Encapsulating a Moment in Norfolk History

by Steven Bookman, University Archivist

timecapsulebox
Florence Crittenton Home’s Time Capsule, Norfolk, Virginia

While filling out a recent research request in the archives, I noticed a box in the stacks that read “ODU Time Capsule.” Being an inquisitive (“nosy”) archivist, I decided to take a look and see what was inside. Up to this point, I hadn’t heard of any active time capsules on campus. The box was a part of a recent transfer from the office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, which oversees the grounds and landscaping on campus.  In the box were a few early histories of the William & Mary Norfolk Division, the predecessor to Old Dominion University (ODU), and a copper tube with one of the ends open.

timecapsuleopening
Discovering what is inside the copper box

Inside the tube were old publications, news clippings, artifacts, and other material related to the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers, which operated in Norfolk from the 1890s to the 1970s. The home was last located in the Larchmont area of Norfolk overlooking the Lafayette River. The home’s mission was to aid unmarried women during their pregnancies. One might ask “How did a time capsule with material from the Florence Crittenton Home come to ODU?” It may be a surprise to some people, but ODU and the Florence Crittenton Home have had a relationship going back 45 years. In 1977, the house and the records of the Florence Crittenton Home were given to ODU, with the records being house in Special Collections and University Archives. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, the Florence Crittenton Home was the location for ODU’s Center for Coastal Oceanography (CCPO) before the facility was torn down to make room for new housing. One would suspect that the time capsule was found during the demolition of the building and given to the Vice President for Administration and Finance office.

timecapsuleinventory
Inventory of the time capsule

As to the time capsule itself, it appears to have been placed during the cornerstone laying ceremony on October 15, 1949. Included in the time capsule are a copy of the cornerstone laying program and the charter of Florence Crittenton Home; clippings from local newspapers about the groundbreaking ceremony and the new facility; manuals from the local Masonic Lodge; a brief history of the home; a travel edition of the New Testament Psalms and Proverbs; samples of dirt from the area; and two coins, one a quarter from 1948, and the other is a half dollar commemorating the 250th anniversary of Norfolk from 1936. Since the time capsule is important to the history of the Florence Crittenton Home, it will fit better to be a part of the home’s records.

timecapsulecornerstonelaying
Corner-Stone Laying Program
timecapsuledirt
Dirt from the site of the Norfolk Florence Crittenton Home was included in the box
timecapsulebible
A small copy of the New Testament was included in the box

So, if you are interested in finding out more information about the Florence Crittenton Home, the physical records are in Special Collections and University Archives. The guide to the collection can be found at https://archivesguides.lib.odu.edu/repositories/5/resources/40. Photographs of the home while it was a part of the CCPO can be found in the ODU Libraries Digital Collections at https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/oduphotos/search/searchterm/Crittenton%20Hall/field/buildi/mode/exact/conn/and. A short video clip on the home’s mission can be found in the WTAR-WTKR Hampton Roads, Va., Historic News Film Collection at https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/wtar/id/1862/rec/1.

Ask the Archivist: “February Is Black History Month, Can You Tell Me Some Little-Known Facts in ODU’s History Involving African American Students?”

Steve Bookman, University Archivist

Classroom-1967

I recently received the following question for my “Ask the Archivist” column in the ODU Alumni News: “February Is Black History Month, Can You Tell Me Some Little-Known Facts in ODU’s History Involving African American Students?”

While folks may already know about the groundbreaking achievements of Ronald Horne, Margaret Simmons, and Arthur “Buttons” Speakes, there are some other achievements of African Americans at ODU that people may not know about. During segregation in the 1950s and 1960s, while other schools in Virginia denied admissions to African Americans, there were several instances where African Americans were able to take classes at the Norfolk Division campus. While not officially admitted to the division, as we understand it today, African Americans were able to take classes if they were not offered at area African American institutions such as what would become Virginia State University and Norfolk State University.

JackieBryant-undated

In 1968, Jackie Bryant (pictured) became the first African American to rush a sorority, and Bill Forbes became the first African American to win a bid from a fraternity at ODU. It would be another six years before the first African American sorority, Delta Sigma Theta in 1974, and fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi in 1975, would be established. In 1972, Jerome Nixon became the first African American Battalion Commander of the ODU ROTC.

