Showing 95 results

Name
Spurlock, William
lcnaf n 80154882 · Person · 1945-2013

William "Bill" Henry Spurlock II was born October 1945 in Chicago, Illinois, son of William Spurlock, Sr., and Anne Spurlock. His family moved to the San Antonio area around 1956, and his father operated the Ben Franklin Store in Schertz. Spurlock graduated from Robert E. Lee High School, and from Trinity University in 1970 with a BA. He studied under Professor Bill Bristow during his time at Trinity. Spurlock went on to earn a Master's degree in Modern Art from the University of New Mexico in 1974, and a Doctorate in Contemporary Art and Museology from the Union Graduate School in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Spurlock's career in art took him across the country, including time spent as a professor at the University of Texas Arlington, Director of University Art Galleries at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and Curator of Exhibitions and Contemporary Art at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California.

He died May 28, 2013, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Belk, Claudius Earle
Person · 1920-1999

Claudius Earle Belk was born in 1920 in Millville, Arkansas. In 1938 he enlisted in the United States Marines. After basic training, he served aboard the USS Yorktown. During World War II, Belk was a navigator aboard a B-17 bomber of the 546th Bombardment Squadron, 384th Bombardment Group of the US Army Air Force. His place was shot down over France on June 26, 1943, and he was captured by German forces as a prisoner of war. He spent most of his captivity in the Stalag Luft III POW camp in Sagan, Germany. Belk was awarded the Purple Heart for his service in 1946. Belk continued to serve in the armed services following the war. He was married and divorced once, and died in 1999 in Florida.

Person · 1927-1999

Sherman M. Stanage (1927-1999) was a philosophy professor at Trinity University from 1966-1968. Prior to teaching at Trinity, he was a professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio from 1959-1966.
Stanage supported a student-led uprising on the campus of Bowling Green in 1961. He was fired from his position at the university as a result, though reinstated a year later by the institution’s board of trustees. In 1966 Stanage was contacted by friend and colleague Richard Zaner with an invitation to teach at Trinity University. Under the assurance he would receive tenure after teaching for two years, Stanage moved to Trinity.
While at Trinity, Stanage advocated the abolition of the mandatory requirement for Trinity’s ROTC program, and hosted student club meetings if they had approved location to meet on campus. Within the San Antonio community, he supported city council candidate Pete Torres, who was running against the Good Government League of San Antonio.
In December of 1967, Dean Bruce Thomas informed Stanage that Trinity would not renew his contract for the 1968-1969 school year. Stanage appealed to the Faculty Senate to investigate the matter, believing that his academic freedom was being violated. This led to considerable student protesting from Trinity students. An Investigation Committee was formed and conducted its investigation during the months of January and February of 1968. Abiding by AAUP (American Association of University Professors) guidelines, the Investigation Committee ultimately decided that Stanage’s academic freedom had not been violated and therefore no further action was needed. Stanage left Trinity and accepted a position at Northern Illinois University, where he remained until he retired.

Valentine, Lucia N.
LCNAF n 84012434 · Person · 1902-1992

Lucia Garrison Norton Valentine was born in 1902. She was the great-granddaughter of William Lloyd Garrison and granddaughter of Wendell Garrison. Lucia graduated from Smith College in 1923, and attended the Columbia School of Architecture.

She married Alan Chester Valentine (1901-1980) in 1928. Alan served as president of the University of Rochester from 1935 to 1949. Lucia and Alan were close friends with author Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The couple had three children. Alan died in 1980; Lucia died in 1992.

Though Lucia never worked as a practicing architect, she did design two buildings in the North Haven, Maine area: the Morrow guest house and the Valentine summer home. Lucia was the author of two books: "Ornament in Medieval Manuscripts: a Glossary" (London: Faber and Faber, 1965) and "The American Academy in Rome: 1894-1969" (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1973), the latter co-authored by her husband.

Person · 1905-1997

Stanley S. Slotkin was a successful Los Angeles businessman, philanthropist, and rare book collector. Slotkin donated rare books and artifacts from his collections to various libraries and museums. In the 1960s, he began to dismember books in order to donate individual leaves from books to institutions rather than whole works, believing that this would make the historical documents more accessible to more people. His son Mark Slotkin joined him in this work in the 1970s.

