Kaitlin Haley began volunteering at the Archives in the summer of 2012. After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree at UBC in history and political science in 2010, she worked as a flight attendant, taking a break from school and deciding on a graduate studies program. An interest in archives and libraries lead her to us. Like many of our other volunteers, Kaitlin has given of her time generously elsewhere including lifeguarding for the World Police and Firefighter Games, running activities at the Musqueam Reading Club and facilitating and helping to organize events for the Beauty Night Society.

Kaitlin at UBC holding her B.A.

After being accepted to several archival and library schools across Canada, Kaitlin chose the program farthest from this coast, Halifax. She will be earning a Master of Library and Information Studies at Dalhousie starting in 2014. Her choice to defer for a year will allow her to continue working for the UN as a flight attendant. Between stints in Africa, which she is currently visiting, we hope Kaitlin will find some down time to visit us before she goes jetting off again!

Our former glass plate negative storage cabinets. Photo by Cindy Mclellan.

Along with Kristine and some other wonderful volunteers, Kaitlin spent many hours rehousing our glass plate negatives. This was a big job, the second step of an even bigger job.

Glass plate negatives come in all shapes and sizes; everything from cute little 5 x 5 cm ones to 21 x 27 cm and many sizes in between. The Archives even has some gigantic glass panorama negatives that require custom boxes.

Three standard box sizes and some examples of glass negatives with their four-flap enclosures open.

In Major Matthews’ time, these negatives had been housed as a jumble of different sizes of glass plates which leaned dangerously against each other and were housed in acidic envelopes. Many years ago, we rehoused them in special 4-flap envelopes for glass negatives and supported them upright, on edge, with negatives of similar size in cushioned file cabinet drawers. The 4-flap design allows the item to be laid flat while the envelope is opened, rather than being tipped or pulled out of an envelope. While this was an improvement, the negatives were still at risk should there be damage to a single cabinet (for example, in an earthquake) and the cabinets were so heavy it was impossible to move them, should the need arise.

In this second step, more than 8000 negatives have been rehoused in special boxes that stand the plates on edge and allow a cushion of air around each group of plates. In addition to rehousing, this project required careful updating of a tracking spreadsheet.

The inside of a glass negative box for standard-sized negatives. Photograph by Cindy Mclellan.

Depending on the thickness and style of the plate, between 20 and 25 fit in each box making the boxes easy to lift and safely move. Soon we hope to extend the shelving to create more storage space and use all that air space that was wasted above the filing cabinets.

The Archives purchased three standard sizes of box which worked for most, but we had to alter a few boxes to accommodate some of the sizes. This was done by adding foam to the bottom of the box or making extra dividers to prevent the plates from being loose. While supporting the plates snugly, the boxes must allow enough room that they can be easily removed without getting damaged.

Cute little glass plate negative that is too small to properly store in the standard boxes. Photograph by Cindy Mclellan.

Glass negatives stored neatly in their special modified box. Photo by Cindy McLellan.

Digitization is the best way to give access to these breakable materials. Thanks to the spreadsheet created by the volunteers, we have a list of those glass negatives that have not yet been digitized.

Boxes of glass plate negatives stored neatly on shelves.

We gave Kaitlin a break from working with the glass plates to work on another project. This was also with special formats: maps, architectural plans and technical drawings all produced by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Game (VANOC). As the buildings that these records show are still standing and in use, access to these plans will be restricted for quite a few years. The work Kaitlin did to record, dates, titles, measurements, exact locations and other basic metadata will help the Archives make these materials available with ease in the future.

Thank you Kaitlin for your dedication to the Archives! We wish you all the best in your travels and studies at Dalhousie.

Gerard Foley
Thursday, April 4, 2013 – 17:43

On 8 April 1933, a referendum was held on the issue of Western Australia seceding from the Commonwealth of Australia. Two questions were posed; the first asking whether the voter was in favour “the State of Western Australia withdrawing from the Federal Commonwealth”, and the second asking voters if they were in favour of a Federal Convention of all the Australian States to propose alterations to the Australian constitution to allow for WA’s secession from the Commonwealth.

