Mary Wirts Bargar papers

The Mary Wirts Bargar (MWB) papers were collected by MWB during her time as a student at Ohio University (OU). The papers span from 1955 to 1959. The papers include dance cards, Greek song books and membership cards, playbills, programs, stationery and student magazines focusing on college humor. The collection concentrates on the events MWB attended at OU and the organizations she was involved in, but also includes witty material written for college students during that time.

Before moving into Lindley Hall her freshman year, MWB spent the night with her parents in the Hotel Berry located on Court Street. The collection includes stationery from the historic Hotel Berry. The stationery is in good condition and is in a Hotel Berry envelop inside its own folder.

The collection contains a substantial number of dance cards. These cards are from a wide variety of dances including Carnation Balls, J-Proms, and Homecoming dances, among others. One dance card was from a 1958 Military Ball. Another was from a Spring Formal during MWB's sophomore year that was hosted at the Hotel Berry and featured music by "The Ohioans." Most of the dance cards are from the 1955-56 school year, including the dance card for the Registration Hop, which was the first dance of the year. The dance cards are organized into folders according to academic year.

Many of MWB's dance cards were for dances put on by her sorority or by another Greek organization. Dance cards are just some of the many memorabilia that pertain to Greek life in the collection. Before rushing Phi Mu MWB attended events put on by Alpha Gamma Delta and Pi Beta Phi. One folder contains an invitation to "Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Oz" and "A night in 'Paree,'" which were events held by Alpha Gamma Delta. Separate folders contain other Greek life material including a booklet advertising membership for Pi Beta Phi, a Greek Week and a Prep Follies program, a Delt songbook and MWB'S Phi Mu membership cards. All are in good condition.

MWB attended many different kinds of programs and the collection reflects that well. The programs include one for the 1956 Homecoming and a program for a production called "The Toast of Athens." It also includes a playbill for "The Male Animal," a play put on by The Ohio University Theatre.

The collection also includes MWB's OU ID card from 1958-59. MWB's senior year ID has her name, birthday and picture, as well as her class rank. A separate folder has a name card for the Women's League suggesting she was a representative for the organization.

Three Green Goat magazines are also included in the collection. The magazines, written for college students at OU, include comics, jokes, stories and local advertisements. The magazines are in good condition and are put together in a single folder. The collection also contains a magazine of cartoons called "College Humor Uncensored," which includes cartoons appealing to college students during that time and is in its own folder.

Another folder contains MWB's Commencement program from 1959. Still in good condition, the program lists the class officers as well as the names of those who graduated and with what degree. The back page lists the University's Alma Mater.

As an additional note, an alumni magazine from December 1961, The Ohio Alumnus, was donated with the collection but has been taken out.