Learn about the lives of notable Pennsylvania Military College and Widener Alumni such as actor Burt Mustin (‘03), war hero William Wolfgram (War Class ‘43), editor and writer Brent Staples (’73) and athlete Billy “White Shoes’” Johnson (’76).
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see …
View three Pennsylvania Military College Alumni Association Scrapbooks covering the years 1895 to 1940. These scarpbooks contain Alumni Association correspondence, newspaper clippings, documents and memorabilia depicting events on campus in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This collection includes Official Lists of Graduates for 1856-1991. These list include students from Hyatt's Select School for Boys, Delaware Military Academy, Pennsylvania Military Academy, Pennsylvania Military College, PMC Colleges, Widener College and Widener University.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on …
Search the full text of the Alumni Magazines: Alumni Bulletin (1952-1963) and PMC Alumnus (1964-1968). View photographs of Alumni and Campus Activities.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit
Search the full text of the Alumni Magazines: Impact (1968-1989). View photographs of Alumni and Campus Activities.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit
Search the full text of the Alumni Magazine: Widener Magazine (1989-Present). View photographs of Alumni and Campus Activities.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit
Read first-hand accounts of experiences in the Spanish-American War, World War II and D-Day and the Korean War written by PMA and PMC Alumni:
INSTRUCTIONS: When …
Athletics teams began in 1866 with the advent of the first baseball team. One by one, additional sports were added, and these first teams were all student run. It wasn’t until 1904 that the Institutional College Athletics Board was established, and a more formal structure emerged. This exhibit provides, through pictures and other …
See photographs that illustrate the evolution of the Chester Campus from 1894 to the present. This exhibit depicts the building that were constructed or acquired, as well as those that were demolished, to create the modern campus. It also includes information about the individuals for whom the buildings were named.
INSTRUCTIONS: …
View photographs that chronicle the changing style of caps worn by Pennsylvania Military Academy and Pennsylvania Military College Cadets from 1880 to 1972. With this information, researchers can date old photographs by identifying what caps the cadets were wearing.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse …
Explore the history of the Chester Civil Rights Movement and the Chester NAACP through scrapbooks and other materials donated by the George Raymond Family. George Raymond was the President of the Chester Branch of the NAACP for over 25 years, including during the 1960s when Chester experienced turbulent, sometimes violent, civil …
Read transcripts of oral histories conducted with eight Chester residents in the spring of 2009 by Swarthmore College students enrolled in Swarthmore Professor Sonia Lee's history class.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
This project displays the full text serchable circulars from 1856-1872. It includes all the circulars from Hyatt's Select School for Boys, Delaware Military Academy and Pennsylvania Military Academy.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit
Browse selected course catalogs, bulletins, and circulars, some of which include complete class lists. Select the exhibit Catalogue of Students for 1856 – 1929 to view all class lists from 1856 to 1929.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
James Farwell Cowee, Theodore Hyatt's grandson, graduated from Pennsylvania Military Preparatory School in 1926 and from Pennsylvania Military College in 1930. His son, James Farwell Cowee, Jr., PMPS class of 1954, donated items that chronicle his father's time at both institutions.
The exhibit includes:
Learn about the school’s rich and diverse history from a chronological perspective as you view the dates of changes in the school’s name and location, the dates of its presidents, the evolution of the academic programs, and major events in the institution’s history.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse …
Doctoral thesis by Clarence Moll, who was President of Pennsylvania Military College, PMC Colleges, Widener College, and Widener University from 1959-1981. The book describes the history of the institution from 1821 - 1954.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
This book is a history of Pennsylvania Military College from 1821 to 1921, written by the College Recorder, Henry J. Buxton. It includes numerous pictures and a "Who's Who" of many graduates and ex-cadets, describing their business or profession and military record, if any.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on …
Faculty and Administration Oral Histories include: Oral Histories from Dr. Alonzo Cavin, Dr. Clarence Moll, Dr. Joseph Hargadon, Dr. Joseph Edgette and Mrs. Helen Domenech.
