World War I significantly influenced Camp Mabry's built environment and its place within the community. The School of Automobile Mechanics (S.A.M.) was created at Camp Mabry in a partnership between the University of Texas and the United States War Department through the Committee on Education and Special Training. The school was initially part of the National Army Training Detachment (N.A.T.D.). The joint program was the impetus for Camp Mabry's first major building period (for permanent buildings) and also established a strong tie to education and training that Camp Mabry maintained through the 1950s.

When the War Department received requests from the National Army for between 100,000 and 300,000 mechanics and technicians, they invited 120 college presidents and members of the War Department to a January 1918 conference in Washington, D.C. The conference agenda included discussions regarding the most efficient and cost effective way to fill the Army's needs. The idea for training specialists for army work in the universities and colleges, thereby eliminating the cost of equipping the army camps with the necessary laboratory apparatus, was the primary conference topic. In addition to fulfilling Army needs, the plan enabled colleges and other schools to stay open in the fall of 1918, "thus keeping intact the body of secondary school graduates and the great system of higher education" (Perry 1919).

University of Texas President Robert E. Vinson volunteered to train 2,500 men in eight-week sessions that would overlap and produce 1,250 graduates each month. After the Committee on Education and Special Training accepted the offer, Vinson contemplated a location suitable for such an endeavor. The initial plan would have established S.A.M. at the School of Military Aeronautics facilities on Little Campus, and would have relocated S.M.A. to newer facilities. Not a feasible plan, Vinson next considered an area "just southeast of the University, along the Speedway." When he eventually considered the Texas National Guard encampment grounds, Vinson and J.M. Bryant, President of the S.M.A. Academic Board, submitted a cost estimate for necessary improvements to the Legislature (Texas). The Legislature approved the proposal and gave the University of Texas permission "to construct buildings and transform the site into a training school" (Weaver 1919; S.A.M. Sun 27 Nov. 1918).

In April 1918, the University signed the War Department contract through the Committee on Education and Special Training. This contract established University and War Department responsibilities and requirements for the training program and thus enabled S.A.M.'s creation (Weaver 1919; S.A.M. Sun 27 Nov. 1918).

The School of Automobile Mechanics was one of three military schools administered by the University of Texas in 1918. The School for Military Aeronautics (S.M.A.), established at the Old Blind Institute, was set up before S.A.M. under a different training program called the Student Army Training Corps (S.A.T.C.). The N.A.T.D. conducted vocational training for grammar school graduates while the S.A.T.C. conducted more scientific training for college students. Both programs integrated military and academic instruction into the curricula, and supplied "the student with the motive of national service in addition to the motive of livelihood" (Perry 1919).

Frustrated with the confusion regarding "which school is which," Captain Edmund J. MacIvor on July 2, took it upon himself to officially designate the Camp Mabry school on all government records: as "The University of Texas, Training Detachment, National Army, S.A.M." Hoping there would be no objections to the "absolutely necessary" designation, he then asked that he be permitted to abbreviate the School of Automobile Mechanics as " S.A.M." on all school records, as since the school was "known throughout the district just as well as the full title would be" (MacIvor 2 July 1918).

On October 1, 1918, the Camp Mabry school's name changed again when the War Department joined the N.A.T.D. and S.A.T.C. as a single entity. The new designation included S.A.T.C. with Collegiate Section A (School of Military Aeronautics) and Vocational Section B (School of Automobile Mechanics). Despite changes in official designation, "S.A.M." was used consistently for informal (non-governmental) communication. The short-lived School for Radio Operators of the University of Texas, at Penn Field in Austin, also fell under Section B (Statesman 20 January 1918; Kolbe 1919; Dooley 1919).

According to the training program guidelines, the educational institutions would provide housing, meals, and tuition. The War Department would provide reimbursement for these program necessities, while the Army would provide officers and equipment. Unavailability of resources required that the university provide tools, machinery, parts, and faculty members via Professor Hal Weaver's "recruitment trips" to the north and northeast. The School of Automobile Mechanics was "not a government institution. It was an institution run by the government, of which the United States had complete charge, but the buildings were owned by the University of Texas (Kolbe 1919; Weaver 1919; Statesman 11 August 1918)."

