Bookmark this page or copy and paste URL to Email message Bill Bowers Scrapbook and Interview circa 1920s-2000sMS 571
Biographical NoteThis collection pertains to materials donated by Bill Bowers, who helped to save one of two bells from the battleship U.S.S. Arizona from being destroyed. In 1944, while serving as an Army captain at the Puget Sound Naval Yard in Bremerton, Washington, Bowers came across the bell in a wooden crate while looking for something to signal gunmen with. Bowers learned that the bell was going to be melted down at the yard. He called to then University of Arizona President Alfred Atkinson requesting he call Arizona's then Governor Sidney P. Osborn save the bell, made from silver and copper mined in Arizona, from being destroyed. The bell was delivered to The University of Arizona in 1946. Surprised by the large scale of the bell, a committee placed the bell in the Arizona State Museum until a suitable, safe home could be secured. In 1951, the bell was placed in the clock tower of the new Student Union. Although it could be heard ringing after sports victories against out-of-state teams, it was enclosed and could not be seen in the old Union's tower. In its new home, the bell is visible to all and rings monthly to honor outstanding achievement among students, faculty and staff at The University of Arizona. Scope and Content NoteMaterials circa 1920s-2000s: Collection consists of 4 VHS tapes, a DVD, a photographic scrapbook created by Bowers documenting his years as a University of Arizona student, as well as some background information about the materials. The scrapbook is considerably fragile due to deteriorated binding. ArrangementThis collection is organized alphabetically.RestrictionsRestrictionsThere are no restrictions on this collection. CopyrightIt is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright. Related MaterialMore information on the U.S.S. Arizona may be found in the USS Arizona Collection (AZ 517). Access TermsSubject(s) Arizona (Battleship) -- History. Scrapbooks. Administrative InformationCredit LineBill Bowers Scrapbook and Interview (MS 571). Special Collections, University of Arizona Libraries. Processing HistoryProcessed by Steven Burg. Container List
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