15 January 1954: The Navy Supply Corps School Has Commissioning Ceremony

On this day in 1954, Mayor Jack Wells declared it to be "United States Navy Day" in Athens in honor of the official commissioning of the new Navy Supply Corps School. Local businesses would fly the American flag outside their establishments to welcome the dignitaries arriving in town for the ceremony, and many also purchased ads in the Banner-Herald to welcome the school, faculty, and cadets to Athens.

The noon ceremony was moved indoors to Pound Auditorium due to weather, and the featured speaker was Navy Assistant Secretary Raymond H. Fogler. Secretary Fogler discussed "the immensity of the Navy as a business," noting that supply corps ensure that every possible need for 400 combat vessels, 10,000 planes (with approximately 8,000 parts each), and 600,000 Navy men is met, from toothpaste to spatulas to replacement parts for jets and vessels. Mayor Wells noted that after hosting students of the Navy Pre-Flight School during World War II, "there is a soft spot in the heart of Athens for the Navy," and "We are glad to have them in our city."

The efforts of Georgia Representatives Carl Vinson and Paul Brown to bring the school to Athens were acknowledged by all speakers.

The Navy Supply Corps School was moved to Athens from Bayonne, New Jersey. It began with 400 students and 41 staff, with many of the officers bringing their entire families to Athens. Outside of training and classes, the school also had recreational athletic programs, an Officers Wives Group to organize and sponsor social events, a pistol team, a Philosophy Club, the Supply Line campus newspaper, the Oak Leaf school classbook, a debating society, and a choir.

The Navy Supply Corps School officially closed on October 29, 2010, as part of the graduation ceremony for the 82 men and women who are the last graduates of the Athens campus. Over the years, the school on Prince Avenue graduated 22,455 Navy "businessmen." Said Captain James Davis, NSCS commanding officer, "it is now our duty to bring the Athens spirit north and continue the Supply Corps legacy established during our 57 years in the Classic City."


Learn More:

•  Athens Banner-Herald, Jan. - Apr. 1954 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Naval Supply Systems Command website, part of the U.S. Navy website.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• Ready for the Sea: A Bicentennial History of the U. S. Navy Supply Corps by Frank J. Allston in the Heritage collection.
• American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-present by Jack Sweetman in the general collection.
• Keepers of the Sea by Fred J. Maroon in the general collection.
• Carl Vinson: Patriarch of the Armed Forces in the Heritage collection.
• A Measureless Peril: America in the Fight for the Atlantic, the Longest Battle of World War II by Richard F. Snow in the general collection.
• Flights of Passage: Reflections of a WWII Aviator by Samuel Lynn Hynes in the biography collection.
• If By Sea: The Forging of the United States Navy from the Revolution to the War of 1812 by George C. Daughan in the general collection.

Dr. Al Hester to Discuss the "Enduring Legacy" of Madison Davis and Alfred Richardson

On this day, we would like to invite you to hear Dr. Al Hester speak about his new book, Enduring Legacy: Clarke County, Georgia's Ex-Slave Legislators, Madison Davis and Alfred Richardson on Sunday, January 16th, 2011, at 3pm in the Athens-Clarke County Library auditorium.

Elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1868, Madison Davis and Alfred Richardson faced hostility, intimidation, and physical attacks as they represented Clarke County in the years following the Civil War. Dr. Hester, a retired journalism professor from the University of Georgia, has researched and written about African-American history in Athens.

Following the program, there will be light refreshments and a book signing with the author. Copies of the book will be available for sale. This program is co-sponsored by the Athens Historical Society and the Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room.

The presentation and refreshments are free and open to the public. It is sure to be a fascinating discussion, and we hope to see you there!

Use GALILEO While Weathering the Storm!

On this day, we'd like you to know that the Athens Regional Library System will once again be closed on Wednesday, January 12th. We will re-open once weather and road conditions allow us to do so safely.

In the mean time, do a little genealogy research using our class handouts available for free from the Heritage Room web page and peruse the information available from home using Footnote Library Edition and HeritageQuest via GALILEO.

Stay safe and warm, and we hope to see you in person soon!


Learn More:

• HeritageQuest Online: What You Can Find At Home handout (pdf).
• Helpful Hints for Genealogy Research handout (pdf).
• PINES and WorldCat: Finding Materials in Distant Libraries handout (pdf).
• Athens Banner-Herald story about icy roads in Athens.
• Civic Alerts page for Athens-Clarke County government.
• The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare in the general collection.

Library Will Be Closed Tuesday, January 11th, 2010!

