Beautiful pictures and the wonders of geneology research!

Unidentified couple, ca. 1910.  Gift of Dr. Wade Hall.

This wonderful photograph is just one of the many, many, many (!!) photographs in our collections.  The people in the photograph are unidentified, but someone out there might know who they are.

Many of the Hoole staff had the opportunity to attend the annual Federation of Genealogical Societies annual conference which was held in Birmingham last month.  The staff learned a great deal and will be able to pass that knowledge along to our researchers.

One exciting item to note is that the rich online genealogical resource, AfriGeneas will be free for the entire month of October.  So, bookmark it and give it a try!  And if you know who this handsome couple is, please send me a note!

Veterans in our Collections: William March and Many More

From our collections, the "dog tags" of William March (né William E. Campbell), Alabama author and a highly decorated United States Marine.

William March saw action in World War I, and received the French Croix de Guerre, the American Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross for his service. March went on to write several novels and short stories, his first being Company K (1933, Smith and Haas), first serialized in Forum magazine from 1930-1932. Company K is a series of 113 vignettes that capture the individual experiences of the men of a fictional company in World War I. Its brutal and frank portrayal of the war experience has made it one of the most significant literary representations of the Great War.

William March Campbell (1893-1954) in his Marine uniform, 1919.

A well-traveled envelope sent to William March while he served in WWI, 1918.


William March's stripes

The W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library holds significant materials that illustrate the daily life and experiences of the men and women of the United States Armed Services in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some of the collections are of well-known future authors such as William March and William Bradford Huie (who participated in D-Day and served as an aide to Vice Admiral Ben Moreell of the renowned Seabees), and still many more are of regular men and women who served their country both overseas and on the homefront.

Photographs, letters, diaries, scrapbooks and other personal materials are important tools in researching and understanding this important aspect of our history and culture.

For more information about our holdings relating to American servicemen and women, please contact us!

Year-Round Costumed Fun

From a family production of the HMS Pinafore ca. 1899 (Perkins Family Papers) and an interpretation of "clouds" from the May Festival, 1928, Tuscaloosans don't just wear costumes on Halloween!

More Hoole Ghouls!

These images are all from the early 1960s and from the office of Educational Media. It might have been for fun, or for a Theater class, or maybe something else entirely. If you know, tell us!

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Costumed Kids and Co-Eds!

Educational Media Photographs, ca. early 1960s, Hoole Special Collections Library

A Jester and a Fairy, ca. 1900. Perkins Family Papers, Hoole Special Collections Library

Halloween Party at UA, ca. early 1950s,
The George Nichols Photographic Collection, Hoole Special Collections Library

Here are just a few of the many costumed characters that show up in our photo collections! Stay tuned for more this week! Happy Halloween!

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The Crimson Tide in 1917

This beautiful image of the Crimson Tide football team from 1917 is taken from a glass negative taken by the Geologist Eugene Allen Smith and is accessible in our digital collections. And while things with regard to football have grown a little in the past century, the enthusiasm has always been there. Our roster has grown a little bit as well. Roll Tide!

Quercus Macrocarpa

Here is an elegant botanical photograph of Quercus Macrocarpa or the Burr Oak (with a box of matches for scale), taken by botanist Roland Harper in 1949 near the town of Snowden, Alabama. From the Roland Harper Collection, and available in our digital collections at http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0001_2008032_0007640. Plant a tree for Tuscaloosa!

Save the Date! 9/20 at 5 pm for E.A. Smith@Hoole

Old Timey Summer Fun!

These images, all from the Wade Hall Photographs Collection, and all available online in our Digital Collections give us just a little taste of summertime nostalgia. Take the time to take a swim, or a boat ride, go on a picnic, play with your dog, or go for a drive and stop for a BBQ sandwich -- or a 40 cent Southern fried chicken platter (the "Pig Stand" featured above was in Binghamton, New York)!! Enjoy!

Aftermath of the 1932 Tornado Outbreak in Alabama

These five images are from the Roland Harper Photographs Collection -- photographs by Roland Harper of aftermath of the deadly tornado outbreak in the deep south on March 21 and 22, 1932. The destruction and loss of life was staggering, with the state of Alabama being the hardest hit.

The Roland Harper Photographs collection, 1878-1966 contains over 7500 photographs, as well as negatives and albums. Subject include botanical and geological subjects, as well as images of farms, people, houses and everyday scenes. The photographs cover thirty-one states, the bulk of the collection are from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New York, California, Arkansas, and Maryland. These images are a powerful and essential resource in understanding the natural history of this region, providing accurate, precise, and well-documented snapshots of a time and place.

The papers of Roland Harper are also housed in the Hoole Library. Sixty three linear feet of materials from Harper, include his diaries, correspondence, research notes, writings, publications, personal and family materials, cemetery records, scrapbooks, as well as photographs, materials relating to race relations, and a substantial collection of transportation timetables and clippings. Some of the photographs and other materials from the collections are available online through our Digital Collections.

