Resources to help your kids find fun with history

by Nancy McCammon-Hansen

Ok. I’ll admit it. I’m just a little bored. Thankfully our cats are pretty good at entertaining themselves because if I had as many children as I have cats…I’d be one crazy momma about now. So I’ve been scanning the Internet for blog post ideas and came upon some great websites for parents to spark an interest in history with their kids…and perhaps themselves.

Here goes with the suggestions:

http://www.havefunwithhistory.com/index.html

Is this one ever a gold mine! Videos, activities, timelines and, of course, a store. Beautifully done and very entertaining. May be one of my new favorites.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids

While not graphically exciting as the first one, this website does have activities for students that look interesting and will likely keep them entertained for awhile. The National Museum of American History is part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

You can also access http://historywired.si.edu from this site. From the website:

“This experimental site introduces visitors to some of the three million objects held by the National Museum of American History, Behring Center.

With less than five percent of our vast and diverse collection on public display in our exhibit halls, we hope that Web sites like this will bring many more of our treasures into public view. The initial 450 objects, selected by curators from across the Museum, include famous, unusual, and everyday items with interesting stories to tell. They are not intended to be representative of the Museum's entire collection.

Design and navigation for HistoryWired were generously provided by SmartMoney.com using its Map of the Market technology.”

There is also a blog with some interesting posts connecting the past to the present. Check it out at http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu.

The website http://www.abookintime.com is designed to assist teachers preparing lessons for various age groups and one particular page that those of you who love reading will appreciate is http://www.abookintime.com/americanhistoryreadinglist.html. Here you can find the names of books, by age and category, for various aspects of history.

Since Fort Wayne and Allen County have the second largest genealogy library in the nation, you may want to study history via your family tree. Here’s a wonderful website:

https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Family_History_Activities_for_Children:_3-11

which will allow you to do just that. You can even research the meaning of your family’s surname. I found that McCammon means:

“Scottish and northern Irish (County Down): Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Ámoinn ‘son of Ámoinn’, a Gaelic form of the Norse personal name Amundr, which is composed of the elements ag ‘awe’, ‘fear’, or ‘edge’, ‘point’ + mundr ‘protection’.” Ancestry.com is the source the website leads you to.

Who knew there was a website called www.kids.gov and that from that site you can get to http://www.digitalvaults.org/. Digital Vaults takes you to photos from the National Archives.

The site http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/index.php provides webcasts on topics from the Library of Congress.

And as a parent or teacher, you can get information right in your inbox by signing up for the Kids.gov e-newsletter at http://kids.usa.gov/grown-ups/index.shtml.

Black History Month is coming up in February and http://www.education.com/worksheets/black-history-month/ has a variety of worksheets that can be printed and given to your child to learn more about this facet of our history.

There is also a page devoted to Hispanic Americans http://www.education.com/worksheets/hispanic/.

You can use the pull down menus to refine your search for other topics in American History.

This is just the tip of the iceberg (and today in Fort Wayne that word has taken on even more meaning since it’s -13 degrees outside and my feet are still cold with three pairs of socks on) so search for History Activities for Kids and let us know other fun sites that you find.

Liturgical Fashion

by Nancy McCammon-Hansen

John Beatty is an interesting guy. The first time I met him he told me we had a common ancestor. Since I did not know him, I was a little surprised that he knew this tidbit of information but now that we’ve known each other for seven years, his knowledge of my family tree makes far more sense. John and I are both Episcopalians and both interested in history. In our church on West Berry Street, John maintains not only the historical records for our congregation but also for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana. Recently, he pulled some artifacts to show to a genealogy group meeting at the Allen County Public Library, where he works in the Genealogy Center. When the photos popped up on Facebook, I saw the opportunity for a blog post.

Genealogists use church records of baptisms, confirmations, marriages and deaths when researching a family tree. If you do a “Google Search” of genealogy + church records, quite a few sources pop up that you can utilize in your search for your ancestors. Many parish records from English churches are now online or will be soon. John has copied a number of parish records from throughout the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana and given copies back to the churches and to the ACPL Genealogy Center while maintaining the originals in the space our church has allotted for the archiving work he does.

The parish records are interesting but so are particular artifacts such as photos and vestments.

Examples of some of the records are shown here. The second photo is of baptismal records and the third photo is of Vestry minutes. The book with the red binding in the bottom photo is a Bible.

On the day I visited the “archive room”, John showed me a cope worn by Episcopal Bishop John Hazen White.

