RAMble, the University Libraries' blog

On March 25th, 2025, West Chester University’s Special Collections hosted Driven to Design: The Life of William Chester Ruth, honoring the life and legacy of the Chester County African American inventor and businessman. The program’s more than 60 attendees learned how Ruth’s groundbreaking designs helped advance agriculture and other industries during the first half of the twentieth century. 

The event commenced with welcoming remarks by Special Collection Librarian, Ron McColl, followed by a series of insightful presentations. Dr. tonya thames-taylor, associate professor of history at WCU, delivered a thought-provoking lecture on "Slavery, Freedom, and Labor in Chester County," setting the historical context for Ruth’s achievements. Bruce Bomberger, the former curator of Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum, shared how he rediscovered Ruth’s legacy, provided a detailed account of his research into Ruth’s life, highlighting his journey from a self-taught blacksmith to a successful inventor of national renown with multiple patents to his name. Bomberger emphasized how Ruth’s most notable inventions, including the automatic hay baler and self-lifting farm elevator, revolutionized local agriculture. 

The program culminated with a discussion featuring Ruth’s great-great-granddaughter, Cierra Johnson, a West Chester University graduate, as well as Gwendolyn Ruth Dickinson, Ruth’s granddaughter. They shared personal anecdotes and reflections on Ruth. Johnson explained that stories about her great-great-grandfather continue to inspire her and her family’s endeavors. 

Following the event, attendees viewed an exhibition showcasing items from the William Chester Ruth papers, which University Libraries Special Collections acquired last year. Highlights of the collection include photographs, marketing materials, business correspondence, patents applications, and blueprints. To learn more about William Chester Ruth, or to schedule an appointment to view his papers, contact Ron McColl at rmccoll@wcupa.edu or visit wcruthlegacy.org. 

West Chester University Library services have been digitizing and making our unique items freely available online for ten years.  In an effort to expand access to these collections the digital collections team has been working with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) to add our collections to their site.  The DPLA brings digital cultural objects from around the country together in one website; it aggregates content from member institutions around the country, pointing users back to the original digital sites.

What does this mean?  Our materials are in yet another place where people can search and get access to them, as well as other items of a similar nature around the country.  For example, if you are interested in the Sharples Cream Separator Company, searching for this in the DPLA will bring results from items in our Sharples Digital Collection but also other items from other repositories around the country.

Interested in finding what is in the DPLA from West Chester University?  Check out this link.

The first commencement ceremony at West Chester State Normal School took place on June 25, 1874, in Old Main Auditorium.  According to The Centennial History of West Chester State College by Russell L. Sturzebecker, the 1874 program listed ten students as graduates:  one man and nine women.

The oldest commencement program housed in West Chester University Library’s Special Collections is from 1875.  

Special Collections has a number of interesting photographs from commencements of years past.  The photograph to the right is of the commencement activities from the summer of 1944.  The photo appears to have been taken from one of the upper floors of Philips Memorial Building.  Note the Quad area, including Old Main Hall, and the Old Gymnasium.  Also note:  most, if not all the graduates in their caps and gowns are female due to World War II.

Over the years, Commencement Speakers have included locally, regionally, and nationally recognized educational leaders.  They have also included government leaders including four governors of Pennsylvania (last one being William Scranton in 1965), and one future president (Gerald Ford in 1971).   

Medical expert and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz  was the Keynote Speaker in 2011.

Distinguished alumni have also been commencement speakers.  Michael Brune, Class of 1993, Executive Director of The Sierra Club, was the Keynote Speaker in 2012.

On May 13^th – May 14^th 2017, over 2,500 students -  including undergraduate and graduate students - are expected to graduate from West Chester University.  Will you be one of them?   

Blog post written by Neal Kenney, Library Assistant for Interlibrary Loan and Special Collections.

Early in West Chester's history, writing poetry was regularly featured in the yearbook, which often included silly verses such as this one from the first yearbook, the 1910 Pathfinder on page 175, attributed to K.S.:

             The Mascots of '10

There were once some rodents pedantic, 
Who rendered the students quite frantic, 
When they came to the classes, 
The terrified lasses
Were sure that each mouse was gigantic. 

Cried the teacher in accents distracted, 
"Pray cease your gyrations protracted, 
Keep your eyes fixed on me, 
And then you won't see
The pranks by these torments enacted."

"They are seeking the crumbs of true learning, 
That you are continually spurning. 
If you'd work as do these, 
You be just 'the cheese'
And ever keep wisdom's lamp burning." 

The literary publications tended to cover more serious topics. The Moore Literary Society was organized shortly after the Normal School opened in 1871, and its rival the Aryan Society began in 1879. Virtually every student at West Chester was a member of one or the other literary societies. The Moore Literary Society published the Moore Literary Gazette, in which the following poem appears in volume sixteen, issue one, published on February 4, 1888 on page 1. It includes fairly typical themes: nature, death, and religion. 

              The Day Has Fled

Into the West fades the golden sun, 
   Tinting the clouds with a softer red. 
Moonlight,--
                    Starlight,--
                                      Quiet and sleep,--
   Night has come, and day has fled. 

Passing from earth like the golden sun, 
   Treading the path that angels tread, 
Kisses,--
                  Sighs,--
                                    Flowers and tears,--
Death has come and life has fled. 

Into a land where the sun ne'er sets, 
   Entered alone through the gates of the dead. 
Joy,--
                Peace,--
                                   Eternal rest,--
   Life has come, and Death has fled. 

Ruby Johnson Jones (1912-1976)

Assistant Professor of Education (1961-1973), she was the first African American Professor in West Chester’s history.

Ruby Johnson Jones was born in Evergreen, Alabama in 1912 to Elizabeth and Rufus Johnson.  She graduated from Langley High School in Pittsburgh in 1928.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from West Chester University in 1940 and a master’s of education degree from Temple University.  She joined the West Chester State College faculty in 1961 as a teacher in the campus’ Demonstration School, an elementary school for local West Chester students on the college’s campus.  Jones became an Assistant Professor of Education and supervisor of Student Teachers in 1968.  She retired in 1973.

Ruby Jones passed away in the summer of 1976.  After her passing, the former Demonstration School Building was formally dedicated Ruby Jones Hall in the fall of 1977.

Walter H. “Smitty” Smith

The first confirmed African American Student to graduate from West Chester State Normal School (W.C.S.N.S) was Walter H. Smith in 1910.  He, like most of his classmates, studied to be a teacher.  He was a member of the Moore Literary Society, one of two literary societies on campus serving as the social and scholarly outlet for students.

Walter Hibberd Smith was born April 15, 1892 in Malvern, PA.  He served in both World Wars after graduating from W.C.S.N.S.  He married Louisa C. Smith and had two children, Charles and Eleanor.  He taught in Wilmington, Delaware and Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he worked his way up to Principal.  He died in 1956.

To learn more about W.C.U graduates check out our digital Yearbooks and use the Ancestry Database.