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Archives Mystery



A number of years ago we had some strange things happen--weird noises, doors opening themselves overnight or just after having been locked, for example--in the Archives at Texas A&M University.  We attributed them to the ghost of Dr. Samuel Asbury who had worked many years as a chemist for the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.  His second love was Texas History and music which he combined to work on a Texas State Opera or drama of some sort.  His papers were then and still are in the archives.
  
One staff member form another department located in the basement below the archives (Yes, were NOT in the basement!) reported hearing a slamming noise every morning as though a filing cabinet was being closed.  This always occurred before the Archives opened.  She said that she considered that Sam Asbury retiring after a night of spooking.

After several years of this sort of thing, we acquired the papers of a self proclaimed minister (female) who had a deep dislike for Lyndon B. Johnson and other strange habits.  We placed her papers in a section of the archives away from those of Sam Asbury with two doors in between, one of which was the door we frequently found unlocked in the morning.  After we acquired the papers of the Rev. Johnnie Mae Hackworth, we never again found that door unlocked.  There had been no repairs done to the lock either.  We attributed this to Sam Asbury's ghost being afraid of Johnnie Mae's ghost.  Therefore he never again unlocked that door.  By then the department that had been in the basement had moved out and had been replaced by a computer lab that did not open until after we did so there was no one there to hear any cabinet drawers slamming shut.

We really missed our ghost of Sam Asbury.



Charles R. Schultz, CA
Professor and Clements Archivist
Cushing Library
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX  77843-5000
c-schultz@tamu.edu
979-862-1555
FAX 979-845-1441

State-of-the-art automation will never beat the wastebasket 
when it comes to speeding up efficiency in the office.
Ann Landers Gem of the Day, July 27, 1994

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