McCroskey Hall was built in 1920 and named after long-time Regent R. C. McCroskey. It has consistently been used as a women's dormitory except during World War II and the early 1950's when it was used for male housing. The house government consists of elected officers who form an executive council.
The scrapbooks in this collection span from 1953 up until 2003. They show the everyday life and activities that took place in McCroskey Residence Hall. Photos and pamphlets in the scrapbooks highlight resident dances and dinners that used to take place in residence halls. They also show how women students lived on campus in the latter half of the 20th century. Photos also show residents collecting ash from the Mt. St. Helens eruption of 1980. Includes clippings and photographs, collage, and handwritten materials.
The scrapbooks are in two informal series based on size, with larger scrapbooks placed flat in boxes 1 and 2, and smaller scrapbooks held vertically in box 3. Each series of scrapbooks is arranged in chronological order.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Washington State University McCroskey Hall Scrapbooks, 1953-2003 (Archives 390)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Sara Refsland, office manager in WSU Housing and Residence Life, donated this collection to the Washington State University Libraries in September 2024, where it was retained without an accession number. It had been in storage in various McCroskey Hall locations for years.
WSU student Steinar Goheen processed this collection in September 2024.
Scrapbooks with structural integrity were placed in folders as is. Scrapbooks with failing binding were unbound, with the covers being discarded and the contents immediately placed in folders. The 1977-1981 scrapbooks were out of order, and did not have a distinct organizational method. These were dated and reorganized based on the nuances of penmanship, the dates of pamphlets glued to individual pages, and the recognition of repeatedly photographed people. The remaining scrapbooks were placed in folders as is.
Due to the age of these scrapbooks, many of the images and newspaper clippings had been separated from their original context. Care was taken to place these back in their original location, though a few were discarded.
These materials came with an Intercollegiate Knights Cougar Guard Chapter Scrapbook, 1963-1982
Additional McCroskey Hall and WSU scrapbooks and logbooks exist in other collections, including:
State College of Washington McCroskey Hall Records, 1920-1968, 2013-2014
Washington State University Scrapbooks, 1892-1959
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.