You never know what you will find

This photograph is further proof that you never know what you are going to find at University Archives and Records Program. Pictured here is Mrs. C.H. Ray of Elizabethtown, KY. She is posing with her winning entry in the national "Fowl Fashion" competition. The competition, sponsored by the Poultry & Egg National Board, was one "in which the feathered folk strut their stuff in costumes their ingenious owners had created for them from poultry feed bag material," according to Jane Watson former publicity director of the Poultry & Egg National Board. Although the date of the photo is unknown there is something about a "fowl fashion" competition that is perhaps timeless.

How the times can change

We at Special Collections were a little concerned when we came across this photograph while processing an agriculture collection. It depicts "war-famed DDT bug bomb for civilians." Published in 1962 Silent Spring, by American biologist Rachel Carson, warned of the environmental and human health concerns associated with the indiscriminate spraying DDT. The book suggested that DDT and other pesticides potentially caused cancer and were detrimental to wildlife. The particular canister in this photograph "is said to contain enough insecticide to debug several average-size homes." Perhaps a case of overkill?

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Happy Birthday Elvis

So, perhaps this is a stretch - even for me. Nonetheless, Happy Birthday Elvis! In honor of the Elvis Sandwich (fried bread, peanut butter, BANANAS, and some say bacon) we post this photo of women buying bananas from Phil "the fruit man" Pearling's banana cart. This cart was an early campus vending operation, circa 1880s.