MayDay: A Day to Protect Your Family's Treasures

When we say May Day, it may bring to mind festivals of spring... or airplane pilots in distress.  But, in the world of archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums, MayDay has a very different meaning!  Each year, May 1 is the day these organizations set aside to participate in emergency/disaster preparedness activities.  

All sorts of threats can befall an archival collection.  Some affect us equally: any building can potentially flood or catch fire.  Other threats are more specific to one’s location, like earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and/or wildfires.  One goal of MayDay is to reflect on these potential threats and plan ways to minimize their impact on a collection.  

Archivists will tell you: you can’t save everything.  It might sound like a defeatist attitude, but really, it’s a reminder to be realistic about limitations.  Institutions and individuals alike all have limitations. Even in the best of times – and certainly in a disaster – we are all limited on the amount of time we can devote to a project, the amount of space we have to store or transport items, and the amount of money we can spend on cloud storage or archival storage materials.  

Because of these limitations, one of the best preparation activities you can take with your personal archive is to prioritize your heirlooms.  The motto of MayDay is “Be prepared!” so, with that in mind, here are four tips for prioritizing your personal collection.  

Tip 1: Divide and conquer.  

A first step in prioritization is to divide up your heirlooms in terms of those that can be digitized and those that cannot. Most likely you're going to be dividing your heirlooms up by those that are two-dimensional versus those that are three-dimensional. 

Two-dimensional items that can be scanned will include photographs and documents, like birth certificates, marriage records, land deeds, newspaper clippings and obituaries, and more. A few three-dimensional items might be able to be scanned as well, such as a family scrapbook, photo album, or a framed picture. 

Three-dimensional heirlooms that you probably won't be able to digitize may include clothing, dishware, furniture, jewelry, quilts, and toys. 

Depending on which category your heirloom falls into, it will determine your next step.  

Tip 2: Digitize and remember LOCKSS. 

MCDL Genealogy Team member Lisa Rienerth has created a great video on digitization; view it on MCDL's YouTube Channel.  When you're digitizing, if you're short on time, don't be afraid to prioritize these items, too. Start with your oldest and most special items first.  Skip landscapes, duplicate photos, and any blurry images. 

After you've digitized, practice LOCKSS. LOCKSS is an acronym that stands for “Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe.”  As explained by the Society of American Archivists, the idea behind LOCKSS is to have the same object or image in multiple locations – so the sole copy can’t be destroyed without having a backup.  To put this principle into practice, keep your both original copies and your digital copies, but distribute copies liberally.  For example: 

For your digital copies... 

• Save them to your home computer

• Store them in cloud storage

• If they are out of copyright, share them in online family trees (such as Ancestry and FamilySearch)

• Save them to an external hard drive and keep the drive at a location other than your home

• Email copies to relatives

For your physical, original copies…

• If the originals are plentiful, or you have similar or duplicate images, send copies to relatives

• If the originals are unique, print new copies are share those with family members

• If you are using your photographs and documents to create a family history, ask if your local archive or library accepts donations of personal research.  This can be a great way to share your treasures with others and it provides another backup location, in case your heirlooms are destroyed or lost. 

Tip 3: Document your heirlooms.  

For all of your objects that cannot be digitized, you will want to document them thoroughly. We talked about documenting heirlooms on the blog earlier this year.  Documenting your heirlooms involves describing them in writing, labeling them, and photographing them. Use this Heirloom Documentation Form to help in this process. 

While you’re documenting the heirlooms, create an inventory. Write down when you became the owner of the heirloom, a brief description, and its previous owner.  Here is a free Heirloom Inventory Form you can use in this process.  

As you’re creating your inventory, start to prioritize your heirlooms. Consider...

• What you could take with you, if you had to evacuate. (Think small and portable!) 

• Gathering your most precious heirlooms in one-location, possibly near an exit. 

• Purchasing archival boxes for storing some/all your heirlooms. (Remember: a box is easier to transport than loose items and archival boxes can provide a barrier between treasures and water/smoke damage.)

• If you have multiple, similar items (say an Aunt’s china set or several quilts by a great-grandmother) with which you could practice LOCKSS, by sharing your treasures with other family members.

Prioritizing in advance will save you precious time in an emergency.  

Tip 4: Prioritization & Preparation is a Marathon, Not a Sprint!

