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Posted by: Megan Harris
One look at Irving Greenwald’s diary is all it takes to bring to mind the old adage “good things come in small packages.” This World War I diary, written by Private Irving Greenwald from December 1917 to January 1919, was donated to the Veterans History Project (VHP) in December 2015 by his family. Original World …
Posted in: Acquisitions, World War I
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Note: This is part of a series of blog posts about the 40th Anniversary Year of the American Folklife Center. Visit this link to see them all! April 29 is International Dance Day, established by the International Dance Council (CID) in 1982 to call attention to the importance of dance worldwide. So get your dances …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, AFC Events, African Americans, Asian American History, Dance, Homegrown Concert Series, Native American History, Pacific Islander History, Pacific Islands Americans
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Note: This is part of a series of blog posts about the 40th Anniversary Year of the American Folklife Center. Visit this link to see them all! The American Folklife Center was established in 1976. Two years later, in 1978, the folk music and song collections housed in the Music Division as the Archive of …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, African Americans, Narratives, Storytelling
Posted by: Megan Harris
The following is a guest post by Andrew Cassidy-Amstutz, archivist for the Veterans History Project. In our world of daily Facebook status updates and trending Twitter hashtags, an annotated map by Homer Bluford Clonts caught my eye as an example of how service members during World War II recorded their daily thoughts and activities in …
Posted in: Acquisitions, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Note: This is part of a series of blog posts about the 40th Anniversary Year of the American Folklife Center. Visit this link to see them all! The American Folklife Center’s archive was founded as part of the Music Division in 1928, primarily as a repository for recordings of American folk music and songs. The …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, Foodways
Posted by: Lisa Taylor
The following is a guest post by Owen Rogers, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). Although housed at the Library of Congress, the Veterans History Project is completely reliant on the voluntary participation of people around the country interviewing the veterans in their lives and communities. Since April is National Volunteer Month, this …
Posted in: Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Lisa Taylor
The following is a guest post by Christy Chason, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). When our friends at the American Red Cross of Greater Texas told me they were sending us the interview of Richard Arvine Overton, who is thought to be the oldest living American war veteran, I got very excited, …
Posted in: African Americans, Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: A shorter version of this article was published in the March/April 2016 issue of LCM: Library of Congress Magazine. Download a pdf here. We also transformed this article into episode 6 of our podcast. Find the podcast at this link! Scan your favorite newspapers or news websites this April 1, and chances are you’ll …
Posted in: April Fool's Day, Holidays, Practical Jokes
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
In the United States we have customs that have their roots in the many cultural groups that live here. We do not always know the origins of customs that we practice, as they may spread over time and can be reshaped as they become established. Generally customs naturally spread, without any deliberate action. To intentionally …
Posted in: Cultural Heritage, Religion