Held on the same day as the State election, the first referendum question received a two to one majority vote in favour of WA’s secession from the Commonwealth; the second question failing to gain the approval of voters. Ironically this vote for WA’s secession occurred on the same day Western Australians threw out the government of Sir James Mitchell (also removing Mitchell from his own parliamentary seat), which sponsored the referendum and campaigned for the secessionist cause. A State Labor Government was elected, led by Philip Collier who had actively opposed secession during the election and referendum campaigns.

Given the resounding nature of the vote, Philip Collier’s government, though not in favour, still pursued the referendum outcome. State Archives reveal the State government’s moves to prepare and present the case for WA’s secession from the rest of Australia, to the UK Parliament at Westminster, detailed in a Premier’s Department file titled “Secession – Preparation of Case for submission to the Imperial Parliament”, and also the appointment of the delegation that was sent to London to pursue the case and present the secession petition in a file titled “Secession – App’t of delegation to submit case to the Imperial authorities”.

Eventually the case for secession was rejected by the UK Parliament and the Western Australian secession movement died away, certainly overtaken by the events of World War 2. But since the 1933 referendum murmurings about Western Australian secession occur from time to time, especially when there are perceptions that WA may be getting a ‘raw deal’ from the Federal government in Canberra.

Historians investigate and debate the reasons for the resounding vote in favour of secession in 1933, citing, in the main, economic factors, most obviously the Great Depression. But State Archives held by the SRO, reveal a great deal of detail about the blooming secession movement during the 1920s and 1930s, and also government and community responses to the results of the 1933 referendum. A search of the SRO’s online catalogue AEON, using the term ‘secession’, reveals 40 archived files. Some of these are files of press clippings of Western Australian and British newspapers, outlining the development of the secession movement from the 1920s (e.g. Consignment 1496, item 1926/0017).

One particular file (Consignment 1496, item 1933/0129) is about the visit of a Federal delegation, headed by the then Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, campaignining against secession. It contains a report on a “riotous meeting” at Perth’s Theatre Royal, where the Prime Minister and his delegation was shouted down by the crowd with chants of “Poor Old Joe”, coins also being tossed onto the stage, with one hitting the PM’s wife, who withdrew from the meeting. 10 years later Mrs (later Dame) Enid Lyons became the first woman elected to the Australian House of Representatives.

Another set of files are those compiled by the Agent General, Sir Hal Colebatch, who was heavily involved in presenting the case for WA’s Secession in London. These include a ‘confidential’ file (Consignment 1150, item 2313.1) with correspondence from the chief secessionist group, the Dominion League of WA, to the UK Prime Minister lobbying for secession as late as 1938.

A particular file full of lively secessionist promotional material is Consignment 1496, item 1931/0102. Containing much correspondence it also includes photographs, pamphlets, posters and the program of the Dominion League of WA’s “Grand Victory Festival” held in Perth on 10 May 1933, to celebrate their success in the Referendum.

This program includes a Toast List, a poem by “Dryblower” Murphy, and the lyrics for a victory song – the first stanza being:

Demonstrating the magic of the soft focus photograph.

From the cover of Genii magazine, August 1940:

We will be closed for the four-day Easter weekend. See you again in April!

A Happy Easter! Front view. Reference code: AM1052-: AM1052 P-878

This little gem was sent to Elsie from her husband Ted sometime between 1914 and 1918. This embroidered postcard belongs to a type known as “silks,” which were made in France and bought by Allied soldiers during the First World War.

A Happy Easter! Back view. Reference code: AM1052-: AM1052 P-878

This week we were delighted to receive a fantastic new addition to our Norman McLaren Archive. The material consists of a set of 64 letters, letter-cards and postcards sent by McLaren to his friend (and fellow filmmaker) Helen Biggar in 1936 and 1937. McLaren met Biggar when studying at the Glasgow School of Art and in 1936 they made the anti-war film Hell Unltd (which had a recent screening at the GFT). McLaren’s letters to Biggar detail the film’s planning, editing, promotion and distribution. A letter written on 21 April 1936 captures McLaren’s excitement at a moment of creative inspiration:

“Oh Helen – it happened at 7 o’clock tonight – it burst forth like a torrent – a perfect welter and wealth of hot ideas and arrangement and everything – in fact the complete film just gushed from my subconscious mind in great detail – gee its marvelous – our new film…”

Examples of the letters and postcards sent by Norman McLaren to Helen Biggar.

