One hundred years ago, South Dakota elected its first native-born governor; this governor, Peter Norbeck, proved to be one of the most progressive governors in South Dakota history. Norbeck was born in Vermillion, Clay County, on August 27, 1870. Though he did not receive an official degree, Norbeck attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion for several terms and briefly taught school before marrying Lydia Anderson in 1900. Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Redfield, South Dakota, in 1901, where Peter and partner Charles Nicholson formed the company of Norbeck & Nicholson, which revolutionized artesian well drilling. He entered politics in 1908, serving in the state Senate until 1915; as lieutenant governor from 1915 to 1916; as the first native South Dakotan governor from 1917 to 1921; and as United States Senator from 1921 until his death from a heart attack on December 20, 1936, in Redfield. During his tenure as a politician, Norbeck assisted in the endorsement of many state-owned agencies, including a cement plant that officially opened in 1923 from legislation passed in 1919 and remained opened until its sale in 2001; the 1918 enfranchisement of South Dakota women; the passage of legislation in his second gubernatorial term creating the Custer State Park in the Black Hills; the development of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial; and implemented an extensive road construction program throughout South Dakota. The Norbeck Papers, located at the USD Archives, consist chiefly of correspondence, manuscript, and print materials relating to Norbeck’s political service as governor of South Dakota and as United States Senator, though the boxes are very loosely organized. The materials span the years 1896-1936, concentrating heavily on Norbeck’s tenure as U.S. Senator from 1921 to his death in 1936. Overall, the collection can be broken into three general categories: political correspondence, financial materials, and personal materials, including correspondence with members of Norbeck’s family, trips, and copies of speeches. Additional materials include a box of books, a box of photographs, an individually wrapped scrapbook, and 3 oversize maps. The South Dakota Oral History Center, located on second floor of I. D. Weeks Library, has several oral histories that recall Peter Norbeck. Many of the interviews include a discussion of what South Dakota was like in the early 1900s and include topics such as Governor Norbeck, the flu epidemic of 1918, the Nonpartisan League, Prohibition, and the Norbeck-Nicholson firm in Redfield, South Dakota. For more information, visit the Archives and Special Collections to look at the Peter Norbeck papers (MS 116) today – including the attached photographs of the first native-born South Dakota governor. Photographs: Box 14 and Box 172, Peter Norbeck Papers

These are in the Archives and Special Collections. Governor Archie Gubbrud In the I.D. Weeks Library are the reports of the South Dakota Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The earliest one in the library is dated March 1963 and is about discrimination against Black airmen (especially with housing, restaurants, and bars) in Rapid City, South Dakota, call number F659.R2 U5.

William Jennings Bryan and Adlai Stevenson The Alan H. Schell collection of campaign buttons, pins, and political ephemera contains nearly one thousand pins, buttons, and ribbons that date from 1884 to 2008. While working with the collection this summer, I found surprises. There is a pin for Charlene Mitchell, very likely the first woman to appear on the general ballot as a candidate for the US president, and a pin for Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to seek the nomination of the Democratic Party for the US President. Contact the Archives and Special Collections if you have US presidential or South Dakota campaign buttons (or the stickers that many candidates are using instead of buttons) that you would like to donate. We also welcome those from primaries and caucuses. Consider starting your own collection of political memorabilia this campaign season.

The Alan H. Schell Collection of Campaign Buttons, Pins, and Political Ephemera contains 2 watches in addition to nearly one thousand pins, buttons, and ribbons that date from 1884 to 2008. Can you tell which watch was meant to support a candidate and which one was meant to lampoon a candidate?

Our bugs are symbols of a US presidential campaign and/or a federal monetary policy. Do you know which one? Check out the political ephemera in papers we have from various politicians. They often highlight issues important at that time.

If you think banning books is solely a modern pastime, stop by Special Collections to take a look at this 1541 edition of Petrarch’s Canzoniere. The book was not banned in its entirety, but some sonnets were subject to censorship by the Catholic Church via the Index Expurgatorius. This index required the expurgation of selected sonnets from previously printed editions and prohibited printing in later editions. The sonnets in question feature Petrarch’s critical take on the Avignon Papacy. These are sometimes referred to as the “Babylonian Sonnets” as Petrarch relates the residency of the papacy at Avignon to the biblical captivity of the Jews in Babylon. These pages appear to have been intentionally affixed to one another at some point This sonnet, along with commentary, has been marked out with ink

This summer students processed Allan H. Schell’s Collection of Political Buttons, Pins, and Political Ephemera. The collection includes over 1,000 pins and buttons dating from the 1884 Presidential Campaign to the 2000 Presidential Campaign. In addition, the collection contains pins and buttons relating to South Dakota’s gubernatorial and senatorial elections beginning in 1901. William Jennings Bryan and Adlai Stevenson

The Schell Collection contains 10 pins relating to the William McKinley Political Campaigns. One such pin is shown below. 25th President 1896-1904

Eldridge Cleaver ran for president in 1968 under the Peace and Freedom party.

On Thursday October 1, 2015, archivists around the country will join you on Twitter to answer all questions archival. Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, you can learn more about how archivists are working every day to preserve historical materials like photographs, documents, audio and video and digital materials. If you have always wondered what archivists do all day or how you should preserve all your computer files, #AskAnArchivist Day is the perfect opportunity to get your questions answered. You can get to know more about your local archives or pose a question for archivists everywhere. USD Archives and Special Collections is home to the rare books, manuscripts and archives department of the University Libraries with our manuscript strengths in South Dakota political, cultural and economic history and USD history. Our book collections focus on South Dakota history, Native American culture and the Western expansion of the United States as well as the history of the violin family of instruments. The South Dakota Oral History Center collects and preserves the voices of the people of the Northern Plains. Included are over 5,500 interviews preserving the historical, social and cultural history of the state with the two largest collections pertaining to preserving indigenous memories and experiences from 1890s to present as well as interviews with South Dakotans from every county in the state. How does it work? To participate, tweet your questions and include the hashtag #AskAnArchivist. You can ask your question directly to USD Archives and Special Collections by including @USD_AandSC or to the South Dakota Oral History Center @SDOHC. So get your questions ready and join us on Twitter on October 1 at #AskAnArchivist.