Two Views of the Black Hills Display

There is a new display outside of the Archives and Special Collections. It features a Black Hills map by Amos Bad Heart Bull and a Black Hills tourist map.

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Do You Know, the Archives has a New Display?

The national woman suffrage story ultimately became a success because of the success of suffragists at the state and local levels. Next year, as we celebrate a century since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, it is important to remember the significance of the state and local stories as well.

Simultaneously the most fun and most frustrating part of designing this display was choosing which items to include. The Jane Breeden, Mamie Pyle and Gladys Pyle papers contained a wealth of fascinating items. These collections worked well together to provide different perspectives of the suffrage movement. As a leading suffragist in South Dakota, Mamie Pyle’s papers provided an insight into the “business” end of the movement, while Jane Breeden’s papers gave a non-leadership perspective. Although active in the suffrage movement herself, Gladys Pyle’s papers were important to show that women were not just capable of using the vote, but they were more than capable of pursuing political office all the way to Washington D.C.

Organizing the display by theme seemed a much better way to put the items in conversation with one another. Highlighting the reoccuring elements of democracy, wartime, anti-suffragist and citizenship, it was clear that the history of the suffrage movement was not exclusively a women’s story. There were so many interesting and sometimes absurd pieces; I hope at the very least, those who are interested in the woman suffrage movement will take the time to visit the Archives and Special Collections at USD.

Although many of the items on display can be accessed through the Digital Library of South Dakota (DLSD), a trip to USD’s Archives and Special Collections is unparalleled. Sure, you can peruse these collections from the comfort of your own armchair, but the reading room has comfortable seating, a welcoming atmosphere and a superb staff waiting for you to bring in your research questions.

Interning at A&SC has been a rewarding experience. Honestly, it was a little like going on a treasure hunt, and every time I entered the stacks, I found something new. There were a few projects that I worked on through the semester, but the opportunity to put together a display on woman suffrage was by far my favorite.

My hope with this display is that it will encourage visitors to further explore these manuscript collections for the items that had to reluctantly be returned to the stacks and to contemplate how some of the issues presented in the display remain relevant today.

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Information and items from:

Richardson Collection, Archives and Special Collections, the University of South Dakota

• the Mamie Shields Pyle Papers
• the Gladys Pyle Papers
• the Jane Rooker Breeden papers

Chilson Collection, Archives and Special Collections, the University of South Dakota

• Lahlum, Lori Ann and Molly P. Rozum. Equality at the Ballot Box: Votes for Women on the Northern Great Plains. Pierre, SD: South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2019.

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National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and the Archives and Special Collections is celebrating with two exhibits on the 3^rd floor of ID Weeks.

At the top of the main staircase sits a small exhibit containing samples from Linda Hasselstrom, James Foley, and Kathleen Norris; with art by Ed Colker accompanying Norris’s work.

Linda Hasselstrom’s works are particularly interesting here- the book displayed was made from her late husband’s clothing, and the pages colored with his favorite tobacco. All poems in the book relate to him in one way or another. Linda is a poet from Western South Dakota, famous for her writings (poems and otherwise) about her life on a ranch in Hermosa, south of Rapid City. Linda’s papers are held in the Archives, and are being processed this semester.

In the Archives Reading Room, Room 305, find many more examples of poetry from both the Archives and the main collection. Included in this exhibit are examples of ancient Greek poetry by Sappho, a sonnet by Petrarch, Old English poetry, samples of Beowulf, and some more modern poetry. The more modern examples include USD Law professor Frank Pommersheim, Linda Hasselstrom, Linda Whirlwind Soldier, and explanations of Old English from past USD professor Thomas J Gasque.

All of these materials and more can be found anytime in the Chilson collection of the Archives, or in the case of the Beowulf books, the main collection. If you are interested in more poetry from ID Weeks, and especially the Archives, check the library catalog and use the location search filter “Chilson Collection/3^rd Floor” to find more.

A full list of the books and papers on display follows.

3^rd Floor Case:

-Hasselstrom, Linda, Dakota Bones, 1993

-Hasselstrom, Linda, Telegram Announcing the Death of my Father, Dakota Bones Draft

-Foley, James W., A Toast to Merriment, 1913

-Hasselstrom, Linda, George R. Snell, Poems, 1994

-Kathleen Norris, All Souls: Poems from the Dakotas 1993, Art by Ed Colker

Room 305 Case:

-Petrarch, Sonnet 137, ca. 1346-1353

-Sappho, Ode to Aphrodite, ca. 600 BC; in Donaldson’s Lyra Graca and H. T. Wharton’s Sappho

–St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Laus de Virgine Maria, ca. 1091-1153

-Pope Innocent III, Ave Modi Spes Maria, ca. 1161-1216

-Cædmon, Cædmon’s Hymn, ca. 658-680

-Unknown Author, Beowulf, ca. 975-1010, translated by Stephen Mitchell, 2017

-Unknown Author, Beowulf, ca. 975-1010, illustrated by Marijane Osborn, 1983

-Shakespeare, William, Ariel’s Song from The Tempest, ca. 1610-1611

-Milton, John, L’Allegro, ca. 1645, accompanied by paintings by William Blake

-Pommersheim, Frank, At the Catholic Worker, Dreaming of my Children and Good Friday (Yankton Surgery Center) from Mindfulness and Home: Poetry and Prose from a Prairie Landscape, 1997

-Rincon, Enrique Ollivier, La Noche from Poemas del Corazon, 1975

-Buechel, Eugene SJ, Lakota Tales and Texts, Inyan Hoksila or Rock Boy, dictated by Walker from Rosebud, SD, 1904, compilation published in 1978

