Dr. Pol Materials in the Clarke

by Christa Clare

We recently added two interesting items to the collection of the Clarke Library: a book titled Never Turn your Back on an Angus Cow: My Life as a County Vet and the DVD, The Best of the Incredible Dr. Pol Collection, episodes from the popular National Geographic television show.

Dr. Pol, who has been a veterinarian for almost forty years, is a bit of a local legend around Weidman, Michigan in Isabella County. He and his wife Diane own and operate a successful rural veterinary clinic just west of Mt. Pleasant. As you would expect, Dr. Pol treats cows, pigs, goats, and horses, but his practice is not limited to large farm animals. He and his capable staff also treat average dogs and cats and everything else, including white mice and hamsters. There doesn’t seem to be a typical day in the office, and animal emergencies always make it interesting.

Unlike many modern vets, Doc Pol doesn’t rely on the latest expensive machinery to tell him how an animal is feeling; he relies on old-fashioned medicine, which usually means getting a little messy and putting his hands in uncomfortable places. Dr. Pol has many amusing stories of what it’s like getting up close and personal with his wide assortment of patients. He has a no-nonsense approach to treating the animals and does what is best for his patients.

Because the show is filmed in the Central Michigan area, it is interesting to see the men and women of the community who put their trust in Doc Pol. A sick pet can be heartbreaking to its owner, but a sick cow or horse can be a financial threat to the local farmer. The DVD and book are both interesting and entertaining.

Dr. Jan Pol recently turned 70 and is still going strong despite the physically exhausting work of a country vet. We wish him and his staff the best of luck, and thank them for caring so much about their patients.

New International Children's Books at the Clarke

The Clarke is continuously growing our holdings to ensure that we have the best resources available to help researchers. Several years ago, we were encouraged by CMU professors Susan Stan and Christa Kamenetsky to expand the children’s literature materials to include international titles, especially those that have been recognized for their outstanding quality in authorship and illustration. Recently, we added many new international children’s literature titles to our collection and we would like to highlight three of them.

From Ghana, we feature Sosu’s Call, by Meshack Asare. This is the story of Sosu, a small boy who is unable to walk. One day, while the majority of the village was working in the fields, rising waters threaten the village. Sosu manages to sound the alarm and alert his fellow villagers that a flood is coming, saving the village from disaster. Sosu’s Call has won the International Board on Books for Young People’s Outstanding Book for Young People with Disabilities.

From South Africa, we have Diphoofolo. This picture book is a collection of nursery rhymes, each in one of seven different South African languages. Diphoofolo is the SeSotho word for animals and each poem highlights a different type of animal. This book is interesting because it is multilingual and has a pronunciation guide at the end to help native-English speakers say the rhymes in their original languages.

Finally, we feature Ibn Battuta, by Fatima Sharafeddine of the United Arab Emirates and illustrated by Intilaq Mohammad Ali. This story recounts the journeys of Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan scholar and explorer who kept journals of his 29 years of travel across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia during the 1300s. The book, in Arabic, reads in the opposite direction of most English language books. Despite being in a language that many Americans may not be able to read, the beautiful illustrations excellently tell the tale of one of the greatest explorers in history.

The International Board on Books for Young People, or IBBY, is a non-profit organization that connects books from all over the world to children all over the world. Among their various efforts and activities is recognizing authors and illustrators for the fantastic work they do. Our new exhibit, coming in early February, features many works by IBBY-recognized authors and illustrators, including those mentioned above.

100th Anniversary of the Calumet Italian Hall Disaster

[editor's note: The Clarke Historical Library will be on winter recess from Friday, December 20 at 5:00 pm until Monday, January 6 at 8:00 am. See you in 2014!]

by Christa Clare

December 24, 2013 marks the 100^th anniversary of the Italian Hall Disaster in Calumet, Michigan (sometimes referred to as the 1913 Massacre). Seventy-three men, women, and children, mostly striking mine workers and their families, were crushed to death in a stampede when someone falsely yelled “Fire” at a crowded Christmas party.