More information about the history of diversity and inclusion at ODU can be found in the online exhibit: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion at ODU: http://exhibits.lib.odu.edu/exhibits/show/celebrating-diversity-and-incl/introduction

The History of the “Breaking the Ice Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival” at ODU

by Mel Frizzell, Special Collections Assistant

breakingtheice5
Our Own, January 1995, page 8: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/ourown

The Breaking the Ice Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival was first held February 2, 1991 in ODU Webb Center.  It was sponsored by the ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Union (GLSU) and the Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition (HRLGPC).  The event was envisioned as a winter pride event to supplement the annual Out in the Park pride picnic held each summer.  It was also a fundraiser with proceeds going toward Breaking the Ice expenses and toward the summer picnic.   The main event took place from 9:30am to 5pm and was followed by the play “I’m Positive” at 8pm and a dance in Webb Center from 10pm to 1am.  Daytime events included a showcase of vendors and organizations, as well as workshops “on healthy gay and lesbian relationships, being single, addiction, political activism, coming out, minorities, and the dilemma of gay men and lesbians in the military.”  Guest speakers that year included Robert Bray of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) who led a workshop on “The State of the Gay and Lesbian Nation: 1991” and Kate Dyer, an aide to U.S. Representative Gerry Studds (D-MA) who led a workshop on gays in the military.  Tickets to the main event were $5 in advance and $7 at the door.  Attendance to the evening play and the dance were free. 

The format stayed fairly consistent in subsequent years, though there were some changes.  The daytime hours shortened to 11am to 5pm the following year and by 1997 the main event ran from 12noon to 5pm.  Admission costs were lowered to $3 general admission and $1 for students, and only went up by $1 by the late 1990s.   Early evening events varied year to year.  Some years featured plays, most years an evening film festival, and a few years featured other entertainment.  1997 featured one act plays by ODU students, followed by country dancing performed by the OtherSiders country dance troupe, and music by local singer and songwriter Julie Clark.  1998 featured Lesbian comedian and musician Lynn Lavner and music by the Hampton Roads Men’s Chorus.  The late evening dance in Webb Center remained a fixture each year.   In 1997, there was an “All Faiths” continental breakfast held in Webb Center before the day’s other activities.

breakingtheice-workshops1995
Breaking the Ice 1995 Workshop Schedule from the ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Records, Box 2, Folder 1: https://sites.wp.odu.edu/oduwiki/2018/06/25/gay-and-lesbian-student-union-glsu/

A number of prominent guest speakers were featured over the years.   Guest speakers often represented current events related to the LGBT community.  The 1992 guest speaker was Karen Thompson who had recently been awarded guardianship of her lover Sharon Kowalski in the Minnesota Appeals Court.  Kowalski had been “severely disabled” in a car accident in 1983. Guardianship had initially been awarded to Kowalski’s parents who barred Thompson from visiting.  After nine years of court battles, Thompson finally won custody in December 1991.  The 1993 guest speaker was Crae Pridgen — a gay man who had been beaten outside a gay bar in Wilmington, North Carolina by three Marines in January 1993.  This happened only a week before his appearance at the 1993 Breaking the Ice.  In 1995, Rev. Mel White of the Metropolitan Community Church was guest speaker. White had been an Evangelical writer who ghostwrote autobiographies for televangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Sr., Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham.  White came out as gay in 1994, transferred his credentials to the gay-affirming Metropolitan Community Church, and devoted himself to serving gay Christians.  The week following the 1995 Breaking the Ice, White led a peaceful protest on Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach.  White had requested a meeting with Pat Robertson to discuss how the televangelist’s anti-gay rhetoric was harming gay people “in the name of God.”  Robertson refused the meeting and White was arrested for trespassing.  White refused bond and fasted three weeks in the Virginia Beach City Jail until Robertson finally agreed to meet with him on March 8.  At that time, Robertson dropped the charges against White.  Guests speakers for other years included Mandy Carter of the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF); Barbara Grier, CEO and Founder of Naid Press; Kerry Lobel of the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce (NGLTF); David Perry of Virginians For Justice, and Lesbian comedian/singer Lynn Lavner. 

