Discovering My Connection with the Past
An
old, musty smell wisped towards my nose when I opened the first little box containing
archival material belonging to Purdue graduate Rosemary Murphy. In total, seven
file folders and the box comprised portions of Rosemary’s past. I chose the box
first because it seemed mysterious and promising. After lifting the lid off the
tiny box I discovered a time capsule awaiting opening and acknowledgement. I
uncovered 1st and 2nd place track ribbons, a hat, pins,
and Purdue letters (Box 1). When sorting through this memorabilia, I noticed similarities
between these items and those I received from my own athletic endeavors. In
high school I ran Cross Country and Track and as involvement in my sports increased
I found it more difficult to balance school work and social events. In my preliminary research Rosemary’s
aptitude at success attracted me to her as a subject, because she mastered
something I struggled with as a student and I wanted to see how she accomplished
it.
After
putting her artifacts away I opened the first file. The archivist directed me,
“When you look through the files, turn the contents of the folders like pages
in a book.” So, with gentleness I reached and turned in anticipation. With the
file finally opened I leafed through the pages. Once I scanned the documents I reasoned
that this file included information about the various teams and athletic events
in which Rosemary involved herself. A newspaper clipping acknowledged her
talent in basketball, “…by her spectacular playing and scoring of 25 points,
won the sophomores’ second class basketball game of the season” (Folder 1). But
she did more than just play basketball. Additional notes and letters I discovered
indicated her role of captain for We Girls Rifle Team and the soccer team
(Folder 1). This stunned me! For me, committing to one sport was trying, but
Rosemary did three and possibly more! This indicates her extreme determination
and dedication not only to her sports teams but also to her academics.
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After
closing that file I dissected the rest and found that Rosemary indeed showed great
dedication in her studies. I discovered in a letter to Rosemary’s father that she
portrayed “evidence of sound scholarship and high attainment” and achieved, “highest
scholastic honors during his or her first four years in college” for which she
received the H.G. Reisner Scholarship Cup and a newspaper clipping of recognition
(Folder 5). Finding this information impressed me further because I thought
through my academic and athletic struggling I achieved a fair level of academic
success, but I never acquired an honor such as the one Rosemary received. The
degree to which Rosemary achieved her simultaneous academic and athletic
success comforts me in knowing that packed agendas can lead to major
accomplishments.
I
examined Rosemary Murphy’s artifacts for over an hour before I realized how
cold and tired I felt, regardless of the archives exhilarating effect. I looked
at the clock and realized my next class started soon! My time in the Archives flew
by. The quiet and mysterious aura of the archives captured me and when it
released me it seemed like only minutes passed but in reality hours passed.
The
following day I returned to my haven of discovery and enlightenment. Again I
slowly selected my next pocket of the past and in I dove. After the previous
day’s enlightenment regarding Rosemary’s athletic commitments and her academic
awards, I anxiously awaited this new serving of old documents. I opened the
folder and to my delight more artifacts, a bag of Greek affiliated, handwritten
and decorated invitations, awaited my handling! Hoping to quell my curiosity
about Rosemary’s Sorority membership, I scoured them all searching for the host’s
name. Upon close examination I discovered that Rosemary did not belong to the
typical sorority house-full-of-blond-fashionistas that my thoughts previously led
me to believe. In fact, she held memberships primarily with Honorary Societies concerning
journalism, education, athletics, and literation (literary society) (Folder 6).
I thought to myself, “Now this matches better with the Rosemary I’ve been
familiarizing myself with for the past two days.” It seemed logical too. Busy people, like Rosemary, with athletic
commitments will more likely achieve higher academic status because of his/her
need for time management skills in order to fulfill both athletic and academic
requirements.
These discoveries were the bulk of my research and revelation in the archives. It was so cool to go into a place filled with remnants of people’s lives, most of whom no longer live, and make connections with them. I connected with the idea that it’s still possible to participate successfully in an athletic career while maintaining high academic status. I find comfort in this because I place importance in leading an active lifestyle as well as setting high academic standards. To see that someone in the past achieved these qualities I see in myself calms my apprehension about all the to-do’s of college. I believe that anyone can walk into Purdue Archives and forge their own connections with the past.
These discoveries were the bulk of my research and revelation in the archives. It was so cool to go into a place filled with remnants of people’s lives, most of whom no longer live, and make connections with them. I connected with the idea that it’s still possible to participate successfully in an athletic career while maintaining high academic status. I find comfort in this because I place importance in leading an active lifestyle as well as setting high academic standards. To see that someone in the past achieved these qualities I see in myself calms my apprehension about all the to-do’s of college. I believe that anyone can walk into Purdue Archives and forge their own connections with the past.