John Zech '71, Robert Price and Harriet Zech '72 look over materials commemorat ing the life and death of Robert Zech '63, a Peace Corps worker in Puerto Rico. The Otterbein Room fir t opened in 1954, in a pace et a ide in the basement of the Centennial Library addition of Towers Hall. Dr. Robert Price, a profe or of Engli h, pent many month combing the campus attics, basements and closet in search of historical materials. He brought together all of the books, paper , photograph , portraits and artifacts that he had found, organized them and made them available to the Otterbein community. Dr. Price was a true Renaissance man. In addition to hi teaching and archival duties at Otterbein, he was pre idem of the Westerville Histori cal Society for many year and he found time to re earch and write the definitive biography of Johnny Appleseed. He wa by all accounts an intelligent, well- poken man who was highly regarded and re peered by his student and his peers. A writer for the Columbus Dispatch put it best: "He' not the kind of Robert you call
Bob."
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Dr. Price volunteered his time to the archives as a labor of love. In recognition of his dedication, in 1968 President Lynn W. Turner declared him to be the first official archivist of Otterbein College. Dr. Price retired in 1970 but continued to work in the archives until moving to the Otterbein Home in 1975. In 1972, the current library facil ity, the Courtright Memorial library, was opened. The Otterbein Room and all of its contents took up resi dence on the third floor, in a set of rooms at the top of the stairs. Here the collection was overseen and maintained by Library Director John Becker (class of 1950). Mr. Becker brought a librarian's sensibilities to the job and increa ed the reference services offered by the archives. He also brought a wicked sense of humor to the job. ln our vertical files is a mock certificate of induction into the "Orderis de Otterbeinis Athleti cus Turkeyis," drawn up by Mr. Beck er himself, that honors those who have given "athletic performance detrimental to himself, the college or the game." At the bottom of the cer tificate i written, "This lifetime membership may not be revoked." No mention of the Otterbein Room in this era would be complete without mentioning Harold Han cock. Dr. Hancock, a professor of Hi tory who was the unofficial histo rian of the college, was a frequent visitor to the archive. Hi histories of Otterbein (1972) and Westerville (1974) are still in use today. (Dr. Hancock's History of Westerville has just been reprinted and is available for purchase from the Westerville Historical Society.) John Becker served as unofficial archivist from 1975 until his untime ly death in 1985. Librarian Alberta Mackenzie Messmer (cla s of 1940) then took over a Library Director and unofficial archivist. She was a lifelong Westerville native and had long been associated with the col lege, first through her father, Dr. Jesse Engle (a profe sor of Religion and Philosophy), then as a student, and
