Coffin and Keys Records

On October 27, 1916, a group of ten male students sent a letter to the University President expressing their wish to establish a secret organization for upper-classmen to be known as Coffin and Keys, with membership limited to 15 students. They envisioned the organization's role to be beneficial for the University, by personal example and advisement to improve student life and activities, to act as a medium between faculty and students, and to help the reputation of the University by raising its social, moral and scholastic standing. The founders wanted Coffin and Keys to be non-political, with its members striving to attain high levels of scholarship and school loyalty. The ten students who signed the letter to the President were: Thomas R. King, W. Malone, M. P. Caffery, L. Kimmel, Charles Gooding, R. Ogilvia, H. Moore, R. Candlin, J. Smith, and C. Kemper. Some Artemisia yearbooks include photographs of Coffin and Key members. Periodically, Coffin and Keys newsletters and other flyers appear anonymously around campus.

James Warren Hulse was born on June 4, 1930, in Pioche, Nevada. The recipient of a Harold's Club Scholarship, he obtained his BA in journalism from the University of Nevada in 1952 and his MA in history in 1958. While a student, he wrote a column called "Campus Events" for the Nevada State Journal and was initiated into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. He was the recipient of the A. W. (Bert) Cahlar scholarship for altruistic service, leadership, character, and for loyalty - the highest ideals and traditions of the university. After military service in occupied West Germany and in France from 1952-1954, he continued as a reporter for the Nevada State Journal until 1958, often writing about Nevada history. He earned his Ph.D. in history at Stanford University in 1961, and was briefly an instructor at Central Washington State College in Ellensburg. He joined the history faculty at the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1962. The University of Nevada: A Centennial History was published in 1974. In the 1980s he was a member of the Nevada State Advisory Board for Historic Preservation and Archeology. In 1992, he was appointed the Grace G. Griffen Chair in History. In 1993, he was named Outstanding Faculty Member by the Board of Regents. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1997. He continues to write about Nevada in retirement.