Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection
Summer RISE with the Digital PV Panther Project
Summer RISE with the Digital PV Panther Project
By Evelyn Kay Todd
Above: Richard Jackson standing in his melon field in the Sunny Side community, Waller County, 1937 [Courtesy of the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, the Special Collections & Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University]
In June, the PVAMU Division of Research & Innovation provided me funding through the RISE program, and Assistant Professor of History DeWayne Moore gave me the opportunity to join the Digital PV Panther Project (DPPP) team! I had found out about the project through social media, when I began to pay attention to their Twitter posts. When I read the blog post of Malachi McMahon about the 1971 student uprising at PVAMU, I sent it to my family in shock. I learned that my mother and grandparents lived in Prairie View at that time while my grandfather attended the university. I had always known that my family had history with PVAMU, as I am a 3rd Generation PVAMU Alumnus, but I did not know how deep it ran. (I will tell you more about that in a different post.) Excited about the DPPP, I reached out to the team to share some of my family history, and I asked about how I might contribute to the project. Soon after, I was invited to join the DPPP team as a Graduate Research Assistant through the RISE Program.
What I Accomplished this Summer
I started to work in June 2023. For the first month, I focused on scanning documents, and I digitized and processed 154 archival folders from four counties using a CZUR Document Scanner from the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection. Following the archival processing system implemented by DPPP team prior to my arrival, I picked up where the students before me left off. Each one of the grey archival document boxes contains numerous acid-free folders filled with documents, maps, reports, and correspondence from Cooperative Extension agents. Using the metadata written on each folder, I created names for each of the digitized documents in the CZUR Scanner system, and then, I would determine the appropriate settings to scan the documents. At the end of the day, once I had scanned all the documents in the folders, I copied them from the hard drive to the cloud in Microsoft Teams. The shared drive provides the team access to the digitized documents.
Texas Counties in the CE&HD Collection
Documents digitized and processed:
1. Matagorda County – Box 1, Box 2 (55 folders total)
2. Montgomery County – Box 1, Box 2 (63 folders total)
3. Nacogdoches County – Box 1 (6 folders total)
4. San Jacinto County – Box 1 (30 folders total)
![4-H Club Dress Revue Models in 1959 Bowie County [Courtesy of the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, the Special Collections & Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University]](https://pvpantherproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/UA0035_Bowie_b2f2_1959MonthlyReports_Todd0010-scaled.jpg "UA0035_Bowie_b2f2_1959MonthlyReports_Todd0010")
4-H Club Dress Revue Models in 1959 Bowie County [Courtesy of the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, the Special Collections & Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University]
Proudly, I learned new skills on the DPPP. I had no idea that archival processing required specific tools for removing old paperclips and staples from documents, but it proved crucial to avoid tearing the often brittle old documents dating back the 1920s. I also discovered a host of misplaced documents, which had belonged in other boxes. As a student who appreciates an efficient research process, I made sure to bring the errors to the attention of Dr. Moore, and I kept an eye out for anything that might seem out of place.
About halfway through the summer, Dr. Moore decided to switch it up a bit, and I got to change my focus from document scanning to photographs. In the Fall semester, we plan to curate digital touchscreen exhibitions and display them on our new 86″ and 66″ touchscreen displays. Thus, I started using the Epson 12000XL flatbed scanner to scan all the maps, photographs, and newspaper articles from various counties in the CE&HD Collection. As of August 3, I have digitized almost 300 items from thirteen different counties. In addition, I created a spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel and recorded the metadata about each item–name, location, date, and other information. The CZUR Document scanner looks very different than the Epson 12000XL, but each of them requires a similar settings process. The Epson, however, allows me to preview my scans and create boxes around each item on the scanner bed. I have scanned, for example, up to eight photographs at once using the Epson. It’s a efficient feature, because it allows me to scan the photographs while I enter the metadata in the spreadsheet. At the end of each day, once again, I uploaded the digital images to the cloud in Microsoft Teams. Not only does this provide the team access the images, but it also provides redundant storage in case the computer hard drive fails.
Digitized Images from 1937-1963
As the summer comes to an end, I stopped scanning photographs long enough to write this blog post. With funding from the RISE program, Dr. Moore and I moved forward historic preservation in the library. We intend to share the digitized documents, photographs, and maps on the DPPP website as well as the library’s Digital Commons, and I look forward to sharing more updates about our work on the DPPP. Our efforts to digitally preserve the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection is vitally important to the university. The PVAMU archives contain other rich manuscript collections that detail the institutional history of PVAMU, and I look forward to building upon our success this summer!
