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Archives and Special Collections Blog
This photo was taken in 1906 by Connecticut Agricultural College (later UConn) professor Harry L. Garrigus, of the ROTC cadets at the college.
Connecticut Agricultural College cadets, 1906. Photo taken by Harry L. Garrigus.
We can’t wait for Thursday’s program on “Social Justice & Community Organizing: How to Make a Career by Serving Connecticut,” with Steve Thornton, Louise Simmons, and our recently added panelist Valeriano Ramos.
Val Ramos is the Director of Strategic alliances and Equity Officer for Everyday Democracy, an East Hartford-based non-profit dedicated to helping communities talk and work together to create communities that work for everyone.
The program is at 3:30 in Konover Auditorium, with a reception following, and sponsored by Archives & Special Collections, the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, and UConn’s Careers for the Common Good.
We hope to see you there!
From the Stephen Thornton Papers…
Stephen Thornton at an anti-nuclear rally, August 6, 1979
Something from the University Photograph Collection:
These laundry methods were on display during Farm Week, in 1949, at the University of Connecticut, to show how labor-saving new washing machines can be for the modern household.
Stephen Thornton at a Ladies Garment Workers Strike, 1992
Join us for a program exploring social activism, service leadership, and community organizing with a panel discussion including Stephen Thornton and Louise Simmons, who have served as community organizers and labor activists.
The discussion begins at 3:30 on November 13 in Konover Auditorium at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, with a reception to follow.
Sponsored by Archives & Special Collections of the UConn Libraries, the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, and UConn’s Community Outreach.
Click here for more information.
Congratulations, Barbara McClintock! Where’s Mommy, written by Beverly Donofrio, has been named one of New York Times Best Illustrated Books for 2014. The NYT website reports: “Every year since 1952, the Book Review has convened an independent panel of judges to select picture books on the basis of artistic merit. The winning books are chosen from among thousands for what is the only annual award of its kind.” Fantastic news, Barbara!
Southern New England Telephone Company switchboard operator, 1929
We’re standing by for your questions to #AskAnArchivist! What burning questions do you have for us? You ask and we answer!
We here in Archives & Special Collections are participating in #AskAnArchivist Day on Thursday! Do you have questions to ask us? Is there anything about working in an archives that you were always curious about? Do you want to know more about our collections or services?
#AskAnArchivist is open to everyone—all you need is a Twitter account! To participate, just tweet a question and include the hashtag #AskAnArchivist in your tweet. Your question will be seen instantly by archivists around the country who are standing by to respond directly to you.
Or, you can tweet us directly at our Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/UConnArchives
So don’t be shy! Ask away! We’re standing by!
October is American Archives Month and to celebrate the Archives & Special Collections staff have chosen their favorite items from the collection. Take a look at our selection of intriguing archives:
Errantry by Werner Pfeiffer, 2008.
A sword owned by the U.S. Consul of San Salvador, Brazil, Henry Hill Collection.
Pins and Vans sneaker, Joe Snow Punk Rock Collection.
How do you plan to celebrate American Archives Month?
This photo is of Farrel Company workers, ca. 1940s (World War II period).
Louise Menzies, a New Zealand artist, has returned to Archives & Special Collections to explore the extensive holdings in the Alternative Press Collection, with the help of curators Graham Stinnett, Melissa Watterworth Batt, and Kristin Eshelman. 
Ms. Menzies’ new exhibition is a “series of new photographic and paper-based works that merge form and content, raising subtle questions about the values inhabiting certain processes and styles, as seen [in] the predominantly activist and underground press material that comprise the collection.” (Professor Barry Rosenberg). Ms. Menzies will also present a 16mm film from 2013, entitled The Press, Kodak Eastman 5222.
Ms. Menzies gave a gallery talk on Time to Think Like a Mountain on Wednesday, Oct. 8 to an appreciative audience in the Contemporary Art Galleries, Art Building. The exhibition will run through November 21, 2014, For more information contact Professor Rosenberg at 860.486.1511.
This exhibit shows scenes of Connecticut’s workers doing Hard Work. Capital H, Capital W. The kind of work where you surely need the brains but if you ain’t got the brawn it’s not gonna happen. And we’ve got plenty of photographs in our business collections showing the men and women in the state in various depictions of work where some of the main job requirements are muscle and sweat. I’m sure tears were there somewhere but the photographs don’t really show that.
In the late 19th and early 20th century — a time period in America known for big industry — Connecticut was one of the major players, producing brass, iron, steel, tools, textiles and more for the state, the country, and the world. These products didn’t just happen. It took a workforce of thousands, many of them new immigrants who flocked to Connecticut for these types of jobs, to produce, to make, to build, and to work.
The exhibit is currently up in the Dodd Research Center Gallery until the end of the year. I’ll show photographs from the exhibit periodically through the next three months but if you can stop by (the building is open Mondays through Fridays, 8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m.) you’ll see them all in one fell swoop.