Research Blog : evansville history, events

WWII Rosie the Riveters

just_renny@evpl — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:15:00 GMT

Dr. Heidi Strobel will be presenting a program titled "Harmony of the Homefront: Homegrown Rosie the Riveters" tomorrow (March 20, 2013) starting at 6:30 in the Browning Room at Central Library. This program will feature information from an oral history research project Dr. Strobel conducted in 2008 and 2009. Dr. Strobel is currently Associate Professor of Art History in the Department of Archaeology and Art History at the University of Evansville.

The Evansville in WWII Digital Collection was funded with a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library. The WWII Speaker Series is part of the promotional events for the grant.

Ms. Mary Sims, Welder.

Evansville in WWII Digital Collection

just_renny@evpl — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:24:00 GMT

EVPL worked with the University of Southern Indiana and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science for the last year on the "Evansville in WWII" Digital Collection. The collection was funded with a grant from the US Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Indiana State Library.

EVPL digitized their collection of newsletters from Evansville factories producing for the war industry. The newsletters contain information about safety on the job, awards and goals acheived in production, recreational activities, comics, and photographs of laborers and their families. The newsletters can be searched by word which greatly helps when searching for something specific.

USI owns a collection of war bond posters produced and distributed nationally by the Government Printing Office. The posters are colorful and show a variety of topics that were important to the patriotic feelings of Americans during the war. A few of these posters are recognizable as they were created by Norman Rockwell, famous for his Saturday Evening Post (among other magazine) covers.

The Museum allowed EVPL to scan their collection of Evansville Shipyard photographs which were commissed by the Navy at the beginning of the shipyard construction in Evansville. The collection includes nearly 10,000 pictures of the shipyard, building construction, laborers, office workers, ship building, ship christening, recreational activities, war ships on the Ohio River, and much more. Many of these pictures contain names of workers or people involved in the ship christenings which can be searched.

In support of the efforts to bring to light Evansville's participation in WWII, EVPL is also hosting the WWII Speaker Series. The first speaker will by Mike Linderman from Angel Mounds discussing the WPA and Angel Mounds. Coming up later in March are Tom Lonnber from the Evansville Museum and Heidi Strobel from the University of Evansville. April features the final three presenters: Jennifer Greene from USI, local author Harold Morgan, and EVPL digitization clerk Lauren Weingart.

If you have questions or comments submit them to Renny in Reference Services.

Do You Know Your Local History?

wag.mado@evpl — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 17:34:00 GMT

Do you know the name of the restaurant that was located at 218 N.W. Fourth in the 1950's? Hint: The owner's last name was Topper. Well, if you'd like to take a stroll down "memory lane" and discover the answer to this question and many more, please join us for our next Savvy Senior's Series program. We will be meeting at Hickory Lake Apartments this Thursday, June 9 at 10:00 AM. This program is free, open to the public and does not require registration. Renny McBride, EVPL's local history librarian will present a quiz show format program about people/places in Evansville's history. She will also discuss the many library resources that are available to our community regarding local history. Come and share the memories with us.