-beloved campus icon. It now is located between the library and the F.H. McDowell Administration Building.
The story is that Professor Mayo purchased the bell for use at the public school in Pecan Gap where he taught, then in 1889 brought the bell with him to Cooper for the newly established East Texas Normal College 1889. He was said to later have brought the bell to Commerce when he transferred the college here in 1894. The bell called students to classes and to dinner and supper. When the school became East Texas State, the bell served to announce athletic victories.
For almost five decades the bell was next to the building called Old Main. It later was moved to the northeast side of the Memorial Student Center before being transferred to the present location.
Several popular student landmarks have disappeared over the years.
The old T-bench, a large concrete structure in the shape of a “T” for Texas — East Texas — and a popular place for co-eds and couples to pose for photos gave way to construction and landscaping.
A somewhat mysterious, at least to me, landmark was the brick and stone hearth — a giant outdoor fireplace near the intersection of Hunt and Bois d’Arc streets behind the girls gym.
Campus maps and the Locust yearbook show the hearth, but its exact function is unclear to me, though perhaps it was used for cookouts and pep rallies.
Finally, after the death of JFK in 1963, the administration erected an eternal flame under the east ramp/walkway to the MSC. The flame remained for several years.
In more recent years the school has added several new campus icons such as the monolith seals in front of the Social Sciences and Administration buildings, contributed by Alumni Rock and Linda Clinton, and the sculpture of Professor Mayo in front of the Heritage House, donated by the Alumnii Association.