Monday, Susie McAtee
Person · b.1948

Susan McAtee Monday was born in Waco, Texas in 1948. Her father taught chemistry at Baylor University. As a child, Monday attended the Baylor Children’s Theatre under the direction of Kitty Baker and Jearnine Wagner. At the age of 12, Monday moved to Houston, but remained in contact with the children’s theater program and was later a contributor to the Our Theatre, a Place for Ideas book written by Wagner and Baker. In 1964, Paul Baker moved his theatre company from Bayor to Trinity University. Monday participated in the Youth In Motion summer programs at Trinity under the direction of Luanne Klaras and Virginia DuPuy. After high school, she attended Trinity, studying studio art, and received a B.A in 1970.

While at Trinity she continued working with the Ideas in Motion Program as a student teacher. She contributed to Wagner’s Unlimited Potential Program, working with youth from area schools, as well as Hemisfair’s Children’s Garden and the Intercambio Exchange Program. Monday joined the core group that would organize the Learning About Learning Educational Foundation (LAL) in 1971. She developed programs, exhibits and publications, and led LAL’s Idea Workshop. As the creative arm of the organization, the Idea Workshop served as an incubator for ideas and themes that could reach children, schools and families across the city. These ideas and themes were often further developed in the Laboratory School, teacher training, new products and services.

After Learning About Learning closed in 1986, Monday worked as a writer for both the San Antonio Light and Our Kids Magazine. From 1993-1998 she was the Director of Exhibits and Programs at the San Antonio Children’s Museum. Monday has since established herself as a fulltime textile and fiber artist and teacher in the South Texas region, regularly participating in exhibitions and offering online and in-person workshops.

Wittliff, William D.
LCNAF n 86813533 · Person · 1940-2019

William "Bill" Dale Wittliff was born on January 21, 1940 in Taft, Texas, son of William and Laura (Sachtleben) Wittliff. His parents divorced when he was young, and Wittliff moved to a ranch in Blanco upon his mother's remarriage. He graduated from the University of Texas in Austin in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He married Sally Bowers in 1963, and they had two children, Reid and Allison.

After graduation he worked as a business and production manager for Southern Methodist University Press. Around this time, Wittliff and his wife founded a the Encino Press, a book publishing company which specialized in regional material about the Southwest, with a particular focus on Texas. Encino Press remained in operation through the 1980s.

Wittliff gained renown as a screenwriter. His most notable works included "The Black Stallion" (1979), "Honeysuckle Rose" (1980), "Barbarosa" (1982), "Lonesome Dove" (1989), "Legends of the Fall" (1994), and "The Perfect Storm" (2000). He also wrote a series of novels, beginning with "The Devil's Backbone" (2014). Wittliff was also a noted photographer.

In 1986 Wittliff founded the Southwest Writers Collection at Texas State University, which features works by authors from Texas and the American Southwest. The Wittliff Collections are one of the most extensive archives of Southwestern materials in the United States.

Bill Wittliff died in 2019 of a heart attack.

Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998
LCNAF n 80004369 · Person · 1938-1998

Dick Higgins was born in Cambridge, England on March 15, 1938. Higgins was raised in New England and attended private boarding school, before attending Yale University, Manhattan School of Printing, and the New School. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from Columbia University in 1960 and a master's degree from New York University in 1977. Higgins married artist Alison Knowles in 1960, and they had two daughters, Hannah and Jessica Higgins. Higgins and Knowles divorced in 1970 and remarried in 1984. Higgins died of a heart attack in Quebec City in 1998.

Dick Higgins was a founding member of the Fluxus movement. He established the Something Else Press in 1963, which printed unusual books of avant-garde art and literature by others in the movement. Higgins wrote and edited forty-seven books, and was an early and influential proponent of computer-generated literary texts.

Herbert, Cynthia Ridgeway
Person · b.1943

Cynthia Ridgeway Herbert (b.1943) is a Texas educator specializing in creative curriculum and instruction development. Herbert grew up in Waco, Texas. At the age of nine, Herbert’s mother enrolled her in the Children’s Theater at Baylor University. The program was based on the “Integration of Abilities” university course and philosophy originated by Paul Baker. His wife Kitty Baker had created a complementary children’s program, which was expanded by Jearnine Wagner, a student of Baker’s and later on his staff. Herbert remained in the program throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.

