John Gibson archives the nine-decade history of HFC
Documenting almost 90 years of HFC history can be a herculean task. Fortunately, HFC archivist and reference librarian John Gibson is up for it.
“This is a monumental undertaking,” said Gibson. “I’ve only made a dent in it.”
Gibson’s credentials make him uniquely qualified for this project, which hosts archives on the second floor of the Eshleman Library (Building B on the main campus). For 28 years, Gibson was a reference librarian for the Detroit Public Library. For 14 of those 28 years, he served as the archivist of the DPL’s Burton Historical Collection. While working at DPL, he also worked part-time at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College) for three years. He retired from DPL in 2013 as the manager of several library departments. He then returned to HFC and has been here since.
The author of Detroit Yacht Club, Gibson graduated from Midland High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Alma College. He earned his master’s degree in library science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and his second master’s degree in history from Wayne State University. Gibson also attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School for one semester.
Twelve years to organize 133 boxes
“I started this archives project in 2014 when I came back to the College,” he said. “It’s taken me 12 years to get 133 boxes organized.”
Each box has been sorted into categories in alphabetical and chronological order:
- Box 1-45: Administration
- Box 46-56: Faculty
- Box 57-87: Academic Education
- Box 88-117: Student Services
- Box 118-121: Career Education
- Box 122-127: College Relations
- Box 128-133: Photographs
“One challenge when archiving is that HFC keeps changing its organizational plan,” said Gibson. “In 1938, when HFC was founded as Fordson Junior College, it was much smaller and didn’t have many divisions and departments. That’s not the case today.”
Gibson removed a hefty file marked “Faculty Senate” from Box 46.
“The College’s Faculty Senate formed in 1958. The faculty pushed to have the Senate created. The documents have been saved,” explained Gibson. “I know which box to look in. Having it organized this way helps the archivist retrieve materials and information when responding to an information request.”
Andy Warhol visited HFC in 1967 – or did he?
Gibson shared a fun bit of trivia about reclusive filmmaker/pop artist/auteur Andy Warhol, considered by many to be the most important artist of the second half of the 20th century, who popularized the expression “15 minutes of fame.” Gibson held up the April 6, 1967 edition of the HFCC Collegian, the student-run newspaper preceding The Ford Estate and later The Mirror News, which promoted Warhol’s appearance at HFC on April 10, 1967. The College was one of Warhol’s stops on his college lecture tour.
Warhol’s visit was arranged by the HFC art department. During his visit to campus, Warhol brought original silk screens he had used for his own artwork and allowed students to use them to learn his techniques. He even signed several of the student-made prints.
Here’s the kicker: The infamous visitor might not have been Warhol.
“People can draw their own conclusions whether it was or wasn’t,” said Gibson.
For his college lecture tour, Warhol hired actor Allen Midgette, who appeared in three of Warhol’s films, to serve as his stand-in. Midgette used makeup to whiten his face, dyed his hair silver, and wore Warhol’s signature sunglasses and a leather jacket to impersonate Warhol.
The charade was up in in late 1967 after student journalists at the University of Utah compared promotional photos of Warhol to Midgette, the latter of which was taken by a photographer from The Daily Utah Chronicle, Utah’s student-run newspaper, much to the chagrin of “Warhol’s” handlers.
It is a matter of record that Midgette impersonated Warhol at four universities. It is unconfirmed if it was Warhol or Midgette who came to HFC on April 10, 1967.
“This was long before the internet and when the media was ubiquitous. Warhol wanted to remain in New York and work on his art, so he hired Midgette and buffaloed many people,” explained Gibson. “I have no article stating Midgette appeared at HFC. What I have are two articles documenting the fraudulent nationwide tour conducted by Midgette in 1967 at Utah and elsewhere. To imagine that Warhol hired Allen Midgette to impersonate him at other universities, but that Warhol himself actually appeared in person at HFC, defies belief.”
5 of 22 boxes of photos sorted
Another one of Gibson’s tasks is sorting and indexing photos throughout the College’s history, dating back 88 years. There are 22 large boxes of photos to be organized. So far, Gibson has completed five boxes with 17 left to go.
“I won't live long enough to finish this project,” said Gibson. “I’ll be long gone before I sort all of these pictures.”
If you have HFC documents that you believe are of historical value, send them to Gibson in care of the Eshleman Library Archives, where they will be evaluated. You can contact Gibson at jwgibson@hfcc.edu.
