James Standifer Photography Collection, 1904-1976

By M. Dodson

Collection Overview

Title:	James Standifer Photography Collection, 1904-1976
Predominant Dates:	1940-1949
ID:	01/ AR0930
Primary Creator:	James Standifer
Extent:	1.0 Boxes
Arrangement:	Materials are arranged into two series: Series 1: Negatives and Series 2: Photographs. Each series is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Date Acquired:	00/00/2014. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects:	Black-and-white photography Cactus Ordnance Works (Cactus, Tex.)--History--Pictorial works Company towns--Texas--History--Pictorial works Emergency Export Corporation Lamar University -- History -- Pictorial works Photographs -- 20th century -- United States -- Specimens Portrait photography Sea Scouts (Boy Scouts of America) Sports teams

Abstract

This collection contains the photography of James Standifer.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection contains the photography of James Standifer, the director of recreation at the Cactus Ordance Works in Cactus, Texas from 1947-1952. The collection consists primarily of medium format negatives housed in brown paper envelopes. Additional materials include medium format photo prints, 35mm negatives, 5x7 photo prints, and 8x10 photo prints.

Most of the collection stems from Standifer’s time as the recreation director for the Cactus Ordnance Works in Cactus, Texas. Through his hobby as an amateur photographer, Standifer documented the plant’s grounds, personnel, and sports teams as well as people, groups, and events in Cactus and nearby Dumas, Texas. Although Standifer worked at the Cactus plant from 1947 to 1952, the photographs of Cactus in this collection date from 1947 to 1949.

The collection also includes photographs and negatives of James Standifer and his family in Beaumont, Lillian Lela Hill Standifer's family in Hallettsville and Marble Falls, and Standifer's time at Lamar University and Texas A&M University.

Collection Historical Note

James William “Tiny” Standifer (1913-1986) was born in Beaumont, Texas to Samuel Francis Standifer (1879-1957) and Zena Zora Owens Standifer (1883-1967). After graduating from Beaumont High School in 1932, he played football at Louisiana State University and St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. From 1940 to 1942, Standifer served as an assistant coach and director of the intramural sports program at Lamar Junior College (now Lamar University) in Beaumont, where he also earned an associate degree. Standifer went on to earn a bachelor's degree from the Texas A&M University in 1944 and a master's degree from the University of Texas in 1945.

From 1947 to 1952, Standifer was employed as the recreation director for the Cactus Ordnance Works in Cactus, Texas. The plant opened in 1942 to manufacture ammonia nitrate for use in munitions for the United States government. By the time Standifer and his family arrived in Cactus in 1947, the plant had been converted to produce ammonia and other chemicals used in fertilizers.

After earning his doctorate in education from the University of Michigan, he was hired by Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth where he taught safety, health, and physical education from 1957 to 1978.

Lillian Lela Hill Standifer (1924-2014) was born in Hallettsville, Texas to Scott Shelby Hill (1890-1966) and Dr. Beth Michel Hill (1984-1973). She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelors degree in physical education in 1944 and married James Standifer in July of the same year. She and James had two children: Jo Lynn Standifer Moore (1944-2000) and James William Standifer, Jr. (1948-1973). She taught physical education in Fort Worth from 1958 to her retirement in 1981. Her interests included genealogy and Texas history.

Subject/Index Terms

Access Information

Use Restrictions:

Reproduction and publication of materials in this collection are subject to the policies of UNT Special Collections. Copyright restrictions may apply.

Physical Access Note:

This collection is located offsite in the Research Collections Library. The UNT Special Collections department requires a 24 hour notice from patrons in order to receive materials from the Research Collections Library and ready the materials for use. Please contact UNT Special Collections for further information.

Reading Room or Duplication Requests

Depending on any access restrictions noted above, you may be able to request items be delivered to our reading room, or that we make reproductions for you. Just click on either the or icons in the listings below to be routed to our request form.

Administrative Information

Repository:	University of North Texas Special Collections
Accruals:	2019-17
Preferred Citation:	James Standifer Photography Collection, University of North Texas Special Collections
Processing Information:	Devised titles and other information added by the processor are in square brackets. Several negatives in the collection included yellow sticky notes with comments providing context for the people and places depicted. These notes were removed from the negatives, affixed to acid-free paper, and interleaved with the negatives they described.

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Box and Folder Listing
Series 1: Negatives Series 2: Photographs All

The listing below is a partial representation of this finding aid's total contents. To see other series/containers, select an option in Browse by Series, above.

