Reprint from Collections & Connections
Spring 1999, Vol. 3, No. 2

A Civil War encampment was held on the front lawn of the Kentucky Building February 6, 1999 in association with the Kentucky Museum’s exhibit “A Kind of Nobility: The Kentucky Orphan Brigade” sponsored by FIRSTAR, which opened February 2nd.

Men came from over 33 different Kentucky counties to enlist in the confederate army and the First Kentucky Brigade departed from Bowling Green in 1862. Because the state of Kentucky sided with the Union, none of these soldiers were permitted to enter the state again until after the Civil War ended, hence the name, the Orphan Brigade.

Civil War re-enactors portrayed the officers and enlisted men who served in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th Kentucky Infantry regiments during the Civil War. Tents were set up and campfires lit while the men drilled, watched the execution of a deserter, listened to Civil War political speakers vie for office, and participated as the camp chaplain led a religious revival. Saxton’s Coronet Band entertained the crowds with period music, while Tim Parson took old-fashioned wet plate photos. The Orphan Brigade exhibit of memorabilia will be at the museum through July 31, 1999.

~Beth Knight

Scrapbooks, photographs, diaries, letters, publications, class rings, and pennants all enhance our understanding of Western and its predecessor institutions. From alumni closets and attics, each new piece of the history of Potter College for Young Ladies, Ogden College, the Training Schools, College High, and the Bowling Green Business University gives us a more complete view of our heritage.

During the May dedication of the Gordon Ford College of Business, University Archives will open a Bowling Green Business University (BU) case exhibit in the lobby of Grise Hall. Western's relationship with the BU dates back to 1884 when the institutions were both part of the Southern Normal School and Business College. After more than fifty years of independence, they were reunited in 1963. The exhibit will provide a permanent location for exploring the social and educational life of business education in Bowling Green.

We are still in search of issues of various publications like the BUWKY and T'N'T [Toppers 'n Towers]. Photographs of student events and popular gathering places, like Boots and Saddle, University Inn, Van's, and the Goal Post are needed.

Please contact Sue Lynn Stone, University Archivist, at 745-4793 if you have items to donate.

~Sue Lynn Stone

On March 26, 1999, Mayor Eldon Renaud and Judge Executive Michael Buchanon will officially declare April 11-17 as National Library Week in Bowling Green and Warren County. In celebration of National Library Week 1999, WKU’s University Libraries and The Kentucky Museum will sponsor “Read! Learn! Connect! @ the Library,” a week of special programs to be held April 12-18. The calendar of events for this week-long celebration reveals diverse opportunities for literary growth and fun.

Monday, April 12, the first day of WKU’s celebration, will feature “Reading & Relating,” a program of storytelling, reading, and discussion, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the WKU Active Day Center, Room 150, Jones-Jaggers Hall. Monday evening, the WKU Cultural Enhancement Committee will sponsor a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian, Doris Kearns Goodwin, in the Van Meter Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, April 13, will feature the Twelfth Annual Western Authors’ Reception from 1:00-2:30 p.m. at the Faculty House. This reception recognizes WKU faculty members who have contributed to scholarship within their disciplines through scholarly publication. The highlight of this reception is the presentation of the Faculty Library Award.

Wednesday, April 14, again offers participants of WKU’s Active Day Center more Reading & Relating activities from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 150, Jones-Jaggers Hall.

Thursday, April 15, brings storytelling and related activities to participants of the Campus Child Care Center from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Room 150 of Jones-Jaggers Hall. The Glasgow Campus Library is featuring an Open House from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. Visitors will enjoy refreshments and a drawing for door prizes. Thursday evening from 7:00-9:00 p.m., Haiwang Yuan will present his popular Electronic Research Workshop, “Internet Browsing and Searching” in Room 116 at the WKU South Campus. Call (502) 745-6115 or visit the web site at web.reference@wku.edu to pre-register.

Friday, April 16, features “Library Palooza” at the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center Plaza from 12:00-1:30 p.m. Music for the concert will be provided by Tweak, and door prizes will be awarded.

~Darla Bressler