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(1924-1989)

Generations of students learned to ride and care for horses at the University of North Texas thanks to a woman named Sweet Estes. Ms. Estes was born in Ennis, Texas. She was named Sammie Jean Estes and acquired the nickname “Sweet” from her big sister, Queena Jo Estes, shortly after birth. Sweet started selling rides on horses and mules as a child. The practice continued when she arrived on campus in the 1941-1942 school year. Rides on her horses cost 50 cents for the first hour and 25 cents for the second hour.  Before long she raised her prices to 75 cents an hour.   Soon the school approached her to give classes to her fellow students.  The stables were located on Maple Street. Her stables later moved south on Bonnie Brae. As a student she had a little time for anything but being a student, running her business, and teaching riding to her fellow students. However, she was a member of the Physical Education Professional Club. The horse rentals and a salary for teaching helped pay her way while earning a bachelor’s (Winter 1948) and master’s degrees (January 29, 1956).

“My sister and I rode at Sweet Estes’ stable on the far west end of Maple Street, a dirt street at the time….I can remember the names of 14 horses: Jitters, Indigo, Cho-Cho, etc. We rode west and south of town and around the golf course being built.”

              -Marjorie M. Dannelley Larson, North Texan, Fall 2011

              In 1948, Sweet was hired on as a full-time faculty member to teach horseback riding and other physical education classes. Shortly after her appointment she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She took time off from teaching to pursue treatment for the disease. Her name does not appear in the catalogs between 1950-51 and 1951-52 school years. The doctors had warned her that she might never be able to ride a horse again.  She proved them wrong, returning to teaching and riding in 1952-53.

The classes ceased in 1962, when the Texas Legislature removed funding for physical education courses they felt did not belong in colleges and universities. Ms. Estes continued as a Physical Education instructor. She also continued to act as the sponsor of the riding club, Los Caballeros, so students could continue learn horseback riding (just without course credit).  She also altered her business plan by renting her horses to summer camps and gave individuals and groups riding lessons outside her university employment.

              “Riding is a team effort where the human has the responsibility to make it work”

              -Sweet Estes, North Texas Daily, 1977-04-28

Horseback riding would return to UNT in 1972. In 1974 backpacking classes were also offered. She took students on field trips to hike in Colorado and New Mexico. During the winter the trip was to Blanca Peak in Colorado. Warm weather trips visited a different site on each trip.

“This is a great chance for them [students] to get out and see the country and learn how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful world and to get a chance to experience it. It also gives them a chance to learn what they can and cannot do, to gain confidence in themselves. And it’s a great way to put problems back home in perspective. It gives them and me a chance to clear out the cobwebs”

              -Sweet Estes, North Texan, Winter 1985

Sweet Estes was last listed as a faculty member in the 1989-90 Undergraduate Catalog. She died in Florissant, Colorado in 1989.

One of Ms. Estes favorite sayings was “Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and smile through it all.”  Her life gave her numerous examples of hard times and hardships she had to overcome. Throughout it all, she followed the course that gave her the most happiness – working with horses and bringing that joy to anyone who wanted to learn.

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One of the most celebrated coaches of UNT history was the aptly named Charles C. Sportsman (Choc). Born in 1902 in McKinney, Texas, he attended Texas University in the fall of 1922 before transferring to North Texas State Normal College (now known as the University of North Texas) in the summer of that same year.  He quickly became active on campus, both in athletics and in a variety of organizations. He was the captain of the 1925 varsity football team, earning a letter for athletic accomplishments. He also lettered in track and field and was a member of the Lee Literary Society, president of the Athletic Council, vice-president of his senior class and president of the Collin County Club. He participated in three senior assemblies by performing vocal solos. In 1926, he joined with other campus athletes to organize the T-Club. The club was for athletes who had earned a letter and wanted to promote school spirit. The group elected him the vice-president and the first yell-leader for this organization. The other office holders were Bill Meyers, president; W. B. Hargrave, reporter, and Fay Vernaell, secretary-treasurer. He retired as the captain of the football team in 1926. He gave a speech at the season end banquet where he thanked the team and the coaches for their hard work in the past season.

1926 also saw Sportsman wed Jennie Tunnel, an alumna of the renamed North Texas State Teachers College.  The couple planned to live in Choc Sportsman’s hometown of McKinney, Texas.

In 1928, Sportsman became an assistant football coach under the direction of Coach Jack Sisco. By 1930, Sportsman was the coach of track and field. He continued to seek to improve and gain higher academic credentials. Sportsman travelled to Southern California to work on his master’s degree during the summer of that year.

During the 1930’s Sportsman’s track team won nine of eleven Lone Star Conference Championships and held ten Lone Star track records. They held the conference record in every running event except hurdles. He coached “The Flying Twins,” two sets of identical twin brothers (Wayne and Blaine Rideout and Delmer and Elmer Brown). The twins set the world indoor record in the medley relay. They would go on to set other world records as individual set of twins (outdoor distance medley relay) or as a single athlete (the world record in the three-quarter mile run).