University of Texas President Robert E. Vinson already had experience with education and Army partnerships, as he had been one of the 24 members of the Committee on Engineering and Education formed under the Council of National Defense in early 1917. With this experience, Vinson anxiously offered to take in 1,250 students at a time for vocational training. Because S.A.M.'s student body consisted of overlapping eight-week classes, more than 3,000 student-soldiers occupied Camp Mabry at one time. Camp Mabry achieved the status as the "largest of the US Army built to order war schools for the training of automobile mechanics." An Army corps of inspectors who visited Camp Mabry near the end of their 90 school tour, supposedly reported to the War Department that S.A.M. was the best school they had seen "from a standpoint of administration and organization and had in operation the most complete schedule of any school they visited" (Kolbe 1919, 45-50; Udden 1919; S.A.M. Sun 27 Nov. 1918). >

Across the country, the Army established more that 157 of these training schools in at least 20 trades, including radiotelegraphy, carpentry, automobile repair, and sheet metal work. Approximately 70 percent of the training was in automobile and allied disciplines. The School of Auto Mechanics of the University of Texas was one of three such vocational programs in Texas. S.A.M. accepted at least two contingents from other states: 400 from New Mexico and 300 from Oklahoma. The other two sponsoring institutions in Texas were Prairie View Normal School and Texas A & M College. By November 1, 1918, the state of Texas trained more than 11,000 men in only three schools; while other states trained more men, the schools were smaller. Only Missouri, Indiana, and Pennsylvania trained more (12,000 to 14,000) than Texas, but did so with six to thirteen schools.

Few of the N.A.T.D. schools were built from the ground up as S.A.M. was at Camp Mabry. Much of the equipment and practice materials came from donations, and outside instructors were hired. President Vinson explained that the University would pay for erecting the buildings at Camp Mabry on State property. "If the war lasts long enough, the buildings will pay themselves out. If the war comes to a conclusion before the buildings have paid themselves out, then the state will take over the buildings and repay the University what remains due them on the bill" (Statesman 8 April 1918; Dooley 1919; Kolbe 1919; Udden 1919).

Early plans for S.A.M. called for students to be housed at the old Blind Institute where S.M.A. students lived. The April 4th letter to contractors soliciting bids for Camp Mabry construction, requested that the barracks be similar in general character to the K Barracks at the S.M.A.. A letter from F. E. Giesecke, Chairman of the School of Architecture to President Vinson, offered the services of staff, i.e. architect Charles Endress, and five seniors in the department, to "make considerable additions to the old Blind Institute buildings." The offer was apparently accepted, as most of the S.M.A. drawings feature a student's name with Endress' signature (Weaver 1919; U.S. Army 1918; Von Koenneritz 1918; Statesman 20 January, 29 March 1918).

As late as April 4th, while Endress solicited proposals from contractors, Vinson still intended to house and train S.A.M. students at the old Blind Institute along with the S.M.A. With this plan in mind, the 35th Legislature passed a resolution requiring the University to provide additional accommodations for the S.M.A. overflow and enabled the University to use Camp Mabry for this purpose. On April 8, because S.A.M. was going to be larger than anticipated, Vinson finally opted for the arrangement that put S.A.M. at Camp Mabry. The original plans for the School of Auto Mechanics called for temporary frame constructions in compliance with the Army's recommendations for Emergency War Construction. Major George W. Littlefield, however, advanced money to the University of Texas to build permanent quarters, the anticipated total cost of which, when built and equipped, would be nearly $400,000.

The War Department's Emergency Construction Division set out guidelines for time and money conservation necessary for rapid war-time construction. The CEST set out guidelines of its own in its "Instructions to Commanding Officers." The instructions for the training detachments stated "it is desirable to house men in large units. For that reason, armories and gymnasiums are generally more satisfactory than dormitories." Although both of these criteria applied to Camp Mabry, the partnership with the University allowed Vinson the opportunity to deviate from the recommendations. In 1918 lumber and carpenters were scarce, while bricklayers were available and local brick was plentiful. The barracks and the mess hall cost about 12 percent more than if built of lumber, but timeliness and permanence were priorities. With the available force of carpenters building the wood workshops and bricklayers building barracks and the mess hall, the contractors saved time (U.S. Army 1918; Udden 1919).

Plans for S.A.M. barracks required that each sleep 400 men (the porch increased capacity to 500), a quantity far greater than the temporary barracks recommended for emergency war construction. Endress designed Camp Mabry's 1918 buildings based on the additions built at the for S.M.A. barracks, which he may have loosely based on standard Army cantonment plans dating from the nineteenth century. Because of his frequent association with designing and supervising the construction of college campuses, college dormitories plans may also have influenced his designs (Photo 7) (Weaver 1919; U.S. Army 1918; Endress, G. 1918, 1945; Fisher 1996).

