American University has a long record of political activism. Students coalesced over a variety of issues such as abortion, apartheid, campus governance, the environment, and the Vietnam War. Student support ranged from organizing events and fundraisers on campus to participating in national protests and marches in DC. A new exhibit on display on the first floor of Bender Library features photographs and an article from AU’s Student Newspaper, The Eagle, documenting the nature and purpose of several of the larger protests from the late 1960s to the early 2000s. The exhibit will be on display through the end of the fall semester.
Leaves of Wesley Heights
W.C. and A.N. Miller started building in Wesley Heights in the mid-1920s. The development included a community center and swimming pool. The Millers began publishing a community newsletter, The Leaves of Wesley Heights, in 1925. American University Special Collections holds the company’s “personal” copies of the publication. Our run is incomplete and consists of issues from 1928 through 2006. The Leaves of Wesley Heights covered community groups and events including graduations, school activities and weddings. Some of the regular features were tips about gardening, a calendar of events, the “house of the month”, and news from the company.
Currently on Display: The Cold War in Non-Fiction and Fiction: A Selection from the William F. Causey Collection
The Cold War was a multifaceted, global struggle with its origins in earlier conflicts. The nearly fifty year struggle centered around the two ideologically opposed superpowers that emerged from World War II: the Soviet Union and the United States. Although the Soviets and Americans teetered on the edge of nuclear warfare during these uncertain years, the threat of mutual destruction served as an effective deterrent from direct aggression.
The exhibit highlights works of non-fiction and spy novels from the William F. Causey Collection. The biographies, histories, and memoirs on display offer some insight into the diplomatic and military mindset of the United States and its allies during the Cold War with emphasis on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Several of the featured authors, including John Le Carré and Graham Greene, drew from their own experiences working as spies while writing their novels. The exhibit will be on display on the second floor of American University library through the end of 2014.
Anna K. Nelson Papers
AU Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the availability of the guide to the Anna K. Nelson Papers.
Nelson (1933-2012) was an expert on access to and declassification of government records, the John F. Kennedy assassination, and the origins and evolution of the national security state in the United States. She was an adjunct professor 1986-1988, 1992-1995 and a Distinguished Historian-in-Residence 1996-2012 at American University.
Her papers in both analog and digital format consist of audiovisual materials; research files; speeches and writings; and teaching materials. Nelson’s research files consist of materials she collected on the National Security Council and women in the foreign policy establishment. The strengths of this part of the collection include the Aswan Dam, the Bay of Pigs, the Berlin blockade and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
As a member of the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board, Nelson’s papers provide insights into the declassification process. Of note are oral history interviews with JFK assassination witnesses still living in the late 1990s.
Jack Child Stamp Collection
Jack Child was an alumnus and former faculty member at American University. His stamp collection contains albums, first day covers, and individual postage stamps covering over one hundred and fifty years with an emphasis on Latin America, the Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, and Antarctica. Child’s fascination with postage stamps began when he was a boy growing up in Argentina and began collecting stamps from the Peron era. The first installment of this collection, the first day and stamp covers, went online earlier this month. The subjects of the covers are diverse and include Antarctic research and tourism, historic figures and events, native flora and fauna, planes and ships, and polar exploration.
Update to AU History Exhibit
This spring students in AU’s Public History Program updated and expanded our online exhibit, Eagelore. The students added new sections on American University’s Chancellors and Presidents, the AU Arboretum, the Kennedy Political Union, and campus fraternities and sororities.
Museum Exhibition Design
In support of American University’s Public History program, Special Collections has launched a new collecting initiative on the history of museum exhibition design. Our first acquisition, the archive of the design firm, Staples & Charles, is arriving in installments. The first set of materials relate to exhibition work for the Chicago Historical Society (1975-1987) and the Levine Museum of the New South (1999-2001). The archive contains artwork, catalogs, design and fabrication binders, drawings, photographs, posters, press kits, programs, publications and reviews.
Collections of Peace Corps Groups
AU Archives serves as the home for the records of National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and three of its member groups – the Friends of Colombia, the Friends of Ghana and the Friends of Nigeria.
The NPCA is a non-profit organization whose goal is to connect and celebrate Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. It currently has over 50,000 individual members and 140 member groups. Its archive contains materials documenting the development and evolution of the NPCA from its founding in the late 1970s to the present.
The Friends of Colombia’s mission is to provide a community for returned volunteers and staff as well as actively supporting community-based activities in Colombia. The Friends of Colombia Archive includes organizational records, biographies of Peace Corps volunteers, correspondence, and newsletters.
The Friends of Ghana’s mission is to help promote a better understanding of the Ghanaian people, to serve as an essential resource for and about the Peace Corps Ghana community; and to facilitate its members’ engagement in Ghanaian issues. The Friends of Ghana Archive consists of annual reports, financial statements, and newsletters documenting its activities including Peace Corps partnership projects in Ghana.
The Friends of Nigeria was founded in 1996 to educate the public about Nigeria and promote continual service to the Nigerian people. In addition to returned volunteers and staff, members of other organizations who served in the country are welcome to join. The archive consists of organizational records including by-laws, annual reports, newsletters, financial records, and membership directories.
Currently on Display: Bannockburn Under Construction
AU Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Bannockburn Cooperators, Inc. (BCI) Archive. The BCI Archive (1944-2006, bulk 1946-1959) consists of membership files, house plans and construction documents, financial records, stock certificates, and minutes from board and membership meetings. A small exhibit featuring photographs of the construction of the first Bannockburn houses will be on display through mid-August 2014 on the third floor of Bender Library.
A Brief History of Bannockburn
The Group Housing Cooperative (GHC) was organized in 1944 in Washington, D.C. It developed a concept for a planned community which included single family homes, apartments, a neighborhood shopping center, recreational facilities, a club house, an elementary school, and park land.
At an auction in April 1946, GHC bought the 124 acre Bannockburn Golf Club for $193,000 to serve as the site for this community. GHC selected a team of architects, Burket, Neufeld and DeMars, to develop site plans and see the project through completion.
GHC transferred the property in August 1946 to BCI which it incorporated to manage the project. BCI’s membership originally consisted of GHC members who elected to live in the community but was open to new residents as well.
The first 24 houses were constructed in 1949 and 1950 at Wilson Lane and Braeburn Place and included a variety of house types. BCI was unable to get permission to rezone the property so much of the original plan was tabled. The final Bannockburn house was completed by late 1960.
Currently on Display: Pro Dea et Patria: Graduate Education at American University (1914-1924)
Did you know that AU is celebrating a big anniversary this year? On May 27, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson and other dignitaries spoke at the official opening ceremony for AU. Come learn about AU’s first ten years and the development of its graduate program. AU Archives is pleased to announce its newest exhibit, Pro Dea et Patria: Graduate Education at American University (1914-1924). The exhibit will be on display on the first floor of the Library through the middle of July.