MayDay is the perfect time to start the process of prioritizing your personal archive and preparing for potential disasters.  But don’t expect that you will be finished in a day!  Instead, use May 1 as a starting point with the goal to finish digitizing, documenting, and prioritizing by MayDay 2022. 

Learn More

Want to learn more about MayDay and steps you can take to protect your family’s treasures?  Check out these resources!

• 11 Ways to Protect Your Genealogy Research From Disaster by Denise May Levenick

• Plan Ahead: Protect Your Genealogy from Disaster by Ancestry

• MayDay: Do One Thing for Emergency Preparedness by the American Institute for Conservation and Foundation for Advancement in Conservation

• Ideas for MayDay Activities by the Society for American Archivists 

As always, you can contact the MCDL Genealogy Team with questions.  Email us at me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info.  

Virtual Genealogy Slam! Preserve Your Past!

This Saturday, April 24, the MCDL Genealogy Team will present our first VIRTUAL Genealogy Slam!  Register at http://mcdl.info/slam to attend two lectures on the theme of preserving your past.  

First up, at 1:00 PM, Dr. Holly Witchey, of the Intermuseum Conservation Association will present Caring for Your Treasures.  Learn how to protect your family's heirlooms, with tips for general care, handling, and storage of your most treasured possessions. 

After a brief break, at 2:15 PM, Margaret Cheney, the past president of the Ohio Genealogical Society, will present Applying to Lineage Societies.  In this presentation, you'll learn how to preserve your family history by joining a lineage society.  

This event will be held on Zoom.  To receive the Zoom link to participate, you'll need register at http://mcdl.info/slam.  There is a single Zoom link for both programs.  

We hope you'll join us online for these two informative presentations!  

If you have any questions, contact the MCDL Genealogy Team at me-team.genealogy@mcdl.info.  

Register at http://mcdl.info/slam!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

 YES!! It is that time of year again when we get to watch the boys of summer play ball.

However, it was not too long ago when those “boys” were sent to war and a new type of baseball league was formed.



In 1943, the Chicago Cubs owner, Phillip Wrigley, founded the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).

Medina County is fortunate to be able to say one of its former residents played in this special professional baseball league.

Lois Youngen, the daughter of Elden & Helen Youngen, was born in Ragersville, Tuscarawas County, Ohio in 1933. In about 1938, her parents, who were teachers, moved the family to Westfield Center (formerly known as LeRoy) in Medina County.

 

Lois grew up in Westfield Center where she learned the basics of baseball from her dad, who was a pitcher for Kent State in the 1920s. She began playing baseball with the neighborhood kids and continued to play through high school.

The year before her graduation from high school, she attended an AAGPBL game for the Ft. Wayne Daisies and the next morning she tried out for the Daisies’ Manager, Max Carey. After the tryout he told her she would hear from them and in January of 1951, she did.

The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia), 5 July 1992

She was asked to join the Daisies at their Spring Training in Alexandria, Virginia and she was given special permission from the county superintendent of schools to go. So after a senior trip to Washington, D.C., Lois attended Spring Training, which led to a contract with the Daisies. Youngen graduated from Westfield Center High School in 1951 and began her professional baseball career that summer as a catcher/left fielder for the Ft. Wayne Daisies.

Defiance Crescent News, 11 Jan 1952

    In one one many articles written about her, she stated the   game was played just like the men played. It was baseball…  not softball. She went on to say the equipment was not fitted for women and she had to cut the catcher’s outfit down to fit her.

The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia), 5 July 1992

   

The skirted uniform they wore was one piece and according to Youngen, was uncomfortable to play in and made sliding painful. 

The team would travel by bus playing 7 days a week with some of the games being double headers. They were accompanied by the coach and a chaperone. 

www.aagpgl.org

www.aagpbl.org

Throughout her career, Lois played for the Daisies, the Kenosha Comets, and the South Bend Blue Sox. She ended her career with the Ft. Wayne Daisies. While she was with the Daisies, in 1952, they won the league pennant and when she was with the South Bend Blue Sox, in 1953, she played in one of her best games, when she caught a perfect game pitched by her teammate, Jean Faut, against the Kalamazoo Lassies. 

Her stats for all four seasons combined were, a .255 batting average with 39 runs and 44 RBIs in 116 games. 

In the fall of 1951, Lois began using her earnings of $200 per month to pay for her college tuition at Kent State University. 