Visit the Office of Research & Innovation at PVAMU to find out more on the RISE Grant Program
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Progress to Date
The Digital PV
Panther Project
Accomplishments
We still have other collections to process and digitize, more skills to learn, and more research to publish, but the Digital PV Panther Project has established a strong foundation for the future of public history at PVAMU. This is a short list of our accomplishments in digital exhibition format for your viewing pleasure!
Archival Processing
We have rehoused over 60 linear feet of archival media in the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, which had been stored in old, deteriorating boxes since the late 2000s. We have also rehoused and processed the manuscript collections of former 31 former PVAMU professors and administrators. Click HERE to view the finding aids.
Social Media – Community Engagement
We have established a social media presence on Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. We have gained almost 200 followers on Twitter, and some of our Tweets have received over 100 likes and 20 shares. We have created and published over 20 videos on TikTok, some of which have received in upwards of 1,000 views. Moreover, we have curated 148 posts on Instagram and organically acquired 300 followers!
Logo Design
The archival assistants working on the Digital PV Panther Project have also designed an official logo for the project.
December 12, 2022
Audio Digitization & Transcription
We digitized 211 analog audio tapes of historic lectures and events at PVAMU, and we have also transcribed 70 of the digital recordings as of Dec 10, 2022.
December 10, 2022
December 6, 2022
Digital Exhibition Software
We also purchased a subscription to Pass It Down software to create amazing digital storytelling experiences, engage visitors, and inspire research
86" & 66" Touchscreen Displays
We purchased a Newline 860IP 86″ 4K Ultra-HD LED (Capacitive Touch) display & two Newline 650IP 65″ 4K Ultra-HD LED (Capacitive Touch) displays to allow stakeholders to view digital archival media in John B. Coleman Library
December 1, 2022
November 19, 2022
i2S CopiBook OS A2 Book Scanner
We acquired a $35,000 i2S CopiBook OS A2 Book Scanner to digitize manuscript collections.
Epson 12000XL
We acquired two Epson 12000XL flatbed scanners with backlights
October 1, 2022
October 1, 2022
Epson V850s
We acquired two Epson V850 flatbed scanners with backlights
CZUR Book Scanner
We acquired a CZUR Book Scanner to digitize manuscript collections
September 26, 2022
Spring 2022
Contact
A Student’s Perspective inside the DPPP
A Student's Perspective From Inside the DPPP
My name is D'Asia Johnson
I have worked on the Digital PV Panther Project for about two months as an archival assistant, and I have embraced the role of historic preservationist at my HBCU. Whether curating social media posts, taking inventory of the archives, processing manuscript collections, or digitizing photographs, my goal is to encourage research in the rich historical collections in the archives at PVAMU.
I spent a lot of time taking inventory on the manuscript collections of former PVAMU professors and administrators who worked in the Cooperative Extension Service.
The inventory sheets for most of the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection were outdated, having been completed originally by students in the early 2000s. Thus, I spent a lot of time revising inventory sheets in Microsoft Excel. In each instance, we checked the titles of each folder and made sure it was accounted for in each box. After making sure the folders were placed in the correct location and listed correctly, we went back through the boxes and noted the presence special media–maps, photographs, diagrams, etc. We made sure to check the accuracy of our work, because we had to have all the media in order prior to processing the collection.
I also compiled lists of source material in the Digital Commons, and I wrote summaries of each source in preparation for writing biographies of former professors for finding aids.wrote a biography on one of the many professors that attended this school. While I did not have much experience writing memoirs, I was assigned to write one on a professor who made a remarkable impact on Prairie View A&M, specifically Professor Henry Seward Estelle. He had an incredible effect on the Agricultural department from the early to mid-1900s. In addition, he partook in much more positions and events that occurred at Prairie View. If you want more information on Prof. Estelle, you can find his biography here Henry Seward Estelle – The Digital PV Panther Project.
I also assist in maintaining our social media pages. Being a part of our social media team, I help my coworkers develop ideas for posts. You can find me on a few of our Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok posts. In addition, we have made many posts that depict the rich history of PVAMU using photographs, blog posts, blueprints, and maps.
