Christmas shopping in Greensboro, 1912

Some great holiday gifts from Meyer's Department Store in Greensboro, featured in their advertisement in the 19 December 1912 Greensboro Patriot:

For men:

• Automobile English Robes, third floor.
• Bath Robes, eiderdown fleece, second floor.
• Silk Sox, all colors,imported.
• English Cravats, individual boxes.
• Hand-embroidered Handkerchiefs.
• Initial Handkerchiefs, six in box.
• Kid Gloves, lined and unlined.
• Knit Work Gloves, "English."
• Pajamas of silk or fleece.

For women:

• Furs, Lynx, fox, sealskin, moleskin.
• Coats, fur, astrachan, wool, plush.
• Suits, 300 to select from.
• Handkerchiefs, real lace and hand embroidered.
• Slippers, undress kid and hand crochet.
• Toilet articles, in ivory and silver.
• Real Gold Jewelry, high novelties.

Blaustein's and Brown-Belk Co, were featuring suits and coats:

 

Odell Hardware offered just about everything and made "Christmas shopping easy" by staying open till 9:00.

The Digital Projects Team at UNCG wishes you a happy holiday season even if we cannot offer you fancy Japanese china or a good $7.95 suit!

Digital collections update

As we start the new academic year, it's time to unveil some new and expanded digital collections:

New collections:

• Greenhouse Cello Music Collection (Initial phase now complete)
  This collection features 230 items, including programs, annotated music scores, and album covers related to cellist Bernard Greenhouse, a revered performer and pedagogue known for his role as a founding member of the internationally renowned Beaux Arts Trio. We hope to expand this collection to include video and oral history materials in the coming months.
• Physical Education Pamphlets (Complete)
  This collection features 236 items created between 1838 and 1975 on such subjects as exercise and physical education, diet and nutrition, and health issues.
• WUAG Exhibit (Complete)
  This exhibit includes 136 photographs, documents, and other items from the records of UNCG's campus radio station that have been added to the University Archives digital collection. We will be adding audio and several interviews later this year.
  

Collections with significant additions:

• Greensboro Historical Newspapers (Initial phase now complete)
  This collection now includes all existing microfilmed issues (nearly 4000) of the Greensboro Patriot from 1826-1922 as well as a collection of World War II newspapers from Greensboro's ORD/BTC-10 army base. We have obtained copyright clearance to digitize the remaining issues of the Patriot and may do so if funding can be secured.
• The Carolinian, 1919-2008 (Complete)
  All existing issues (nearly 3000) of The Carolinian from 1919-2008 are now available online. Issues from 2008 to 2012 are currently being microfilmed and digitized and will be online soon. After that, we hope to add new issues at the end of each academic year.
  
• American Publishers Trade Bindings, Phase IV (Ongoing)
  Over 400 new items have been added in the past year.
• Oral History Collections (Ongoing)
  Approximately 60 new oral histories have been added since March, including 25 from the Rotary Club/Preserving Our History collection.
• Women Veterans Historical Project (Ongoing)
  Numerous oral histories, printed items, and photographs have been added.

Later this month, we will be unveiling the LSTA-funded North Carolina Runaway Slave Advertisements, 1751-1840 project, which contains around 2400 runaway slave ads that appeared in North Carolina newspapers in searchable full-text format.

We area also starting to work on Textiles, Teachers, and Troops: Greensboro NC, 1881-1945 and on the rest of year's roster of priority projects. More about these to follow:

• Manuscripts Scrapbooks
• American Publishers Trade Bindings, Phase V
• ASERL Center of Excellence for Nutrition: Government Documents Pamphlets
• Home Economics Pamphlets
• Greensboro Historical Newspapers, Phase II

New and expanded digital collections

The Digital Projects Team would like to alert you to several new and expanded digital collections that are now available from the University Libraries:

• Greensboro Pictorials Collection:  http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/GSOPics.php
  This collection features seven pictorial books documenting local businesses and institutions in Greensboro and Central North Carolina in the early part of the Twentieth Century. This was a collaboration with the Greensboro Historical Museum.
• Greensboro Patriot: http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/GSOPatriot.php
  Working with the Lyrasis Mass Digitization Collaborative, we are placing 4600 issues of a Greensboro weekly newspaper dating from 1826 to 1922 online. Currently, issues through 1888 are available. The remainder should be online within the next two to three months.
• The Carolinian: http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/Carolinian.php
  Phase II of this project will add issues of UNCG's newspaper from 1930-2005. Issues through 1956 are currently available online, while the remainder should be available by May. This project was also completed through the Lyrasis Mass Digitization Collaborative.

In addition, new material has been added to the following collections:

• Greensboro City Directories: http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/GSOcityDir.php
  Now includes directories through 1963. This project was a collaboration with the Greensboro Historical Museum and the Greensboro Public Library.
• Oral History Collections: http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/OralHisCo.php
  Several new transcripts have been added and there is also a new audio recording of an interview with Dr. Harold Schiffman, in whose honor our music library has recently been renamed.
• Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project: http://library.uncg.edu/dp/wv/
  Several new photos, printed items, and oral histories have been added.

Please take a few moments to look at some of these collections and let me know if you encounter any problems or have any questions.

There will be many more items coming online in the next couple of months, including the Physical Education Pamphlets Collection, selections from the Bernard Greenhouse Collection, an exhibit featuring records from WUAG, our campus radio station, and our NC ECHO-funded North Carolina Runaway Slave Advertisements project.

In addition, we hope to be moving to an upgraded version of the CONTENTdm software within two months. This should provide an enhanced user experience and a cleaner interface.

All our digital collections can be viewed at this link: http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/.

Christmas in Greensboro, 1901

A sample of Christmas cheer from 110 years ago: The article describes festivities in the mill town adjacent to Proximity Mill, part of Greensboro's Cone Mills. The advertisement that follows shows post-holiday bargains at Greensboro's Harry-Belk Brothers Store (later Belk).

Both are from the Christmas Day, 1901, issue of The Greensboro Patriot and are part of the Patriot digitization project, which should be completely online by the summer of 2012.

Christmas at Proximity

At no place in North Carolina is there more Christmas cheer than at Proximity, Greensboro's suburban mill town. The enjoyment began Friday afternoon, when the Proximity graded school closed tor the holiday vacation Under the direction of the principal, Mis, McMasters, and her three assistants, an enjoyable program had been arranged and was carried out in a most creditable manner. The exercises consisted of songs, recitations, etc., by the school children, who gave evidence of the most careful training.

But the most enjoyable feature of the occasion came after the children had entertained the crowd with their speeches and recitations. When it was anoouiced that Santa Claus had arrived two hundred bright young fnces were turned toward the stage, and when Kris pulled back the curtain and disclosed a beautiful Christmas tree two hundred pairsof eyes sparkled In childish joy.- The tree, lighted by dozens of tiuy candles, was ladened with fruits, candies, toys and other presents. There was a package of fruit and candy and a nice present for each child. And for those childeren who had not missed a day nor been tardy during the school term therewere extra presents, given as rewardsfor faithful attendance and work.

The Christmas tree was made possible by the generosity of Mr. Ceasar Cone, who bought and paid for the gifts. He directed the teachers to prepare as nice a tree as possible and to see that not a single child was neglected. That his thoughtful kindness was appreciated by the little tots and their parents goes without saying.

The older people had their inning Monday afternoon, when a nice fat turkey was left at each of the 250 homesof the Proximity mill operatives. The turkeys also were the gift of the mill management.

The mill closed Monday evening to give the thousand operatives a three days' Christmas vacation. Monday night the Proximity Comedy Club gave a minstrel performance for the benefit of the Proximity band. The entertainment was very creditable and netted the band a nice sum.

Harry-Belk Brothers Ad