The track team competed and trained at Eagle Stadium, the first athletic field at UNT. It was located on today’s Library mall. Originally, the fans stood and watched the competition. By 1929, stands were added to the west side of the field. The track was redesigned in 1930. Field stands were added to the west side in 1933. The east side received stands in 1937.  This stadium was dismantled in 1952, when Fouts Field was opened.

In the 1930’s the school held an inter-class track meet that was open to male students. Members of the Varsity Track team acted as coaches for the participants, who were divided into class teams. A good showing could help a man qualify for a place on the Varsity Team. Women were not included in varsity sports until Title IX was signed into law in 1972.

By 1942, World War II had started to drain campus of its male students and faculty. Among those who left to serve their country was Choc Sportsman, who joined the U. S. Navy. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Navy and assigned to a training program in Annapolis, Virginia. He became the director of the track program at the Navy Pre-Flight School in Georgia.

Lieutenant Commander Charles Sportsman was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1945. North Texas wanted him to return to being a successful coach for the NT track team. Instead, Sportsman decided to return to California to continue his education at the University of Southern California. He would go on to work for San Diego State University for 21 years.

After the war, Sportsman would serve as a State Department athletic consultant at the Theater Athletic Staff School in Stuttgart, Germany. He also coached at other schools, such as the University of Virginia and St. Mary’s College. The State Department also sent Sportsman to Southeast Asia where he worked with the coaches in the Federation of Malaya to set up an athletic program. He commented that, “people are alike all over the world where sports are concerned, regardless of color or nationality.” [Campus Chat, 1959-08-07] He would also coach the 1968 Greek Olympic track squad.

In 1976, he was honored during the Homecoming celebrations with other Golden Eagles: architect O’Neil Ford and Dorothy Babbs (founder of “Old Maid’s Day”). He was inducted into the UNT Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.  The other inductees were Coach Odus Mitchell, “Mean” Joe Greene, Ray Renfro, Johnny Stovall, Don January, Wayne Rideout, and Ted Wright.

In 1987, he attended a reunion of the NT track and Field Hall of Fame members during that year’s Homecoming.  All those who had participated in track and field were invited to return to UNT for the celebration. The plan was to fully endow two scholarships: the Pop Noah Scholarship and the Choc Sportsman Scholarship.

After retiring in 1968, Sportsman moved to a cattle ranch near Tyler, Texas. He died in 1994.

Sportsman was posthumously inducted into National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as Track and Field coach for San Diego State University in 2013

The Sportsman family’s connection to UNT was continued when Choc Sportsman’s nephew was hired by UNT In 1992. Ken Garland was selected as the track and cross-country coach, the same position once held by his uncle.  Garland had followed a similar path as his uncle: he was a member of the McKinney High School track team (1961-1964) and a member of the UNT team (1965-1969).

 

Photographs of the coaches at North Texas, including Choc Sportsman, are seen in the 1942 Yucca.

Sportsman was a member of the T Club, those who earned a letter jacket due to athletic accomplishments. His image is on the top left on this page from the 1926 Yucca.
A page from the 1939 Yucca documenting the 1939 Track Team.
Mr. Sportsman’s image in seen on this page from the 1939 Yucca.

First football field and track at UNT.

An early image of the North Texas Track.

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Students on campus will find Bain Hall located on Highland Street and used primarily by music students as practice rooms.  The structure was originally built in 1947 as part of the Quadrangle, a dormitory for men. It was renovated and renamed in 1991 to honor the former Dean of School of Music. Dr. Bain has been credited with building a strong foundation for the development of today’s College of Music.

            Wilfred Conwell Bain was born on January 20, 1908, in Shawville, Quebec, the son of James Alexander Bain and Della Hawn Bain. He came to the United States, with his parents, in 1918. He would graduate from Cattaraugus (New York) High School in 1925.

            He was educated at Houghton College, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree with a major in music and a diploma in piano performance, in 1929; an A. M., was earned at Westminster Choir College in 1931; he received a Masters and Doctorate, in Music Education, from New York University in 1936 and 1938.

