Annotated Table of Contents
1) Fieldnotes over The East Texan
- Set 1: General Overview of The East Texan from 1941-1944. Takes note of headlines, pictures, length of paper, reoccurring features (“Lions in the Fight”, “Society News”, “Tench-Hut!”, etc.), government propaganda, advertisements, political cartoons, and military enlistment ads.
- Set 2: Notes over a few pictures taken of articles and pictures. Includes the conversion of Mayo Hall to a girls dormitory.
- Set 3: General Overview of The East Texan from 1944-1945. Takes note of headlines, pictures, length of paper, reoccurring features, government propaganda, political cartoons, and advertisements. Includes the death of President Roosevelt, the proclamation of V-E Day, and the surrender of Japan.
2) Pictures
- Look of the paper
- Political cartoons
- Military advertisements for enlistment
- General Advertisements (Coca-Cola, Wrigley’s Gum, Chesterfield Cigarettes, ads aimed at women toward the end of the war, etc.)
- Pictures of soldiers
- Patriotic slogans (“Remember Pear Harbor!”, “Buy more war bonds!”, etc.)
- Government propaganda
- Bold headlines (V-E Day and the surrender of Japan)
- Mayo Hall picture
3. Oral Histories
- Mary McCrary. Wife of an E.T. professor. Speaks of life before their move to Commerce, physical descriptions of Commerce and its changes, the Great Depression, her sons’ and husband’s enlistment into the armed forces, the influx of students after the war, and her thoughts on the progression of E.T. (“Morale of college has dropped considerably.”).
- John Allen. Former student of E.T. who graduated in 1940. Later became a radio broadcaster for various radio stations including WFAA. Spoke of his childhood, various family stories, his time at the Training School in Commerce (the high school student teachers from E.T. teach before becoming accredited teachers), his time at E.T. (a member of the band and an acted in school plays). He also speaks of the lingering effects of the Depression, the community’s thought on the college (“life and bread of Commerce”), and physical description of Commerce. He also mentions the effects of WWII on civilians (rationing, brownouts of coastal cities, rationing, and government regulation of the broadcasting of the news over the radio).
4. Writing Assignments
- WA2–”The Evolution of The East Texan“. History of The East Texan from 1920-present times.
- WA3–Research Proposal.”Through the Eyes of the Students-The East Texan during Word War II”
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Codes
Campus Changes (CC)
- CC1–New courses offered
- CC2–Physical changes
Government Regulations (GR)
- GR1–News regulations
- GR2–Radio regulations
- GR3–Civilian acts of defense (blackouts, brownouts, “Sealed lips don’t sink ships”, etc.)
- GR4–Rationing
Soldiers (S)
- S1–Current students, alumni, and teachers in the fight
- S2–Articles about supporting the soldiers (writing them, sending care packages, etc.)
Patriotic Slogans (PS)
- PS1–”Buy more war bonds/defense stamps”
- PS2–”Remember Pear Harbor”
- PS3–”Set the sun”
Political Cartoons (PC)
Enlistment (E)
- E1–Advertisements to for Armed Forces
- E2–Women’s Armed Forces
- E3–Red Cross Ads
- E4–Articles about enlistment
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One Page Analysis
So far the fieldnotes and pictures I have collected have provided great insight into what life was like at East Texas State Teachers College during Word War II. People (mostly women) were trying to do their part while thousands of men were overseas fighting. From my overviews of The East Texan from 1941-1945, I have noticed tons of patriotic slogans, political cartoons, enlistment spreads from the Armed Forces and the Red Cross, and articles upon articles dealing with war coverage. Yet despite the heavy war related material, life went on. Society news, the going ons of social groups such as sororities, academic news, etc., were reported on a weekly basis (the paper was printed on a weekly basis). In addition to doing their part for the war cause, the people who weren’t fighting on the front lines had to continue on with their lives. This meant that for the college students, they had to focus on receiving their degrees while trying to do the government’s idea of their patriotic duty by buying war bonds and giving up commodities they were used to having unlimited access to such as sugar, paper, and gasoline. Picking out what was needed to be printed in The East Texan (government propaganda and coverage of the war), campus news still exists in order to show me and others what life was like for these college students: trying to find that happy balance between patriotic duty and their college education.
I still have a few holes to fill. For instance, as I was writing this, I realized that I don’t know if people genuinely wanted to by war stamps, or if the pressure to buy them came from the government. Another way to look at it is if people felt that it was their duty or if the government was forcing them to be patriotic. Outside research is really going to come in handy for my research project. I need to research government regulations on the printing/broadcasting of the news, rationing and how it affected people, and the use of propaganda in newspapers and political cartoons alike. I am also thinking about reading up on how the war affected the general population. Through that, I will be able to see the similarities and differences between how the general population and the E.T. students experienced the war. I have also noticed that my fieldnotes mainly focus on the war related material of the newspaper. In order to really see what student life was like, I need to take note of the campus and society related articles. This will require more time with the newspapers, not only scanning them like I have been, but reading them as well. Although, that concerns me. There were lots of newspapers printed from 1941-1945. I’m not sure if reading every single article in every single paper is efficient. I’ll need to come up with a plan for which articles to read and analyze. I look forward to filling in these holes, and seeing where my research takes me.
