Collections

Acquisitions

· Additions to the Civilian Conservation Corps materials (Cecil Flowers, donor)
· Addition to Battle of Nashville Monument Collection (James Summerville, donor)
· Records of Craddock Study Club, 1920s-1990s, 1.5 lin. ft. (Jean Coty, donor)
· Records of Francis Bohannan Music Club, 1920s-1990s, 1.5 lin. ft. 
· Scrapbook of Smyrna Air Base, WWII (Richard Kiger, donor)
· Scrapbook of Hume Fogg High School, 1920s (Richard Kiger, donor)
· 50 photographs, MTSC, 1930s 
· Additions to AAUW materials, 3 lin. ft. (Melinda Lickiss, donor) 
· Photographs and publicity files, MTSU Theatre Dept., 1.5 lin. ft. 
· Andy Womack Papers, 1.5 lin. ft. (Andy Womack, donor)
· 3 framed pen & ink drawings of MTSU buildings, and 1 framed pen & ink drawing of Rutherford County Courthouse (Carolyn Davenport, donor)
· Addendum to John Bragg collection (photocopy of scrapbook), (John Bragg, donor)

Commitments for future donations

· Woman’s Club of Murfreesboro
· Charity Circle of Murfreesboro
· Tennessee Folklore Society

Oral Histories. The following oral histories were completed in 2000-2001. Please visit the Gore Center’s web site at http://janus.mtsu.edu for pictures of the interviewees and excerpts from the sound recordings.

· MT2000.013 Cliff Gillespie recalls the MTSU campus and student government activities during his undergraduate years in the late sixties and early seventies.
· MT2000.014 Jim Free shares memories of the MTSU campus and his time as Student Body President in the late 1960s.
· MT2000.015 Bertha Chrietzberg shares memories of her years in the MTSU HPERS Department. She also relates the history behind the Murfreesboro Greenway.
· MT2000.016 Tommy Brown, MTSU graduate, recalls the early years of integrated sports at MTSU.
· MT2000.017 Gwen Walker, wife of former MTSU president James Walker, shares memories of their years on campus. She also shares her involvement with organ donation programs and the story of her own lung transplant.
· MT2000.018 Frank Forgette, MTSU Audio/Visual Services, explains the history behind the Learning Resources Center building on campus.
· MT2000.019 Mary Scales recalls her teaching career with Murfreesboro City Schools and as the first full-time African-American faculty member at MTSU. She also reflects on the leadership role of her husband Robert with the Murfreesboro City Council.
· MT2000.020 Margaret Lindsey Warden remembers her 55-year career as equine reporter for the Nashville Tennessean.
· MT2000.021 Larry Sizemore recalls his undergraduate years at MTSU during the 1960s and discusses the evolution of campus grounds and buildings.
· MT2000.022 Judy Smith, former MTSU Associate Dean of Students, remembers the changing rules for women on campus in the seventies.
· MT2000.023 Buleah Davis remembers her student years at MTSTC and her years of teaching with MTSU HPERS department.
· MT2000.024 Sylvester Brooks recalls his leadership role for the African-American community on campus in the early seventies.
· MT2000.025 Bryant Millsaps remembers his undergraduate years at MTSU during the late sixties and early seventies.
· MT2000.026 J.O. Gist recalls his service in WWII and his return to campus as a student following the war. He also details the development of Auxiliary Services at MTSU.
· MT2000.027 Jennings & Rebecca Jones, Murfreesboro community leaders, reflect on WWII at home and in Europe, community planning for roads and schools, Gen. Douglas MacArthur's visit, and the history behind their philanthropic work in Murfreesboro.
· MT2000.028 Bob Lamb, Murfreesboro realtor, remembers his undergraduate years at MTSU during the sixties.
· MT2000.029 Howard & Gladys Thomas remember his WWII experiences with the SeaBees and her work at Oak Ridge.
· MT2000.030 Robert & Pat Sanders their to lead to Tennessee to become the first state in the country to require use of child safety seats.
· MT2000.031 Billie Little, Executive Director of Children's Discovery House, details the history behind this hands-on museum.
· MT2000.032 Bud Morris shares memories from his student years at MTSU in the 1960s as well as childhood memories of Murfreesboro.
· MT2000.033 Jerry Gaither shares stories from his rural childhood as well as details about his work with State Vocational Schools and as a Rutherford County Commissioner.
· MT2000.034 John Pittard recalls his student years at MTSU and his work with the Murfreesboro City Council.
· MT2000.035 Bob Couch reminisces about Camp Forrest in Tullahoma and the MTSU campus following WWII.
· MT2000.036 Bob LaLance shares stories from his 30+ year career in MTSU Student Affairs.
· MT2000.037 C.B. Arnette, author of From Mink Slide to Main Street, shares early memories of Murfreesboro.
· MT2000.038 Richard Reeves, current mayor of Murfreesboro, talks about his childhood memories of Murfreesboro along with goals and challenges for the city today. 
· MT2000.039 Kitty Stickney came to Murfreesboro from England as a "GI Bride" following WWII. She tells of life in London during the war.
· MT2000.040 Marvin Runyon shares the history behind the arrival of the Nissan Company in Smyrna, Tennessee.
· MT2000.041 Harley Foutch joined the MTSU faculty in 1970 and recalls the history of the AgriBusiness/AgriScience Department.
· MT2000.042 William Pickron details his time as a fighter pilot in the Pacific during WWII and his later years of service as pilot to Tennessee governors.
· MT2000.043 Myrtle Lord recalls her 42-year teaching career and childhood memories of Murfreesboro.
· MT2000.044 Alice Ray tells about her love of antiques and her work to help establish Cannonsburgh.
· MT2000.045 Mary Belle Robinson shares memories of Crichlow School both as a student and teacher. She also shares memories from her time as a student at Tennessee College for Women.
· MT2000.046 Stenia Olivia Woods describes her experiences as the first African-American to attend MTSC as an undergraduate (1962).
· MT2000.047 Ron Green recalls MTSU in the mid-60s and details of his duty in Vietnam.
· MT2000.048 Susan Bragg shares her childhood memories of Murfreesboro.
· MT2000.049 William Sellers remembers his time as a fighter pilot during World War II. He also shares highlights of his time as Rutherford County Attorney from 1957-1983.
· MT2000.050 Bessie Gore was a student at the Normal School in 1924-1926. She shares memories of her college years.

