Bloomsburg University's Harvey A. Andruss Library

Library Exhibits


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3RD FLOOR EXHIBIT

Treasures From the Archives Featuring
the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, 1927-1960
 

On January 8, 1960, the final day of the teachers college, President Harvey Andruss (at left) and Dean of Instruction John Hoch are shown removing letters from in front of Carver Hall and Bloomsburg was now a state college.  The metal letters can be seen as part of the exhibit.


            On June 4, 1926 the Bloomsburg State Normal School was given the authority to grant bachelor's degrees and the following May officially became a state teachers college.  For over 30 years the college graduated thousands of teachers, while not only surviving but prospering during the hard economic times of the Great Depression and the challenges brought on by World War II.  Following the war growth was steady until the mid-1950s when enrollment started to increase and it has rarely slowed since.

             This exhibit celebrates the teachers college years by highlighting its two presidents, Francis Haas and Harvey Andruss, and longtime faculty members who retired within its first 10 years but left a mark that remains to this day: the names of Bakeless, Hartline and Sutliff.  The growth of campus is shown, from the construction of the Ben Franklin Training School, Centennial Gym and Navy Hall in the 1930s to the College Commons and Northumberland and Sutliff Halls in the late 1950s.  Student life is displayed, from handbooks to hats, songs to pennants.  And champions are remembered in such competitive sports as baseball, basketball, football, track, and shorthand.  As any teachers college alumnus will reminisce it was a marvelous time, and these treasures help to give a glimpse of what life was like during that era.

            The display is currently installed in the flat and wall cases on the third floor of the Andruss Library and contains photographs, post cards, programs, yearbooks, newsletters, plans, booklets, sheet music, newspaper clippings, trophies, athletic equipment and other artifacts.  The exhibit will be on display until September 14, 2012.

VIRTUAL EXHIBITS

The University Archives periodically creates online or 'virtual' exhibits to highlight the Archives' collections and the history of Bloomsburg University. The first such exhibit is Bloomsburg State Teachers College in 1959. This is a pictorial look at the campus of 40 years ago, complete with historical and current information on all campus areas that existed at that time. The second online exhibit by the University Archives is entitled A Gallery of Presidents and History of Bloomsburg University, an in-depth look at the history of the University with detailed biographical information on each of its presidents.  The third exhibit is Views of the Bloomsburg State Normal School, 1921-1923, a look at the state normal school using photographs and information from the course catalogues.  The fourth exhibit is the 1919 War Hero Memorial Pinery, which examines the history of the World War I memorial located near Carver Hall, and provides biographical information on the 16 students who are remembered there.  A fifth online exhibit is The Maine Experience: Bloomsburg State College Summer Art Classes at Moosehead Lake, 1975-79, which remembers the summers during the 1970s that art students from Bloomsburg went to the wilds of Maine to paint, draw, learn their craft and experience life.  The sixth is A Legacy of Champions: The Story of Wrestling at Bloomsburg University, which documents the history of the wrestling program at the University from its founding in 1930 to the present day, featuring many of our individual and team champions from over the years.  The most recent one is The Navy V-5s at the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, telling the story of the naval flight instructors who trained in Bloomsburg during World War II.

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Updated 2/29/12