This year the University of Idaho started a new annual tradition: Winter Nights Under Vandal Lights, a tree lighting ceremony with carolers to celebrate our faculty and staff.
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Ariana Burns
Archives Coordinator
30 Posts
Imagining Costumes
Halloween is fast approaching and our community enjoys creating costumes for the spooky festivities. Costumes can be purchased, made of repurposed clothing, made by hand, or a combination of all these methods. Investopedia reports that Americans are expected to spend as much as $104 per person on Halloween–about 11.6 billion...
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It’s a Killer-Diller!
The University of Idaho Argonaut Co-Ed Editions
“Killer-Diller!” - 1920s - ’30s slang. Very effective; excellent, sensational
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Building the Mullan Road
Special Collections and Archives cares for thousands of rare books that do not circulate like traditional library books but can be used by patrons in our Reading Room. The largest collection of rare books is known as the Day-Northwest Collection, named for Jerome J. Day. Day was a silver mining...
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Researching the Wilderness
Nestled in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness is the Taylor Wilderness Research Station. Colloquially known as “Taylor Ranch,” it is a University of Idaho remote research facility and has been in operation since 1970. Part of the Western Shoshone lands, it was homesteaded by “Cougar” Dave Lewis, who...
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Let Us Read, Let Us Dance
“Let us read, and let us dance…” –Voltaire
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Fourteen Books of Accessions
Following the 1906 fire that destroyed the University of Idaho Adminstration Building and the library held within, M. Belle Sweet worked on rebuilding the young school’s collection of books. The first professional librarian hired by the university, Sweet had been on the job about 15 months when she faced the...
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Hats Off to Our Graduates!
Spring commencement is fast approaching, a special gathering for members of our University of Idaho community before they head off on their next adventure as alumni. The university graduation ceremony is a tradition that harkens back to 12th century European universities. The robe, hood, and cap, known collectively as regalia,...
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Unconventional Tunes
Unique Instruments from the International Jazz Collection
As part of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival this week, the University of Idaho Library has a display on the second floor celebrating musical instruments, particularly the handmade items in Special Collections and Archives.
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Nell Shipman's Grubstake
One of the many characters who inhabit the collections found at the U of I Library’s Special Collections and Archives is writer, film producer, and actor Nell Shipman. She started her production company, Nell Shipman Productions, in California to make her own way in the film industry and eventually moved...
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Remember Me and Write...
Burton French Ellis was a University of Idaho alumnus and a career military officer. Among the books, articles, photographs, and correspondence that make up his papers in Special Collections are letters, cables, telegrams, and V-mail exchanges with his wife, Dee Dee. Letters were a vital touchstone for service people away...
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Anthropology Day
Celebrate. Engage. Inspire.
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Happy Birthday to the University of Idaho!
On January 30, 1889, 135 years ago today, Idaho Territory’s Governor Stevenson signed the bill which established the University of Idaho. One year later Idaho was granted statehood. This land grant institution of higher education was Idaho’s only university for 71 years.
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Steel House - Stronger Than Mere Bricks and Mortar
The Ethel K. Steel House was the only cooperative women’s living group on the University of Idaho campus. It was founded in 1953 when Ridenbaugh Hall was converted into a music rehearsal space–a role it serves even today. A new building was constructed on the other side of Blake Avenue...
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Travels with the Civilian Conservation Corps
Recently, the University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives was gifted a photo album created by Ben Geisler.
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The Fabulous Fib
Throughout its 125-year history, the Argonaut’s various staff claimed that the paper was “never too big to engage in a little frivolity.” They were known to periodically offer contests for the campus community to compete in. There was a contest to name the University’s varsity team; pumpkin carving; best FBI...
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Queens of Torts
The Just-Us Club
Recently Dr. Kathy Aiken, professor emerita, Dulce Kersting-Lark, head of Special Collections and Archives, and Haley Noble, head of the Latah County Historical Society came together at the U of I Women’s Center to talk about women’s groups that had and still exist in and around Moscow. In discussing the...
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Happy Thanksgiving
It’s almost Thanksgiving! Here are a few tidbits to jumpstart your holiday.
David's ad
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A Good Snapshot
“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.”
― Eudora Welty
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2023 Borah Symposium
The 2023 Borah Symposium is running through Wednesday this week.
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A Balanced Approach
The Institute for Resource Management
Robert Redford with IRM students.
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Policeman, Unofficial Public Relations Man, Amateur Student Advisor
Fred Pennell
In 1946, amid the post-war boom of veterans going to college and the accompanying increase in people and vehicle traffic, the University of Idaho decided to hire a security officer. Fred Pennell was selected to handle the bulk of police work on campus and eight years later, he became the...
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KUID
The Little Station That Could--and Does
Our blog post title is a variation on one Glenn Mosley used for his KUID article in the 2005 Spring edition of Here We Have Idaho. It still holds true after almost 20 years.
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No Time Outs
U of I Women's Rugby
“You don’t get time outs unless you knock your teeth out or you’re bleeding,” Jason Stenzel, Black Widows coach, Argonaut 7 May 1995.
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The Kiva in the Sky
The Kiva was a unique piece of architecture on the U of I campus. Perched atop a pedestal, it looked like a recently alighted spacecraft. Companionways reached out to connect it with its sister facility the College of Education Building. The Kiva was demolished in 2014 as part of the...
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The Talisman House
A People Project
During the 1970s, the University of Idaho hosted the Talisman House. Originally founded to provide drug education, it expanded over the years to offer “people-oriented” services until it was finally shuttered in 1977.
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Margaret McCallie Moore, Early Student and U of I Benefactor
Mary Belle Sweet’s predecessor as the University of Idaho’s head librarian was Margaret McCallie Moore. A U of I alumna, Moore was one of the first students to enroll at the University when it opened its doors in 1892. The administration building had not been completed when she arrived, and...
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Noted Educator Aurelia Henry Reinhardt
In 1898, the University of Idaho hired Aurelia Henry before she graduated from UC Berkeley to teach elocution and physical culture–physical culture being women’s physical education. While at the U of I, she started the first dramatics club on the university campus. Aurelia Henry poses as Kate Hardcastle in Idaho...
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The University of Idaho Starburst
Though no longer in use, a keen eye can still spot the University of Idaho starburst in various locations around campus. Also referred to as “the daisy” or “the snowflake,” the starburst was the official logo for the university from 1971-2006. U of I starburst Leo Ames, the creative director...
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Brave and Bold Vandal Women
Now on display at the U of I Library 2nd floor: Brave and Bold Women in University of Idaho history!
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