2017 Calendar: Music & Theater Images From the C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

2017

Calendar

Music & Theater Images from the C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department Celebrating 50 Years of Archives at the University of Texas at El Paso Library

Celebrating 50 Years of Archives at the UTEP Library 2017 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Archives Department at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Library. In September 1967 Library Director Baxter Polk created the Library Archives and appointed El Paso historian Leon C. Metz as UTEP’s first archivist. Metz argued that the university “had an obligation to the community and the surrounding area to preserve its historical heritage.” He envisioned an archive that actively collected materials about the history of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico – a repository that would become a mandatory stop for researchers studying the El Paso borderlands.

Leon Metz, UTEP’s first archivist, sorts materials from the R.E. Thomason papers, Summer 1968, NOVA Quarterly.

During the eight years he worked as the UTEP archivist, Metz and his staff acquired several hundred collections about El Paso and the border region. Originally housed in a room half the size of a standard office, the Archives Department moved into the entire second story of the south wing of the “new” Library Building (now the Geology Building) in September 1968. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Archives Department’s holdings grew with Leon Metz’s and UTEP history professor Dr. W.H. Timmons’ project to

Leon Metz in the “new” Library, Summer 1968, NOVA Quarterly.

microfilm important collections of archives in Mexico.

The Library’s Special Collections and Archives sections were consolidated into a single department in October 1974. That same year, the UTEP Library became part of the Texas State Library and Archives system as a Regional Historical Records Depository.

In 1980 Special Collections began housing local oral histories from UTEP’s Institute of Oral History.

Since 1984 Special Collections has been located on the sixth floor of the UTEP Library on Wiggins Way. Officially named the C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department on September 18, 1993 (after the longtime UTEP English professor and historian), the Department currently contains over 630 archival collections, 80 photograph collections, over 1,400 oral histories, rare and thematic book collections, and rare books and document collections on microfilm.

This calendar features music and theater images from our collections, which help visually document the cultural history of the border region. It is dedicated to all former Special Collections staff

Dr. W.H. Timmons (second from right) and Leon Metz (right) visit with Mexican colleagues as part of their work for the Mexican microfilming project, c. 1960s, W.H. Timmons papers, MS041.

Cesar Caballero, former head of Special Collections, and Ann Massmann, former Curator of Manuscripts and Art, examine a minature printed book, 1991, NOVA Quarterly.

members, current staff members, donors, and researchers.

To view more images from Special Collections, please go to: http://libraryweb.utep.edu/special/databases.php C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Casasola Studio Collection

Part of the Casasola Studio collection, MS517, this postcard image shows famous Mexican actor and singer Pedro Infante. Photographer Alfonso Casasola often took photographs of entertainers who appeared at the ColĂłn Theater next door to the studio. Mr. Infante appeared in over 60 films during his acting career. He also recorded approximately 350 songs, mostly in the mariachi and ranchera musical genres.

Postcard, Pedro Infante, c. 1930s – 1940s, Casasola Studio collection, MS517.

Sunday New Year’s Day Last Day of Chanukah

January 2017

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Martin Luther King Day 16

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C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

Saturday 6

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Dia de los Reyes Magos (Epiphany)

Chinese New Year

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

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Dr. W.H. Timmons Papers Wilbert H. “Bill” Timmons (19152008) was a longtime UTEP history professor. He published several important books about the El Paso borderlands including El Paso: A Borderlands History. Dr. Timmons also directed the Mexican microfilm project at UTEP during the 1960s, which microfilmed significant archives of Ciudad Juárez, Durango, Janos, and Chihuahua and made the film available to researchers. This largescale microfilming project was one of Dr. Timmons’ greatest contributions to the historical scholarship of the U.S. – Mexico borderlands. In addition to his academic career, Dr. Timmons was a skilled jazz pianist and loved singing and playing music at parties.

Dr. W.H. Timmons sings with musicians, c.1960s, W.H. Timmons papers, MS041.

Sunday

February 2017

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Presidents’ Day

Groundhog Day Dia de la Candelaria

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Valentine’s Day

C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Woman’s Club of El Paso Records Musical performances have been an important part of the Woman’s Club of El Paso’s activities since its founding in 1894. The Woman’s Club’s first auxiliary organization, the MacDowell Club, was formed in 1917 by former president Kate Moore Brown. The MacDowell Club regularly put on musical meetings and programs for the public as part of its educational and cultural mission. This photograph shows Woman’s Club members in pirate costumes for a performance of the operetta Captain Kidd.

Woman’s Club performance of Captain Kidd, April 18, 1927, Woman’s Club of El Paso records, MS576.

Sunday

Daylight Savings Time Begins

March 2017

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Vernal Equinox

C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

Saturday

St. Patrick’s Day

César Chávez Day

31

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Samuel Fant Photograph collection

Samuel W. Fant, Jr. (1907 – 1990) was a portrait photographer with a studio in El Paso. He specialized in glamorous shots of women and dabbled in movie production. The Samuel Fant photograph collection, PH058, was donated to the UTEP library by photographer JosÊ Andow.

It consists of files of sheet negatives arranged by name of the subject. This photograph shows ventriloquist Donny Asbury with two dummies and a skunk puppet.

Donny Asbury with dummies and skunk puppet, c. 1950s, Samuel Fant photograph collection, PH058.

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Palm Sunday

Easter Sunday

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Passover Begins

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Good Friday

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C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Stout-Feldman Studio Collection

This photograph of the College of Mines band appeared in the 1929 yearbook – The Flowsheet. The band was led by Rayo Reyes.

He was a well-known El Paso orchestra leader and father to actress, singer, and dancer Reva Reyes who performed in New York and Europe. As a special UTEP Centennial project in 2014, the Special Collections Department digitized the school’s yearbooks and other UTEP history resources.

