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Letter from Edgar Allan Poe to Colonel Sylvanus Thayer: One Last Request

Authored by Robert B. Repenning

Four days after his official court-martial dismissal from the United States Military Academy, West Point, this handwritten letter from Edgar Allan Poe requests the assistance of the USMA Superintendent, in securing an appointment into the Polish Army. At the time, Poland was embroiled in the Polish-Russian War of 1830-1831 (the November Uprising).

On May 26, 1827, Edgar Allan Poe, under the alias of Edgar A. Perry, enlisted as a private in the United States Army (Howard 2003, 55). Thus began a curious, lesser known, chapter in the life of one of America’s greatest writers. In less than a year, serving in the 1st Artillery Regiment, Poe was promoted to the unit’s artificer. As artificer, “both officers and gun crews relied on him to craft the artillery bombs properly and oversee the ammunition supply for the battery” (Hecker 2005, xxxiv). Within seven months, Poe would be selected “from the regiments nearly 500 authorized enlisted men to become” (Howard 2003, 56) sergeant major.  

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Ahead of Her Time: Mayor Edith P. Welty

Authored by Marnie Mallah

Edith P. Welty taking the oath of office as Mayor of Yonkers, NY in 1949. She remains the only female Mayor that Yonkers has ever had. Taken from Edith P. Welty’s scrapbook, which is held at Westchester County Historical Society.

In 1949, at a time when few women worked outside of the home, let alone were politicians, Edith Welty became the first female mayor of Yonkers, NY. She remains the only one the city has had since its founding, over a century ago. 

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Helping on the Home Front: Canning in the Time of War in Hicksville, NY

Authored by Shannon Jaeger

Taken during WWI, this slide shows a woman working in an American Red Cross canning kitchen in June of 1917 located in Hicksville, NY. Canning and canning stores were a major part of the war effort due to food preservation and those on the home front doing their part for the war effort. These stores often brought the community together.

During World War I, canning became a way to help the war effort at home. Canning was seen as a patriotic practice during wartime and led those in the United States to believe that it would help ensure an Allied victory due to posters that were being printed (Sullivan, n.d.).

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Vincentian Lens: Erasure of Southern Historical Documents

Authored by Lauren King

This photograph shows the early members of the Emmaus Christian Church outside of the church building, date the picture was taken is unknown.

Emmaus Christian Church was founded in 1826 as the first organization for the Disciples of Christ located in Caroline County; it is described as “rather small” but with approximately a 100 living members at the time of survey (Farmer and George 1937, 1). The survey conducted by Farmer and George (1937) describes the current church members as being a prominent part of the community providing a list of names. Yet, that is all that is known about those members. Without existing church records there is no supplemental information is available (i.e. marriages, deaths). The records from the churches are a vital source of social information that can increase the available knowledge to the public that might be lacking otherwise (Olson 1942). However, the records from Emmaus Christian Church were destroyed in 1864 during the Civil War (Collins, n.d.).

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The Pilgrim: A mission to the world

Authored by Caleb Daubenspeck

The Board pictured above contains the logo suggestions for The Pilgrim missions’ letter sent from the Pilgrim Fellowship Inc. as a monthly ministry update to their supporters. The phrase “Into all the world” was added to the logo in 1959.

In November 1959, E Schuyler English, editor, and president of the Pilgrim Fellowship addressed his supports, encouraging them to give towards the ministry and missions. “For nineteen centers, since our Lord told His apostles to be witnesses concerning Him to the uttermost part of the earth, one generation after another has followed the apostolic Christians in carrying the Gospel to those in darkness throughout the world” (English, E. Schuyler 1959b, 4). The small monthly letter sent out to supporters provided the supporters an opportunity to engage with missions around the world. In an earlier newsletter, English suggested that there are three ways that people can participate in missions to the poor and oppressed; those who can go, those who can support, and all can pray (English 1959a, 2). The newsletter allowed people to engage with missions overseas in personal missions and financially through gifts. 