These images can in no way allow us to understand the tragedy of those 1932 tornadoes, where 268 people in Alabama alone lost their lives.

The devastation from the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak in Alabama is beyond comprehension. The University of Alabama, while in the center of the city of Tuscaloosa, was physically untouched. There are areas all around the campus that are damaged and destroyed. And we have lost members of our UA community to these storms.

These images from the 1932 tornadoes are a testament to the resilience of Alabamians -- we will be back, with the help of countless supporters from all over the world, and we will be stronger and better than ever. Please continue to help in any way that you can.

Celebrate Earth Day!

Utricularia juncea, Eriophorum, Lefhamthus, and Azalea visersa, in bog just N. of lake; 3:22 pm, Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.

Diazo print, Cyanotype. From the Roland McMillan Harper photographs collection, W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library.

Now that they've seen Paree!

It was 122 years ago this week, on March 31, 1889, that the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by the tower's designer, Gustave Eiffel. Among the dignitaries were the French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard and over 200 construction workers -- the men who risked their lives to build the tower.


These two images of the Eiffel Tower are from a photo album/scrap book belonging to Dr. Herman and Mattie Hesse. The album contains picture postcards and photographs from the Hesses' trip to Europe aboard the S.S. Berlin in the summer of 1930. These souvenir cards are typical of the items sold near the tower. This photo album is part of the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library's extensive photograph collections. While the name may sound familiar, it is not the same (Nobel Prize-winning) Hermann Hesse of Siddhartha and Steppenwolf fame!



The remarkable landmark structure of the Eiffel Tower plays a role in the mystique and draw of Paris as the ultimate destination --- signifying decadence, exoticism, and elegance among other things.

Sheet music from the Wade Hall Sheet Music Collection offers incredible insight into the sounds of eras gone by. The piece featured above is housed in the Hoole Library, and is included in our rich digital collections -- the piece is available here: http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0004_0000002_0001605

This World War I era hit, How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After they've seen Paree) really says it all. Paris at the end of the first World War and in the 1920s was in stark contrast to rural life in America.

This wartime hit continued to be sung and performed and remained popular through the 1930s and 1940s. It was performed in the World War II era classic film, For Me and My Gal, by none other than Judy Garland!

Here are a few versions for your listening pleasure -- one from the 1910s, one from the 1930s, one from the 1940s, and two more "modern" versions in banjo and "barbershop"!

Alabama's Beautiful Gulf Coast Beaches, June 1912

Dauphin Island, 1912
From Roland Harper Photographs Collection
(Collection number 633, Folder number 3.337)

http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0001_2008032_0005179

Alabamians have long enjoyed their beaches, but for the people of Southwest Alabama and the coastal areas of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the Gulf is a way of life. As the oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster slowly encroaches on our white sands, Cool@Hoole would like to share a few beach scenes from our collections from Alabama's shores taken by botanist Roland Harper nearly 100 years ago on June 12, 1912.

The Roland Harper Photographs collection, 1878-1966 contains over 7500 photographs, as well as negatives and albums. Subject include botanical and geological subjects like the Orange Beach photographs, as well as images of farms, people, houses and everyday scenes. The photographs cover thirty-one states, the bulk of the collection are from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New York, California, Arkansas, and Maryland. These images are a powerful and essential resource in understanding the natural history of this region, providing accurate and precise snapshot of the flora and formations of the Alabama Gulf Coast.

The papers of Roland Harper are also housed in the Hoole Library. Sixty three linear feet of materials from Harper, include his diaries, correspondence, research notes, writings, publications, personal and family materials, cemetery records, scrapbooks, as well as photographs, materials relating to race relations, and a substantial collection of transportation timetables and clippings. Some of the photographs and other materials from the collections are available online through our Digital Collections.

Bluffs at the outlet of Perdido Bay

Caption: Bluffs about 10 ft. high made by waves cutting into dunes near outlet of Perdido Bay. 1.31 pm
From Roland Harper Photographs Collection
(Collection number 633, Folder number 187.2)
http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0001_2008032_0005568

Dunes at Orange Beach

Caption: Looking South among older dunes, with Corradina in foreground, Pinus clausa (dead), Quercus myrtifolia, Ceratiola, etc. 2:04 pm.
From Roland Harper Photographs Collection
(Collection number 633, Folder number 187.6)
http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0001_2008032_0005575

Then state Geologist, Eugene Allen Smith on Orange Beach (in a suit, not a bathing suit!)

Caption: Near view of same bluff, showing bedding of sand [E.A. Smith in picture] 1:35 pm
From Roland Harper Photographs Collection
(Collection number 633, Folder number 187.3)
http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0001_2008032_0005569

Thanks to graduate student Alisha Linam, a native of South Alabama for her work with these items!