Dover Times Reporter, 13 Jan 1972

In 1955, she graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Science degree. She then went on to obtain her Masters in Education at Michigan State where she became an Associate Professor for 3 years.

In 1960 she became an emeritus professor of physical education at the University of Oregon and then in 1971 received her Doctorate in Health & Physical Education at Ohio State. She eventually became the head of the Health & Physical Education Department at the University of Oregon.

Lois became a part of the Women in Baseball, a permanent display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York in 1988.

 

In 1992, when the movie, A League of Their One, was being filmed, Youngen and other former AAGPBL players were asked to go to Wrigley’s field and hit, throw and catch so the actors and director, Penny Marshall, could watch how they moved and played the game. 

She was asked to throw out the first pitch at a Seattle Mariner’s game in 2007. At 74 years old, she not only made it across the plate but received a standing ovation!

Lois Youngen is still living in Eugene, Oregon, where the University of Oregon is located… how do I know this? My brother, Dan, is a manager at a local grocery store in Eugene where Youngen is one of his customers. In one of his conversations with her, he told her his sister lives in Medina County, Ohio and she told him her connection to this county. It was due to this conversation that I found out about Lois…She even gave him one of her cards with her signature on it. Isn't it a small world? 

If you want to learn more about Lois Youngen's  professional baseball career and see some fabulous photographs use the link below: 

https://www.aagpbl.org/profiles/lois-youngen/468

Sources:

website: https://www.aagpbl.org

Medina County Gazette, 29 May 1951, pages 2 & 8

Medina County Gazette, 9 May 1952, page 3

Medina County Gazette, 12 Oct 1956, page 1

Defiance Crescent News, 11 Jan 1952, page 8

The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia), 5 July 1992, pages B-1 & B-6

Dover Times Reporter, 13 Jan 1972, page A-8

Dover Times Reporter, 16 Oct 2009, ages A-1 & A-5

A big THANK You to Rick Chapman on the Roadside History of Medina County Facebook page for sharing information on his mother, who also played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League:

Dorothy (McAlpin) MacGuire/Chapman played from 1943-1949. Check out her biography on the League's web site here: Dorothy (McAlpin) MacGuire/Chapman "Mickey"

From the All-American Girl's 
Professional Baseball League's site.

She continues to be honored. Black River High School named one of their softball fields for "Mickey":

Medina County Life

Major Update to the Digital Archives!

 In order to provide greater access to even more Medina County newspapers, The Digital Archives has undergone a MAJOR update.

If you are new to the Digital Archives, Lauren did an excellent blog on this fantastic database on February 17th: Introducing the Digital Archives of MCDL The blog tells what is included in the database and how to search and save the articles.

What is different?

Now, if you are inside one of the Medina County District Library branches you have access to more publications and more years.

For example, I used the database extensively to research the history of the Girl Scouts in Medina County for last week's blog.

From the remote, publicly-available access to the database my results looked like this:

Notice that the search returned 537 results and it lists six publications covering the decades 1910 (remember the Girl Scouts were founded in 1912) through 1970.

From within any of the six Medina County District Library locations, the search results look like this:

Notice the search has now returned almost double the results with 936 entries. The publications represented is now 10, including some very unique items held by the Medina County Historical Society and the Lodi Harrisville Historical Society. Match Tips was a company newsletter put out by the Ohio Match Company in Wadsworth. Bank Notes was published by the Savings Deposit Bank in Medina.

The years represented now cover the 1980's and 90's. Even the 1970's now has 292 search results compared to 183 pages in the publicly available version of the database.

Access is still through https://www.mcdl.info/newspapers

To access the expanded coverage, visit any of the MCDL branches: Brunswick, Buckeye, Highland, Lodi, Medina or Seville.  Hours and locations can be found here: About Us

So why have two different levels of access depending on where you use the database? 

Copyright law. 

U.S. copyright law says that publications 95 years or older are in the public domain, which allows anyone to use it. For newspapers, that means anything published in 1926 or older is in public domain. And any newspapers published after 1977 are protected under current copyright law.

But the years 1927-1977? 

It depends. Those years are a grey area in copyright law. IF the newspaper published a compliant copyright notice, then they are protected. We have not found a published copyright notice for the Medina newspapers for those years. *

*http://www.advantagearchives.com/blog/the-advantage-companies-newspaper-copyright-law/#:~:text=The%20copyright%20laws%20we%20refer,therefor%20they%20have%20copyright%20protection.