The film McLaren and Helen Biggar made was a stinging attack on the re-armament of Europe and consequent rush towards conflict. The film was as experimental as it was political mixing various styles and techniques – animation, archive footage, graphs and titles, and acted scenes – culminating in a rallying call for the audience to take direct action and demonstrate against the war. The film made a great impact in the febrile political climate of the time and was widely screened (McLaren’s letters detailing their arrangements with Kino Films, a left-wing film distributor).

A still from Hell Unltd made by Norman McLaren and Helen Biggar in 1936.

 The letters cover a key point in the development of McLaren’s filmmaking career. In the autumn of 1936 McLaren took up his first post as a professional filmmaker joining the team of young talent that John Grierson assembled at the GPO Film Unit. McLaren writes about his work at the GPO, comparing the methods and techniques to those he had previously employed in his amateur work. He still however had ambitions to make his own films outside the GPO Film Unit and discusses various planned project with Helen Biggar. McLaren also writes about his visit to Spain in November 1936 to shoot footage for the film The Defense of Madrid, which documented the resistance of the Republican forces fighting Franco’s Nationalist army.

Norman McLaren and Helen Biggar playing croquet at McLaren’s home in Stirling c 1936.

Following their collaboration on Hell Unltd McLaren and Biggar’s career paths diverged. In 1939 McLaren moved to New York and in 1941 he took up an invitation from John Grierson to join the newly established National Film Board of Canada. Helen Biggar became a stage designer for the Glasgow Worker’s Theatre Group and the Glasgow Unity Theatre, while continuing her work as a sculptor. In 1945 she moved to London, later becoming wardrobe mistress and costume designer for Ballet Rambert.

My name is Colin Behrens, a freshman here at FSU.  I am a work study student working for Eddie Woodward in Heritage Protocol, a part of Special Collections and Archives. The reason why I pursued this job is because of my love for historical research: more experience in an archival setting can only help me in my ambition to become a historical scholar.

Today, I have met the first milestone in my goal to be a historian. Strozier Library hosted the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, a symposium dedicated to undergraduates at FSU who are pursuing either independent research or are aiding faculty members in their own research. I am, in addition to being an assistant at the Heritage Protocol, the research assistant to Dr. Jennifer Koslow in the History Department. Dr. Koslow is working on reconstructing data from the lost community of Smokey Hollow, located here in Tallahassee.

Smokey Hollow was an African-American Community located in what is now Cascades Park. It was founded in 1893 and was eventually wiped off the map in the 1960s. During the 1960s, a movement called ‘urban renewal’, which aimed to replace poorer areas of urban settings with more affluent commercial and residential zones, spread to cities all across the country. This movement spread to Tallahassee and led to the death of Smokey Hollow.

We do know some things about life in Smokey Hollow. The federal government has recognized Smokey Hollow as a historical heritage site due to its unique architecture. One of the most famous residents of Smokey Hollow was “Famous” Amos, of Famous Amos cookies. In addition, we know that the community valued education and that it was an extremely tight-knit community. Everyone was either related to each other or was at least treated as family if no blood-ties between two members actually existed. One of the more prevalent stories tells of how if a poor member of the community was jailed, whether rightfully or wrongly, an affluent member of Smokey Hollow would bail that poorer member out, no questions asked. This kind of loyalty was prevalent throughout the community and was one of its signature qualities.

Despite this knowledge, there’s quite a lot that is unknown about Smokey Hollow. We don’t have numbers on things like employment, education level, and ages. In order to solve this problem, Dr. Koslow aims to use the 1940 census to gain the data and then use statistics to glean insights into Smokey Hollow’s demographic makeup. My role in the project is first to transcribe the census records into Excel spreadsheets and then to begin the statistical analysis of the census data. It should be noted that white people lived in Smokey Hollow’s boundaries and are therefore included in the census, but because Smokey Hollow is by definition an African-American community, they will not be included in the study.