The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company (“C&H”) was the largest copper mining companies in the copper country in the Keweenaw Peninsula of northwest Michigan. One of the longest strikes in copper country took place in 1913 and included all the C & H Mines. The Western Federation of Miners was first established in 1908. In July 1913, with as many as 9000 members, the Federation decided to strike in an effort to adjust wages, hours, and working conditions in the copper district of Michigan.

On Christmas Eve, many of the striking miners and their families gathered for a Christmas party sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners. It was held on the second floor of the Calumet Italian Hall and as many as 400 people attended. The tragedy began when someone in the room yelled “Fire” and there was none. People panicked and ran for the stairs and seventy-three people, including fifty-nine children, were trampled and killed.

The Clarke Historical Library recently acquired two books on the copper country tragedy to add to those already in our collections. The first is Community in Conflict: A Working-Class History of the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike and the Italian Hall Disaster by Gary Kaunonen and Aaron Goings. The second book, written by Lyndon Comstock, is Annie Clemenc & the Great Keweenaw Copper Strike. Stop in and take a look at these interesting books and learn about this Michigan tragedy to mark the century that has passed since it occurred.

Processing the Great Lakes Cruiser Photographic Collection at the Clarke

by Marian Matyn

The collection:

Richard L. “Dick” Moehl’s Great Lakes Cruiser Photographic Collection, (1972-2001, undated), totaling 1.75 cubic ft. (in 4 boxes) was recently acquired by the Clarke and processed by me and my student staff at the Clarke. This collection includes the work of Jack Edwards on St. Helena Island history, genealogy of Archie and Wilson Newton, copy negatives of Great Lakes Cruiser (GLC) articles related to St. Helena, photographic negatives taken by Jack Edwards (personal and GLC), photographs taken for GLC, papers related to scholarly work on St. Helena, and an index of most of the photographs in this collection.

New Acquisition: The Ruins of Detroit

by Frank Boles

One of the strengths of the Clarke is its local history publications. Through these books, a researcher can trace the history of communities throughout the state. Perhaps understandably, many of these volumes have a certain celebratory tone to them, in essence saying welcome to our town, it was (and is) a great place.

Michigan’s local history is not, however, always happy. Detroit is the obvious example of this. In the first half of the twentieth century, the city was a case study for successful industrialization, with its future lionized as “dynamic Detroit,” the city moved forward to ever greater success. In the last half of the century, Detroit increasingly became a much sadder case study regarding the American post-industrial landscape. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the city’s infrastructure, built to support a community of approximately two million, was no longer sustainable through the diminishing local taxes paid by the approximately 700,000 souls who still lived within the city limits.

Detroit’s local history publications reflected this change. But unlike most local history, the rise and fall of Detroit is an international story. A striking example of the genre was recently added to the Clarke’s collection: Frenchmen Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre’s coffee table sized, The Ruins of Detroit (Gottingen, Germany: Steidl, 2010). In beautifully created photographic images, the authors capture the decaying architectural grandeur of what was once one of America’s most successful cities. It is a sad irony that in discussing the abandoned, yet still monumental, Michigan Central Railroad Station the authors note it was inspired by the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, which were built in Rome in the third century.

As historian Thomas J. Sugrue writes in the book’s introduction, “No place epitomizes the creative and destructive forces of modernity more than Detroit, past and present.” It is a stark history, but an important one to preserve.

Hemingway Family Scrapbook Obtained for the Library

With the Spring Semester wrapping up at Central Michigan University, the Clarke will be changing our Saturday business hours for the summer. This Saturday, April 20, will be the last Saturday until September that the Clarke will be open. We will keep the same 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday hours. If you have any questions about our hours of operation, please call 989-774-3352.

Hemingway Family Scrapbook Obtained for the Library
 
by Frank Boles

Left to right you’re looking at Ernest Hemingway, sister “Sunny” rowing the boat, family friend Paul Haase, and in the water Ursula. The picture was taken September 1915 at Walloon Lake

 
Sometimes you plan for months or even years to make possible a major, new acquisition. Sometimes a major, new acquisition is a mad scramble.