Happy Anniversary Girl Scouts!

March marks the 109th anniversary of the Girl Scouts.  

In 1912, when U.S. women still did not have the right to vote, Juliet Gordon Low wanted young women to envision all the opportunities available to them. Emphasizing inclusiveness, the outdoors and self reliance, Juliette's girls: 

●  Hiked 

● Camped

● Swam 

● Played basketball 

● Learned to tell time by the stars 

● Studied foreign languages 

● Shared a sense of adventure & belief that they could do anything 

●Offered a helping hand to those in need 

●Made their corner of the world better

Low pinning a badge on a Girl Scout's uniform.
Circa 1912.

Still flourishing today, the Girl Scouts boast over 2.5 million members and over 50 million alums in 92 countries .

 

Girl Scout troops in Medina County are part of a regional group that has undergone many name changes. First they were called the Akron Area Scouts. Then they became the Summit City Council of the Girl Scouts. Then in 1962 they became the Western Reserve Girl Scout Council. Finally, in 2007 five regional Girl Scout Groups combined to become the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio.

Here's some highlights from the last 100 years of Girl Scouts in Medina County with emphasis on the early years of their development.

• 

  Miss Francelia Stuenckle
  German and Normal School Teacher*
  at the Medina High School.

  1917 -The first troop formed in Medina County was at the Medina High School in the fall of 1917. The United States had just entered World War I. Over 20 girls, all members of the junior class, attended the first meeting held at the Garfield Building (then the high school) in October. Miss Francelia Stuenckle was their scout master.
• 1918 - The girls are avid hikers, trekking out to L.H. Randall's cabin and later to the Northern Ohio railway.
• The sell tickets for the Red Cross Pageant, a fundraiser for WWI.
• The Girl Scouts sell over $1600 War Savings Stamps^ That would be $28,000 in today's dollars. They do so well that the Boy Scouts back off from participating in the program.
• The Girls jump into selling Thrift Stamps^
• Miss Stuenckle returns to her hometown of Chicago and Miss Marion Whipple takes over the scouts.
• 1919 - The Girl Scout presence in Medina County grows as Granger High School and Wadsworth form their own troops.
• 19 girls attend camp for 10 days at Camp Mittawanda on Lake Erie. Several sets of parents visit their daughters at the camp.
• In May, the Girl Scouts bring a group of Swiss Bell Ringers to Medina.
• In December, they have a Christmas Party and later distribute Christmas baskets to the needy.
• 1920 - The Girl Scout program expands into China, Syria and Mexico. In the U.S., Native American and Mexican American troops form. The Medina Troop spend 2 weeks at Chippewa Lake.
• 1922 - The Lodi Girl Scouts spend a week at Camp Crag.

Started as a 4-H camp, Camp Crag welcomed many
Scout troops over the years.

• By 1924, The Girl Scouts in the region had grown to over 20 troops with 700 members
• 1925 - Sharon Township and Seville Girl Scout troops form.
• 1930 - Girl Scouts collect food and clothing for those suffering the effects of the Great Depression.
• 1932 - Camp Ledgewood opened up in Peninsula, OH

Camp Ledgewood is still used by Girl Scouts today.

• 1936 - Two troops traveled to Camp Ledgewood.
• The first "colored" troop forms in Medina. They are supervised by Mrs. Will (Sally) Ozier, who is also African American. Her husband supervised the Boy Scout "colored" troop.
• The village of Medina has three troops of Girl Scouts.
• 1937 - Disparities are seen; the "colored" troop were getting badges as "laundress", "housekeeper" and "needlewoman", while the other troops are receiving badges in "scholarship", "observer", "swimmer", "gardener", "child nurse" and "artist".
• All 3 Medina troops attend Camp Crag
• Medina Girls are getting the highest award. "Golden Eglet" status is awarded to Miss Mary Louise Long and Miss Ramona Everhardt.
• In 1938, Troop 3, the "colored" troop is recognized by the Girl Scout National Headquarters.
• 1939 - In the photo below, the girl in the second row, far right is Virginia Wheeler (Martin), who donated the money for the Medina Library Family History and Learning Center that bears her name. 

