The holidays in Cincinnati bring many traditions to mind. You can go see the Duke Energy train display at the Cincinnati Museum Center (formerly the CG&E train display and previously located downtown), and you surely do not want to miss the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo. One tradition in particular, though, is celebrating a big anniversary. 2014 marks the 40th year for Cincinnati Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker. For many Cincinnatians, a trip to see The Nutcracker at Music Hall is their first experience with the ballet, and for others it might be their only experience.
Tag Archives: Cincinnati History
CHRC Collections at ARB Recall Cincinnati’s Own Civil Unrest
By: Nate McGee, CHRC Intern and UC PhD candidate
A thank you card from a student at Aiken High School following a CHRC outreach visit to the school.
Amid a renewed discussion regarding the relationship between minority urban residents and local police, it’s important to think about how our own community dealt with similar issues in the not too distant past. The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC) Collection currently being processed in the Archives and Rare Books Library shows the myriad ways the city and various organizations affiliated with city hall attempted to deal with issues not unlike those currently experienced in Ferguson, Missouri, Staten Island, New York, and in the national news discussion.
Another Addition to Our Documentation of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music's Heritage
By Kevin Grace
Last week we wrote about the wonderful donation of an exterior wall plaque from the Conservatory of Music when it was located in the old Shillito mansion on Highland and Oak Streets. No sooner than that blog post run that we received a package from another person with a connection to the school.
Florence Lemke of Tucson passed along some memorabilia that had belonged to her late aunt, Rita Moore. Moore was a Conservatory student in the early 1920s and had a classmate by the name of Minnie Leah Nobles. Mrs. Lemke sent us the 1921 Senior Annual, which her aunt had obtained from Nobles, along with a class photo. In the picture, Nobles is the tallest woman in the back row and Moore is in the back row as well, third from the right. It’s a wonderful image not only in how it depicts coed fashion at the time, but in its look at the Conservatory entrance as well. Continue reading
UC Bicentennial Publishing Plans Gearing Up
By: Kevin Grace
In 2019, the University of Cincinnati will celebrate its 200th birthday, and for the past two years the UC Bicentennial Commission has undertaken a number of initiatives to celebrate and commemorate this momentous event. One aspect of the bicentennial endeavors is directed by the Spirit of History Committee. Chaired by longtime UC benefactor and former member of the Board of Trustees, Buck Niehoff, the committee’s plans are for two complementary publications.
The first publication is a scholarly history of the university by David Stradling, professor of history. Dr. Stradling will focus on UC’s relationship to the city of Cincinnati throughout its history. The second volume, edited by Greg Hand, will be a collection of diverse essays that begin with a facet of University of Cincinnati history and expand it to where it has relevance and meaning to any reader, not just those who are connected to UC in some way. To that end, Hand is soliciting ideas for essays and invites anyone to submit a proposal by linking to this web page: http://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/Bicentennial/docs/6034-Spirit-of-History-Essay-form.pdf. The form provides details on the style the essays will take. It can also be printed out and mailed to potential authors. Continue reading
Shillito Hall Comes Home to the UC Campus
By: Kevin Grace
For the past few weeks, Mr. Dennis Christine (CCM, Class of 1969), has corresponded with Sue Reller, Mark Palkovic, and me about an old bronze plaque he had. He wished to donate it to us as a piece of University of Cincinnati heritage that he strongly felt should be preserved, and we’re very fortunate that he thought of us because the plaque that reads “Shillito Hall” is a reminder of CCM’s past and its merger with the University of Cincinnati in the 1960s. Yesterday I met him at the gatehouse on Clifton and hauled it in to the Archives & Rare Books Library.
UC Libraries Launch Source Online
Newsletter, first published in 2002, contains the latest news and happenings from UC Libraries.
UC Libraries is transforming technology, people, space and information resources to “become the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus.”
It is in this spirit of transformation that we are changing the way in which we deliver Source to our readers. The online newsletter will still contain the latest information about the organization, people, places and happenings in UC Libraries, but will no longer be produced in print. By moving Source online, we are able to reach a greater number of readers on various devices – computers, phones, tablets and more.
Treasures of the Winkler Center: 1843 Botanico-Medical College Diploma of Dr. Henry Randolph Higgins
Through the generosity of Jerry L. Higgins, the Henry R. Winkler Center received an interesting artifact depicting Cincinnati’s rich history of institutions of medical education. This framed diploma from the Botanico-Medical College of Ohio was awarded to Jerry L. Higgins’ ancestor, Dr. Henry Randolph Higgins, and serves as the only artifact in the Winkler collection from the institution.
From left to right:
Allison Higgins, Jerry L. Higgins, and Becky Higgins
(Photo courtesy of Dan Davenport, UC AHC Public Relations)
Exploring UC in Photographs
By: Iman Said, Archives & Rare Books Library Intern, 2014-2015
Hello, and welcome to my first blog! My name is Iman and I’m a student in the College of Business, studying Operations Management. This year, I am working as a research intern in the Archives & Rare Books Library, a cozy nook on the 8th floor of Blegen Library. The ARB Library is a home to the University’s rare books collection, UC archives, hundreds of archival collections, and texts from all over the world. Just an hour of working in this corner of campus is enough to get a glimpse into the history and traditions that have influenced the way our laws are made, the way we interact with others, even the way our society functions.
UC Football Team 1895
ARB’s "50 Minutes" Talk for September
By: Kevin Grace
The Archives & Rare Books monthly talk returns on Wednesday, September 24, at 12:00 noon with a special presentation on UC’s first female graduate. Like nearly every other institution of its kind, documenting the “firsts” and the significant moments of our history lends context to our heritage, and, reveals some very interesting stories. And for this 50 Minutes talk, we welcome back Greg Hand to campus and to Blegen Library. Greg made some very interesting 50 Minutes talks in the past few years on Cincinnati’s Federal Writer’s project guide to the city; artist, poet, and mystic William Blake; and pioneering cartoonist Winsor McCay. Now he comes with another… Continue reading
Cincinnati’s Bathtub Hoax and a Missing Giant Tub
By: Kevin Grace
H.L. Mencken
In 1917, the noted journalist and philologist H.L. Mencken published an article in the New York Evening Mail concerning the history of the bathtub in the United States. According to the Baltimore writer, known as much for his satire and acerbic wit as he was for his political reporting, Cincinnati was home to this tub. Mencken asserted that America’s first bathtub was introduced on December 20, 1842 by Adam Thompson who lived, in all places, Cincinnati, Ohio. Made of mahogany and lined with lead, the vessel was introduced by Thompson to his guests at a Christmas party, described how it worked, and invited the partygoers to take a dip. Four of them took him up on his offer, and the next day the invention was widely reported in the press. Continue reading