Processing

· Photograph collection. Photograph database now has nearly 10,000 items. I estimate that we currently have a backlog of 1000-1500 photographs.
· Jim Cooper Papers. Student worker Rich Hutchins continues to make progress on this collection.
· Margaret Lindsley Warden Collection. The processing of this collection is almost complete. Graduate student Perky Beisel has created a database with approximately 5000 entries listing books, serials, pamphlets, and research file headings in the collection.
· James Moore King Papers. Students continue to work on encapsulating the documents in this collection dating from the early 19th century.
· John Bragg Papers. The processing is complete. A detailed collection description is available on the web site.
· Albert Gore, Sr., Papers We continue to replace the original folders with acid-free (an extremely long-term project). We have created a descriptive guide with a biographical sketch on the web site.
· Band of Blue. Graduate Assistant Perky Beisel completed the processing of this collection.
· Walter King Hoover Collection. The main body of this collection was already processed, but in organizing the Gore Center we discovered about 5-6 linear feet of materials that had not been incorporated into the collection. Graduate Assistant Nancy Morgan and summer student worker Anca Rizea finished processing those materials. Nancy Morgan developed a guide for the web site and a printed brochure describing the collection.
· Oral History Collection. Student assistants continue to transcribe oral history interviews. Journalism major Annie Hammontree and English graduate student Anca Rizea have been editing the transcriptions for format and readability.

Reference Service

The Gore Center received 510 research inquiries. This number decreased from previous years because of the departure of Professor Andrew Gulliford, who used to send approximately 100 students per semester to the Center for required projects. The number also does not include the numerous individuals and groups who visited the Center for various functions (or just out of curiosity) but did not conduct research. We do not keep careful statistics on visitors, but estimate that number to be at least 150.

