Curiosities & Wonders

floatingsheep: Geocoding Historic Photographs in Lexington, KY

2011-11-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

floatingsheep: Geocoding Historic Photographs in Lexington, KY: As part of my undergraduate iWorlds class this semester, I assigned students the task of geocoding historic photographs of Lexington, KY. T...

Harriette Simpson Arnow papers to open with an exhibition and program

2011-10-14T10:13:00.010-04:00

Photograph by Dey, Ann Arbor

Special Collections is pleased to announce the opening of the Harriette Simpson Arnow papers with an exhibition and program on November 17, 2011 at 4 pm. Arnow was the Appalachian author of The Dollmaker, Hunter's Horn, Seedtime on the Cumberland, Flowering of the Cumberland, and Old Burnside. The program will be held in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Building and features talks by Appalachian writer Gurney Norman and Arnow scholar, Sandy Ballard. Music will be provided by Dennis Bender and Ron Pen. A reception will follow the program. To see the full invitation, click here. For additional information about this event, contact kate.hesseldenz@uky.edu or 859-257-1742.

Kentucky's University

2011-09-28T09:58:00.001-04:00

Historic promotional film from the University of Kentucky Archives. Film preserved and digitized by the MediaPreserve at Preservation Technologies.

Ralph Barker Richlawn Farm film

2011-09-23T12:10:00.005-04:00

The MediaPreserve at Preservation Technologies just delivered another amazing digitized film! This is just a brief clip of the original 19 minute amateur film.

In 1879, Myron Barker, a major tobacco broker, set up residence on land that he called Richlawn Farm in Carrollton, Kentucky. He raised tobacco and operated as an independent broker until 1902 when he sold his interest to the American Tobacco Co. In the early 1900’s, after Myron’s death, the farm land was owned by Adelaide (Barker) Fisher, Myron’s daughter. She and her husband, William Fisher, built a summer home on the property. In 1918, Adelaide and William lost their house to a fire and they began a rebuilding process over the next five years. Sadly, nearly one year before the home was finished, Adelaide became ill and passed away. At that time, William Fisher sold the land along with the nearly completed home to Adelaide’s brother, Ralph M. Barker (married to Nell Long Barker), whom completed work on Highland House in 1923. Richlawn Farm was significant to citizens of Carroll County as it was a place of social events and gatherings. During holidays such as Christmas and Fourth of July, the Richlawn yard would be elaborately decorated. Ralph M. Barker owned the R.M. Tobacco Company, started the Carrollton Phone System, the Carrollton Cannery and was a prominent local businessman. In addition, he was known for his love of dogs and at one time owned 37 Great Danes.

The Ralph Barker, Richlawn Farm Film Collection, ca. 1935-1964 consists of 121 films; 47, 8mm films and 74, 16mm films. The bulk of the collection is amateur home and vacation movies in color and black and white; there are also two Castle Films News Parade reels. The amateur films document the family life of Ralph M. Barker, his friends, and family on Richlawn farm in Carrollton, Kentucky. Common scenes include: Mr. Barker and his dogs; visiting friends; scenes around the home; floods and high water; the Kentucky River and river transportation; Easter activities; Christmas scenes; farm work and activities; setting tobacco; Birthday parties; and Fourth of July celebrations.

The films also document Cincinnati Reds baseball games, Florida training sessions and other baseball games and players including: The 1939 World Series; Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh; Boston Bees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, 1940; the Yankees and Cardinals in 1940; Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer, Don Lang, Whitey Moore (Lloyd Albert Moore), and others.

Exhibit about Librarian, Margaret I. King

2011-09-20T14:37:00.003-04:00

In conjunction with the 80th anniversary of the King Building (dedicated in October 1931), a newly re-designed permanent exhibit about Margaret Isadora King, the University of Kentucky's first librarian and the namesake of the King Building, is now on view in the Special Collections lobby. Through photographs, artifacts, and information from King's papers housed in Special Collections, the exhibit, The Heart of the University: Margaret I. King and the Library chronicles King's career and the expansion of UK's library. King oversaw the development of the library serving as its head librarian from 1909 until her retirement in 1949. In 1948, the UK Board of Trustees named the library in her honor. UK's president at the time, Herman L. Donovan in a letter to King said, "We...often think of you and appreciate the great work you have done in building for the University a magnificent library. Your life has been spent in a good cause in making books available for students and faculty and scholars..."

UK Libraries Aquire Early Henry Letter

2011-09-13T09:27:00.001-04:00

Special Collections has recently acquired one of the earliest known letters of Henry Clay. Unpublished, it was written in Virginia, over a year before his move to Lexington in November of 1797. Dated July 16, 1796, it is addressed to Peter Tinsley, clerk of the High Court of Chancery of Virginia and was written when Clay would have been only nineteen years old. The letter, in which Clay discusses his poor health, is a revealing one. Young Clay states that he has “unwrapt his soul” and wishes to make amends for a misunderstanding in his terms of employment with Tinsley.

From his appointment with Tinsley, Clay moves on to work with Chancellor George Wythe, the teacher of Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, and is granted a license to practice law in Virginia in 1797. He was soon afterwards admitted to practice in the Fayette County circuit court, taking the oath on March 20, 1798.

The UK Libraries housed the Papers of Henry Clay editorial project, which produced eleven volumes of Clay documents over a forty year period. The earliest item in the first volume dates to August 22, 1797 and is a legal paper. The first piece of correspondence in the edition dates to December 27, 1798. This new acquisition prefigures all of the printed material in the published Clay papers and sheds significant light on Clay’s precocity and his early association with an important figure in Virginia’s public life. U.K. Libraries holds one of the largest collections of Henry Clay letters, rivaled only by the Library of Congress.

Lexington Ky, on Historypin

2011-08-14T10:38:00.003-04:00

Explore historic images of Kentucky through Historypin http://www.historypin.com/photos/#/geo:38.014,-84.484/zoom:7/date_from:1840-01-01/date_to:2001-12-31/

"Historypin is a way for millions of people to come together, from across different generations, cultures and places, to share small glimpses of the past and to build up the huge story of human history.

Everyone has history to share: whether its sitting in yellowed albums in the attic, collected in piles of crackly tapes, conserved in the 1000s of archives all over the world or passed down in memories and old stories.

Each of these pieces of history finds a home on Historypin, where everyone has the chance to see it, add to it, learn from it, debate it and use it to build up a more complete understanding of the world.

Historypin has been developed by the not-for-profit company We Are What We Do, in partnership with Google." from the Historypin site.

Here's an example from our collection

http://tinyurl.com/42hgo59

You can become a member and upload your own!

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

University of Kentucky basketball and football negatives

Name the first SEC player to make the all-conference team in basketball and football?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

University of Kentucky general photographic prints, circa 1900 - 2005

What governor proposed the community college system?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-22T09:51:00.003-04:00

Postcard Collection, circa 1890-1990

Which city is higher in elevation Lexington or Louisville?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

What Shelby County tavern is famous for its Southern specialties?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

What were Confederate troops led by General John Hunt Morgan nicknamed?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-19T09:00:00.002-04:00

What Maysville singer became famous during the big band era?