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Creative Clubhouse at the Lakeside Library: The Art of Kindness

Authored by Lisa Most

Taken during a Creative Clubhouse art workshop held by the Lakeside Library on February 25, 2020, this photograph shows a group of adults with disabilities crafting their own kites.

The Creative Clubhouse, founded by Library Technician Eric Jones in August 2016, is a group of adults with varying levels of abilities who meet twice per month at the San Diego County Library in Lakeside, California to explore their creative talents through art.

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The Harris Sisters: One Story of Many in the Fight for Freedom

Authored by Ashley Kardys

This is a photo of a postcard that was donated to the Otis Library Collection in 2018 and uploaded to the Library’s public Flickr account. The exact year of the postcard’s creation is unknown but estimated between 1787 – 1876. This postcard depicts the Norwich location were two historically famous sisters, the Harris sisters, originally grew up before becoming a profound abolitionist and teacher.

Slavery in the United States has a long and documented history but this photo aids in highlighting  a very personal story, one of thousands, that helps to shed an intimate light on the life of two local Connecticut African American sisters and a Caucasian woman. This pairing of women was astronomical in paving a new and free path in the New England states for the education of African Americans. This image depicts a neighborhood along the river in Norwich, Connecticut, circa 1787-1876, where two African American sisters, Sarah Harris (1812 – 1878) and Mary Harris (1816 – 1899) began their heroic lives. In 1833 Sarah Harris was the first young African American woman to be admitted into what was previously an all-white school for girls run by a Quaker abolitionist and teacher, Prudence Crandall.

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Newton Female Seminary – Equal, Accessible Education for All

Authored by Pamela C. Zacher

Cover page of the Third Annual Catalogue of Newton Female Seminary, for the 1856-1857 academic year. Printed by Francis Hart, Printer and Stationer, New York, NY

America’s Antebellum period brought with it a fervor to see its women educated, despite previously held beliefs that women’s education was not as important as men’s (Sweet 1985, 41). Thus, a movement began to provide quality education for the nation’s females, that would be available for women of all socio-economic classes, would be of quality parallel to that offered to men, and expand beyond etiquette and instruction in domestic duties. “Feeling the call of God to educate women, America’s Evangelical denominations…with passionate engagement built female seminaries” (Sweet 1985, 41).

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August Wilson and the Amplification of Black Stories on Broadway

Authored by Roseanne Pensabene

Brown, Mary E. (2020), Collage of Playbills (l-r), Seven Guitars, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Jitney, Fences, The Piano Lesson, and Two Trains Running, all written by August Wilson. From the Harris Papers archive, Marymount Manhattan College, Manhattan, New York. Courtesy of Mary E. Brown.

August Wilson was a wildly lauded playwright in the 1970s and 80s, and used his abilities to share the stories of the struggles African Americans faced and the responsibility to make sure those voices were heard and that they had a place in the theater. Stories of Black Americans were told by Caucasians, which is problematic in of itself, as indicated in Wolfe (1998) “No people can gain authenticity by either accepting others’ judgment of them or looking to others for approval” (4). Wilson exhibited the Vincentian value of respect by giving a platform and awareness to struggles that were so often hidden and ignored (St. John’s University 2017). He also made sure to give opportunities to African Americans within the theater community with the creation of Pittsburgh’s Black Horizons Theater.    

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Knowledge is Power

Authored by Melissa Nadzan

This is the Ocean County library’s banner for April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) book display. This display will have resources that can be utilized, along with books and information compiled from sources that can help sexual assault victims move on with their lives.

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), “Every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted” (RAINN 2018). On top of that Kimble states, “It may sound incredible that only around 23 percent of survivors report such crimes to police, but it’s true” (2018). Survivors of sexual violence will not always come forward for a number of reasons including, their own shame, not understanding the process, or lack of support. The display personifies support, empathy, and gives survivors access to county resources that are available and information on how to pursue criminal charges in court. 

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