Technology

Using TAF funds, the Gore Center purchased Inmagic DBTextworks and DBText Web Publisher software. I attended an Inmagic Training Workshop in Ottawa in April and used knowledge gained from that experience to prepare an NEH grant application to hire an archivist for 18 months to implement the software.

Outreach and Public Programs

Belmont University. I spoke to a history class about the Gore Center on Wednesday, September 20. Eight Belmont students made numerous research trips to the Gore Center and completed term papers using the collections.

From Stumps to Web Sites: A History of Political Campaigning in Tennessee. This exhibit in the Gore Center foyer and hallway was a great success. Seventy people attended the opening reception on October 16. The Murfreesboro Daily News Journal ran a feature and the Gas and I appeared on Dot Harrison’s cable show and the “Incredibly Early” radio show to promote the exhibit. On Friday, October 20, Karenna Gore-Schiff and Andrew Schiff visited while on campus for a campaign rally.

Reflections in Time. The Gore Center once again provided extensive support to Development and Alumni Relations in mounting this exhibit for Founders’ Day. 

Sergeant York VA Medical Center. I continue to serve on the Archives Committee. This body has temporarily suspended activity, however, due to the heavy burden imposed on VA staff by the merger with the VA hospital in Nashville.

Tennessee College for Women Alumnae Association. On Saturday, September 30, I spoke at this organization’s annual business meeting.

Highlights from the Collections (exhibit). After the “Stumps to Web Sites” exhibit, 
the Gas mounted a foyer exhibit highlighting several different types of collections in the Gore Center. They created panels on General MacArthur’s visit to Murfreesboro, the Licker-Haney-Maxwell Collection, The Band of Blue Collection, and the Civilian Conservation Corps Collection. In the display case in the foyer, they installed an exhibit of handheld fans, including one from 1919-1920 with slogans in support of women’s suffrage. That display has been replaced by one focusing on aviation history.

“Using Primary Sources in the Junior High and High School History Class” (videoconferencing workshop). Graduate student Erin Toomey and I prepared a Powerpoint presentation that was broadcast to teachers in a six-county area. This project was funded by a grant from the Instructional Media Resource Center.

Visit by Vice President Gore. In April, former Vice President Al Gore toured the Center. We provided him with a CD of all of the photographs in his father’s collection and a CD of his father playing the fiddle in 1938.

Open house, Jefferson Springs “Reunion”. In April, the Center hosted an open house for the many individuals who cooperated with Ron Kates’s class in the Jefferson Springs project.

Open house, Rutherford County Historical Society. In May, the Gore Center hosted a monthly meeting of the Rutherford County Historical Society. We set out examples from various collections for members to view and demonstrated photograph scanning.

Tennessee Legislative History Project. Served on a committee to develop a conference and an ongoing project to document the history of state legislators.

Photographic history published. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the year was Arcadia Press’s publication of the Gore Center’s photographic history of MTSU. The book, entitled simply Middle Tennessee State University, should be available in Phillips Bookstore by the end of July. It will sell for $19.99 and the Gore Center will receive 10% of the sales.

Education

In Fall 2000, I taught History 443, American Medical History. In Spring 2001, I taught History 202.

In July of 2000, several groups participating in the College of Education’s summer workshop for teachers of gifted students toured the Gore Center. During the Fall and Spring semesters, the GAs and I spoke to several history classes about the Gore Center. Twelve history classes had optional or required assignments involving the Gore Center. A geography class used the center’s map collection for a class project. In another project, a group of students in a computer information systems class developed an indexing system for university publications in the Gore Center’s holdings. (Now if we only had staff to actually enter data!) Finally, Ron Kates’s Honors writing seminar worked throughout the Fall semester (some continued into the Spring) researching Jefferson Springs. 