Russell Theatre, 9 East Third Street, Maysville, Kentucky
Collection on Lafayette Studios

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-18T09:00:00.002-04:00

Louisville was never the site of any Civil War battles. True of false?Nick Barton, Civil War veteran
Doris Ulmann Photographic Collection, 1915-1925

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Name the largest county in Kentucky?Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, 1934-1942

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

What authors are noted for their guides to Kentucky plants and wildflowers?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

Who won the first Boys State High School Basketball tournament held in 1918?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-14T09:05:00.003-04:00

True of false, Daniel Boone died in Kentucky?

(Handwritten Note On Verso - Natural Chapel, Camp Daniel Boone, Kentucky. Y.W.C.A. Period, August 1918. No Postmark)

Postcard Collection, circa 1890-1990

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-13T09:01:00.002-04:00

Iroquois Hunt Club is located in what county?

Blessing of the Hounds (Iroquois Hunt Club) Collection on Lafayette Studios

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-12T08:56:00.000-04:00

The capital of Nevada is named for what early Kentucky scout?

(The postcard image above depicts Reno, not the capital of Nevada - James Edwin Ed Weddle Photographic Collection 1948-1981 )

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-11T09:00:00.003-04:00

Goodman-Paxton Photographic Collection, 1934-1942

What three Northern Kentucky counties make up one of the most populated areas of the state?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

Collection on Lafayette Studios

What color is bourbon before it is aged?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-09T09:00:00.002-04:00

Wealthy industrialist T. Colman duPont donated the land for what Kentucky State Park?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-08T09:00:00.001-04:00

What famous general did Don Carlos Buell save at Shiloh?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

What Kentucky horse breeder and business left an estate of almost $15 million when he died in 1914?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-06T09:00:00.001-04:00

Shropshire Collection, 1947-1959

In what direction is a horse race run, clockwise or counterclockwise?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-04T09:00:00.003-04:00

Where was the first federal narcotics sanitarium located?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-03T09:00:00.005-04:00

University of Kentucky Postcard Collection,
circa 1890-1990

Who founded the first permanent settlement in Kentucky?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

Jefferson Davis (1808-1889); President of Confederate States of America

Mt. Sterling Library Association Photographic Collection, 1861-1880

Who opposed his daughter Sarah's marriage to Jefferson Davis?

The Kentucky Game

2011-06-01T10:18:00.004-04:00

Recently we came across a group of cards each containing five questions about Kentucky history called the Kentucky Game. We thought it would be fun to post a question a day and give the answer the following day. Let's see how you do...

What Famous food critic lent his name to a line of food products?

Who Am I?

2011-04-14T13:48:00.003-04:00

Can you help us identify this man?

Pictured above, Claude Sullivan - holding the WVLK microphone - is interviewing this mystery man, circa 1948-1952.

Big Blue Sports Archive

2011-03-25T15:48:00.022-04:00

In celebration of the University of Kentucky's appearance in the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament, we are uploading the video created to raise awareness for the Big Blue Sports Archive initiative. Celebrate the tradition of Kentucky basketball.

Go Cats!

Did You Know?

2011-03-25T10:59:00.022-04:00

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, "Improvements in transportation, communication, and photography made people naturally curious about other places."

Furthermore, "people had readily consumed photographers' images of distant lands, so when the amateurs were able to shoot their own images, they were more than ready.

The smiling faces of family members in front of scenic locations or landmarks became trademarks for the budding amateur. And as these landmarks became well known, more people visited them and they became tourist destinations. The more destinations there were, the more they photographed and included in the family album."

For further reading please see, "The Appraisal of Amateur Photography" by Deirdre A. Scaggs

Civil War Exhibit and Event

2011-03-25T09:59:00.004-04:00

Did You Know?

2011-03-21T10:25:00.004-04:00

Women's basketball was organized as a sport before men's basketball at the
State College (University of Kentucky).

Women's basketball team, Kentucky State College, 1903
http://name.kdl.kyvl.org/KUKUARP-2001UA025-0157

In 1902 the program was established for women and men's basketball followed in 1903.

Highlights from the Collection

2011-03-16T11:14:00.003-04:00

The Mikada (play) "This is the picture of the play I was in - maybe you can get a better idea of what it was like by this." circa 1924
Ida Kenney Risque Harper scrapbook, 1921-1925

The Ida Kenney Risque Harper scrapbook, 1921-1925 includes items related to Harper's student life at the University of Kentucky during the years 1921-1925. It includes dance invitations and dance cards, theatre programs, some correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Many of the items relate to Ida Kenney Risque Harper's involvement in the Lambda Alpha chapter of Chi Omega Women's Fraternity. Of note, there are several citations from the Woman's Self Government Association indicating rules that Harper had broken. The photographs predominantly consist of plays during the 1920s.

Frank L. McVey and the University of Kentucky: A Progressive President and the Modernization of a Southern University

2011-02-17T10:50:00.002-05:00

http://kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=2602

Director of Archives/University Archivist

2011-02-14T11:09:00.001-05:00

Director of Archives/University Archivist

Political Cartoon Exhibit Explores History via Satire | uknow.uky.edu

2011-02-04T13:12:00.002-05:00

Political Cartoon Exhibit Explores History via Satire | uknow.uky.edu

The political cartoon exhibit featuring the work of the Clifford and James Berryman can be viewed 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information on the political cartoon exhibit, contact Special Collections at (859) 257-8611. Exhibit curated by Jeff Suchanek, Lewis Warden, and Mark Weatherington.

Stereographs

2010-12-08T16:27:00.009-05:00

Stereoscope "Gems of Kentucky Scenery" by Carpenter and Mullen collection, 2010AV006

This newly processed collection consists of 21 albumen process stereograph cards of various Kentucky landscape scenes taken by local Lexington photographers Carpenter and Mullen. James A. Mullen, founder of Carpenter and Mullen, had an illustrious career in the 1860s. He operated galleries in New York and Cincinnati, worked for a Cincinnati photographer, the Engineering Corps, the State Geological Survey, and the Engineers of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad before settling into his Lexington Main street gallery.

Stereograph cards are an early form of three-dimensional photograph. First introduced in the 1850s, they were most popular between 1870 and 1920. To create stereograph cards a camera with multiple lenses, such as the one on the right, was used.

After the camera captured the images simultaneously, the two virtually identical photographs were printed side-by-side. When viewed with a stereoscope, like the one on the left, the image appears three-dimensional.

--Sarah K. Piester, graduate student processor

Oral History Interview about December 8, 1941, the Day After Pearl Harbor

2010-12-08T16:13:00.003-05:00

On the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Clark Field in the Philippines. The Nunn Center has an interview in its Colonel Arthur L. Kelly Veterans Oral History Collection with Morgan French about this day. French served as a maintenance crew chief for the 192nd Tank Battalion, Company D. He participated in the delaying action in the Philippines, and describes the Japanese bombing of Clark Field, the subsequent battles, and the fall of Bataan. When the rest of the battalion surrendered, French and his maintenance section escaped to Corregidor. They were eventually captured by the Japanese at Fort Drum and taken to a prison camp in Cabanatuan. There, French was selected to go to Japan on a work detail. He recalls his “hell ship” voyage, prison camps in Tanagawa and Tsuruga, illness among the prisoners, and the prisoners’ work and acts of sabotage. Check out his interview on the Kentuckiana Digital Library, it is quite moving.

