Amateur musician and song collector William Walter Dodge (1876-1947) worked as a custodian at the University of Texas at Austin during the 1920s and 1930s. He was an active member of the Austin Church of the Nazarene, where his wife served as secretary in the early 1930s.
Composed of lyrics, printed material, and minutes, the William Walter Dodge Collection, [ca. 1930-1939], documents religious and secular music during the Great Depression in the United States. Lyrics include American folk ballads, Christian hymns, and gospel music, while printed material comprises newspaper and magazine clippings of songs, poems, and jokes as well as sheet music from songbooks. Additionally, meeting minutes, 1932-1933, chronicle the activities of the Church of the Nazarene in Austin, Texas.
This collection is open for research use.
William Walter Dodge Collection, [ca. 1930-1939], Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.