A Glimpse of the lives of American soldiers constructed with materials of the 3rdArmored Division Archives, housed at the University of Illinois Archives Research Center.
Experiencing WWII from the inside of a M4 Sherman tank was famously dangerous. Henry J. Earl retells his experience with the Sherman in a 1983 letter to Lt Colonel Haynes Dugan, one of the G-2 intelligence officers for the 3rd Armored Division. Continue reading “A Poor Defense: Sherman tanks in WW2”→
Nearly a century ago, the Great War drastically changed the lives of servicemen and their families. Over 3,000 University of Illinois alumni and students joined the military and Dean Thomas Arkle Clark faithfully corresponded with many students, alumni, and parents about military service, war experiences, and potential University admissions. Servicemen and their families appreciated Dean Clark’s concern, for in the words of Edmund Allen, “It surely helps a lot to know that the folks at college haven’t forgotten, and it keeps the ties that hold us to the best things in life a little tighter around us.”[1]
University Archives 50th Anniversary Celebration, Marshall Gallery, Main Library, University of Illinois, October 12, 2013. THOMPSON ● McCLELLAN Commercial Photographers.
In 1936, as part of the College of Agriculture Extension Service, Ruth C. Freeman from the Home Economics Department prepared the presentation Why Home Accounts Count for McLean County, in cooperation with the McLean County Home Adviser Clara Brian and account-keeping families in McLean County.[1] Continue reading “Why Home Accounts Count, 1936”→
This post is based on the “University of Illinois Glee and Mandolin Clubs, 1889-1921” exhibit currently installed at the Urbana Free Library for the 5th annual C-U Folk & Roots Festival, November 1-2, 2013.
Mandolin and Guitar Clubs, Illio, 1898
Mandolin, banjo, and guitar clubs were wildly popular beginning in the late 1880s. They sprang up across the country and quickly became trendy with college students. The Mandolin and Guitar Club at the University of Illinois–alternately known as the Mandolin and Banjo Club, and the Mandolin Club over the years–organized in 1889 and was one of the oldest university musical organizations, outranked only by the Band and Glee Clubs. From its inception, the Mandolin and Guitar Club united with the Glee Club in one management association for concerts. These clubs constituted a central part of student life and served as the musical representatives of the University of Illinois. The whole group frequently spent university vacations on the road performing, meeting alumni, and raising funds. Continue reading “Glee and Mandolin Clubs, 1889-1921”→
