The National Archives is proud to partner with Slate to co-host the #TinyDeclaration contest on Twitter. Slate originated the contest in 2010. This year, we are inviting the public (that means you!) to try to capture the essence of the Declaration of Independence in 140 characters or less, and tweet it out, using the hashtag: #TinyDeclaration.

The contest starts at noon on Monday June 26, and ends at noon on Thursday, June 29th. I will be judging the contest, along with the Editor-in-Chief of Slate, Julia Turner, and author Brad Meltzer. Finalists will be announced Friday on Slate.com.

The winner will receive some fun Founding Fathers swag from the National Archives Foundation: a July 4 t-shirt, a mug, a dapper pair of socks with images of George Washington, and of course, a copy of the Declaration of Independence. You can check out the swag and more at our shop.

Come on down to the National Archives on the 4th, where I will read the winning tweet aloud during our Fourth of July ceremony. Will you be the winner?

Reference inquiries from alumni during Reunions can lead to some pretty deep dives in our archival collections. This spring I had an opportunity to dig into a narrow but significant slice of early American history represented in the Amherst College archives – Shays’ Rebellion, a local conflict which began 231 years ago this summer.

Shays’ Rebellion exemplifies the fierce reaction to the economic instability of rural America just after the American Revolution. As commerce grew after the end of the Revolutionary War, the informal system of exchange employed by farmers and merchants in Massachusetts was no longer viable. Merchants were in need of money in order to carry weight in foreign trade but farmers were unable to pay their debts. The Court of Common Pleas moved to allow creditors to call in debts.

This, coupled with higher taxes imposed by the state legislature, pushed the farmers to their limits. By the fall of 1786 Daniel Shays led a band of fellow farmers in protest. Calling themselves “regulators,” the Shaysites’ attempts to shut down the courts in Springfield and Northampton (and other cities across Massachusetts) put pressure on the government to provide relief. As citizens mobilized, Governor Bowdoin, the state legislature, and the Confederation Congress deliberated as to how to respond.

This story has been told time and again. Because it is so prominent in the archival record it is easy to overlook the local perspective – the experience of those who witnessed these events so close to home.

One such witness was Elizabeth Porter Phelps (1747-1817), who owned the “Forty Acres” farm in Hadley, Massachusetts, at the time. The farm survives today as the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, documenting six generations of the same family who lived and worked at the farm from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Even more remarkable is the fact that ownership of the farm passed through the female line for the first three generations of its existence.

Elizabeth Porter Phelps’s diary

Elizabeth’s meticulously-kept diary is a glimpse into rural life in Colonial America and the Early Republic. She kept her diary from the 1760s through the 1810s. Her entries are brief but are in no way dull. She documented visitors, the comings and goings of family members, illness and death, farm work, and her religious views. She also recorded events touching her world that would have a greater impact on American history – including Shays’ Rebellion. Elizabeth’s diary shows a woman grappling with the larger consequences of civil unrest and military action while personally feeling the impact very close to home.

A well-worn page from the diary including the entry for September 24, 1786

Elizabeth’s first entry concerning Shays’ Rebellion is from September 24, 1786. The entry reflects the confusion of the moment. Her observation shows the region heavily divided – divisions that lay along economic lines. More successful farmers and wealthier inhabitants of the region worried that the civil unrest could expand and put the new nation at risk.

“Monday my Husband set out for Springfield – publick affairs seem to be in a confused situation. many are gone to prevent the sitting of the Court and many are gone to uphold the Court. O Lord bring order out of Disorder – thou canst effect it – we trust in allmighty power.”

“Thursday [December 14] Thanksgiving day. Coll’l Porter read an Address from the General Court to all the People in this common Wealth. There has been a great deal of Disturbance of late among the people, how it will tirminate God only knows. I desire to make it my earnest prayer to be fitted for events and prepared for Duty.”

In her entry for January 14, 1787, Elizabeth describes her husband, Charles Phelps, Jr., helping those in support of the government.

“Jan 14.  Thursday Morn my Husband set out with sleighs to help the men to Springfield which are raised in this town for the support of the Government … it Looks as Dark as Night, a very great Army is coming from toward Boston and some are Collecting upon the other side. It appears as if nothing but the imediate interposition of providence could prevent it …”

From September 1786 on, Governor Bowdoin increased the militia presence across the state. As the regulators increased activity, it became clear to the governor that even more military pressure was necessary. In January 1787, Bowdoin mobilized over 4,000 militiamen in the Boston area. Elizabeth mentions “some [troops] Collecting upon the other side” – referring to government forces gathering in Hampshire and Berkshire counties.

“Jan. 21. Sun. Mr. Hop. pr 1^st Chron. 4 and 9. Spoke very well upon the present dark Day. … Last Thursday the mob attempted to march into Springfield the Government fired the cannon Killed four.”

Elizabeth often recorded church attendance and the Bible verses highlighted in the service. During this period she seems to connect the substance of the sermons to the events of the day. This entry marks clashes between between state militia and regulators around the Springfield Armory.

And in spite of the violence, there is excitement over an encampment being stationed so close to home in Hadley:

“Jan. 28. Sun. Mr. Hop. pr Proverbs 19, 21. There are many Devices in the Heart of man but the Counsel of the Lord that shall stand – This has been a confused day, the Mob in a large Body at Northampton – another party at Amherst – what will be the event none can tell – we hope in Gods mercy – Just as Dusk my Husband got home. Monday Gen. Lyncoln came into Hadley with about three Thousand men. Tuesday Mr. Phelps carried the children into town to see ‘em.”

This is the “very great Army” mentioned on January 14. “Gen. Lyncoln” refers to Benjamin Lincoln, one of George Washington’s commanding officers during the Revolutionary War. A Massachusetts native, Lincoln was commander of the Southern department during the war. Afterwards, Lincoln participated in Massachusetts civic life, including serving a term as the lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth. Military encampments were a fact of life in late 18^th century America, bustling not only with soldiers but also civilians – who saw the encampment as entertainment and as an economic opportunity.

“Gen’l Lyncoln came into Hadley…”

In one of Elizabeth’s last entries concerning the rebellion, she describes attending the funeral of “one Walker Killed by the Insurgents”. The Walker in question was Jacob Walker, killed near Petersham. The regulators had decamped for Petersham, and the government forces soon followed. Walker was shot in an attempt to capture Jason Parmenter, a regulator who had fled to Vermont in the final conflict.

The February 18, 1787 entry

“Feb. 18. … Wednesday went to Hatfield to the Funeral of one Walker Killed by the Insurgents. Mr. Williams of Northampton made the first prayer. Mr. Wells of Whately preached Matt. 24 and 44. By ye also ready for at such an hour as ye think not, the son of man cometh – he was buried with the Honours of War …”

That Walker was buried with the “Honours of War” indicates how precarious the situation was to those living it. All of America was paying attention, unsure if Shays’ Rebellion could lead to a larger conflict that would disrupt the future of the new nation.

Elizabeth’s diary is part of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers, on deposit at the Amherst College Archives from the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum. The papers cover roughly 300 years of the family’s history, including correspondence, journals, and financial records. The finding aid for the collection is available here.

Today we want to share a few delightful photos from the January 1915 issue of Harper’s Bazaar.

This brief magazine feature showcases dance moves performed by Margaret Hawkesworth and Basil Durant, popular American ballroom dancers who performed throughout the United States and Europe.

Here are a couple of close-ups. First, Miss Hawkesworth and Mr. Durant leading off “with a graceful swinging step”:

I love their looks of deep concentration here, as well as that delicate foot-touch!

Here’s a minuet step, accompanied by equally delicate hand-touching. So civilized!

Readers may be interested to note Miss Hawkesworth’s stylized yet loose-fitting dress, part of a new fashion movement focusing on fabrics with drape and moving away from the long-entrenched, fashionable corseted silhouette. This article on fashion designer Paul Poiret gives a little more background into cutting-edge fashion of the 1910s.

JFK confronts the Berlin Crisis and nuclear testing in this 1961 press conference. Insisting that the crisis is “Soviet manufactured,” Kennedy first reads a lengthy statement summarizing the struggle over post-War Berlin. The Soviets want to make permanent the partition of Germany and include West Berlin in what will eventually become the German Democratic Republic. He warns that “Allied determination” will not wilt in the face of pressure being brought by Russia and East Germany. “Self-determination” is the US mantra, in this case meaning for the people of West Berlin.

On the subject of a possible nuclear test ban treaty, Kennedy insists that since the Soviet Union has essentially stopped negotiating, the US will consider resuming its own testing program. He clearly hopes this will encourage the Russians to resume the negotiations in Geneva. He then takes time to respond to one of Khrushchev’s typical undiplomatic taunts, that in terms of growth the United States is a “worn-out runner.” Kennedy cites statistics attempting to rebut the Soviet leader’s boast that the USSR economy will soon surpass that of the United States. He tries his own hand at analogy, accusing the Soviet leader of being like the hunter who has cleared a space on his wall for a tiger skin even though the tiger is very much alive.

What’s odd about the ensuing question period is how little these two major events register with the press. There is one question about mobilization in response to the Soviet threat in Germany (“Not at this time,” Kennedy answers) but more local issues predominate. A proposed swap with Cuba (tractors for prisoners), a potential limit on textile imports, ships flying under “flags on convenience,” and a remark of Richard Nixon’s are the topics of the day. One questioner does ask about the possible effects of radiation if nuclear testing is resumed but the president brushes her aside saying “all matters will be discussed” before testing resumes. Finally, at the end of the conference, he is invited to speculate on possible “deeds” rather than strongly-worded statements in response to Soviet aggression. Kennedy warns “We are talking about matters of extreme seriousness” and that he is “not going to discuss it politically.”

To understand the focus of Kennedy’s remarks at this press conference it is important to understand the historical context. As the JFK Library website recounts:

President Kennedy met with Soviet Premier Khrushchev in Vienna in June 1961, just five weeks after the humiliating defeat of the US-sponsored invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. Khrushchev took a hard line at the summit. He announced his intention to cut off Western access to Berlin and threatened war if the United States or its allies tried to stop him. Many US diplomats felt that Kennedy had not stood up to the Soviet premier at the summit and left Khrushchev with the impression that he was a weak leader.

