Pity the Poor Turkey

Editor's note: The Clarke will be closed Thursday, November 28 through Sunday, December 1 in observance of Thanksgiving (maybe we'll be trying out Glady's turkey casserole recipe). We will open Monday, December 2 with our regular business hours -- Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm) 

Pity the Poor Turkey...OR...A Turkey of a Blog Post

by Frank Boles

A roasted turkey will be the centerpiece of tables across the state on Thanksgiving. Despite being a day most living turkeys dread (if living turkeys think about this sort of thing, or actually think much at all), an examination of the Clarke Historical Library’s Maureen Hathaway Culinary Archives suggests that the turkey which makes it through Thanksgiving is a turkey destined for a happy life.

Dean Tom Moore's 25th Anniversary

This year, Central Michigan University and the CMU Libraries are celebrating Tom Moore's 25 years of service as the Dean of Libraries. This milestone gave the CMU Libraries, particularly the Clarke Historical Library, the opportunity to reflect on what this milestone means in the history of Central Michigan University. Here are a few statistics that put Dean Moore's tenure in perspective.

• Dean Moore's 25 years make him the longest serving leader of the Libraries. The next closest, Charles V. Park (for whom the Library building is named), served 24 years (1931-55). Other leaders of the Libraries include Jesse Thorpe (1956-58), Orville Eaton (1958-68), Caroline Baker (1969-70), and John Weatherford (1971-86). 
• Dean Moore is the longest serving Academic Dean, surpassing William Theunissen by two years (Dean of Health and Physical Education from 1962-85).
• In terms of current Senior Officers at Central, Dean Moore is the longest serving. However, he is not the Senior Officer who has been at the University the longest because former Provost Gary Shapiro was a professor from 1978-89. 
• Regarding senior leadership of the past, Dean Moore appears to have more years in a leadership position than any other individual. Some of the longest serving people in leadership positions include William Theunissen (23 years); Charles Anspach, who was President for 20 years; Judson Foust, who served as Assistant to the President, then Vice President for General and Academic Affairs, and then President for a total of 22 years; and Norval Bovee, who held senior administrative positions for 24 years.

Congratulations to Dean Moore!

100th Anniversary of Football Being Replaced by Soccer at Central

by Bryan Whitledge and Casey Gamble

One of Central’s most anticipated football games of every season will take place this weekend. On Saturday, at 12:00 noon, we will take to the field against our notorious rivals from Western Michigan University. The first time Central and Western matched up against each other was 108 years ago, in 1905. But less than ten years later, in 1913, Western was no longer a part of Central’s schedule. Neither was Alma, nor Ferris, nor Michigan State Normal in Ypsilanti (today Eastern Michigan), nor any other opponent for that matter. 100 years ago, football at Central had been eliminated altogether.

Central State Normal Football Team, 1912.
From 1913 yearbook.

Fall 2013 Speaker Series Wrap Up

by Frank Boles

During the fall semester, the Library sponsored four programs, including a discussion of WCMU Radio’s popular show, “Our Front Porch,” a presentation by noted children’s illustrator Peter Sís, a remembrance of famed musicologist Alan Lomax's 1938 tour of Michigan, and a presentation by Deborah Thomas regarding the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America website, which features fully searchable newspapers from across the United States.

How a Library Knows the Holidays are Soon Upon Us

by Frank Boles

Everyone has their own way of remembering that the holidays are quickly approaching. For some, it’s the urge to bake a pumpkin pie. Others are anxiously awaiting the “Black Friday” sales papers, and planning which store to line up at for the 4:30 a.m. opening. At a library, its “catalog season.”

In the last two days, four dealer catalogs arrived. Dealers in Woodbridge, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island, San Francisco, California, and Yonkers, New York all have pages and pages of offerings, perfect for year-end-giving. Most dealers can be discrete about this, but one catalog includes the category, “Holiday Gifts,” because even someone who has everything probably doesn’t have a group of autographed napkins from Air Force 1 (then again do you really want the autograph of Senator Harrison Williams from New Jersey, even if he did sign an Air Force 1 napkin?) or a “biblical coin” described in Mark 12:41.

Processing the Great Lakes Cruiser Photographic Collection at the Clarke

by Marian Matyn

The collection:

Richard L. “Dick” Moehl’s Great Lakes Cruiser Photographic Collection, (1972-2001, undated), totaling 1.75 cubic ft. (in 4 boxes) was recently acquired by the Clarke and processed by me and my student staff at the Clarke. This collection includes the work of Jack Edwards on St. Helena Island history, genealogy of Archie and Wilson Newton, copy negatives of Great Lakes Cruiser (GLC) articles related to St. Helena, photographic negatives taken by Jack Edwards (personal and GLC), photographs taken for GLC, papers related to scholarly work on St. Helena, and an index of most of the photographs in this collection.