            Dr. Bain rapidly rose in academic music positions throughout his career. He worked as the head of the music department at Southern Wesleyan University (central South Carolina) 1929 to 1930. In 1931, he was the head of voice and choral music at Houghton College. He joined the North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas) in 1938 as the head of the Department of Music. He learned of the opening for the head of the Music Department after meeting Gladys Kelso, a piano instructor at North Texas, at New York University. He expressed his feelings about coming to Denton in an oral history interview, “…I can’t tell you how welcome everybody made me feel. I fell in love with the place immediately, because these people were outgoing and they were considerate.”  During his time at UNT, the students studying music grew from twenty-five with four full time faculty members to four hundred and fifty students and an expanded faculty to instruct them in a full program of study. He established the requirement that music majors had to meet an ensemble requirement – each student had to be a member of a choir, band, or orchestra. He also founded the A Cappella Choir during his second semester at North Texas. When Dr. Bain arrived, the music facilities consisted of a former president’s home (Kendall Hall), the Orchestra Hall, and another cottage used as classrooms. The Music Hall would be built in 1940. Among the faculty he hired were Frank McKinely (choral music); Frank McAdow (marching and concert bands); Helen Hewitt (musicology and organ); Silvio Scionti (piano) and Mary McCormic (opera). In 1939, Julia Smith, an alumna of UNT, asked Bain if he could produce her first opera at UNT. “Cynthia Parker” helped placed UNT and Bain in the national spotlight. Due to restrictions on travel during World War II, he initiated a plan for the orchestra performed a radio program.

            1947 saw significant changes in Wilfred Bain’s life. He became a naturalized United States citizen at the Federal Court in Sherman, Texas. Dr. Bain would also leave UNT in 1947 to join Indiana University as the dean of that university’s School of Music. Dr. Bain claimed that leaving Denton was hard. “I was very happy and very pleased to be there and riding, shall I say, the crest of a wave of popularity and endeavor, and everything seemed to be at a level that would be completely attractive.” He left due to problems acquiring necessary items and plans for growth for the department.  He placed the blame on a Board of Regents shared with other teachers’ colleges that was in use during that time.  He would hold the dean’s position at Indiana University until 1973, when he retired. He held the position of professor emeritus of Indiana University from 1973 to 1997.

            Dr. Bain died, at the age of 89, in Indiana, on March 7, 1997.

 

The quotes are from an oral history with Dr. Bain that was conducted by UNT College of Music Dean Marceau Myers on December 12, 1978.

 

Bain at the Piano
Portrait of Dean Bain
Choirs, 1939 Yucca
“Cynthia Parker,” 1939 Yucca

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Transportation has always been a concern for students, but also for the citizens of Denton. In 1908, the Denton Traction Company sought to solve this problem with the introduction of street cars. The corporation was headed by H. M Griffin.  R. J. and W. W. Wilson purchased control of the operation in 1909.

The streetcars moved from the train depot to the downtown area. The cars then moved out to North Texas Normal College (now the University of North Texas). The streetcar moved west on Oak to Fry Street, then south one block to West Hickory where it turned and moved along West Hickory to Avenue C. At that point the line turned south and continued to Mill Street, turned west and stopped at the hill on Highland Park, a popular picnic spot, near what is now UNT’s Apogee Stadium area.  In August 1911, the extension of the line to the College of Industrial Arts (now Texas Woman’s University) was completed.

By 1912, public school students could buy a book of forty tickets for a dollar. Other members of the public could purchase twenty-four tickets for the same price. The streetcars operated on a 10-minute schedule in 1911. By 1917, the time schedule had increased to 20 minutes. 

The ability to catch a ride to the city center lasted for about ten years.  In 1918, the service was ended. The cause was a combination of financial troubles and the rise in popularity of the automobile. The rails, poles, wires, cars, etc. were sold by R. J. Wilson to the American Junk Company. The Denton Traction Company’s realty was not included in the initial sale. The right of way for the streetcar line near Texas Woman’s University was converted into a narrow street, the north end of Oakland Street.

The Denton Traction Company’s power plant, located south of the city power plant, was eventually sold. John Johnson broke ground in 1939 for the construction of the Raw Water Ice and Cold Storage Company in the company’s power plant location. The construction of the new business was estimated to cost $60,000.

Although cars and busses replaced the Denton Traction Company, the joy and efficiency of catching a ride on an electric streetcar was a brief part of Denton’s history.

Students pose in a streetcar.

An image of the Denton Square shows the impact of car culture in the 20th century. The photo is undated. 

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            The Current Literature Club, an organization for women who shared an interest in literature, decided to bring the arts and lectures on current events to campus. The goal was to expand access to drama, music, and knowledge of world events to the student body.   In 1903, the Current Literature Club sponsored the first “Lyceum Entertainment.”  The performance consisted of a reading of “David Harum”, which started as a best-selling book, first published in 1898, by Edward Noyes Westcott.  Edward P. Elliot portrayed each of the twelve characters.

 

            “From the interest shown in these entertainments, and from the

            packed house that greeted Mr. Elliot, we feel sure a complete

            course of lyceum lectures would be appreciated by the students,

            and hope that arrangements for such can be made for the coming

            year”

                        The North Texas Journal, 1903

 

            That hope was fulfilled as fine art programs and lecturers were brought to campus to expand the cultural horizons of students and the citizens of Denton. Among the early acts booked were the Metropolitan Grand Quartette, Grand Opera Singers, Henry Lawrence Southwick (a performer of Shakespeare’s works), Maude Powel (violinist), and Sir Douglas Mawson’s Antarctic Motion Pictures.

