Celebrating Archives Month

Did you know that October is National Archives Month? South Carolina Archives have lots of great events and exhibits planned and we hope you'll join us in celebrating the wonderful treasures we preserve! The theme this year, Documents Can Change a Nation, focuses on the importance of the records archives have. We don't just have paper, we have records that resonate and mark significant state and national historical events! We encourage you to visit our 2010 Archives Month website for all the latest event and exhibit happenings in South Carolina. http://scarchivesmonth.palmettohistory.org

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A sad day today as we bow to the ugly reality of budget cuts and say farewell to some of our faithful staff. A lot of our faithful staff, actually.

There just aren't enough words - .

Sanford vetos could close the doors at SC Department of Archives & History

Dear friends:

The SC Department of Archives and History needs your help. Yesterday, Governor Sanford announced his vetoes of the state budget. Among them were three cuts to the SC Department of Archives and History budget, totaling $980,945. (The House and Senate had approved a budget of the $2,445, 764 in state funds plus $200,000 in stimulus funds for the agency for FY 2010-2011.) A link to the Governor’s veto is below.

http://www.scgovernor.com/NR/rdonlyres/1F1ECBAF-9D5D-4C9A-9BEF-136EDBC7F128/35706/H4657AppropriationsAct1.pdf

Veto 29: Administration and Planning – Other Operating Expenses $635,445

Veto 30: Old Exchange Building -- $145,500

Veto 104: Stimulus Funds -- $200,000

These cuts will make it impossible for Archives and History to continue to fulfill its mission.

If the services and programs of Archives and History have been helpful to you, would you consider letting your local legislator know today, as well as Representative Dan Cooper, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Representative Chip Limehouse, Chair of the House subcommittee dealing with Archives and History. The legislature will be in session on Tuesday (June 15) to consider the Governor’s vetoes. Our ability to continue to serve you and the citizens of South Carolina depends upon your support.

To find your local legislators you can use this search page from the South Carolina Legislature Online. http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe

Rep. Daniel T. Cooper (R)
District No. 10-Anderson County
525 Blatt Bldg.
Columbia, SC 29201
803-734-3144

Rep. Harry B. "Chip" Limehouse III (R)
Dist. No. 110-Berkeley & Charleston Cos.
326 Blatt Building, Columbia, SC 29201
803-734-2977

On behalf of our director, W. Eric Emerson, staff, and countless patrons, thank you for your support.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth M. Johnson

Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
SC Department of Archives and History
8301 Parklane Road
Columbia, SC 29223
phone: 803.896.6168 fax: 803.896.6167
E-mail: emjohnson@scdah.state.sc.us Website: http://shpo.sc.gov/

Collect Your Own!!

Did you like the currency in the last post? Now you can buy your own - REAL - collection!

SC Civil War Era Bank Notes on Sale in Memphis

The SC Archives has been selling individual bank notes issued by the Bank of South Carolina during the Civil War on eBay but we are now announcing a new auction opportunity. Heritage Auction Galleries, the World's Largest Collectibles Auctioneer, is offering large lots of the notes in their June Signature Auction in Memphis, TN.

For information about the auction, bidding, and owning a piece of South Carolina history, check out the Heritage Auction web site: http://currency.ha.com/common/auctions/?ic=Tab-Auctions-041408

The proceeds from the auction sales are used to help pay for the preservation and conservation of our collections. Good luck with your bidding!

Go see Richard tell 'em how it's done.

Are you interested in archives, library and information science, or just wondering how we keep track of it all here? You might be interested in this upcoming talk given by our own Richard Harris on the USC campus March 22!

Dr. Jennifer Marshall's SLIS 750: Information and Records Management and the Archival Students Guild will be hosting a guest speaker!

Who: Richard Harris, Manager of Records Services at the South Carolina Dept. of Archives and History

Topic: Administering/managing a records management program for state agencies and local governments, including SCDAH’s electronic records management activities.

When: Monday, March 22 at 5:00 pm

Where: Room 112 in Davis College

Everyone is welcome! Come join us!

Light refreshments will be provided!

Who wants to go on a tour?

As our agency is co-sponsoring this event, I can pass this along - bus tours! For the Civil War buffs out there, there are available tickets for 3 different Sherman's March Bus Tours with The Greater Columbia Civil War Alliance as part of Columbia's Longest Days: February 1865.

In commemoration of General Sherman's March to Columbia, SC, and the burning of the city in February of 1865, a full day of educational and fun activities will be held on
Saturday, February 13, 2010

Schedule of Events:
Re-enactment of Cannons Firing on State House • 8:45am
Gervais Street Bridge, West Columbia, South Carolina
(Alexander at Meeting Street)
The day begins with Union canons firing once again upon the South Carolina State House. This very popular re-enactment features period cannons and Union soldiers following the command of General Sherman. The event takes place at the exact time of day and location of the original firing, the West Columbia side of the Gervais Street Bridge.

Civil War Expo • 9am - 4pm
The Atrium of the South Carolina State Museum
301 Gervais Street
Columbia, South Carolina
This expo includes artifact displays, performances by living historians of Mary Boykin Chesnut and Wade Hampton III, as well as living history demonstrations of spinning and needlepoint in the atrium and artillery demonstrations on the lawn. Entrance to the atrium activities is free. The S.C. Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum admission will be reduced to $2 for adults and free for those under 21.

Sherman's March Bus Tours • 9:30am & 2:30pm
Tickets ($20 per adult/per tour) must be purchased in advance. Tours will leave from the parking lot of the South Carolina State Museum and each will last approximately 3 hours.

