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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1997)
of what lurks in the woods. OPAS Jr. presents Little Red Riding Hood Saturday, October 4th at 3:00 PM & 7:00 PM Rudder Theatre Tickets are $6.50! Call the MSC Box Office at 845-1234. Accepting Aggie Bucks™ http://opas.tamu.edu OPAS Jr. is generously supported by the OPAS Guild. We’ll Be On Campus Oct. 10. Please check with the Career Center for more details or visit us on our website: www.gecareers.com The innovative spark flashes daily at GE. Jack Welch, Chairman & CEO Thomas Edison’s innovative spark led to the creation of General Electric more than 100 years ago. The same spark is alive and thriving today. Our people and our team environment are the primary reasons. We have an open forum - a learning culture - without boundaries or barriers. A place where ideas are born, heard, and allowed to flourish. A place where people are continually exposed to new experiences and world-class training programs. The results are astounding. GE holds more patents than any other US company and is a global leader in each of its twelve businesses. Operating in more than 100 countries, we’re the first corporation in the world to exceed $200 billion in market value. If you are a bachelor’s or master’s degree candidate and have a thirst for new ideas, solid academic performance and demonstrated leadership potential, come create your own sparks at GE! An Equal Opportunity Employer. We bring good things to life. L The Battalion IFESTYLES Friday • October 3, 1997 Friday Cushing Library collection offers | students a step back in time By Chris Martin Staff writer D eep in the bowels of Texas A&M lies a treasure trove of art, books and historical ar tifacts. Perhaps it is buried under years of cobwebs and cobblestones, patiently awaiting discovery. Maybe one student will stumble upon the secret switch, triggered with a tap upon old Sul Ross’ nose, and lay claim to the precious prize. In truth, this treasure lies un derneath a more obvious nose — the one that guides thousands of students past the second floor of Sterling C. Evans Library every day, temporary home to the Cushing Library collection. The Cushing Library is named in honor of Colonel E.B. Cushing, who served as president of the Texas A&M Board of Directors in 1912. Texas A&M faced severe financial trouble that year, and was almost absorbed into the University of Texas system. Dr. Donald Dyal, director of Cushing Library, said Cushing led a campaign to save A&M from closing down. “Cushing gathered a bunch of significant legislatures and showed them the important things the school was doing,” said Dyal. “He heated up the telegraph wires ex plaining to others the powerful role that the agriculture and mechanical college played in the development of the state of Texas, and was able to turn the tide.” Dr. David Chapman, university archivist, said Cushing is a special li brary that holds materials not avail able in the regular Sterling C. Evans Libraiy stacks. “Cushing has closed stacks of rare and valuable books, which can only be used in the reading room,” Chapman said. “It’s a unique place in the library. We are preserving the rare and expensive books from the destruction that can happen in the regular stacks. Sometimes we re quire readers to wear white gloves.” Chapman said one strength of the Cushing Library is its collection of rare military and Texas history books. “We have one of the best military collections in the United States,” Chapman said. “The collection be gins at the Spanish-American War, since that was the first war that peo ple from A&M were involved in.” Nestled within the library’s col lection of valuable paintings is a cu riously unrefined composition with an interesting history. “The painting, ‘The Alamo Mis sion,’ is by an artist named Russell Roberts. The painting is full of his torical and compositional errors. However, it was used as a back ground for the credits in a John Wayne movie. A couple of cadets found it and traded one of their cer emonial swords for it.”, Steven Smith, special collections librarian, said most of the library’s collections came from donations by former students. “A former English professor do nated his collection of Rudyard Kipling books,” Smith said. “We have the first editions of every Kipling book, as well as second and third edi tions, strange editions, manuscripts, drafts and correspondence.” Smith said the Cushing Library collection is utilized by various re searchers, authors and scholars. “We correspond with campuses around the nation and even around the world,” Smith said. “We get everything from advanced scholars using our books as research, to peo ple looking for a historical photo to put in their restaurant.” Chapman said The Cushing Li brary building, built in 1930, is cur rently undergoing renovation to re store many of its original features. “The original building has un fortunately been empty and unused in past years,” Chapman said. “Right now the collection is practi cally in a closet. The renovations will give us a new stage to present the collection. The renovated space will have large exhibit areas, andre- store the original reading room." ; The new construction will also up date the libraiy with modern features, “We are going to complete things within the library that would have been done, I believe, if they had more money,” Chapman said. “The building is being updated with air conditioning, water sprinklers to meet fire code and computer ter minals, but they will be hidden. When you walk into the reading room, it will be like stepping back into 1930.” Classic a im ai Chelsea 5 ! Filrr Citorium c Plastic Seat Sweat Featuring: Shotgun * 40 Miles To Vegas Banana Puddin' * House Of Bamboo Get ready to shake your butt to the groovy twang-a-lang of love. Southern Culture On The Skids bring you an all-new album full of tunes about subjects as varied as shotgun weddings, psychotic tow truck drivers, unrequited country love, bulldozers in the morning, possum carvin’ and banana puddin’. It’s fire, funk and exotica at its finest. Moist towelette included. LE PRICED U10/17 H Co 'THE" RE CORO STORE IN B/CS .■«