            The Lyceum Series, or popularly known as the Lyceum Course, was also a popular place to meet or take a date. This social aspect was captured in a poem that was published in the 1925 Yucca:

 

            “Any girl can be gay, in a nice coupe,

            In a show they can all watch you slumber.

            But the girl worthwhile is the girl who can smile,

            When you take her to a lyceum number.”

 

            By 1917, the performers were booked by the Calendar Committee and tickets could be purchased for $1.50. By 1919, the Lyceum Series was paid for by a student activity fee. Season tickets were also sold to the citizens of Denton. Tickets could be purchases at the college library or Curtis’s Drug Store.

            The Mary Arden Club also sponsored the Lyceum Series into the 1920s. Then the Fine Arts Committee was formed. Dr. Sam B. McAlister served as its chair for 31 years, until 1963.           

            The composition of the Fine Arts Committee has been altered many times over the years. By 1971, there were no students on the committee. However, in 1972, the committee was reorganized to have an equal number of faculty and students.

            The Fine Arts Series was not stopped during times of war. However, the world pandemic of 2020 did temporarily stop the program.

            By the 1930’s the Fine Arts Committee, composed of faculty and students, brought nationally and internationally known artists to campus and funded performances by the College Players.  In 1938, The Eva Jessye Choir performed in the auditorium, in what is now called the Auditorium Building. She was the first African American woman to be an internationally known choral conductor. She also served as the musical director with George Gershwin on Porgy and Bess. The Martha Graham Dance Company and the premier of the opera “Cynthia Parker,” by composer and UNT alumna Julia Smith, were just two of the offerings that the activity fee made possible in 1939. In 1945, the Yucca (the school yearbook), stated that “…since its inception, [it] has attempted to provide a series of programs in which every student regardless of individual tastes would find numbers that he would enjoy. These various types of programs are alternated throughout the year.”

            Lectures were part of the diverse educational offerings.  John Dewy, Margaret Bourke White, Senator Robert La Follette, and Lech Walesa addressed the students.  The Campus Chat (now known as the North Texas Daily), stated that “…the Normal has always maintained a strong course of lectures and entertainments, each year securing the best available talent.  Men and women of national reputation, famous as leaders in public life, noted artists, musicians, and writers have been secured, who have contributed much to the student’s realization of the college purpose of helpfulness and spiritual uplift.” [Campus Chat, 1963-05-07]

            Maria Tallchief appeared with the Chicago Opera Ballet, Jose Ferrer, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra were among the artists that appeared in the 1950s and 1960s. Not all acts that appeared were successful. One, Love is a Ball, received bad reviews from the audience. It closed soon after playing Denton. Other acts, such as Hal Holbrook’s performance in Mark Twain Tonight, were great successes.  Other well received programs included the rock musical, Your Own Thing, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dame Judith Anderson playing Hamlet in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the Hip Pocket Theater production of A Saga of Billy the Kid, the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, the Nishikawa Dance Troup, and the artists Janet Fish and English potter Richard Batterham.

            The conviction that the student experience should be enhanced by bringing the best performers in fine arts (drama and music), exposure to the visual arts, and thought-provoking lectures has continued and become a hallmark of the well-rounded student and graduate of the University of North Texas. The program was honored by having a newly constructed, five hundred seat, auditorium named the Lyceum in the Union Building.  The auditorium name was continued when the Union was expanded in 2015.

Pamphlet of the Current Literature Club for the course of study for the 1924-1925 school year.

The rock musical, Your Own Thing, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Civic Ballet were all part of the Fine Arts Series in the 1969-1970 year.
[1970 Yucca]

The lecture by Lech Walesa, president of Poland, was promoted in the North Texan, Spring 2002.

This page shows two shows that were booked for the Fine Arts Series. One was not well received, the other was very popular.

Cynthia Parker made its premiere in 1939.

A flyer for the Eva Jessye Choir. This would have been posted around campus to advertise this Fine Arts Series event.

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            Pursuing higher education has always been an expensive activity. Students in the 1910s and 1920s faced monetary shortfalls just as today’s students do. However, there was no scholarship office, no grants available to help a student in financial straits. According to the Denton Record Chronicle, the North Texas Normal Student Aid Fund was organized by the senior class of 1914 and Professor E. D. Criddle. By 1916, a faculty committee, composed of Criddle, W. E. James, and Edith Clark, provided oversight in making loans to needy students.

The loans to students varied from $15.00 to $150.00 (the highest amount a student could receive in any one year). To place these amounts in perspective, the entrance fee was about $15.00 during the 1910s.  The textbooks were furnished by the school, which if returned in good condition, could entitle the student to a $2.00 refund. Room and board could be $16.00 to $20.00 per month. The loans were made without interest, but students repaying the loans often added a contribution that was equivalent to interest.

