In attempting to construct a history of SARA (previously the San Antonio Area Archives Group, or SAAAG), we received the following response from Warren Stricker, who, until 2007, was the archivist for many years at the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library in San Antonio and involved in the beginnings of SARA:

I did have a copy of the paper I presented at SSA in 1997 on the San Antonio group.  I’m attaching an excerpt that provides a summary history.  You’ll notice that Dora Guerra was involved from the beginning; I was thinking that she had retired prior to that, but not so.  The other important person in the beginning was Reuben Ware, mentioned in the paper.  I have a copy of the paper he produced about the state of archives in San Antonio, which is very detailed and ambitious.  Reuben moved away not too long after that, but he had a big influence while there.  Others who participated in the early years, who I did not mention before, were Sr. Maria Carolina Flores of OLLU, Rebecca Huffstutler of the Witte (and later Amy Fulkerson), and Sr. Margaret Riche of the Congregation of Divine Providence.  I wish I could say who the eight people at the first meeting were, but can’t for sure. 

THE 1997 PAPER EXCERPT:

More recently, another local group has formed in the interest of developing the archival environment in San Antonio, though it began with more modest goals in mind.  The San Antonio Area Archives Group, or SAAAG, had its genesis in informal discussions between Dora Guerra of the University of Texas at San Antonio and Cathy Herpich of the DRT Library.  The immediate goal was simply to establish some lines of communication between local archives and libraries that would allow participants to familiarize themselves with the holdings of other institutions.

 The first meeting was held in December 1995, and involved eight representatives of academic, public and historical association libraries.  Over the next couple of months, additional meetings were held, more people attended, and information on the holdings of their institutions and potential areas of cooperation were discussed.  So far, between 30 and 40 individuals have participated in the organization or expressed an interest, with about15 to 20 regular attendees.  Not a large group for a city the size of San Antonio, but enough to establish a base for action.

 Things might have continued in a rather low-key manner indefinitely but for the release by the Texas Historical Records Advisory Board of its report “Too Lightly Esteemed in the Past,” the subject of a number of hearings around the state.  The report created a couple of opportunities for the group; one, the potential to channel some NHPRC funds to San Antonio for the benefit of the local archives community, and two, a means of focusing attention on the state of historical records in San Antonio. 

 THRAB was contacted and agreed to add a hearing on the report in San Antonio in June.  SAAAG sent notice of the hearing to various organizations around the city, including libraries and archives, museums, historical organizations, and business and political leaders.  At this point, one member of SAAAG provided the direction for the subsequent activities of the group in his response to the THRAB hearing.  Reuben Ware, then working as an archives consultant and volunteer archivist for the McNay Art Museum, later at Harvard, drafted a “discussion paper” which formed the core of the local response to THRAB’s report and for future actions by SAAAG.  

 This paper is detailed and ambitious, and states at the outset that it is intended to be “cooperative, yet its scope is broader than liaisons and does not restrict itself to networking activities and professional development.  It seeks to establish a local framework, to secure resources, to implement common standards, and to accomplish the primary goal of preserving San Antonio’s heritage.”  Like THRAB’s report, the discussion paper outlines the positive and negative aspects of the historic record on a local level, and suggests some goals for improving the situation.  [end of excerpt]