Cobblestone articles from September 2003

Cobblestone archives from September 2003

Editor's note.
September 1, 2003... Do you save letters and cards that you receive from friends and relatives? Does your family have photo albums or videos of birthday parties and vacations? Where is your birth certificate stored? All these mementos and documents tell a story...

What is the National Archives?
September 1, 2003... To understand what the National Archives is, perhaps we first should answer the question: What is an archives? An archives is a place where people go to find information. But, rather than gathering knowledge from books in a library,...

From parchment to printouts: conservation at the archives.
September 1, 2003... Unlike archivists, who focus on the content of documents, conservators are taught to think about the physical makeup of documents. To conservators, who often have a background in studio arts and sciences, the kinds of paper and ink used to...

Saving history.
September 1, 2003... Some of the records at the National Archives are than two hundred years old. They have lasted so long because they have been well taken care of by preservation professionals. If you want to know how they do it, try this easy activity. 1....

National archives: across the nation.(Geographically Speaking)
September 1, 2003... 1 Pacific Alaska Region, Anchorage 2 Pacific Alaska Region, Seattle 3 Pacific Region, San Bruno 4 Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley 5 Pacific Region, Laguna Niguel 6 Rocky Mountain Region, Denver 7 Dwight D,...

From old to new ... and improved.
September 1, 2003... In 1934, the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. (on that city's famous Mall), was the first of what is now a nationwide network of facilities run by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It is visited by more than...

Where records come alive: the National Archives Experience.
September 1, 2003... The hardest part of putting together an exhibit at the National Archives is deciding which of the billions of records should be displayed, But the creation of a new visitor space will provide a great opportunity to present to the visiting...

Revealing a new face.
September 1, 2003... Did you know that the two paintings hanging on the curved plaster walls of the National Archives' Rotunda in Washington, D.C., were painted in the immense attic of New York City's Grand Central Station? In 1936, artist Barry Faulkner needed a...

Archival appetizers.
September 1, 2003... According to the dictionary, an appetizer is "a food or drink served before a meal to stimulate the appetite." On these four pages, and again on pages 34 to 36, we offer you a very small sampling of the historic, remarkable, and moving...

First & last.(Quote of the Month)
September 1, 2003... The Future (OPPOSITE) is one of four statues that sits outside the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. We have replaced the inscription that appears on the base of that statue with an encoded one on the opposite page. The last...

Did you know?
September 1, 2003... NARA's 33 nationwide facilities hold about 26 million cubic feet of original textual and nontextual materials; 93,000 motion picture films; more than 5 1/2 million maps, charts, and architectural drawings; more than 207,000 sound and video...

A new home for the charters.
September 1, 2003... The Charters of Freedom are the most important documents in the National Archives. Their safety and preservation have been the responsibility of the National Archives since they were transferred from the Library of Congress in December 1952....

Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!
September 1, 2003... The records at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) outnumber the employees millions to one. That's right--only about three thousand full- and part-time men and women work in the thirty-three NARA facilities across the United...

Life cycle of records.
September 1, 2003... Every day, in every federal government agency, important documents are created. For example, the president may be signing an executive order, the Navy may be gathering data on a new fighter jet, and the Department of Education may be publishing...

More Archival appetizers.
September 1, 2003... ABOVE: The Dust Bowl era--when drought and dust storms swept across the Midwest--was documented by photographers hired by the federal government. RIGHT: This poster was an appeal from the government to Americans to plant gardens in support of...

The funny and the far-out: archivists share their stories.
September 1, 2003... illustrated by Peter Bono Do you like solving problems? How about helping people? Enjoy reading? What about studying history? If you said "yes" to any of those questions, then a job as an archivist might be the perfect occupation for you....

Who uses the the National Archives?
September 1, 2003... Every year, hundreds of thousands of people spend countless hours at the National Archives' facilities and libraries. Who are these researchers and why do they use the Archives? Most people who come to the National Archives to conduct...

Brain ticklers.
September 1, 2003... Give your brain a little tickle to see how well you read and understood this issue on the National Archives. If you believe the answer to be false, give yourself the ultimate test and see whether you can explain why it is false. Answers below....

A final word.
September 1, 2003... After reading this issue, do you think you will be more careful about saving and caring for your personal pieces of history? Why might it be useful or important to do this? Would you consider a career as an archivist? Picture Credits: All...

The National Archives.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... The National Archives is a nice place. It keeps the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in a safe room. The National Archives has books, maps, journals, and old videos from America's history. It has so much...

Ocean breeze.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... A cool ocean breeze sweeps up your dreams, carrying your wishes, your hopes. All carried away to a land where dreams are fulfilled. Then it sweeps you off your feet and it carries you there--That cool ocean breeze. Christine Robinson ...

Bad idea.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... A brainy old chap named Einstein loved to think during rain or shine. He tried to turn hot sauce into some lip gloss, but no one would want to be his valentine! Meagan Eaton Lowell, Michigan

D-day.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... The man said "Go," and they all went--no one was hesitant. They jumped from boats and stormed the beach, for they had a goal that they had to reach. They had to take the Atlantic wall; if they failed, they all would fall. Their mission was...

Autumn mums.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... Maroon-colored suns shine brightly in the autumn light. A drop of yellow paint settles into them. The comforting scent of cinnamon and mixed cooking spices fills my nose, as I smell the soft and gentle mums. I watch as the morning dewdrops...

Summer night.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... Water flowing by the trees, comforted by the winds. Time for bed, sleepyhead--the moon is coming up, and morning will come soon. Close your eyes and dream about the sky so blue. Megan Cotterman Cincinnati, Ohio

Waterfall.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... Flat rocks on may different planes. A sheet of green moss with leaves on top. Icy water flowing down, trickling, trickling, into a small pond below. Brooke Muhlenkamp Coldwater, Ohio

The beach.(Letters)
September 1, 2003... At the beach, on a crisp, windy day, the sandy smell overwhelmed me. As I sat, my toes whispered in the smooth sand. The sound of children playing nearby in the blue water made me want to do the same. As I got closer to the water, I felt my...

Dear cobblestonians.
September 1, 2003... Next year is a presidential election year. This means that American citizens will vote to elect who they want to fill positions from the local level to the highest office in the land. In our March 2004 issue, COBBLESTONE will explore the...

Digging deeper.
September 1, 2003... Following is a list of addresses and contact information for all the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) sites and presidential library facilities. There is sure to be a wealth of primary-source information available near you!...

From the archives.
September 1, 2003... The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is just one of several American institutions to which COBBLESTONE has devoted issues. You can also check out The U.S. Senate (COB8411), A Look Inside the U.S. Mint (COB8509), and the The...

The making of a memorial: a personal connection.
September 1, 2003... In the summer of 2001, I began assisting sculptor Ray Kaskey as he designed reliefs and freestanding sculptures for the World War II Memorial that will be dedicated on the Mall in Washington, D.C., in May 2004. This was not my usual type of...

The Charters of Freedom.
September 1, 2003... Only three of the billions of documents in the National Archives are on permanent display. Together, these documents, which we call the Charters of Freedom, define America's government, its guiding spirit, and its institutions. The three have...