An interview with Morgan French, July 25, 1985

UK to House Georgia Powers Collections, Chair | uknow.uky.edu

2010-12-03T13:20:00.001-05:00

UK to House Georgia Powers Collections, Chair | uknow.uky.edu

Turkey and the Tennessee Game

2010-11-18T14:06:00.004-05:00

While Thanksgiving will undoubtedly be on the minds of all of us in the Bluegrass next week, in the back of many minds will be the UK vs. Tennessee football game on Saturday. Tennessee has beaten the Cats 23 consecutive times, including a four overtime thriller last year, stretching back to 1984. Many a wishbone will be used to help ensure a UK victory this year. This photograph, taken in 1963, shows that balancing the holidays and sports has long been a tradition at the University of Kentucky.

Celebrate Fall with French Fashion

2010-10-27T16:07:00.004-04:00

From the Underwood and Underwood Photographic Collection, 1913-1915

Fall afternoon suit, Paris.

80pa103

Fall coat, Paris.
80pa103

1955 Ky vs DePaul

2010-10-14T09:47:00.004-04:00

A clip from the 1955 DePaul game. This original film was donated by Vernon Hatton and digitized this year by The Media Preserve — a division of Preservation Technologies.

Etiquette

2010-09-29T15:09:00.012-04:00

This gem was discovered

in the Wade Hall collection on American letters.

If only misbehavior was so easily remedied in the 21st century.

Jeff Suchanek, Mark Wetherington, and Lewis Warden - Public Policy Archives, UK Libraries.

In Memory of George Blanda

2010-09-28T09:37:00.013-04:00

KUKUARP-2006UA056-01-172

George Blanda passed away on Monday at the age of 83. Blanda, who played from 1945-1948, helped the University of Kentucky win the school's first bowl game, the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl. He went on to play 26 seasons in the National Football League, the longest career in the league's history.

A framed image of George Blanda is also part of a current exhibition on UK football being presented by UK Libraries. The exhibition, which includes several images of legendary UK athletes like Blanda, early team pictures, and a 1900s football, is on display through the fall semester in the foyer of the M.I. King Building.

Lexington, KY: Director of Archives, University of Kentucky Libraries

2010-09-27T14:10:00.000-04:00

Lexington, KY: Director of Archives, University of Kentucky Libraries

Adrian "Odie" Smith

2010-08-17T16:02:00.006-04:00

Former UK men's basketball standout, and member of Adolph Rupp's 1958 Fiddlin' Five National Championship team, Adrian “Odie” Smith was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 1960 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic basketball team. The 1960 team was one of two teams and eight individuals honored at this years induction ceremony.

Smith is a native of Farmington, Ky and played two years at a junior college before receiving a scholarship to play at UK. Smith averaged 10.1 ppg in two years at UK. After college Smith joined the Army and played for two Army All-Star teams. While in the Army, Smith won gold medals for the U.S. in the 1959 Pan-American Games in Chicago and the 1960 Rome Olympics.

After his stint in the army Smith played ten years in the NBA with the Cincinnati Royals and the San Francisco Warriors. He was MVP of the 1966 NBA All-Star Game held in Cincinnati, playing with and against players including Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Rick Barry to win the honors. Photograph digital id [KUKAV-1997AV27-3570].

A Look Back at Fayette County Public Education

2010-08-06T05:37:00.005-04:00

Barker and Faulconer Fayette County Public Education photographs, 1869-1941

Brecktown school; Miss Mary Graves, teacher.

Diary of Robert Todd, 1784

2010-07-12T15:39:00.007-04:00

Although the documentation with these materials state that the author of this diary was the father of Mary Todd, Robert Smith Todd was not born until 1791. With that in mind it seems likely that this is the diary of Brigadier General Robert Todd who was born April 19, 1754 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He came to Kentucky in 1776 and was known as an 18th century American pioneer, politician and soldier. Robert Todd is credited as being one of the founders of Lexington, Kentucky. His brothers were John and Levi Todd who also settled in Lexington. If my poor genealogy is correct, Robert Todd would be the Great Uncle of Mary Todd.

2010ms018:01:01:014

On Friday June 18th Todd wrote, "Started and continued down said branch of Big Barran which I suppose to be the principal. Killed large buffalo. Turned into raining. Encamped and barbecued some of the meat. This part of the country is well watered with excellent springs - traveled about four miles." So goes part of the diary kept by Robert Todd of his expedition for settling lands.

In Memory of Melvin Turpin

2010-07-09T15:15:00.004-04:00

Our thoughts go out to the family and fans of Melvin Turpin.

From Combat to Kentucky: Oral History Interviews with Kentucky’s Student Veterans

2010-06-23T14:05:00.009-04:00

From Combat to Kentucky: Oral History Interviews with Kentucky's Student Veterans
A re-post from the Saving Stories blog about the Nunn Center's project to document the experiences of Kentucky's student veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. From Combat to Kentucky is not only interviewing the students but adding their photographs from Iraq and Afghanistan to the University of Kentucky Archives as well.

Newly Processed Collections at the University of Kentucky Archives

2010-05-19T10:36:00.013-04:00

Recently two new collections have been processed at Special Collections and Digital Programs. The Frontier Nursing Service Photograph collection consists of roughly 14,000 photographs, most are gelatin silver prints. Subjects include Mary Breckinridge, Mary Marvin Breckinridge, Wendover and the work of FNS nurses making their rounds in Eastern Kentucky. The work of the FNS began in Leslie County, Kentucky in 1925 by the late Mrs. Mary Breckinridge, who remained its Director until her death in 1965. Mrs. Breckinridge decided, following the death of her two children, to devote her life to the health care of children in remote areas. In 1975, the Service completed and opened the modern, forty-bed Mary Breckinridge Hospital and Health Center. This hospital has served the health care needs of the people of Leslie County for the past 30 years and continues its operation today as a critical access hospital.

The other collection recently processed is the Frank Fitch Notebook Collection. These seven notebooks span from 1867-1873 and document the construction of an iron furnace in Estill Co., KY. At the time of its construction it was among the largest charcoal furnaces in the country and the region of northeaster Kentucky and southeastern Ohio produced a significant percentage of the countries iron supply. The collapse of the railroad boom meant that the furnace closed a mere 5 years after its construction. The Fitch Furnace to this day is considered among the most important historic sites in Kentucky.

Historic Marker Dedicated to Margaret I. King

2010-04-15T14:35:00.014-04:00

Remarks from the Dedication

Margaret Isadora King was born on September 1, 1879 in Lexington, Kentucky. She was the salutatorian of her senior class in 1898. During this time women were consistently graduating with honors and outranking the campus men. Perhaps this is why in 1900, the faculty simply decreed that there would no longer be any college-wide academic honors.

Margaret I. King began her work at the University from 1905-1912 as Registrar and Secretary to President Patterson, our first President. In 1912 King was appointed Librarian, becoming our first.Her salary was fixed at $75.00 per month. Margaret I. King not only witnessed tremendous growth of the library but of the University. In 1912, 2,000 volumes were added to the library and UK’s enrollment was only 754. In 1949, the year that King retired, 28,973 volumes were added and enrollment had increased to 9,991.

