ULM Special Collections & Archives Aerial Photography Collection

ULM Special Collections and Archives has an outstanding aerial photography collection. 

Check out the collection at: https://www.ulm.edu/library/archives/aerialphotosofulm.html

ULM Special Collections Mardi Gras Book Display

ULM Special Collections Gunby’s Legacy Exhibit

On February 6, 2019 Heather Pilcher announced a new exhibit for ULM’s Special Collections and Archives. The “Gunby’s Legacy Exhibit”  contains various items from the Gunby collection including pictures, maps, personal family items, personal papers, letters, speeches, quotes, and other unique items. Gunby family photos and letters can be viewed on the Louisiana Digital Library http://louisianadigitallibrary.org/ulm.

Pilcher and Robertson Attend Book Signing

On November 1st, authors Heather Pilcher and Cyndy Robertson attended a book signing at the ULM Art Crawl. Attendees were able to purchase a copy of their book University of  Louisiana Monroe, which is part of the Campus History Series. This book has a lot of forgotten details about our campus and includes photos that chronicle the history of the ULM campus throughout the years. 

Faculty Feature: Heather Pilcher

Heather Pilcher began working in the ULM Library’s Circulation department in the spring of 2002.  While working in the library, she earned her M.S.L.S. from the  University of North Texas and an M.A. in History from ULM.  In July of 2012, she was hired as tenure-track faculty in the Reference department. Pilcher became the Interim Coordinator of Special Collections in the spring of 2016 with the position becoming permanent in 2017. ULM Library is also proud to announce that Pilcher was granted tenure in the summer of 2018. 

Pilcher is dedicated to researching and promoting history and has extensive knowledge of both local and campus history. She self-published her first book, Beloved Home, in 2009.  Beloved Home is a young adult historical fiction novel set in 1905 in Monroe, Louisiana. 

Her second book, a pictorial history of Atlanta, Texas, Images of America: Atlanta, was published in 2011 with Arcadia Publishing.  Her most recent publication, a pictorial history of ULM titled: The Campus History Series: University of Louisiana Monroe, came out in January of this year.

Pilcher has been volunteering with The Family Promise of Ouachita program for several years.  She is also interested in animal welfare and enjoys spending time with friends and family, with the latter also including Bobby her 16-year-old Chihuahua and Francie her 4-year-old Yorkie. 

ULM Special Collections & Archives- News Clippings

These Buildings Were New In 1962

Gunby Letters Collection Uploaded to Louisiana Digital Library

Heather Pilcher, ULM Special Collections  Coordinator, is happy to announce that the      Gunby Letters Collection is now available for viewing through Louisiana Digital Library at

http://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/ulm-gunbyletters:collection

Gunby Letters Home is a collection of mostly letters, written home by the Gunby children, to their mother, Ellen (1866-1933). Their father, Andrew A. Gunby (1849-1917), was a prominent lawyer and judge in the state of Louisiana. He was very active in both the community of Monroe and the state of Louisiana, especially as it related to education. Together, A.A. and Ellen Gunby raised five children: Edith (1886-1978), George (1889-1962), Sarah (1891-1914), Olive (1893-1979), and Thomas (1897-1967).

Thomas (1897-1967) was the fifth child of A.A. and Ellen. Most of the letters in this collection were written by him, between the years 1915 to 1924. The major portion of his letters were written in France, during WWI. Thomas retired as a Colonel from the Army in 1953. After his sudden death at the age of 69, the Northeast Louisiana community named a local dam in his honor. The Thomas S. Gunby Dam is located near Hebert, LA. Other letters in the collection were written by his siblings, Olive and George.

Olive (1893-1979) was the fourth child of A. A. and Ellen. She graduated from Monroe City High School in 1907. She earned her B.A. from Tulane University in 1912 and her M.A.Ed. from Columbia University of New York City in 1916. She began her teaching career at Monroe Normal School as a third-grade civics teacher that same year. She taught at the Ouachita Parish Grammar School from 1930 to 1959.

George (1889-1962) was the second child of A. A. and Ellen Gunby. He graduated from Bingham Military Academy in Asheville, NC in 1904. He received his B.A. degree from LSU in 1909 and his M.A. degree in 1910. George was admitted to the Louisiana Bar Association in 1916 and shortly after began practicing law in Monroe.

 Olive Gunby

ULM Librarians Attend Islandora Training

ULM Librarians Heather Pilcher and Rebecca Yantis attended an Islandora training session for the Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) on March the 6th. According to the Islandora website https://islandora.ca/about, “Islandora is an open-source software framework designed to help institutions and organizations and their audiences collaboratively manage and discover digital assets using a best-practices framework.” Islandora gives LDL members, including ULM, an easy-to-use method of uploading, organizing, and displaying digitized collections. ULM currently has five collections on the LDL                                        (http://louisianadigitallibrary.org), and the "Gunby Letters Home" Collection is in the process of being added to the Louisiana Digital Library. A sample of letters from this new collection can be viewed below.