UConn Library
Archives and Special Collections BlogHappy Thanksgiving, everyone! We here in Archives & Special Collections wish you all a safe and happy holiday.
Here is a page from The Constructive Triangle, a publication of the American Montessori Society, on how to create Thanksgiving theme placemats and paper plate turkeys. Enjoy!
University of Connecticut Bulletin
Archives & Special Collections has been enhancing access to key University resources for several years. The agendas and minutes of the Board of Trustees were the first to be made available online, quickly followed by the fact books and Commencement programs. With the implementation of our digital repository a year ago, the Libraries’ digital capture lab has worked tirelessly to digitize the Bulletin (course catalog), a frequently consulted and authoritative record of courses offered at the University over the years. As of today, the course listings at the graduate (1942-2010) and undergraduate (1950-1997) level, as well as the School of Social Work catalog (1976-1984), are available and searchable online–with more being added regularly. Check back regularly to see what additional resources have been added!
This photo was taken in 1906 by Connecticut Agricultural College (later UConn) professor Harry L. Garrigus, of the ROTC cadets at the college.
Connecticut Agricultural College cadets, 1906. Photo taken by Harry L. Garrigus.
Was train travel from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City faster 100 years ago than it is today? Here are two pages from the public timetable of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad from September 1914:
If someone took the “Banker’s Express” from New Haven at 8:00a.m. he (and in that day and age it was always a “he”) would get to New York City at 9:44a.m.
How does that compare to today?
On Saturday July 26, 2014, the sisters of Delta Pi will be gathering for a reunion in Storrs. In addition to sharing stories of experiences since leaving UConn, the sisters have gathered documentation of the sorority and its activities over the years to add to the four scrapbooks, which will be available for viewing during the reunion, currently held in the University Archives.
The University Archives is interested in documenting student activities and organizations at the University. Anyone interested in donating materials should contact the University Archivist, Betsy Pittman (betsy.pittman@lib.uconn.edu).
Yesterday, the Archival profession lost a giant who agitated, inspired and implemented seminal ways of stewarding history and record-keeping. His passion for teaching and mentoring young archivists well into retirement was best vocalized in his 2010 ACA Keynote, “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.” A strong advocate for human rights and archival implications of documentation and advocating for future generations is represented in the voice he so passionately infused in his many articles and speeches given around the world.
The following is from the Association of Canadian Archivists:
An ACA member since the Association’s inception in 1975, he served the ACA in a variety of roles, including serving on the Publication Committee (1982-1984), the Conference Programme Committee on three occasions, the Electronic Records Committee (1991-1992) and the Aboriginal Archives Special Interest Section (1997-1998). He also acted as the ACA President’s Special Advisor on Public Policy from 1998-2006, a role in which he wrote briefs, appeared before Parliamentary Committees, published newspaper articles, and lobbied various bodies on legislation and policies that affected the archival community, such as copyright, privacy and access, and the historical census. He served similar roles in the Society of American Archivists and other organizations. In addition to authoring over 80 articles appearing in leading international journals, he also served on the editorial board for Archivaria (1981-1996 and 1999-2006) and American Archivist (1991-2001). He was named a fellow of the Association in 2009.
Graduation marks the culmination of years of study, struggle, achievement, disappointment and celebration. It is the end of the college years and the beginning of something exciting, new and different. This weekend the University of Connecticut will honor thousands of students for their accomplishments in multiple ceremonies filled with tradition.
Congratulations to the 2014 graduates of the University of Connecticut as you follow in the steps of those who have gone before.
Best wishes in your next adventure from the staff of Archives & Special Collections.
In April 1934, Connecticut State College hosted the national archery tournament and archers from all over the country battled it out on the athletic fields. Over time the campus grew and the athletic fields gave way to construction (Babbidge Library, Dodd Research Center, ITE, School of Business and Connecticut Commons) but the long tradition of archery remains.
Eighty years later in April 2014, on the Depot Campus of UConn, the UConn Archery team hosted the Eastern Regional Intercollegiate Archery Championships. At least two UConn archers qualified to move on to the US Intercollegiate Archery Championship which will be held 15-18 May 2014 in Long Beach, California.
Congratulations and best wishes to our Husky Archers as they move on to the national competition!
Early Spring in northeastern Connecticut can be a time of the unexpected. Ice, snow, fog, rain, warm breezes and sunshine mark the changing weather patterns; students are preparing for midterm examinations and anticipating spring break, and sixty-two years ago a new organization began. On March 25, 1952, the Archons were established as the Senior Honorary Society for Men on the UConn campus. The creation of the organization is described in the 1952 Nutmeg as “hasty and sensational due to the excitement which witnessed the exile of the Druids as a campus organization”. The members were active leaders on campus until 1970 when the organization dissolved. More about the Archons and their predecessors can be found in Mark Roy’s 2005 Piece of UConn History article.
The Archons, 1952
Pictured above are the inaugural members of the Archons.
First row: Robert McLeod, Peter Brodigan, Don Ruck (President).
Second row: Robert Miller, Joseph Tooher and Paul Veillette (Secretary)
from those who played before. The University of Connecticut field hockey team defeated Duke by a score of 2-0 to earn the program’s third National Championship at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. The program also won championships in 1981 and 1985. Women’s athletic teams in the early years of the institution established the foundation on which today’s champions have continued to build. Congratulations to all and Go Huskies!
Winter in Storrs can be quiet and tempestuous, sparkling and drab, fun and dangerous, in turn or all at once. In all its phases, winter has a beauty all its own, despite the many inconveniences it may bring. Images from the University Photograph Collection illustrate Winter in Storrs in all its glory.
…from the football coaches of 1934!
Football coaching staff, 1934
In 1934, Connecticut State College welcomed J. O. Christian as the new football coach. The team was small and it’s record unremarkable. The Nutmeg [yearbook] saw hope for for the struggling team and its new coach which saw a string of losses but still fighting to win with no serious injuries. The season ended with only one win (against Coast Guard) and the now infamous ram-napping of the Rhody Ram (URI mascot)! Although unidentified in the photograph, the Nutmeg identifies four coaches and a manager in the team photograph–Coaches Fisher, Christian, Moore, and Heldman and Manager Gilman can be seen on page 190 of the 1935 issue of the Nutmeg (http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/asc/collections/nutmeg/1935.pdf).
![Archery [possibly the National Tournament], circa 1933](https://blogs.lib.uconn.edu/archives/files/2013/12/1988-0010.ph3748.jpg)
![Campus in winter [looking east at Storrs Congregational Church and Old Whitney Hall], undated](https://blogs.lib.uconn.edu/archives/files/2013/12/1988-0010_ph0562.jpg)
