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Clarke Historical Library

January 2017

DigMichNews Grant Voting January 16-28

For the fourth year, the Clarke Historical Library is offering one community the chance to have up to 10,000 pages of their historical newspapers digitized and uploaded into the Digital Michigan Newspapers website. And we are asking the public choose the winning community. To read each community's proposal, click on the links for each of the five finalists below:
Beginning with postcards on January 16 and Tweets on January 23, we are asking you and history-lovers across the state and the country to vote. The community that receives the most votes (1 vote for a Tweet carrying the #hashtag of the community and 10 votes for a postcard carrying the #hashtag) before the end of the campaign on January 28 will win. Votes will only count if they are cast during the specified voting periods.

As an added twist to this year's competition, we are hosting a special one-day on-line vote for:
  • the "most artistic" hand-made postcard
  • the "best refrigerator art" on a hand-made postcard
All hand-made postcards received before January 23 are eligible. The Clarke staff will choose one postcard in each category from each community. On January 23, the postcards will be available for viewing on-line. Then, on January 26, we will host a one-day Twitter contest. The first-place-winning postcards in each category will receive 500 bonus votes for the community they support and those postcards in second place in each category will garner 250 bonus votes.

Be sure to follow the DigMichNews Twitter page for the latest on this year's DigMichNews Grant contest.

For more information about the contest or the complete rules, visit the DigMichNews Grant webpage. If you have any questions about the DigMichNews Grant or the microfilming and newspaper reformatting services offered by the Clarke, e-mail DigMichNews@cmich.edu.

The DigMichNews grant is made possible thanks to the support of the Robert and Susan Clarke Endowment.



Clarke Traveling Exhibits Now Showing

The Clarke has partnered with two institutions in Michigan to display two of our traveling exhibits. Our Native Treaties - Shared Rights exhibit will be on display at the River Raisin National Battlefield Park in Monroe, Michigan through the spring. On Saturday, January 21 at 12:00 noon, join Frank Boles, director of the Clarke, at the River Raisin National Battlefield visitor center as he speaks about the exhibit and the impact that the treaties signed between Tribal Governments and the United States Government have had historically and on our societies today.

The Native Treaties ? Shared Rights exhibit is made possible thanks in part to a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council.

Another of the Clarke's travelling exhibits - Celebrating Two Centuries of Michigan Newspapers - will be showing at the Oxford Public Library through February 17. Journalism has been said to be the first draft of history. This exhibition explores how journalism and newspaper publishing in Michigan have developed over more than 200 years. As part of over one month of programming at the Oxford Public Library, Frank Boles, Director of the Clarke, will deliver grand opening remarks on Friday, January 13 at 2:00 pm in the adult room of the Oxford Public Library.

If your community is interested in hosting one of the many traveling exhibits produced by the Clarke, please visit our traveling exhibits webpage or contact us via e-mail at clarke@cmich.edu.



"The Contenders: Presidential Candidates Not Selected" Ending Soon

We are in the final month of our current exhibit, which highlights the stories of those who vied for the highest office in America but were not elected. Every election, there is one winner and a host of others ? some remembered and some not ? who threw their hat in the ring only to come up short. View campaign materials, including texts, ephemera, and autographs of those who have not been one of the 45 elected to the highest office in the land.

In February, we will open our new exhibition, The Soo Locks. In 2016, the Clarke was contracted by the US Army Corps of Engineers to digitize and preserve over 1,700 glass photographic negatives dating from 1885-1941. The images document the construction and operations of three of the locks at the Soo complex.

Our exhibition draws from these rarely-seen images and original documents to explain the historic impact of one of North America's greatest engineering accomplishments. To officially open the exhibit, the Clarke will welcome Michelle Briggs, Director of the US Army Corps of Engineers Soo Locks Visitor Center on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 pm in the Park Library Auditorium. Ms. Briggs will discuss her award-winning photography and the operations of the Locks. This presentation is free and open to the public.



Spring Speaker Series

This spring, the Clarke has several excellent programs on tap. In addition to our Soo Locks exhibit opening on February 23, we have four dates for you to mark on your calendar.

On Monday, February 27, Jack Deo will present, "The Gems of Lake Superior: B.F. Child's 3-D Voyage in 1870 Lake Superior Views." Deo brings to life the landmark images of one of the Great Lakes' most prolific photographers in a 3-D slideshow of scenes that include Native American settlements, copper and iron mining camps, lake transportation, and more. 3-D glasses will be provided.

On Thursday, March 16, Sally Howell, author of Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim-American Past will speak about the history of Islam in Detroit. The following Monday, March 20, the Clarke will partner with the African Humanitarian Educational Research Organization (AHERO), a CMU student organization, to bring an evening of readings of African fairy tales to the CMU campus.

Finally, on the 100th anniversary of the American entry in the First World War, the Clarke will collaborate with CMU's Center for International Ethics to commemorate this historic event. Join us on Sunday, April 2 to reflect on the what led the United States to enter what was supposed to be the war to end all wars.

All presentations begin at 7:00 in the Park Library Auditorium. A reception in the Clarke Historical Library will follow each presentation. Please contact the Clarke ? 989-774-3352 or clarke@cmich.edu - for more information or to request special accommodations.



New on the Clarke's Social Media

In December, the Clarke News and Notes blog featured a post marking the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor with the stories of two former CMU students stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attacks as well as how students in Mount Pleasant mobilized for the war effort. We also displayed several holiday greeting cards to mark the season.

Clarke?s Facebook and Twitter pages were full of interesting posts, like a first edition of the classic rags-to-riches story, Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger and the front page of the Calumet News from 1913 in honor of National Miner's Day. We also featured a classic postcard showing a ski jumper in Iron Mountain (pictured) and we showed off our first edition of "A Visit From St. Nicholas," the classic poem that gave us what could be the five most famous words of poetry in America: 'Twas the night before Christmas...

Stay up with the latest from the Clarke by checking in with the Clarke News and Notes blog and following our Facebook and Twitter pages.



Clarke Hours

The Clarke is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm for you to view our exhibit or to use our materials for your research.

You can view a calendar of our hours (and the hours of the rest of the CMU Libraries units) via this CMU Libraries webpage.