Hark! Have You Subscribed to Our Newsletters?

On this day, we'd like to remind you about our two free Heritage Room newsletters. 

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from Christmas tours at state parks and plantations around Georgia to Census classes at the Atlanta History Center. We make sure you know about webinars that are coming up, such as Researching Your Irish Roots and lunch-and-learn series at the National Archives about using DNA for genealogy research. The events newsletter makes it possible to plan your schedule and ensure you don't miss a chance to learn, explore, and discover new things.

Our Genealogy News and Tips newsletter keeps you in the loop with the latest resources available for research, such as the expanded marriage records holdings by FamilySearch.org and primers on searching for your War of 1812 ancestors. It also includes tips on how to use general software apps for genealogy and lets you know about new sites for sharing what you find with friends and family.

Click here (or either of the above newletter links) to read the current newsletter and subscribe to have them delivered. It couldn't be easier, and is a great time saver, so sign up today!

Are You Reading Our Heritage Room Newsletters?

On this day we'd like to remind you to subscribe to our two fantastic Heritage Room newsletters. They will be delivered to your email Inbox, and are a great way to keep up with all that is going on in genealogy and history throughout the year, and especially during the busy holiday season.

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from Haunted History tours in Athens and Macon to free webinars about Irish ancestor brick walls and getting started with Native American genealogy. Find out where to hear historians talking about their latest books, or when the dedication ceremony for a new historical marker will be held. Autumn is a busy time for cemetery tours, and with the newsletter, you can take your pick of tours in Athens, Cartersville, Atlanta, and McDonough. The commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War continues apace, with a variety of symposia, lectures, programs, and book-related events. Don't regret not doing something because you didn't find out in time--just read our newsletter!

Our Genealogy News and Tips newsletter makes sure you will not miss out on the information you need for your research, even as everyone's schedule speeds up this autumn. We cover practical information, such as the increase in copying fees at all National Archives locations and updates about the status of the Georgia Archives, to new resources online such as Mercer campus newspapers from 1920-1970 and Scottish post office directories. We even include information on how to fit your research into a busy schedule, such as Family Tree magazine's list of "Weekend Warrior" genealogy projects.

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

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Fantastic Scanner Demo on October 23rd!

On this day, we hope you will mark your calendar to come to the Athens-Clarke County Library's new Heritage Room space to see a demonstration of the incredibly cool ScanPro 2000 microfilm scanner and image processor on Tuesday, October 23rd. 

This machine is simple to use, and has powerful, automatic enhancement options for the image you are trying to scan. The Heritage Room staff saw an early demo of this new development in microfilm scanning a couple of years ago, and could not have been more impressed by the quality of the images created and the easy, intuitive interface. 

While no technology can fix every bad roll of microfilm, the improvements made by the ScanPro to your scanned images are something to see for yourself! A representative from Palmetto Microfilm Systems, Inc., will be here to demonstrate the ScanPro 2000, including information on how to copy microfilm and digitize the images.

We will have four demonstrations over the course of the day: 

12:30pm (lunch time)

 3:30 pm (after school)

 5:30 pm (after work)

 7:30 pm (after dinner)

The demonstration is free, but reservations are required, so please call the Reference Desk at (706) 613-3650, ext. 356  or email Laura Carter at lcarter@athenslibrary.org to sign up for the session you want to attend. (You'll also get a peak at the new Heritage Room space while you're here!)

We look forward to sharing this smart new development in microfilm reading and scanning with all of you, and hope to see you at one of the four demonstrations on the 23rd!

3 October 1899: Swearing, Not Snake Oil, Lands "Progressive Tooth Puller" in Jail

On this day in 1899, a local snake-oil salesman was reportedly sent to jail not for selling fake medicine, but for cursing at the man who disputed his claims and demanded his money back.

Cursing in public, especially in mixed company, was a serious offense in Athens, often with large fines attached and/or sentences requiring the offender to attend Sunday School each week for six weeks as a public way to atone for their public sin. Ladies who cursed were often treated more harshly by the local courts, as women were seen as not being properly feminine if they committed such a transgression, while men had merely shown poor judgement.


