Tidings of Comfort and Joy Joy may not be a word often associated with the year 2020. This year has presented numerous hardships and challenges for everyone. However, it has also presented opportunities for us to slow down, explore different hobbies, and develop new skills. Over the course of 2020 I have read more, advanced…Continue Reading Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Someone’s back in the Kitchen…
Hard to believe that next week is Thanksgiving. It is even harder to believe how different the holidays might look. Last year I spent Thanksgiving with my family, and whipped up a traditional feast of turkey, stuffing, and assorted sides. In my post from last fall, “Someone’s in the Kitchen,” I scoped out some fun…Continue Reading Someone’s back in the Kitchen…
The Season of Halloween and Day of the Dead
“The air is cool, the season fall, soon Halloween will come to all…” This week brings October to a close and with that my favorite holiday of the year is fast approaching. Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve, is celebrated in many countries on October 31st. It is a time dedicated…Continue Reading The Season of Halloween and Day of the Dead
Gettin’ Spooky with Special Collections
October is by far my favorite month of the year, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. The creepy, the kooky, and the altogether spooky has fascinated me since I was a small child. Working in the archives, you occasionally come across an image, artifact, or letter than literally sends chills down your spine. From…Continue Reading Gettin’ Spooky with Special Collections
Ideals of Womanhood
The Reeves family papers comprise documents related to the African American Community in Austin, Texas circa 1920s to 1940s. There are approximately 60 letters, programs, essays and other items of ephemera compiled by four sisters who lived together on Nueces Street: Mary (1890-1934), Anna (1911-?) and Estella Reeves (1904-1932), and Carrie Warren (1892-1965). Part of…Continue Reading Ideals of Womanhood
Remembering Maura…
Today we remember Maura McNiel, her life and her countless contributions to women and women’s rights. Maura was born on April 11, 1921, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, just a year after women received the right to vote in the United States. She enrolled at the University of Minnesota in 1939 and graduated three years later, with…Continue Reading Remembering Maura…
On the road again…
Last summer I stumbled across “Our Trek to the West,” Elizabeth Dalrymple’s manuscript describing the adventurous summer road trip of four women. Their stories made me laugh, and reminisce over my own road trips and exciting excursions with my friends. Given the state of travel these days, it seems like researching a road trip is…Continue Reading On the road again…
Treasure Chest of Fine Foods
It seems everyone handled the shelter-in-place order a little differently. Some used the time to complete some long overdue home projects, others used the time to exercise or learn languages. Many in the library and archives profession got crafty. Sadly for me, I never managed to learn knitting or crocheting and my artistic skills never…Continue Reading Treasure Chest of Fine Foods
Remembering Sam Johnson ‘51
Yesterday the SMU community lost one of its distinguished alumni. Sam Johnson was an Air Force pilot, Texas legislator, United States Congressman, and proud SMU Mustang. He grew up in Dallas and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. Johnson married his SMU college sweetheart, Shirley Melton, in 1950 before earning a business degree in 1951. …Continue Reading Remembering Sam Johnson ‘51
Dr. Duncan please report to the stacks…
Today was the first day back in the stacks for me as campus slowly begins reopening. Walking into my office felt strange as everything was in a perfect state of preservation from the day I left it back in March. I took a short break from responding to the avalanche of reference queries stacked in…Continue Reading Dr. Duncan please report to the stacks…