When Baker and his company moved to Trinity University in 1963, former students of the theater followed. Baker and Wagner formed the theater program Ideas in Motion at Trinity. Herbert was offered to teach full time in the program by Baker and Wagner, and they were able to secure a full tuition scholarship so she could afford to attend Trinity.

After graduation Herbert continued to work with Wagner. In 1971 they, along with several other former students of Wagner’s, established the Learning About Learning Educational Foundation. While at Learning About Learning, Herbert created a multitude of interactive books for children and guidebooks and teaching tools for adults. In the 1970s, she co-directed an award-winning lab school. During the early 1980s Herbert pursued and received her Master’s and Doctorate in developmental psychology at the University of Houston.

When Learning About Learning closed in 1986, Herbert and Wagner moved to Houston, where they had been doing educational consulting for several years. While there Herbert developed teaching modules, guides, lesson plans and activities for several school districts, in particular Houston Independent School District, which were supported by area foundations and governmental agencies.

After years of developing curricula that were required to speak to standardized testing and metrics, Herbert rejoined several Learning About Learning colleagues on various projects. From 2000 to 2015, she partnered with Julia Jarrell for Scholarships for Education and Economic Development (SEED), an USAID supported program as the academic leader of international cohorts. Since 2012 she has also worked with Susan Russell Marcus and Susie Monday to develop an early childhood program titled New World Kids. As of 2022, she is working with Jarrell to complete The Creative Way, a comprehensive guidebook for educators.

Wilson, Francis, 1854-1935
LCNAF nr 94035969 · Person · 1854-1935

Francis Wilson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1854. He began his acting career with appearances in minstrel shows and comedies, before headlining plays and comic operas in New York City. Wilson formed his own theatre company in 1899. In addition to acting, Wilson authored plays and several books about fellow actors, including a biography of John Wilkes Booth. Wilson was the founding president of the Actors' Equity Association.

Francis Wilson was married twice, to Mira Barrie and Edna Bruns. He had four children. Wilson died in 1935.

Armour, Richard, 1906-1989
LCNAF n 79135486 · Person · 1906-1989

Richard Willard Armour was born July 15, 1906 in San Pedro, California. He was raised in Southern California (San Pedro and Pomona), and attended Pomona College. Armour was an antiaircraft artillery officer in the United States Army during World War II, attaining the rank of colonel and earning the Legion of Merit. He earned a Ph.D. in English from Harvard University, and was a faculty member at Scripps College from 1945 to 1966. Armour published scholarly works on poets Bryan Waller Procter and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Armour became a popular author of light verse and satire, often compared to Ogden Nash. He published over sixty books, the most well-known of which is "It All Started with Columbus." His short poems were routinely featured in newspapers and magazines, and he wrote essays for Reader's Digest, Playboy, and other publications.

Armour was married to his wife, Kathleen, and had two children, Geoffrey and Karen. Armour died of Parkinson's Disease in 1989.

Clapp, Stacy Wendell
Person · 1913-2004

Colonel Stacy Wendell Clapp, Jr., was born in Pomona, California in 1913. He graduated in 1935 from the University of California Dental School. Following graduation, he served as a dentist in the United States Army, retiring in 1968 with the rank of colonel. Clapp was an adjunct faculty member at University of Texas Health Science Center’s Dental School and the Medical Field School at Fort Sam Houston. Clapp was married twice; both marriages ended in divorce. He had no children. Clapp passed away in 2004.

Primera, Gloria
Person · 1937-

Gloria Witt Primera was born in San Antonio in 1938. She attended Trinity University in the 1950s, and worked for many years as an educator, including at San Antonio College.

In a 2017 interview with Texas Public Radio, Ms. Primera cited reading Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" in 1970 as the turning point that led to her activism in the women's rights movement. She joined a local San Antonio group called the Women's Liberation Movement, and then joined the local chapter of the National Organization of Women, which held its meetings at Trinity University. In 1977, NOW was looking for women to participate in the torch relay from Seneca Falls to Houston, and Ms. Primera volunteered. She ran a short segment carrying the torch, and then attended the National Women's Convention in Houston.

Graham, Henry Joseph
Person · 1913-1997

Henry Joseph Graham was born September 7, 1913 in Boerne, Texas. His parents were Joseph H. Graham, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Orynski Graham, a prominent preservationist in San Antonio. Henry had one sister, Wanda Graham, who married architect O'Neil Ford. Graham married Carolyn Hoon (1914-1976) in 1938; they had two children, William Henry (1942-1960) and Carolee Graham.

