Graduation Day!

This Friday was graduation! It was a great day. We are finally finished and officially hold our master's degree! Now all of us will scatter to our new jobs and new adventures.

Fight For Freedom, Inc.

Today Dina had me searching through Herman B Wells' correspondence files for some information a researcher had requested. As per usual, some interesting items were discovered that had nothing to do with the initial request. I found some documents asking for President Wells' participation in Fight For Freedom. I found a great write up about the Fight For Freedom from the Princeton University Mudd Manuscript Library. They currently house 38 linear feet relating the to Fight For Freedom movement.

"Fight for Freedom, Inc. (FFF), a national citizen’s organization established in April 1941, was a leading proponent of full American participation in World War II. Believing that the war was a threat to American freedom and security, FFF boldly and vehemently championed the interventionist cause, advocating that all necessary measures must be taken to insure the defeat of Adolf Hitler and the German Army. In addition, FFF worked to preserve fundamental American freedoms at home. An offshoot of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, FFF was supported by average citizens, as well as prominent educators, labor leaders, authors and playwrights, clergy, stage and screen actors, newspaper men, and politicians. Acting as a clearinghouse for information related to American intervention in World War II, FFF monitored the activities of the leading isolationist organization, the America First Committee, and many of its key individuals such as Charles A. Lindbergh, Burton Wheeler, and Gerald Nye. From its headquarters in New York City, FFF spread its message through an extensive network of state and local branches, as well as through heavy reliance on local newspaper editors supportive of the interventionist cause. Pearl Harbor effectively ended the isolationist-interventionist debate, and by early 1942 FFF had disbanded."

Here are the materials the Fight for Freedom movement sent President Wells.

The letter included a membership card, a propaganda poster, and a petition to post on campus to encourage students to join. I could find no response from IU indicating their support. Still an interesting pre-WWII piece of history.

Check out the Princeton University Mudd Manuscripts Library finding aid for their holdings of Fight For Freedom, Inc. materials, click here!

Dance Cards: Not Just a Turn of Phrase

So earlier this week when I came into the Archive, I saw Brad handling a very old and tattered scrapbook. It turns out the scrapbook belonged to a prominent athlete at IU who happened to be from my hometown of Rochester, Indiana. Brad was looking for photos for an exhibit, but he let me peek over his shoulder to view the contents of the scrapbook.

I learned something very interesting while flipping through this early 20th century scrapbook. Dance cards were an actual thing used to record whom one danced with at dances and even what dances they performed. Now I've heard the turn of phrase, dance card, but never really thought it was an actual item. It turns out they were immensely popular in the Victorian era and even came in some rich and elaborate designs. Some were just paper books with pencils attached while others where encased in silver and could be worn as a necklace. Again, something interesting to learn everyday at the Archive.

These photos are of the dance cards found in the scrapbook with their pencils still attached.

Snow in Bloomington

Everyone seemed to be panicking about the snow, but in the end we only got about 3 inches. Those 3 inches still made everything look beautiful though.

Henry H.H. Remak

I spent all of Friday delving into the life Professor Henry H.H. Remak. Professor Bantin forwarded the reference questions about Professor Remak to me to answer. I have to say that this IU professor had a pretty extraordinary life.

Henry Remak was born in 1916 in Germany. He fled Nazi Germany in 1936 and took up residence here in Bloomington. While he hadn't originally planned on becoming a teacher, but he did eventually end up teaching in the Germanic Studies, Comparative Literature and Western European Studies Departments at IU. He was a distinguished scholar and a favorite on campus. Professor Remak died last February at the age of 92 and he still held an office at IU.



It was a great research project to plunge into the life of a distinguished IU professor. I did my undergraduate work at IU but didn't study in any of his departments, so I did not know of his impact and influence. While I enjoy all aspects of the archives internship so far, I think that reference work is becoming my favorite!