@digitalpvpantherproject Massive! The manuscript collections in the PVAMU Archives are massive in their scope and breadth! The Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection contains more than 100 linear feet of photographs, maps, and documents that date back more than 100 years and cover over 45 counties in Texas! #dppp #digitalpvpantherproject #hbcu #pvamuhistory ##pvamu##hbcuhistory##digitalcommons##archives##media##campus##digital ♬ Mission Impossible Theme (Movie Trailer Mix) – Dominik Hauser
I have also contributed to meetings with out team leaders, Dr. Moore, Ms. Earles, Lindsay Boknight, and Noah Jackson. We discuss our progress, our strategies, our upcoming projects, and our plans for the future. Indeed, I am amazed at the way that Dr. Moore incorporates our ideas into the project. The Digital PV Panther Project does not have the usual sort of top-down administrative style. Rather, Dr. Moore relies heavily on the input from myself and the other archival assistants to light the way. Whether it’s the method of taking inventory or processing collections, Dr. Moore always listens to our ideas about the project, and he allows the team leaders to manage our workflow.
Thus far, my work on the Digital PV Panther Project has been eye-opening. To have the opportunity to work with such remarkable people and partake in such a significant project is astounding, to say the least. I hope to be able to continue to work on this project and share the incredible history of Prairie View with my peers, university staff and faculty, and with those across the nation. There are so many collections in the archives to discover and share with the public, and I am very appreciative of having the opportunity ro work on the Digital PV Panther Project.
The history of our HBCU should not be forgotten.
Digital Preservation at PVAMU
Digital Preservation at PVAMU
By Kasedi Eason
Identifying Texas Freedom Colonies
My name is Kasedi Eason, and I started working as an archival assistant on the Digital PV Panther Project in late August 2022. I document my work on the project daily, and it allows me to share with the public my experience in the archives. On August 31st, for example, I started to examine the archival media in the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection, specifically he photographs taken by Cooperative Extension agents to demonstrate their work in the rural African American communities in Texas. The county agents worked very hard to improve the quality of life in rural communities through scientific farming and homemaking. Considering that so many of these communities no longer exist, and that the number of Black landowners significantly declined in the 1950s, this collection is especially significant because it documents the Black experience in Texas Freedom Colonies.
A future aspect of the Digital PV Panther Project will be adding data to the WebAtlas of the Texas Freedom Colonies Project–an educational and social justice initiative dedicated to supporting the preservation of Black settlement landscapes, heritage, and grassroots preservation practices through research.
1940s Map of Texas Freedom Colonies in Grimes County
Courtesy of the Special Collections & Archives Department (SCAD), John B. Coleman Library, PVAMU
One family loading their luggage into a Cooperative Extension Service Vehicle
Courtesy of the Special Collections & Archives Department (SCAD), John B. Coleman Library, PVAMU
Meticulous data entry
The CE&HD Collection contains documents, maps, and photographs that date back to the 1920s, and the county agents wrote about all their activities–from growing crops, to raising farm animals, to constructing houses. The agents also maintained meticulous records that detailed how much money they spent on each project.
100 years of records
I found it very interesting how the cursive handwriting was readable, and my work on the Digital PV Panther Project has instilled a better appreciation for the manuscripts in the archives. Indeed, I am grateful that these collections were preserved and not thrown away, and I look forward to making this collection available to researchers. Some of the records are over one hundred years old!
Children at Morgan School (Guadalupe County) exercising in 1933 exercises, with agent supervising
Courtesy of the Special Collections & Archives Department (SCAD), John B. Coleman Library, PVAMU
@digitalpvpantherproject Massive! The manuscript collections in the PVAMU Archives are massive in their scope and breadth! The Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection contains more than 100 linear feet of photographs, maps, and documents that date back more than 100 years and cover over 45 counties in Texas! #dppp #digitalpvpantherproject #hbcu #pvamuhistory ##pvamu##hbcuhistory##digitalcommons##archives##media##campus##digital ♬ Mission Impossible Theme (Movie Trailer Mix) – Dominik Hauser
I am also proud to work on the social media team for the Digital PV Panther Project. I have created multiple TikTok videos showcasing my work as an archival assistant, and I am glad to put my skillset to work promoting the archival collections at PVAMU. For example, the TikTok video to the left demonstrates the vast amount of archival media in the CE&HD Collection.
This project also gave the opportunity to work with some amazing scholars of African American History, specifically anthropologist Myeshia Babers–a professor of Africana Studies at Texas A&M University, who conducted interviews with several members of the team. Dr. Babers agreed to conduct interviews with archival assistants shortly after the project began, and she plans to edit the interviews for future publication online. In fact, we hope to expand the scope of our social media output by creating a Youtube channel, and we plan to publish the interviews with Dr. Babers to get us started. During my interview on September 2, I explained about my work thus far on the project, and I prognosticated about what I expect to get out of this job. It should be interesting to compare my initial interview with the interview we plan to conduct at the end of the project.