A variety of workshops were held at Breaking the Ice with some themes remaining consistent over the years.  Given the huge military presence in Hampton Roads, it’s not surprising that “gays in the military” was a frequent workshop theme.  Coming out was also a frequent theme, as were Lesbian and Gay relationship issues, LGBT affirming-spirituality (including alternative spiritual beliefs like Wicca), and LGBT politics and activism.  Other topics included LGBT youth, bisexuality, diversity within the LGBT community, addictions, safer sex, Lesbian and Gay Unions, LGBT legal concerns, finances, child custody, Lesbian and Gay literature, and dealing with grief.

breakingtheice1
Breaking the Ice Photo with Caption, Our Own Community Press, March 1991, Page 1 : https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/ourown

Each year ODU’s Webb Center cafeteria was filled with LGBT vendors and organizations.  Vendors included bookstores such as OutRight Books, Phoenix Rising, Lambda Rising, The Tidewater Women’s Bookshelf, White Rabbit Books and Things, and others.  Other vendors sold pagers, candles, clothing and jewelry, health products, and Pagan spiritual supplies, among other things.  Organizations included political and activist organizations like the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Virginians for Justice, and even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).   Local service organizations included Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, AIDSCare, Full Circle Hospice, and American Red Cross.  LGBT-affirming religious organizations were represented.  These included New Life MCC, All God’s Children, Dignity (Catholic), Honesty (gay Baptists), Unitarian-Universalists, Integrity (Episcopal), and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns.  Support, social, and recreational organizations with tables at the event included Youth Out United, Transgender Pride, Gay Games, Mid-Atlantic Amateur Softball Association, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Primetimers, Lambda Car Club, Gay Men’s Chorus, and Tidewater Bears.

Breaking the Ice couldn’t happen without the support of its sponsors and those organizations that provided volunteers and workshop facilitators.  The two main co-hosts for Breaking the Ice were always the Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition and the ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Union (later renamed ODU Gay Lesbian Bisexual Students and Allies).  Over the years other community sponsors and supporters included: Mandamus Society, Hershee Bar, Coral Sand Motel, Don’t Tell Mama restaurant, New Leaf / Quarberg Gallery, Mitch’s Cut-ups, OutRight Books, Out of the Dark, Out and About, Out in Virginia, Our Own Community Press, New Life MCC, Mac Graphics, Virginian’s for Justice, Youth Out United, Bi-Choice, All God’s Children Church, the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, Tastebuds Supper Club, Taylor Rental, B&B Exxon, and many others.

Breaking the Ice continued at ODU through the late 1990s, and possibly into the early 2000s.  The exact date of the last classic Breaking the Ice is unclear as our primary sources for the festival in the ODU Special Collections and University Archives only go up to 1998.  ODU Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) brought Breaking the Ice back to ODU in 2019.

Carolyn Rhodes, Pioneer and Inspiration

By ODU Student Assistant Caroline Vanderlinder

After transcribing some documents in the Carolyn Rhodes digital archive collection-https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/crhodes-I was shocked to find out how extraordinary she was. Rhodes was one of the founders of the Old Dominion University’s women’s caucus, friends of women studies, as well as the trust for feminist education program. Rhodes made a huge contribution to the advancement of the status of women at the University. She went through all the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor, and then became an English professor in a time when advancement for women at ODU was slim.

During the 1970s, male professors received quicker promotions and tenure than female faculty members. The research conducted by the caucus showed males were granted a 57% chance of tenure while  females were granted a 33% chance. The information gathered by the caucus was collected from public information, and through every rank they found female employees earned $1000 less than males. If that was the information they found in the public records, I can’t imagine what they would have found if they were given access to the private records. In 1974, the president of ODU never refuted or attempted to disprove the information. It was only after the department of labor opened an investigation that the salary inequities were looked into, however the gap wasn’t closed fully.