Learn More: 

• Athens Daily Banner, July 1899 - Dec. 1899 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• The Toadstool Millionaires: A Social History of Patent Medicine by James Harvey Young via PINES.
• How to Overcome Fear of Dentistry by Robert F. Kroeger in the general collection.
• Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language by Keith Allan via PINES.
• The Complete Book of Dental Remedies by Flora Parsa Stay in the general collection.
• Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language by Ruth Wajnryb via PINES.
• The Encyclopedia of Bioethics by Warren T. Reich in the Reference collection.
• The Great Patent Medicine Era, or Without Benefit of a Doctor by Adelaide Hechtlinger via PINES.
• Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson in the general collection.
• American Health Quackery by James Harvey Young via PINES.
• The Berenstain Bears and the Big Blooper by Jan and Stan Berenstain in the children's collection.

Heritage Room Newsletters: The Cool Way to Follow What's Hot!

On this day, we'd like to remind you that our two Heritage Room newsletters are great ways to find out what is happening and what resources are available, all from the cool comfort of your own home!


In our Genealogy and History Events newsletter,  you can find how to sign up for guided tours of the University of Georgia's new Special Collections library on Hull Street, or when the William Faulkner celebration at Ciné in downtown Athens on the 50th anniversary of his death. Discover the Women of Oakland Cemetery in a Twilight Tour in Atlanta, or how to use a Flip-Pal mobile scanner (the only one allowed by the National Archives) at family gatherings to enhance your family history through a webinar accessible from your home computer. Take a day trip to hear about Alabama and the War of 1812 at the Alabama State Archives, or to learn about "Historic District" designations for neighborhoods at the DeKalb History Center. There are so many interesting, new things to explore, and the Events newsletter ensures you know when and where they are.


In our Genealogy News and Tips newsletter, you'll learn when subscription databases are having sales or free access to their holdings, and how far along the name indexing of the 1940 has come. Click through our links to read the personal journals of Queen Victoria, or to peruse the City of Dallas's online collection of documents and images from the John F. Kennedy assassination. You'll learn which archives are cutting back their hours, and which ones have acquired or are exhibiting fascinating new collections. Links to stories about organizing your family research photos and the best way to preserve family documents for posterity are delivered to your computer so you don't need to search the web for it yourself.


Click here (or any newsletter link above) to subscribe. It couldn't be easier, so what are you waiting for? Sign up today!

17 April 1976: Boy Scouts Host Open House at Franklin Hotel

On this day in 1976, Boy Scout Troop 76 hosted an open house at the old Franklin Hotel on Broad Street. The building had been left empty since 1972 when the Athens Hardware Company, formerly the Childs-Nickerson Hardware Company, moved from the site after 107 years at the same location.


The Franklin Hotel was built in 1845 by William L. Mitchell*, a trustee of the University of Georgia who purchased the property from UGA in 1843. On the first floor were retail businesses while the upper levels, which were built later, were used as hotel space. For many years, one of the stores in the Franklin Hotel served as the local post office. In 1974, it was named to the National Register of Historic Places.


Two members of Troop 76, David Griffin, who was looking for an Eagle project, and Greg Curtis, who was looking for a Life project decided to team up to clean up the mess left behind in the building. At the time of the Open House, the Franklin Hotel was for sale by the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, which had bought and stabilized the structure through fundraising from citizens and a grant from the National Park Service. There were no plans in place to renovate or restore the space, but the work of the Scouts had peaked the interest of residents. The Scouts felt the Open House would be an opportunity to tell people about the Franklin Hotel's significance to Athens, as well as show some of the old items found inside.


In 1977, the Franklin Hotel was sold to Hugh Fowler, then later to a business property company. The space was restored as office spaces, and won recognition for the work by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. Today, businesses such as general contractors and advertisers occupy the building, as well as SunO Desserts.


* CORRECTION: The William Letcher Mitchell who owned the Franklin Hotel was the less illustrious cousin of the William Letcher Mitchell who was a University of Georgia trustee. The two led very different lives, but are often confused in histories of the University and city of Athens. The blog apologizes for the mistake, as it is aware this confusion is often an issue, yet succumbed to the common error anyway.


Learn More:

• Athens Observer, Jan. 1976 - Jun. 1976 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Annals of Athens, 1801-1901 by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• Antebellum Athens and Clarke County, Georgia by Ernest C. Hynds in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• History of Athens and Clarke County, Georgia by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Franklin House page on the Vinson Institute of Government website.
• Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation website.
• The Georgia Trust website.
• Historic American Buildings collection on the Library of Congress website.
• National Register of Historic Places website.