-Hasselstrom, Linda, Extended Forecast from Bitter Creek Junction, 2000

-Whirlwind Soldier, Linda, Journey Foreseen from Memory Songs, 1994

 

Pope Innocent III, Ave Modi Spes Maria, ca. 1161-1216

Cædmon, Cædmon’s Hymn, ca. 658-680

Shakespeare, William, Ariel’s Song from The Tempest, ca. 1610-1611

Milton, John, L’Allegro, ca. 1645, accompanied by paintings by William Blake

Buechel, Eugene SJ, Lakota Tales and Texts, Inyan Hoksila or Rock Boy, dictated by Walker from Rosebud, SD, 1904, compilation published in 1978

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The Two Sitting Bulls

Archives and Special Collections has recently received a 1964 letter written by author Mari Sandoz about the two Sitting Bulls living contemporaneously. They were not one person as sometimes conflated by newspaper men and historians. The letter contains some of her evidence, and refers the reader to her book Hostiles and Friendlies for the entire argument. The letter has been added to the Institute of American Indian Studies papers, and a copy is on display outside of the Archives.

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Children’s Literature in the Mahoney Music Collection

Stop by the Archives and Special Collections where we have on display children’s literature from the Mahoney Music Collection. In addition to possessing great illustrations, these books enhance music vocabulary and music appreciation, introduce famous composers and musicians, and/or educate on musical concepts like rhythm and melody.

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Here’s to 75 Years, Mount Rushmore!

Growing up just a half hour away from Mt. Rushmore, I can tell you that the beauty and grandeur is as great as the hype about it is. Though as a Rapid City native I have not visited the monument as often as one would guess, really I can count on my hands and feet the number of times I have been there (that I can really remember). To me, it is one of those places in which, less is more. I have a greater respect for the monument now that I am older and not living within its shadow.

To think that 75 years ago, the Mt. Rushmore the world knows today, was but an idea a large group was working to cultivate. That Gutzon Borglum and his team of carvers began work on the face of Washington. The project was in the works from 1927 when carving began to 1941, when what is now the finished project was unveiled, after the death of Borglum. Throughout the years of carving, many made journeys to see the monuments work in progress, including two US presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Today the monument attracts visitors from all over the globe. They are amazed by the monumental size of the sculptures, and by the beauty of the visitor’s center which gives an abundance of information on the monument. One of the prominent reasons for visiting Mt. Rushmore would be the lighting ceremony held at the end of every night. This is a major part of the monument and during the ceremony, park rangers leading the ceremony ask that any and all former and active duty service men and women take center stage. This part of the ceremony is the most moving point and as each member of the military explains who they are and which war they were a part of, there is little to no noise as this is a moment of thanks to those in service. Another great reason to visit Mt. Rushmore is the ice cream, or so I’ve been told.

The biggest lore surrounding the monument is the famed Hall of Records that is located behind the head of Lincoln. The room does exist though it is not found behind the head of Lincoln but off to the side of the monument.

Within the University of South Dakota’s Archives and Special Collections, there are 19 collections that contain information regarding Mt. Rushmore, and the process in which it took for the monument to be built, including papers between those who helped fund, sculpt, and shape the monument and visitors center in the modern beauty that it is today.

If you would like to know more about those involved and the process that they went through to create the monument, come visit the Archives and Special Collections to see the display for Mt. Rushmore or ask about the collections that discuss Mt. Rushmore. The display will be up and ready for viewing by November 1, 2016.

And as a friendly reminder, if visiting the monument, take a moment to stop and smell the pine trees, you never know if one will smell like vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch or strawberry.

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Facsimile Editions of Early English Children’s Books from the Osborne Collection

The Osborne Collection of Early English Children’s books, were donated by Edgar Osborne, to the Toronto Public Library after he visited the library in 1934. He was so impressed with their children’s program that he donated 2,000 books to the library. Since then the collection has grown into a large collection of over 80,000 children’s books. The Osborne collection is just one of three collections in the libraries children program. Those books that are a part of the Osborne Collection have parameters that require them to have been printed before 1910.

The facsimile collection of Osborne books is made up of 35 books published in 1981. The University of South Dakota houses all 35 books with in its Special Collection, in the Archives and Special Collections. An interesting fact about the books is that they were printed in the same manner as the originals. So if pages are printed blank, like they are in A Book of Nonsense then that is the way they were meant to be printed.

Many of the books within the collection are interactive. The Mansion of Bliss is in fact not a book but a spiral board game that was meant to improve one’s moral values. The game was one of chance, in which 2-4 players were racing one another to see who could make it to the mansion of bliss first. Along with the game is a rule book that explains each space and whether the player who landed there will be punished or rewarded.

Come and enjoy viewing the Facsimile Osborne Collection of Early English Children’s Books, now on display up in the USD Archives.

Bibliography

Toronto Public Library. “Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books.” Copyright 2016. http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/osborne/ [accessed October 19, 2016].

Dunedin Public Libraries. “Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books.” Julian Smith, August 13, 2015. Copyright 2016. https://hail.to/dunedin-public-libraries/article/D1lQo6S [accessed October 19, 2016].

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Political pins on display

The Allan H. Schell Collection of Campaign Buttons, Pins, And Political Ephemera was created by Allan H. Schell, and chiefly contains political pins, buttons, posters, pennants, and ephemera related to United States and South Dakota political positions in the 20^th century.

 

Pins from US Presidential and SD Gubernatorial campaigns are on display in the Archives and Special Collections in ID Weeks.

 

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