Three weeks ago the library staff scrambled, successfully, to acquire a treasure; a scrapbook created by Grace Hall Hemingway for her daughter, Ursula covering the years 1913-1916. As many of you know, over the last several years the library has built a strong collection relating to the years Ernest Hemingway spent in northern Michigan. Ernest was the second child born to Grace Hall Hemingway and her husband Clarence Hemingway. Ernest's sister Ursula was the third child born into the family.

Mother Grace dutifully kept scrapbooks for each of her children. Each book was rich in documentation regarding the family’s annual stay at their summer cottage along Walloon Lake, full of personal notes and family photographs. The scrapbooks are a picture of early twentieth century cottage life “up north,” a cottage life one of America’s great authors drew upon extensively in writing the Nick Adams stories.

Problem was, the scrapbook showed up out of nowhere. Bryan Whitledge, a Clarke staff member who had been asked to look through an online auction catalog for some children’s books, reported that while the children’s books offered for sale were not very interesting, there was, “ bunch of Hemingway stuff, maybe a Michigan connection around lot 60.” Lot 64 was described this way:

Photo album, approximately 7½x10¾”, consists of 100 pages of family memorabilia including approximately 121 original family sepia-silverprint photographs ranging in size from 2x4” to 7x8”, most are 3x5½" or period postcard size. Nearly every photograph in the album is identified in Ursula Hemingway’s very fine and readable hand, often to the length of a short paragraph.

Hemingway family photograph and memorabilia album put together by Ernest Hemingway's younger sister, Ursula. Noted on the flyleaf in her hand as “Ursula Hemingway, Book IV from July 1st 1913 to July 1st 1916, Eleven years 2 months to Fourteen years and 2 months old”. The photographs well document the Hemingway family during the early 1910s, with images of children partying, family dinners, group images before the city house, and the Walloon Lake summer house in Northern Michigan that the family loved and that was so much a part of the Hemingway life. There are photographs of the Hemingway grandparents, the father, Dr. Clarence Hemingway, (including a 1914 photograph of him with his famed “Tin Lizzie,” from which he made his legendary house calls), and a wonderful image of the family Thanksgiving dinner at the Grandparents. There are approximately 21 images showing the young Ernest, many in group family shots, some individual pictures with him as the young fisherman holding trout, playing on the waterfront in and around boats and canoes. One small portrait photo is a terrific image of the smiling young Ernest. During this period the last and youngest Hemingway child, Leicester, was born, and there are a number of photos of him in his infant years, as well as his printed birth announcement. Scattered throughout the album are numerous programs of recital, school, and church events in which the Hemingway children participated, approximately 25 letters in envelopes and postcards mailed to young Ursula, approximately 30 pieces of original art by Ursula, who would become an accomplished artist in her later years. A 12 page holograph diary of a trip Ursula took with her mother, Grace, to Nantucket in 1914, along with photographs and an original miniature watercolor presented to Ursula by the Nantucket artist Marianna Van Pelt. One wonderful photograph is labeled as “the 6 children taken together for the first time”, complete with a smiling Ernest and everyone in their Sunday best. Ursula learns the typewriter, and makes a list of all the family at a Walloon Lake birthday party, including Ernest. Another photograph shows Grace and Dr. Hemingway’s 19th wedding anniversary with all 6 children together, 3 letters laid in, are written from Ursula to her mother at Walloon Lake, along with a separate note to “Ernie”, and much more.

Ursula Hemingway, (1902-1966), graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota where she met her future husband Jasper Jepson. After marriage in 1925 the Jepsons settled in Honolulu where Mr. Jepson was a Vice President of the Bishop Trust. Ursula became a recognized painter and the Jepsons had one daughter. It was through this daughter's family that this Hemingway family material descended until the present. A remarkable survivor and truly unique archive of items that document the early life of Ernest Hemingway and his family in the Oak Park, Illinois and Walloon Lake years.