I have not yet finished transcription; it will be completed this weekend. I have, however, been able to eyeball the data available to us and make some general observations. Despite the fact that, in 1940, the Great Depression still plagued the country and that Smokey Hollow was an African-American community (which typically have lower employment than comparable white neighborhoods), employment was high. This can be ascribed to a myriad of factors.  First is the fact that there was a coal plant nearby, which would have hired the workers (and indeed, did). Secondly are New Deal programs, such as the PWA, the WPA, and the CCC, that employed a significant number of workers (though not near a majority by any means). Finally are the bonds of kinship and solidarity that the community held dear to their hearts. With such a vibrant community, with every member loyal to the others, it can easily be seen how the community would pull together in order to help everyone keep themselves employed in order to keep food on the table.

As a freshman at FSU, it is an odd thing for me to involved in a project of such high caliber. The reason why I am involved at all is due to my luck at being accepted into the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), which is in its pilot run this year. UROP aims to teach undergraduates how to perform academic research, and part of that process is assigning each and every student to a research assistantship, so that we may learn from successful members of our fields. That’s how I met Dr. Koslow and how I got the chance to work on such a wonderful project.

It’s important to note that research is one of the fundamental goals of FSU, and one that Special Collections fulfills very well. While my assistantship has not required the use of Special Collections, I have frequently seen my friend John Handel in the Special Collections room, performing research on his own. It is my hope that other undergraduates will follow our examples and participate in FSU’s undergraduate research community, as well as using Special Collections to the maximum benefit.

The broadcast above comes from a rare shellac radio transcription disc dated March 26, 1933. The program, The News Parade, consists of several news stories, including the one above dramatizing the Nazi persecution of Jews. It’s particularly notable since Adolph Hitler had only become German Chancellor on January 30th, less than two months earlier. 

Although news trickled slowly out of tightly-censored Germany, the Nazi attack on Jews  was already well in motion: indeed, the boycott of Jewish businesses (the first official nationwide action of the anti-Semitic campaign) would begin five days after this broadcast, on April 1 of that year.  WNYC covered an early anti-Nazi rally from Battery Park on May 10th. A little over two years later, the Nuremberg ‘race laws’ would be instituted.

The News Parade, like The March of Time and The News in Review, was a ‘radio newsreel‘ production that dramatized the week’s leading news stories, Hollywood gossip and crimes of passion. The original newsreel genre was created in 1908 for movie theaters and it included real film footage of people and events. But for radio these were the days before portable recording equipment would allow news reporters to easily use sound bytes or actualities to illustrate their work. Thus, for a good portion of the 1930s dramatists and actors were the ones interpreting current events for radio listeners, with the addition of commentators like H.V. Kaltenborn, Gabriel Heatter and Raymond Gram Swing. The aesthetics may sound dated and the facts were not always precise, but in their day radio newsreels were popular.

Because this transcription disc is a pressing rather than an original cutting, we know that multiple copies of the program were made and distributed to radio stations for broadcast.  We know The News Parade was broadcast by independent stations WMCA in New York and KUOA of Fayetteville, Arkansas, but others in the syndication chain remain a mystery. We welcome any information regarding the series and its producer, The Marben Advertising Company.

Special thanks to James Knee and Elayne Flamm.

Don’t believe us when we say that Bach is still an influential figure? Well, at least he still was in the ’80s — the 1980s, that is. WQXR’s This is My Music, hosted by Lloyd Moss, featured at least 20 famous folks (from politicians to fashion models) who included a Bach piece in their all time top 4 musical pieces.

(Drum roll, please…) and those enlightened celebrities are:

• Dick van Dyke
• William F. Buckley
• Jacques d’Amboise
• Robert Moog
• Cheryl Tiegs
• Benny Goodman
• Rudolph Giuliani
• Garrison Keillor
• Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan
• Richard Adler
• Lucy Irvine
• Dick Francis
• Judith Jamison
• Rosemary Harris
• George Rose
• Father Andrew Greeley
• Robert McNeil
• Uta Hagen
• Maxine Marx

If you’re looking for bibliophilic events this week, Thursday is all set. Russell DeSimone will be offering a talk on his years of collecting broadsides, with lots of illustrations from his own extensive collection.

The event will take place at the John Carter Brown Library, starting at 5:30 PM. Refreshments will be provided.

Visit www.facebook.com/bartlettsociety/events for more information.