Historical Documents

All documents can be downloaded by going to File > Download.

 

Narratives & Timelines

   

The Whitehall History Book compiles the most interesting documents from this site in one handy pdf. If you only look at one thing, check this out.

 

This 1949-2014 timeline is a one-page timeline of Whitehall history.

This chapter on Whitehall history is from a UT Master's thesis written by former member John Powell Joyner. Here is the full thesis, most of which discusses life in Whitehall circa 1992.

These selections on Whitehall are taken (with Jim's permission) from Jim Jones' book Many Hands: A History of the Austin Cooperative Community (available for purchase at manyhandsthemovie.com). 

 

Here are selections from the past members questionnaire, which was filled out by former members before the 40th anniversary reunion in 1989.

Documents

1950s

 

This Daily Texan article and list of members are from 1949.

 

Here are articles about the Whitehall fire of 1950.

 

Here are some 1951 yearbook photos, including a picture of the Whitehall kitchen and Whitehallers reacting to the fire.

Here are articles about Whitehall's 1953 move off-campus.

Here are the House Song & Grace song from 1953. Minutes from 1960 state that the House Song was sung before every meeting.

Here are various articles from the mid-50s, about the Whitehall Fairies, Girl of the Month, and weekly devotional periods.

Here are articles about the 1956 integration of UT, including the Inter-Cooperative Council and Whitehall votes to integrate. Here are minutes of a Whitehall discussion about integration in 1960.

At the end of the year, when all the graduating seniors moved out, they wrote a "Last Will", and the remaining members wrote a "Prophecy" of what would happen to the members who were leaving. Here are some from the scrapbooks: Last Will & Prophecy 1956, Last Will 1958, and the Last Will & Prophecy 1959.

"Tell-tale tidbits of co-op life" from 1959.

Here are documents relating to the purchase of Whitehall, along with a short history written by former member Irene Braden. (Irene, along with 3 other members, bought the house in their names in 1960. They legally owned the house until the title was transferred to Whitehall in 2011.)

 

Here are selections from house meeting minutes, 1959-1961.

1960s

 

This article on the 1960 Co-op Open House was written by a Whitehaller.

 

This 1962 report on women's coops was created by the UT Office of the Dean of Women.

Here is the 1967 UT Women's Cooperative Houses Curfew Policy. 

Here are Whitehall's House Rules & Customs, 1967. 

 

This 1955-1968 timeline was written in 1969, covering the topics of renting and then buying 2500 Nueces and almost giving the house to UT in exchange for a house on campus.

Here is an article about the 1969 decision to keep the house rather than give it to UT in exchange for a campus house. These 1968-1969 documents relate to the decision to keep 2500 Nueces, including letters of support from Campus Guild and ICC and the minutes of the vote to keep the house.

 

Here are group photos from 1959-1970, scanned from a xerox copy of some sort of UT yearbook found at the Austin History Center. (This seems to have been xeroxed in 1989, probably in preparation for the 40th anniversary reunion.)

1970s

 

Here is a police diagram of a car crash in front of the house in 1970. Details are hazy, but Whitehall was possibly being blamed due to foliage obscuring the stop sign.

 

This 1974 statement on non-student members argues that accepting non-students is a violation of the original purpose of Whitehall. 

 

Here is a 1978 hand-out about sexism at Whitehall, including the opportunity to rate how sexist your housemates are on a 1 to 10 scale. 

 

Here is a membership application questionnaire from 1978.

1980s

 

Here is information about the 1981 kitchen renovation, as recounted by former members. 

 

These reasons to get rid of the dog were written in 1985.

 

This Whitehall fact sheet seems to be from the late 80's.

 

1990s

 

This poem about Whitehall was written in the mid-90s by Graham Hawksley.

 

2000s 

 

This short documentary was filmed ca. 2008-2009, created by non-Whitehallers Chelsea Hernandez and Jordan Torres.

 

Various

 

This timeline of Whitehall history was written by former member Michael Owens circa 1993. 

This article on the history of Austin student co-ops was published in the Austin Chronicle in 1989. Courtesy of Michael Bluejay, here are high-res tiffs: page 1, page 2, page 3, and page 4. There were 4 pictures of Whitehall on the front cover, and a 40th anniversary Whitehall ad on the last page of the article. 

