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Archive: June 2023 (3 Posts)

“Heaps of Fun”: Games, Rhymes, and Riddles in the Library’s Collections

Posted by: Alli Hartley-Kong

This post was written by Mara Gregory, a spring 2023 Teaching With Primary Sources intern and recent graduate of Simmons University. School’s out for the summer! As warm days and long sunlit hours bring back memories of past summer breaks, the Library’s collections are a rich source for exploring children’s leisure activities over the years. …

Three children color in a long black-and-white poster that says "Black Lives Matter Every Day All the Time"

Juneteenth: Remembrances & Recipes

Posted by: Alli Hartley-Kong

This post was authored by Monica Valentine, Program Specialist in the Informal Learning Office. June 19th became  a federal U.S. holiday in 2021. This date, known as Juneteenth, commemorates the anniversary of Union troops arriving in Galveston, Texas in 1865 with an announcement of freedom for enslaved African-Americans. Though President Abraham Lincoln had issued the …

Man wearing a tie and apron barbecuing steaks on an outdoor grill.

Beyond Father’s Day: The Story of the Backyard Barbecue

Posted by: Rachel Gordon

Marking Father’s Day with a cookout is as American as apple pie. As I was thinking about how to organize this most traditional of celebrations for Sunday, June 18th this year, I wondered about the custom itself.  What’s the history of grilling, and of the backyard barbecue? When and why did “the man of the …