9 March 1847: Free Lecture on the New and Extraordinary Art of Phreno-Mnemotechny!

On this day in 1847, this exciting advertisement was read by subscribers to the Southern Banner:

The lecturer was Pliny Miles, a writer from Watertown, New York, who was known for his "remarkable talents as a school-teacher." Two years later, he would author American Mnemnotechny, or Art of Memory: Theoretical and Practical, with a Mnemotechnic Dictionary to impart his theories and systems of memory to a wider audience. 

Mr. Miles book defines his subject on page six of his book:

Memnotechny, rightly considered, comprises all those aids to the natural mind that go by the name of association, combination, and comparison. When a person wishes to remember a name that is difficult to retain in the mind, he naturally seeks some fanciful association or other, perhaps compares the name to something that sounds like it, and thus will recall it when required. This is Mnemnotechny; though it is only the commencement of the beginning.

Mr. Miles used a system of mapping letters and words to figures, and claimed that any student using his method would reduce his study time by 75%. Within the book, he listed historic events, people, facts, and provided formulas for remembering them in his system. He also devoted a chapter in his book to creating and using one's own formulas.

Pliny Miles is described in his New York Times obituary as "a striking figure--tall, thin, of nervous-sanguine temperament, wearing a beard that never scraped acquaintance with a razor; a rapid walker, keen observer, talking with wonderful volubility, always cordial, open-hearted, and everywhere welcome for his agreeable social qualities."

In 1854, he would write a travel book about Iceland, described by the New York Times as "a pleasant book of the gossipy sort." By the time of his death in 1865, he was best known for his strong advocacy for changes in the postal system, pushing for a flat price on letters by weight regardless of the distance to reach their destination. This method, still used today, was adopted by the U.S. Postal Service in 1863.

Learn More:

• Southern Banner, Mar. 13, 1845 - Nov. 1848 on Microfilm in the  Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• National Postal Museum website.
• Mnemotechnics.org blog, forum, and wiki about memory techniques.
• Moonwalking with Einstein: the Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer in the New Books collection.
• Committed to Memory: How We Remember and Why We Forget by Rebecca Rupp in the general collection.
• Ageless Memory: Simple Secrets for Keeping Your Brain Young by Harry Lorayne in the general collection.
• Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind by Daniel Tammet via PINES.
• Improving Your Memory: How to Remember What You're Starting to Forget by Janet Fogler and Lynn Stern in the general collection.
• 101 Theory Drive: A Neuroscientist's Quest for Memory by Terry McDermott in the general collection.
• In the Places of Memory: How We Build the Worlds Inside our Head by George Johnson in the general collection.

Heritage Room Newsletters Keep Your Research Moving Forward!

On this day we'd like to remind you to subscribe to our two fantastic Heritage Room newsletters. They will be delivered to your email Inbox, and are a great way to keep up with all that is going on in genealogy and history throughout the year.

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from classes about using the 1940 Census when it is release in April and tours of Civil War battle sites to museum exhibitions of local woodworkers and Brown Bag lunch programs at the Georgia Archives. Many organizations are noting the Civil War Sesquicentennial with events, and this newsletter is an excellent way to avoid missing any of the great learning opportunities available.

Our Genealogy News and Tips newsletter makes sure you will not miss out on new resources and discoveries, even as everyone's schedule speeds up with spring. With news about the latest collections available through Family Search and new archival collections now online to news about summer genealogy programs and opportunities to contribute to new collections.


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

Don't Miss Out! Sign Up for Our Newsletters!

On this day, we'd like to remind you to subscribe to our two free Heritage Room newsletters. 

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from webinars by the National Archives in Atlanta about the 1940 Census and lock-in research evenings at the Oconee County Library in Watkinsville to exhibitions about George Washington Carver at the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta and furniture by Athenian Henry Eugene Thomas at the Georgia Museum of Art here in town. Rather than keep up with a million postcards, flyers, and emails, we put all the coming events of the month into a neat package or two that you can use to ensure you don't miss a thing.

Our Genealogy News and Tips newsletter keeps you in the loop with the latest resources available for research, such as the Tennessee Death Records recently added to the Ancestry database and a link to the new searchable online index of Alabama probate records. It also covers updates about the release of the 1940 Census (available on April 2, 2012, at 9am EDT) and fun things, like the new Henry Louis Gates PBS program, Finding Your Roots, and when the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? returns.


Click here (or either of the above newletter links) to read the current newsletter and subscribe to have them delivered. It couldn't be easier, and is a great time saver, so sign up today!

