Thank You!

The University of Wisconsin – Madison Society of American Archivists – Student Chapter would like to thank each of the participating institutions for their time and effort in contributing to our blog this year. We had contributions from a great variety of county and local historical societies, historical research centers, and public libraries from around the state. We have enjoyed working with them all and have learned a lot during the process.

Thanks also to all of our visitors. Our visitor traffic more than doubled this year compared to last year, which is great! We very much appreciate your stopping by, and we hope that you have learned more about some of Wisconsin’s local history institutions and the hidden historical treasures within them. If you’re inspired, we encourage you to check out the historical institutions in your own community to learn more.

Have any comments on this year’s blog? Please feel free to leave feedback about our efforts this year and/or what you might like to see in this blog in the future.

In addition to the blog, some members of the University of Wisconsin - Madison Society of American Archivists - Student Chapter arranged a display, using their own personal scrapbooks and scrapbook ephemera, in honor of Wisconsin's Archives Month. The exhibit was housed at the School of Library and Information Studies, Helen C. White Hall (Madison), and was displayed from October 17-31. Below are some images of the project and the students who assembled the display.



Again, thank you! We'll see you again next October for American Archives Month!

A Few Words on Scrapbook Preservation

As we’ve seen in previous entries, preserving scrapbooks can often be a challenge. Scrapbooks can contain all sorts of materials – acidic paper, wood, metal, fabrics, newsprint, adhesives, ink, paints, photographs, and so on. Over time and without intervention, these materials will chemically react and degrade, leaving scrapbooks fragile or illegible. So what is an archivist to do?


To stabilize scrapbooks, archivists will usually place them in archival boxes (acid-free and either pre-made or custom-made). Sometimes they will interleave the pages with archival tissue to keep photographs and other chemically unstable materials separate from acidic paper. The most important step is to make sure that they are stored flat, off the ground, and in dark and environmentally controlled areas, with low humidity and relatively cool temperatures. These guidelines also apply for family archivists.
For more detailed guidance, check out the following resources:


- Preservation of Scrapbooks and Albums, from the Library of Congress
- Preservation Options for Scrapbook and Album Formats, from the American Institute for Conservation
- Preparing, Protecting, Preserving Family Treasures, from the Library of Congress
- Preserving Memories: Caring for your Heritage, from the Clarke Historical Library

If you are a scrapbooker, you certainly want to take steps to ensure that future generations of your family can admire and learn from your lovingly and skillfully crafted works. And who knows? Your scrapbooks might even end up in an archives one day. Here are some resources with guidelines on how to create your scrapbooks in ways that will improve their stability and life spans:
- Preserving and Conserving Your Collection, from the National Postal Museum

- Scrapbook Preservation Society

Any other words from the wise? Post them in the comments!

Entry compiled by Erin Dix

Madison Metropolitan School District Scrapbooks-Dane County Historical Society

Dane County Historical Society
Otto Schroeder Records Center
3101 Lake Farm Road
Madison, WI 53711
608-224-3605
dchs@danecountyhistory.org
http://www.danecountyhistory.org

Located in the Lussier Family Heritage Center, the Otto Schroeder Records Center is home to the Dane County Historical Society library and archives collection. It includes historical documentation of the people, places, businesses, and organizations with ties to Dane County, including: books, periodicals, maps, photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, organizational records and other publications.

Madison Metropolitan School District Scrapbooks

Madison built three new schools in 1939! The history and immense growth of the Madison Metropolitan School District throughout much of the 20th century is documented in a large collection of scrapbooks that were maintained by the district. The new schools built in that single year were Washington School at 545 W. Dayton Street, Marquette School at 510 S. Thornton Avenue and Lapham School at 1045 E. Dayton Street. All three school buildings are still standing and are still in use by the school district.

The larger Madison Metropolitan School District Records collection held by the Otto Schroeder Records Center of the Dane County Historical Society consists of minutes, annual reports, curriculum studies and other assorted records and publications from 1928 through the 1960s.
Included as a part of this total collection are eighteen scrapbooks of news clippings covering events from 1871 to 1972 and five scrapbooks of photographs. Most of the scrapbooks contain clippings about the district from the “Wisconsin State Journal” and “Capital Times” newspapers. One scrapbook was created by a class at the Longfellow School for Crippled Children.