Actually the auction house had it slightly wrong – the handwriting was that of Grace Hall Hemingway, not Ursula, but the overall description was accurate, and tremendously exciting. As the saying goes, “they aren’t making any more of these,” and Hemingway family scrapbooks are a fascinating window into the experiences that directly shaped the writings of one of the ten Americans who have won the Nobel Prize in literature.

Bryan had been looking through the catalog on March 13. The sale was on the next day. That left us a little less than twenty-four hours to find the $10,000 to $15,000 which the auction house estimated the item would “fetch” in the language of the business.

Fortunately over the years the Library has developed a network of Friends very interested in the Hemingway collection. A long day’s worth of phone calls and emails found support from eight donors, which, when joined to money “in the bank” and made available from the Friends of the Libraries annual giving fund and also spendable income from the Clarke’s own endowment, made the purchase possible.

We are thrilled to have acquired Ursula Hemingway’s “up north” scrapbook, and extremely grateful to all of those who helped make the acquisition possible. Drop by and see it one day – you’d never guess, just thumbing through the volume, that the good looking young teenage boy in the pictures was destined for greatness, but in retrospect carefully inspecting those pictures, and the rest of the book, offers important insights into the experiences that shaped the writings of Ernest Hemingway.

New Rackham Book Added to the Library

by Frank Boles

The Clarke Library recently added to the Lucile Clarke Memorial Children’s Library a first edition of Two Old Ladies, Two Foolish Fairies and a Tom Cat, illustrated by Arthur Rackham and published in London in 1897.

"Go! Be a stray cat!"

Arthur Rackham is among the most famous illustrators to work with children’s books. In 2005, the Library made a major acquisition of over 100 Rackham illustrated volumes, creating one of the major Rackham collections in the United States. There are very few books illustrated by Rackham that are not already found in some form in the collection, but Two Old Ladies was one of the books we were missing. It was published in a relatively small press run in the years before Rackham became famous. Thus today it is a hard to find title. We were thrilled to be able to add it to the collection.

Arthur Rackham was born in 1867. Although he early on showed great talent as an artist, his father, who was a practical man, insisted that the boy learn a trade. Arthur eventually became a clerk at an insurance firm, but he was frequently bored and continued to take art lessons. In 1892, he resigned his clerkship to illustrate books. His first published work appeared in 1893. For the next decade he worked regularly, but relatively anonymously, with a reputation known mainly to people “inside the trade.”

A lavishly printed edition of Rip Van Winkle, illustrated by Rackham, proved his “breakthrough” book. The 1905 publication gave Rackham a public presence. In 1906, he secured his position with the public through the illustrations he created for Peter Pan in Kensington Garden. After these two books, Rackham’s name on a volume as the illustrator was enough to sell a book. Rackham remained active as an illustrator until his death in 1939. The last book Rackham illustrated, The Wind and the Willows, was published posthumously in 1940.

The Lucile Clarke Memorial Children’s Library was founded within the Clarke Library in 1971 by Dr. Norman Clarke, Sr., in memory of his deceased wife.

Huzzah!

by Frank Boles

During his years as director of the Clarke Library (1961-1982) John Cumming developed a superb collection of pre-1850 Michigan imprints. When we receive sales catalogs today, I am often tempted to not even check any Michigan book printed before 1850 – they are almost always already in the collection. But check we do, and once in a great while we find something that eluded John and his contemporaries.

So it was a few weeks ago when a dealer catalog arrived offering the Acts Passed at the Extra and Second Session of the Sixth Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan, published in Detroit by S. M’Night in 1835. The session was a particularly momentous one. On January 26, 1835 the Territorial Legislature passed “An Act to enable the people of Michigan to form a Constitution and State Government.” Laws leading up to statehood appeared at several points in the session.


However, questions more mundane than statehood also occupied the minds of the Territory’s political leaders. For example, on March 30, 1835 the Legislature passed “An Act to regulate the Weight of Hay.” As of “the first day of April next” …. “a ton of hay shall be two thousand pounds avoirdupois weight, any law or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.” Sometimes political leadership takes a back seat to making sure everybody understands just how much hay is really in a ton of the stuff.