Bishop White is depicted in the top photo. In the second photo, John holds a cope used by Bishop White and in the bottom photo you can see detail of the back of the cope.

White was consecrated on May 1, 1895. The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana had not been created as yet—Indiana parishes and missions were all a part of one diocese with 15 of those parishes in the northern part of the state. White had headed Seabury Divinity School prior to becoming bishop. Seabury would later merge with Western Theological Seminary to become Seabury-Western, an Episcopal seminary located in Evanston, IL.

In 1898, the Diocese of Northern Indiana was formed after a vote at the annual convention. Bishop White had the option to remain in Indianapolis as Bishop of the Diocese of Indiana or to move to the new diocese, which he did. That diocese took as its “see city” Michigan City. At that time, Fort Wayne had only one Episcopal Church, Trinity, formed in 1844. 

In 1918, the name of the diocese was changed to the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana. Bishop White had left the episcopate (bishop’s office) and become the rector of St. James in South Bend. The Diocese of Northern Indiana was re-organized in 1921. In 1925, The Rev. Frances Campbell Grey was elected bishop.

The vestments shown here were a gift of Bishop Grey and date from the time of John Marshall. The pelican is a symbol of self-sacrifice.

“The symbolism of the mother pelican feeding her little baby pelicans is rooted in an ancient legend which preceded Christianity. The legend was that in time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Another version of the legend was that the mother fed her dying young with her blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life.

“Given this tradition, one can easily see why the early Christians adapted it to symbolize our Lord, Jesus Christ. The pelican symbolizes Jesus our Redeemer who gave His life for our redemption and the atonement He made through His passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the Blood of Christ. Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with His body and blood in the holy Eucharist.”

(The Symbolism of the Pelican by FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS, http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0682.html)

Other vestments are also housed in the diocesan archives.

The miter, or hat, is worn by a bishop. “The mitre is perhaps the most distinctive symbol of the bishop. Although there is some dispute about how longstanding the tradition is (some claim it is from the time of the apostles) there is no question that mitres have been worn by bishops for at least 1,000 years. Mitres are usually white, gold or red, sometimes quite beautifully embroidered, and have two tails, called ‘lappets’, that fall from the back. The shape of the mitre represents the tongues of fire that rested on the heads of the disciples gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit to the Church. A bishop receives a mitre during his or her ordination as a bishop, when the Holy Spirit comes to the new bishop in the same way that the Holy Spirit came to the first disciples. …during church services, bishops take their mitres on and off, depending on what is happening in the liturgy. For instance, the bishop always removes the mitre when offering prayer to God.

“The cope, shaped like an outdoor overcoat worn during ancient Roman times, is a cape or cloak that is semicircular, richly ornamented, with a clasp in front and a hood in back. It is worn over the alb and stole. The bishop usually wears a cope at non-Eucharistic liturgies in place of the chasuble. He or she may wear a cope at the Eucharist during the entrance procession and even during the liturgy of the word. Bishops sometimes wear it when performing Episcopal functions such as ordinations and confirmations.”

From http://www.nwtdiocese.org/people/bishop-mayer/bishops-vestments.html which lists as sources including the Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, www.askthepriest.org., Texas Episcopalian November 2008, www.wikipedia.org and The College for Bishops.

The book “Our Heritage: a History of the First Seventy-Five Years of the Diocese of Northern Indiana” by Robert J. Center, 1973, was also used as a source for this blog post.

Special thanks to John Beatty for sharing this information with us.

Do you suppose this is worth something to somebody?

by Mark Meyer

In a perfect world archivists would have unlimited climate-controlled storage space,  a huge staff of material handlers, and the ability to never say “no” to anyone willing to donate material to their collection. Unfortunately, they don’t have those luxuries. Deciding what to accept to a collection is a never-ending challenge to curators that manage their collections. In speaking to local archivists from the Allen County Public Library, the ACPL Lincoln Collection, and The History Center, it was clear nothing is black-and-white when it comes to donating historical items. There are no hard and fast rules on donations but there are a number of things for you to keep in mind if you have items to donate that you feel may have historical or research value.

Provenance and history

Learn as much as you can about the item(s) you are wishing to donate to help the curator determine its value to his/her collection. That box of snapshots would take on a different value if they were work photos from International Harvester versus family pictures of little brother’s 14^th birthday party down in the basement. You needn’t do extensive research, in fact the best information is likely that provided by talking to those around you. As Aaron Smith from the ACPL Genealogy collection suggested, “…there’s no more valuable source than Aunt Millie.” A personal, local connection (especially for The History Center) creates greater value.