The scrapbooks containing the photographs are organized with each photo numbered and identified as to the school depicted. The Madison school buildings documented in the photo scrapbooks include Washington, Lapham, Marquette, Emerson, Franklin, Longfellow and West.
The photographs appear to be copies of items used in the annual report booklets and for other public uses such as newspaper articles and publications. Some of the photos carry “crop marks” indicating they were cropped for use in other materials. The photographs are not dated, and the children in the photographs are not identified, but as a whole they document every aspect of school life from every grade level during the 1940s: classroom activities, gym class, art class, home economics class, theater presentations, library activities, sporting events, etc. Some of the photos depict activities and services at the Longfellow School for Crippled Children.

Entry compiled by Tara Genske.

Images courtesy of Mary Hark.

Appleton Papermakers Scrapbooks-The History Museum at the Castle

Appleton Papermakers Scrapbooks
The History Museum at the Castle
330 East College Avenue
Appleton, Wisconsin 54911
(920) 735-9370
http://www.myhistorymuseum.org/default.asp

The History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, Wisconsin is proud to hold two important scrapbooks in its archival collection. These wooden-bound scrapbooks commemorate the first two seasons of Minor League Baseball in Appleton. Compiled in 1940 and 1941 by George Oudenhoven, the Papermakers’ vice-president, they contain photos of players both in uniform and at leisure.

Some ephemeral items, such as ballgame tickets, team schedules, and press passes, were also preserved in the scrapbooks. The History Museum used the information and some images from the scrapbooks in its latest major exhibition, Sports & Spirit. Scrapbooks are a rich source of information on the day-to-day lives of local residents of the past, and we are pleased to make use of them whenever possible.






The archival collection at the museum contains approximately 800 cu. ft. of manuscript collections from individuals and families, as well as records collections from business, clubs, and government offices. Approximately 35,000 photographic images are contained in the photograph collection.



Images courtesy of The History Museum at the Castle

Entry compiled by Erin Dix

The Sterling W. Schallert WWII Propaganda Scrapbook-Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center

The Sterling W. Schallert World War II Propaganda Scrapbook
Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center
30 W. Mifflin St.
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 267-1799
veterans.museum@dva.state.wi.us



Sterling Schallert, a Watertown, Wisconsin native, served as a supply officer on LST 465 during World War II, seeing action at New Britain, the Admiralty Islands, and Leyte. LSTs (Landing Ships- Tank) transported large vehicles, as well as troops, from island to island, including some Australian soldiers. It was probably from them that he acquired the colorful and fascinating propaganda that he put in today’s featured scrapbook.




Many associate propaganda with vilifying and dehumanizing the enemy on the home front and demoralizing the enemy on the front lines by convincing them that they cannot win and will only survive through surrender.


The leaflets in Schallert’s scrapbook, however, show a different angle. The Japanese military recognized that Australian troops were out fighting while American troops were arriving in Australia to organize before joining in the fighting. This line of propaganda is aimed at the Australian soldiers and, rather than tell them that they should surrender or be killed, it takes a little more personal approach.


The leaflets warn the Aussies that while they are out fighting the Japanese, American troops are in their homes chasing their wives and sweethearts.

There are also undertones of the American government using Australian troops to soften the Japanese to minimize American casualties. Seeking to sow dissent among allies rather than demoralize the entire opposition, this propaganda is incredibly interesting. In addition to that, the vivid colors and artistry make these exceptional.





Citation: Sterling W. Schallert. Papers and photographs, 1898-2001. WVM Mss 104.







Images and Information Courtesy of Russ Horton, Reference Archivist at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

Entry Compiled by Meredith Lowe.

