Herbert S. Schell Annual Lecture in History is Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015, in Farber Hall at 7:00 pm. The presentation is “Crescent City Girls: the Jim Crow Justice System and Black Girlhood in New Orleans” by LaKisha Simmons. She is an assistant professor of global gender studies at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. The lecture series honors Herbert S. Schell (1899-1994). He “served the Department of History, the University of South Dakota and the State of South Dakota for forty-three continuous years, except for the year 1928-1929 when he was on leave completing his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin.” Herbert S. Schell was appointed the first University Archivist in 1968. Image is from the I.D. Weeks Library Records, 1993-. USD Archives. University Libraries. The University of South Dakota. Quote is from the Herbert S. Schell Annual Lecture in History program, 2014. Other information is from the Faculty Files. USD Archives. University Libraries. The University of South Dakota.

I recently found this interesting article “The University and the War Call”, by Robert W. Jones, Dept. of Journalism, USD Bulletin Series XVIII, No. 3, April 1918 in a collection called USD Publications. The article tells us that hanging in the chapel was a flag with 200 stars, one for “every man now in khaki was formerly connected with the University of South Dakota, either as student or teacher”. Headings in the article are: Service flag has 200 stars Coyote athletes at the front University girls show spirit Enrollment shows little decrease War caused change in rules Faculty helps in war work April 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the United States entering World War I. Image is from the Digital Library of South Dakota.

The Chilson Collection of Western Americana has many Dakota Territory and South Dakota books and journals and a few surprises. I found this early South Dakota chronology in The Monthly South Dakotan, March 1899, vol. 1 no. 11, pages 191-193. May contain offensive language.

The Archives and Special Collections has this book in the Oscar Howe Papers: O. H. Bonnell, Translation of the Sioux Indian Language into English: figures, money, definitions, words, sentences, &c. Chamberlain, Dakota Territory: Democrat Print. 1880. 8 pages. 19 cm. [Update: Translation of the Sioux Indian language into English; Figures, money definitions, words, sentences, etc. has now been added to the Digital Library of South Dakota. Translation of the Sioux Indian language into English; Figures, money definitions, words, sentences, etc.

Nineteenth century General Land Office surveyors wrote descriptions of landforms, soil, water, vegetation and wildlife in their field notebooks while they were surveying in the midwest and western United States. These notebooks are used by researchers reconstructing the ecology of an area during a particular slice of time. Surveyors vary in how much detail they include and how easy it is to read their handwriting. The Archives and Special Collections has a copy of one field notebook for Yankton County, Dakota Territory, dated 1860 through 1866. Part one is the field notes for the exterior boundaries of township no. 92 north of range no. 54 west, and townships no. 93, 94, 95 and 96 north of ranges no. 54, 55, 56 and 57. Part two is the field notes for the subdivisionsal and meander lines of township no. 92 north of range 54 west, and townships no. 93, 94, 95 and 96 north of ranges no. 54, 55, 56 and 57. Other GLO survey field notes can be seen at the State Archives of the South Dakota State Historical Society or online at the South Dakota Digital Archives.

The Archives and Special Collections has a small collection on the USS South Dakota. These images are from that collection. There have been 2 naval ships named after South Dakota and a new one will be joining the fleet in 2017. The middle one of these three was a battleship that served during WWII. The 75th anniversary commemoration of its launch will be held on Saturday, June 11, 2016, at Battleship South Dakota Memorial in Sioux Falls. Information from http://www.usssouthdakota.com/, accessed June 8, 2016.

Archives and Special Collections recently received the 1920 edition of the Official Automobile Blue Book. This is a great resource for anyone interested in the history of roads because it gives a description of the automobile routes in our area before the Good Roads Movement. The book includes a general index map of routes described in the book and a detailed description of these routes. Some of the details are: Which route description to read if you are doing the route in reverse. What principal towns you travel through on this route. What are the conditions of the roads, including if the road is dirt or gravel and whether to avoid the route in wet weather? What is the total mileage and what is the mileage between points? Warns you of danger points, such as bad hills, sharp turns, and railroad grade crossings. Informs you where the good, reliable hotels and garages can be found along the route. What are the points of interest? Some city maps are included. In the 1920s and before, many roads in the United States received names. Some of the major names mentioned in the book are the Custer Battlefield Hiway, the Yellowstone Trail, and the Black and Yellow Trail. After the 1920’s, the United States and many of the states developed a numbering system for roads. The full title of the book is Official Automobile Blue Book, volume 10, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with extension routes into Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Utah, Idaho and Washington, 1920 edition.

The Allan H. Schell Collection of Campaign Buttons, Pins, And Political Ephemera was created by Allan H. Schell, and chiefly contains political pins, buttons, posters, pennants, and ephemera related to United States and South Dakota political positions in the 20th century. Pins from US Presidential and SD Gubernatorial campaigns are temporarily on display in the Archives and Special Collections in ID Weeks.

You can see photographs from the early days of the Casa Grande National Monument and Frank Pinkley in the Mabel Townsley Papers at the Archives and Special Collections. “The General Land Office took over management of the ruins and hired a young man named Frank Pinkley in 1901 to be the first on-site custodian. In 1903 a shelter roof of corrugated iron supported by redwood timbers was built over the Casa Grande, and between 1906 and 1908 major excavations and repairs of the ruins were conducted under the direction of Jesse Fewkes of the Bureau of Ethnology. Most of the lower walls visible today were uncovered at that time. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Casa Grande Ruins to be a National Monument on August 3, 1918 and management of the Ruins was transferred to the National Park Service.” from Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona, https://www.nps.gov/cagr/learn/historyculture/index.htm (accessed August 12, 2016). National Park Service turns 100 on August 25th, 2016.

To learn more about Labor Day and labor issues in South Dakota, check out the Albert J. Maag papers in the Archives and Special Collections. Albert J. Maag (1891-1965) was the president of the South Dakota State Federation of Labor. This collection contains correspondence, minutes of the annual AFL conventions, and yearbooks of the federation, plus much, much more. It even has a folder on Labor Day. Most of the collection dates from 1928 through 1964. Image from the Albert J. Maag papers.