Ask

One thing is clear, no archivist wants to provide a blanket list of “yes” and “no” items so your next step is to contact the organization to which you wish to donate. Simply call or email to provide an idea of the item or items you wish to provide.  There are an almost unlimited number of items of historical value but the organization may not have a home for your item for other reasons than value.  For History Center curator, Walter Font avoiding duplication is a big consideration. Display and storage space is limited so the uniqueness of an item is important to maximize collection space. There could also be issues with physical size of an item or, in the case of paper records, the sheer volume of material. Staff time to process the materials could be a consideration as well. But, remember, there are no rules. That huge item in your backyard or that collection found in a warehouse still may be desirable.

Preparation

Once you’ve found a willing home you can ascend to the Donator Hall of Fame by taking some steps to make your donation more manageable. Some steps may sound rather obvious but you’d be surprised according to ACPL Lincoln Librarians Jane Gastineau and Adriana Maynard. They have seen their share of “buggy” boxes filled with cobwebs, nests, and dreaded silverfish.

Clean boxes please. Besides the obvious “yuck” of a buggy box, the insects and nests pose a threat to the organization’s collection. Yes, sometimes an organization might be willing to fumigate a particularly rare collection of donated items but in general, if you can help by donating in a clean, dry box, please do so. As Gastineau noted, watermarks on the outside of a box suggest there may be some dampness issues within, making it a candidate for a new dry box. (A special note on old textiles: please DON’T wash.  Chances are the item needs a special cleaning process or may be preferred as-is.) 

Organize. Organize the material as best you can whether by size, date, or material.  It’s not critical how you organize but it is very helpful to use a single method. Be sure to clearly note what method was used.

Avoid paper clipping, stapling, and binding with rubber bands. The metal of the former rusts while the rubber of the bands breaks down and may stain or damage surrounding material. These would all have to be removed for archiving so save both you and the archivist some time by avoiding clips and bands. 

Don’t mount or frame or place in sleeves. Vintage photo albums and scrapbooks can be treasure troves of information but often contain acidic paper, glues, or cumbersome plastic pages or sleeves. Yes, those vintage items are desirable, but there is no need to assemble your donated items in a binder or scrapbook. Your items may be in storage for an extended period before being processed so avoid making the mistakes of those vintage scrapbookers.  Also, plastic sleeves provide protection but in most cases create a great deal of additional work for those processing the donation. Smith, who manages the ACPL Genealogy archives, noted that in this day of digital scanning, paper items need to be removed from the sleeves to be scanned. This adds a step to an already time-consuming process. In some cases donated papers can be bound as-is in hard back volumes but sleeves complicate the process. Smith has attended many a club meeting with attendees separating papers from sleeves as the meeting progressed! Finally, the History Center’s Font advises to refrain from the unnecessary expense of framing. A frame may make that document or letter more attractive but the item will most likely be removed from the frame for proper preservation and/or display. 

Identify. There may be no single activity of more value to the curator than providing background information for the item(s) you donate. An old group photo of a dinner takes on new meaning when the event and the individuals are identified. Please don’t mark directly on the item (You’d be surprised!) but instead note on a separate piece of paper or post it note. Give as much detail as possible with special attention to names, dates, and locations. Chances are that you are the very best source for information about the item. As ACPL’s Smith notes, “…information degrades the further it gets from you”.  Your notes will set a good foundation and help keep the info flow intact. 

Copyright, taxes, and all that legal stuff

Be aware that your donation may become the property of the particular archive and as such be subject to the rules of access established by that organization.  In some cases, for instance papers, manuscripts, photographs and other original material, you may be asked to provide a copyright waiver.  You may also qualify for a tax credit.  The organization to whom you are  donating can provide additional information but it may be to your benefit to consult your attorney or accountant to determine the maximum tax benefit (if any) to which you’re entitled.

Despite these suggested guidelines I couldn’t help but feel any of the professionals I consulted would happily throw them all out in a heartbeat if your donation contained items of value to their collections. Don’t let this laundry list discourage your donation.  And conversely, don’t give up if an organization says, “no”.  Back in the ‘90s I contacted several local organizations looking for a home for hundreds of hours of local news footage from a TV station’s archives. Due to the collection size and its dated film and videotape format, no local organization could accept the donation. Fortunately it found a home at the Indiana State Museum which had the staff and warehouse to accommodate it. The real bottom line here is preserving links to our past. If we are able to do this in a manner most efficient for those folks who catalog, organize, preserve, and protect this priceless info, well, all the better.