On this day, we'd like you to know that the Heritage Room, and all Athens Regional System Libraries, will be closed again on Tuesday, January 11th, 2010, due to snow. We will re-open when the local governments for our counties re-open.

We hope you all stay safe, warm, and dry, and we'll see you on another, more pleasant day!


Learn More:

• Athens Banner-Herald's report of area school closings.
• • National Weather Service forecast for Athens.
• News from the Athens-Clarke County website.
• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder in the children's collection.

Library Will Be Closed on Monday, January 10th, 2010!

On this day, we'd like you to know that the Heritage Room, and all Athens Regional System Libraries, will be closed on Monday, January 10th, 2010, due to snow. We will re-open when the local governments for our counties re-open.

We hope you all stay safe, warm, and dry, and we'll see you on another, more pleasant day!


Learn More:

• Athens Banner-Herald's report of area school closings.
• Winter Storm Warning for Athens by NOAA.
• The Snowy Day by Jack Keats in the children's fiction collection.

6 January 1869: Madame Sophie Sosnowski's Female Institute

On this day in 1869, the following notice appeared in the Southern Watchman newspaper:

Madame Sosnowski was born in Germany in 1809, to a privileged and wealthy family that ensured her education even after the death of her parents. In 1833, she married Joseph Stanislaus Sosnowski, who had been exiled for taking part in a Polish uprising. They first went to France, but when forced out there, decided to seek a new life in the United States, settling in Erie, Pennsylvania. They lost everything, mostly money Madame Sosnowski had brought to the marriage, in the Financial Panic of 1837, and not long after, Joseph died, leaving his wife penniless with four children to rear on her own. At this time, Madame Sosnowski took a position at the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and began her career in women's education as an instructor in Music, German, and French.

The northern climate, however, was not amenable to Madame Sosnowski, and she left New York for positions in the southeast: Charleston, South Carolina; Macon, Georgia; and later started her own school in Columbia, South Carolina in the early 1850s. She stayed in Columbia during the Civil War, using her vacations to go to Virginia to volunteer in hospitals and ministering to wounded soldiers when their trains stopped in Columbia. Her eyewitness account of the burning of the city of Columbia on February 17, 1865, is part of the Papers of the Sosnowski Family, 1828-1948 collection at the University of South Carolina's South Caroliniana Library.

After the war, Lucy Cobb Institute hired Madame Sosnowski to be their principal, and hired her two daughers, Callie (Caroline) Sosnowski and Sophie Schaller, and her son-in-law, Frank Schaller to teach at the school. Her time at Lucy Cobb was short-lived; though there was no publicity about the matter, a disagreement with the Board of Trustees caused Madame Sosnowski to leave the school in December, 1868, at which time she placed her first ad for her own girls' school, later renaming it The Home School. Her departure from Lucy Cobb took many of her pupils with her, causing further financial problems for an institution that had struggled through the war years.

Madame Sosnowski opened her new girls' school with her daughter Callie; Sophie and Frank had gone to Sewanee, Tennessee for Frank to continue his teaching career. In 1867, Sophie Schaller died giving birth to her namesake daughter. Madame Sosnowski and Callie reared little Sophie and older sister, Ida, in Athens while running their school. Sophie would later marry Charles Holmes Herty, a revolutionary chemist and founder of University of Georgia athletics.

The Home School was known for its instruction in French, German, and music, and unlike other female academies of the time, did not have recitals or other public exhibitions by the students, since Madame Sosnowski believed they were "incompatible with true feminine grace and delicacy." Augustus Longstreet Hull noted in his collection, Annals of Athens, that Madame Sosnowski was "highly educated, a brilliant musician and of very distinguished appearance. It was an education to a girl to be associated with the Madame and Miss Callie."

The Home School closed not long after the death of Madame Sosnowski in 1899. Its final location was in the Joseph Henry Lumpkin House on Prince Avenue, now used for seminars by the University of Georgia School of Law. A collection of items associated with the Home School is available in the University of Georgia's Madame Sosnowski Collection, 1869-1917 in the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Madame Sosnowski, her daughters Callie and Sophie Schaller, and her grandaughters Sophie Herty and Ida Peacock are all buried together at Oconee Hill Cemetery.