At the time of the building’s dedication in 1931, this was the central library on campus. The five story Georgian Building cost $400,000 and was designed to house 350,000 volumes. It was outfitted with a completely refrigerated circulating system of drinking water, three electric elevators, and 781 light fixtures. The UK Libraries now has 12 major facilities with over 3.7 million volumes. It was said of Margaret King, “an institution is but the lengthening shadow of a person. Her shadow falls across a great portion of our collective memory and it is my privilege to work in this building and my pleasure to carry on the legacy of Margaret I. King.

--Deirdre A. Scaggs April 15, 2010

Library Club, 1. ? 2. Minnie Neville 3. Margaret King 4. Dean A. J. Hamilton 5. Freda Lenon 6. Margaret Tuttle
Dedication Ceremony: Carl Nathe; Angela Martinez, President of the Student Development Council; President Lee Todd; Mattie Parsley, Senior Challenge Chair; Deirdre Scaggs, Director of Archives.
The King Library in 1940.

Oral Histories with UK Basketball Coach Adolph Rupp

2010-03-20T09:30:00.019-04:00

Nunn Center interviews were featured on WUKY highlighting oral histories with the great UK basketball coach Adolph Rupp.

Saving Stories Remembers "The Baron of The Bluegrass"

The Nunn Center recently uploaded 15 hours of interviews with Coach Rupp to the Kentuckiana Digital Library.

If you want to hear the whole collection, search for what Coach Rupp had to say about your favorite player go to the Kentuckiana Digital Library and click on oral history.

This is great collection to listen to during NCAA tournament. Go Cats!

A Horse of Many Different Colors!

2010-03-18T10:33:00.005-04:00

James Edwin Ed Weddle Photographic Collection, 1948-1981
Available on KDL at http://name.kdl.kyvl.org/KUKAV-1997AV27-1367

Why in the world would someone want to put polka dots on an otherwise perfectly good mule? We don't know! A prank? A parade? A party? Either way, the poor thing looks none too happy about it as he gazes haplessly, yet amazingly calmly (good horsey!) into James Edwin Weddle's camera.

Unfortunately, with "no publication notice present," no date or context is offered for this 8x10 black & white print other than "Men spray painting polka-dots on a mule." So, we offer it up to you to take a whack at what this mule did to deserve a new "coat" of paint!

(*Note: To our knowledge, no animals were harmed in the making of this blog. But that doesn't seem to make this one any happier!)

When Irish Eyes Were Smiling: St. Patrick's Day Postcards from 100 Years Ago

2010-03-05T15:16:00.004-05:00

Curated by Jeff Suchanek and scanned by Lewis Warden.

NOTE: Slideshow does not work with Internet Explorer but seems to work fine in Firefox.

A Knockout Kentuckian!

2010-02-25T10:19:00.007-05:00

"Ali sizes up opponent with reaching left" [undated]
James Edwin Ed Weddle Photographic Collection 1948-1981
Available on KDL http://name.kdl.kyvl.org/KUKAV-1997AV27-0103

Well, a technical knockout (TKO) anyway.

Today, in 1964, famous Louisvillian Muhammad Ali became the youngest boxer to win the Heavyweight title, at 22 years of age. Then known as Cassius "Louisville Lip" Clay, he took the title from Sonny "Big Bear" Liston, after Liston refused to return from his corner for the 7th round. It was prior to this match that Ali uttered his well-known line, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

With rumors swarming regarding Clay's association with Malcolm X, the following day (2/26/1964), he changed his name to Cassius X, renouncing the surname of his family's former slaveholders. [Note: Cassius M. Clay was named for his father who, in turn, was named after the 19th-century Kentucky emancipationist.] Within the following year, Clay changed his name again to Muhammad Ali, in relation to his Islam conversion.

Ali had an extremely successful boxing career. Before his first title - which he held for 3 years until it was taken away when it was stripped due to his refusal of the Army draft for religious reasons - he won a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics. He later regained the Heavyweight Championship twice, holding it for almost half of the 1970s. Throughout his life he has been passionately active in Civil Rights reform, using his celebrity to champion the cause, even after his 1984 diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

His athletic and societal achievements have afforded him numerous accolades, including the 1997 Arthur Ashe Courage Award, Kentucky Athlete of the Century (1999, Kentucky Hall of Fame), and Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005). He even lit the torch at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics! His social activism continues, as does his boxing legacy, through his daughter, Laila (she started her career in 2002).

Happy Founder's Day University of Kentucky

2010-02-18T16:33:00.007-05:00

Jean Ritchie, folk singer and UK graduate, being presented the school's first Founders Day award by President Donovan.

According to the April 4, 1944 Board of Trustees Minutes President Donovan recommend that the University celebrate the day of its founding. "Some time ago I requested Professor E. L. Gillis, who is probably as familiar with the history of the University as any man connected with it, to study various dates that might be considered as an appropriate date on which to celebrate a Founders Day Program. After considerable research, Professor Gillis has suggested that February 22 would be a very appropriate time for such a celebration. It was on February 22, 1865, that the General Assembly of Kentucky approved a bill establishing an Agricultural and Mechanical College in connection with Kentucky University (now Transylvania). Therefore, February 22, 1865 is the date on which the University of Kentucky actually came into existence as a state institution."

“Progressive Hearts: Valentine’s Day Postcards From 100 Years Ago”

2010-02-04T16:52:00.001-05:00

Curated by Jeff Suchanek and scanned by Lewis Warden.

NOTE: Slideshow does not work with Internet Explorer but seems to work fine in Firefox.

Martin Luther King Interview Featured on WUKY 1/19/2010

2010-01-19T08:16:00.006-05:00

WUKY featured an oral history interview from the Robert Penn Warren Civil Rights Oral History Project conducted in 1964. The WUKY piece features Warren's intriguing interview with Martin Luther King Jr. Warren, former poet laureate and author of such great works as All the Kings Men, interviewed over forty Civil Rights leaders and activists including Stokely Carmichael, James Baldwin, Vernon Jordan, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Warren's interviews were used for his book Who Speaks for the Negro. The audio and transcripts for the oral history project are available and fully searchable online at http://kdl.kyvl.org (follow links to oral history).

A Capitol Idea - Commemorating 100 Years of Service: The New State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky

2010-01-05T15:58:00.007-05:00

Curated by Jeff Suchanek and scanned by Lewis Warden.

NOTE: Slideshow does not work with Internet Explorer but seems to work fine in Firefox.

Divided Loyalties & Sharing Stars

2009-12-10T11:19:00.009-05:00

Hathaway Family Collection pa59m113-0014
Available on KDL: http://name.kdl.kyvl.org/KUKAV-PA59M113-0014

During the Civil War, Kentucky was a valued border state, which meant though both Union & Confederates wanted it (partially due to its resources & strategic geographic location), it declared loyalties to neither - in theory, of course. In practice, the official state government flew a Union flag over Frankfort's Capitol Building. However, the Confederacy also accepted the ordinance of secession from a convention representing 64 counties, and, on December 12, 1861, Kentucky became the 13th - and, purportedly, the center star on the Confederate flag. A version of the Confederate flag is pictured above.