The students’ contribution was raising money for the fund. They held a “circus” every year to provide entertainment to students and the wider Denton community.  The circus was a collection of public performances that were presented outside.  The circus began with a parade that moved down Hickory Street, around the square, and back on Oak Street. The participants in the parade varied by year, but usually included clowns, cars filled with students representing their clubs, displays of circus “animals” (students wearing costumes), and the Normal Band. In some years the circus was held in the college’s athletic park. This was an area from Avenue C to Welch, along Highland Street, that held tennis courts, an archery range, and other areas set aside to provide fresh air and physical activities for the students. The displays could include a wild west show that included exhibition horse riding, a concert by the Normal Band, singers, poetry reading, tableau presentations, skits, and rope walkers. Football and basketball games were also played.

No major campus event would be complete without a queen. Each class nominated a candidate. The winner was the one whose backers bought the most tickets. The queen and her court, after doing their part to raise money for their fellow students, were presented to the public while riding in their own car in the parade.  The queen was also frequently honored by having her image displayed in the college yearbook.

When Professor Criddle died in 1925, the school yearbook noted that 500 students had benefited from the Student Loan Fund. From the mid-1920s on other organizations on campus organized and sponsored additional loan funds. Some of these were targeted at the organization’s members, others were for specific majors. By 1939, Dixie Boyd, the college’s business manager was in charge of the distribution of loans from the various student loan funds.

 

1917 Circus Queen

Images of the circus and its “animals.”
Images of the circus and its “animals.”
Images of the circus and its “animals.”
Circus Queen, 1918 Yucca

The “circus” in action in 1920.

Views of the Circus Queen and her court and the parade, 1920.

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Dr. Imogene Bentley Dickey Mohat was a member of the UNT community from 1943 to 1979. Students nicknamed her “Big Red” due to her height and her red hair. The Denton Record Chronicle recorded that her motto was, “good discipline is good guidance.”

Imogene Bentley was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She came to Texas as a child and attended the public schools in Paris, Texas. She graduated from Paris High School in 1934.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts from East Texas State College and her master’s and Ph.D. from George Peabody College. Her teaching career started in the public schools in Paris, Texas. She then moved to Paris Junior College. When that institution’s dean became ill, she was called upon to take up many of his duties. When he decided to retire, Ms. Bentley applied for the position. This was a time when few women were considered for or served in administrative positions. She stated that it never occurred to her not to apply as she was already doing the work. She would serve as Dean of Paris Junior College from 1942 until she joined North Texas State College (now the University of North Texas) in the summer of 1943. She joined UNT as a member of the English Department. The following year she was named the Dean of Women.

Being the Dean of Women during a time of war brought challenges. Dean Bentley tried to solve a shortage of workers on campus by asking women to register their office skills (typing, shorthand, answering the phone, etc.) with her office. She planned to call on the women who stepped forward to fill positions all over campus.

In 1945, Bentley joined Dr. Max Heubner and Miss Hilda Haynes on the building committee of the ex-student’s association to raise funds for the Student Memorial Building, a union building. Students had long wanted a central gathering place on campus. The campaign for a union was hampered by the Depression, which prevented the school from raising the funds for this project, and then the outbreak of World War II. The campus finally did get a union, after World War II ended. The first union on campus was composed of a repurposed army service center from Camp Bowie. It was dedicated in 1949.

Dr. Bentley was widely known, on campus and off, due to the number of speeches she gave. She spoke to public schools, commencements, community groups, college organizations, and business conferences. In 1958 she spoke to the Texas Bankers Association in Houston. It was the first time in this organization’s 74 years, that a woman was one of the principal speakers. She spoke on Women, Banking and You, stating that, “If you want your women to stay, you pay them enough…..most women no longer choose between career and husband, children and home; they choose them all.” In 1959, she gave a talk on “The Art of Public Speaking,” to the Aerial Club and “Safeguarding Our Freedoms Through Responsible Citizenship” at a PTA conference banquet.

In June 1960, Dr. Bentley married the Reverend Charles Lively Dickey at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Dallas. The groom was the director of New Church Development in the Synod of Texas, United Presbyterian Church. Sadly, the marriage lasted only one year. While the couple was on a trip to San Angelo, Texas, to visit with Dr. Charles Dickey’s daughter from a previous marriage, he died of a heart attack. He was 56 years old.  

In 1968, both the Dean of Women and the Dean of Men, William G. Woods, announced that they wished to leave their positions. Dr. Dickey returned to teaching English while Dr. Woods returned to teaching psychology. Part of Dean Dickey’s contract had always had the provision that she be allowed to teach at least one class in addition to her duties as dean. Her stepping down as dean allowed her to return to teaching full-time.

In 1977, Dr. Dickey moved from the English Department to take up a new position as acting director of the Division of Drama for the Department of Speech Communication and Drama. Dr. Dickey held this position until 1979 when she retired. She was later named a professor emeritus.

