The collection is open for research.
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Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Drum Major's Mace, 1917, Artifact-003, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
This collection was acquired by the Special Collections and University Archive October 2017.
The processing, arrangement, and description of the Drum Major's Mace was completed in June 2025. Preliminary description was completed in October 2017.
Sherman Edmond Seelinger graduated from Virginia Polytecnic Institute in 1921 with a bachelor's in Animal Husbandry. Seelinger was very active in school extracurriculars as a cheerleader, member of the Athletic Council and the Monogram Club, manager of the baseball team, and leader of the Cotillion Club, opening two nights of the Club's Easter dances.
Ralph Edwards Hughes of Ore Bank (later Arvonia), Virginia, earned a degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in 1917.
This Drum Major's Mace was previously owned by Ralph Edward Hughes and was possibly given to him by Sherman Edmond Seelinger. The mace is approxamately three feet long and is wrapped in orange and maroon ribbon, with excess ribbon hanging off of one end. On the opposite end of the mace is a rounded wooden top that has been painted gold. Some staining on ribbon is present as well as chipping paint on the rounded wooden top.
The guide to the Drum Major's Mace by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (