Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884. She was the niece of former President Theodore Roosevelt, and later became the wife of future President Franklin D. Roosevelt (her fifth cousin). She is known for her role as First Lady during the Great Depression and World War II. She was the first woman in that … Continue reading Eleanor Roosevelt, what’s in your wallet?
If you're planning to travel this Columbus Day holiday (and it was, like, 1835), you might thank this guy for building the first steam locomotive in the US: Peter Cooper—inventor, industrialist, and one-time Presidential candidate. But, most important for our purposes, Cooper was the owner of a truly remarkable beard. Impressive facial hair is an asset … Continue reading Facial Hair Fridays: Free education and facial hair for all
Since last week's photo came from holdings at the National Archives at Chicago, we thought, what could be more appropriate than getting one of our Windy City colleagues to be our guest judge? Regional Office Management Assistant Mary Ann Zulevic stepped in for the duty and, after much deliberation, debating, and pondering, picked this genealogical … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest
Since it's fall and October, our thoughts naturally turned to Oktoberfest as a possible topic for What's Cooking Wednesdays. However, one too many encounters with Upton Sinclair's letter to President Teddy Roosevelt about the working conditions in meat factories had us avoiding the bratwurst. And, apparently, drinking beer in the office is hugely frowned upon by the management. So … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesdays: The case of the buttered pretzel
Since this week's photo featured President Harry S. Truman, we turned to Tammy Kelly, an archivist at the Truman Library, to pick our winner for the photo contest. She has firsthand knowledge of this photo since she is the one who cataloged the doll into the Truman Library's computerized system earlier this summer. Tammy picked John … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest
This week's edition of What's Cooking Wednesday comes from Kathleen Crosman, an archivist at the National Archives at Seattle. Those who manned fire lookout towers were essentially camping out for weeks at a time. They had to pack their rations, which were mostly canned or nonperishable food, and prepare what meals they could. Today’s high-tech, … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesdays: Lookout cookouts
After much head scratching and sniffing—I mean, thinking—over which caption to choose (Khrushchev? Nipper? Kodak?) we decided to ask for help. We put in a request for assistance from Miriam Nisbet, who is the Director of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). When she isn't sorting out FOIA requests, she's working with guide dogs, so … Continue reading Thursday Photo Caption Contest
Today's guest post comes from Jennifer Audsley Moore, who is an archives technician and volunteer coordinator at the National Archives at Kansas City. Whale: It’s what’s for dinner. At least, that is how the U.S. Food Administration and U.S Bureau of Fisheries would have it. During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration was established … Continue reading What’s Cooking Wednesday: Whale Surprise!
Today in 1881, President Garfield died as the result of being shot at close range by an assassin. It took him nearly three months to die. On July 2, after months of increasing agitation and several aborted attempts to shoot the President with a pearl-handled pistol, Charles Guiteau finally mortally wounded the President as he waited … Continue reading Paging Dr. Bell to the President’s deathbed
Oh, President Taft. It was your birthday yesterday, and I just had to feature you here on Facial Hair Friday. You were one of the few Presidents that seemed to stick my brain when I was studying for the AP History exam. Important dates, key battles, our founding documents—I could barely keep those facts stuck to my … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: A really big mustache—and bathtub