Thus, Kennedy is walking a fine line here. He is trying to sound as bellicose as possible without actually turning a war of words into a real war. The Berlin situation was tense. Either side could use it as a pretext to resume hostilities which, with World War II a not-so-distant memory, parties in both governments would not have been averse to. As for nuclear testing, though his threat to resume testing may have been a ploy, Kennedy was indeed forced by both military pressure and public opinion to resume weapons testing in 1962. Eventually, though, The United States, the USSR, and Britain did sign a nuclear test ban treaty in 1963. Although it did not have an immediate effect on nuclear proliferation it did provide a framework for further agreements. The Encyclopedia Britannica points out that:

The Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty banned nuclear-weapons tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater but permitted underground testing and required no control posts, no on-site inspection, and no international supervisory body. It did not reduce nuclear stockpiles, halt the production of nuclear weapons, or restrict their use in time of war. Within a few months of signing by the three original parties in August 1963, the treaty was signed by more than 100 other governments, notable exceptions being France and China. The three original parties to the treaty, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union (and its successor, Russia), have the power to veto treaty amendments. Any amendment must be approved by a majority of all the signatory states, including all three of the original parties.

The Kennedy of this press conference seems confident and well-informed. One can hear in his responses the seeds of future conflicts, as when he refers to General Maxwell Taylor as his Special Military Representative (Taylor’s ascendency in the Kennedy White House is largely blamed for our initial involvement in Vietnam) and also truisms of a bygone economic era, as when he talks about our trade surplus with Japan. 

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 150263Municipal archives id: LT9283

Keeping the customer’s needs front and center is important when developing new digital tools. We recently developed a set of user personas as part of our work to establish a more robust—and data informed—understanding of the individuals that engage digitally with the National Archives (NARA).

User personas are fictional, but realistic representations of key audience segments that are grounded in research and data. We recently applied customer data from a variety of sources including website analytics and online surveys to inform the creation of eight personas that represent our digital customers: Researchers, Veterans, Genealogists, Educators, History Enthusiasts, Curious Nerds, Museum Visitors, and Government Stakeholders. These personas not only help us capture knowledge about our customers and their needs and preferences, but also help NARA staff empathize with the individuals who use our services. User personas are often used by designers and developers to place the customer’s perspectives and needs at the center of the digital design and development process.

When conducting research to develop the individual personas, we took an analytical approach using data from our web and social media analytics, our online customer satisfaction survey, and incoming emails from customers. Additionally, we interviewed NARA staff that often interact with the user types we were trying to understand, in order to get their insight and feedback.

While fictional, these personas represent our major user groups and help us keep their needs and expectations at the forefront of our decision making. Each persona consists of two pages: the first page provides a snapshot of the user’s demographics and a quote to help bring the persona to life, while the second page provides user stories that help us to better understand how this audience interacts with NARA and why.

For example, as shown on the first page of our Genealogist persona, Mildred Mapleton, we can understand what digital platforms she uses and features she likes, how tech savvy she is, and what websites and search words she uses to find what she’s looking for:

Mildred, like all of our user personas, is not an actual person, but a realistic representation of one of NARA’s key audience segments. Her character is based on research and backed by evidence. Although the data gives us a good outline of who she is, the specifics you see here that make Mildred feel like a real, well-rounded person are semi-fictional and shaped by educated assumptions.

The second page of each persona provides user stories that describe who the user is, what they want, and why. They are written in the format: “As a <type of person>, I want <some goal> so that <some reason>.”

As shown on the second page of our Veteran persona, Victor Williams, we know that as a veteran who has submitted a request for records, Victor wants to easily determine the status so he knows how long he will have to wait to receive the paperwork. Each persona has multiple user stories associated with it to help NARA think about the various ways in which key audience segments interact with us digitally:

These representations of our customers are based on quantitative data (e.g., metrics about web pages viewed, social media use) and qualitative user research (e.g., online surveys). It is very important to remember that a persona is a composite representation of the prevalent qualities of an audience segment and will not exactly match a specific person or comprehensively describe the full diversity of a group.

These personas will be used to improve NARA’s customers’ digital experience. The ultimate goal is that every time a project with a digital component is discussed at NARA, these personas will be used to inform decision making. By identifying the personas that we work with most often and referring to them when thinking about new and better ways to serve them, we can work to better inform and prioritize our work and better understand customer interactions across all of our digital properties.

Learn more and meet the complete list of digital personas on archives.gov.

Publishers don’t usually like printing collections of short stories, the well-known lawyer and author confides in this 1967 Book and Author Luncheon. While people read stories in magazines, they are reluctant to buy them in book form. This may be because they have to “change gears” as they go along, adjusting every few pages to new settings and characters. To combat this, Auchincloss has provided several “common denominators,” easing the transitions between the stories in his most recent collection, Tales of Manhattan. The first five stories are told by a worker in an auction gallery. (New York is the art capitol of the world, he argues, not because so many artists live here but because there are so many dealers.) The second four are told by members of a law firm. Here he pauses to defend his use of first-person narration, claiming he sees nothing artificial in having a character “tell” you his story. The third grouping centers on society matrons, “my cops of high society.” This last section includes the text of a play. He talks about being bitten by the theater bug and how, after many years of trying, he finally saw this one produced and found the experience of listening to his own words “intoxicating.” He went to every performance, thus proving correct the advice once given him by Gore Vidal: “If you want to enjoy a play, you must write one.” He concludes with a paean to the book’s true common denominator, Manhattan itself.  Or rather the Manhattan of Auchincloss’ very exclusive world: “Old-fashioned, largely gone, but lingering in every store and under every auctioneer’s gavel.”

Louis Auchincloss (1917-2010) was inextricably associated with the world of upper class wealth and privilege. Yet the phrase “idle rich” is the very opposite of how one would describe him. As the New York Times pointed out:

Although he practiced law full time until 1987, Mr. Auchincloss published more than 60 books of fiction, biography and literary criticism in a writing career of more than a half-century. He was best known for his dozens and dozens of novels about what he called the “comfortable” world, which in the 1930s meant “an apartment or brownstone in town, a house in the country, having five or six maids, two or three cars, several clubs and one’s children in private schools.” This was the world he came from, and its customs and secrets were his subject from the beginning. He persisted in writing about it, fondly but also trenchantly, long after that world had begun to vanish.

This chosen subject made Auchincloss something of an outlier in the literary world. While some praised him for examining a largely ignored or at best caricatured stratum of society, others found his world narrow and snobbish. There was, critics seemed to imply, something inherently undemocratic, even un-American, about investing the morals and mores of the super-rich with such literary importance. The contrary view was expressed by Auchincloss’ fellow WASP aristocrat (and distant cousin) Gore Vidal, who was quoted in the Guardian newspaper as arguing:

Of all our novelists Auchincloss is the only one who tells us how our rulers behave in their banks and their boardrooms, their law offices and their clubs.

But Auchincloss was hardly a blind defender or booster of his class. While accepting, indeed embodying, many of its principles, he also provided in the very act of writing fiction a subversive insider’s view of the ruling class that had so enduringly composed the social life of “his” Manhattan. This tension between sincerely belonging and possibly contributing to its collapse is what informs his best work. It is the same tension one senses in his dual professions. As he told the alumni magazine of his alma mater, the University of Virginia School of Law:

 “I used to go to all the Saturday night parties with the other young lawyers. They talked all the time about whether they were going to be a partner; I thought here was a whole room of my friends who were all terrified they might not be partners; I was terrified I might be one.”

We have big news:

Special Collections at the Providence Public Library is publishing a comic book!

During the Spring semester 2017, students in the history research methods classes, HIS 391 and 430, helped to expand the UNCG NC Runaway Slave Advertisements Database. The current database contains advertisements through 1840 and is one of the most widely used digital collections maintained by the UNCG Library. Colson Whitehead acknowledged the database as an important resource for his award winning novel, The Underground Railroad. Students researched newspapers published across North Carolina in the 1850s and 1860s to add new material to the database.

The project offered valuable firsthand experience in how primary sources are digitized and how digitization changes the research process. Library staff trained students in the use of microfilm readers and archival practices for digitizing primary sources, including scanning the original documents and identifying the metadata that will assist researchers in searching the collected advertisements. Students learned how digitization changes the process of historical interpretation—what kind of information is lost and what is gained. For example, they considered what they learned from seeing a runaway slave ad in the context of the original newspaper page and how that context is lost when ads are collected and organized in a database. On the other hand they learned it is possible to study many more digitized ads searching the database compared to the amount of time it took to read the microfilmed newspaper and identify each advertisement.

After collecting and scanning the advertisements, students designed a wide variety of individual research projects on topics inspired by the primary sources.

This advertisement for the remarkable runway, James Lord, who worked as a Pressman for the Fayetteville Observer, inspired a student research project on the ways that runaway slave ads document literacy among slaves.

Topics ranged from the experience of women runaways to constructions of African American masculinity; from medical practices documented in the ads that described marks from cupping and lancets to an exploration of the objects that runaways took with them when they escaped; from the distinctive experience of runaways in the North Carolina mountains to the maroon communities of the coast.  Newspapers from the Civil War era were included in the sample so that we could see how the last years of slavery affected runaway experience. Students made fascinating discoveries about the continued use of runaway advertisements long after the 13th Amendment ended slavery.

This advertisement for runaway George Washington was published in the Greensboro Patriot in November 1867. It inspired a student to research the role of the Freedman’s Bureau and the continued practice of indenturing workers after the Civil War ended.

The Library has been awarded a strategic seed grant to expand the database and the advertisements collected by history students will be added to the database in the coming months.

(Contributed by Dr. Lisa Tolbert, UNCG Department of History)

A belated but very happy Commencement to Amherst’s graduated seniors!  We in the Archives are happy to have gotten to know so many of you through your coursework, personal research and thesis research.  We wish you all the best out there!

It has been a good long while since we wrote an update of what’s new in our Digital Collections and now the entire run of Amherst Student newspapers from 1959-1977 is entirely digitized and available in ACDC.  Thanks to the hard work of our Digital Programs, Technical Services and IT departments, we are able to draw your attention to the Commencement issues of the Amherst Student from past decades.

These Commencement issues of the Amherst Student include information specific about commencement happenings – for example, Eleanor Roosevelt gave the Commencement address and received an honorary degree in 1960 – but also includes reflections from students about their years at Amherst and significant events on campus – such as the 1968 Moratorium that led to the creation of the Black Studies Department in 1970 or the first co-ed graduating class of 1976.

The Amherst Student is interesting for its documentation of campus-centric events, but also serves as an interesting lens to view how national and international events, politics, and conversations played out at Amherst.

The years 1960-1977 were selected for an early digitization pilot because of their relevance to this year and the coming years’ 50th reunion classes, however we are working on digitizing and making available the entire run of Amherst Student newspapers beginning in 1867.

All issues of the Amherst Student 1959-1977 are available in our Digital Collections: https://acdc.amherst.edu/search/amherst+student/collection/asc/topic/College+student+newspapers+and+periodicals.

See previous updates of our Amherst College Digital Collections here and here and here.

“Starve,” is James DePreist’s laconic answer when asked what conductors do between guest appearances with various orchestras. Though treated as a joke by the rather clueless interviewer in this 1968 edition of Music and the Message, DePreist’s reply turns out to be part of a comprehensive overview of what it is like to be a young, American-born conductor in a climate that overwhelmingly favors European maestros. DePreist is black and does not shy away from that additional roadblock to his career aspirations—indeed he is here to promote a performance by The Symphony of the New World, “the only truly integrated symphony orchestra”—but he is more intent on explaining to listeners the dilemma faced by all aspiring conductors. The situation is “a rather dismal one.” One can either take part in “pops” concerts, which do nothing for one’s reputation, or go to Europe, where one is judged more in terms of musicianship than nationality.

DePreist has been living in Rotterdam lately and is pleased to report that with the Rotterdam Philharmonic he is not asked to perform solely American programs featuring Gershwin and Copeland but expected to interpret the full classical repertory. Throughout this interview, DePreist tries to downplay, without excusing, what element racial prejudice must have played in his attempt to lead orchestras. But yet another hurdle he had to overcome is never even mentioned: after an attack of polio in 1962, DePreist was left without the use of his legs! Considering the highly visible nature of a conductor’s work and the widespread shunning of the disabled at that time one can only marvel at the persistence and will-power and talent DePreist must have shown to eventually lead a full and successful career.

James DePreist (1926-2013) was born into a musical family (the famous singer Marian Anderson was his aunt) and showed talent at an early age. However, it was not until 1962 that he discovered his true calling. As NPR reported:

He had been brought by the State Department to play with his jazz quintet; on something of a lark, he was invited to conduct a rehearsal with the Bangkok Symphony. That rehearsal led to an epiphany, as DePreist told Hurst: “You feel entirely differently than you felt before, ever, and you say, ‘This is something that I could really commit my life to. And not only could I, I would be really bummed if I couldn’t.”

But along with this unexpected summons came the crushing setback of his bout with polio. It is hard to imagine a more difficult way to set out on a new career path. The New York Times, in its obituary, tells how:

While being treated he spent several months studying scores in preparation for the 1963 Dmitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition. During the competition, “the other candidates looked at me in braces and on crutches and thought, ‘Well, we can write him off,’ ” Mr. DePreist recalled … But he recovered enough to reach the semifinals. The next year, he won.

DePreist went on to earn acclaim in Europe and eventually returned to the United States to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra. He was a much sought-after guest conductor both in America and Europe but his most lasting impact was made in Portland, where he led the Oregon Symphony from 1980 to 2003. DePreist essentially took a well-thought-of regional orchestra and transformed into an internationally respected ensemble. He also established strong links with orchestras in Tokyo (where a popular Japanese cartoon character was named after him) and in New York where he conducted the Julliard School Orchestra and smaller student ensembles. In addition to his musical endeavors he published two well-received books of poetry.

As can be heard in this interview, DePreist, even before he had achieved international recognition, possessed a forceful and charismatic personality, invaluable qualities for the leader of an orchestra. As the Times Colonist newspaper reported:

Peter Frajola, a principal violinist hired by DePriest more than a quarter-century ago, said the symphony took “phenomenal musical journeys” with the conductor, and his influence went beyond the concert hall. “A huge figure in the Portland area; everybody knew him,” Frajola said. “Even if you weren’t a musician, even if you never went to the symphony, you knew who Jimmy was. Everybody loved him. He was just absolutely wonderful speaker to the audience. Made everyone feel welcome.”

 Indeed, when DePriest was suffering from kidney disease he received a new kidney from a devoted fan. Among his many honors was the National Medal of Arts which he was awarded in 2005.

DePriest is joined in this interview by soprano Joyce Mathis, who had a distinguished career performing both opera (notably with Leontyne Price) and art songs.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 151623Municipal archives id: T4400

The art handlers just delivered this crate filled with Emily Dickinson manuscripts and books and ephemera. 

This crate is filled with several smaller boxes, all wrapped in plastic and safe in their particle board and Styrofoam chambers. After the years of work that went into mounting the Emily Dickinson exhibition at the Morgan Library in New York, it will take me just a couple of hours to unpack and restore each item to its Amherst home.

Once again I want to thank everyone who helped make the Morgan Library exhibition possible, with a special shout out to the amazing Carolyn Vega, my co-conspirator in what turned out to be a very special exhibition that came at exactly the right historical moment.

 But this exhibition will live on in the form of the catalog published by Amherst College Press. Although I have a personal preference for the print edition of this volume, it is freely available for download from our all-open-access press:

https://acpress.amherst.edu/the-networked-recluse/

Fred Allen turns to a different medium. Yes, it’s still radio in this 1954 broadcast of a Book and Author Luncheon, but the former king of the comedy airwaves is here to plug his book, Treadmill to Oblivion. As the title indicates, Allen’s acerbic wit is still much in evidence. He has been preceded by the author of a book on taste. Don’t worry, he assures the audience. “My book has no taste whatsoever.” He then talks about his youth in a small New England town. There is an almost surreal streak to Allen’s humor. He describes how he was “drawn” to New York: he was standing by the train tracks with a bunch of nails in his pockets when a flatbed car carrying a huge magnet sped by and…. He then riffs on how to go about selling this book, imagining various special editions, including a snack edition; page 80 would be a slice of rye bread, page 81 a piece of ham….

Too much of a reserved New Englander to be really nasty, Allen saves most of his vitriol for the medium that pushed him off the air: television. He envisions a special edition aimed at “…television addicts who are reading a book for the first time.” He takes aim at his Boston-based publishers for their timid attempts at publicity (a boy running up and down Beacon Street shouting the name of the book into people’s keyholes) but finally admits, “a book becomes successful because people read it, like it, and tell other people.” Despite being the essence of a show business personality, Allen comes across here as a level-headed, regular guy.

Fred Allen was born in 1894. He spent many years in vaudeville as a juggler and ventriloquist before that medium’s collapse drove him into radio, where his instantly recognizable, flat, nasal voice caught the attention of sponsors. But Allen was far more than a one-note ex-vaudevillian. As Dennis Drabelle, writing in The American Scholar, notes: 

Allen’s wit was the funnel through which all manner of nonsense passed. He specialized in satirical takeoffs on the news, though not so much the headline stories as the human-interest fillers, mined from the nine newspapers he read daily and served up as “The March of Trivia.” To enact his riffs, he invented a parade of eccentrics played by a stock company. His lust for the highs and lows of the English language was another constant. … Sometimes he struck a note of homespun poetry, as when one of his characters described his own inamorata as “prettier than a peacock backin’ into a sunset.”

For almost two decades Allen’s comedy show reigned at or near the top of the radio standings. Whereas his competition, notably Jack Benny with whom Allen conducted a mock feud, relied exclusively on teams of writers, Allen was famous for taking a much more hands-on approach to his scripts, eschewing the musty fodder of “joke files” or reliance on cheap laughs. Al Lewis, a writer who worked on the show, recalls for the Comedy-O-Rama website: 

“Fred was wonderful…I tried to write for him, but he always added better lines that would knock my socks off. Once a college girl was on, talking about how George Washington Carver had discovered a way to make ink out of a peanut, glue out of a peanut, and milk from a peanut. And Fred ad-libbed, “Milk from a peanut? He must have had a very low stool!” That was the greatest non-thinking rejoinder I ever heard. There I was sitting in a room struggling to put the black stuff on the white stuff, and he made it look easy.”

But the Golden Age of Radio was a short one. Television posed a particular threat to Allen who, unlike Benny, could not make the transition to situation comedy. He was also in failing health, suffering from hypertension and heart disease. As Garrison Keillor relates in the New York Times:

He was beaten badly in the 1948-49 ratings by a dumb quiz show, ”Stop the Music” – a bitter fate, losing to smiling nonentities like Bert Parks and the show’s producer, Mark Goodson. Allen fought back with a parody, ”Cease the Melody,” in which dimwitted contestants won 4,000 yards of dental floss and two floors of the Empire State Building by identifying the anthem ”America,” and he took out an insurance policy to compensate his listeners in the event that ”Stop the Music” telephoned any of them during his show. But he dropped from the Top Ten to No. 38 in just a few weeks, and left the air on June, 1949.

This prepared speech does not show Allen at his best. His now sixty-year-old brand of humor is perhaps best appreciated for what it is not. He does not talk down or pander. He cannot bring himself to be cruel. Yet this is not “gentle” comedy. Rather, it appeals to the intelligence without being intellectual, a neat trick, one not often seen duplicated since.

After this book, Allen worked on an autobiography, Much Ado About Me, which was published posthumously.

Fred Allen died in 1956. 

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 150152Municipal archives id: LT2987

For those unable to visit the Heritage Museum, an online exhibit has been created for the Heritage Protocol & University Archives project Degrees of Discovery. The digital exhibit includes additional items and information not included in the physical exhibit, providing new understandings about the various scientific developments on campus over the years.

Creating the digital exhibit offered an entirely fresh perspective of the objects I had curated for Degrees of Discovery. The first step was to determine the best way to view each object on a screen, rather than in person. Staging a physical exhibit requires an awareness of how items play off each other’s size, color, and texture; because digital items are more likely to be viewed individually, the focus lies with image clarity and whether the digital copy is a faithful representation of the original. After digitizing each object using scanners and conventional photography, I sat down to compile the information that would help people understand the objects they would now see on a computer screen. Rather than interpreting the items in relation to each other to tell a story, I needed to objectively observe each object in terms of size, genre, creator, and subject matter. The information I could glean from the item became its metadata. If you’ve used a catalog record in a library, you’ve seen metadata; it’s the information that describes the item, like the date of publication or its place in a larger series. This metadata allows users to search for objects if they have a subject, keyword, or title already in mind. Though arguably less creative than the initial curatorial development, the creation and implementation of the objects’ metadata is what makes it possible for users to find what they’re looking for.

To explore the digital exhibit, visit degreesofdiscovery.omeka.net.

In addition to developing the library classification scheme that still bears his name — the Dewey Decimal System — Melvil Dewey was a champion of spelling reform. If one didn’t know that this letter to Amherst Trustee George Plimpton was written by Melvil Dewey, one might assume it was the work of a semi-literate crank.

Dewey came to Amherst College in the fall of 1870 and the catalog for his Freshman year shows he had not yet lopped the superfluous letters from his first name: “Melville.”

Sometime in his second year at the college he became obsessed with libraries and library classification. He spent much of the next two years working in Morgan Library at Amherst as well as visiting nearby libraries such as Boston Public Library and the Boston Athenaeum in search of the ideal classification system.

Melvil Dewey, Amherst College Class of 1874.

After graduating in 1874, Dewey was hired by the college to serve as Assistant Librarian, a position he held for two years before moving on. He continued to develop his classification system and in 1876 arranged for it to be published.

The letter at the top of this post is on Lake Placid Club stationery, another of Dewey’s passion projects. Dewey founded the Lake Placid Club in 1895, possibly inspired by the physical fitness program he experienced as an Amherst undergraduate.

Dewey died in 1931, but his efforts to promote Lake Placid and the Adirondacks High Peaks region as a site for winter recreation paid off handsomely when Lake Placid hosted the Third Winter Olympics in 1932. When the Lake Placid Club held a dinner in celebration of Dewey’s 100th birthday, they printed the menu using his “Simpler Speling.”

While the Dewey Decimal Classification system remains popular around the world, and Lake Placid hosted a second Winter Olympics in 1980, little remains of Dewey’s spelling reforms. I wonder how many visitors to the Adirondacks realize that the same guy who developed the Dewey classification system is also responsible for the idiosyncratic spelling of the “Adirondack Loj” at Heart Lake…

JFK addresses his colleagues. Or are they his adversaries? In this speech at the 1956 National Book Awards, the junior senator from Massachusetts would appear to be among his fellow writers. As the introductory speaker notes, Kennedy’s book of essays, Profiles in Courage, is “rapidly climbing the bestseller list.” Yet the tack he takes in his keynote speech is to set in opposition the writer and the politician. He playfully casts himself as being “in the camp of the enemy; you, the authors, the scholars, the intellectuals, and the eggheads of America, the traditional foes of politicians in every part of the country.”

He makes a plea for a truce between the political and literary world. Citing such historical oddities as a poem by Senator Sam Houston, he argues that in the past the two sides were not so far apart. “Where are the scholar-statesmen of yesteryear?” he laments. Claiming they should be natural allies, he points out how politicians, who actually deal with the rough-and-tumble of conflict, have a great deal to offer the sedentary author in the way of dramatic material and life experience. Writers, for their part, can keep politicians honest, prevent them from going down “the primrose path of never-ending compromise.” Perhaps most impressive about this speech are the many historical and literary references Kennedy uses to illustrate his points. Casually mentioning Charlemagne, Lear, Byron, and many others, he displays that rare politician’s ease in seeming to share with his audience certain basic values. He flatters them (or perhaps he is being sincere) in suggesting that both they and he have a significant role to play in the future workings of American democracy. He treats them as his equal. By the end one senses he has won over yet another constituency, as he sets his sights on the 1960 presidential election.

Theodore C. Sorensen, presumably 1961-1963
(John F. Kennedy Presidential Library/Wikimedia Commons)

The question of John F. Kennedy’s authorship of Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize the following year, has long been a subject in which politicians and writers truly do share a compelling interest. Almost immediately upon publication rumors swirled to the effect that work was largely ghost-written by his aide Ted Sorensen. Despite Sorensen’s denials, these persist to the present day. In the end, Sorensen described what can be best seen as a murky creative process. The website Liquisearch explains how:

In May 2008, Sorensen clarified in his autobiography, Counselor, how he collaborated with Kennedy on the book: “While in Washington, I received from Florida almost daily instructions and requests by letter and telephone – books to send, memoranda to draft, sources to check, materials to assemble, and Dictaphone drafts or revisions of early chapters. Sorensen wrote that Kennedy “worked particularly hard and long on the first and last chapters, setting the tone and philosophy of the book” and that “I did a first draft of most chapters” and “helped choose the words of many of its sentences.” JFK “publicly acknowledged in his introduction to the book my extensive role in its composition.” Sorensen claimed that in May 1957, Kennedy “unexpectedly and generously offered, and I happily accepted, a sum to be spread over several years, that I regarded as more than fair” for his work on the book. 

As for the speech’s olive branch held out to writers and, by extension, the arts in general, the Kennedy White House was certainly perceived as a more welcome to and appreciative of artists than its Eisenhower-era predecessor. Some of this must be attributed to Jacqueline Kennedy, who, as her subsequent career in publishing showed, genuinely respected the written word. As for Kennedy himself, the enigma, the essential unknowability of a master politician’s true feelings (if he has any) makes his attitude difficult to judge. Even a website as naturally inclined to praise as that of the JFK Library admits: 

JFK enjoyed literature and poetry, especially the work of the Romantic era English poet Lord Byron and the American Robert Frost. Jacqueline Kennedy loved poetry as well and was also deeply committed to both music and the visual arts. There is little evidence that JFK was particularly sophisticated about the arts. He read widely, but never considered himself an intellectual or an original thinker. His musical tastes ran to Broadway show tunes and Irish ballads rather than Mozart or Beethoven. Once, when asked about the president’s taste in music, the first lady replied that his favorite piece was “Hail to the Chief.” 

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 150222Municipal archives id: LT7121

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of President John F. Kennedy. In commemoration of this centennial, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum will be hosting a series of events and activities throughout the year.

JFK 100: Milestones & Mementos is the newest exhibition at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, opening on Friday, May 26 at 11:00 am. This exhibition chronicles historic milestones in the President’s career and administration, as well as the events of his personal and family life. Discover all of the JFK100 events and activities during the centennial celebration: learn more about the legacy of JFK, explore and contribute to the “Where in the World is JFK?” interactive map, find an event near you, and see how the National Archives is celebrating throughout the year.

Join us today for #JFK100 Social Media Day! Throughout the day, the National Archives will join other archives, museums, and cultural organizations to celebrate the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s birth.

Learn about the life, Presidency, and legacy of JFK through social media activities hosted by the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) community. Experts will be on hand to talk about the impact of President Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and the Kennedy White House. Whether your interests are in science and innovation, arts and culture, public service, civil rights, or peace and diplomacy, there will be so much for you to explore!

Explore the full schedule of events and activities.

Some Context

Mayor John F. Hylan made the remarks reprinted below when radio was still very much in its formative stages. KDKA Pittsburgh, with which WNYC was frequently compared because our transmitter was a replica of theirs, was the first commercially licensed station and only four years old. The Commerce Department was overseeing the issue of licenses and regulations that had not kept pace with rapid changes and innovations in the technology. The establishment of the Federal Radio Commission was still three years off, and its successor agency, the FCC, wouldn’t come on the scene for another ten.

Radio Digest report during city’s fight to get a transmitter. (WNYC Archive Collections)

Pressing communications issues of the day had Hylan focused on a handful of key points to justify a government, tax-supported broadcaster. He clearly opposed a broadcast system like that found in Britain, supported by receiving set license fees. He and WNYC founder Grover Whalen had just fought against what they called ‘the Radio Trust,’ characterized  as a corporate conspiracy to control the airwaves through patent ownership of the technology. Like most politicians of every era, Hylan felt he wasn’t getting a fair shake from the press and argued the print media alone was not up to the task of providing for an informed citizenry. Commercial broadcasting too, he believed, could not sufficiently fill certain gaps in information, education and entertainment. And finally, Hylan argued that the emerging technology would be a boon to police, fire and health departments by helping to capture criminals, smother flames sooner and keep the public up to date in the war on disease.   

1925 newspaper headline about Mayor Hylan’s use of WNYC. (WNYC Archive Collections)

But even as WNYC was just getting on the air, the chief concern among its critics was the potential for abuse by a government-controlled broadcaster; a concern that would cast a shadow over the station for the next 73 years. One wary editorial board wrote: “There will be a strong temptation to make the municipal radio a partisan instrument. Nor is there anything in the record of this Administration to inspire the belief that the temptation will be resisted.” Indeed, Hylan would prove that he couldn’t resist using the station for political ends, provoking a threat to its existence. Fortunately, the baby WNYC wasn’t thrown out with the bath water. In fact, the amazing thing is that the station went on to survive nearly annual calls for its defunding in the name of weary taxpayers, as well as periodic charges of censorship, commercialism, communist propaganda, and bias toward one group or another through twelve more administrations: Democratic, Fusion and Republican.

More than just surviving, WNYC became a fertile ground for innovation and leadership in broadcasting; provided countless opportunities for those who would advance journalism and art; and provided a forum for debate, discussion and exploration of the pressing issues of the day. And it could enter the home and heart like few other outlets, creating an unprecedented type of personal connection, free of commercials.  

The following speech by Mayor John F. Hylan was delivered over WNYC, July 8, 1924 commencing at 9:22 PM.

_______________________________________

The City of New York employs tonight a new medium for the entertainment and education of the people — The Municipal Radio Broadcasting Station. There are some five hundred broadcasting stations throughout the country, but this is the first one to be conducted under municipal auspices.*  In view of the existence of so many private stations, inquiry might very properly be made as to the necessity for the operation of an independent station by the City of New York. A few observations may be helpful.

In the field of entertainment by radio, acknowledgment is at once made that for the past three years private broadcasting stations have performed a most commendable civic service. The sign-boards of the time, however, hold out no assurance of a continuance of free reception on the same scale as the radio audience has been enjoying.

We are told that many artists, heretofore content with the flowers of publicity and popularity garnered through radio performances, are now seeking something which appeals to the purse as well as to the heart. Pocket-filling as well as soul-filling appreciation is rapidly becoming the order of the day. Who shall meet the expense incident to the gratification of this very human impulse is a subject inviting a great diversity of opinion.

National organizations are reported to have issued orders against radio performances by any of their concert artists because gratis radio performances have in many instances not only failed to increase subsequent paid admissions to concerts but have also occasionally reacted unfavorably on the box office. Opposed to this contention, the broadcasting of plays and musical comedies, some of which have not been overburdened with theatre patronage, is said to have given a healthy impetus to increased attendance.