In 1983, she married for a second time. The groom, John Theodore Mohat, was a member of the mathematics faculty, formerly the chair of that department. Dr. John Mohat died a decade later, on September 11, 1993, at the age of 69.

Imogene Bentley Dickey Mohat received many honors during her career. Among them were: Distinguished Alumna of East Texas State University; Distinguished Teacher at UNT; Paris Junior College created the Imogene Bentley Dickey Distinguished Scholarship Award in her honor; and the Otis L. Fowler Award in 1989 from the Denton Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Imogene Mohat died at the age of 91 in 2000.

Imogene Dickey 1961.
Imogene Dickey with a student in 1961.
Imogene Dickey in 1963.
Alumni Awards Luncheon, April 27, 1974. She is seen with Dr. Reginald Hinely of the College of Education; James Riddlesperger of the Department of Political Science; and Dr. David Fitch of the College of Business Administration.  They are posed in the Denton Country Club.

Dr. John T. Mohat, the chair of the Mathematics Department, was pictured in the 1970 student yearbook, the Yucca
Dean Dickey is pictured with Dr. Reginald Hinely (Education); Dr. James Riddlesperger (Political Science), and Dr. David Fitch (Business Administration) at the Alumni Awards Luncheon where they were named Distinguished Teachers in 1974.

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“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Those words are Title IX, part of the Education Amendments Act, which was signed into law by Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972. The bill prohibited gender discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal funds. It recognized gender equity in education as a civil right.  Among its numerous effects, the bill opened athletic participation to women and girls.

The process of implementation of Title IX took years. The guidelines that governed fulfillment of the terms of the law were not available until 1975. Schools were given until 1978 to provide evidence that they were following the law. The implementation of the law involved scholarships, recruitment, equipment, travel, publicity, and the number and type of sports played.

Institutions face severe penalties for refusal to comply with Title IX. Complaints can result in formal warnings. Investigations can be opened by after series of objections or complaints concerning the implementation of the law. A negative finding can result in a “death” sentence enforced by the Department of Education. The sentence can involve the Department withholding federal funds from the school’s university funds.

The Yucca, Yearbook of North Texas State Normal School, 1912 Page: 153 https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth60980/m1/155/

“The NCAA has set up the Gender Equity task force to ensure compliance to Title IX. The task force has as a goal to increase women’s participation in college sports, not a reduction in men’s participation.” [NTD, 1992-10-06]

The task force looks at three areas to determine if the institution has gender equity: the athletic opportunities should be proportionate to enrollment; there should be a history of increasing opportunities for gender equity in athletics; and the school needs to show that they are doing the work to bring gender equity to athletics in their institution.  They look to see that the opportunities are equivalent but not necessarily identical.

The Yucca, Yearbook of North Texas State Normal College, 1913 Page: 183 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth60981/m1/186/

There were no organized sports when UNT was founded in 1890. Interest in sports built as the school grew and students looked for social and athletic outlets. During this period of development, both men and women participated in team athletics. In 1902, the same year the men organized a football team, women formed three basketball teams. The teams were named the Cardinals, the Haulein Twelve, and the F.R.O.G.S. Playing as one team, the North Texas women became state champions in 1902. The college built a tennis court in 1905. The first women’s tennis team was formed in 1906. In 1914, Beulah Harriss was hired as the first female coach. She trained both men and women. By 1916, Texas officially entered intercollegiate sports. The women’s basketball team went on to be state champions for three straight seasons, 1918-1920.

The Brownies Basketball Team, 1912.

In 1925, the Texas Teacher’s College Board of Regents voted to abolish all intercollegiate athletics for women. Women at UNT formed intramural teams under the organization of the Women’s Athletic Association. Over the years, women were involved in basketball, volleyball, softball, tennis, track and field, and golf. Title IX returned inter-collegiate sports for women at UNT.

Members of the Women’s Athletic Association practice archery.

The implementation of equity in sports at UNT was a slow process. UNT started official varsity athletics for women in 1976.  

Funding needs had to be addressed. Athletics has been financed by student fees, funds from ticket sales, and donations.  Seven women athletes were awarded the first athletic scholarships for women in 1978-1979. By 1979, the men’s athletic program received $62 million, and the women worked with a budget of $157,000. Of the 200 male athletes 150 received scholarships. There were 50 female athletes with 28 receiving scholarships.

Funding influenced which sports were supported and why teams were cut. In 1976, women were able to compete on the basketball, soccer, golf, tennis, volleyball, and track and field teams.  In each case, the university had existing facilities that could be used for the new women’s teams. Between 1988 and 1997 UNT dropped men’s baseball, soccer, and men’s tennis to keep up the financial support of football. In the year 1998, UNT added women’s swimming and diving.

Members of the Women’s Swimming and Diving Team in the pool, 2007.

