Tash Mahnokaren
Staff Writer
Idaho State University’s Eli M. Oboler library boasts a rich collection of resources and hidden away in the basement of the building is the special collections department where an exhibit of early history of ISU by Career Path Intern and student Matthew Shugert is currently on display.
“My first one was on the early history of Pocatello and it just made sense to me to then transition into the early history of ISU,” said Shugert of his current display.
The entire process of putting the exhibit together took Shugert about two months. This included research, consolidation of records and creating the exhibit.
During the research process, Shugert found that back in 1901, when ISU was first established, its college campus was said to resemble that of East Coast campuses in terms of architecture and layout.
“Coming from the East Coast and seeing a similar style in Pocatello was really interesting to me,” said Shugert.
According to Shugert, during the building of ISU, builders from the East Coast came out and did construction in the campus area, thus bringing about a migration of its style of architecture.
Most of the buildings that once stood in the 1900s at ISU no longer remain on campus at current.
The main focus of the exhibit is a map of the university dated back to 1938.
Surrounding this map are images from the archives of the Eli M. Oboler library of the campus buildings corresponding with how they appear on the map.
Past the entrance and into the main room are images with descriptions showing student life, dormitories, social events and athletics.
Globalization and advances in technology, personal freedoms and global security have understandably brought about changes in the course of campus life.
Aspects of attire, entertainment options and liberties were strict and limited back in 1900s.
“There was a lot more socializing,” said Shugert. “Back then we didn’t have electronics and social media sites and what I noticed about student life was that there was a lot more actual interaction going on. Students in this period were also very well-dressed. The women wore dresses and the men wore suits and ties.”
During The Great Depression, accommodation was scarce and many students didn’t have the luxury of travelling between home and school.
Education was, however, such a valued commodity among students that many commonly built what was called shanties in which they would live to be closer to school. “They were made out of nothing more than cardboard boxes, pallets and just anything they could get their hands on,” said Shugert.
The exhibit is only a glimpse into the rich history stored in the archives of the campus library.
Displaying images ranging from students with the first car on campus to racial diversity and on campus trailer housing, the exhibit is not one to be missed.
Shugert is a senior in the anthropology department at ISU.
Shugert hopes that after viewing the exhibit, students will have a better understanding of what used to be and how things have changed.
“I want the exhibit to make people think,” said Shugert. “In my opinion, if you have a sense of your history, it tends to give you more pride in relation to where you are at and what you belong to.”
