Author Robert E. Reed Jr. is a lifelong resident of Tyler and a graduate of Tyler Junior College and the University of Texas at Tyler. His interest in local history has led to a large personal collection of Tyler memorabilia as well as his Web site, Past Glimpses of Tyler, Texas. He is a member of the Smith County Historical Society and the Tyler Tap Chapter of the Cotton Belt Rail Historical Society. While the sources for the photographs in this work are numerous, the Smith County Historical Society provided a majority of the intriguing images.
Title: Meet the Patriots: UT Tyler Alumnus Helps Preserve Tyler's
History
Author: Hannah Buchanan
Publisher: The University of Texas at Tyler
Date: 4/10/09 Robert Earl Reed Jr. of Tyler holds local history in
his heart - and hands. A self-proclaimed history buff, Reed enjoys
collecting a wide variety of items from Tyler's early days. The
University of Texas at Tyler alumnus published a book in the
Arcadia Publishing series "Images of America," which focuses on the
Rose City. "I contacted Arcadia Publishing in 2005 about an idea I
had for a postcard history book, since I have a vast collection of
vintage postcards," Reed said. "But Arcadia suggested I write one
for their photographic series 'Images of America, ' which covers
local histories across the United States. By the time I submitted
the book proposal in 2007, I was vice president of museum/archives
for the Smith County Historical Society, so I had access to all the
society's photo archives." Reed said about 70 percent of the book's
photographs comes directly from the society's collection, while
about two dozen come from his own. "There were a lot of aspects of
Tyler's history in photos that I didn't have, so I knew I wanted to
use other sources besides my own photo collection," he explained.
"I approached a lot of local organizations and a few individuals
and gathered it all for the book. I was really surprised the first
printing sold out in about a month." Already in its fourth
printing, the February 2008 publication caught the eye of Dr.
Alexander Mendoza, UT Tyler assistant professor of history, who
said he uses the book as a required text in a graduate-level
course. "I think Reed's work on local history was a welcomed
addition to our course curriculum," Mendoza said. "Many of our
majors have a vaunted interest in local and public history. The
work Mr. Reed put into his pictorial account of the Rose City,
thus, fills that void. Arcadia Publishing did a nice job with
Reed's hard work. He should be proud." Growing up, Reed and his
family would travel to Tyler's historical places, and that's when
the collection began. "As a child picking up freebies like pens,
pencils, matchbooks and postcards - that's how my Tyler history
collection started," he said. Over the years, he has acquired about
450 vintage postcards - the subject of his second book with Arcadia
Publishing's postcard history series. "I always had an interest in
history, from grade school on up," Reed recalled. "I have other
interests; including astronomy, as well as computer science, which
turned out to be my profession, but history - especially local
history - has always fascinated me. I couldn't get enough." Reed
expects his second book to debut this fall. "It's been fun," Reed
said of his research development for the first book. "I tried to
bring all aspects of Tyler's history in the book, since I had a
feeling of what other locals would like. It's become very popular,
and I'm excited about bringing the postcard history book to life."
Reed, a senior systems analyst for Tyler's Andrews Center,
graduated in 1984 with a bachelor of science degree in computer
science. He also holds an associate of arts degree in astronomy
from Tyler Junior College. In his second term, Reed serves as
president of the Smith County Historical Society. Aside from
collecting Tyler history, Reed enjoys genealogical research,
classic movies, traveling and collecting science fiction and Dr
Pepper memorabilia. He and his wife Kay, who also attended UT
Tyler, married in 1992. They have one son, Robert Evan. One of the
15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler offers excellence in
teaching, research, artistic performance and community service.
Nearly 90 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT
Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 6,000 high-ability
students at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine.
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