By 2005, under athletic director Rick Villarreal, UNT started to close the equity gap between men’s and women’s athletics. Facilities for women’s teams had been built or were planned for softball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, and basketball and an indoor golf facility. The complex is located at Eagle Point, on the former Liberty Christian School Campus, which UNT acquired in 2002.

“In 2007, UNT ranked first in the nation and received a grade of ‘A’ on Gender Equity Scorecard, a Penn State at York study measuring a university’s commitment to women’s athletics with criteria such as participation, scholarships, coaches’ salaries, recruitment budget and operating expenses.”

Idalina Franca was a member of the Women’s Tennis Team in 2008.

UNT was one of only 11 schools in the country, and the only program in the South, to receive an ‘A.’” [North Texan, Fall 2008] Villarreal referred to UNT being Title IX compliant in 2009.

Posted by & filed under 1890's, 1900's, 1910's, 1920's, 1930's, 1940's.

Texas Normal College and Teachers Training Institute was founded in 1890 as a private university. Its primary mission was to prepare students to become teachers for the growing North Texas area. The school, now the University of North Texas, was governed by a Board of Trustees. Membership was made up of businessmen and lawyers who helped organize the institution and arranged the acquisition of land for the new institution.

In 1899, the school was accepted as a state institution. From 1901 to 1925, seven normal schools were organized as normal or teachers’ colleges. They were located in San Marcos, Canyon, Denton, Commerce, Alpine, Kingsville, and Nacogdoches. They expanded access to instruction in Texas from the previous three institutions that offered teachers’ training: The University of Texas, Sam Houston, and Prairie View.

Photograph of eight people sitting behind a large wooden table wearing suits. All are white men except for one white woman.

Board of Regents, The Yucca, 1951, p. 232.

In 1911, the state created the State Normal School Board of Regents to oversee the normal schools in the state. The legislation authorized the new Board to transform the state’s normal schools into colleges by 1917. The regents monitored budgets, approved the building of new structures, and most importantly sought to raise the academic standards by providing broadly accepted teacher training across the state. The Board abolished the general course of study and replaced it with five courses of study: the agricultural course, industrial arts course, science course, language course, and primary and art course (for those wanting to teach below the High School level).

The state’s normal colleges would be renamed as Teachers Colleges in 1923. At the same time a name change took place for the State Normal School Board of Regents, making it the Board of Regents, State Teachers Colleges.

In March 1949, a bill was introduced to the Texas Legislature to create a separate Board of Regents for North Texas State Teachers College. At the time, the school was the largest college in Texas without a separate board. The college attained a new Board of Regents on May 23, 1949, when Governor Beauford Jester signed the bill.  

            “The Legislature is to be commended in recognizing the progress of

            North Texas State College by setting up a separate board of regents.

            Since this school is making such wonderful strides in all phases of

            Liberal arts education, it is impractical to assume that it should

            Continue to improve without a separate board for direct supervision.

            With a large portion of the population of Texas concentrated within

            A 50-mile radius of Denton, the future of this school is unlimited,

            Especially with the leadership of its present administration.”

            S. A. Kerr [Denton Record Chronicle, 1949-06-03] 

The new board was made up of nine members, two were alumni (Ben Wooten, chair and Grace Cartwright), and one was a holdover from the previous board (S. A. Kerr, Jr., vice-chair).

Yearbook page with title Board of Regents. A block of text is below the title with a grid of eight photographs below, of all white men and one white woman.

Board of Regents yearbook page, The Yucca, 1949, p. 169.

S. A. Kerr, Jr. was appointed to the Board of Regents, State Teachers Colleges in 1943. In 1949, he was “reappointed” to the new North Texas Board of Regents. His presence offered continuity to the new board. Kerr, from Conroe, Texas, was a manager of a Beall Brothers store. He would later operate Kerr Department Stores in Huntsville and Livingston, Texas. He received a bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College and a masters from Peabody College. During World War II he served two and a half years in the Navy, first as a purchasing officer and later as a Lieutenant as a clothing officer for the eighth Naval District at New Orleans.

Edward D. Norment, a native of Paris, Texas, worked in the family insurance business before becoming a regent. He was also the vice-president and director of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association. He was a graduate of the University of Texas and served in the Air Corps as a lieutenant at Kelly Field.

Charles I. Francis, a native of Denton, earned a B. A. from the University of Texas, his L.L.B from the University of Michigan, and his L.L.M from the University of Texas Law School. In World War I, he was a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery, U. S. Army. During World War II, he served as a special assistant to the secretary of war and was a consultant to the attorney general of the United States. His career included being a public speaking instructor at the University of Texas, executive positions in energy corporations, working for law firms, and he was assistant to the U. S. attorney general in charge of oil litigation.

Robert H. Montgomery, a Mexia grocer, formerly worked in the wholesale grain business. Born in Lawton, Oklahoma, he came to Texas with his parents when he was five years old. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and Oklahoma A&M College.

