In addition to the many print and microfilm resources in the WKU libraries’ Special Collections, we have DVD and tape visual resources. A recent find in our collection is a 3 minute 8mm black and white film that showcases former President Harry Truman’s visit to Paducah, Kentucky on October 24th, 1959. Truman’s Vice President, Alben Barkley was from Paducah and served as the 35th Vice President of the United States (1949–1953), under Truman. Barkley spent much of his life in Paducah, and has a lake, an airport and other landmarks named after him in the area. The film shows Truman going to a coffee shop, meeting with Paducah citizens and officials and speaking at a banquet during a fund raising dinner. We have converted the film to DVD and so it is available for inhouse viewing.
“Andrew Stew”
A recipe for disaster?
As the season of severe weather approaches, during this Women’s History Month we offer a female perspective on one of the most destructive storms ever to hit the United States. On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew made landfall at Homestead, Florida. With sustained winds reaching 165 m.p.h., the storm achieved rare Category 5 status and caused damage in excess of $26 billion.
A month later, Geraldine Hayes wrote from Homestead to her sister-in-law Mildred Gipson in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. Living amid the hum of generators, she and husband George were still without power or telephone. For the first time, fatigue had caused her to accept a free meal from the Red Cross of corn beef hash, corn, applesauce, cookies and a drink. Twice a week, she stood in line for hours to collect her mail at a common delivery point. Her house had escaped total destruction, but was still in need of substantial repair and drying out. Nevertheless, Mrs. Hayes had praise for the Red Cross, police, electrical and sanitation workers, and even her insurance company.
And she had not lost her sense of humor. Enclosed with Mrs. Hayes’ letter was a recipe for “Andrew Stew,” a not-so-tasty concoction that summarized the impact of the storm. Combine all the ingredients of a household, it read, with a large dose of water, stir at “200 mph for several hours and serve.” Guaranteed to cause heartburn, this recipe had only one “antidote”: “determination, guts, hard work and lots of money.”
Geraldine Hayes’ letter is part of the collections of WKU’s Special Collections Library. Click here to download a finding aid. For other collections about women, search TopSCHOLAR and KenCat.
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WKU Beauty Queens
Jean Amos, Military Queen
As many know, the current Miss Kentucky Ann Blair Thornton is a WKU student. What some may not know, she is not the first WKU alum to hold the title. In addition, WKU coeds have been crowned queens of the Mountain Laurel Festival, Talisman Ball, Miss Black Western, Miss Western, WKU Military Ball, Basketball Ball, Valentine Ball, Homecoming Queen and possibly most interesting Mrs. Western Student Wife.
The WKU Archives is compiling a list of these beauty queens along with photographs. Check out http://www.wku.edu/library/archive/19.php and help us complete our list.
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We’ve Been Everywhere: Where’s Wallace?
This month’s WKU Libraries’ “We’ve Been Everywhere” literary outreach program featured Dr. Charles Smith, science librarian at WKU, who gave a talk on his research trip to London, Britain and Brazil. His research focused on Alfred Russel Wallace, an early evolutionary biologist.
Photo Album | Audio | Podcast
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The Ladies’ Literary Club
Ladies’ Literary Club program 1924-25
One spring afternoon in 1880, Matilda Stevens stopped by the Bowling Green home of her friend Hallie Thomas Hines. Mrs. Stevens, a local teacher of “marked individuality,” had been thinking about starting a club. Some of the city’s more prominent gentlemen had recently formed their own group, the XV Club, to discuss the cultural and political topics of the day over a hearty supper. Mrs. Stevens believed the women ought to have a club too; unlike the men, however, she thought it unseemly to use the device of a meal to bring such a knowledge-hungry group together. There should be no refreshments.
The result was the Ladies’ Literary Club, organized in March 1880 with 12 members and now recognized as the oldest club of its kind in Bowling Green. Over the decades, members have met twice monthly to study countless topics in literature, culture and history: Mozart, Mary Queen of Scots, Japanese religion, the Bible in literature, Chinese emigration, evolution, precious gems, English poets, and assorted book reviews, to name just a few.
As the club minutes show, preparation was extensive, discussion was lively, and presenters were talented and intellectually curious. In the early years, several teachers from Potter College for Young Ladies were among the more formidable members. Giving “an elaborate historical talk” at the February 1, 1898 meeting, Gertrude Anderson “told the Club how Bismarck had put Germany in the saddle, taught her to hold the reins and ride triumphantly.” On February 15 her colleague, Mrs. M. E. Shelburne, “in her usual comprehensive style” gave the club “a most entertaining paper on the great German pessimist Schopenhauer. She seemed to take especial delight in airing his views on woman and her shortcomings. But,” the minutes continued, “the 19th century Club woman is too optimistic in her views to be depressed by such effete ideas.”
The Ladies’ Literary Club Collection, which includes minute books, correspondence and historical sketches, can be viewed in WKU’s Special Collections Library. Click here to download a finding aid. For collections on other local clubs and organizations, search TopSCHOLAR and KenCat.
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Mark your calenders for SOKY Book Fest 2012!