Gore Biography Project

In early February, Vice President Gore gave his blessing to the selection of Tony Badger as biographer of Albert Gore, Sr. Badger, who is Paul Mellon Professor of American History at Cambridge University, accepted the commission. He has already made one brief trip to the Gore Center and will be arriving on July 10, 2001, for a short visit during which we will finalize and sign the contract and work out details for hiring a postdoctoral research assistant. TBR Attorney Kerry Goodwin, Janine Brink, Carol Rozell, and Myra Norman have all been involved in developing the contract. 

Rutherford County Archives

GAs John Lodl and Aaron Marcavitch did an outstanding job of running the County Archives. They trained a student volunteer who made significant progress in the project to humidify and flatten Chancery Court documents from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They also designed a brochure and had it printed and have designed and mounted a web site (accessible through the Rutherford County home page). 

Grant Applications

National Historical Publications and Records Commission. I applied to the NHPRC to have the Gore Center and the County Archives jointly serve as host institution for the “Fellowship in Advanced Archival Administration” program. Unfortunately, the NHPRC had to cancel both of their fellowship programs due to lack of funds.

Bay Foundation. I applied to the Bay Foundation for $6000 to fund a “Women’s History Documentation Project.” The request was not funded.

MTSU Foundation. I applied to the Foundation for $10,000 to support our efforts in behalf of the Tennessee Legislative History Project. The request was not funded.

MTSU Public Service Grant. The Public Service Committee of MTSU awarded the Gore Center $1300 to fund the development of a web site on Smyrna history. Graduate student Erin Toomey developed a site that includes timelines, historical sketches, and teacher resource pages. She designed it so that we can continue to augment it as we have time and staff available. Currently, we are waiting for permission to use a photograph from the Nissan Corporation before uploading the pages to run on the Center’s website. We anticipate making the site publicly available by the end of July 2001.

Faculty Development Grant. I received a Faculty Development Grant in the amount of $1300 to attend the Inmagic training workshop in Ottawa in April.

National Endowment for the Humanities. I submitted a grant application to NEH for $93,637 to fund an 18-month preservation and access project. Notification of awards should come in December 2001.

Research activities

In April, I presented a paper on documenting local women’s history at the National Council on Public History meeting in Ottawa.

In June, I made a research trip to Chicago and visited both the Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Historical Society to use their materials on the World’s Fair of 1893. I’m currently writing a concluding chapter for my book manuscript (a revision of my dissertation).

Professional Development and Service Activities

Conferences and Workshops

MTSU Administrative Retreat, September 2000
Southern Historical Association, November 2000
NEH Grant-writing workshop, February 2001
National Council on Public History, April 2001
Inmagic Workshop, April 2001

Committee Service

History Department Team Leader, Heartwalk 2000
History Department Graduate Studies Committee
History Department Seminars and Symposia Committee
History Department Search Committee, Museums and Archives positions
Faculty Budget Advisory Committee
Presidents Committee on Programs for Students with Disabilities

Goals, FY 2001-2002

Research
· Complete book manuscript and submit to Mercer University Press for review.
· Participate in the TN Conference of Historians meeting on campus in October
· Submit a conference paper proposal to the American Association for the History of Medicine (April meeting) [submitted but not accepted]

Teaching
· Teach the Historian’s Craft in the Fall and a graduate seminar in Jacksonian America in the Spring

Grant Writing
· Complete an NHPRC application for a grant for the County Archives.
· Investigate funding possibilities for the TN Legislative History Project, the Middle Tennessee Oral History Project, and our community outreach efforts through the following private foundations: Sony, John Deere, Earhart, Wilbur, PPG Industries, Metropolitan Life, and the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust. If initial inquiries receive a positive response, complete grant application process.

Collections Management
· Refolder 1000 files in the Gore Papers
· Complete the preservation of the James Moore King papers
· Complete the scanning and database entry for all photographs [had to stop: server reached capacity]
· Process the Jim Cummings Collection

Public Service
· Further develop the TN Legislative History Project; prepare exhibit on TN political history for kick-off conference
· Develop a program and exhibit celebrating local women’s history for Women’s History Month (March).