Kentucky's Confederate government was never more than a provisional government; formed quickly and readily mobile, until a permanent, stable one could be established. As with much of history, it is arguable when this process truly began, but secessionists and southern delegates first met to discuss joining the Confederacy in October 1861. The following month, a sovereignty convention, chaired by John C. Breckinridge, met in Russellville for 3 days. This time, the shadow government formed adopting the 1850 Kentucky Constitution, a capital (Bowling Green, though they conceded to meet anywhere, for realistic purposes), a Governor (George W. Johnson), and a 10-member council, with judges and other officials, as necessary. Their first act was to secede from the Union. Though it was through irregular procedure, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, a native Kentuckian, had reccommended their admittance when he first heard of their meeting - and accepted!

Success of Kentucky's Confederate government was not to be, however. Union forces had a general stronghold on the state, meaning the mobile government stayed behind the Confederate lines, which changed greatly throughout the constant Kentucky battling over the following year. The Confederacy required militia quotas from each state, which they were never able to fulfill. Even Confederate KY's first Governor volunteered, only to die at the Battle of Shiloh. His replacement was Richard Hawes. Despite seizing area banks, Confederate KY was never able to pay the required taxes either. Nevertheless, they attempted to establish their permanent government with an inauguration at an occupied Frankfort in October 1862. This again, failed, leading to the Battle of Perryville. For the remainder of the war, Confederates (with the exception of raiders) never officially saw their home state. The shadow government only existed on paper and with the Senators and Representatives in the Confederate Congress. When the Confederacy disappeared, so did Confederate Kentucky.

The image above commemorates the Confederacy, its flag, and the efforts of those who seceded from the United States of America. But is it in a proud manner or is it satire? What do you think?

Celebrating the Holidays: postcards from 100 years ago

2009-11-25T15:58:00.012-05:00

Curated by Jeff Suchanek and Gary Chaffee. Scanned by Lewis Warden.

NOTE: Slideshow does not work with Internet Explorer but seems to work fine in Firefox.

Postcards of Lincoln on Exhibit | uknow.uky.edu

2009-11-17T16:09:00.009-05:00

Postcards of Lincoln on Exhibit | uknow.uky.edu

To see these images and more please visit the Carl Howell Postcard exhibit at the Margaret I. King Building.

Racing For Love, Life, & Freedom?

2009-11-13T09:24:00.006-05:00

Keys' Sadie Hawkins Day Race - UK Stoll Field (1951)
Source: 1952 Kentuckian, p. 278

Gals, grab your guys! Sadie Hawkins Day is upon us!

This pseduo-holiday debuted in Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip back in November 1937, and quickly caught on, in American pop culture for decades to follow. The story began when Sadie Hawkins, the "ugliest" female residing in the fictional Dogpatch, KY, tried to find her fella. So, her father set up a foot race for umarried girls to chase after the unclaimed bachelors of the town. Two years later, Life magazine reported that a couple hundred college campuses, including the University of Kentucky, picked up on this popular trend.

The tradition carried on for another 40 years or so, with young women chasing down young men; all dressed up in caricature or and stereotypical "hillbilly" outfits. Later, after the "Sally Mae"s caught their "Li'l Abner"s (both characters from the comic), a Sadie Hawkins Day dance typically ensued, where the best Sally Mae and Li'l Abner were chosen.

Though the exact date of Sadie Hawkins Day is often debated, it's generally around mid-November; most often either the Saturday after November 9th (unsure of this basis) or on November 15th (the anniversary of its 1st appearance in Al Capp's comic strip). Either way, it should NEVER be confused with another cited "Sadie Hawkins Day" date - February 29, or Leap Year - when women are "allowed" to propose marriage to men. The true Sadie Hawkins Day was set (though unintentionally) by Al Capp, in 1937, in his fictional little mountain town in KY.

WUKY: Big Blue Sports Archives Preserves Memory Of "The Shot" (2009-11-05)

2009-11-05T10:08:00.005-05:00

WUKY: Big Blue Sports Archives Preserves Memory Of "The Shot" (2009-11-05)
On the cusp of another UK basketball season, we visit with the school's archivists and revisit a Memorial Coliseum Magic Moment featuring the 1958 National Championship Team.

Click on the WUKY link above to listen to Doug Boyd and Deirdre Scaggs talk about one of the great moments in UK basketball history.

Hear more stories and learn more about the history of UK at http://exploreuk.uky.edu

A Halloween Ghost Race?

2009-10-29T13:28:00.001-04:00

2007ua015_134 Ben Williams negatives

Shameful

2009-10-07T09:53:00.002-04:00

The New and Improved Explore UK

2009-09-02T16:14:00.011-04:00

The Explore UK website has received a face lift and a considerable amount of new content. Thousands of images, depicting men's and women's basketball and football, have been added to the site. Oral histories, including several interviews with Bill Keightley, covering the history of UK athletics are also new. In addition memorbila, including UK Basketball trading cards, men's basketball programs, Cat's Pause and a collection of post cards have also been added to Explore UK.

Another exciting feature is a comment section, which will allow visitors to the site the opportunity to help us expand Explore UK. We continue to add content to the site in the coming months including Adolph Rupp oral histories, women's basketball programs and football programs. Please keep in mind that the site is new and we are still working to get all the bugs fixed but we hope you enjoy.

To all Kentucky Basketball Fans

2009-09-02T15:33:00.005-04:00

HOLD THE DATE – Tuesday, October 13^th for a celebration of the life of legendary broadcaster Claude Sullivan – and benefit for the Big Blue Archives at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington! The evening kicks off with a Reception at 5:30 pm, Dinner at 6:30 pm and the Celebration begins at 7:30 pm. Ralph Hacker will emcee; Coach John Calipari will be speaking.

You won’t want to miss this exciting evening with many other local sports figures in attendance, while helping UK Archives continue to preserve the history of UK athletics dating back to the 1890s.

A reserved table for 10 is $1,000; individual tickets are $115 each. Cocktail attire. For more information, contact Esther Edwards at eedwards@uky.edu or 859-257-1742.

Farewell to Ted Kennedy

2009-08-26T12:38:00.003-04:00

Governor Martha Layne Collins, Senator John Sherman Cooper and Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy at the dedication of the John Sherman Cooper bust at the capital rotunda in Frankfort, Kentucky 1987. John Tuska Collection.

Former UK President Frank G. Dickey, 1917-2009

2009-08-09T23:03:00.008-04:00

Frank Graves Dickey served as fifth President of the University of Kentucky, from 1956 to1963, succeeding Dr. Herman Lee Donovan. During his relatively brief tenure, the University experienced remarkable growth and witnessed the genesis and early development of a number of institutions and programs of lasting effect and significance.

Born in Wagoner, Oklahoma in 1917, Dickey received his primary and secondary education in Wichita Falls, Texas, and in Lexington. He was graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. degree from Transylvania College in 1939, and received both his Master of Arts degree and a Doctorate of Education from the University of Kentucky in 1942 and 1947, respectively. In 1940 he was married to Elizabeth Drymon, of Lexington; they had three children-two sons, Frank, Jr. and Joseph, and a daughter, Ann Elizabeth.

Following a stint as a teacher in the Lexington public school system from 1939 until 1943, Dr. Dickey entered the armed forces, attaining the rank of Master Sergeant by the time of his discharge in February 1946. His first position following completion of his graduate education was as instructor in secondary education and administration in the UK College of Education. Within two years, in 1949, he was named Chief Administrative Officer of the University's Bureau of School Service, and in 1950, a mere six months later, he was appointed Dean of the College of Education. One of his major responsibilities as Dean was the direction of the off-campus and field service educational program of the University; in this capacity he worked closely with more than 20,000 Kentucky public school teachers, administrators, and school board members. During a year's leave of absence in 1952-53 he served as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard, where he did advanced study in educational administration. In June of 1956 Dickey was named President of the University of Kentucky at age 38, the youngest man ever to attain that position.

