Top Acquisitions of 2019
Posted by: Malea Walker
Take a look at some of the amazing items that we acquired during 2019! From a 300 year-old newspaper to rare comic books.
Posted in: African American History, Comic Books, Holidays, Newspapers
Category: Holidays
Christmas with the Presidents
Posted by: Heather Thomas
Holidays at the White House have evolved over the years from intimate family gatherings to national celebrations, ranging from an indoor snowball fight between grandchildren, to a first lady ride on a cherry picker! Discover how U.S. Presidents of the past celebrated Christmas. “Old Hickory,” President Andrew Jackson, threw an elaborate party for his grandchildren …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Newspapers, U.S. Presidents
Let’s Talk Comics: Folklore, Comics, and Santa Claus
Posted by: Megan Halsband
Dr. Daniel Peretti, Assistant Professor of Folklore at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, is the author of “Superman in Myth and Folklore” (University Press of Mississippi, 2017), as well as other essays on folklore, myth, and popular culture. His current research focuses on Santa Claus, ritual, and the traditions of Christmas. Here Dr. Peretti answers …
Posted in: Comic Books, Holidays, Let's Talk Comics
The Mayflower: Tales of Jumping Ship
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
For a seemingly interminable 65 days the Mayflower was the floating home of pilgrims, officers and crew as they made their famous journey to America. For some it was a graveyard, and for others, a symbol of life renewed. Those who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 are commonly known as pilgrims, but the sailors who …
Bessie McCoy, the Yama Yama Girl
Posted by: Amber Paranick
Have your Halloween costume picked out yet? Why not go dressed as Bessie McCoy, the original Yama Yama Girl? During the 1910s, the Yama Yama Girl costume was all the rage. But who was the Yama Yama Girl and why did people dress up as her? Stage actress and vaudeville performer Elizabeth G. McEvoy (also …
Posted in: Biography, Halloween, Holidays, Newspapers, Women's History
Workers of America Unite!
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
Why is there a Labor Day holiday celebrated in September when there already is a perfectly good labor day celebrated on May Day? While you will find no text book with a clear explanation—there is none—we can infer the reasons between the two days that honor the working man. May Day is the traditional day …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays
The Origins of Pioneer Day
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
On July 24, 1849, the residents of Salt Lake City were “awakened by the firing of nine rounds of artillery, accompanied by martial music.” It was Pioneer Day in Utah, marking the two year anniversary of the first group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to reach the Salt …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays
Pesky Details: The Authenticity of the Lincoln Flag
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
The flags decorating the theater box where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated were almost an afterthought, but they became central to the legend and lore surrounding his assassination. On April 14, 1865, just hours before the President arrived at Ford’s, John Ford, the proprietor of the theater, thought it appropriate to adorn the box where …
Posted in: Holidays, Mystery, Newspapers
The Darling Buds of May: Spring Blossoms and Workers’ Discontent
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
The picture of May Day with merry lads and lasses dancing around the May Pole stands in stark contrast to the May Day parades held in the former Soviet Union when the top brass brought out their nuclear warheads to the (forced) delight of the comrades. How did the bucolic rites of changing seasons become …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Newspapers