An announcement that is becoming more and more familiar to all owners of receiving sets is: “Owing to copyright complications, this number cannot be broadcasted.” That, at least, is definite, tangible, evidence that lavish broadcasting of popular musical numbers or those from which a maximum of revenue has yet to be derived, is now a thing of the past.

Manufacturers and private business establishments, which have been paying for broadcasting of radio programs, generously interlarded with references to their enterprises, are not a unit in proclaiming that this method of advertising their wares brings results justifying the expenditure. In fact, it is not unusual to hear that an audience, which has been prepared for a program free from advertising, takes with ill-grace a  program decorated with propaganda and declines to be numbered among the well-wishers of the business exploited.

Viewing the future situation of the radio from these many angles, one may, with good cause, anticipate a retrenchment rather than an expansion of free radio entertainment.

Many suggestions have been put forward for bridging the gulf between the cost borne by private enterprise and the radio services enjoyed by the public. A monthly tax to be paid by all “listeners-in” and to be collected by the private broadcasting stations, but in a manner not yet disclosed, is one plan.  The use of an unusual wave length or other expedient, requiring the purchase of a special device for reception, is another.  The simultaneous broadcasting by widely scattered stations and the construction of a national super-broadcasting station, furthering the purposes of economy, are still others. Running through most of the suggestions offered is the disquieting conclusion that the public need hardly expect to continue indefinitely to receive entertainment with no greater contribution than the mere turning of a dial.

It would not be well for the City of New York to be laggard in recognizing the possible evil effects of a discontinuance of free radio service or a centralization of control of broadcasting which might mean the placing of a financial impost upon the public, or, the acceptance by the public, in lieu thereof, of odds and ends of educational and recreational programs.  Doubtless, there are many individuals upon whom a special tax for radio reception would rest with no great weight. But they are decidedly in the minority. Countless thousands could not afford to bear an expense other than the original cost of a radio set and occasional replacement parts.

Hence, the responsible officials of the City of New York, appreciating their obligation to provide for such a contingency and any other possible untoward developments in the radio industry, have opened Station WNYC, a powerful and efficient broadcasting equipment, for the benefit of the people, not alone of New York but of all the nation, to whom this city belongs.

To insure uninterrupted program of recreational entertainment for all the people is one of the compelling reasons for the installation of the Municipal Radio Broadcasting Station. To assist the police department in the work of crime prevention and detection; the fire department in the expeditious employment of its land and marine equipment in fighting fires; and the health department in safeguarding the physical well-being of New York’s gigantic population are also some of the conspicuous services to be rendered by this municipal plant. The improvement of the people in every walk of life, through the educative power of the radio, may also be considered one of its paramount purposes. Good government, depending as it does upon an intelligent, active and alert citizenship, demands the employment of every possible means for a wider diffusion of authoritative information upon municipal matters.

Generally speaking, facts and information regarding the municipal service are obtained through three principal channels: personal observations of actual conditions; daily newspapers; and official reports summarizing, quarterly and annually, the activities of service.

Those who have opportunities to become personally familiar with the operations of the municipal machinery, because of business relations which bring them in contact with particular arms of the service are few in number. The great majority of the people lose such contact because there is no business necessity or personal inclination for making a dreary round of department. There is, however, a very general desire to become acquainted with the operations of government if the information but be imparted in an attractive manner. The Silver Jubilee Exhibit is an example. A comprehensive idea of how the municipal government functions was there given, and hundreds of thousands were not slow to take advantage of it. The lessons in civic science, graphically presented, constituted an advance in popular education that brought forth many favorable tributes of appreciation.

The second channel of information — the daily newspapers –unquestionably reaches the greatest number of people. For a variety of reason, however, the press does not always find it expedient to devote much space to the routine of government and hence educative features pertaining to municipal government, are now, as a rule, particularly stressed.

Official reports, constituting a dependable channel of information, are always of interest to the student of the science of government. Unfortunately, they lack appeal to the average citizen because of the abundance of statistical data necessarily included for comparative as well as record purposes.

Thus is will be seen that in none of the three principal channels for public enlightenment on municipal government are the great masses of the people effectively reached. Yet an enlightened citizen interest is imperative if government is to be made either representative or successful.

We have, therefore, been confronted with the necessity of providing a new channel for the dissemination of municipal information. That new channel is the Municipal Radio.

Municipal information, formerly available only after patient perusal of reports, is now to be brought into one’s home in an interesting, delightful and attractive form. Facts, civic, social, commercial and industrial, will be marshaled and presented by those with their subjects well in hands. Talks on timely topics will also be broadcasted. Programs sufficiently diversified to meet all tastes, with musical concerts, both vocal and instrumental, featured at ll times, should make “tuning-in” on the Municipal Radio pleasant as well as profitable.

Through the employment of this modern and very effective means of transmitting information, an aroused public interest in the municipal government may logically be expected to ensue upon a broader understanding, a clearer knowledge and a deeper appreciation of its functioning. And it follows, as night the day, that the more enlightened the citizenship the better it becomes.

That there is need of an extension of education in public matters at this time, even to a greater extent than has heretofore been considered necessary, will be appreciated when it is recalled that for the first time, after more than a half century of struggle, the City of New York now enjoys some measure of Home Rule. How well we shall use the new grant of power depends both upon the people themselves who are the paymasters of their public servants.

The best results will be achieved when each group, appreciating its individual responsibilities, cooperates with the other toward a common end. The pressure of public opinion is essential to the safe guidance of the official craft. Cooperation is the compass which will insure the safety of our municipal argosies from the stray winds of private interests on the new uncharted seas of Home Rule.

Community needs and official acts are inter-dependent. They must be reflective of the other.

If the people would have their wishes interpreted, economically and efficiently, they must maintain a continuing interest in the administration of the government. “The inarticulate public” and “the voiceless masses” are flare-backs to the days when government was administered for the benefit of the favored few. An enlightened citizen interest, militantly expressed, is now in keeping with the trend of the times.

We are prepared to tell you over your own radio just exactly what is being done to make your city a better place to work in and to live in. Essential information as to the progress and problems of city government will be broadcasted. This will provide a fact basis upon which the people may found constructive criticism. That is what is needed and always welcome.

Send along your suggestions. Even if you think they are poor and insignificant, send them along. They will, at least, indicate civic interest. And civic interest is the most necessary fundamental for the progress and perpetuity of any government.

You are as free to write as the very air which carries these words to your home. Write us! Letters, you know, do bring brains and hearts together. If you close the doors of your lips or decline to give expression to your thoughts on pertinent municipal matters, we shall have to guess what is in your mind. And guess work is a very sandy foundation upon which to build any permanent structure.

Without the support and confidence of an enlightened citizenship, no administration can effectively discharge its full obligation to all the people. And an enlightened citizenship is one that appreciates its obligations as well as its privileges. I thank you.

________________________________

Thanks to the New York City Municipal Archives and archivist Alexandra Hilton for making a copy of Mayor Hylan’s original address available to us.

*Note: WNYC was not the first municipally owned radio station in the United States. That distinction goes to WRR in Dallas, Texas.

We are pleased to announce that we have begun preserving and providing access to crawls (snapshots) of the City’s website using Archive-It, a web application developed and managed by the Internet Archive. Archive-It uses an open-source crawler called Heritrix to crawl specific web content based on instructions provided by the user (in our case, that’s us), and the venerable Wayback Machine to provide access. Over time, the preserved crawls will show how the City’s website has changed in terms of content, look and feel.

vancouver.ca today

How it works

Each crawl directs Heritrix to one or more “seed” URLs, which you can think of as the starting points of the crawl. From each seed, Heritrix browses through all links and saves any content it encounters that falls within the scoping rules for the crawl. Crawled content is saved in the WARC file format, an ISO standard for storing web content.

City of Vancouver web content seed list

WARC files for download and in-house preservation

We are preserving the resulting WARC files in-house using our digital preservation system, Archivematica. However, the WARC format stores chunks of content somewhat arbitrarily, and providing meaningful access to the content of WARC files requires highly specialized software and expertise. That’s where the Archive-It service really shines – all crawled content can be viewed via the Wayback Machine, just as if you were browsing the live web. To get started, visit our City of Vancouver web content collection page and select which URL you would like to use as your access point.

Our Archive-It collection page

From there, you will see how many times the URL has been captured, and on which dates. Selecting a date will open the content in Wayback.

Capture date list

When you are viewing the content in Wayback, a handy banner will appear to show you the date and time of capture and remind you that you’re not looking at a current page!

Viewing a page in Wayback

How it doesn’t work

Search boxes and some drop-down navigation do not work in Wayback the way they do on the live web, and interactive content such as contact forms will not display. Instead, you will see a “Not in Archive” notice.

Part of the Archives’ pages on vancouver.ca. Note the missing contact form

Some content has been excluded from the crawl because the nature of the content – often a searchable calendar or complex database – creates what’s known as a “crawler trap.” A crawler trap causes the crawler to get stuck in an infinite loop as it attempts to try every possible combination of factors and save the result. Examples of crawler traps include the Park Board’s recreation calendar system and our very own database, searcharchives.vancouver.ca! For this reason, you won’t see this content in the crawls.

Another area of trouble for Heritrix is content that relies heavily on JavaScript in the underlying code (interested folks can read more about that here). We encountered this problem during test crawls, primarily with the part of the site where council minutes and agendas are posted. When you attempt to navigate to this content in Wayback, you will see the “Not in Archive” notice and be able to link to the URL in its current state on the live web.

“Not in Archive” notice, with links to the live web and the global Wayback Service

You can also discover crawled web content via our online database, searcharchives.vancouver.ca, and link to our Archive-It collection page from there.

External link to archive-it.org from file description in searcharchives.vancouver.ca

We welcome your feedback and questions about using Archive-It to access legacy web content. Happy browsing!

The bouncy beat of a synthesizer-driven tune, Island in Space, provides the incongruous opening music for this 1968 installment of the usually staid series Music and the Message. The guest is Jean-Jacques Perrey, electronic composer and fervent advocate for the then-new Moog Synthesizer as well as the Ondioline, one of the first electronic keyboards. Perrey, with his Inspector Clouseau accent and seemingly outrageous belief that electronically-generated sounds will provide the music of the future, is treated with good-humored condescension by the interviewer, who clearly regards him more as a curiosity than a harbinger of the 21’st century sonic landscape, the reason being perhaps that Perrey does not resemble one’s picture of the typical avant-garde composer producing inscrutable works that challenge the listener’s very concept of music. Instead his aim is to raise synthesized sounds “to the level of pop music.”

