This week's winner is Tommy R! His clever caption combines the discoveries of the atomic age with a nifty Latin neologism. Tommy, we'll be sending you a 15% discount for the National Archives eStore. The original caption tell us that "Sister Mary Helene ven Horst, science instructor at Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa, teaches students … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
Monday is a federal holiday, but what holiday is it? So many ads on television and in print tell us it's Presidents/President's/Presidents' Day. Images of Lincoln and Washington sometimes accompany these ads. But here at the National Archives, we know it's still officially Washington's Birthday. This year the holiday is actually close to GW's birthday … Continue reading It’s Washington’s Birthday—really
Do you like jelly beans? So did Ronald Reagan—and this month marks his 100th birthday. Even if you didn't share Reagan's political views, you might share his sweet tooth! Tweet your favorite jelly bean flavor using the hashtag #100jellybeans at twitter.com, and on Friday we'll randomly pick a winner to receive a discount at our eStore. … Continue reading Tweet if you like jelly beans!
I was worried I would never find love at the National Archives. When Scribd.com approached my office about promoting Prologue magazine by creating a collection of romantic records for their Valentine's Day "Eat Say Love" event, I was very doubtful. Would I be able to find enough romance in the records to put together a … Continue reading Romance in the Records
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. The Civil War was a spy's dream come true. With a porous border between the Union and the Confederacy, and little way to distinguish between friend and foe, spies were everywhere. Both sides used ciphers. Both tapped telegraph wires. Stories … Continue reading Confederate dirty laundry: spies and slaves
We chortled our way through your captions last week! Finally, unable to decide between references to white shoes, Project Runway, or Baltimore, we turned to our guest, Susan Cooper, Director of Communications at the National Archives. Congratulations to Rebecca! Susan thought that her quote by Cecil Beaton best communicated the spirit of this picture. Indeed, … Continue reading Thursday’s Caption Contest
Weather has been front-page news across the country for the last couple of weeks. Winter storms have left up to 50 inches of snow in places, and even in Dallas, TX, snow and ice made the Packers and Steelers feel right at home at the Super Bowl. What’s the outlook for sunshine, snow, or rain in … Continue reading Cloudy with a chance of records
Today's post comes from National Archives Office of Strategy and Communications staff writer Rob Crotty. In the summer of 1942, the Allies' war against Japan was in dire straits. China was constantly battling the occupying Japanese forces in its homeland, supplied by India via the Burma Road. Then Japan severed that supply artery. Planes were … Continue reading The OSS and the Dalai Lama
If you have been reading Pieces of History, you know that the National Archives holds many unusual records. But when I started working here, I was excited to learn that we hold the papers of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, at the Hoover Presidential Library. The childhood adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, especially her first … Continue reading Little house in the big archives
We're excited to pass the winning torch to our reader Michael P., whose caption met the high standard of our guest judge, National Archives editrix Maureen MacDonald. Congratulations, Michael P! You can use your 30% discount at the Archives eStore to buy something to read by lantern light. The actual caption on the photo in the Kennedy Library is … Continue reading Thursday’s Photo Caption Contest
