Papers of the Valdosta State University Alumni Association, 1917-2001 | Valdosta State University Archives

By Deborah Davis, Elizabeth Barwick

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Collection Overview

Title: Papers of the Valdosta State University Alumni Association, 1917-2001

Predominant Dates:1924-1932, 1960's -1970's

ID: UA/24/

Extent: 20.0 Boxes

Arrangement:

Boxes 1-5 contain Correspondence and Minutes dating back to 1918. Both "official" correspondence from the Association officers, and chatty "catch-up with friends" letters from Alumni are included. Edith Patterson, the first long term President of the Alumni Association, served from 1924 to 1932. Her correspondence from 1922 to 1932 (she died in 1933), found in Boxes 3 and 4, include especially vivid letters from the early Alumnae. Included here are speeches, and a History paper by Joseph Kelly on Edith Patterson and the early Alumni Association. See also the Archives Web Page for "Past Pictures: The Edith Patterson Years, 1924-1932." The minutes are found in Box 2 and Box 5.

Boxes 6-10 contain organizational information, outlining the history, concerns, membership and financial records of the Association. Here are found items from plays, membership lists, ledgers, the constitution, special topics and articles. Of particular note are the poems, speeches and essays by Alumni found in this section.

Boxes 11-16 contain the Printed or Published Material from the Alumni Association. The early newsletters varied so much in format and title, that they are listed by year as Printed Material.

Boxes 17 and 18 contain photographic plates and woodcuts used in early Alumni Association publications as well as Alumni Memoirs. The memoirs include publications, pictures, letters, slides, and a box of pictures of Alumni's children.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The SGSNC Alumnae Association began in May of 1918, although some publications put it in 1917. It has continued on to the present day, as the VSU Alumni Association. The VSU Alumni Association collection contains materials from 1918 to the present. The purpose of the association is to keep the school's Alumni involved personally and financially with the college. Thus, the bulk of the collection is correspondence and published newsletters. The early Alumni performed other functions, such as recruiting for the school and funding scholarships.

The correspondence, the bulk of which is from 1924-1932, with years up to 1960 well represented, documents a personal attachment between the alumni and the school and between the alumni and their friends who serve as officers. Many of the presidents of the Alumni Association, such as Edith Patterson, and Mildred Price, were also employees of the college, so they regularly passed on appeals and messages from the President in their letters. Later, an Alumni Council, composed of VSC Faculty served as this link in the 1960's and 1970's. Fluker Stewart was the first Alumni Director and served out of the office of College Relations. The Office of Alumni Relations was formed to assist the Alumni Association in the early 1980's, and many of the current publications of the Alumni Association are now assisted or handled by this Office.

The Publications include early Alumni newsletters, which changed format quite often, and so are listed Alumni Publication, by year. The most frequent title was Alumni News. Later publications are listed by title: Valdosta State College Alumni News 1961-1962; Valdosta State College Newsletter: 1965-1966; Alumni Newsletter Valdosta State College 1966-1974; Alumni Association Newsletter and Alumni Football Newsletter--1981; Valdosta State College Bulletin, 1975-present.

The Association raised and dispersed money for scholarships and alumni entertainment and the records of these transactions, especially in the 1950's and 1960's are included in the Collection. Membership and record keeping were other important functions of the Association, and many folders exist of Membership Lists. In fact, in the 1930's a WPA project traced all graduates of the college to generate a complete alumni list. The WPA project papers are included.

Alumni Memoirs donated to the Archives over the years make up one box, and include slides, publications and photographs; a whole box of photographs capture the children of alumni. The many personal letters in the Correspondence also tell biographical information about the alumni. Two boxes of the collection contain letters to Edith Patterson, from 1922 to 1932, and give rich details of the lives of early alumni.

Official letterhead, invitations and programs, along with the woodcuts and photographic plates used in early printing of alumni publications are included in the Collection.

Box and Folder Listing

Box 23: Alumini Association Photographs and Student Handbooks

Box contains slides, bulletins, VHS, cassette tapes, pictures and dvds, all relating to the VSU Alumni Association.