George Eagle, native of Fort Worth, Texas, was a funeral director. He graduated from Riverside High School, but did not have an opportunity to attend college. He served as a Fort Worth city councilman from1937 to 1949. He also served on the Fort Worth School Board from 1932 to 1937.

Charles Robert “Bob” McCrady was a former school superintendent, newspaper publisher of the Waxahachie Daily Light, and at the time of his appointment to the board, a chamber of commerce manager and rancher. He was a graduate of Weatherford Junior College, received his B. A. degree from the University of Arkansas, and did graduate work at the University of Denver, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Minnesota.

James Henry Allison of Wichita Falls, was the vice-president and advertising director of the Wichita Daily Times and the Wichita Falls Record News. He was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio. He worked in newspapers and business, but did not attend college.

Black and white photograph of a woman standing between two men posing for a photo. The men wear suits, while she wears a white dress.

Grace Woodruff Cartwright with President Nolen (right) and unidentified man, 1975.

Grace Cartwright, known to her friends as “Amazing Grace,” was an alumna of UNT. She was noted for working to improve the lives of rural Texans. She started by organizing her community in Weatherford to obtain some modern facilities (electricity and phone service were high on her list). She was also involved in clean-up and beautification campaigns and the renovation of the community center. She graduated with a degree in home economics and worked as a demonstration agent in Weatherford for two years before her marriage.

Black and white photograph of older white man sitting at a desk earing a suit.

Ben Wooten, 1956.

Ben Wooten, the Board of Regents chair, was from Dallas. He was an alumnus of UNT. A World War I veteran, he served as a lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps. He fought in the battles of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse Argonne and served in the army of Occupation in Germany. He spent his working life as a banker and was active in community groups.

The new Board of Regents held its first meeting on June 4, 1949. The first order of the day was a motor tour of the campus. President McConnell delivered a report providing basic information on enrollment, buildings under construction or completed, bond issues, and other campus concerns. The last part of the meeting concerned the board’s by-laws and the transfer of funds and payment for services.

Two of the members (Ben Wooten and S. A. Kerr, Jr.) of the first Board of Regents would be honored by having buildings named after them on the UNT campus.

Having its own Board of Regents allowed the university to respond to its continued growth in a timely manner. It would also make becoming a System possible as UNT’s service in the North Texas area expanded.

Posted by & filed under 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, 2010's, 2020's.

Black and white photograph of Stanley Marcus and Yves St. Laurent posing for a photo holding an award.

Stanley Marcus presenting award to Yves St. Laurent, 1958, Georgette de Bruchard.

The collection was founded in 1938 by Stanley and Edward Marcus in honor of their aunt, Carrie Marcus-Neiman.  Ms. Marcus-Neiman was one of the founders of the Neiman-Marcus department store, and an important arbiter of taste and quality. The nucleus of the collection came from the work of top designers featured in the Neiman-Marcus store. In 1962, the Dallas Museum of Fashion was established by the Dallas Fashion Group as a collection preserving the history of clothing as well as highlighting modern designers. Housed at the Apparel Mart in Dallas, the Dallas Museum of Fashion was given the Carrie Marcus-Neiman Collection in the mid-1960’s by Stanley Marcus and the Carrie Marcus-Neiman Foundation. In 1972, an agreement was reached to bring the collection of about 2,000 items to Denton and become part of UNT’s Department of Art, under Dr. Edward Mattill.  At that time the collection was renamed the Texas Fashion Collection.

Color photograph of a mannequin in old fashioned clothes standing at the end of a two-tiered hanging rack full of clothes.

Texas Fashion Collection storage, 2017, Robin Lyle.

The collection now consists of approximately 20,000 items. The focus is on works from the later 19th century onwards, with a focus on post-mid-20th century designers from England, France, and the United States. There are items dating back to the 1700’s, with one piece from the 11th-12th century. The collection also includes items from various traditional cultures around the world. Students and researchers are able to study garments by some of the world’s greatest designers, including Cristobal Balenciaga, Oscar de la Renta, Hubert de Givenchy, and Chanel.

Photograph of a manaquin dressed in traditional Thai temple dancer costume, featuring a yellow top, red skirt, and black neck arm and waist bands, and a tall metal headdress

Thai temple dancer costume, Texas Fashion Collection.

The Texas Fashion Collection has had its items featured in exhibits in the Kimbell Art Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Meadows Museum, and have been loaned to the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, the George W. Bush Presidential Library, the de Young Museum, Museum at FIT, and the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Color photograph of a large room with a riser along the back wall and coming into the center of the floor. Mannequins in evening gowns are displayed along the riser.

Balenciaga and His Legacy: Haute Couture from the Texas Fashion Collection exhibition at the Meadows Museum, May 21, 2007, Michael Bodycomb.

The Texas Fashion Collection is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and documentation of historically significant fashion.  The Texas Fashion Collection is administered by the College of Visual Arts and Design. Learn more on the Texas Fashion Collection website, and view collection items online.

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