Student Life and Culture Archives > Blog > Archive
Return to top

Tag: University of Illinois alumni

The Robert R. Hudelson Papers

Posted on by
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” →

Found in the Archives: The Most Popular Girl in School

Posted on by

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” →

The James Watson Snively Papers

Posted on by
A photo of the Snively family, sent to James while he was a POW.
A photo of the Snively family, sent to James while he was a POW.

Written by Caitlin Stamm

The Student Life and Culture Archives recently processed the papers of James Watson Snively (RS 26/20/198), a University of Illinois student who served during World War II. James Watson Snively was born in 1924 in Rockford, Illinois. His parents, John Rowe Snively, Jr. (Phi Alpha Delta, Pre-Law 1921, Law 1923) and Mabel Ruth (née Holland) Snively (LAS 1924), both attended the University of Illinois.[1]  In addition, SLC has also acquired John R. Snively’s scrapbook from his time as a U of I student(41/20/246).

James “Jimmie” Snively attended West High School in Rockford and entered the University of Illinois in 1942, where he was a member of the University R.O.T.C.’s Pershing Rifles. [2]. This new collection contains the letters that Mr. and Mrs. Snively wrote to Jimmie while he lived in Urbana-Champaign, as well as the letters he wrote back to his parents, describing his life as a student.  Continue reading “The James Watson Snively Papers” →

Romance and Dance: The Dance Cards of Virginia I. Miller and W. Homer Switzer

Posted on by
A dance card, from the 1934 Senior Ball. Record Series 41/20/247.
A dance card, from the 1934 Senior Ball. Record Series 41/20/247.

Written by Caitlin E. Crane

As students at the University of Illinois in the mid to late 1930’s, Virginia I. Miller and W. Homer Switzer would often attend dances held by various groups on campus together. The Student Life and Culture Archives recently received a memento of their dances in the form of 35 of their dance cards. Dance cards, or dance programs, were small booklets which allowed women to record their dance partners for the evening. They often came with a tasseled cord attached to the booklet in order to allow the women to wear the programs around their wrist or to attach them to their gowns [1]. While the cards are lovely on their own – often intricately decorated, and recording interesting past social events – the Miller dance cards are made especially lovely by the addition inside many of the cards of a handwritten love note from Miller to Switzer. Continue reading “Romance and Dance: The Dance Cards of Virginia I. Miller and W. Homer Switzer” →