by

Ike and Butch: A Cartoonist Preserves Memories

Authored by Catherine Torres

“The 847th had a reputation as a very musical unit, producing male-voice choirs and jazz bands. The famous newspaper cartoonist Giles often jammed with men from the Debach-based unit in local pubs. These are his drawings of two of the men who became his friends: Ike (the double bass player) and Butch. Their full names are not known.” Photo courtesy of Emily Charles, Curator of the American Air Museum in the Imperial War Museum, Cambridgeshire, England.

During World War II, US and British bombers participating in the Allied Aerial campaign operated out of airfields in Southeast England. Building the airfields was difficult; there were long hours and equipment shortages (Hartzer 2013). Like many servicemen and women, aviation engineers, those who built the airfields, did their part for the war effort, but unlike their peers, aviation engineers are not often memorialized. The reason? At the time, of the 157 American aviation engineer units, 48 of them were designated as “colored” (Hartzer 2013). 

Continue reading →
by

A Place to Rest: Honoring Harry Rowland McGowan

Authored by Sophia Fuhrmann

The grave marker created in honor of Harry Roland McGowan was unveiled on November 13, 2021. The rendered plaque includes a brief yet unique history of actor Harry Roland McGowan, who’s grave had previously remained unmarked for a little under a hundred years.

The Friends of Maple Grove is a non-profit organization that was established in 2005. The organization “is on the forefront of utilizing the historical resources of [Maple Grove] cemetery and bringing its history to life” (Friends of Maple Grove, n.d.). FMG strives to ensure the dignity of those buried within the cemetery by providing burial locations to those with unknown or unmarked burial locations.

Continue reading →
by

Executive Order 11828 and Government Accountability

Authored by Jennifer Gheller

Exec. Order No. 11,828 detailing the creation and responsibilities of the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States.

On December 22, 1974, The New York Times published an exposé on the Central Intelligence Agency. This front-page story reported that the CIA, which was not permitted to report on American citizens, had gathered files on over 10,000 Americans, including political dissidents (Hersh 1974, 1). This was a significant breach of the privacy of American citizens. On January 4, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford established the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States in response to these allegations. This Commission, also known as the Rockefeller Commission, was “to determine whether or not any domestic CIA activities exceeded the Agency’s statutory authority and to make appropriate recommendations” (Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum n.d., under “Introduction”).

Continue reading →
by

Who Lost the War of 1812? Indigenous Peoples

Authored by Allison Lang

Peter Stuart Hay, Secretary of the General Society of the War of 1812, declares his right to membership by providing evidence that his father, Peter Hay, fought in the war. This is the first page of the very first application to the General Society, dated July 4, 1876.

The General Society of the War of 1812 is a gentlemen’s organization exclusive to those who can trace their ancestry back to veterans of the conflict. Their website, steeped in patriotism, proudly displays a photograph from their 2019 meeting in Washington D.C., complete with 56 smiling, white faces. The General Society’s stated purpose is to “perpetuate [the War’s] memories and victories” (General Society of the War of 1812, n.d.). What is glaringly absent from the memories they preserve are the indigenous perspectives of this time period that make the story much richer and more complex.

Continue reading →
by

Providence Hall Charter School

Authored by Karen England

Providence Hall High School, located in Herriman, UT, is a public charter school located in Salt Lake County, Utah. Photograph taken by England, Karen. 2021. Providence Hall High School. Photograph.

Since their conception in 1988, charter schools are public schools that commit to obtaining specific educational objectives in return for a charter or contract to operate a school. The contract excuses the school from many state and local regulations related to operation and management, but otherwise, they adhere to the regulations of all public schools in that it must be free to attend, and enrollment is open to everyone. Charter schools are publicly accountable. They must have a written performance contract with the authorized public agency and meet agreed-upon educational requirements outlined by the school’s charter (Meador 2018). This is the school’s attempt to meet a need that the traditional public school system is not fulfilling.

Continue reading →
by

Poison Water: How Zinc and Lead Closed a Town+

Authored by Cailin Cortner

An article from The Daily Oklahoman about Picher, OK, and the debate on the town’s relocation from 2000. The article was found in the Tar Creek Superfund Repository in the Miami Public Library Basement.

Picher, Oklahoma, was once one of the world’s most prominent lead and zinc mining sites until the last of the mines shut down in 1970 (“The Creek Runs Red” 2007). However, after years of mining, waste accumulated and began to pollute the nearby land and rivers. Picher used to be a large town full of life, home to multiple movie theatres, bars, and businesses. Now, the town stands abandoned with chat piles reaching to the sky, a shell of the life that used to live there. 

Continue reading →
by

The Problems of Immigration and the Proposed Remedies of Congress

Authored by Alexander A. LoBianco

The artifact highlighted is a draft of a Statement from the Honorable Lawrence S. Eagleburger, Deputy, U.S. Department of State; an integral component of the hearing: Review of immigration problems.

The Center for Migration Studies of New York has artifacts from the Collection of The Arthur P. (“Skip”) Endres Collection. He created or used them during his tenure as counsel for the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law. It consists of primary source material on United States migration and refugee law. The artifact discussed was in box 3, folder 30 of the collection in the center’s archives, housed at St. John’s University (Center for Migration Studies 2015).

Continue reading →
by

North Haven Memorial Library Presents…NoodleMan: Engaging Children During COVID-19

This video was recorded by Emily Jenkins and posted onto Vimeo on January 25, 2021. It was shared on the same day to North Haven Memorial Library’s Facebook page at 4:27 p.m. Titled “NHML Winter Reading Unboxing!,” this video features Miss Emily and NoodleMan as they promote North Haven Memorial Library’s Winter Reading Program for 2021.

Authored by Carlye Mazzucco

When the COVID-19 outbreak forced everything to shut down in 2020, libraries converted programs to online venues, such as Zoom. In an effort to improve their Zoom programs, Head Children’s Librarian of the North Haven Memorial Library Emily Jenkins and her assistant Joe DeFrancesco participated in Connecticut Library Association’s “Magic Square Workshop.”

Continue reading →
by

Identity through Controversy Lenses

Authored by Darya Zvonareva

Photograph of Hillary Clinton, May 20, 2005

On May 20 2005 Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton received an honorary doctoral degree at Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) and gave the commencement keynote address during the liberal arts institution’s graduation ceremony. The date turned out to be a pivotal moment in the history of MMC that was officially de-Catholicized.

Continue reading →
by

Gordon Parks’ Son, David, Speaking at Marymount Manhattan College: Honoring a Lifetime of Social Justice

Authored by Caitlyn Daddona

Photo was taken during Marymount Manhattan College’s 58th Commencement, on May 18th, 2007. This photograph shows David Parks, son of famous photographer Gordon Parks receiving an Honorary Degree on behalf of his father.

On May 18th, 2007 Marymount Manhattan College held a commencement ceremony to celebrate the graduating class of 2007. Honored in the ceremony were individuals who had contributed to society and one such individual was Gordon Parks. Almost a year before the Marymount Manhattan College Commencement where Gordon Parks was to receive an Honorary Degree for his commitment to portraying the faces of poverty, race relations and civil rights in his photography, he died at the age of 93 (Grundberg 2006). His son, David Parks, received the degree in his father’s place.

Continue reading →