Monthly Archives: December 2011

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time reading Threshers recently, trying to puzzle out the gags in the 1937 Owl map. I’ve made some headway, but of course I’ve also bumped into a lot of unrelated yet still compelling … Continue reading →

We spent all day today on the road, driving between the Colorado mountains and Omaha. You know what’s out there? Not much. That makes for a pretty long day, so instead of commentary I’ll offer a puzzle. This was a … Continue reading →

When I first looked at these photos from Maxwell Reade’s scrapbook, I assumed they were taken after the 1938 stadium upgrade. On closer inspection, though, I see that he took them before the renovation, during the 1937 football season. Luckily, … Continue reading →

If you go back and look at the 1937 Owl map, up at the top an arrow points to the “new Rice Stadium.”  I don’t pretend to understand whatever joke is being made here, but I’m interested by the reference … Continue reading →

While I was in a meeting in the Baker library a while ago, I spotted some old scrapbooks on the shelves. They’re hilarious. A case in point: A lot of guys couldn’t carry off this look, but this fellow is … Continue reading →

I’ve been in several meetings recently having to do with the plans to renovate this historic areas of Baker. The historical questions that have arisen in these discussions are quite interesting and have forced me to think harder about where … Continue reading →

When I found the Maxwell Reade pictures (because, you’ll recall, of a simple question about the history of the Math Department) I got curious about the campus in the era he photographed. I knew that this was the heyday of … Continue reading →

I’ve been traveling today and I’m pretty beat, so here are a couple of images from Maxwell Reade’s scrapbook that almost stand on their own. As far as I know, both of these are unique in the archives–I’ve never seen … Continue reading →

Remember these guys? I put them up when I was talking about the cloisters as a hub of campus activity. I guessed it at circa 1932, but it turns out that’s a tad early. While I was doing some research … Continue reading →

I know it’s irrational, but I kind of resent that I wasn’t invited to this shindig.