Crossroads of Music Collections

W

Wheelock, Sylva Belle Hunt, Collection, 1870-1925; 373 leaves

Sylva Belle Hunt Wheelock was the wife of Lubbock, Texas, founder, Frank E. Wheelock, and the daughter of Lubbock pioneer, George M. Hunt. 

The collection consists of sheet music, ranging from religious to secular.

Wiley, Dewey Otto, Papers, 1884-1981; 41,985 leaves

Born in 1898 in Alexander, Texas, Wiley learned the violin at age five.  He directed the Simmons College Cowboy Band from 1921 to 1934 and was band director at Texas Technological College from 1934-1959.  He was the executive secretary of the Texas Music Educators Association for 22 years.  Wiley was a member of numerous other music, band, and educational organizations.  He died in 1981 in Lubbock, Texas.

Includes correspondence, financial material, legal material, and scrapbook material concerning Wiley’s career as a band director.

Wills, Bob and His Texas Playboys, Photograph collection, 1928-1969, 41 copy prints

Bob Wills, who grew up in the Texas Panhandle, came from a family of fiddle players.  He formed a band in 1931, and landed a job of KFJZ radio in Fort Worth sponsored by Burrus Mills.  His band became known as the Light Crust Doughboys.  After Wills was fired he took his band to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they became Bob wills and His Texas Playboys.  He is recognized as the creator of western swing music.  He died in May 1975.

Consists of photographs of Bob Wills in various bands (1928-1937; 1969), and also includes a photograph of Texas Governor, W. Lee O’Daniel.

 Wilson, Smylie, Collection, 1883-1917; 796 leaves

 A businessman and civic leader, Wilson was born in 1882 in Milford, Texas.  He moved to Lubbock, Texas in 1902 to manage the Stringfellow & Hume hardware store.  He continued in this position until his retirement in 1957, although the store was purchased by Western Windmill in 1905. His civic activities included organization of the Lubbock City Band and membership with the first volunteer fire department, First Presbyterian Church, Lubbock Masonic Lodge, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Board on City Development, and Lubbock Kiwanis Club.  He also served as a trustee for the Lubbock Independent School District for 13 years and as director of the Panhandle South Plains Fair.  Smylie Wilson Junior High School, in Lubbock, Texas, was dedicated to Wilson on November 11, 1958.  Wilson died in Lubbock, Texas, in 1968.

The collection consists of sheet music and a sheet music guide.  It bulks with sheet music including the titles “The Two Old Maids,” “School Days,” “Sunbonnet Sue,” “The Merry Widow,” “Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming,” and “Suawnee River.”