RPI

A Baffling and Brutal Case

Sunday, July 18, 1965, started out like any other hot summer day in Texas. Shirley Ann Stark and Susan Rigsby, Chi Omega sorority sisters at the University of Texas at Austin, left their Dallas homes early and drove together in Shirley’s Corvair to Austin. Little did they know the fate that awaited them later that afternoon as they visited the apartment of a friend and fellow UT student. The following day, the women were reported missing. A twelve-day nationwide search ensued, ending with the discovery of their bodies in a north Austin field. As one Associated Press reporter would later write, “The story held all the elements of a classic murder case: Campus beauties, youth, mystery, terror, and social standing.’’ Author Alan Burton revisits the forgotten, gruesome, and tragic double homicide that shook the Lone Star State. 

Founded in Albuquerque on February 28, 1889, the University of New Mexico (UNM) stands as a testament to the spirit of the Southwest. From its beginnings on the rugged frontier, UNM has blossomed into a cultural and academic hub, defined by its striking Pueblo Revival architecture and commitment to the diverse peoples and traditions of New Mexico.

Built on the ancestral lands of the Pueblo of Sandia, UNM has grown from a single territorial building into a world-class institution celebrated for its academic excellence, cultural diversity, and stunning architecture. Photographs of student life, groundbreaking events, and the vibrant traditions of Lobo pride reveal a tapestry of history that reflects the university’s enduring influence on the cultural and academic identity of New Mexico.

Author Amber Lane, archivist, historian, and UNM alumna, draws on the rich resources of the Center for Southwest Research to present a photographic journey through UNM’s first century, offering readers a deeper connection to the university's storied past while focusing on visual storytelling. Portia Vescio, also a UNM alumna, is the university’s archivist, and her mission is to spread awareness about the rich history of the university.

Tulsa has always been vital to Route 66. In 1920, as the automobile was altering American life, good roads were nonexistent. Tulsa businessman and civic leader Cyrus Avery led the charge to transform the patchwork of dirt and mud trails that linked cities into a national system of paved highways, culminating in the creation of Route 66 in 1926. 

For this, Avery is known as the “Father of Route 66.” Through the Great Depression, World War II, and the country’s postwar prosperity, the “Main Street of America” permeated culture through song, literature, movies, and even a television show. All the while, Tulsa—the “Magic City” with a petroleum pedigree—hosted travelers with big-city services and shopping in an Art Deco setting. And then, the road was gone. It was replaced by the faster, straighter interstate highway system in 1985. The signs came down and the double sixes disappeared until another Tulsan, Michael Wallis, brought them back. In 2024, Tulsa officially became the “Capital of Route 66.” Travelers from around the globe get their kicks at exciting attractions from Buck Atom Space Cowboy to Meadow Gold Mack and Mother Road Market to Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza. Again, neon dances in the Capital of Route 66.

Steve Clem is a Route 66 “roadie” (aficionado) and a trustee at Sand Springs Cultural and Historical Museum. Becky Hatchett is president of the Southwest Tulsa Historical Society and volunteers at the Route 66 Historical Village. Rhys Martin serves on Tulsa’s Route 66 Commission and is president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.

100 years of cruising from Chicago to Santa Monica.

Opened in 1926, Route 66 was one of America's original highways. In modern times, the Mother Road is an icon of nostalgia and kitsch, but behind each pitstop is a uniquely human story. From Alberta Ellis, who created safe havens for African-American travelers in the first half of the 20th century to Bob Waldmire and Angel Delgadillo, who worked to preserve the history of the route after the interstates came through, the people behind these places are what truly makes them special. 

Just off the well-traveled path are places like the Santa Fe Internment Camp, where many Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated during WWII, and the Apache Death Cave near Two Guns, Arizona, that is said to be the site where many Native Americans lost their lives. Visit the Amboy Crater, a dormant volcano in the Mojave Desert of California that hints at the distant geological past, and the town of Baxter Springs, which was once a major part of America's Main Street. 

Author Brain Clune brings to life the tales that left a legacy along Route 66. 

A Harrowing Heritage of Resilience

During the era of Indian Removal, scores of men, women and children of African descent were forced west alongside the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Seminole Nations.