Retro summer

Tomorrow and Friday's weather is supposed be hot, hot, hot! Thought I'd share this photo from the archives. Does anyone know who these bathing beauties (taken in Hickory) might be?

Preservation Week

President Obama once wrote, “Part of America's genius has always been its ability to absorb newcomers, to forge a national identity out of the disparate lot that arrived on our shores.“ The memories and treasures of individuals, families, and communities are essential to the record of this process—they contribute to our understanding of history and its participants just as collections in libraries, museums, and archives do.  

Memories and treasures should last a lifetime and be passed on to future generations. The first national collections Preservation Week, “Pass It On!”, will take place May 9-15, 2010. Sponsored by the ALA’s Association of Library Collections and Services and partner organizations, Preservation Week will inspire actions to preserve personal, family and community collections of all kinds, as well as library, museum and archive collections. It will raise awareness of the role libraries and other cultural institutions can play in providing ongoing preservation information. Local libraries, museums, and archives are asked to do one thing in their communities to celebrate Preservation Week, even if the action or activity is small. For more information, visit http://www.ala.org/preservationweek.

The first Mother's Day holiday

From The History Channel:

"On this day in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issues a presidential proclamation that officially establishes the first national Mother's Day holiday to celebrate America's mothers.

The idea for a "Mother's Day" is credited by some to Julia Ward Howe (1872) and by others to Anna Jarvis (1907), who both suggested a holiday dedicated to a day of peace. Many individual states celebrated Mother's Day by 1911, but it was not until Wilson lobbied Congress in 1914 that Mother's Day was officially set on the second Sunday of every May. In his first Mother's Day proclamation, Wilson stated that the holiday offered a chance to "[publicly express] our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."

This sweet photograph of a mother and daughter is from the archives. Happy Mother's Day!

V-E (Victory in Europe) Day

May 8, 1945 marks V-E or VE Day, the day on which the Allied forces accepted the surrender of Nazi German forces, ending the reign Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in Europe. Many of Catawba County's World War II vets served in the European Theater. We'd like to share a few snapshots of Catawba soldiers we've had the pleasure of scanning over the past few weeks: 

  

"Hello Mom, This is me taking it easy on a spring day here in Germany. I'll be sitting on the porch at home soon. Love, Joe"

Happy birthday, Jen!

Today is a CCHA staffer's birthday--Jen--museum registrar, Murray's Mill site manager, and milling extraordinaire! Happy birthday!!

Happy May Day

May Day and Maypole celebrations are common in Germanic countries. Since many Catawbans trace their roots back to Germany, the tradition of "winding the maypole" lived on. Many residents recall the weaving of ribbons around a wooden or metal pole to music, creating a lovely pattern to welcome spring. The above picture was taken in Hickory, and I believe that George Lyerly is in it, but correct me if I'm wrong.

A woman online actually collects postcards of different maypole dances and May Day festivities and can be found here. She got the postcards from California and they are so interesting! She also has links to learn more about this intriguing ritual.

Her own recollection of the celebration: "I remember that the pole was in the school yard and the colorful crepe paper ribbons were attached to the top. The boys would have a ribbon and walk to the right, the girls would take a ribbon and walk left. The boys and girls would walk in opposite directions holding the ribbons taut. As the children met, we would alternate by going under the ribbon of the first boy then go over the ribbon of the next boy (the boys would reverse the pattern) and so on. This up and down or in and out movement would create a weaving pattern (tabby weave) down the pole as the ribbons got shorter and shorter. I'm not positive, but I think there was an odd number of either boys or an odd number of girls in order to create the weave. It was almost like a dance because we moved to music. The winding of the Maypole was a traditional activity every year that the whole school participated in to welcome spring. Also, when I was young we made May baskets out of squares cut from left over wall paper--rolling them into cone shapes, adding a handle, then filling the baskets with handpicked flowers. That evening we would hang them on our friends' doors (usually older seniors), ring the door bell or knock, then run and hide and watch them find the flowers from our hiding places. I have very fond childhood memories of May Day."

Happy May Day, Catawba County!

Book Includes Murray's Mill

Last weekend, a visitor to the Mill brought with her a great book entitled "Our Vanishing Americana," by Mike Lassiter. She brought it because her goal is to visit all the different places featured in the publication and have an employee or interpreter at each location sign her book. Kind of like a North Carolina-themed "bucket list."

The book was beautiful and I was surprised by the pages dedicated to Murray's Mill, right here in Catawba County. Check out the website for the book, learn more about the author's project, keep updated on news and events, and enjoy some photographs.

Lassiter, a Statesville native and UNC Chapel Hill grad, teamed up with PBS to create a production based on his book in 2009. Enjoy the site...and turn your volume up! The website has nice music.

The Mill always has great guests with wonderful stories to share. Thank you!