The Congaree Creek Bus Tour (9:30am) includes first hand accounts of Union soldiers, reporters and Columbia residents; visits the original earthworks built for the Confederate defense, remains of one of the largest textile mills of the early 1800s, and the bridge abutments of the Gervais Street and Saluda River Bridges burned by Confederates to slow the Union troops.

Kilpatrick's Occupation and the Burning of Lexington (9:30am) will follow the path Union soldiers took upon entering Lexington; tell the story of Union troop occupation and the burning of the town; pass Historic homes used by Union and Confederate troops; and end at St. Stephen's Church that was ransacked by Union troops.

Sherman's Left Wing Bus Tour (2:30pm) will visit skirmish sites, where dismounted Confederate cavalry and artillery disputed the Union army's crossing the river; local re-enactors will make these skirmishes come alive; visit campsites of the Union army and numerous sites.


Bus tour tickets can be ordered by contacting Bri Jackson at (803) 217-0071 or GCCWA@knappagency.com.

So Popular!

Guess who else made it in the news? Rebekah Dobrasko from the State Historic Preservation Office, in an article about mid-century school construction in response to "separate but equal". Props to Rebekah, too!

The State article is here: Segregation Spurred SC School Building Spree.

Props to Steve!

Did you miss it? Our very own Steve Tuttle was on WIS TV last night (at 6 and 11, and I watched both just to make sure) giving commentary about the difficulty in tracing African-American family history. He did an excellent job of representing the archives, and we're proud to call him our own.

And a shout out to a dedicated researcher, Urica Pope. May you easily find exactly what you're looking for, as in every genealogist's dreams. We admire your perseverance.

If you truly missed it, the article and interview with Judy Gatson is here. The suggested links on the related page are here, and the WIS TV series on Black History Month is here. Enjoy!

ARCHIVE SATURDAY HOURS!

(Hey, we're excited. We used to have Saturday hours, but we can't afford them anymore without outside help.)

Have you been wanting to drop by the archives and see if you can't find your grandfather's draft card? Or poke around and see what else you can find? Maybe you have a paper for school and would like to use our resources, or you're a panicky graduate student with a term paper recently assigned, or a teacher looking to integrate more actual sources with your lessons. Maybe you're just curious about what we have here, but haven't found our normal hours convenient.

Thanks to a grant from the SC Archives & History Foundation, SCDAH will be open on four Saturdays (and four only, right now) from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, so mark your calendars:

Saturday, March 13
Saturday, April 10
Saturday, May 8
Saturday, June 12

We hope to see you there!

SCDAH Gone Global

Well, in the spirit of holiday giving, thanks to you, our audience. Recent reports of traffic across our blog is promising, with visitors from 333 cities and 29 countries around the world - hello Hong Kong! - and over 1700 hits in the first three months alone. Not bad for a baby blog getting off the ground.

Now if only y'all would learn how to use the comment function!

Thanks, to everyone who's reading, and to everyone who's contributing. We couldn't do it without you.

Public Records & A Giant Novelty Check

Who doesn’t love a giant novelty check? How about with your name on it?

On October 22 and 23, the Archives hosted the 2009 South Carolina Public Records Association (SCPRA) Conference at our facilities on Parklane Road. The theme for this year’s conference was “Dealing with Change in Records Management,” and SCDAH Records Management staff members did a stellar job as both hosts and participants.

The featured speaker on Thursday was South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who made a number of kind comments regarding SCDAH and its mission (whoo-hoo!).

In gratitude for the agency’s past contributions, the SCPRA generously contributed a large novelty check to SCDAH for the purchase of a new microfilm reader to be placed in the research room. (Then, because SCPRA is far too kind for cruel illusions, the actual check followed.)



Says the big E: “We are grateful to SCPRA for the “big check” and to the staff of SCDAH for all of their hard work. Once again you hit it out of the park.”

History Detectives R Us

Congratulations to Patrick McCawley and Tracy Power for their stellar performance and hard work on the latest episode of the History Detectives. SCDAH’s recurring appearance on the show once again proves that this is truly the most sought after state archives in the United States. Really, what other state archives can brag about more appearances than South Carolina? How many times has the North Carolina State Archives been on History Detectives, hmm? They think they’re sooo great, with their ginormous staff, unending state appropriations, and decades old North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865 project. Well, we have a better staff, better collections, and, ummm, a sweet 1999 metallic-blue Ford Taurus Station Wagon with a rebuilt engine and close to 200,000 miles on the odometer. You can't top that pretty puppy with just anything.

Anyways, kudos to Patrick and Tracy. Thanks for making us proud.

We insist that you watch TV.

The Archives & History Center and our very own darling of the archives, Patrick McCawley, will be featured on the PBS series History Detectives on Monday September 7th at 9:00pm. For the fourth time in as many years, PBS' national series "The History Detectives" has found a mystery to solve in South Carolina. And this one might just redraw the maps of the Civil War!

We'll give you a teaser - it's about the true historical location of the Broad River Bridge, the same one that General Sherman would have used to march on Columbia, had the Confederates not burned it to the ground.

David Brinkman, also a featured speaker at our upcoming Civil War Symposium, will show his evidence that the current historical marker is in the wrong location and ought to be moved upstream of the current bridge. If he's correct, the maps will have to be redrawn, so pull out your encyclopedia, and stock up on Sharpies in advance. (We like the pen-style that don't bleed through pages.)

Look for more information about the Civil War Symposium coming soon!

Chillin' 'n da Stax

There is an online article regarding the SCDAH entitled “Historical Gems Should Be Preserved” in today’s South Carolina Statehouse Report. You can also find it off the main page under the commentary section.

Props to Chuck Lesser for giving another of his legendary tours to reporter Andy Brack.

So, have you seen John Locke's signature yet?

And remember, if you're going to the vaults, bring a sweater. Maybe even a down parka.