Mr. Townsend and the Polish Prince by Mike Gastineau

The DSU archives is celebrating yet another landmark achievement! For the first time ever, the archives and I, by name, have received acknowledgement in a book.

Last year Mr. Mike Gastineau visited the William C. Jason Library to conduct research regarding the 1981 DSC football team and its controversial coach, Mr. Joe Purzycki. At that time he examined Board of Trustee records, news clippings, and sports media guides. These records, in conjunction with conversations with Mr. Purzycki, led to a book.

Mr. Townsend and the Polish Prince tells the story of the racial tensions that resulted from an unprecedented move by Delaware State University to hire a white coach football. After a embarrassing 1980 season, concluded by a 105-0 loss to Portland State University, the then-athletic director, Nelsen Townsend, decided a radical change was necessary. Townsend hired Purzycki, the assistant football coach at University of Delaware.

When Purzycki came to work on his first day, he had to force his way through a picket line of students protesting his presence on campus and seventeen scholarship players immediately quit the team. Despite these and numerous other challenges, Purzycki won the admiration of the DSC community and ultimately turned the team around.

I haven't read Mr. Townsend and the Polish Prince, yet, but I am eager to begin.  This a chapter of University history that I was hitherto unaware of, and I'm grateful to Mr. Gastineau for bringing it to the limelight.

If you'd like to learn more about this story you can checkout the book's website at https://thepolishprince.com/ or you can purchase the book on Amazon.  It is available in both paperback and kindle editions. https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Townsend-Polish-Prince-redemption/dp/1728922488

Congratulations Mr. Gastineau and Mr. Purzycki!

Listen to the 1977 Gospel Choir

The DSU archives is giving a HUGE shout-out to 302 Stories Inc. for converting a prized LP record to CD!

The James A. Prettyman collection is my go-to source when examining the university's material culture circa 1965 to 1980. Contained within it are college pennants, clothing, pins, various souvenirs and an LP record of the Gospel Choir from 1977.

From my first day at Delaware State University, this Gospel Choir LP frustrated me. The opportunity to hear voices from the past was always right in front of me and yet so far out of reach because of  technological and financial limitations. Aside from a VHS player, I do not have the ability to playback or convert any audiovisual media.

When the archive's 125th anniversary exhibit opened a year ago, I included the record in one of the display cases. I thought that, at the very least, it added color and intrigue, and I noted that visitors enjoyed seeing it. What I didn't expect was that one set of visitors in particular, 302 Stories Inc., a documentary film company, would be able to provide me with access to the audio.

Thanks to Jeanne and Mike who enthusiastically converted the audio, I can now play the music of Take Me There to my heart's content. Stop by the archives any time to listen to the 1977 Gospel Choir! Were you a member of the choir? Let me know! I'd love to hear your stories.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Written by Dan DelViscio

The notion of memorializing a day to exemplify King was first proposed by labor unions, but it took 15 years before a federal holiday was created. Following the death of Dr. King, two politicians, John Conyers and Edward Brooke, proposed a bill in Congress to make Dr. King's birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979, but it wasn't until 1983 that President Ronald Reagan officially signed the holiday into law.

Delaware State University will be celebrating its 30^th annual Martin Luther King Jr. day on January 18th.  Even before Martin Luther King Jr. day was a national holiday, DSU held annual celebrations to honor one of the greatest civil rights activists in history. Thirty years ago, this historically black university  recognized that Dr. King had helped to create a brighter future for its students. 


In commemoration of this special day I thought I would riffle through the archives  and show you some of the past celebrations here at DSU. On the top right Theressa Webster as Miss DSC and Senator Herman Holloway both visit the child development lab on campus in 1978. The photograph to the right shows students posing with signs for a 1985 celebration. Finally, the  photograph below depicts Delaware State College's Gospel Choir performing in 1980.

I hope you enjoy the weekend and at the same time reflect on the significance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Reference:
Ross, Shmuel, and David Johnson. "The History of Martin Luther King Day." Infoplease. Accessed January 14, 2016. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkhistory1.html.

10!...9!....8!...