Back in John Cumming’s day finding a pre-1850 Michigan imprint was greeted with a “huzzah.” We don’t say that old-fashioned word very often these days, but to celebrate both our recent acquisition, and all of John’s hard work, please join me in a hearty “HUZZAH!"

New Summer Childrens Read in the Clarke

by Christa Clare

It’s summertime in Michigan and that means fresh berries are abundant and sweet. Cherries, strawberries, blueberries and all sorts of wild berries are there for the picking. Farmers markets make it easy for locals to come and buy freshly picked produce for eating, making pies and canning homemade jams and jellies. The Clarke Historical Library has purchased a delightful children’s book titled Jam and Jelly by Holly & Nellie written by Michigan native Gloria Whelan and illustrated by Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen.

The story is about a family who lives a simple life in Northern Michigan enjoying the bounty of the earth and very much aware of the changing seasons. Winter will be coming on, and Holly needs a new winter coat and boots, but money is tight. Holly and her mother, Nellie, work all summer long picking wild berries around their northern Michigan home and making homemade jams and jellies to sell on their roadside stand. The story and the illustrations are very attractive and make a nice read on a hot summer day.

Recent Award-Winning Additions to our Children's Collection

by Christa Clare

The Clarke Historical Library has made a conscious effort to collect all of the Caldecott Medal winners as well as the Newbery Medal books. As you may know, the Caldecott winners are picked for their fine illustrations in children’s books. The Newbery winners are judged based on the story itself. These books are sometimes hard to find, and are often pricey. We recently purchased several such books and happily add them to our children’s collection. They include My Brother Sam is Dead, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and The Whipping Boy.

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier won a Newbery honor in 1975. This is a fictional story about how the Revolutionary War affects the Meekers, a typical Tory family in Redding, Connecticut. The Tories thought the Colonies had some legitimate complaints against England, but nothing serious enough to shed blood over. The story is told through the eyes of the younger brother Tim, as he watches his older brother Sam join the war effort, against the wishes of their parents. This book is a clear example of how history can be made interesting and educational for young people.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien won the Newbery Medal in 1972. The story is centered around the plight of a widowed field mouse, Mrs. Frisby. She struggles to care for her family, especially when her son Timothy becomes ill. She is aided by other field mice, rats and a bird. The book is an entertaining read for children and adults alike.

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman won the Newbery Medal in 1987. The story is about a prince and his whipping boy. As you may know, a whipping boy was a young boy who was assigned to a young prince and punished when the prince misbehaved or fell behind in his schooling. Whipping boys were established in England and were created because of the idea that princes were not to be punished except by their father, the King. In this story “Prince Brat” as everyone called him and the whipping boy didn’t get along at all. After the Prince tries to run away and the whipping boy reluctantly goes with him, they have many adventures together and end up learning to like each other. Readers will enjoy this step back into history and a look at a completely different way of life for children.

I think you will find all of our recent additions to the Clarke children’s collection cleverly written and very entertaining. We have award winners, first editions, and assorted other marvelous books for visitors to read.

Holiday Baking with Merry Cookie

by Christa Clare

We recently purchased a cookbook called Merry Cookie! The cookbook compiled and edited by Judith Bosley boasts that it has “one hundred, old, new, luscious, rich, plain, fancy, pretty, buttery Christmas cookies.” Mmmm.. . Just in time for holiday baking!

Did you know that the Clarke Historical Library has over 1300 cookbooks? We have an extensive collection and most of them are from Michigan authors. In 2004, we received a generous collection of cookbooks from a private collector, and we have been actively collecting them ever since.

Stop in the Clarke some time and take a look at some of these wonderful cookbooks.

"Out of Sight" by Pittau and Gervais

By Christa Clare
 
The Clarke Historical Library received a new children’s book that is really interesting. 

Did you know that you can tell a male and female giraffe by looking at the top of their horns? (The top of a male giraffe’s  horns are bald but the top of the females horns are fuzzy.) Or that a beaver’s front teeth never stop growing?  Or that pigs are very good swimmers? Or that a kangaroo cannot move backward? 