The creation and establishment of the Medical Center are the Dickey administration's lasting legacy. In 1954. as a result of a special feasibility study begun a year earlier at the behest of President Donovan, the University developed plans for a campus Medical School-to include colleges of medicine, dentistry, and nursing, a hospital, a student health service, and a medical library. State funding was requested for the project, and, in 1956, with Governor A.B. Chandler's public support, following a personal appeal by President Dickey to the Kentucky General Assembly, and with political pressure generally mounting in Frankfort, an initial appropriation of $5 million was approved for the proposal. Dr. William R. Willard, Dean of the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center, in Syracuse, was selected as the University's first Vice President for the Medical Center and Dean of the College of Medicine. The initial phase of construction was begun and completed, and the first medical students were admitted in the fall of 1960.

The Dickey years were characterized by a significant increase in campus enrollment and major physical growth, stimulated and evidenced by an ambitious building and building renovation program and by the extensive addition of land. The opening of off-campus Extension centers gave impetus to the creation of the University's Community College System several years later. Academic standards were enhanced and programs broadened and extended, particularly as the result of a new emphasis upon international educational exchange and cooperation.

Dickey resigned the University presidency in 1963 to become Director of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, in which position he served until 1965. From 1965 to 1974 he headed the National Commission on Accrediting of Colleges and Universities, and from 1974 to1976 was Provost of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. In 1976 he took a position as vice president of an educational consulting firm.

The Dickeys lived in retirement in Lexington, where they maintained their connections with and interest in the institution they served forty years ago. A recent effort on his part was his lobbying to prevent the removal of the Community College System from the jurisdiction of the University.

President Emeritus Frank Graves Dickey passed away on August 7, 2009 in Lexington.

http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/libpage.php?lweb_id=324&llib_id=13

Supreme Court Justice Stanley Reed Oral Histories Online

2009-06-25T16:54:00.005-04:00

The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History has completed an initiative to provide online access to the Stanley F. Reed Oral History Project--an impressive collection of interviews about his career as a Supreme Court Justice. Reed was from Mason County, Kentucky and served the Supreme Court from 1938 to 1957.

Colleagues, relatives, and law clerks discuss various aspects of Reed's career as well Reed's ideology and judicial philosophy.

Basketball royalty

2009-06-19T14:52:00.010-04:00

Given basketball's place of honor in Kentucky, and the storied tradition of the sport at the University of Kentucky, perhaps it is no wonder that there have been several fathers and sons who have coached or played on the team. In fact, three of the last six UK coaches have coached their own sons on the team.

The "Baron of Basketball," Adolph Rupp coached his son Herky from 1959-1962. Herky was a forward who didn't see a lot of playing time despite being the coach's son. He played in 14 games over those three seasons, and scored a total of 11 points during that time.

Adolph Rupp, 1976 -- 2004ua046_17688_009

Herky Rupp, circa 1959 -- 2004ua046_2020_002

Eddie Sutton's son Sean joined the team just two years after Sutton became coach. Sean played for two years before transferring to Oklahoma State after his father resigned as coach at UK. Sean went on to follow in his father's coaching footsteps, as did his brother Scott.

Eddie Sutton, circa 1988 -- 2009ua017_02_035

Sean Sutton, circa 1988 -- 2007ua023_325_006_05

Tubby Smith's sons G.G. and Saul both played college basketball, but only Saul played at UK. Saul played his entire college career at Kentucky, from 1997-2001. Saul is currently assistant coach at the University of Minnesota, where his father, Tubby, is head coach. Son G.G. (who played for Georgia) is now assistant coach at Loyola.

Tubby Smith (left) -- 2007ua023_127_039

Saul Smith, 1997 -- 1997 Men's Basketball Media Guide

Father and son players have been rarer than coach and player, but there are at least two fathers who have passed down the UK basketball genes to their sons. Allen Feldhaus was a forward-center at UK from 1959-1962, playing a total of 72 games with 299 total points. Twenty-five years later, his son Deron played as a forward in 124 games with a total of 1232 points.

Allen Feldhaus -- 2007ua023_156_080a

Deron Feldhaus -- 2007ua023_079_006_05

Joe and Joey Holland are another father and son team. Joe Sr. played forward from 1945-1948, playing in 105 games with 504 total points. Son Joey was a guard from 1974-1976, playing in 17 games with 14 total points.

Joe Holland -- 2006ua056_01_111

Joey Holland -- 2007ua023_228_018_02

They don't make them like they used to

2009-06-02T11:38:00.005-04:00

We have all heard the line they just don't make them like they used to. Well it certainly applies to former University of Kentucky Men's Basketball player Vernon Hatton. During the 1956-57 season Hatton overcame considerable adversity to help UK win the Sugar Bowl Tournament. The adversity was an inflamed appendicitis, which was misdiagnosed before the final two games of the tournament. Despite feeling ill Hatton added 12 points against a troublesome Virginia Tech and 17 points against Houston in the Championship game.

Upon returning to Lexington following the tournament "the attacks began anew and an immediate operation was ordered to remove his appendix, which doctors said was acutely inflamed and in a condition that should have prevented him from seeing action for at least a week previously," reported Ken Kuhn of the Sports Publicity Office on July 2, 1957.

Hatton returned to action a month after his surgery helping prevent an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Mississippi. A reporter was so impressed with Hatton's performance that he wrote, "It may become standard procedure for Rupp players to have appendix operations in mid-season." Vernon scored 14 points in less than twelve minutes for the Cats that day.

Funny Flickr Photos

2009-06-01T14:58:00.006-04:00

7/31/1953. The multi-headed cabbage, John C. Wyatt photographs: 2004AV001

Every archives sees its fair share of funny, or just plain odd, photos. Now there is a place to share them: the Funny Photos From the Archives group on Flickr. UK is now participating in this photo group, as are 19 other archives. Tag a photo, let us know what you think, and be sure to bookmark the site as we'll continue adding to our photostream.

A Quiet Day At The Ostrich Races

2009-05-26T09:11:00.002-04:00

That's University of Kentucky sports legend Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones urging the giant bird to victory with a broom.

Does this thing have a USB port?

2009-05-22T16:19:00.004-04:00

Altec computer in Memorial Coliseum, ca. 1950. Mack Hughes negatives. 2006ua052

Feast your eyes on the state-of-the-art (circa 1950) Altec computer. This high-tech gadget was the brains behind the sound system in Memorial Coliseum, the then-newly built home for the UK men' s basketball team. It may not be compatible with today's technology, but it does have an FM radio!

What's wrong with this picture?

2009-05-15T16:07:00.011-04:00

UK vs. Georgia Tech, 3/6/48 - Cliff Barker, Jim Line, Ken Rollins, Alex Groza. University of Kentucky basketball and football negatives: 2006ua56

Harold Ross Hickman, 1955. Mack Hughes negatives: 2006ua052

Sometimes you look at a photo and recognize that something is wrong, but you just can't put your finger on it.