 

Here's some info about Samuel D. Harlan, the father of the original owner of 2500 Nueces.

 

 

 

Photos

 Click photo to enlarge...

Whitehall's original house, 2500 Whitis, Dec. 1949.

2500 Whitis, Dec. 1949.

The fire -- November 3, 1950.

2500 Whitis on fire, Nov. 1950.

Reactions to the fire, 1950 (l to r): Jeannette Hack, Susanne Collins,
Mary Jane Brandhorst, Johnnie Wright, and Ginger Hendricks.
(Ginger was a Whitehaller, the others might have been as well.)

From the Daily Texan, Nov. 4, 1950.

Whitehall: card-carrying member of NASCL (the predecessor of NASCO).

May 1955. Likely in front of 21st & Nueces location.
Whitehall was at 1914 Nueces from 1953-1955.

1955. Likely at the time of the move from 1914 Nueces to 2500 Nueces.
(Similar photos show the 21st & Nueces location, a moving van, etc.)

Whitehall members, 1956-1957. 

Ca. mid-50s.

Ca. mid-50s

Whitehall members, 1958.

Ca. 1959.

Yard party, 1959. Original caption from scrapbook:

"For publicity purposes -- Propaganda. 

For actual, live photographs see next page."

Original caption from the scrapbook:

     "September 26, 1959, twenty-three impatient girls waited for a shower 

to subside so they could begin the annual yard party. It finally stopped 

and they rushed onto the scene and soon became industriously engaged 

in beautifying the landscape of Whitehall.

     Various onlookers contributed advice and remarks (especially the male 

inhabitants of Brownlee), but unfortunately none offered to help in the 

actual labor. 

     After the work was done, dinner was served outside and a riotous 

hula hoop elimination was held. All in all, it was quite an afternoon."

Ca. 1959. Original scrapbook caption: “Whitehall co-eds joined in
 advertisement for the inter-co-op dance. They are, from left to right 
Linda Shuler (sitting), Marva Carter, Judy Willenborg (sitting), Claudia Laney, 
Mary Ester Bazaldua, and Martha Whitlow (the black eyes were real).”

Whitehall members, ca 1960-1961.

Invitation from Royal Coop to a Beatnik Valentines Party, ca 1964.

1965 group photo.

1969 group photo.

1970 group photo.

1979, in the front room.

Michael Owens & Barbara Bonneau.

1981. Back, L to R: Terry Morrison, Gary Keith, Constance Corbin,
Wanda Fairweather, Jimmy Robertson, Mimi Smith, Walden Swanson.
Front: Jane Ward, Prema Strecker, Cyndy Lou Swope, Barbara Bonneau,
Paul "Sandy" May, Allison Bonneau.

Ca. 1981, kitchen renovation.

Whitehall Gothic, 1981 kitchen renovation:
Paul "Sandy" May and Prema Strecker.
This photo was on the front cover of the Austin
Chronicle in 1989.

Group photo ca. mid 80's.

Partying in Mr. Turtle, ca. mid-80s.

40th anniversary ad from the Austin Chronicle, 1989.

Ad ca. early 90s.

Ca. 1990-1992. John Powell Joyner, author of the Master's Thesis, top right.
Wanda Fairweather, longtime resident, center in white shirt.

60th anniversary reunion & potluck. Unfortunately, this
is the closest we got to a group photo. (2009)

2011 group photo

The 4 owners of Whitehall (l to r): Marva Carter Carroll, Irene Braden Hoadley,
Patsy Mayhew, and Martha Whitlow Langford, at the 2011 deed transfer.

2011 deed transfer lunch.

65th Anniversary Reunion, Oct. 2014.

65th Anniversary Reunion storytime.

65th Anniversary Reunion

More coming soon...

About

Founded in 1949, Whitehall Cooperative is Texas' oldest independent co-op. 

 

This site serves as a digital archive for historical documents and photos that have gathered dust in filing cabinets for decades. 

 

For more information on Whitehall, please visit whitehallcoop.com.

 

(This site was created by Patrick Parker, March 2014.)