Carolyn Rhodes’ shared her personal experiences during an oral history interview conducted in 2009: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/oralhistory/id/667/rec/2

After reading Professor Rhodes’ syllabus, I could see she was an intense professor who expected nothing but the best work from her students. At the time, Women’s studies was just beginning, and failure would not have been acceptable. Although she was a tough professor, her students and peers believed she was an inspiration. Her experiences and the knowledge she had to offer was irreplaceable. Apart from teaching at Old Dominion and the University of Kentucky, her teachings were also respected overseas at Peking University, China, and Babes-Bolyai University, Romania where she was a Fulbright lecturer in American Literature.

I am done transcribing the Carolyn Rhodes collection but I know I have so much more to learn about her. Learning about Carolyn Rhodes and what she has done for us women at ODU has made me proud.

Everyone in the Special Collections and University Archives program has thoroughly enjoyed working with Caroline, and we are so glad she stayed on with us to transcribe the Carolyn Rhodes digital collection during the COVID-19 closure. We wish her the best with her studies this fall! -Jessica Ritchie, Head of Special Collections & University Archives

COVID-19 and Beyond: How ODU Has Stepped Up to Meet Crises Throughout Its History

By Steven Bookman, University Archivist

WomenWorkingonPlane-1940s
Women students in the war-training program work on an airplane

As Virginia, the United States, and the World are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Dominion University is rising to meet the challenge. For the health and safety of its students, staff, and faculty, the University closed its facilities, moved all its courses online, and will hold a virtual Monarch Grad Week to celebrate students graduating in May 2020. The entire Monarch community has come together to help slow down the Coronavirus by making masks for their fellow Monarchs, providing meals for the community, and volunteering for the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps.

However, this isn’t the first time ODU has faced adversity in the face of a crisis. International wars, the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the H1N1 pandemic have cause the University to respond in a variety of ways.

World War II

WWIIAlumniMemorial

Sally Avery holding her nephew, George Shipp, Jr., points out her uncle Robert Turner whose name is on the Alumni War Memorial plaque.

Well before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Norfolk Division of William & Mary, as Old Dominion was known from 1930 to 1960, was already heavily involved in the war effort. An Aircraft Instruments Institute was established at the division in 1938 to train students to operate and repair aircraft instruments. The following year, a war training program was established on campus, allowing students to take courses related to aircraft mechanics and welding, radar, and topographical mapping, among others. At a time when colleges were losing enrollment with male students leaving to fight the war, the enrollment at the division remained steady and even grew during the war. Under the direction of Lewis W. Webb, Jr., the war training program offered free classes for women such as aircraft repair, drafting, and other war-related topics. Officers from Naval Station Norfolk, including several African American sailors, took classes at the division. By the end of World War II, approximately 5,000 people enrolled in the war training program, the largest on the East Coast.

September 11, 2001

The morning of September 11, 2001 began like any other Tuesday morning on campus. Students went to their classes as usual, but when highjacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers, Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania Field, word spread rapidly. The ODU community, as it always has, reacted quickly to help with those in need. Shuttle service was organized for students, faculty, and staff to give blood at the Norfolk Scope, the History Honor Society collected bottle water and socks to give to first responders in New York and Washington, D.C., and a room in Webb Center was reserved for Monarchs to pray, remember, and reflect. Three students and an alumnus lost their lives during the attacks: Army Lieutenant Colonel Karen Wagner, Army Specialist Craig Amundson, Navy Lieutenant Commander Robert Elseth, and alumnus Robert Schlegel, ’92.

September11Memorial-2002
ODU students attend a 9/11 vigil

H1N1, 2009

In April 2009, the first human infected with H1N1, a flu-like virus similar to the current Coronavirus, was reported in the U.S. Unlike the Coronavirus, H1N1 mostly infected children and young adults. ODU Student Health Services was quick to send out recommendations by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to combat the virus. By July, Human Resources encouraged offices and departments to come up with plans for teleworking in preparation for an outbreak in the fall. A vaccine was developed in September and H1N1 flu clinics were held on campus beginning in November. By the time the CDC declared the pandemic over in August 2010, only a small number of Monarchs were infected.