The following week, Dr. Moore organized a team meeting with University Archivist Ms. Phyllis Earles, who invited Dr. Musa Olaka, the library director, and Karl Henson, the assistant library director, to speak to us. Dr. Olaka told us about the benefits and opportunities we had working on this project, and he explained that Dr. Moore had written over $700,000 in grants to fund this project and hire students to do the work of historic preservation at PVAMU. None of our archival collections are processed, and the only real finding aids that we have are the ones that Dr. Moore wrote a grant to produce last year. Dr. Olaka told us that other students who worked for Ms. Earles and Dr. Moore had gone on to stellar careers, and his words have certainly inspired us to work harder and achieve the goals of the Digital PV Panther Project.
At the meeting, we also talked about our progress on the project, and Dr. Moore compiled a project guidebook, which contains rules, guidelines, and instructions for various aspects of the project–from social media curation, to blogging, and the addition of media to Wordpress. One of my fellow archival assistants, Malachi McMahon, also took a moment to stress the significance of the project. His research has provided some of the most insightful and engaging blog posts to date, and it shows in his drive and determination to make positive changes in the world.
On September 27, I created a Tiktok video about the Abner Davis Memorial, which is the focus of Malachi’s best blog post to date (Click HERE to read it). The memorial is located on campus in front of the George Ruble Woolfolk Building. Abner Davis was a member of the varsity football team in 1927, and he broke his neck while trying to make a tackle against Texas College on Thanksgiving Day. He passed away due to the severity of the injuries. Since he was recognized as a great example of student success at PVAMU, his classmates and teammates created several different memorials over the years to their fallen hero.
@digitalpvpantherproject Check out the Abner Davis Statue located in front of the G.R. Woolfolk Social & Political Science Building on campus! 💜💛 #dppp #pvamu #hbcu #pvamuhistory #hbcuculture #history ♬ original sound – DIGITALPVPANTHERPROJECT
In the past couple of weeks, my work has focused on creating inventories spreadsheets for the numerous boxes in the CE&HD Collection, and I have also helped edit the finding aids of 31 former professors and administrators. We hope to complete the finding aids before October 31st. I have also developed a list of ideas for upcoming social media posts and TikTok videos.
Though I have only been an archival assistant for two months, I have gained a sincere appreciation for historic preservation during that time, and I have developed a much clearer understanding of the importance of the Digital PV Panther Project.
We plan to prevent the erasure of African American History by all means available to us, and I could not be more excited about the future!
Redesigning the Past
In July, my work on the Digital PV Panther Project has been fun and light. After the initial field research trips to Bellville and Brenham–as well as the delicious, chicken strip lunches at the Dairy Queen–we have been in the office getting busy! My fellow archival assistants and I have been processing the manuscript collections of former PVAMU professors and administrators who made amazing strides for the betterment and exposure of the university. Our efforts in this regard have helped archival consultants Miguell Caesar and Sheena Wilson–both from the Gregory School in Houston–complete their TexTreasures grant, which is funded through the Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC).
Since the early twentieth century, Black people have dedicated their lives to making sure that PVAMU produces productive panthers. Whether it’s productivity in historical research, setting up tours for the historically famous marching band and a cappella choir, the PV Singers, fighting for a better quality of life in the violent context of Jim Crow through the Cooperative Extension Service, or operating local bookstores for students, Black people have in some way, shape, or form helped to BUILD A LEGACY!
In the archives–located on the fifth floor of John B. Coleman Library–we are making a lot of headway as far as re-foldering documents and re-labeling folders. We have also been examining the documents and relabeling them in the index to better explain what we have in the finding aids. Carrie B. Coss, who started teaching at PVAMU in the 1940s, donated her papers that span her career of over 25 years. TALK ABOUT DEDICATION!
Have you ever heard of an A Cappella Choir Tour? PVAMU had one and it was instructed by none other than Dr. Edison Anderson, who added a lot of extra excitement and adventure to the A Cappella Choir scene. As former director of Vocal Choral Music and director of the renowned Prairie View A Cappella Concert Choir during the 1960s, Dr. Anderson was very enthusiastic about working with young people and groups of all sizes as well as with those who have been inspired toward a professional goal. He was invited to become a professor of music at his Alma Mater, and he had much personal pride and interest in counseling music students, many of whom gained prominence in the music world of today.
“They Can Tropical Fruits”
In my first weeks as an archival assistant for the Digital PV Panther Project, I helped process the manuscript collections of former professors and administrators involved in building the Prairie View community. On my first day, Dr. Moore gave me a tour of Room 109 in the library, the Archival Annex, which contains collections that date back to the 1920s, including the media collections of PVAMU staff photographer Tom Goodwin, longtime History Department chair George Ruble Woolfolk, and the Cooperative Extension & Home Demonstration Collection. The Archives Annex also contains an unprocessed collection of blueprints for every single building on campus. As an architecture major, I’m sure this collection might provide the source material for a future project of my own.