Spotted it yet?

At least twice during UK basketball history, the name "Kentucky" was misspelled on the uniforms. In the 1948 photo, you can clearly see from Jim Line's (25) and Cliff Barker's (23) jerseys that the "c" and "k" in Kentucky are transposed. Another misspelling occurred in 1955, seen in Harold Ross Hickman's jersey which inexplicably includes the letter "t" in Kentucky. Hickman was most likely a freshman, so perhaps the misspelled jerseys were relegated to freshmen that year while the varsity uniforms were correct?

Theories welcome.

UK Blog Wins Web Award

2009-05-11T13:00:00.005-04:00

A big pat on the back to Jason Flahardy, UK's Audio Visual archivist and a winner of the ArchivesNext "Most Whimsical Archives-Related Website" award. Winners were nominated by readers of the ArchivesNext blog, then voted on by a panel of judges. Flahardy's Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century blog brings together a virtual collection of photographs showing 19th century men and their mustaches and provides a running waggish commentary to which other "mustache lovers" often respond. As Kate Theimer (creator of the ArchivesNext blog) puts it, Mustaches is "a masterful re-purposing of something almost every archives has a lot of–unidentified photographs." Take a break in your day to have a laugh at Jason's insightful comments, gather ideas for your own mustache-growing experiments, or learn the technical terms of mustachery by browsing through the glossary linked from the front page of the blog. Congratulations, Jason!

Old Blue

2009-04-30T16:11:00.004-04:00

Boarding "Old Blue," 1976. University of Kentucky general photographic prints. 2001ua025.

A 1982 article in a men's basketball program proclaimed "A little bit of the United Kingdom has come to the University of Kentucky." The author was referring to "Old Blue," the 1953 double-decker tour bus purchased by the Alumni Association and presented to the university in 1974. Fixed up and given a fresh coat of (blue) paint, "Old Blue" made it's first run September 16, 1974. The bus could be found on the north side of the Administration building every Monday-Friday at 2 p.m., waiting to take visitors on a free 30 minute tour of north, central, and south campus. It was staffed by student tour guides and was a big hit, especially for kids on field trips or attending basketball camps at UK. According to one tour guide, "Kids really think it's fun to ride on the upper deck of 'Old Blue'."

Restoration work on "Old Blue," circa 1974. University of Kentucky general prints. 2001ua025.

Having seen photographs of "Old Blue" in the collections, we wondered what ever happened to the bus. An article by Don White in a local publication, The Chevy Chaser, provided the missing pieces of the puzzle. The bus was bought at an auction for less than $3000 and stored at a towing company until Ed Nighbert agreed to store it at his A-127 storage business in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. There it sits for the moment, although Nighbert says they do have plans to get it back in shape and running again. Today, campus visitors are given a guided walking tour instead of a ride on "Old Blue." We are still unsure of the date of the last "Old Blue" tour, so would welcome comments from anyone who knows.

"Old Blue," 1984. University of Kentucky general prints. 2001ua025.

Your guess is as good as ours

2009-04-20T16:07:00.006-04:00

Pictured above are two photos which came from the Ben Williams negatives. They depict two booths. The first is called the Case of the Curious Bride and has a peep hole cut in a sheet the other is called April Showers and appears to be two women holding guns and two holding candles. Some user generated feedback would be nice since both photos have us stumped.

Search, Explore, Connect: Special Collections and Digital Programs at the University of Kentucky

2009-04-17T12:00:00.012-04:00

A truly wild Wildcat

2009-04-08T14:40:00.009-04:00

" TNT," the second live mascot, circa 1922-1923. 1998ua002:2528.

Modern UK fans are used to seeing the Wildcat mascot at sports events: a man in a wildcat suit rallying the crowd, dancing, playing pranks. But the history of the wildcat mascot goes back to 1921, when the wildcat was not a man in a suit, but a live bobcat (Lynx rufus, referred to as a wildcat in Kentucky). The first live mascot, "Tom," was purchased by Dick Webb, an assistant football coach. Tom was lauded in the press and paraded out in his cage during games. The wildcat, a human-shy, mostly nocturnal and solitary mammal native to the state, does not take well to captivity, and Tom died in less than a year. He was replaced by "TNT" the next year, who died in a few months only to be succeeded by "Whiskers." There was a long line of live mascots up until just before World War II, the cats either dying or being released into the wild again.

In 1947, the school newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel, ran an article entitled "Live Wildcat Years Ago, Why Not Now?" The article sparked a flurry of alumni activity to set the plan for a new live mascot in order. A 20 pound female cat was captured from the wild in Whitley county and named "The Kentucky Colonel." The Colonel lasted longer than most -- seven years before being sent to the state wildlife farm, where she died of pneumonia. In the late 1950s, a stuffed wildcat was purchased from a taxidermist and trotted out at games for 10 years. The last live mascot was "Baby" in 1969. Athletic Director Harry Lancaster put an end to Baby's appearances after two games due to a fan's complaints about the cat's treatment.

"Tucky," a stuffed wildcat, at a game circa 1960. 2001ua025_0167.

Happily for wildcats and animal lovers, 1976 saw the beginning of the human-dressed-as-wildcat tradition at the University of Kentucky. Gary Tanner was the original mascot. Today, UK claims "Blue," the male wildcat at the Salato Wildlife Center as its official live mascot. Blue was born and bred in captivity and is never present at events.

"The Kentucky Colonel," live mascot for seven years. Photo originally from Kentucky Kernel, 1947. ukawcp1988_12_35_022.

Much of the information for this post was obtained from an article by Russell Rice in "The Cats' Pause" newsletter from August 27, 1988. Volume 12, number 35.

Blast from the past

2009-03-31T15:33:00.009-04:00

From 1987 edition of The Cats' Pause newsletter

From 1987 edition of The Cats' Pause newsletter

Over the past three months, I have been scanning basketball programs and The Cats' Pause newsletters for an athletics website project in University Archives. Sometimes, what is most interesting (and also provides some diversion from the subject at hand) are the advertisements in these publications. Some remind me of long-forgotten businesses or events in Lexington, while others are a reminder of better-off-forgotten fashions and pop-culture.

What caught my eye with the military registration ad were the references to popular music at the time: "The Boss, New Edition, Rush." Even the reference to the "stereo" is dated, since 18 year olds are far more likely to be plugged into their iPods these days. In the Ashland Oil ad, it was the acid-wash jeans and big hair. And while the earliest ad is before my time, I do remember when the Welgo store was still around, and also appreciate the now kitschy qualities of the drawings.

From 1957 University of Kentucky basketball program

Women's basketball tradition at UK

2009-03-24T15:45:00.010-04:00

University of Kentucky's (then Kentucky State College) first women's basketball team, 1903. University of Kentucky general photograph collection, 2001ua025.

University of Kentucky women's basketball team with trophy, circa 1920s. Louis Edward Nollau photographic print collection, 1998ua002.

The University of Kentucky women's basketball program has a history almost as long as the men's program. The first women's game was played on February 21, 1903. For the first few years of its existence on UK's campus, the women's basketball team mostly played interclass scrimmages, only playing one or two intercollegiate games per season. All games were carefully monitored by Florence Offutt Stout, the women's physical education director and first Dean of Women, and no spectators were allowed. Stout was a proponent of "medical gymnastics," a more gentle form of physical exercise targeted at promoting physical health and eliminating obesity, and considered competitive sports at odds with this program.