Series 2: Photographs
- Box 1 Request Reading Room Access
  
  Barcode: 724300
  - Folder 48: [Clocktower at Greenfield Village], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 49: [Four Men Posing Next to a Building], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 50: [Horse-Drawn Carriage for City Dye Works], undated Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 51: Inside the Alamo; [Picture of James and Zena May Standifer with an Unidentifed Woman Standing Next to a Hydrangea Bush; Two Women and a Man Standing Near a Parked Car], circa 1930-1949 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    Originally housed in a photo-finishing envelope. Includes negatives.
  - Folder 52: Lamar Junior College, Texas A&M, Personal Pictures, Mostly Lamar College Era, circa 1940-1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    Includes negatives.
  - Folder 53: Llano Granite Quarry, circa 1910-1915 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 54: [Man Standing on a Bridge], 1904 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    Inscribed "S. F. Standifer, [illegible], 1904."
  - Folder 55: [Man Wearing a Hat], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 56: [Picture of a Teenage Boy Wearing a Letter Sweater Standing Next to Another Boy Wearing a Football Uniform], circa 1925-1935 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    Originally housed in a photo-finishing envelope inscribed "Ask Zena May [crossed out], Get Print." Includes a negative of the same image.
  - Folder 57: [Picture Postcard of a Man in Uniform], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 58: Pictures - Texas University [University of Texas] Versus A&M, circa 1940-1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 59: [Portrait of a Man and a Boy Wearing Baseball Uniforms], circa 1920-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 60: [Portrait of a Man Leaning Against a Tent], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 61: [Portrait of a Young Man], undated Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 62: [Portrait of James Standifer], 1932 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    The back of the photograph is inscribed "James W. Standifer, Sr., 1924 Model T, Snow, the dog, Headed for college, Fall, 1932."
  - Folder 63: [Portrait of James Standifer], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 64: [Portrait of James Standifer Standing in Front of a Bonfire Under Construction at Texas A&M], circa 1940-1944 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 65: [Sign for Big Bend National Park; Monument; Church], 1974; 1976 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    Folder contains three 35mm color slides.
  - Folder 66: Spindletop Park - Beaumont, Texas, undated Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
    
    Inscribed on the back in blue ink: "Replica of Gladys City which was there when Spindletop came in."
  - Folder 67: [Three Men in Bathing Suits], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 68: [Three Men in Bathing Suits Sitting On or Near a Ford Model T], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 69: [Two Men in Front of a Tent], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 70: [University of Texas Clocktower; Church; Texas Capitol], 1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 71: [Views of the San Jacinto Monument and Its Reflecting Pool], circa 1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 72: [Young Man in Uniform Standing in Front of a Tent], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services
  - Folder 73: [Young Woman Standing on a Sidewalk], circa 1935-1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

James Standifer Photography Collection, 1904-1976

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Collection Overview

Abstract

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Collection Historical Note

Subject/Index Terms

Access Information

Use Restrictions:

Physical Access Note:

Reading Room or Duplication Requests

Administrative Information

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Search this Finding Aid

Box and Folder ListingBrowse by SeriesSeries 1: NegativesSeries 2: PhotographsAll

Series 2: Photographs

Box 1 Request Reading Room Access

Folder 48: [Clocktower at Greenfield Village], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 49: [Four Men Posing Next to a Building], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 50: [Horse-Drawn Carriage for City Dye Works], undated Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 51: Inside the Alamo; [Picture of James and Zena May Standifer with an Unidentifed Woman Standing Next to a Hydrangea Bush; Two Women and a Man Standing Near a Parked Car], circa 1930-1949 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 52: Lamar Junior College, Texas A&M, Personal Pictures, Mostly Lamar College Era, circa 1940-1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 53: Llano Granite Quarry, circa 1910-1915 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 54: [Man Standing on a Bridge], 1904 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 55: [Man Wearing a Hat], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 56: [Picture of a Teenage Boy Wearing a Letter Sweater Standing Next to Another Boy Wearing a Football Uniform], circa 1925-1935 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 57: [Picture Postcard of a Man in Uniform], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 58: Pictures - Texas University [University of Texas] Versus A&M, circa 1940-1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 59: [Portrait of a Man and a Boy Wearing Baseball Uniforms], circa 1920-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 60: [Portrait of a Man Leaning Against a Tent], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 61: [Portrait of a Young Man], undated Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 62: [Portrait of James Standifer], 1932 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 63: [Portrait of James Standifer], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 64: [Portrait of James Standifer Standing in Front of a Bonfire Under Construction at Texas A&M], circa 1940-1944 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 65: [Sign for Big Bend National Park; Monument; Church], 1974; 1976 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 66: Spindletop Park - Beaumont, Texas, undated Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 67: [Three Men in Bathing Suits], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 68: [Three Men in Bathing Suits Sitting On or Near a Ford Model T], circa 1930-1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 69: [Two Men in Front of a Tent], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 70: [University of Texas Clocktower; Church; Texas Capitol], 1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 71: [Views of the San Jacinto Monument and Its Reflecting Pool], circa 1939 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 72: [Young Man in Uniform Standing in Front of a Tent], circa 1911-1920 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

Folder 73: [Young Woman Standing on a Sidewalk], circa 1935-1945 Request Reading Room Access Request Duplication Services

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Box and Folder Listing
Series 1: Negatives Series 2: Photographs All