An SC&A first, Wright Brothers impersonators, a field study trip, a 40th anniversary celebration, and more…oh my! That was October! Have a look…
On October 2, we participated in the 4th annual Wright Brothers Day in the WSU Student Union, bringing an exhibit about the Wright School of Aviation, as well as a selection of original Wright Brothers and aviation materials.
Wright Brothers Day is celebrated each year in early October, to mark the anniversary of Wilbur Wright’s 39-minute flight on Huffman Prairie on October 5, 1905, demonstrating that the Wrights had advanced their design to the point of a practical airplane.
Susie Lang with Wright brother impersonators Tom Benson and Roger Storm, who work at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Oct. 2, 2014
You can view more photos from Wright Brothers Day 2014 on Facebook.
The weekend of October 4-5, archivist Chris Wydman took a group of Public History students on this semester’s field study trip to Columbus, Ohio. On Saturday, they visited the Franklin Park Conservatory and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (at OSU), as planned, and also received a bonus tour of the Modern Masters exhibition at the Wexner Center (also at OSU). On Sunday, they visited the Columbus Museum of Art and the James Thurbur House. It was a great trip with a fun group!
Public History students at Franklin Park Conservatory, Oct. 4, 2014.
On October 17, Special Collections & Archives staff participated in the WSU Public History Alumni Symposium and 40th anniversary celebration. Wright State University’s Public History Plan master’s degree has had a long history with Special Collections & Archives, which serves as a learning lab for public history students, and many of the courses are taught by our archivists. The Symposium included presentations from several Public History graduates, as well as the comments reminiscences of Dr. Charles Berry, one of the co-founders of WSU Public History. You can see how the event unfolded on Twitter at #PH40WSU.
Dr. Charles Berry sharing his recollections on the early days of Public History at Wright State, Oct. 17, 2014.
On October 18, Dawne Dewey, Head of Special Collections & Archives, attended the kickoff event for Wright State University’s capital campaign Rise. Shine. The Campaign for Wright State University. While there, Dawne was invited into a photograph with Eddie McClintock, an actor and WSU alumnus who served as Master of Ceremonies that night. (Eddie is far left, with hands on Dawne’s shoulders. Also in the photo were University President Dr. David Hopkins and his wife Angelia, as well as Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of the Wright Brothers, who is co-chairing the campaign with actor Tom Hanks.) Prior to the event, we “found” Eddie McClintock in the Archives in honor of his return to campus.
On October 30, we experienced a “first” (for us) here in Special Collections & Archives. We received our first digital donation via USB flash drive. We have lots of digital materials received on CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks, but this is our first USB stick. Archivists Toni Vanden Bos and Lisa Rickey, who are developing our workflows for handling digital donations, were very excited by this development. Let the fun begin!
First USB flash drive donation to Special Collections & Archives, Oct. 30, 2014.
Also in October:
- New digital materials went online in CORE Scholar, including a new collection of Faculty Senate documents (which we announced Oct. 29), as well as additions to The Guardian (through Nov. 1, 1985) and Oscar Ladley’s Civil War letters (through Dec. 1863).
- Our Huffman Prairie Aviation History Society hosted Tim Gaffney, who presented “Seldom-Heard Stories About the Wright Brothers,” on October 6.
- Toni Vanden Bos gave a presentation to the Exchange Club of Dayton, whose records we hold (Exchange Club of Dayton Records, MS-407), on October 9.
- Gino Pasi gave a presentation on our genealogical resources to the African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley.
text