PMC Alumni Oral Histories include: Oral Histories from PMC Alumni who attended the institution in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Click …
Search the full text of the Early School Newspapers: The Reveille (1877-1896); The Wad (1890-1891) and The Porcupine (1898-1912). Read the campus news, poetry, fiction and humor written by cadets of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
Search the full text of the school newspaper: The PMC News, published from 1916 to 1950.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
Search the full text of the school newspaper: The Dome, published from 1947 to 2008.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
This exhibit begins with a collection of photographs and bulletins, as well as a scrapbook by David Silverstein that illustrates his life while at PMPS. The exhibit also includes Viewbooks and Regulation Books, and links to the PMPS Yearbooks and issues of the school newspaper, the Sound Off.
View Preparatory School Yearbooks at: …
Search the full text of the Preparatory School Newspapers: The Itemizer and Sound Off published from 1951-1954.
View the Pennsylvania Military Preparatory School (PMPS) Exhibit at: http://digitalwolfgram.widener.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16069coll15
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire …
View historic photographs from Pennsylvania Military Academy and Pennsylvania Military College including:
Academics, 1893 – 1972
Important Events on Campus, 1914 – 1971
Military Legacy, 1858 – 1970
One Hundred Years of Cadets, 1869 – 1971
One Hundred Years of Student Life.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on …
Explore through Cadet Scrapbooks, correspondence, and various newspaper articles, the important role that PMC played during World War II. The school first created an Accelerated Course of Study that allowed cadets to finish their coursework early in order to serve in the war, and later became one of the sites for the Army Specialized …
Browse through historic campus views in postcard format. View postcards of Old Main showing how it has looked throughout the years, and see cadets training on the fields around Old Main. View the messages on postcards written 100 years ago.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire …
Explore life at Pennsylvania Military Academy and Pennsylvania Military College as viewed through the eyes of cadets. As a graduation requirement, all cadets were required for one year to create a personal scrapbook of their daily lives. You will find bedbugs, mattress ticking and many more historical treasures that illustrate life …
The collection displays the official and unofficial seals used by the institution from its early days to the present. It includes seals and emblems from Pennslyvania Military Academy, Pennsylvania Military College, PMC Colleges, Widener College and Widener University.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” …
This project displays the names of students attending Hyatt's Select School for Boys, Delaware Military Academy, Pennsylvania Military Academy and Pennsylvania Military College from 1856-1930. The pages come from the circulars and course catalogs of the institutions.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on …
View nearly 100 pictures depicting the history of the city of Chester from 1821 to the present. These photographs can also be found in the exhibit Connections: A Timeline of our History that is located on the walls of Widener’s Alumni Auditorium lobby.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see …
View over 100 pictures depicting the history of Widener and its predecessor institutions from 1821 to the present. These photographs can also be found in the exhibit Connections: A Timeline of our History that is located on the walls of Widener’s Alumni Auditorium lobby.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on …
View nearly 100 pictures depicting the history of the United States from 1821 to the present. These photographs can also be found in the exhibit Connections: A Timeline of our History that is located on the walls of Widener’s Alumni Auditorium lobby.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the …
Browse or search the full text of Pennsylvania Military Preparatory School yearbooks from 1927 to 1956.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
Browse or search the full text of Pennsylvania Military College yearbooks from 1900 to 1910.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
Browse or search the full text of Pennsylvania Military College yearbooks from 1927 – 1966.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
Browse or search the full text of PMC Colleges, Widener College and Widener University yearbooks from 1967 to the present.
INSTRUCTIONS: When in this collection, click on “Browse All” to see the entire exhibit.
Widener University traces its origins to Wilmington, Delaware, where it began in 1821 as a small Quaker school for boys. During the next 180 years the school was transformed numerous times, changing into Pennsylvania Military Academy, Pennsylvania Military College, PMC Colleges, Widener College and finally Widener University, a comprehensive doctorate-granting university on four campuses. Much of the story of this rich and diverse history can be found here, in the many exhibits of photographs, oral and written histories, yearbooks, school newspapers, scrapbooks, and more.
Researchers will learn, among a wealth of other things, how the school contributed to the war effort during World War I and World War II, and how it was affected by the tumultuous Vietnam War era.
Alumni will be able to relive their days here, through fully searchable yearbooks and over 1000 issues of the student newspaper, the Dome. They can look back on the history of athletics, viewing photographs of football teams from 1880 on, and early photographs of baseball, gymnastics, and of course polo, a sport in which Pennsylvania Military College excelled.
Present students will learn about Widener’s past, and how Widener fits into the history of Chester.
Our digitization program is ongoing. Check back regularly for additional exhibits.
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