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Archive: May, 2009

Victorian Gardens

Gardening, whether indoors or out-of-doors, was as popular a pastime in the Victorian Era as it is today. Like modern publishers, Victorian printers produced a wide array of books and periodicals for the avid gardener, from deluxe botanical illustrations to how-to manuals and hobbyists’ magazines. Many such works were profusely illustrated. Typically, illustrations were created …

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Timpanogos Hike

One of the most popular summer activities for BYU students is hiking Mount Timpanogos.  Mount Timpanogos is the second tallest mountain in the Wasatch range and is located off of the Alpine Loop which can be accessed through either American Fork Canyon or Provo Canyon.  Not many students realize that hiking Mount Timpanogos has been …

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Nun’s Flag

  Army Chaplain Charles “Harry” Washburn wanted a United States flag to display over a cemetery in Hamlein, Germany on the first Memorial Day following the surrender in Europe in 1945. However, there were no regimental sized flags readily available. So, Washburn commissioned a group of nuns to create an American flag. The flag was …

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlockians and other fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) are celebrating the author’s 150th birthday this month.  I wanted to mark the occasion by highlighting a few of the many Doyle works found in Special Collections’ Victorian and Edwardian literature collections. Doyle began his writing career during his days as a medical student in …

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Centennial History Collection

Early in 1972 in preparation for Brigham Young University’s centennial birthday in 1975 a project designed to produce a comprehensive history of the university was initiated.  Former president Ernest L. Wilkinson was asked to head the project team and pulled together a group of capable editors to participate in the project. They compiled extensive research …

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New acquisitions to the Wordsworth Collection

Two notable recent additions to the Rowe Collection of William Wordsworth: William Green, A description of a series of 60 small prints (1814). This book contains etchings of the Lake District by an artist from Ambleside.  Green originally intended to include a tourist guide as well, but the cost of printing the illustrations alone prohibited …

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Go Cougars

Brigham Young University selected the cougar as its mascot in 1923. Eugene L. Roberts, a coach and faculty member, suggested the cougar because it is native to Utah and it exemplified the traits that he hoped athletes competing for Brigham Young University would have. These traits included strength, agility, grace, quickness, and beauty. In 1925 …

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Becoming a University

Brigham Young University is a private university that seeks to develop students of faith, intellect and character who have the skills and the desire to continue learning and to serve others throughout their lives.  It traces its mission to the deed of trust used to establish the Brigham Young Academy in 1875.  Brigham Young founded …

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Folk Cures from the Flu of 1918

With rumors swirling through the airwaves and splattered on newspapers across the nation, the Swine Flu is grabbing the public’s attention.  While it appears that it will not turn into the pandemic that was originally forecast, it is interesting to look back at some of the folk cures that were adopted by people during the …

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V-E Day–May 8, 1945

D. Reed Jordan was assigned to the public relations section of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).  He writes the following about May 7, 1945: “We got word that the Germans were willing to meet our demands for an unconditional surrender shortly after midnight on May 7, 1945.  I wrote Special Communique Eight, releasing this …

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