West Virginia officially became a state on June 20, 1863 and will celebrate its 157th birthday this year. The state was created when several northern Virginia counties were admitted to the Union during the Civil War after several years of petitioning the United States Government. Economic and social differences between southern and northern Virginia lead … Continue reading Spotlight: Happy Birthday, West Virginia
The Hawaiian Islands (FC-FC-484) is a silent, black and white film from 1924, part of the Ford Motor Company Collection. At the time this film was made, Hawaii was a territory to the United States and would remain that way until it achieved statehood on August 21, 1959. The film consists of unique footage of … Continue reading A Trip to the Hawaiian Islands
Still from 18-SFP-9148 Meeting at Torgau The Germany city of Torgau is located on the banks of the Elbe River just 100 miles from the county's capital of Berlin. It is there that American and Soviet forces met on April 25, 1945 marking the end of World War II in Germany. Twelve days later, on … Continue reading VE Day in Color
Since many of us have been spending more time in our kitchens cooking lately, we thought this would be a good time to highlight the film A Step Saving Kitchen (16-P-1783). It comes from the Records of the Department of Agriculture, in the series "Public Information and Training Motion Picture and Television Productions, 1990 – … Continue reading Spotlight: Saving Time with “A Step Saving Kitchen”
We head next to Chicago! While we enjoy the modern cosmopolitan sights, it’s fun to remember the lengthy history of the city as an agricultural and industrial hub. The Still Picture Branch collection of Army Signal Corps Photography (111-SC NAID 53707) includes some great images illustrating the Central Department Supply Depot in Chicago’s role in … Continue reading Summer Road Trip: Chicago and Pittsburgh
Entering: Albuquerque, New Mexico This post was co-written by Kevin Quinn and Caitlin Hucik As we leave Texas and the Boll Weevils in our rear-view, we continue our journey through the Southwest with a stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We enter Albuquerque through Record Groups 18-AA: "Airscapes" of American and Foreign Areas, 1917 – 1964; … Continue reading Summer Road Trip: Albuquerque to Las Vegas
This month, 24 soccer teams from around the world will compete in the eighth FIFA Women's World Cup taking place in France. 2019 also marks twenty years since Mia Hamm and company of the United States Women's National Soccer Team won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Their win in 1999 became an iconic moment in American sports … Continue reading Title IX and Women’s Soccer in NARA’s Film Holdings
We’ve written here before about the 2007 rescue of a treasure-trove of government films from a shuttered film laboratory. Archivists from the National Archives recovered many films produced across the Federal government so they could be preserved and made accessible to the public. You may be familiar with the anti-drug film Curious Alice, but I … Continue reading Falling Down an Archival Rabbit Hole: Following the Trail from Finished Film Back to the Research that Inspired It
This Veterans Day, November 11th, is the 100th anniversary of the armistice of World War I. The armistice was not an official surrender by Germany, which would come several months later with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, but was essentially the beginning of the end of the war. The Great War, as it is … Continue reading Captured on Film: Armistice Day 1918
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the National Women's Conference held November 18-21, 1977 in Houston, Texas. This conference was the United States' answer to the United Nations World Conference on Women held in 1975 in Mexico City. After the United Nations declared 1975 International Women's Year, President Ford issued Executive Order 11832 creating … Continue reading Spotlight: National Women’s Conference of 1977