Asked about his training, Perrey describes a background in the “musique concrète” of the time, taking samples of seemingly “unmusical” sounds, making tape loops, converting, through filters and distortion, a car horn, say, into a “lion roaring.” “But then,” he disarmingly admits, “I realized it would be more fun…to make it more approachable to the public.” Looking towards the future, he predicts “a complete change in musical expression” as electronic sounds become “a part of life.” While the interviewer expresses skepticism, Perrey accurately perceives that “it has to happen.”

Jean-Jacques Perrey (1929-2016) may not be one of the best-known of the first wave of electronic composers but it is more likely that you have heard his music than that of his more famous contemporaries. His ubiquitous jingles are still used in television commercials, his more engaging “hooks” are sampled by today’s rappers, and anyone who has visited a Disney theme park has likely heard his Baroque Hoedown during the Main Street Electrical Parade. As Perrey’s frequent collaborator Dana Countryman told Rolling Stone:

“For those who don’t realize it, Jean-Jacques first started recording electronic music in 1952, long before the Moog synthesizer was first made for sale in 1967. Relocating from Paris to New York City, JJ actually owned and recorded with the second Moog ever produced, and with his musical partner Gershon Kingsley, they released their first Moog album – almost two years before Wendy Carlos released her first Moog album. Jean-Jacques was truly the pioneer of popular electronic music.”

Perrey straddled that fascinating line between willfully obscure Bohemianism and an almost deliberately vulgar pandering to a mass audience. Humor seems to have been the common element. In its obituary, the New York Times recounts how:

…his 1970 album, “Moog Indigo,” included one of his most daring adaptations, a version of “Flight of the Bumblebee,” which was pieced together from recordings of real bees. The pitches of their buzzing were shifted and arranged to recreate Rimsky-Korsakov’s familiar melody, a process that Mr. Perrey said took 46 hours.

It would be a mistake to dismiss such compositions as mere pranks. This interview shows Perrey envisioning with great prescience an auditory world that has since come to be. His subsequent work included film scores, commercials, and music for ballet, but also albums intended to help insomniacs sleep and other adventures in ambient sound which pre-figure the aesthetic of Brian Eno and Terry Riley. His music has been featured on South Park, The Simpsons, and saluted by The Beastie Boys. Yet Perrey can also be seen as very much exemplifying his time: the boundless optimism of Sixties, when the notion of fusing serious artistic exploration with commercial success and broad public appeal did not seem as fraught with danger or essentially contradictory as it perhaps does today. Richie Unterberger, writing for allmusic.com, contends:

 …his work was never intended to be part of the avant-garde, as Perrey himself cheerfully declared in his liner notes. His goal was to popularize electronic music by deploying it in happy, simple tunes and arrangements. That’s why his music falls far closer to easy listening/space age pop than any sort of cutting edge — and that is also why his music sounds more cheesily nostalgic than futuristic.

But of course the very feelings summed up by the word “futuristic” could be seen as yet another branch of nostalgia. Perrey, in this interview, very sweetly embodies both the strangeness of the new and a comforting assurance that what is good will remain.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 150971Municipal archives id: T4399

To celebrate the occasion of the first Stirling Marathon which takes place on Sunday 21st May our Exhibitions Assistant, Ian Mackintosh, writes about one of Scotland’s greatest marathon runner’s contribution to Commonwealth Games history.

Jim Alder is without doubt one of the greatest distance runners in the history of Scottish Athletics. Jim competed in the 1966 and 1970 Commonwealth Games and also represented Great Britain at the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. Jim collected a complete set of medals at the Commonwealth Games winning gold in the marathon and bronze in the six mile race in Kingston in 1966, and silver in the marathon in Edinburgh in 1970. Another of Jim’s claims to fame is that he was involved in all three Queen’s Baton Relays when Scotland hosted the Games (in 1970, 1986 and 2014).

Jim Alder returns from Kingston, Jamaica, with his marathon gold and six-mile race bronze medals.

Edinburgh 1970

Jim’s first involvement with the Baton Relay came at the opening ceremony of the 1970 British Commonwealth Games where he had the honour of bringing the baton into Meadowbank Stadium and presenting it to Prince Philip. Jim recalled the day in a recent interview for the Commonwealth Games Scotland Archive:

“I was captain of the Scottish Cross Country Team and a Gold Medallist for the Marathon at the last games. I got a letter from the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association asking me if I would be interested in taking part in the Baton Relay in Edinburgh. I replied that I was honoured to take part. They asked me to keep it secret and not to let my family know because I was to be the involved in the last leg of the relay in Edinburgh. I received a phone call a few days later during which they then told me that I would be carrying the baton into the stadium to hand it over to Prince Philip.

I was also given specific instructions as to what I was to wear. I was to wear my Scotland Vest a pair of white shorts and a pair of plain white canvas shoes. On no account was there to be any branding. At the time Adidas were my running shoe sponsors and they provided me with all of my gear. So I had to go out and buy a pair of shorts and shoes for which I was reimbursed. My wife and family were in the top stadium waiting on the teams coming in and when the Scotland team appeared I wasn’t in the team. She turned to her dad and our son and said yer dad is late again he’s missed the team. You see I had a reputation for being late. It was then that I made my entrance and it was flashed up on the scoreboard that the mystery Baton Relay runner was Jim Alder. It was great running round the track. The roar of the crowd was amazing. They were clapping and cheering and of course I knew most of the other British team’s athletes and they were cheering me on. It brought a lump to my throat and I was very emotional when I handed over the baton to Prince Philip. It was a fabulous occasion and when I handed the baton over to Prince Philip he asked if I had run all the way with the message.”

Jim Alder hands the Queens Baton to Prince Philip at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, 16 July 1970

Edinburgh 1986

In 1986 Jim was asked if he would like the honour of carrying the baton over the border into Scotland during the relay. Recalling the day Jim noted that:

“I was advised to be in Coldstream for midmorning and I was met by the committee. This was a very different occasion [from 1970] because my role was to carry the baton over the border and hand it over to someone at Coldstream. It was a less formal affair and I didn’t need to worry about what I wore. In fact I wasn’t even advised about what to wear so I decided I would wear my 1970 Scotland Uniform which still fitted me. I was still a serious runner back then and I maintained my weight well. I was still competing regularly in Cross Country, Road Races and Marathons. I was really happy to be involved in the baton relay once again and I never thought I would ever be involved in it again.”

Glasgow 2014

In 2014 Jim had the honour of being part of the final stages of the baton relay on the opening day of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. At an event in Scotland House (The Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow) he presented the baton to Prince Imran, Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation. For Jim “it was a great day, because it was an opportunity be in my hometown and the reception I received showed that people hadn’t forgotten what I had achieved nearly 40 years before.”

Our exhibition Hosts and Champions: Scotland in the Commonwealth Games was also officially opened that day and we were present to witness Jim’s contribution to the day’s events. After the ceremony was completed, we met Jim and chatted to him about his career. Jim was very interested in our exhibition and was delighted when he saw that we had featured him in the display. The exhibition included a photograph of Jim taken shortly after he had won his silver medal in the 1970 marathon. The photograph was titled “A helping hand”. Jim was delighted to see the picture and was more than happy to chat with us about the race. He spoke fondly of his great friend and rival Ron Hill and highlighted the fact that five of the fastest Marathon runners in the world were competing in the race. For Jim “it has been a great privilege to be asked to take part in all three Commonwealth Games Relays and the fact that I was involved in the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay completes a unique set for me.”

Jim Alder with his photograph from the 1970 Commonwealth Games which features in our Hosts and Champions exhibition.

‘A helping hand.’ Jim Alder crosses the line to win silver in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

To celebrate the occasion of the first Stirling Marathon which takes place on Sunday 21st May our Exhibitions Assistant, Ian Mackintosh, writes about one of Scotland’s greatest marathon runner’s contribution to Commonwealth Games history.

Jim Alder is without doubt one of the greatest distance runners in the history of Scottish Athletics. Jim competed in the 1966 and 1970 Commonwealth Games and also represented Great Britain at the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. Jim collected a complete set of medals at the Commonwealth Games winning gold in the marathon and bronze in the six mile race in Kingston in 1966, and silver in the marathon in Edinburgh in 1970. Another of Jim’s claims to fame is that he was involved in all three Queen’s Baton Relays when Scotland hosted the Games (in 1970, 1986 and 2014).

Jim Alder returns from Kingston, Jamaica, with his marathon gold and six-mile race bronze medals.

Edinburgh 1970

Jim’s first involvement with the Baton Relay came at the opening ceremony of the 1970 British Commonwealth Games where he had the honour of bringing the baton into Meadowbank Stadium and presenting it to Prince Philip. Jim recalled the day in a recent interview for the Commonwealth Games Scotland Archive:

“I was captain of the Scottish Cross Country Team and a Gold Medallist for the Marathon at the last games. I got a letter from the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association asking me if I would be interested in taking part in the Baton Relay in Edinburgh. I replied that I was honoured to take part. They asked me to keep it secret and not to let my family know because I was to be the involved in the last leg of the relay in Edinburgh. I received a phone call a few days later during which they then told me that I would be carrying the baton into the stadium to hand it over to Prince Philip.

I was also given specific instructions as to what I was to wear. I was to wear my Scotland Vest a pair of white shorts and a pair of plain white canvas shoes. On no account was there to be any branding. At the time Adidas were my running shoe sponsors and they provided me with all of my gear. So I had to go out and buy a pair of shorts and shoes for which I was reimbursed. My wife and family were in the top stadium waiting on the teams coming in and when the Scotland team appeared I wasn’t in the team. She turned to her dad and our son and said yer dad is late again he’s missed the team. You see I had a reputation for being late. It was then that I made my entrance and it was flashed up on the scoreboard that the mystery Baton Relay runner was Jim Alder. It was great running round the track. The roar of the crowd was amazing. They were clapping and cheering and of course I knew most of the other British team’s athletes and they were cheering me on. It brought a lump to my throat and I was very emotional when I handed over the baton to Prince Philip. It was a fabulous occasion and when I handed the baton over to Prince Philip he asked if I had run all the way with the message.”