In 1909, the women's basketball team complained via a petition to the faculty senate stating that Stout did not support the development of the sport and asked that the athletic association take over the management of the team. This started a power struggle which stretched over almost two decades between Stout, women students in favor of the sport, and the athletic association. In 1924, bolstered by the support of Sarah Blanding -- the new Dean of Women -- Stout finally convinced the University Senate and UK President Frank McVey that basketball was "too strenuous for girls." McVey cited this "strenuousity" and the claim that road trips for the team were prohibitively expensive due to "the necessity of proper chaperonage" as reasons for banning women's basketball. This was in spite of the fact that the 1923-1924 women's team had won the Southern Intercollegiate Championship after an undefeated 10-0 season. All women's intercollegiate varsity sports were discontinued on November 13, 1924. Ironically, the 1924-1925 season marked the first season of men's basketball play in Alumni Gym and a rise of popularity in the game on campus.

In the next decades, women's basketball continued to be played in physical education classes, and later as an intramural sport, but organizing campus dances became the primary focus of the Women's Athletic Association. It was not until 1974 that women's basketball was reinstated as a varsity sport, with Sue Feamster serving as the first coach of a varsity team in fifty years.

Gregory Kent Stanley has written a fuller account of the early years of women's basketball and the campus politics affecting it in his book Before Big Blue. UK Athletics offers a historic timeline of women's basketball achievements on its website under "History and records."

The "Madness" Continues

2009-03-13T15:54:00.006-04:00

Even though the Wildcats are out of the running for this year's NCAA Tournament, the University of Kentucky Archives has materials from more than 100 years worth of glory days to revel in! Test your knowledge of UK basketball history with these "fun facts."

1. Scotty Baesler, mayor of Lexington from 1982-1993 and 6th District U.S. Congressman from 1993-1999, is also a former UK basketball player (1959-1963). What was Rupp’s nickname for Baesler?
a. Cab
b. Garbage Collector
c. Frog

2. Which former UK basketball coach toured with the Harlem Globetrotters for a year?
a. Rick Pitino
b. Adolph Rupp
c. Joe B. Hall

3. Who was the first All-American named from the University of Kentucky basketball team?
a. Carey Spicer
b. Basil Hayden
c. Forest “Aggie” Sale

Answers: 1-b; 2-c; 3-b

Nunn Center Launches Online Resource on Digital Technologies

2009-03-12T14:54:00.009-04:00

the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History has launched its new online initiative Oral History and Digital Technology to provide a series of educational resources on digital technologies associated with oral history fieldwork. The series has begun with informational videos by Nunn Center Director Doug Boyd discussing popular digital recorders beginning with the Marantz PMD 671 solid state recorder.

Other informational resources will accompany the videos including a resource which will discuss the basics of digital recording. Stay tuned and subscribe to the Nunn Center channel on YouTube

March Madness

2009-03-04T14:16:00.006-05:00

1904 University of Kentucky Men's Basketball Team -- 2001ua025:0023

Head to the Hub in W.T. Young Library to see the exhibit "March Madness: A History of UK Basketball in Images." In addition, other screens in the Hub will be showing historic games in UK Men's Basketball, including the entire 1978 NCAA Championship game against Duke. The exhibit runs through March.

About athletics materials in the University of Kentucky Archives:

Since its creation in the 1930s, the University Archives has endeavored to preserve the history of UK athletics. During these 60 years, the Archives has amassed one of the finest athletics collections in the United States, which now includes over 5000 videotapes, 1500 audiotapes, 1500 films, 3000 photographs, 30 scrapbooks, and 250 boxes of clippings, programs, and media guides. The collection is heavily used by researchers, often requiring reproductions of films, videotapes, and photographs.

Sports are a part of our collective popular culture and also connected to the tradition of excellence at the University of Kentucky. Long after sporting events have faded from recent history the images, the accomplishments, and the records set continue to live in our collective memories. The University Archives has the important role of ensuring that the sights, the sounds, the facts, and goals are more than a memory.

Later this year, Explore UK will launch an amazing online resource for Kentucky basketball fans and researchers including basketball programs, Cats Pause, ephemera, and photographs!

Kentucky's role in the war effort

2009-03-04T13:09:00.015-05:00

The notion of the war effort can be traced back to the French Revolution when leaders called for citizens to form a lavee en masse to prevent monarchist forces from reclaiming control of government. The World II version took a slightly different approach. People were encourage to feed their families with food they had grown so food could be shipped to the troops fighting overseas.

The Kentucky Extension Service's war production effort in 1943 included the canning of 86,392,244 quarts of foods, nearly 70 quarts for every man, woman and child on the farms in the state. Kentuckians also preserved 9,068,097 containers of butter, jams and jellies. A total of 114,452 families, nearly half of those living on Kentucky farms, grew 75 percent or more of their food supply.

Pictured above is Mrs. Guy Penick of Fayette Co., KY showing off some of the 1,200 jars she canned in 1943 as part of the war effort.

You never know what you will find

2009-01-27T14:43:00.005-05:00

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

2009-01-21T15:36:00.007-05:00

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?

New Online Resource

2009-01-15T10:15:00.006-05:00

Search or browse University of Kentucky Yearbooks!

Explore thousands of historic images!

Discover the Board of Trustees Minutes!

see for yourself at

http://exploreuk.uky.edu

Happy Birthday Elvis

2009-01-08T14:03:00.004-05:00

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.

Nunn Center wins CASE award for WUKY radio programs

2008-12-21T16:36:00.006-05:00

The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History won the Grand Award from CASE-Kentucky (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) in the audiovisual category. The award was for the WUKY radio collaboration between Nunn Center director Doug Boyd and WUKY news director Alan Lytle which regularly features oral histories on a variety of topics. The award winning programs can be heard at WUKY, or from the Nunn Center website.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-16T09:34:00.006-05:00

Christmas Party, 1956, UK Radio photographs, 79pa104_0425

Christmas Party, 1954, UK Radio photographs, 79pa104_0282

In the midst of finals, office parties, and holiday shopping, here's a visit from the ghost of holidays past. As my time as a student nears its end, I can't think of a better "last post" than to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

-- JC

Family and friends, undated, James Edwin (Ed) Weddle photographs, 1997AV27_4117

Let it snow!

2008-12-08T09:42:00.005-05:00

Barker Hall, Louis Edward Nollau F Series photographic prints, 1998ua001:273_0006

Mahmoud running in the snow, James Edwin "Ed" Weddle photographs, undated, 1997AV27:1530

Snow is not exactly rare in central Kentucky, but it is rare to have enough snow for sledding or a good snowball fight. Snowmen tend to be muddy and full of dry leaves around here. When we do get a good snowfall, it is often accompanied by a sense of playfulness, some images of which have been passed down through the years.

Campus views, Collection on Lafayette Studios, 1940, 96PA101:4407f

Students lying in the snow, UK general photographic prints, 1960, 2001ua025:2440

Poor Little Eliza

2008-12-04T13:03:00.004-05:00

The worst period of her life were those months when her mother thought the pinnacle of humor was to dress her like a lampshade and drag her to the tintypist.