Today’s post comes from Sara Holmes, supervisory preservation specialist at the National Archives in St. Louis. Just before 9 a.m. on the morning of July 16, 1973, the fire that had raged over five days was declared out. The firemen’s command post was taken down; engines cleared the scene; and 9700 Page Avenue—home of the … Continue reading After the fire: Peter Waters helps save water-damaged records
Today’s post comes from Sara Holmes, supervisory preservation specialist at the National Archives in St. Louis. (The images below are from the National Archives at St. Louis, with a special thank you to Capt. Dave Dubowski of the Spanish Lake Fire Department and the late Chief Bob Palmer of Mehlville Fire Department.) What happened after … Continue reading One fire, 5 days, and 381 men
Over 5,000 requests for veterans' military personnel records are received every day at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO. Donna Judd spends each day carefully searching for valuable information for veterans in the documents left burned and brittle by the 1973 fire at the NPRC building. She looks for separation documents … Continue reading Burned and brittle records are in good hands
This blog post is condensed from the article “Burnt in Memory,” by Marta G. O’Neill and William Seibert, from the Spring 2013 issue of Prologue. By the time it was daylight on July 12, 1973, at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, one thing was painfully clear: the loss of records to … Continue reading Burnt in memory: Looking back at the 1973 St. Louis fire
The reports were among the thousands of pieces of paper waiting to be processed in a group of 100 boxes. But a few pieces of paper—with schematics that looked like they were right out of a 1950s sci-fi flick—were destined for a featured article in Popular Mechanics. But first the documents were spotted by Michael … Continue reading Flying Saucers, Popular Mechanics, and the National Archives
Today’s guest post comes from Robert Lee Tringali, program analyst at the National Archives. Starting on July 1, the last three days have marked the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the Civil War. In particular, today marks the anniversary of Pickett’s Charge, the defining event of the battle. The … Continue reading The 150th anniversary of Pickett’s Charge
Today’s post comes from Christopher Abraham at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. He answers a question each week on Facebook. This week’s special, matrimonial edition of Ask an Archivist comes from the Netherlands, and we thought it would be fun to post it in honor of the Eisenhowers' 97th wedding anniversary. “My friends Jerom and Natasja … Continue reading A wedding gift for (history) lovers
Every year, we celebrate Independence Day on the steps of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. It's a fun, free event for the whole family! (And if you don't like the heat, you can now watch the program live from inside the National Archives building. Email specialevents@nara.gov to reserve a seat in our air-conditioned … Continue reading What are you doing on July 4?
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2013 Research Fellowships! Fellows will be doing research at six of our archival facilities across the country. These fellowships are funded by the Foundation for the National Archives. The National Archives at Boston Claire M. Dunning, a graduate student at Harvard University, will be doing research for "Neither Public Nor … Continue reading Congratulations to our 2013 Research Fellows!
Today's blog post comes from Michael Hussey, education and exhibit specialist at the National Archives. What do Sean Penn and Ronald Reagan have in common? Probably not a whole lot besides Harvey Milk. In 2008, Penn played the role of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk in the Academy Award–winning film Milk. In 1978, former Governor … Continue reading My name is Harvey Milk—and I want to recruit you.