Jim Alder hands the Queens Baton to Prince Philip at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, 16 July 1970

Edinburgh 1986

In 1986 Jim was asked if he would like the honour of carrying the baton over the border into Scotland during the relay. Recalling the day Jim noted that:

“I was advised to be in Coldstream for midmorning and I was met by the committee. This was a very different occasion [from 1970] because my role was to carry the baton over the border and hand it over to someone at Coldstream. It was a less formal affair and I didn’t need to worry about what I wore. In fact I wasn’t even advised about what to wear so I decided I would wear my 1970 Scotland Uniform which still fitted me. I was still a serious runner back then and I maintained my weight well. I was still competing regularly in Cross Country, Road Races and Marathons. I was really happy to be involved in the baton relay once again and I never thought I would ever be involved in it again.”

Glasgow 2014

In 2014 Jim had the honour of being part of the final stages of the baton relay on the opening day of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. At an event in Scotland House (The Old Fruitmarket in Glasgow) he presented the baton to Prince Imran, Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation. For Jim “it was a great day, because it was an opportunity be in my hometown and the reception I received showed that people hadn’t forgotten what I had achieved nearly 40 years before.”

Our exhibition Hosts and Champions: Scotland in the Commonwealth Games was also officially opened that day and we were present to witness Jim’s contribution to the day’s events. After the ceremony was completed, we met Jim and chatted to him about his career. Jim was very interested in our exhibition and was delighted when he saw that we had featured him in the display. The exhibition included a photograph of Jim taken shortly after he had won his silver medal in the 1970 marathon. The photograph was titled “A helping hand”. Jim was delighted to see the picture and was more than happy to chat with us about the race. He spoke fondly of his great friend and rival Ron Hill and highlighted the fact that five of the fastest Marathon runners in the world were competing in the race. For Jim “it has been a great privilege to be asked to take part in all three Commonwealth Games Relays and the fact that I was involved in the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay completes a unique set for me.”

Jim Alder with his photograph from the 1970 Commonwealth Games which features in our Hosts and Champions exhibition.

‘A helping hand.’ Jim Alder crosses the line to win silver in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games.

Today we celebrated Public Service Recognition Week with our annual 2017 Archivist’s Achievement Awards Program. Since 1985, the first week of May has been set aside to honor the men and women who serve our nation as Federal, state, county, and local government employees. The Archivist’s Awards Ceremony provides the opportunity to thank all staff for their passion and dedication to serving the mission of the National Archives and the American people.

Because the good work of this agency takes place in all our facilities across the nation, we sent NARA executives to Valmeyer, Lee’s Summit, Denver, San Francisco, Fort Worth, Seattle, as well as the Carter and Nixon Presidential Libraries and the Ford Presidential Museum so they could congratulate Archivist’s Award winners in person.

Just about every day I receive comments praising the work of NARA staff, so this year we gave our customers a chance to directly sing their praises. Throughout the ceremony, we featured videos of researchers and customers thanking our staff and sharing how they benefit from the work that we do.

The Archivist’s Awards Ceremony is important to me. This event honors the remarkable work that happens at this agency every single day. And it gives me the opportunity to highlight some of our staff’s amazing accomplishments.

NARA staff disposed of a LOT of temporary records; expedited requests for World War II military service verifications; declassified and released 113,000 pages of withheld records; transferred the electronic Presidential records of the Obama administration; planned and executed the Obama Presidential Library temporary site; cut the aging rate of records at Archives II by 45 percent; ensured the protection and repair of records after a fire incident; and closed the 10 oldest FOIA requests. And these are just a few examples!

This year, we had 66 nominations for awards. Today, we recognized our colleagues who gave their time and talents to make the National Archives a great place to work. We recognized colleagues who went above and beyond expectations and succeeded in ways not intended. View all of the award winners in the 2017 Archivist’s Achievement Awards Program.

I also took a moment to remember our six colleagues who passed away this past year: Kahlil Chism, Terryll Lumpkin, Joseph Doucette, Jerry H. Griffith, Marilyn Redman, and Cathryn Westfeldt. We acknowledge their lasting contributions to the work of the National Archives.

Congratulations to this year’s recipients. And I thank you each of you who protect, release, move, store, process, dispose, transfer, declassify, exhibit, digitize, and promote our records and support our staff in all that they do.

It takes every one of us working together as a team in pursuit of NARA’s mission to successfully provide access to Federal records. Especially in times of budgetary uncertainty, it is important to remind ourselves of the importance of our mission. Democracy depends upon the work that we do.

Thank you for your service.

The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) in the National Archives drives improvements to the federal government’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process by serving as a neutral party to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and agencies, and also by reviewing and identifying strategies to improve agency FOIA compliance. By carrying out these dual missions, OGIS is uniquely situated to understand FOIA issues from the perspective of agencies and requesters and make recommendations to improve the FOIA process for all of the stakeholders  As I blogged about last summer, the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 further strengthened and solidified the office’s role as the FOIA Ombudsman.

Since October 1, 2016, OGIS has been contacted by customers for assistance with FOIA requests more than 2,500 times.  These requests for assistance range from simple questions about how the FOIA process works to complex matters involving information that an agency is withholding. Over the same time period, OGIS has also issued targeted recommendations to strengthen the FOIA programs at the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Privacy Office, which has Department-wide responsibility for setting FOIA policy.

Office of Government Information Services Sunshine Week Program. David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States (right), and Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, answer questions at a dialogue about access to the nation’s treasures at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., on 3/13/17. NARA photo by Jess Deibert.

OGIS’s dispute resolution and compliance programs are supported and influenced by robust outreach efforts that ensure the office is constantly learning more about our customer’s views and issues with the FOIA process. I recently had the pleasure of helping to kick off a series of OGIS events in the William G. McGowan Theater that reflect the office’s engagement of the community and special role in the FOIA process.

The morning of April 20, 2017, I gave opening remarks at OGIS’s first annual Open Meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to allow the public to comment on the office’s reviews and reports. After an informational presentation on OGIS’s recent work given by the office’s Director, Alina M. Semo, several members of the public made comments on the office’s work. The comments made during the session covered diverse topics such as the link between the National Archives’ ongoing work to improve agencies’ management of electronic records—especially email—to a good FOIA process, and the increase in demand for OGIS’s dispute resolution services. In addition to posting video of the event and a transcript, OGIS is also posting the written comments they receive. If you have any feedback for the office, please direct your comments to ogis@nara.gov.

After the public comment period for the Open Meeting ended and a short break, we reconvened so that I could greet the audience for the quarterly meeting of the FOIA Advisory Committee.  I authorized the creation of the FOIA Advisory Committee by signing its initial two-year Charter on May 20, 2014, and renewed the Committee for an additional two-year term on July 21, 2016. The Committee brings together an equal mix of FOIA expertise from inside and outside of government to address FOIA’s greatest challenges. OGIS’s Director, Alina M. Semo, serves as the Committee’s Chair and OGIS staff provides the Committee with administrative support.

During its current term, the FOIA Advisory Committee has chosen to focus on three issues that reflect how technology has changed significantly the way government operates and the public’s expectations for access. Confronting these issues and developing consensus solutions is critical for the long-term health of the government’s FOIA process. The three issues are:

• Search – In order to release records that are responsive to a FOIA request, agencies must first be able to find them; this task is complicated by the growth in the number of electronic records agencies produce each year. The Search Subcommittee is evaluating how agencies search for records, and what practices are the most effective.
• Proactive Disclosure and Accessibility – The Proactive Disclosures and Accessibility Subcommittee is investigating strategies for reducing pressure on the FOIA system by releasing agency records in advance of a request. This Subcommittee is also looking at steps FOIA programs need to take to ensure records are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Efficiencies and Resources – The Efficiencies and Resources Subcommittee is researching strategies agencies can use to make the best use of their FOIA program’s resources.

The subcommittees provide updates and discuss their work at the quarterly meetings. These meetings have also proven to be great opportunities to hear from guest speakers about particular areas of interest; during the April 20^th meeting, a guest speaker from the Department of Justice spoke about the use of high-powered e-discovery tools in the FOIA process. The speaker, Doug Hibbard, shared some great insights into how these tools can improve the efficiency and efficacy of an agency’s search for responsive records. These presentations help inform the Committee’s understanding of the issues. As the current term of the FOIA Advisory Committee approaches the one-year mark, I am looking forward to hearing more about their findings, and reviewing their recommendations.

If you are interested in learning more about OGIS’s role in improving the FOIA process, I encourage you to check their regularly-updated blog, The FOIA Ombudsman. You can also keep up with their work and the latest news from the FOIA Advisory Committee by following @FOIA_Ombuds on Twitter.

David Ben-Gurion comes to New York in these two reports, one from City Hall, the other from the Waldorf-Astoria. It is 1951, only three years after the founding of the state of Israel. Ben-Gurion, the country’s first premier, is given a hero’s welcome. The first report comes from outside City Hall, where a somewhat hysterical announcer “vamps” while the assembled dignitaries await the start of the festivities. “I never heard such a buzz of excitement and talk,” he exclaims, trying to convey the huge crowd’s sense of anticipation. There follow the national anthems of both countries, an introduction by the city’s ubiquitous Master of Ceremonies, Grover Whalen, and remarks by Mayor Impellitteri, who draws comparisons between Israel’s nascent democracy and that of the United States less than two hundred years earlier. Ben-Gurion, when he finally speaks, takes up the analogy, praises the United States being built by “waves of immigration” and pointing out that Israel’s influx of refugees, “though more modest…is similar.” The Glee Club of the Fire and Police Department entertains. Whalen makes one final introduction, “a Brooklyn girl who made good.” She is the former Paula Munweis, now Mrs. David Ben-Gurion.

The second report is from a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria. Speeches by Mayor Impellitteri and Governor Dewey are followed by an appeal to buy State of Israel Bonds by former Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. and City Comptroller Lazarus Joseph. Ben-Gurion, in his remarks, stresses the continuity of a Jewish state, explaining that the Jews were exiled by the Babylonians, then the Romans, but…”return we did!” He points out that the state has been under attack since within eight hours of declaring independence. His final words certainly leave today’s listener with much to think about: “We are trying to fashion an exemplary nation.”

Thousands of persons Jam New York’s City Hall and the surrounding area to witness the May 9, 1951 ceremony for Israel Premier David Ben Gurion.
(Associated Press)

David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973) was that rare leader who was able to fight for his people’s independence and also successfully led the ensuing democratic institutions he helped found. A dedicated Zionist, he was the first to sign Jewish Declaration of Independence and managed to unite various military factions to coordinate Israel’s armies during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was Israel’s first Prime Minister and first Minister of Defense. As leader of the new state, the Encyclopedia Britannica reports:

…Ben-Gurion presented the people of Israel with a series of challenges: the absorption of mass immigration from all over the world; the assimilation of newcomers of diverse communities and backgrounds; the creation of a unified public education system; the settlement of the desert lands. In his foreign policy, he adopted an independent and pragmatic course. He used to say: “What matters is not what the Gentiles will say, but what the Jews will do.” His defense policy was firm, and he answered violations of the cease-fire agreements by neighboring Arab states with military reprisals.