They are available to view online at http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/ utep_hist/.

College of Mines and Metallurgy Band, c.1928 – 1929, Stout-Feldman Studio photographs, PH074.

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Mothers’ Day

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Cinco de Mayo

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Memorial Day

Mexican Mothers’ Day

C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Cleofas Calleros Papers This image from the Cleofas Calleros papers shows members of the El Paso Pioneer Negro Chorus. As part of El Paso’s participation in the Texas Centennial Exposition, the El Paso Pioneer Negro Chorus traveled to Dallas for “El Paso Day” in June 1936.

The El Paso Pioneer Negro Chorus, sponsored by the El Paso County Colored Pioneer Club, performed spirituals at the Exposition. Other members of the El Paso delegation to Dallas included Tigua Indian dancers from Ysleta, the El Paso Chorus, the Típica Orquestra, and local civic leaders.

El Paso Pioneer Negro Chorus, c. 1936, Cleofas Calleros papers, MS231.

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Fathers’ Day

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Juneteenth

C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

Summer Solstice

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Stout - Feldman Studio Collection This photograph from the StoutFeldman Studio collection, shows the College Players’ April 11, 1930 performance of The Lottery Man

by Rida Johnson Young at the Community Center Auditorium.

Founded on December 4, 1929, the College Players studied and produced plays in El Paso from the 1930s – 1960s. They also performed weekly radio plays on stations KOB, WDAH, and later KTSM, during the 1930s. Mrs. Myrtle E. Ball, the drama instructor at the College of Mines, served as the group’s first sponsor and director. Membership in the College Players was by audition and was highly selective.

PH074-10367-1, College Players, April 11, 1930, Stout-Feldman Studio photographs, PH074.

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Independence Day

C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Stout - Feldman Studio Collection

A native of El Paso, Reva Reyes was an internationally-known actress, singer, and dancer. She performed in El Paso, New York, and throughout Europe. Ms. Reyes was especially popular as a performer in London, Budapest, and Paris cafĂŠs.

In November 1939, she was seriously injured in a car accident while traveling to Paris after entertaining front-line soldiers during World War II. After surgery to repair a fractured leg, she recovered and continued her singing and dancing career in 1941. Her father, Rayo Reyes, was a well-known local band leader who also directed the College of Mines and Metallurgy (now UTEP) band.

Dancers Leopoldo Villareal and Reva Reyes, c. 1926, Stout-Feldman Studio photographs, PH074.

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August 2017

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C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

C.E. Waterhouse, Jr. Papers

Born in El Paso, Charles Ewing Waterhouse, Jr. (second from left) was an architect, artist, photographer, and accomplished jazz musician.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, he played piano and banjo and gave banjo lessons. One of his bands, the Waterhouse Syncopators, played at the Modern CafĂŠ in El Paso, among other nightspots. In addition to performing music in El Paso, Mr. Waterhouse traveled with several dance bands.

C.E. Waterhouse and jazz band, c. 1930s, C.E. Waterhouse papers, MS458.

Sunday

September 2017

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Labor Day

C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

Yom Kippur

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Rosh Hashana

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Autumnal Equinox

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

The University of Texas at El Paso Collection

The UTEP collection photographs, MS001, contain many images that document the school’s Drama Department. This photograph features the three witches from a July 1954 production of Macbeth, which was part of Texas Western College’s annual summer play festival held at Magoffin Auditorium.

Directed by Ernest Sublett, the production included costumes designed by Professor Milton Leech and Elizabethan-era music.

Macbeth, July 1954, UTEP collection photographs, MS001.

Sunday

October 2017

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Halloween

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C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

Manuel Carrillo Photograph Collection

Manuel Carrillo (1906-1989) was a Mexican photographer who is best known for documenting traditional Mexico.

His photographs depict people, animals, and scenes from Mexican towns and villages. Carrillo assigned reference numbers to the images and described them in a sort of short-hand style: his descriptions are not titles per se, since he generally exhibited his photographs as untitled.

Many of Carrillo’s photographs have been digitized and are available to view in the Special Collections image database: http://cdm15823.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ search/collection/p15823coll17.

Tlalpujahua, MichoacĂĄn, undated, Manuel Carrillo photograph collection, MS288.

Sunday

November 2017

Monday

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Día de los Muertos All Saints’ Day

Daylight Savings Time ends

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C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

Saturday

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Veterans’ Day

Friday

All Souls’ Day

Thanksgiving Day

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The University of Texas at El Paso Library

El Paso Herald-Post Records

In this photograph, six dancers rehearse a traditional Mexican folk dance, Los Viejitos (“the little old ones�), on December 11, 1978 for a performance at the Chamizal National Memorial Theater. This performance, directed by Rosa Guerrero, founder and artistic director of the International Folklorico Dance Group, was part of a Cultura Hispanica program held in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

La danza de los Viejitos, December 11, 1978, El Paso Herald-Post records, MS348.

Sunday

December 2017

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Christmas Eve

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New Year’s Eve

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Christmas Day

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Wednesday

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Our Lady of Guadalupe Day

Kwanzaa (until Jan. 1)

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Chanukah Begins

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Chanukah Ends

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C. L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department

Saturday

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Friday

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Winter Solstice

The University of Texas at El Paso Library

The Plaza Theatre, Premiere for the Film El Paso, 1949, El Paso Times subject files, MS265.

Front cover image: El Club de San Ignacio, January 1911, Cleofas Calleros papers, MS 231. The sign held in the back reads “S.I.C.” for San Ignacio Church.

C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department University of Texas at El Paso Library 500 W. University Avenue El Paso, Texas 79968 915-747-5697 http://libraryweb.utep.edu/special/ To Donate: http://libraryweb.utep.edu/about/friends_endow.pdf