In 1936 Henry and Carolyn Graham purchased and renovated the Weyrich Building, the oldest extent commercial building in Boerne, before selling it to Elizabeth Graham in 1944. Henry worked as an editor for the Time-Life Corporation. In the 1960s, Henry was a central figure alongside his sister Wanda Ford in the opposition movement against the construction of the 281 freeway in San Antonio. As part of these efforts, he formed the Save Our City Organization.

Henry Graham died on September 21, 1997.

Miller, Char, 1951-
LCNAF n 82026079 · Person · 1951-

Frank Lubbock Miller IV (Char Miller) was born in 1951. He received a BA in History and Political Studies from Pitzer College, and an MA and PhD in History from Johns Hopkins University. Miller taught at Trinity University from 1981-2009, serving as Chair of the History Department and Director of Urban Studies. In 2002 he was named a Piper Professor, an award from the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation for excellence in teaching and service to higher education in Texas. He also held the prestigious Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching. Miller is now the W.M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College. He is a Senior Fellow at the Pinchot Institution for Conservation and a Follow of the Forest History Society. Miller has authored numerous books and articles about environmental history and ecology.

Case, Bill (1905-2000)
Person · 1905-2000

Bill Case was born March 1, 1905, in Mississippi; he moved to San Antonio with his family as a child. Case was a talented musician, and played piano, accordion, and saxophone. During the 1930s he played piano at nightclubs around the country, including in Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles. During World War II Case served as a radio operator in the United States Merchant Marines. In 1949 he returned to San Antonio, and opened Bill Case Sound, a store for radio and stereo equipment which he ran until 1989. Case was an avid supporter of the San Antonio Symphony and the Opera Guild. Case never married, but had a long-term relationship with Ann Walker. He died of a stroke in January, 2000.

Walker, Ann (1906-1991)
Person · 1906-1991

Ann Walker was born in Missouri on October 10, 1906, the youngest of seven children. Her parents died when she was a child, and she was raised by her elder sister. Walker lived in St. Louis, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, working primarily as an administrative assistant. She was briefly married, but divorced. Walker moved to Mexico City, where she was secretary for the American ambassador. She moved to San Antonio and opened a travel agency, Travel Advisors. Walker served as president of the San Antonio chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents. Walker was an active supporter of the San Antonio Opera Guild, and organized trips for members of the organization. In her later years, Walker had a long-term relationship with Bill Case, though they never married. She died of cancer on February 24, 1991.

Alessandro, Victor
LCNAF nr 90004196 · Person · 1915-1976

Victor Nicholas Alessandro was born in Waco, Texas, on November 27, 1915. His father, also named Victor Alessandro (1883-1971), was a conductor and music teacher. Alessandro grew up in Houston, Texas. He studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, the American Academy in Rome, and the Salzburg Mozarteum. Alessandro married flutist Ruth Drisko in 1956, and had two children, Victor Tabbut Alessandro and Ruth Ann Alessandro. Alessandro passed away on November 27, 1976 of emphysema.

In 1938 he became the conductor of the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra. He returned to Texas in 1951 to lead the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, and led the ensemble until his retirement in 1976. Alessandro received honors the National Association for American Composers and Conductors and the 1956 Alice M. Ditson Award for service to American music. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Rochester, Southwestern University, and Southern Methodist University.

Abbott, Jacob, 1803-1879
LCNAF n 50037006 · Person · 1803-1879

Jacob Abbott was born in Hallowell, Maine, on November 14, 1803. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820. He studied at Andover Theological Seminary from 1821 to 1824. Abbott taught at Amherst College from 1825-1829, before founding the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston in 1829. He also founded Abbott's Institute in 1843 and the Mount Vernon School for Boys in 1845. In addition to his work in education, Abbott was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association of the Congregational Church, and was the pastor of the Eliot Congregational Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Abbott was the author of juvenile fiction and religious books, authoring one hundred and eighty books during his career. The most popular were his "Rollo" series. Abbott married Harriet Vaughan in 1829 and had four sons: Benjamin, Edward, Austin, and Lyman. He died in Farmington, Maine, in 1879.