April 2009

Month: April 2009

Safecracker in the Archives

If you’ve ever visited the Archives, you’ve probably noticed the safe. The origin of the safe, when it was brought to the Archives, and what is inside it are all unknown. People have tried to open it, but none have succeeded. One person has now come forward with a mission of opening the safe. Professor of history Jake Frederick will try to open the safe. News of his progress will be provided on this blog as well as the Archives Facebook page. If you would like to be contacted to witness the opening of the safe, let me know.

“Lawrence history through the Archives” Lawrentian articles

A biweekly column on aspects of Lawrence’s history is featured in the Lawrentian beginning with the current issue. This first article looks at the creation of Memorial Union, a building that took six years to complete. The link for this article is provided below.

http://media.www.lawrentian.com/media/storage/paper409/news/2009/04/24/Features/Lawrence.History.Through.The.Archives-3720954.shtml

Future articles will look at the Union of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as Downer. If you have suggestions or would like to see a certain aspect of Lawrence’s history covered in an article, let me know.

Current Exhibits

Unusual Archives Treasures

The exhibit, done in honor of April Fool’s Day, provides a sampling of the many unusual items in the University Archives that rarely see the light of day. Photographs of unusual dorm rooms, student traditions, the actual Junior spade and spoon, and the ever popular death mask are on display through the month of April in the cases on the first floor of the library.