Captain Edmund J. MacIvor, the second of three S.A.M. Commanding Officers, transferred to Camp Mabry from the Franklin Union Detachment, National Army, in Boston. Captain MacIvor indicated in several letters that Camp Mabry was next to heaven on earth, especially relative to his former post in Boston. In describing Austin itself, "it is a beautiful place, the most patriotic people I have ever run across - a town of 40,000 and more or less a high class of people." In July 1918, he says "the detachment here is the largest in the United States, and everything looks it; the mess hall is massive, with the best feeding utensils man ever laid eyes on, namely aluminum wear-ever, which are very expensive (Photos 2 and 14)." He describes the barracks as the "cantonment type, only of brick instead of wood," and that they are "the most modern barracks in the world, and as airy as a summer resort" (MacIvor 8 July 1918).

George Endress, the architect responsible for Camp Mabry's 1918 construction, graduated from the University of Texas in 1893. For the next several years he did design and engineering work in both Austin and Monterey, Mexico. He taught drawing at the University from 1902 to 1907, and served as their Resident Architect from 1913 to 1920. Endress had a prolific career as an architect and engineer, designing primarily public school buildings throughout Texas, including Bickler Grade School and Austin High School in Austin, Texas State Normal College in Canyon, and Sul Ross Teachers' College in Alpine. His background in civil engineering frequently employed him as a construction supervisor for other state colleges, as well as for Civil Works, and Public Works Administration projects in the 1930s. His largest project however, was probably the Monterey Steel Company, a $10 million project in 1901 ("New Drawing Instructor" 1902; Endress, A. 1996; Endress, G. 1945).

In Austin, Endress designed the 1915 Majestic Theater (now the Paramount Theater) on Congress Avenue, and several buildings at the University of Texas. Coincidentally, the Majestic Theater, is on the site of the original (1839) offices of the War Department and the Adjutant General of the Republic of Texas. In yet another coincidence, Endress supervised construction at Camp Bowie and Camp Swift in the early 1940s, prior to their Texas National Guard associations (Austin, City of 1995; Endress, A. 1996; Endress, G. 1945).

According to recollections of Albert Endress (George's son), supported by Endress' resume and a letter from Cass Gilbert, Endress was responsible for much of the University of Texas Master Plan as well as many of the buildings constructed between 1913 and 1920. Cass Gilbert, a nationally respected architect of New York City, was a consultant to President Vinson and his predecessor regarding design and layout of the university. Gilbert as the University Architect from 1910 to 1922, offered opinions and recommendations while Endress, as the Resident Architect, designed and executed the layout and buildings from this period. With one exception, the 1913 to 1920 campus buildings associated with Endress and Gilbert consisted of temporary construction, as the University had been unable to secure funding for a comprehensive building plan. Ironically, when President Vinson offered to house and train 2,500 mechanics during this low funding period, he had little knowledge of where or with what funds he could supply such a facility (Gilbert 1920; Endress, A. 1996; Endress, G. 1945; McMichael 1983, 14-22,34).

Because Endress was schooled formally in engineering rather than in architecture, his alliance with Gilbert and Gilbert's confidence in Endress' ability is notable. Gilbert and Endress had extensive conversations regarding the University plans and, as Gilbert wrote in an October 1920 letter, they had "together gone very carefully into many phases of the future development of the site and location of the buildings." Gilbert told him "I am much pleased to note that we find ourselves in agreement as to the various matters under discussion, and that we appear to coincide in the views expressed by President Vinson." While employed with the University, Endress maintained a private practice: Endress & Watkins, and also established the University's first radio station with his oldest son George, an electrical engineering student (Gilbert 1920; Endress, G. 1945; Daily Texan 1949).

Endress maintained control over all 1918 construction at Camp Mabry. He finalized plans for the wood instructional buildings and the infirmary, and supervised their construction (Weaver 1919).

In his June inspection of Camp Mabry, the War Department Surgeon noticed the absence of a hospital, and told John Banks, S.A.M.'s first Commanding Officer, to "get busy at once and try to get one up" and that he would review the plans before construction. Banks mentioned a lack of funding for a permanent structure, at which point the Surgeon told him that a frame building would be sufficient. Banks based his recommendation to Vinson of 150 beds, on 5,000 people, three percent of them needing hospital attention (Banks 1918; Weaver 1919).

