What do Tenochtitlan, Jean Thomas, Lexington Pride Fest, and Whiskey Manufacturing Have in Common?

Resources related to Tenochtitlan, Jean Thomas, Lexington Pride Fest, and Whiskey Manufacturing, and more have been digitized and added to ExploreUK!


Description of the O.F.C., Carlisle, and J.S. Taylor distilleries, and process of whiskey manufacture applied therein 1886

The Tape Recordings series and the Films series from the A.B. "Happy" Chandler papers

Temistitan (map of Tenochtitlan), circa 1572

Jean Thomas The Life and the Legend scrapbook ,1943-1984, consists of a scrapbook concerning the life of Kentucky folklorist Jean Thomas, which was compiled by University of Kentucky student, Jerry Groce.

Several Pride Fest programs were added to Pride Community Services Organization publications

A WWI scrapbook was added to the John Jacob Niles papers

United Brothers of Friendship and Sisters of the Mysterious Ten

Journal of the Annual Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic Department of Kentucky, 1896-1907

WWI collections online

This fall, several World War I collections were digitized and made available on ExploreUK in anticipation of the 100 year anniversary of “The Great War”. These collections are also available in person at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.

Tandy M. Pryor photographs collection (2004av053): (dated circa 1917-1919; 0.5 cubic feet; 261 items) consists of 261 gelatin developing-out prints pasted to photographic album pages taken during and after World War I.

 

 

The Barrow Unit records (63m201): (dated 1918-1941, undated; 0.42 cubic feet; 2 boxes) comprises correspondence, printed articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, and official orders and rosters, documenting the volunteer military medical unit known as the Barrow Unit, which provided medical services in England to personnel of the U.S. Army during World War I.

The Howard I. Kinne papers, 1912-1933 (62M85) include family correspondence before and during the First World War. The collection also includes the scrapbook of a trip to France after the war.

The Henry Watterson World War I editorials (59m17) (dated 1915-1921; 0.23 cubic feet; 1 folder) contain editorials cut from the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The Russell Des Cognets papers (57m2): (dated 1918-1957, undated; 0.35 cubic feet; 3 boxes) include the correspondence, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings Russell Des Cognets collected relating to his service in France during World War I and as a political activist during prohibition and the Great Depression.

Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day, we thank all who have served and sacrificed for our country and those in need.

American ambulance in France during World War I, ca. 1918, from the Tandy M. Pryor World War I photographs collection, University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center

Glass Plate Negative Collection Now on ExploreUK

Digitized images from the glass plate negative collection are now on ExploreUK. The collection (dated 1887-1953, bulk 1898-1918; 42 cubic feet; 3854 items) consists of dry plate, silver nitrate glass negatives, and depict buildings on the University of Kentucky campus, University of Kentucky sports teams and clubs, and past university presidents.

The full finding aid can be seen here.

This collection is really worth looking through–  there are so many fun images!

 Above: Golden Jubilee, Burgoo in old Kentucky, 1916

 Above: Tables spread for dinner in honor of five men naturalized, held outside, 1918

 Above: Boxing match, in front of grandstand at Red Mile, 1918

 Above: Tug-of-war, 1918

Sesquicentennial Stories: The Promise of UK #131

I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
And in-flu-enza.
(from a jump-rope song sung by children in 1918)

Navy sailors leaving for furlough during flu epidemic, Louis Edward Nollau F series photographic print collection, University Archives

As UK students returned to classes in the fall of 1918, the “Great War” (WWI) was winding down and the world was looking forward to the possibility of peace. Focused on larger issues, Americans were generally unconcerned about reports of “Spanish flu” outbreaks in military camps earlier that year, but by September the increase in cases brought it to the forefront of the country’s attention. As military men moved across the country, going to or returning from war, they carried the disease with them. October saw the most deaths from influenza at more than 200,000 in the U.S.

Nurses and medical officers at makeshift gymnasium hospital, Louis Edward Nollau photographic print collection, University Archives

Although Louisville had reported thousands of cases, Lexington thought itself spared until the first week of October. At this time, troops were quartered at Camp Buell on the UK campus and the flu swept through the barracks. Classes were interrupted from October 11 until November 3 and many soldiers were granted furlough in an attempt to cut down on the number of cases. 403 cases of influenza were reported on UK’s campus, resulting in eight deaths, while the number of cases reported in Fayette County was in the thousands, with more than 51 deaths. During the epidemic, the gymnasium was converted into a hospital staffed by Red Cross nurses. Some students contracted the flu after the ban was lifted, such as Margaret Settle, who reported that she “took the flu” over Thanksgiving break and “didn’t get back to school until Jan. 4, 1919.”

Convalescents playing cards at gymnasium hospital, Louis Edward Nollau F series photographic print collection, University Archives

 

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918 killed more people than died in WWI, an estimated 20-50 million in all, somewhat dulling the celebration of the Armistice on November 11, 1918.