BOLIVAR, MO – The Southwest Baptist University archives recently received a significant piece of history. Tom Haines, a retired university library developer from Oklahoma City, donated historical materials belonging to his great-grandfather, Reverend John Williamson Haines, an early trustee of the school.
Tom Haines received the documents from the wife of his deceased cousin. After looking through the material, he realized it would be valuable to the University.
“This past January I got in touch with [University Archivist] Sandra Brown,” said Haines. “I felt like this was some material that could be of interest to the University and to others as well. We felt like the University could utilize it.”
The documents donated include the genealogy of the Haines family, daily culture facts like the weather, the prices of items, and poems.
“My great-grandfather was a very good poet,” said Haines. “He did a lot of writing in verse. Throughout this material you will see a lot of his poems.”
Haines said one very special poem is written about Southwest Baptist College. Several buildings of the old campus are named as well as people — founder J.R.Maupin being one of those named.
Rev. Haines, an early trustee of the college, taught the first lecture in the first building on college hill in 1880. He also wrote “The History of the Polk County Baptist Association,” which is not only valuable to SBU but for the community as well.
“One of the best things about the gift, in addition to the Polk County history, is that it contains a lot of early history of the college,” said Brown. “It has materials from some of the original presidents. We wouldn’t have a lot of our history if he had not written this.”
Although he lived far from town, Rev. Haines made it to every trustee meeting, rain or shine.
“I think he lived and prayed for this particular university,” said Haines of his ancestor. “He wanted it to grow and to prosper. From what I’ve also heard there was some very rough times for this college. He was steadfast in his love for this particular college.”
Brown said she and SBU are very grateful to Haines and his wife, Carol, for their donation to the University archives.
“These papers are essential to the early history of SBU,” said Brown. “To have the Haines family give us these personal papers is touching and so rich with our culture.”
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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 13 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past three years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
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