Editor Seeks Memorabilia for 'The Ohio University Bicentennial Book'
ATHENS, Ohio (January 29, 2001) -- Betty Hollow is creating an intimate portrait of Ohio University's past, and she needs the help of alumni, their families and others with ties to the school.
Hollow, a longtime administrator at the university's Athens campus, will serve as editor of "The Ohio University Bicentennial Book." Perhaps best described as a cross between a coffee table book and a scrapbook, the volume is being published by Ohio University Press in conjunction with the university's 200th anniversary in 2004.
The university, the first institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory, was founded in 1804 by a handful of the first settlers of the Ohio River Valley.
"What we have in mind is a mosaic portrait of Ohio University, depicting the ideas and lives that have kept it vigorous for 200 years," said David Sanders, director of the Ohio University Press.
Contents likely will include students' letters home, remembrances, historical documents, personal essays, photographs, illustrations and histories of campus programs. Hollow said such items from any era are welcomed, particularly from the university's earliest days.
"It would be wonderful if people whose ancestors went to Ohio University in the 1800s, especially before 1875, would look around to see if they have daguerreotypes, old letters written from campus or other materials focusing on studies, classmates, pranks, professors, recreation, life in the town, boarding houses, conditions on the campus, local or national politics and the like," Hollow said.
Items will be returned or, at the owner's request, can be donated to Ohio University Archives and Special Collections to become part of the university's official record. To arrange the return of loaned items, a self-addressed, stamped envelope should be included with submissions.
Items may be sent to Betty Hollow, Bicentennial Book Project, 101 Alden Library, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701. E-mail can be sent to her at hollowb@ohio.edu or questions directed to (740) 593-2654. Also, visit the Bicentennial Book Web page at www.ohiou.edu/memories/ for more information and to find a form for an online submission.