While one of Israel’s “Founding Fathers,” Ben-Gurion also established the policy of mass expulsions of Palestinians that sowed the seeds for today’s terrible conflicts in that region. Reviewing Anita Shapira’s Ben-Gurion; Father of Modern Israel, the New York Times noted how:

…in 1948 when the commanders Yigal Allon and Yitzhak Rabin came to Ben-Gurion asking whether to carry out “a large-scale population evacuation.” Rabin reported that Ben-Gurion responded with a wave of the hand, saying “Expel them.” Shapira explains here that while he forbade the evacuation of some areas, like Nazareth, “like most of his ministers, he saw the Arabs’ exodus as a great miracle, one of the most important in that year of miracles, since the presence of a hostile population constituting some 40 percent of the new state’s total populace did not augur well for the future.”

Ben-Gurion was both a decisive leader and a cagey politician. The example he set for the country he helped will into being is still followed today. Benjamin Balint, writing in The Weekly Standard, claims:

Ben-Gurion remains in the marrow of a country impossible to imagine without his fatherhood. As befits the People of Ben-Gurion, Israel’s political game still follows his rules. If, today, his successors at once play up the country’s defiant self-reliance (we can only count on ourselves), anxiously gauge its international support (can we still count on them?), and pragmatically cultivate alliances (we must count on them)—they are, for better or worse, largely playing the hand that Ben-Gurion dealt.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 5712Municipal archives id: LT2201

Former President Jimmy Carter and the late Congressman Claude Pepper will always be remembered for combating the complexities of our society by sponsoring legislation that legitimized sufficient welfare for all humanity. President Carter served as the 39th president of the U.S. from 1977-1981. Carter also served as a member of the Democratic Party and as Governor of Georgia prior to his election as president. Claude Pepper was a Democratic politician who was elected into the Florida House of Representatives in 1928 and served from 1929-1930. Pepper represented Florida in the U.S. Senate from 1936-1950 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1962 until his death on May 30, 1989.

During that time period, Carter and Pepper shared a loyal friendship and comradery in government which proved to be a conscientious commitment to securing the rights and liberties of all citizens. The trailblazers advocated for health and education reform, overturning segregation and providing equal housing and job opportunities for all races including women, the handicapped and the aging population. The two also helped pass the Mandatory Retirement Bill in 1986 which abolished age discrimination in the workplace. Throughout their exemplary careers, they both remained steadfast during moments of opposition by the Republicans and their own Democratic party. Despite opposition, both leaders worked towards eradicating ignorance and delving into public policies by levying Republicans and Democrats to form an alliance, conducive to creating good government.

Amazingly, Carter and Pepper shared similar backgrounds. Both men were raised around African Americans who were loyal friends that worked beside their families each day. As young men they both witnessed families living in poverty stricken areas who lacked adequate healthcare, food or housing. They were raised in Christian homes in rural areas in the south where electricity and indoor plumbing were uncommon. Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia on a peanut farm owned by his father, James Earl Carter Sr. Claude Pepper was born on September 8, 1900 in Chambers County, Alabama in a poverty stricken rural area. Pepper’s parents (Joseph and Lena Pepper) were sharecroppers. Even though both men grew up in remote areas, their families embraced the importance of receiving an education which equipped them for their aspirations in life. The pure nature of humble beginnings bestowed a notion of morality and validity in leadership among these courageous men. Thus, allowing Pepper and Carter to vigorously use their platform in government to harness the needs of others by serving as a surrogate to reduce impoverishment in our society.

Today the Claude Pepper Library & Museum at Florida State University holds the Claude Pepper Papers which contains correspondence that exhibits Carter and Pepper support and respect for each other. These materials are available for researchers and may be discovered through the collection’s finding aid. The library also displays several photographs of the two leaders attending various events and solidifying legislation together not only in the Claude Pepper museum but through DigiNole, the FSU Digital Repository.

We invite all researchers from various backgrounds to come in and take a glimpse back into time on how several politicians have changed the scope of government to maximize various opportunities that we are all benefiting from today. We hope that our collection will not only educate you but inspire each of you to be great leaders of merit academically and professionally.

Tammy Joyner

Claude Pepper Library Associate

“What business does an actor have writing a book?” the venerable star of stage and screen asks at this 1961 Book and Authors Luncheon. His memoir, A Victorian in Orbit, came about because of an unusual offer. A friend working at a newspaper offered to let Hardwicke have a sneak peek at his already prepared obituary. The article, Hardwicke declares, was “deadly dull.” He decided to have his say on his life while was still capable of doing so. He then tells a deceptively simple anecdote which illustrates the underlying thought of both his book and this talk: Sir Henry Irving was acting in a scene that took place in a dungeon. The one barred window let in a spill of green limelight. Someone asked why there was green light in a dungeon. “This is not a dungeon, it’s a theater!” Irving replied.

Hardwicke makes a plea for more magic, more “gaiety and glamor” in today’s unrelentingly “realistic” theater. Although pundits claim the theater has been dying for fifty years, it is now, he warns, threatening to commit suicide. Why? Because it is “moving away from the people.” Despite this rather backward-looking message, he does not come across as a hidebound reactionary. His is a more wistful lament, and also the sounding of genuine alarm for the fate of a community that obviously means a great deal to him. Hardwicke’s remarks are brief and he seems to be suffering from a cold, but one can still revel in the beautifully clean diction and crisp tone of a great, classically trained British actor.

Sir Cedric Hardwicke (1893-1964) was the ultimate professional, with a career encompassing both the London and New York stages, Hollywood, radio dramas, and spoken word recordings. The British Film Institute, surveying his achievement, concludes:

The main film career of this illustrious film character actor belongs to Hollywood, where he first went in 1934, and returned in the late 1930s, staying to play dozens of dignified persons, sometimes villainous, occasionally benign, at times imperious. From 1912, after RADA training, he had a very long and distinguished stage career in London and New York, excelling as an interpreter of Shaw. He was knighted in 1934….”Intimidating” was perhaps what he did best, but the range is wide and the pickings rich: he was apparently always short of cash which was bad luck for him but not for filmgoers as it meant he played over 80 roles with consummate authority.

Although Hardwicke is remembered now mostly as a character actor, he introduced many of George Bernard Shaw’s works and toured the United States in a “concert version” of Don Juan in Hell. In reviewing this memoir when it appeared, New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson pointed out:

In general, Sir Cedric regrets that magic has gone out of the theater. It would be impossible not to agree with him. But his comments present a dilemma rather than a solution; and as he realizes, involved him in a paradoxical situation. For Shaw has been the most decisive influence in his career, and it was Shaw, more than any other dramatist, who destroyed the old romantic theater in favor of the theater of ideas. …In the modern theater, the size that Sir Cedric remembers from his apprentice days can only come from a dramatist of size. No matter how small the scale of living may be, a dramatist with a powerful imagination can transmute it into a great audience experience.

Perhaps this reverential nostalgia is just another part for the then sixty-eight-year-old actor to assume. There is a playfulness to Hardwicke’s complaint that makes one suspect that he is “trying it on for size.” In its obituary, the Tuscaloosa News paints a more relaxed portrait:

During an interview, the neat and precisely spoken actor complained of a public misperception of him as a “dignified, stuffy prig, whereas by nature and training I really am a clown, and started out to be a clown.”

Shaw may have sensed this as well. The playwright is reported to have told Hardwicke he was his fourth favorite actor. The first three were the Marx Brothers.

Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection.

WNYC archives id: 71193Municipal archives id: LT9252

The National Archives recently hosted a meeting of Senior Agency Officials for Records Management (SAORM) and agency records officers from across the federal government. This meeting covered progress and plans for modernizing Federal recordkeeping and implementing strategic records management mandates and priorities.

I was pleased to greet so many Senior Agency Officials for Records Management here at the National Archives. For many, this was their first meeting in the new Presidential Administration.

These senior officials have direct responsibility for ensuring their department or agency efficiently and appropriately complies with all applicable records management statutes, regulations, NARA policy, and the requirements of the Managing Government Records Directive.

Under the direction of Laurence Brewer, Chief Records Officer of the United States, our Office of the Chief Records Officer does great work every day engaging with the SAORM community and ensuring that all SAORMs, especially those newly appointed, are briefed and ready to step into their critical roles in ensuring records and information are managed appropriately across the Federal government. The Office of the Chief Records Officer also completes important work collecting and analyzing the SAORM and agency reports on records management. It’s one of the ways we understand how much progress has been made in improving records management in agencies and how far we have to go.

Federal agencies and officials must remain aware of the laws, regulations, and guidance governing how records and information are identified and managed in compliance with the Federal Records Act. Managing government records is essential not only to ensure agency activities are documented in order to meet legal requirements, but also to preserve our history for future generations. Properly executed, records management increases the efficiency and effectiveness of every government activity by ensuring that federal employees can find what they need, when they need it.

SAORMs bear a special responsibility for ensuring their agencies meet these obligations. In particular, we rely on agency SAORMs to ensure that the political appointees and agency heads are properly informed of their records management responsibilities. We want all agencies to be successful in meeting these responsibilities, and to help drive the change needed to modernize recordkeeping in the Government as envisioned in the 2012 Managing Government Records Directive. To achieve this goal, records management must be a critical component of every agency’s overall information governance strategy.

At this meeting, I shared this brief video with our SAORMs describing the records management responsibilities political appointees should be aware of when entering, working in, and leaving Federal Service:

We are pleased to have such an engaged community of Senior Agency Officials for Records Management continuing to improve records management across the federal government. I thank all the SAORMs for their attendance and for their consideration of how they can be advocates for records management in their respective agencies to elevate its profile and importance.

For additional guidance, please consult the following resources:

Documenting Your Public Service: https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/publications/documenting-your-public-service.html

Records Management Guidance for Political Appointees: https://www.archives.gov/files/records-mgmt/publications/rm-for-political-appointees.pdf

Records Express blog: https://records-express.blogs.archives.gov/2016/11/16/records-management-guidance-for-the-presidential-transition/