Folder 1: Cassette Tapes: Two cassette tapes: Graduation Music and Telethon.
Folder 2: Convention (VHS): President For A Day: Valdosta: 1991: A VHS recording of the President for a day convention at Valdosta.
Folder 3: Convention (VHS): SAA: S. Carolina: 1999: A VHS recording of the Student Alumni Association's 1999 meeting held at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina.
Folder 4: Oozeball (VHS): 1993: A VHS recording of a game of Oozeball (like volleyball played in the mud), dated 1993.
Folder 5: Serenaders 1986: A VHS recording. Labeled (I think) Serenaders '86. The Serenaders was a singing group.
Folder 6: VSU Promotion DVD: 2002: A promotional DVD for VSU dated 2002.
Folder 7: Student Handbooks: 1970-1974: Four student handbooks for the academic years 1970-1971 (3 copies), and 1973-1974 (2 copies).
Folder 8: Student Handbooks: 1974-1977: Student handbooks for academic years: 1974-1975, 1975-1976 (3 copies), and 1976-1977.
Folder 9: UGA: University Judicial Systems Procedures: A small handbook titled: UGA: University Judicial Systems Procedures.
Folder 10: VSU Ambassadors Brochures: Several copies of brochures aimed at recruiting new members to the VSU Ambassadors (Student Alumni Association).
Folder 11: Homecoming Pamphlets: 2000: Pamphlets highlighting the events for Homecoming Week ("Steamin' Up the South"), including a bonfire, golf tournament, parade, and more.
Folder 12: Newspaper Clippings: Newspaper clippings (Some encapsulated) from as far back 1947 dealing with VSU.
Folder 13: Loose Scrapbooks: House in the Woods: Reunion pictures, some taken at the House in the Woods, that are labeled and includes a list of who is who. Copies of the pictures are also included.
Folder 14: Loose Scrapbooks: Hazel Lovelace: Copies of old photographs and newer ones. Came in a large envelope titled: Hazel Lovelace, who is the woman in the actual photographs.
Folder 15: Negatives: Negatives without matching pictures. However, some were labeled in envelopes. Includes CNC 1990, President for a Day and Cram Gram 1993, and "unclaimed" which seem to be from several different years.
Folder 16: Slides: 1986-1989: Student Alumni Association pictures from 1986 to 1989. Covers a range of activities.
Folder 17: Slides 1990-1991, 1994: Slides covering a range of activities from the academic school year 90-91, and 1994.
Folder 18: Slides: Mexico: 2001: Slides, mostly of sunsets, that were at least developed in 2001 (May be related to the trip to Mexico in 2000).
Folder 19: Slides: 2002: Slides from the Student Alumni Association, developed in 2002.
Folder 20: Altered Photos: 1987: Pictures that were altered for a publication in 1987.
Folder 21: Loose Pictures: Various Dates: Alumni Association: Several pictures that were not in folders or envelopes and could not be positively identified with any other folder.
Folder 22: VSU Ambassadors: 1990: Pictures and Negatives from 1990 for the VSU Ambassadors (Student Alumni Association).
Folder 23: VSU Ambassadors:1996: Pictures and negatives for VSU Ambassadors from 1996.
Folder 24: VSU Ambassadors: 1999: Pictures and negatives from the 1999 school year for the VSU Ambassadors.
Folder 25: Trip: Alaska: July 1998: Pictures from a trip to Alaska in July 1998.
Folder 26: Trip: Mexico: 2000: Pictures and Negatives from a trip to Mexico in 2000.
Folder 27: Student Handbooks: 1977-1979: Three copies each of student handbooks for years 1977-1978 and 1978-1979.
Folder 28: Student Handbooks: 1980-1985: Three copies of the student handbook for the year 1980-1981 and one copy for the year 1981-1982 also two copies from 1984-1985.
Folder 29: Student Handbook: 1986-1988: Two copies fo teh 1986-1987 student handbook and three copies from 1987-1988.
Folder 30: Student Handbooks: 1992-1993: Three copies of the student handbook for the years 1992-1993 and one from 1993-1994.