“Legends & Legacies” is an occasional feature created in partnership between the City of Arlington Office of Communication and The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections and Archives to recognize some of the people, events and places that have helped shaped Arlington’s 150-year history.
This month’s article highlights the Elzie and Ruby Odom Papers permanent collection, gifted by the Odom family to the UTA Libraries Special Collection in 2020.
This collection, a combination of physical and digital items, includes dozens of scrapbooks, personal letters, historical city documents, and memorabilia from former Mayor Elzie Odom and wife Ruby Odom’s 40-plus years of serving the Arlington community. The collection aims to provide UTA students, researchers, and the public a glimpse into the Odom family’s leadership and vision, stories of sacrifice and courage, and their lasting contributions to the city. In addition to a digital gallery of nearly 300 family photos dating back to the 1960s, the collection includes documents from Elzie Odom’s service as Arlington’s first Black mayor from 1997 to 2003.
Former Mayor Odom’s many accomplishments included advocating for Arlington youth, supporting programs for seniors and residents with disabilities, paying the City’s contribution to the construction of The Ballpark in Arlington (now Choctaw Stadium) off nearly 10 years ahead of schedule, and creating a voter-approved street maintenance sales program. As a former mayor, Elzie Odom also joined city leaders in successfully championing the Dallas Cowboys to move to Arlington.
View digitized items from the Elzie and Ruby Odom Papers on MavMatrix.
The Elzie and Ruby Odom Papers collection is organized in four series:
Series I, Personal Life, is dedicated to biographical information about the Odoms, materials regarding communities where they lived and organizations where they have served in a personal capacity rather than official. Also included are family history records, including family reunion publications, and records of community events.
Series II, Religious Life, consists of materials related to the Odoms church activities, particularly Mount Olive Baptist Church. This series includes Mount Olive Baptist Church records, miscellaneous church lessons, programs, and correspondence.
Series III, Political Life, primarily documents Elzie and Ruby’s time as mayor and First Lady. Some materials from Elzie’s time as an Arlington City Council representative are present as well. Consists of news clippings, photographs, and publications.
Series IV, Scrapbooks, consists of chronologically organized scrapbooks compiled by the Odom’s daughter, Dr. Barbara Odom-Wesley. These include Elzie Odom’s tenure as mayor of Arlington, and most years have multiple scrapbooks dedicated to them. They contain primarily photographs, greeting cards, programs, but other types of materials are present as well.
The Special Collections at UTA is located on the 6th floor of the Central Library, 702 Planetarium Place. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The most convenient parking for visitors is in the Maverick Parking Garage, 708 S. West St. For library parking and visitor information, visit https://libraries.uta.edu.
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