Bloomsburg University's Harvey A. Andruss Library

Library Exhibits


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3RD FLOOR EXHIBIT

President Francis B. Haas at the
Bloomsburg State Teachers College, 1927-39
 

 
Bloomsburg State Teachers College President Francis B. Haas, at right, with former President David J. Waller, Jr. on the masthead of a flyer encouraging Philadelphia area alumni to come to a reunion and banquet on April 27, 1935.


            In the spring of 1927 Dr. Francis B. Haas was named to lead the Bloomsburg State Teachers College, beginning a 12-year tenure which is still the third longest for any president since Bloomsburg became a college.  Haas had previously been State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and he returned to that position upon leaving Bloomsburg in 1939.  During his time here the college saw growth in the physical campus even as the state and country suffered under the Great Depression for most of his term  Despite the economic woes life went on, and Bloomsburg continued to produce teachers for a growing population.

            When Francis Haas came to Bloomsburg his secretary began keeping clipping books or scrapbooks that contained at first primarily clippings from the local newspaper, then called the Morning Press, and from a few other papers.  Gradually though all sorts of items were added to the books, including invitations, programs, letters, greeting cards, flyers, telegrams, ticket stubs, postcards, newsletters, Fair passes, and entire newspapers.  These items document the life of Dr. Haas during his time as president, displaying his interests and affiliations, and the events he attended and groups from whom he received special invitations.  With one exception all of the  clipping books went with Haas when he left the college in 1939, and were donated to the Bloomsburg University Archives by his son Francis, Jr. in September of 1997 after they had been discovered in his sister's attic.  The items in the display come entirely from the clipping books of Dr. Haas.

            The exhibit is currently installed in the flat cases on the third floor of the Andruss Library, and concludes the presidential theme of archival exhibits this academic year as well as honoring Dr. Haas on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of his birth this summer.  The display will be in the cases until June 19, 2009.

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 2/20/09