The infirmary, built in October 1918, resembles the Army Manual for Emergency Construction recommended hospital plans (Photos 20 and 21). J.F. Johnson received orders to put all carpenters possible on the job, and rush the construction on overtime, but quarantines and illness delayed progress. The onset of the Spanish Influenza epidemic necessitated a much larger infirmary than the one housed in Building 42. The S.A.M. dentist saw his patients in the YMCA Cottage (no longer standing , but originally between Buildings 1 and 6) until Building 45's completion (U.S. Army 1919, C72; Udden 1919; S.A.M. Sun 7 September 1918).

The infirmary design included many windows, doors, and wide porches in partial consideration for good ventilation necessary to prevent diseases, such as flu or tuberculosis, from spreading among the patients. As many as 200 of the men at Camp Mabry were ill with the flu, from September through November. By December, 57 soldier-students had died from the virus. In addition to the new infirmary, the number of ill soldier-students required that one of the barracks be quarantined and that a tent hospital be established. Dr. Charles M. Kent, Army Medical Corps Surgeon, treated each S.A.M. flu victim, and only in the most severe cases transferred patients to Seton Hospital. A high level of community involvement, including the Red Cross and other local volunteers gave Dr. Kent medical assistance. The Red Cross established its first Motor Corps during their Camp Mabry mission in 1918. Volunteers drove their own cars to and from Camp Mabry with gallons of chicken broth and the sewing unit delivered handmade pillows for the young men in the tent hospital (Students Army Training Corps 1919; American Red Cross 1991, 12-14).

Letters from women offering their services to Camp Mabry poured in from across the state, some of whom were refused because of skin color. "Dear Madam: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter bearing date of November 5, 1918. There are no negro soldiers at this camp, however, we wish to thank you for your kind offer as a nurse." Mothers whos sons were ill or who had died at Camp Mabry also sent letters to thank the nurses for their kindness (Stadler 1918; Henry 1918).

In addition to influenza, Dr. Kent treated other illness. He saw venereal disease, cerebral spinal meningitis, mumps, and typhoid fever. Each month Kent prepared a Sanitary Report for the entire post listing the illnesses treated, as well as camp conditions. For the most part, his comments were positive. A point he returned to repeatedly, was the latrines and septic tanks crucial to health maintenance. In June, he commented that the entire command quartered in the barracks, had ample space and ventilation, but that the large barracks prevented air circulation. In the following month's inspection, Kent did not include the circulation issue for the barracks because it was insignificant relative to the number of men quartered in tents with little or no ventilation (Kent 1918).

Crowded conditions at Camp Mabry demonstrated that Endress' mess hall and kitchen, designed to seat and serve more than 3,000 men at one time, could actually support 4,000 men. The student-soldiers bragged in the S.A.M. Sun, the school weekly newspaper, that their mess hall was the largest in the country (Weaver 1919; S.A.M. Sun 24 August 1918)

For the instructional buildings, Endress started with the standard Army plans that Albert Kahn developed for World War I "temporary" airplane hangars. He explained the desirability of "a standard type of structure having no interior posts to block the proper arrangement of equipment and having girders strong enough to support shafting where necessary." The Air Service standard garage, as he called it, allowed great flexibility in change of arrangement due to growth or change in curriculum and was moderate in cost. He noted that the only necessary foundations were those supporting the side posts and outside braces. In May the flexibility proved a necessary feature as the school abandoned original training plans, and new plans had to be altered to accommodate revised curriculum.

J. F. Johnson and his employees constructed each of the seven instructional buildings within eight to ten days. Johnson constructed the Auxiliaries Building (Building 17) on the site originally intended for a seventh barracks. Other "temporary" buildings included the Engine Laboratory (the "U" building), the Machine Shop with cement floor (Building 24), the Chassis Building with a dirt floor, the Blacksmith and Sheet Metal Shop, and two Engine Test Sheds, open air with a connecting roof added later. Following the close of S.A.M. in 1920 the Texas National Guard prepared a requested "Report of Capacity at Camp Mabry." In addition to recommending two workshops as suitable for future barracks comfortably housing 350 men, and two for "aeroplane hangars", the report listed all of the buildings as "1st class permanent construction."

J. F. Johnson subcontracted 100 laborers to put in the sewer lines, anticipating fifty days for completion. The lines connected Camp Mabry to the City of Austin, joining with lines at Pease Park, along Shoal Creek, and then to Camp Mabry. The University paid $15,000 of $25,000; the city paid the remainder (Statesman 5 April, 12 April 1918).

While the architect, contractors, and laborers rushed building completion the University administration, with guidance from the Committee on Education and Special Training, hurriedly recruited student-soldiers.

