FOMO: Special Collections & Archives

I knew when I got into college, I didn’t just want to be going out and attending events. I wanted to learn beyond the classes I was taking.

For Presidents Day, the University Library Special Collections & Archives Department on the Edinburg campus presented a special exhibit of U.S. presidents who visited the Rio Grande Valley.

The exhibit showcased all the U.S. presidents, as far back as 1846, who came down to the Valley to discuss specific political matters, rally voters or march their troops into battle.

I am embarrassed to say that the only president I remember coming to the Rio Grande Valley was Donald Trump, when he toured our region and met with our law enforcement in 2019. 

I didn’t realize how many presidents came down and how far back their visits began.

The first on the list was Maj. Gen. Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States. To any native Texan reading this right now, I’m sure his name rings a bell.

His visit was not like the president that would later follow him. Instead, he was a general sent to lead his army toward the Rio Grande to discourage a Mexican invasion. 

Taylor remained in what we now know as “the Valley,” between 1845 and 1847, which was around the time of the U.S.-Mexico War.

After my reunion with seventh-grade history, I continued to view the slideshow and recognized all the names shown, except for Warren G. Harding. He was the only unfamiliar name that passed by.

I learned from the slide that Harding spent his first few days in office as the 29th president in Brownsville. The intention of his visit was to meet with state Republicans who lobbied for his nomination. 

The next slide on Harding noted that he delivered a speech to propose a policy on peace and friendship on Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, at Fort Brown in Brownsville.

I finished viewing the entire slideshow and learned so much, even from the presidents I had already learned about in past history courses or from the news. 

To me, it’s important to learn about where you come from and the history the place holds. 

I’ve grown up in the Valley but never gave it a chance to teach me its past.

The Valley has seen war, groundbreaking beginnings, hardships, evolution, innovations and so much more. I never liked history when I was little, but I’m starting to appreciate it more since it can teach us what to avoid and what change we deserve. 

It was nice to visit the fourth floor of the library, finally. I remember last year it was closed off. Now, we finally get to see what they were remodeling for.

The Special Collections & Archives Department holds more information regarding South Texas and northeastern Mexico. It also offers online and in-person services on the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses. The department is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, visit https://www.utrgv.edu/library/departments/sca/index.htm.

To view the slideshow, visit https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=librarydisplayposters.