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Cosmopolitan Club Postcards

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Written by Breana McCracken

The Cosmopolitan Club was founded in 1907, making it the oldest international student organization on the University of Illinois campus. The purpose of the club was to cultivate social and Cosmopolitan Club post cardintellectual relationships between persons of different nationalities though a variety of activities and services. These activities included ethnic dinners, international coffee hours, parties, and various outings to cultural and social events and local attractions. The Cosmopolitan Club, or “Cosmo” Club for short, wished to offer opportunities for Americans and those from other countries to share experiences and exchange ideas. In addition to the programs, the Cosmo Club house on John Street served as a “home away from home” for several members and as a meeting place close to campus.

Recently, the Student Life and Culture (SLC) Archives acquired more materials related to the Cosmopolitan Club. These items included brochures, international dinner menus, club calendars, newsletters, and various items related to social activities and administrative proceedings of the club. All of the newest material was donated by Susan Taylor, faculty advisor of the Cosmopolitan Club and Assistant Professor of English as an International Language from 1964 to 1999.

Continue reading “Cosmopolitan Club Postcards” →

The Robert R. Hudelson Papers

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Robert in his football uniform as an undergraduate student.
Robert in his football uniform as an undergraduate student.

Written by Breana McCracken

The Student Life and Culture (SLC) Archives recently received the papers and photographs of Robert R. Hudelson (RS 41/20/255), a University of Illinois student and former Dean of the College of Agriculture. Robert Hudelson was born in 1886 in Chambersburg, Illinois to Henry and Katherine Brook Hudelson. He first attended Illinois State University at Normal, Illinois where he received  a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1908. From 1909 to 1912, he attended the University of Illinois where he received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. He then went on to earn a master’s degree  in chemistry  and soils from the University of Missouri in 1915.

After this time, Robert became a soldier during World War I, where he kept a diary documenting the daily life of a soldier. The SLC Archives has been lucky enough to have received this diary. In addition, SLC has also acquired a few other journals of Robert’s and several scrapbooks of his family and from his time as a student.

Continue reading “The Robert R. Hudelson Papers” →

The Gizz Kids: Athletics for Students with Disabilities

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Written by Caitlin Stamm

The Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES) records have been made available due to the generous support of B. Joseph White and the President’s office. DRES records were processed and selectively digitized for online exhibition in 2008-2009.

Archer Sue Hagel
Archer Sue Hagel

The Gizz Kids program was created in 1948 by Timothy Nugent and was run by the service fraternity Delta Sigma Omicron as a program of sports available to student-athletes with disabilities. The intention of the program mirrors that of DRES: to offer students with disabilities the ability to fully experience college and all of its many opportunities, athletics included. The Gizz Kids program grew to include a number of sports, including football, basketball, baseball, track and field, fencing, archery, cheerleading, and square dancing for students in wheelchairs. The program also included bowling for the blind and adaptive swimming.

Timothy Nugent coaches players during a 1955 game
Timothy Nugent coaches players during a 1955 game

The Gizz Kids program was an important one for both students in the Rehabilitation-Education program and the general public. The fierce competition that one expects in college athletics was retained in each of the adapted Gizz Kids sports; the program became an important tool in educating the public. The program showed the general public the strength, skill, and abilities of athletes with disabilities and motivated other students and younger people with disabilities. To mirror traditional basketball, the wheelchair basketball organization followed NCAA regulations exactly, excepting three modifications [1]. Continue reading “The Gizz Kids: Athletics for Students with Disabilities” →

Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School

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Written by Caitlin Stamm

Since its inception, the U of I has been home to many illustrious awards and award-winners. One of the more unique titles, though, was awarded to an Illinois student one hundred years ago.

In April 1914, the Chicago Sunday Tribune named ten girls “The Most Popular Girls in College.” The

Article from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, April 26, 1914
Article from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, April 26, 1914

girls selected represented schools from across the country, from Stanford University  in California to Wellesley  College in Massachusetts. According to the Tribune, the defining characteristic of all of the young women selected was “a gracious democracy.” They wrote, “[E]ach and all of the girls chosen possessed above everything else the genius for democracy. It was their certain loadstone of attraction.” The women were selected after correspondents from the paper sent photographs and a description of each girl, detailing “the traits which accounted for her being the universal choice of her school” [1].

Clara Cronk, From the 1915 Illio
Clara Cronk, From the 1915 Illio

One of the ten women selected was Clara Cronk, a senior at Illinois in 1914. The Tribune described Ms. Cronk as “the most popular girl at the University of Illinois,” who “is a senior, a member of the senior memorial committee, and has always taken a prominent part in class politics” [2]. Continue reading “Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School” →

Campus Memories: Boneyard Creek

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“Through the shady Arboretum,/ By the Balm of Gilead tree,/ gently flows the Bone-yard/On its journey to the sea./ In the summer, little violets/ ‘Midst the greenest mosses bloom,/ And their sweetest fragrance mingles/ With the Bone-yard’s own perfume.“[1]

Postcard from RS 41/20/73.<br /> The note on the reverse reads: "Where all freshman [<em>sic</em>] are in danger of being dumped."
Postcard from RS 41/20/73.
The note on the reverse reads: “Where all freshman [sic] are in danger of being dumped.”
From the 1908 Illio, p. 539. Caption reads: "Life on the ocean wave or crossing the Boneyard during the recent flood"
From the 1908 Illio, p. 539. Caption reads: “Life on the ocean wave or crossing the Boneyard during the recent flood”

While there are many aspects of life as a U of I student that have remained the same throughout the years, one of the things that has changed is the symbolism and importance of Boneyard Creek. Fraternity battles! Student antics! Accidental explosions! Boneyard Creek has been home to it all.

For students of the past, Boneyard Creek was one of the most recognizable aspects of life in Champaign-Urbana. In fact, almost every Illio yearbook through the early 1920s featured some mention of the Boneyard. A student on campus in 1907 described the creek as “the most famous place here.” [2] Continue reading “Campus Memories: Boneyard Creek” →