13 December 1902: Santa to Visit at the International Doll Show

On this day in 1902, Santa Claus made an appearance at the doll show benefit raising funds for Winnie Davis Hall:

(click to enlarge image)

Learn More:

• Athens Daily Banner, May 1902 - Oct. 1903 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Miss Rutherford's Scrapbook by Mildred Rutherford in the Heritage collection.
• The Collector's Encyclopedia of Dolls by Dorothy S. Coleman, Elizabeth A. Coleman, and Evelyn J. Coleman in the Reference collection.
• The Dolls of Yesteryear by Eleanor St. George in the general collection.
• Cornhusk, Silk, and Wishbones: A Book of Dolls from around the World by Michelle Markel in general collection.
• The Doll Source Book by Argie Manolis in the Reference collection.
• Dolls of the Art Deco Era 1910-1940: Collect, Restore, Create, and Play by Susanna Oroyan in the general collection.
• The Fairytale Doll Book by Valerie Janitch in the general collection.
• Sewing Victorian Doll Clothes: Authentic Costumes from Museum Collections by Michelle Hamilton in the general collection.
• The Book of Doll Making by Alicia Merrett in the general collection.
• Dolls: A Complete Bibliography by Nancie Anne Lutz in the Reference collection.

Newsletters for You!

On this day, we'd like to remind you about our two Heritage Room newsletters, free updates of information that land easily in your email inbox and make keeping up the world of genealogy and history research and events easy as can be.


Our History & Genealogy Events newsletter offers you a schedule of  the upcoming tours, classes, fairs, festivals, meetings, book signings, lectures, and other happenings in Athens and around Georgia. We also include webinars sponsored by genealogy companies such as Legacy Family Tree  in which you can participate from your own home. As items are added to the month's calendar, we will send out updates so you state current with all the historical events.

Our Genealogy News & Tips newsletter provides you a round up of recent genealogy and research information, such as newly published books, new online resources, ways to get past your brick wall, tricks for researching ancestors in other parts of the nation and world, the way various records can be used, and free software available for doing your family tree. It's a great, concise way to keep up with all the ways you can research without spending all your time seeking out information yourself.

Click here (or either newsletter link above) to read the current newsletters and subscribe to have them delivered to your email Inbox. They are a free service of the Heritage Room, and it couldn't be easier, so sign up today!

7 November 1913: An Angel Food Cake Recipe

On this day in 1913, the recipe for angel food cake used in the demonstration of electrical appliances and sponsor White Crest Flour appeared on the front page of the Athens Banner.

If anyone makes this cake, please share your experiences in the comment section!

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Oct. 1913 - Dec. 1913 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Images from the White Crest Flour Cook Book for cooking demonstrations.
• A Postcard History of Athens, Georgia by Gary L. Doster in the Heritage and general collections.
• The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum in the general collection.
• Cake Boss: The Stories & Recipes from Mia Famiglia by Buddy Valastro in the biography collection.
• Cool Cakes & Cupcakes: Easy Recipes for Kids to Bake by Pamela S. Price in the children's collection.
• The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn in the general collection.
• Party Cakes by Janice Murfitt in the general collection.
• Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers, edited by Kathryn Kleinman in the general collection.
• The Wedding Cake Book by Dede Wilson in the general collection.
• Ultimate Cake by Barbara Maher in the general collection.

News You Can Use!

On this day, we'd like to remind you about the two Heritage Room newsletters offered free of charge and delivered right into your Inbox!


Our History & Genealogy Events newsletter offers you a schedule of  the upcoming tours, classes, fairs, festivals, meetings, book signings, lectures, and other happenings in Athens and around Georgia. We also include webinars sponsored by genealogy companies such as Legacy Family Tree  in which you can participate from your own home. As items are added to the month's calendar, we will send out updates so you state current with all the historical events.


Our Genealogy News & Tips newsletter provides you a round up of recent genealogy and research information, such as newly published books, new online resources, ways to get past your brick wall, tricks for researching ancestors in other parts of the nation and world, the way various records can be used, and free software available for doing your family tree. It's a great, concise way to keep up with all the ways you can research without spending all your time seeking out information yourself. 


Click here (or either newsletter link above) to read the current newsletters and subscribe to have them delivered to your email Inbox. They are a free service of the Heritage Room, and it couldn't be easier, so sign up today!

Heritage Room Newsletters Keep You in the Loop!