As we continued the tour, we entered the last of three elevators in the library–one of two that go up to the 5th floor, which many students, including myself, did not know existed. The library’s fifth floor contains the Special Collections & Archives Department at PVAMU.
(Photo: Donzel Jefferson, 2020)
As we exited the elevator onto the fifth floor, Dr. Moore introduced me to a fellow archival assistant, Malachi McMahon, and Ms. Phyllis Earles, the University Archivist and Co-Principal Investigator for the Digital PV Panther Project. Dr. Moore also introduced me to Ms. Lisa Stafford, the Special Collections Librarian working in the archives. I also had the opportunity to discuss the processing projects with Miguell Caesar, the manager & head archivist at the Gregory School in Houston, Texas. He works alongside Ms. Sheena Wilson, the processing archivist at the Gregory School.
After the tour, I sat in one of the wooden chairs in the archives reading room beside Malachi, and I asked him several questions about onboarding, such as how to fill out my timesheet in Workday. He also explained more about the work and his experience working in the archives thus far.
in Room 111 in the Coleman Library
(Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)
After the brief introductions, I got to dive right into archival processing, specifically rewriting the titles of old folders in manuscript collections onto new, acid-free folders. In the first weeks, I worked on the collections of Calvin Hoffman Waller, who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His research focused on scientific farming techniques, particularly more efficient ways to plant and conserve food. He conducted one research project in the Belgian Congo. In an article titled, “Live-at-Home Principles Stressed at Mission in Belgian Congo,” he explained how the residents in McKinney, Texas, and Kabinda in the Sakura District of the Belgian Congo found ways to prolong the preservation of food to make it last a lifetime. During the years of the study, Presbyterians found ways to cook and seal all types of fruit, meats, and vegetables to save them for a later time.
The picture shows a wide selection of tropical fruits, including mangoes, papayas, lemons, coconuts, oranges, and grapefruit, which were canned for later consumption. Some of the fruit in the Belgian Congo was extraordinary, such as the pineapples that weighed roughly 12 to 13 pounds and grew larger than the average human head. “During the orange and grapefruit seasons, we bottle a good supply of the juice for use out of season,” Waller stated in one interview, “We can bottle tomato juice.”1 During the growing season, natives hunt wild hogs and several types of antelopes, and they can put the different meats together to enhance the flavor.
The collection of Calvin H. Waller was not the only one I had the chance to help the process. I also worked on the manuscript collections of PVAMU History professor Florida Yeldell and Home Demonstration agent Patricia Brown. The task of rehousing and rewriting titles on acid-free folders was tedious and laborious. Yet, it helped the archivists move forward with the larger processing effort for 31 manuscript collections. In the coming weeks, we will assist in the creation of finding aids for the collections, and I look forward to digitizing and adding the collections to the Digital Commons.
Sincerely,
Zynitra Durham
End Notes
- C. E. Dowell, “They Can Tropical Fruits,” Texas Extension Service Farm News, 17:1 (Fall 1946): 4. This periodical can also be found in the Calvin H. Waller Papers.
The First Few Collections
Over the course of my first few weeks of being an assistant in the archives and making my way through the various collections, I have learned a lot more about the history of my HBCU. My first job on campus in 2020 was in the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC), but it was not until last week while going through the manuscript collection of a female extension agent who worked at PVAMU and TAMU named Myrtle Garrett that I learned the history of the CARC. It began as the agriculture department and was segregated by gender, Home Economics for women and Farming/Agriculture for men. In the 1960s, Myrtle Garrett spent her time as a Home Demonstration Agent as well as serving as the Program Specialist for the Limited Income program of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service at A&M. She helped over four thousand families in Texas during her time as the Program Specialist.
(Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)
Garrett spent her entire career being of service to the people around her while simultaneously spearheading a program that helped thousands more all across Texas. By the end of her archival collection, I learned how Myrtle had become an extremely well-respected and beloved figure in her community. Myrtle worked over 30 years as a federal employee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For 20 years, she was a charter member of the alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at PVAMU.
Her collection features a farewell binder filled with adoring letters from the women of all races whom she had taught or worked alongside throughout her career. Her collection not only inspired me to be a more involved member of my Prairie View community but to also learn more about the people that were crucial to the making of the Prairie View I have come to know and love.
Sincerely,
DeZhane Johnson
in the archives (Photo: T. DeWayne Moore, 2022)