Browse Items (90 total)

This 1914 photograph by Lewis Hine shows workers leaving the Opelika Cotton Mill in Alabama at the noon whistle. Among them is Velma Smith, identified by Hine as "a tiny little spinner with a steady job all day." The image shows Velma running toward the camera while adult workers move past her. Hine's caption provides extensive detail. Velma's father refused to let her keep any of her own wages. Velma's mother had worked in mills before age 12, and multiple members of the family were employed at the mill. The caption also notes that Velma was seen starting work before dawn and suggests that her claimed age of 12 was likely falsified.

Interpretation Note
This photograph presents industrial labor as a family economy structured by dependency and necessity. At first glance, the scene appears almost ordinary, with workers leaving for a break and a child running. However, Hine's caption turns it into clear evidence of generational exploitation. His narrative draws attention to the economic pressures that bound entire families, even very young children (likely under 12), to mill work. Details in the caption about withheld wages, uncertain ages, and shifts that began before dawn show how mills and families together shaped a child's working life. Terry Cook suggests that archives grow out of the social pressures and assumptions of their time, shaping what gets saved and how people make sense of it. With that in mind, Hine's photograph feels like a product of its own system that turns the ordinary routines of mill work into proof of the social and economic conditions he wanted to expose. The photograph also hints at how child labor was viewed then, since Velma's job is shown as normal work rather than as a loss of childhood or schooling. Altogether, it shows how records created within a certain worldview can end up supporting the accepted ideas about labor in early 20th-century industrial settings.

Series of paintings by Mamie Holst which began in 1997 and is potentially still ongoing. The paintings in this series are various shades of black, white, and gray, and they tend to incorporate circular designs alongside other striped geometric patterns. Holst's creation of the series is motivated by her experience living with Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS).

"Nason and Co. Produce Bellyache" is a letter to the editor of the Carletonian written by student J. R. Long. The letter details Long's grievances with the administration regarding the issue of coed dorms, and advocates for a destigmatization of sex on campus.

This is a news release on the renovation plans for Little Nourse in 1957, based solely on the idea of students Janet Trussell and David Whitbeck. The renovation was supposed to represent a "modern stage" and create a theater in the round. This new release was made by the Carleton News Bureau, written by Jane Koelges, the News Director at the time.

Ruvtz-Rees writes about her experience in the insane asylum in the 19th century. Although she speaks positively about her time in the aslyum, she calls for more home treatments, as she believes "mental disease is infectious." This idea, along with the development of treatments such as the rest cure, begins to make the home a place of imprisonment rather than an outside institution. It is then the family, not the asylum workers and nurses, that imprison the female body.

This item is an edited interview with Sacheem Littlefeather, reflecting on her role in the 1973 Oscars ceremony. Littlefeather describes why she chose to refuse the Oscar, her relationship with Marlon Brando, and her work as an activist. Though she remarks that she would do it again "in a heartbeat," Littlefeather also notes the racism she faced from the film industry in the aftermath of her activism, and her subsequent surprise when the Academy issued its apology in 2022.

This is a letter written by my dad to his family in 1998 while he was living in Kazakhstan. In this letter, he writes about the movies his family sent, how he got a piano, and using it as a source of entertainment while the power was out in his apartment.

In this letter, he tells his family he will be stationed in Ushtobe, a city about 4 hours away from the capital, Almaty. He says the utilities in the town are bad: there is no hot water, and electricity and water are only on for a few hours every day. He talks about what he has heard about the school where he will be teaching. He says the school is trying to break out of the soviet ways of educating, and they recently received a grant for a fax machine and some computers. He says the school’s developing technology is why he got stationed there and that he hopes to figure out how to use the computers and get email. He writes about the ethnic diversity of the town: a mix of Russians, Kazakhs, and Koreans. He writes about how the schools are separated by language, and he will be teaching at a Russian school.

Where he is staying, as he writes this letter, Kapchagay, has water and electricity all day, but never hot water. He says that people fill their tubs and barrels with water in case the water shuts off. He says some people warm water for showers with an electric heater, but his host family uses a black barrel that the sun is supposed to warm up. His host family uses both a washing machine and hand-washes the same clothes.

He includes three pictures with the letter: 1) a horse, 2) a Ferris wheel, and 3) him with a crumbling statue of Lenin

This is a letter he wrote on his computer while the power was out. He printed it on an old sheet of paper. The paper is a baggage advisory for Peace Corps trainees, volunteers, and staff from March 22, 1994. At the end of the letter, he wrote, “Ignore what’s on the other side of this letter. I am reusing useless Peace Corps paper and stuff.”

In the letter, he tells his family he is now a Peace Corps volunteer, no longer a trainee. He is in Ushtobe. He says the electricity and water has been going off, but says it's on most of the time and that he’s living well. He writes about meeting the director of his school, people in the town, and some police. He writes, “Some of the police here still think this is the Soviet Union and that they must keep a close tap on me.” He says he is trying to get a phone and then he might be able to get an email.

Two pictures are included in this letter: 1) him jumping into the river Ili, and 2) him at the train station
In the letter, he tells his family he is now a peace corps volunteer, no longer a trainee. He is in Ushtobe. He says the electricity and water has been going off but says it's on most of the time and that he’s living well. He writes about meeting the director of his school, people in the town, and some police: “Some of the police here still think this is the Soviet Union and that they must keep a close tap on me”. He says he is trying to get a phone and then he might be able to get an email.

Two pictures are included in this letter: 1) him jumping into the river Ili 2) him at the train station

He starts this letter by talking about living in a cold apartment but how people are looking for a warmer place for him.

He writes about how his Russian is getting better. He can read Russian and English product labels, but he has a hard time reading the other languages that are on Turkish, Iranian, Chinese, and European products. He tells his family which countries his favorite products come from.

He talks about his work; the school now has textbooks so he can teach and plan lessons better, his students are getting better at English, and he is attempting to teach the secretary how to use the computer.

He writes about how he is trying to access the computer room, but the computer teacher doesn’t like sharing the key to the room. This leads into him talking about Soviet culture and the Russian word for sneaky.

Two pictures are included in this letter: 1) his friend Jeremy and him with their town’s statue of Lenin, and 2) the Green Bazaar in Almaty