On this day, we'd like to remind you to subscribe to our two Heritage Room newsletters. They will be delivered to your email Inbox, and are a great way to keep up with genealogy and history throughout the year.

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from seminars on using land records and deeds for your family research to the latest Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation tours and twilight tours of Oakland Cemetery.  Our area has many fantastic educational and research opportunities, and we also let you know about distance learning opportunities with webinars and online courses provided by other historical and genealogical societies.

Our Genealogy Tips and News newsletter makes sure you will not miss out on newly available resources and discoveries. With information and links to how to organize a box of inherited family records, new newspapers added to free resources such as the Library of Congress's Chronicling America site, the name change of Footnote to Fold3, and what is available in our Heritage Room collection during construction (quite a lot!), we make sure you know what is new, what is available, and what can be helpful for the family researcher.

Click here (or either of the above newletter links) to read the current newsletter and subscribe to have them delivered. It couldn't be easier, and is a great time saver, so sign up today!

4 July 1911: "College on Wheels"

On this day in 1911, the Athens Banner ran the following editorial about the recent railroad tour of the state made by the State College of Agriculture, which at the time was still a separate institution from the University of Georgia:

 

 (click to enlarge image)

In 1911, the train from the State College of Agriculture visited 154 towns in 120 counties in 47 days. The train carried a passenger car for the educators and staff, livestock cars, and cars with modern farming machinery, with a center flat car that served as a stage. At each stop, the flat car was used for speeches promoting proven practices in farming methods, demonstrate the farming machinery, and exhibit the livestock. The train would stop overnight, with those on board eating at local restaurants and staying in local hotels near the railroad station, a boost to Georgia businesses outside agriculture.

These tours of extension education to improve agricultural outputs in Georgia began in 1908 and lasted until 1917. Extension work was highly promoted by College President Andrew M. Soule, and were immediately popular. Their first tour in 1908 brought out only about 150,000 people, but had ballooned quickly to "nearly four hundred thousand people" within just a few years. Dr. Soule believed that the State College of Agriculture was truly "the college with the state for its campus." 

Other outreach work included welcoming Georgia farmers to the campus farm and other cooperating farms for "field days" where they could demonstrate results of pasture development, winter grazing and foraging crops for livestock, and the effects of different practices on crop and livestock production. One of the earliest successful outreach campaigns was conducted with the Veterinary School to introduce the widespread vaccination of hogs to protect that industry from a devastating strain of cholera.

Formal offices for Agricultural Extension Services were not created until 1914. In later years, working at first with the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs, the College's extension work expanded to other areas, with demonstrations of fireless stoves and iceless refrigerator, and the effectiveness of screening the home to prevent disease from insects. Later, new female Home Economics graduates from the College of Agriculture would hold community meetings to discuss health and nutrition, parenting techniques and child training, canning and pickling for food preservation, art, and physical education. 

The Agriculture College also helped set up "corn clubs" for boys around Georgia, a forerunner to the current 4-H Clubs. Within just a few years, the average per acre yield of corn by the boys' Georgia corn clubs was three times higher than the average per acre yield for the rest of the state.

The result of this groundwork in Georgia agriculture over the past century is Georgia's strong industry today: one-third of the state's land is used for farming, and sales of agricultural products earn nearly $7 billion. Despite ranking #28 in the United States for number of acres devoted to farmland, Georgia is the #1 producer of broilers (chickens), peanuts, and pecans; #2 in cotton, cotton seed, cucumbers, spring onions, rye, and snap beans; #3 in cantaloupes, bell peppers, sweet corn, and watermelon; and #4 in blueberries, peaches, and squash.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Jul. 1911 - Nov. 1911 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• History of the College of Agriculture of the University of Georgia by Calvin Clyde Murray in the Heritage collection.
• The University of Georgia College of Agriculture: An Administrative History, 1785-1985 by Stephen J. Karina in the Heritage collection.
• The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History, 1785-1985 by Thomas G. Dyer in the Heritage and general collections.
• The University of Georgia Under Sixteen Administration, 1785-1955 by Robert Preston Brooks in the Heritage collection.
• UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Science website.
• UGA Cooperative Extension Services website.
• Georgia Statistics web pages on the National Agricultural Statistics Service website.
• The United States Department of Agriculture website.
• The United States Census Bureau website.
• The Georgia Department of Agriculture website.
• Linoleum, Better Babies, and the Modern Farm Woman, 1890-1930 by Marilyn Irvin Holt in the general collection.
• The American Family Farm: A Photo Essay by George Ancona and Joan Anderson in the Heritage collection.
• The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture by Wendell Berry in the general collection.
• The Essential Agrarian Reader: The Future of Culture, Community, and the Land, edited by Norman Wirzba in the general collection.
• Atlas of American American Agriculture: The American Cornucopia by Richard Pillsbury and John Florin in the Reference collection.
• The Profitable Hobby Farm: How to Build a Sustainable Local Food Business by Sarah Beth Aubrey in the New Books collection.
• Chicken Tractor: The Permaculture Guide to Happy Hens and Healthy Soil by Andrew Lee and Patricia Foreman in the general collection.
• Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance, edited by Deborah Burns in the general collection.