Where were you on December 31, 1999 at 11:59pm?   I was sitting in my grandparents’ house in New York State huddled on the floor with a survival kit I had gotten for Christmas just days before.   Meanwhile, in Dover Delaware, College administrators at Delaware State University were waiting to determine if winter break should be extended due to a mass failure of technology. 10!...9!...8!...

It was Y2K.  New Year’s Eve in 1999 was a time of mass panic as people around the world waited for the moment when computers would destroy the world as we knew it, or so they thought.  There was a flaw in the internal clocks of computers in which they only had two digits instead of four designated to calculate the calendar year.  The simple lack of two digits would cause computers to revert to the year 1900 instead of advance to 2000.  This, it was theorized, had the potential to power down technology around the world.

In the years prior to the year 2000, Y2K compliance committees were established anywhere where technology was utilized – essentially everywhere - in schools, businesses, medical facilities, modes of transportation, public utilities, etc.  Delaware State University was no exception.  

Last week a report from the 1999 Y2K compliance committee at DSU was uncovered within the university archives.  Enjoy these excerpts from the DSU report, and relive the panic in a short video clip from National Geographic. Today we are able to laugh at the Y2K incident as it fades into the obscurity of history.

Written by Joy Scherry

Before They were Tuskegee Airmen They were DSU Alumni

Did you know that Delaware State University offers bachelors’ degrees in Aviation Management and Professional Pilot? Yes! It’s true!

Our story begins in 1939.  The Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) Act of 1939 established flight programs at colleges and universities across the United States, but the historically black colleges and universities were excluded. Would-be African American pilots petitioned President Roosevelt to allow them to be included in CPT programs. They were successful! By the end of 1939 the Civil Aeronautics Authority (later named the Federal Aviation Administration) approved several HBCUs including, Delaware State University, to initiate CPT programs for a limited quota of students. When the Tuskegee Army Flying School opened in 1941 as a result of World War II several hundred graduates of HBCU flight schools made their way to the army. It is likely that DSU alumni were among the ranks of renowned Tuskegee Airmen.

The flight school that was present in the early days of DSU fell to the wayside sometime around World War II.  However, during the 1987-1988 academic year the Department of Airway Science was revitalized.  Degrees in Aircraft Systems Management and Airway Science Management were offered in part thanks to an association with the United Air Lines.

In this photograph from the University Archives, the 1988 Flight Team stands with President Delauder following a regional flight competition.  Caption on Back: "DSC 1988 Precision Flight Team; Team Awards - First in Safety, Third in Ground Events, Fourth Overall; 1988 National Intercollegiate Flying Association SAFECON, MacArthur Field, Long Island, NY” Daeshawn, Paul, and Justin explained that for DSU, the most coveted prize at SAFECON is not to be #1 team, but to achieve the Safety Award.

Today the students of the DSU Aviation program thrive.  They proudly fly a fleet of 10 aircrafts; six Piper Warriors, two Piper Arrows, a Piper Tomahawk, and a Piper Seneca multi-engine. The DSU planes are all painted bright blue with red tails in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen who paved the way before them.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with current juniors, Daeshawn Rose, Paul Scherry and Justin Thompson to hear about their experiences in the DSU aviation program. Daeshawn explained, “I love being a part of DSU’s aviation program because it allows me to do things that the average college student would not be able to do.” He wasn’t kidding.  DSU aviation students depart daily from the Dover Municipal Airport for destinations all across the East Coast. Not only do they network and interact with professional pilots and air traffic controllers along the way, but they also get to explore the eastern United States.  They fly over some of the most famous vistas such as Niagara Falls and New York City.  Feel like flying to North Carolina for a sandwich? No problem. These guys know the best airport restaurants and small town USA eateries.

So if you see a blue and red dot moving across the sky, cheer on your fellow classmates. In the future they will be the ones to fly you across the country, transport your packages, and perform a whole host of other services.

Bibliography:

Carver, Joseph, and Jerome A. Ennels. The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939-1949. Montgomery, AL: NewSouth Books, 2011.

DSU students talk about in-flight maneuvering circa 2000. Notice the wing of the
DSU plane has red stripping in homage to the Tuskegee Airmen who
helped pave the way for these students.
Photograph Source: PR Photographic collection, DSU archives

 Written by Joy Scherry