In my quest to find yearbook entries for these four Architects, members of the founding generation for Mississippi’s AIA, I’ve located yearbooks for R.W. Naef and N.W. Overstreet. Finally, I located a yearbook entry for Carl Emil Matthes Sr. Matthes enlisted in the Navy during June of 1917, and served until May 1919, with his last duty post at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Gulfport, Mississippi. The camp had a yearbook, The Gadget, for the Class of 1918. While I don’t have access to the original or even a good scan, thankfully some of the text has been transcribed to the web. If there are any adventurous Oxfordians out there, I believe Ole Miss has a copy of this yearbook within their special collections. Here’s the brief mention of Matthes in the yearbook on page 26.
The entire gang in the carpenter shop are strong backers of [Warrant Carpenter ] J. Wiener. They are led by Carl Matthes, who is as earnest a worker as ” Chi ” ever produced. He also has the art of training carpenters.
Jerome L. Wiener (1891-1969), the warrant officer who was in command of the station’s Carpentry Shop, listed on his draft registration that he was an architect who was employed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw. Wiener could possibly have been the reason Matthes worked for Shaw in Matthes’ home town of Chicago, Illinois after the war. Although by the 1920 census, Matthes was back in Biloxi, married to a Biloxi gal, and listed his profession as Building Contractor, he would soon focus solely on the practice of architecture. Since we cannot see the group photograph with Matthes in the 1918 yearbook, here is a photograph from page 10 of the February 19, 1927, Biloxi Daily Herald, which was related to the opening of the Matthes-designed Tivioli Hotel.
Carl Emil Matthes Sr. (1896-1972), From The Daily Herald. Page 10. February 19, 1927.
Matthes was one of the early Mississippi architects to incorporate his practice. In 1928 a Charter of Incorporation was filed with the Secretary of State, and the documents can be viewed online. The other incorporators of Carl Matthes, Architect, Inc. are listed as his wife, Beula Dukate Matthes, and Jacques Fayard.
Naef, Gates, Matthes, and Overstreet (1970)
Of this group, only Frank Gates hasn’t had a school-years yearbook located yet.
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Categories: Architectural Research, Biloxi, Gulf Coast, Gulfport, Military
Preservation in Mississippi 
frank p. gates was my third cousin; i was fortunate to know him and mrs gates in the latter years of their lives at some point, maybe i can write a post on this delightful, educational friendship.
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We would certainly welcome a guest post. Thank you.
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