All of these interesting animal facts can be found in our newest children’s book titled Out of Sight by Bernadette Gervais and Francesco Pittau.  It is a gorgeous lift-the-flap book.  It is written for Kindergarten through grade 2, but you will find that children and adults alike find it very entertaining and educational!

Stop in and take a look at this fun book in the Clarke Library soon!

Trains: A Pop-Up Railroad Book

By Tanya Fox

Whether you are young or old, if you have a fondness for children’s books the Clarke Historical Library is the place to visit. A part of our children’s collection consists of toy and moveable books including pop-up books. One recent addition to the Clarke is a pop-up book called Trains: a Pop-Up Railroad Book written by Robert Crowther and published by Candlewick Press (2006). Learn about the fastest and longest train cars. Find out the difference between a Pullman train car and a double decker train car. Read about the challenges of building tracks through mountains and over rivers. Manipulate the pull tabs to move trains along the tracks. Open up the train windows and peek inside!

Once you finish with the pop-up book, use the Clarke to investigate other children’s books. If you are a train buff, we have many items dealing with the history of the railroads, specifically in Michigan. Start your journey with Trains: a Pop-Up Railroad Book and continue on the adventure with the marvels of the Clarke Historical Library in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Book of Food and Manners

By Tanya Fox

Sometimes a book’s title is so intriguing it draws the reader into the pages immediately. Such is the case with a recent donation to the children’s collection of the Clarke called Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Book of Food and Manners written by Lucille Recht Penner and published by Scholastic, Inc. (1991). Chapter titles reveal more of the delights found in the book and include “Bugs for Dinner,” “We All Scream for Pudding,”  and “Don’t Throw Your Bones on the Floor.” 

Eating the Plates describes what the passage across the ocean was like for the pilgrims. It relates historical information on the daily life of the pilgrims. The book explains the hardships the pilgrims faced on the trip and after their arrival.  Can you imagine a journey of many weeks with no means of bathing? How about eating moldy or bug infested food? Imagine the difficulties of building shelters from scratch as the cold weather arrived. Do you know what a betty lamp is? How about a burgoo? Or a lug pole? And of course, what does the title mean? Eating the Plates will answer these questions and many others.

A nice addition to the book is a small collection of recipes found at the end of the book. Try your culinary talents by preparing fresh corn soup, red pickled eggs, whole baked pumpkin stuffed with apples, or bearberry jelly. 

Though the book is written for children, adults will find it interesting, too. Visit the Clarke Historical Library and find Eating the Plates as well as other wonderful, fun, unusual, and intriguing books.

Michigan Author Barry Marsh Publishes Good Harbor Bay

By Christa Clare

As the person who orders new materials for the Clarke Library, I get to see a lot of interesting books coming into the Clarke Library.  Our library focuses on collecting Michigan history, children’s literature, and some Michigan authors.

Recently, we received a book called Good Harbor Bay by Michigan author Barry Marsh.  The book is about eleven-year-old Josh Ogden  who leads a comfortable life in a Detroit suburb. Most of what he knows about Good Harbor Bay, far to the north, is from looking at photographs in an old family photo album with his mother. It is where his father grew up, and where his parents first met.

When Josh’s mother is suddenly killed by a drunk driver, his father decides to quit his job and they move in with Grandpa Ogden who lives in a run-down secluded cabin in Good Harbor Bay.
 
Josh is very unhappy at first and he struggles to cope with his new home and new life as the old life of luxury fades. Friends grow distant; the world of e-mail, computer games, and text messaging dims. At first life seems to be  little more than doing chores in the barn, and home schooling.   

Gradually Josh begins to accept his new life and bonds with his grandfather who teaches him how to handle the massive draft horses he uses for logging, drive old pickup trucks, and  experience nature along the shores of Lake Michigan.

Packed with adventure, Good Harbor Bay is recommended for ages 9-12 and makes excellent reading for anyone who enjoys a good story in a northern Michigan setting.