Oct 24, 1939  Medina Gazette p. 3

Virginia Wheeler's Girl Scout Badges:
Bird Watcher and First Aid
From the collection of Virginia Wheeler Martin.

Girl Scout image from circa 1940.
From the collection of Virginia Wheeler Martin.

Virginia Wheeler's Girl Scout Handbook
for the Intermediate Program, circa 1940
From the Collection of Virginia Wheeler Martin

• 1940's - Nationally, Girl Scouts  supported the war efforts by operating bicycle courier services, running Farm Aide projects, and along with millions of other Americans, collecting fat and scrap metals and growing Victory Gardens. Internment camps in California and Utah saw the emergence of Girl scout troops among the imprisoned Japanese American girls.

February 9, 1940 Medina Gazette Page 4.
An appeal goes out to area agencies to plan for Civilian Defense.

• Locally, Medina Girl Scouts sold movie tickets in support of war relief.
• The decade saw many of the troops selling Girl Scout cookies for the first time.
• 1950's Girl Scouts assembled "Kits for Korea" to distribute items desperately needed by Korean citizens.
• 1953 - Celebrating the 41st Anniversary of Girl Scouts

To celebrate the 41st anniversary of the founding of the 
Girl Scouts, the girls baked a cake and presented it to 
the superintendent of the Pythian Sisters Home.
March 17, 1953 Medina Gazette,  p. 1.

• 1968 - Girl Scouts volunteer at the hospital along side Candy Stripers.
• 1969 - Brunswick Senior Girl Scouts attend a national meeting at Kent State University where the following topics were discussed:
• Learning to communication with other people
• The War in Vietnam
• Civil Rioting in the U.S. 
• The males' view of sex, dating & marriage
• 1969 in October the girls participated in a Dolly Derby, where they dressed the dolls and competed for best dressed. Later the dolls were given to Good Will to be sold in time for Christmas.

Green Leaf Park courtesy of Google Maps

• 1972 - Local Girl Scout troops plant over 600 trees at the Sharon Gravel Pit Park. The park has since been renamed Green Leaf park. Today, you can't tell that it was once a gravel pit.

• 1980's - They created the "Contemporary Issues" series  that addressed serious issues such as drug use, child abuse and teen pregnancy.

• 1989 - Lodi Girl Scouts learn all the tricks of the trade in being a clown.

 February 27,  1989  Review Chronicle Page 10 

• 1996 - The Girl Scout web site debuted and a Technology Badge was introduced.
• 2000's focused on the healthy development of girls.
• 2017 -  Girl Scouts help with the Children's Garden at Heritage Farm in Brunswick. 

  

  Girl Scouts Morgan Kulka and Lydia Miller work
   on the children’s gardens at Heritage Farm
  in Brunswick. (Photo Courtesy of Scott Miller)
  Cleveland.com

  
  

• 

  Natalie Bair
  Fox News
  
  

  2018-2019 - Medina Girl Scouts urge Medina City Council to ban plastic bags.
• 2020 - 12 year old Natalie Bair received the Girl Scout Medal of Honor for saving her baby brother's life when he choked on a cracker while riding in the car.
• 2021 - "Made with Code" program encouraged girls to work in computer science. Girl Scout cookies were sold online with "Digital Cookie"

Girl Scout COOKIES

In 1917, Girl Scouts in Oklahoma were baked the cookies themselves and sold them as a fund raisers. In 1922, a simple sugar recipe was shared in the Chicago Council. For years the girls baked and sold the cookies in simple wax paper wrapping.   The price? 25¢

A box of commercially baked Girl Scout Cookies from the 1930's

During World War II, sugar, flour and butter were rationed and in short supply. In 1944, the girls switched to selling calendars as an alternative.

After the war, cookie sales increased and by 1948, 29 commercial bakers were licensed to bake Girl Scout Cookies.

By 1951, the cookies came in 3 varieties; Sandwich, Shortbread with the famous trefoil imprint and Mints. By the 60's the bakers were wrapping the cookie boxes in aluminum foil or cellophane to preserve the cookies' freshness.

The cookie flavors have continually expanded and they now offer 12 varieties, including Trevoil/Shortbread, Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich and Samoas.

Which is your favorite? And how many did you order this year?

*"Normal School" was a teacher preparation course.

^Both the War Savings Stamps and Thrift Stamps programs were U.S. government projects to help fund the country's participation in World War I.