Carl Hiassen will be the featured presenter at this year’s SOKY Book Fest in April. Hiassen is the NY Times bestselling author of fiction for readers of all ages. His work includes the Newbery Honor winning Hoot as well as Flush and Star Island. Children’s Day will feature Newbery Honor winning author, Patricia Reilly Giff. Giff is the author of many beloved children’s books, including the Kids of Polk Street series, Lily’s Crossing and Willow Run. These two authors will be joined by nearly 150 other authors who appeal to all ages and interests. The SOKY Book Fest, one of the largest book festivals in the state will be held at the Knicely Conference center. More info about events and authors attending can be found here.
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March Reference Book Display
This month the Reference Area of Helm Library presents a collection of books on sports. With the weather warming up here in Kentucky, it is time to think about getting out for fresh air and exercise … or maybe just sitting on the couch, watching your favorite sports team get their exercise instead. The MLB will open its season at the end of the month, and the Spring Schedule is already in full swing. Then there’s hockey, still in its regular season, and basketball too! What’s your favorite sport? Read about it and much more in the Reference Area at Helm Library.
Books on Display
1. The ultimate dictionary of sports quotations / [compiled by] Carlo De Vito. GV861.12.a2 P76x
2. Professional sports team histories / Michael L. LaBlanc, editor ; Mary K. Ruby, associate editor. [4 volumes.] GV707 .U47 2001
3. Encyclopedia of women and sport in America / edited by Carole A. Oglesby ; with [contributions by] Doreen L. Greenberg … [et al.]. GV709 .E53 1998
4. The business of sports / edited by Brad R. Humphreys and Dennis R. Howard. [3 volumes] GV716 .B89 2008
5. The Oxford companion to Australian sport / edited by Wray Vamplew … [et al.]. GV675 .O94 1992
6. Encyclopedia of British sport / edited by, Richard Cox, Grant Jarvie, and Wray Vamplew. GV605 .E53x 2000
7. Encyclopedia of North American sports history / Ralph Hickok. GV567 .H518 2002
8. Berkshire encyclopedia of world sport / David Levinson and Karen Christensen, editors. GV567 .B48 2005
9. Career opportunities in the sports industry / Shelly Field. GV734 .F545 1999
10. NCAA basketball. The official … men’s basketball records book. GV885.45 .N42
11. Berkshire encyclopedia of extreme sports / Douglas Booth & Holly Thorpe, editors. GV749.7 .B47 2007
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Herbert A. Oldham interview preserved in Folklife Archives
Herbert A. Oldham’s high school photo
A student intern in the Folklife Archives of WKU’s Special Collections Library has recently transcribed the tape of a 1993 interview with Herbert Alexander Oldham (b. 1932), an African American and native of Christian County, Kentucky who grew up in Memphis Junction and Bowling Green. A 1951 alumnus of State Street High School, Oldham graduated from St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina, then returned to Bowling Green for a career in teaching and administration that included service as principal of High Street Elementary School.
Oldham’s interview includes his memories of the African American educational experience in Bowling Green. “I lived in a kind of communal community where I had white friends and black friends,” he recalled. “We played together all day long. We would leave home together in the mornings going to school and we would walk up Main Street to Center Street. We got to Center Street, and my white friends went to Bowling Green High School. I turned left on Center and went to State Street. In the afternoon, we’d meet on the same corner and we come on back home.” Oldham remembered not being able to eat at the Woolworth’s food counter and using segregated seating in the balcony of the local movie theater. He also recalled Bowling Green’s thriving African-American businesses, especially along Main Street between Clay and Kentucky Streets.
Although Oldham went to college “as far from Bowling Green as I could get,” he fulfilled his intention to return home, where he taught science and coached at High Street School and at Bowling Green High School. After WKU permitted African Americans to enroll, Oldham earned his master’s degree and returned to High Street School as its principal. His long career in education ended with his retirement in 1993.
The complete transcript of Herbert Oldham’s interview can be downloaded by clicking here. Search TopSCHOLAR and KenCat for more resources on African Americans in Bowling Green and Kentucky.
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The Richardson Quilt Gallery Opens with Ribbon Cutting
The Kentucky Museum welcomed its newest exhibition, The Richardson Quilt Gallery, on Friday, February 24 with a Chamber Ribbon Cutting and reception for about 75 quilt enthusiasts, friends of the Kentucky Museum, and family of Elizabeth Richardson–the woman responsible for acquiring the significant collection of quilts and textiles samples her daughter June McGuyer donated to the Kentucky Museum.
The program opened with remarks from the Chamber, followed by Kentucky Museum Director Timothy Mullin and ended with June McGuyer talking about her mother’s lifelong interest and affection for quilts. McGuyer donated the quilts in honor of her mother for preservation purposes and in hopes that others will be able to study and enjoy them as well.
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Bachelors Beware: It’s Leap Year!
Library Special Collections has numerous leap year postcards.
In the Jackson Gallery at the Kentucky Building, an exhibit of leap year postcards, comic valentines, dance cards, photographs, correspondence and ephemera focuses on American interpretation of leap year customs between 1850 and 1950. Invitations and newspaper accounts depict the concept’s use in 1888 as a focal point for social events. Curator Sue Lynn McDaniel’s interest in American courtship customs first prompted her to collect and then donate many of the early-twentieth century postcards which evince the humorous way single females and males enjoyed the suggestion that usual courtship etiquette was suspended during leap years. The exhibit runs through June 2012. For more information on Library Special Collections’ holdings, see: http://wku.pastperfect-online.com/35749cgi/mweb.exe?request=keyword;keyword=leap%20year;dtype=d
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