Architectural Records: Sometimes It Takes Two

By Marian Matyn

I recently received a large box of architectural records (211), 1961-1963 mostly,  of a Midland County architect, mostly of homes, churches, and local government buildings in Midland County but also in Roscommon County and of a Jewish temple in New York State. There was also a blueprint from Stockholm, Sweden. Did you know sorum means bedroom in Swedish? There is quite a variety including blueprints, tracings, notes, plans for planting greenery, presentation pieces for display, elevation views, and other architectural records. Architectural records are often difficult to handle as they are rolled and so large. It took two of us, me and my wonderful student, Cynthia, to unroll them all.   Then we piled boxes of folders on them to flatten them out. Hopefully, in a month they will prove easier to handle.  It will take two of us again to organize them, folder them, measure them, and finally put them into oversized drawers. Sometimes it takes two.

Rainy River Lives: Stories Told by Maggie Wilson

By Tanya Fox

As a cataloger, I understand the seriousness of misplacing or losing an item in our archives.  Once something is mis-shelved it is often difficult, if not impossible, to find.  Sometimes serendipity steps in and while retrieving a different requested item the missing item appears.  So it is with a collection of stories between Maggie Wilson and Ruth Landes compiled into a book called Rainy River Lives: Stories Told by Maggie Wilson published by University of Nebraska Press and edited by Sally Cole.

Maggie Wilson sent letters and stories to anthropologist Ruth Landes over many years but over the course of time, the correspondence was lost.  Recently, the stories were found in the basement of the Smithsonian Institute in another anthropologist’s papers.  This “rich set of narratives takes us inside the intimate world of Ojibwe families at the turn of the twentieth century, a time of great upheaval when the Ojibwes were being relocated onto reserves and required by the government to abandon their seasonal migrations and subsistence activities.”

Rainy River Lives is a recent acquisition of the Clarke Historical Library.  We are delighted to add it to our Native American collection.  According to the author Lawrence Block, “One aspect of serendipity to bear in mind is that you have to be looking for something in order to find something else.”  Come to the Clarke and see what you can find.

Scouting Material Donated to the Clarke

By Frank Boles

Image from Den Mother's Denbook, 1945

New acquisitions are always a source of wonder and amazement.  Recently, through the generosity of Pat Wilmot, a long-time volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, the Library received five boxes full of published scouting material. Founded in 1910, Scouting is both an ongoing, active youth organization and an iconic part of American culture. When someone is described as “a real Eagle Scout,” the phrase still carries a great deal of meaning.

The printed material the Clarke received is especially focused on Cub Scouting. Cub Scouting was created to solve what was known in the 1920s as “the younger boy problem.”  Originally, Scouting had no program for boys in grades 1 through 5. To involve these children, in 1930 the organization creating a “cubbing” program, renamed Cub Scouts in 1945. In 1936 the male-dominated world of Scouting bowed to reality and established the position of “den mothers,” recognizing the critical contributions women made to Cub Scouting.

The books received from Ms. Wilmot go back to the 1940s and document the values taught to these young children as well as the ways adults sought to capture their attention.  The Den Mother’s Denbook (1945) begins by reminding a den mother of the Cub Scout promise, “to do my best, to be square, and to obey the law of the cub pack,” but it quickly adds solid practical advice, such when a special occasion is planned, “feeds” are always a good idea .

Ceremonies, Stunts, and Skits (1957) contains many good ideas for how to keep youngsters interested.  However Group Meeting Sparklers: 120 Ideas to Brighten Any Meeting (1962) reminds us that sometimes there is nothing quite so entertaining to a young boy as a lame joke.  The volume describes the “Magic Pencil” this way: “Explain that you have a magic pencil that writes any color.  Ask what color they would like it to write.  When the victim names his color, write the name of that color: green, red, etc.”  Even in 1962, the Magic Pencil was undoubtedly a groaner, but one that surely made the rounds of many playgrounds.

We are delighted to add these, and the many other volumes donated by Ms. Wilmot, to our collection.