Learn More:

• Southern Watchman, Jan. 1868 - Feb. 1871 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• The Web of Southern Social Relations: Women, Family, and Education by Walter J. Fraser in the Heritage collection.
• Sherman and the Burning of Columbia by Marion Brunson Lucas in the general collection.
• Higher Education for Women in the South: A History of the Lucy Cobb Institute, 1858-1994 by Phinizy Spalding in the Heritage collection.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery, Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collection.
• Annals of Athens, 1801-1901 by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• The Southern Magazine (Volume 11), pp. 383-384, by the Southern Historical Society on Google Books. 
• A Polish Family in the South by Edward Kowalczyk on the Polish Roots website.
• Athens: A Pictorial History by James K. Reap in the Heritage, Reference, and general collections.
• Historic Houses of Athens by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections.

Learn How to Research Genealogy on the Internet

On this day, we'd like to encourage you to sign up for the Heritage Room's free class, Genealogy on the Internet, on Thursday, January 20th, from 10am-1pm here in the library's Educational Technology Center.


This class introduces the many and growing resources for researching your family history online, and includes handouts that provide descriptions of the various sites available and their offerings. Time to explore on your own and ask questions is provided in the last part of the session. These resources are not limited to Georgia, or even to the United States. This class is not intended for beginners in computers or genealogy. 


The class is free, but space is limited, so registration is required. Call us at (706) 613-3650, ext. 350, or email us at heritageroom@arlsmail.org to reserve your space. We hope to see you there!

2 January 1910: A New Year's Message from Michael Brothers

On this day in1910, the Michael Brothers department store ran the following message, covering two-thirds of the top half of the front page of the Sunday Athens Banner newspaper:

To the left of this text, appeared an illustration of the departing year and baby 1910:

 

Beneath this image was the following New Year wish, focusing on three of the main economic engines of Athens at the time: farming, textiles, and education.

For the upbuilding of Athens;
For the peace, happiness and prosperity of her people;
For the one who sows and the one who reaps;
For the one who spins and the one who weaves;
For the one who teaches and the one who learns;
For every man, woman and child in Athens, in Georgia and in our country we extend cordial greetings and (illegible-page torn) for all.
Happy New Year!

The Banner typically had full-page department store ads on their front page on Sundays. Though the top half of the Banner consisted of well-wishes for the citizens of Athens from a leading local business, the bottom half of the page alerted readers to the "Great Sale of Seasonable Goods," with blankets for $1.20 to $5.00, and women and children's underwear starting at 25 cents, men's union suits starting at 50 cents.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Jan. 1910 - Jun. 1910 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Living Philosophies: The Reflections of Some Eminent Men and Women of Our Time by Clifton Fadiman in the general collection.
• The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember by Fred Rogers in the general collection.
• The Simple Living Guide: A Soucebook for Less Stressful, More Joyful Living by Janet Luhrs in the general collection.
• Oh, the Things I Know! A Guide to Success, or, Failing That, Happiness by Al Franken in the general collection.
• The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt in the general collection.
• Made for Goodness, and Why This Makes All the Difference by Desmond Tutu in the general collection.
• Finding Grace When You Can't Even Find Clean Underwear by Lisa Earle in the general collection.
• When You Are Entitled to New Underwear and Other Major Financial Decisions by Eileen Michaels in the general collection.
• Where Underpants Come From: From Checkout to Cotton Field by Joe Bennett in the general collection.
• Lingerie in Vogue Since 1910 by Christina Probert in the general collection.
• Aliens Love Underpants! by Claire Freedman in the children's fiction collection.

Heritage Holiday Hours

On this day, we'd like you to know that the Athens-Clarke Library (and therefore the Heritage Room) will be closed on Friday, December 31st, 2010, and Saturday, January 1st, 2011, for the New Year holiday.

Both the library and the Heritage Room will reopen on Sunday, January 2nd, 2011, at 2:00 pm.

We hope to see you then, and Happy New Year!

Heritage Room Newsletters Help Start the Year Right!

On this day, we'd like to remind you to sign up for the Heritage Room newsletters that are delivered directly to your email Inbox.

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from the Genealogy Lock-in at Oconee County Library to the Georgia Historical Society unveiling of the new Secession Convention historic marker in Milledgeville to author and historian Edmund Morris speaking about Theodore Roosevelt at the Atlanta History Center, with basic genealogy classes, booksales, meeting and tours inbetween. You don't want to miss it, or you'll miss out on the great programs and events for the curious, the researcher, and the entire family!

Our Genealogy News and Tips newsletter makes sure you are kept up-to-date with the world of genealogy and history, covering topics ranging from how to introduce kids to genealogy and new collections added to the Ancestry Library Edition database to television shows about genealogy and redesigned sites such as FamilySearch.org and Archives.gov. There's something for everyone in the News and Tips newsletter!

Click here (or either newsletter link above) to read the current newsletter and subscribe. It couldn't be easier, so sign up today!