Nancy Troug Scrapbook-Wisconsin Historical Society

Nancy Troug Scrapbook
Wisconsin Historical Society
816 State Street
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 264-6460
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org




Another of the many scrapbooks in the Wisconsin Historical Society’s expansive holdings, Nancy Troug’s scrapbook, kept from 1927 to 1939, is an intimate portrait of family life in Madison in the early 1900s. Presumably started as a baby book, it is also a journal detailing birthdays, holidays, and family vacations which Nancy was a part of. It contains many greeting cards, postcards, clippings, souvenirs, report cards, and other memorabilia, along with notes of people and places visited by the family. The call number for this scrapbook is M2002-066.

The Wisconsin Historical Society was founded in 1846, and is one of the largest, most active, and most diversified state historical societies in the nation.The Wisconsin Historical Society's mission is to "help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories." In addition to Wisconsin history, special focus areas include labor history, mass communications, social action, trans-Allegheny frontier, film and theater, and McCormick-International Harvester. It contains the largest collection of published and unpublished material documenting the history of North America outside of the Library of Congress. Its holdings can be searched online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/.








Entry Compiled by Duane Rodel

Badger History Group, Inc. Scrapbooks

Badger History Group, Inc. Scrapbooks
Badger Army Ammunition Plant
1 Badger Rd.
Baraboo, WI 53913
Website: www.badgerordnancehistory.org
Verlyn Mueller, President & Archivist
bhg-arch@tds.net

The Badger History Group was organized in 1998 as a committee of the Sauk County Historical Society. In November 2007 it was incorporated as an affiliate of the Wisconsin Historical Society and in March of 2009 it received IRS 501c3 status. To meets its mission “to collect, preserve and share the history of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant area,” the Badger History Group collects artifacts, archival materials and anything else that can be used to tell the story of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant Area.

The current archive includes materials brought to the Badger History Group by contractor employees cleaning out buildings in preparation for demolition. In addition the Badger AAP photo archive of an estimated 25,000 negatives is in the process of being scanned and cataloged. The archive also includes, scrapbooks from displaced farm families and other individuals; and materials collected and produced by Badger History Group staff. The Badger History Group currently occupies five rooms in the two-story Administration building at the Badger AAP.

This is a photo of some of the materials in the archive. The scrapbook in the foreground and the two open loose leaf binders are from an individual outside the Plant and contain photos, news clippings, and auction notices pertaining to Badger AAP from the Army’s selection of this site in 1942 to build this plant, to events leading up to plant closure. In back of these to the right is an expandable file of 8 x 10 photos from the Army archive. The stack of loose leaf notebooks and the materials to their left and in back are policies, operation reports, incident reports, training manuals from the Plant Guard and Fire Departments.

This is a close-up of the auction notice in the previous photo. In January 1942 the farmers received official notice to vacate with a deadline of March 1, 1942. During February there where actions like this one daily and sometimes two in one day.

This is a close-up of the 8 x 10 photos seen in the first image. The left image is an Instrument Man working on a Process control instrument with his supervisor looking on. The right photo is the installation of a mist eliminator at the Oleum (super strong Sulfuric Acid) Plant in the late 1960s.

This is a close-up of one of the photos in the scrapbook in the first image. The building is the two-story administration building built in the barnyard of the Anna M. Magli farmstead. The large tree was in the Magli front yard. Part of telling the story of the Badger AAP is to also tell the story of the people who lived on the farmstead that originally occupied a particular piece of land. When the Plant was built some of the farm buildings and houses were used for temporary warehouse and office space. That was the case with the Magli farm. The barn was used for warehouse space and the house for office and first aid station space. When they were no longer needed they were demolished. Anna Magli’s daughter lived on a farm south of the plant entrance and watched as the house she grew up in was burned.

This is a glimpse of the “story” that is the Badger Army Ammunition Plant Area; the story of the largest ammunition plant in the world. The story of an event that had the greatest cultural and economic impact on the Sauk Prairie since the pioneers started crossing the Wisconsin River to this new land in 1838.


Entry compiled by Carla Alvarez.
Photographs courtesy of Verlyn Mueller, President & Archivist of the Badger History Group.