For admission to the Collegiate Section (i.e,. Section A) the War Department required a student to have a high school education, while the Vocational Section (i.e.. Section B) admitted those with an 8th grade education, who passed psychological and trade tests to "weed out the illiterates." Upon admission to either section of the S.A.T.C., the "registrant" immediately was considered a soldier of the Army of the United States and, therefore, entirely subject to military law and discipline. When the first class of 500 soldier-students arrived at Camp Mabry on May 16, S.A.M. had been expecting only 300. Only two of six barracks, and none of the instructional buildings, had been completed by then, and instruction was held in tents

Course curriculum for Camp Mabry student-soldiers included military, vocational, and war issues courses. In April the CEST Bulletin No. 7 defined Camp Mabry's mission to train auto mechanics "in truck driving and general automobile repair which would fit the soldier for making minor repairs and adjustments in the field." Bulletin No. 10 issued in May, instructed the University to disregard previous instructions and to train specialists in the trades most needed in base shops and repair units throughout the military services. The For 15-1/2 hours each week, the young men partook in practical military instruction and physical training. The instructors trained the men on all aspects of automobile repair for 33 hours each week and, in addition, the program administrators from CEST required the student-soldiers to attend a one-hour War Aims course each week (Kolbe 1919; S.A.M. Sun 27 Nov. 1918).

The War Department sent Induction Telegram No. 32 to each county clerk in Texas: "Complete the entrainment for Austin, Texas, of 500 grammar school graduates who have had some experience along mechanical lines and shown aptitude for mechanical work, to report to the commanding officer, University of Texas, on May 16 . . . Only white men and men physically qualified for general service may be inducted under this call." Despite these restrictions, enthusiastic men from all over Texas wrote to be included in the innovative program, but even experienced men were refused admission due to skin color or physical disabilities.

Lawrence Glover, a licensed journeyman electrician for 15 years in Boston, sent a letter expressing his interest in enlisting as an electrician. The Hemphill County Clerk wrote to Camp Mabry describing Maurice Benson, an employed auto mechanic, also qualified for clerical work, who wished to enlist.. Channing refused admission to both Glover, who described himself as "mulatto," and Benson, who had an artificial leg (Townes 1918; Glover 1918; Taylor 1918).

October 4, about two weeks after Major Channing complained of having "less than one-third of the men" than he had accommodations for, he received a Western Union Telegram from the Committee on Education and Special Training, stating

No color line will be drawn on inducting men into Section A. Colored men eligible for induction will be inducted at institutions which they attend and will not be required to transfer to other institutions. Use tact and discretion in providing mess and quarters to colored men and arranging such segregation as may be necessary under local conditions cooperating with college authorities (War Department 4 October 1918).

The School of Automobile Mechanics at Camp Mabry was never integrated. Only 12 vocational schools in the country operated "colored training detachments," and of those, two matriculated only one class each. Prairie View Normal School and Industrial College in Prairie View, Texas (now part of the Texas A & M University) accepted the colored students in June through August. Social organization of the S.A.T.C. was slightly different, as the Collegiate Sections established a higher number of programs that accepted colored students (Dooley 1919).

Social organization within Camp Mabry's Vocation Section consisted of the YMCA, Knights of Columbus, and the Jewish Welfare Board. Local Masonic lodges provided funding of $6,500 for construction of the YMCA building south of the mess hall (Building 6). On May 30, 1918, they donated the building, typical of YMCA Army Auxiliary style and plan, to the Camp Mabry YMCA. Building plans included "a large auditorium, encircled by one long, continuous table for letter writers, a library, rest rooms, office, and a platform for speakers." Several rooms were added in June, forming the Mothers' House, for female relatives visiting sick sons and husbands. By September, an outdoor theater had been added for movies and athletic events. Also in September, the dentists used the "Y" Cottage as temporary quarters while awaiting completion of the Hospital. "The 'Y' has this week received and installed a fine lot of the old hickory rustic furniture, which adds much to the interior appearance of the hut and the comfort of the soldiers and the visitors. The Camp Mabry 'Y' is one of the neatest and best equipped huts in the U.S. Army (Statesman 29, 30 May, 6, 17 June 1918; S.A.M. Sun 24 August, 14 September 1918)."

The last student-soldiers had gone home by December 1918. The buildings nearly identical to Camp Mabry at Penn Field were not completed before the Radio School closed. Major Channing placed a suggestion with the Committee on Education and Special Training on November 13, regarding future plans for Camp Mabry. Channing proposed that Camp Mabry, with its with its "highly efficient vocational organization," could be used to great advantage in reconstruction work for injured soldiers. Vinson supported the idea, as did the City of Austin, but General Wolters rejected it outright