NT-ARCE — A Short History

by Susan Patterson

In the beginning, there were nine of us - Jim and Nancy Murray, Ken and Marilyn Terwey, Beverly Stone, Theresa Thompson, Toni Schreiber, Greg Thomas and me, Janis Susan May (now Patterson). Some of us had been docents in the magnificent Ramses the Great exhibit in 1988 and some of us had gone on a tour to Egypt in the spring of 1992. We had kept in touch because at the time Dallas was an Egyptological desert (which it pretty much still is) and we all felt as if we had found our tribe. The trip just whetted our appetite for more Egyptology, more than our sporadic discussions, a fairly futile longing in a city where Egyptologists were as scarce as glaciers.

Resolving to change this, in May of 1992 we formed an Organizing Committee and met sporadically in the den of my mother's house, as she had the only room large enough to hold all of us comfortably. After much discussion and investigation of various country-wide Egyptology organizations, we decided to become a chapter of ARCE, with Jim Murry as our first president and Marilyn Terwey as Membership Chair. I, in a moment of weakness, took over the Newsletter. In those long-ago days the Newsletter was a paper publication - the first few produced on an old-fashioned typewriter and where graphics were Xeroxed, then individually sized and pasted down with rubber cement! It was four sheets, printed on both sides and stapled in the upper left hand corner. Through the years it became a little more sophisticated looking, but it never became any larger. Still, through judicious use of articles - many provided by some of the biggest names in Egyptology - and sheer good luck it became accepted as a scholarly journal in an ever-growing number of museums and universities around the country and the world.

From the very first issue we would gather to hand address them from a master mailing list cobbled together from a variety of sources, at least until I got a computer and generated printed labels before making a (mostly) midnight run to the post office. In those early days the group was so broke that more often than not the printing and mailing of the first Newsletters was funded by a whip-round of the Board. Luckily I had a large library of graphic art from a previous career, so that was free. Our first of many Newsletters went out in January of 1993.

Finding a Home at SMU

In the late autumn of 1992 the Organizing Committee approached the legendary Dr. Fred Wendorf of SMU, who - though slightly bemused at the enthusiastic gaggle of amateur Egyptologists invading his office - agreed to sponsor our group at SMU, where we have held our meetings ever since. During the first year he even allowed us to use his account at the official faculty dining hall to hold a dinner for Dr. Kent Weeks, come to speak to us fresh from his ground-breaking discovery of KV55. We of course reimbursed him.

Currently our SMU sponsor is the world-famed classicist Dr. Melissa Dowling, Chair of the William P. Clements Department of History, Director of Classical Studies, and a longtime NT member.

Becoming a Full Chapter

In February 1993 (over thirty years ago - good heavens!) our provisional chapter held its first public meeting in Room 153 of Heroy Hall, a classroom not far from our current spacious meeting room in Fondren Hall. In order to become a full chapter of ARCE at that time you had to have twenty-five chapter members to apply, then reach and maintain a membership of thirty-five for full chapter status. They gave you a year to do it. NT-ARCE hit the mark at our first meeting and by the second month we were a full-fledged chapter, a status we have never lost.

Events and Seminars

Our events were initially sporadic, depending on what speakers were available and how much money we had - with a startling number of 'movie nights' and 'Stump the Chumps' where the audience could ask a panel of 'experts' (the more Egyptologically knowledgeable) from the chapter all kinds of questions. They were fun as well as informative, and I am proud to have been the mistress of ceremonies (ringmaster?) for every one of them.

Soon, however, our schedule settled into a pattern of regular monthly meetings and a year or two later, two special full-day seminars a year, led by notable Egyptologists. For Dr. Mark Lehner, our first NT-ARCE seminar speaker, we produced a beautiful and informative booklet (graced by a classic photograph from famed photographer Carolyn Brown), the first and last we ever did, for even with donated printing and photographs it was too much of a drain on time and resources.

Leadership Through the Years

Co-presidents Sarah O'Brien and Roxanne Gagnon succeeded Jim Murray, followed by Clair Ossian, Rick Moran, Marsha McCoy, Sally Hansen, Karlene Schoonover and currently Dave Kuhlman. I think I have all of them... Over the years board members from both the Old Guard and newer members have made NT-ARCE into a self-sustaining organization respected by Egyptologists and institutions around the world. While at times our survival seemed iffy the members pulled together and worked and we always came through, even though during the club-killing Covid years it was touch-and-go.

The Newsletter

After a nine-year reign (noun deliberately chosen) I retired from the Newsletter in 2001, passing it on into the hands of co-editors Marilyn Terwey and Beverly Stone, who in turn passed it on to Pam Thomas, under whose far-seeing aegis it went from paper to electronic, and then on to Karlene Schoonover, who renamed the publication Menhedj. Sadly it is currently in abeyance, though there are hopes of reviving it in the not-too-distant future.

Beyond the Lecture Hall

NT-ARCE has not been restricted to meetings and seminars. Pre-Covid we had several day-long expeditions to various museums when they had traveling Egyptological exhibits. In January of 2010, Clair Ossian spearheaded and our dear friend Gayle Gibson of the ROM in Toronto led the first (and sadly so far only) chapter tour of Egypt. As the itinerary had been especially curated for our interests, it was a most memorable trip!

Over the years a veritable 'Who's Who' of Egyptology has spoken before our group and many of these renowned Egyptologists have chosen to become NT members... and friends. It is said that if you have seen a well-known Egyptologist on the Discovery Channel or National Geographic or the like we have had them to speak. The list includes Drs Mark Lehner, Kent Weeks, Salima Ikram, Emily Teeter, Steve Harvey, Fred Wendorf, Aiden Dodson, Lanny Bell, Nigel Strudwick, Gayle Gibson and more. Sadly, though, as the years pass many of these giants of the field have retired or are not doing speaking engagements, so NT is looking at the rising Egyptologists. Every year several of our members go to the ARCE National Conference where they take notes on as many speakers as possible for later discussion and possible booking. Plus have a good time - the ARCE Nationals are great fun!

I don't remember if the original Organizing Committee knew exactly what we wanted from a group, save for a dependable source of Egyptological knowledge and the camaraderie of like-minded scholars. In both scope and reputation, however, NT-ARCE has far exceeded any modest aims we might have had, and I cannot help wondering how NT-ARCE will look in another 30-odd years!

In Memoriam

Dr. Clair Russell Ossian — late 2025 — Founding member, frequent lecturer, board director, CyberScribe columnist, Professor Emeritus at Tarrant County College. Visited Egypt 14 times. Married to Eleanor for 61 years.

Eleanor Ossian — February 18, 2026 — Wife of Clair Ossian, beloved hostess for NT-ARCE speakers. Passed soon after Clair.

Sarah O'Brien — January 28, 2026 — Past President and Programs Chair of North Texas ARCE in the chapter's early years. Instrumental in establishing the chapter.

Dr. Edwin Thomas "Tom" Strom — October 26, 2024 — NT-ARCE member. Highly regarded chemist and DISD desegregation leader who enjoyed Egyptology and classical music. Died on vacation in Palma de Majorca, Spain.

Marilyn Terwey — April 21, 2022 — One of the original 8 founding committee members of NT-ARCE.