This January, the Eastern Panhandle had several inches of snow. How much fell on the days snow arrived? How would we know? Ideally, someone would have gone out, measured, and recorded that information for later. Recording meteorological events, such as snowfall, rainfall, dewpoint, temperature, and wind direction and speed is a daily practice.
In Jefferson County, from 1948-1997, a gentleman named Laurence W Lloyd kept detailed weather journals and notebooks on weather events for Charles Town, WV.
In the first journal (for 1948), Mr. Lloyd provided at the front and the back covers, charts of meteorological symbols that were used at the weather stations; these include meteorological symbols for precipitation, wind direction, wind speed, and cloud cover. On January 31, 1948, he recorded these factors for the day at 8 am and 4 pm in as precise a manner as possible. On the same day in 1993, however, his notations were written out rather than encoded.
Mr. Lloyd’s weather journals are grouped in boxes, roughly six or seven at a time. The weather journals are usually the size of a small day book or daily calendar; some are stamped with his name.
For more information about this volume or any other archival materials and collections, please contact Ms. Frances Marshall, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at [email protected] or (304) 876-5417 to make an appointment to view it or other archival materials.
Do you have a favorite poem or one that you simply cannot forget?
Ms. Zenith Young’s favorite became “The Vision of Sir Launfal” by American poet James Russell Lowell, thanks to Ms. Ella May Turner, her English teacher at Shepherd College.
The poem tells of a knight who desires to seek the Grail but has a dream-encounter that changes the world for the knight—and, potentially, the reader.
Ms. Young loved the poem so much that she chose to illustrate the work using lithography, a method of print-making that uses stone as its medium rather than wood or linoleum. The illustrations are delicate, looking as though they are purple sketches, and the pictures may include text (some of it in cursive).
The book includes a hand-written note to Dr. James Butcher from the former SC graduate, requesting that the book be placed in the library. This was done and it came into the SU Archives collection because of the donor, the reason for the donation, and the fineness of the work (there are limited copies of this particular volume).
For more information about this volume or any other archival materials and collections, please contact Ms. Frances Marshall, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at [email protected] or (304) 876-5417 to make an appointment to view it or other archival materials.
When November circles around this area, fall is truly here. Thoughts turn toward the care of the home and family and celebrations like Thanksgiving. What did the home-maker of the mid-nineteenth century do to keep her family fed, clothed, shod, well and presentable?
Housewifery 1837: Sheetz Tavern and Gun Shop is a volume transcribed by Shepherd College alumna (Class of 1924) and former Lutheran Church historian, Gladys Hartzell, held in the Shepherd Archive that can answer some of these questions. The book contains recipes for food, medicines, inks and paints, and hints to “the housewife” on cleaning, mending material, and how to have good health.
The recipes are not in any particular order (a recipe for making ink comes immediately after one that tells how to make a particular cake) nor are the measurements written in Arabic numerals but as words—this can make for some hard reading. Ms. Hartzell’s transcription is exact; if the original author misspelled or used phonetic spelling for a word or did not include punctuation, neither did Ms. Hartzell.
For more information about this volume or any other archival materials and collections, please contact Ms. Frances Marshall, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at [email protected] or (304) 876-5417 to make an appointment to view it or other archival materials.
Apple harvest season is underway, and for decades, the Eastern Panhandle was a major apple-producing and packing region. In the 1910s, Shepherd College offered a set of science courses focused on agriculture, which included practical experience working in local orchards.
In our Rare Books collection, there is a notable book on apple cultivation, published in 1871—the same year Shepherd College was founded. This volume, titled The Apple Culturist, is remarkable not only for its age but also for its unique cover, where an apple appears upside-down.
The book features stunning, scientifically accurate illustrations, most of which are engravings, though some may be sketches. Smaller illustrations often serve as head or end-pieces alongside the text, while larger ones fill entire pages opposite the text. As a reference work, the book includes a subject-specific dictionary of terms, a detailed system for working in apple orchards, and precise illustrations for readers to study and appreciate.
For more information about this volume or any other archival materials and collections, please contact Ms. Frances Marshall, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, at [email protected] or (304) 876-5417 to schedule an appointment.
Did you know that a century ago, each class at Shepherd College had its own motto, yell, and colors?
Louise Freeman Thompson, a member of the Class of 1924, created a handmade scrapbook of people, places, and items from her college days, including the motto, colors, flower, and yell of the Senior Normal Class (those who would become teachers upon graduation).
This scrapbook’s pages are black paper and the text, mostly in cursive, is done in a soft white pen or chalk since that text is fading. Many of the photographs are in good condition for their age and are labeled by Ms. Thompson.
A few interesting photographs from the book include a shot of the first dining hall (in Miller Hall), a picture of Dr. White in his office, and one of Shepherd College (now Knutti Hall).
If Ms. Thompson’s work is of interest to you, please contact Ms. Frances Marshall, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at [email protected] or (304) 876-5417 to make an appointment to view it or other archival materials.
Summer session at Shepherd has always been, or so it seems.
However, its practice did not start here at Shepherd until 1907, according to the 1908 college catalog; the 1908 college catalog lists the “Summer School” session as “protected and permanent” due to a Board of Regents resolution since the initial one proved successful. The 1908 summer school ran for six weeks in mid-June and had credit attached to its classes. The “summer school” was meant for teachers to come to learn better practices or maintain certification to instruct children.
The tuition and fees, listed separately from the regular term, showed costs for a student wishing to be economical and one more liberal in spending allowance.
As the college grew, so did the summer school enrollment and offerings.
In 1954, the “summer school” became “Summer Session” and has remained a staple of Shepherd ever since.
Past college catalogs, up to 2011—and their information—are available in print format in the Community Reading Room and the SU Archive, and digitally (https://libguides.shepherd.edu/archives/Digital_Collections). From 2013 to the present day, the college catalogs have been archived digitally by the Office of the Registrar on their website (https://catalog.shepherd.edu/).
For more information on artifacts held in the Shepherd University Archive or to make an appointment to view collected materials, please contact Ms. Frances Marshall, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at [email protected] or (304) 876-5417.
Happy Graduation! While students at Shepherd University now celebrate this milestone in May, in earlier years, commencement exercises were held in June. Caps and gowns were worn; speakers came specifically to congratulate and exhort the seniors; and most importantly, recognition of accomplishment was given in the form of a diploma.
Shepherd University Archives has been given several diplomas by former alumnae over the years. However, the items in this box concerning Harry Allen Osbourn, a graduate of 1893, and his recollections, include not the diploma from that time, but a framed award for sixty years of service post-graduation, a typed speech with his hand-written notes, several photographs (including two from 1893), a copy of his wedding photo and his obituary. These artifacts tell a story about his life and how central his education and graduation from Shepherd College were to it.
Need to escape from reality a bit?
Check out one of these new fantasy books🐉 from our B&T Collection!
Need something new to read? Stop by the library today to check out these new arrivals. You can find these in the B&T Collection located by the Public Services Desk.
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