Glean Information Galore from Our Newsletters!

On this day we'd like to remind you about our two Heritage Room newsletters, available for free, convenient delivery to your email Inbox.


Our Genealogy & History Events newsletter covers classes, speakers, book signings, tours, festivals, expos, exhibits, demonstrations, workshops, and other programs for family historians and just lovers of history. It's also a great way to keep up with news about the renovation plans here at the Athens-Clarke County library.


Our Genealogy Tips newsletter keeps you up to date with newly available books and compilations, collections now available online, ways to make your research trips go a little easier, technology that makes genealogy work easier, and links to articles about different types of records. It's a great way to keep up with the changing world of historical records and methods in a busy world.


Simply click HERE (or the links above) to read the current newsletters and sign up today! 

Don't Forget Our Newsletters!

On this day, we'd like to remind you to subscribe to our two Heritage Room newsletters. They will be delivered to your email Inbox, and are a great way to keep up with genealogy and history throughout the year. Now that the sequicentennial of the Civil War has begun, there are more and more opportunities you don't want to miss.

Our Genealogy and History Events newsletter covers everything from cemetery tours to book repair sessions and classes for everything from how to do genealogical research to how to make ancient tools and weaponry. Our area has many fantastic educational and research opportunities, and we also let you know about distance learning opportunities with webinars and online courses provided by other historical and genealogical societies.

Our Genealogy Tips and News newsletter makes sure you will not miss out on newly available resources and discoveries. With information and links to new obituary collections, how to register for Atlanta History Center summer camp, new resources available online on FamilySearch.org, and even an Historic Markers of Georgia app from Georgia Historical Society, we make sure you know what is new, what is available, and what can be helpful for the family researcher and historian.

Click here (or either of the above newletter links) to read the current newsletter and subscribe to have them delivered. It couldn't be easier, and is a great time saver, so sign up today!

4 April 1916: "No Other Garment Has So Much Power"

On this day in 1916, the W. T. Collins & Company clothing store, located at 335 E. Clayton Street, ran this ad to alert female Athenians to the arrival of a professional corsetiere the following Monday:

Sport corsets were first developed in Paris in 1898, and originally were cut high on the sides so a woman could sit to ride a horse without difficulty. The pressure of the corset was moved from the abdomen to the back, and encouraged a straighter posture and easier movement, allowing women to be more active than the tighter, more restrictive Victorian corsets of the 19th century. The new designs were called either "health" or "sport" corsets.

These 1916 styles advertised in the Athens Banner were heavily reinforced with elastic bands along the hips, allowing for easy sitting and movement but still providing a foundation for the straight, stylish skirts of the period. Their $3.00 price tag is approximately $60.50 in today's dollars. Many corsets after 1917 removed all metal boning due to metal shortages from the war, and most women found the new corsets to be both patriotic and far more comfortable.

Learn More:

• Athens Banner, Mar. 1916 - May 1916 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Unmentionables: 250 Years of Underwear, 1720-1970 online exhibit for the Museum of Vancouver.
• Lingere in Vogue Since 1910 by Christina Probert in the general collection.
• Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful by Teresa Riordan in the general collection.
• Imaging American Women: Idea and Ideals in Cultural History by Martha Banta in the general collection.
• The Costume Collector's Companion, 1890-1990 by Rosemary Hawthorne in the general collection.
• Knitting Lingere Style: 32 Basic and Lingere-Inspired Designs by Joan McGowan-Michael in the general collection.
• Women's Health and Fitness: A Take-Charge Plan for Lifetime Well-Being by Prevention magazine in the general collection.
• For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich in the general collection.
• 1916 Sears, Roebuck, & Company catalog in Ancestry Library Edition via GALILEO.
• Underwear! by Mary Elise Monsell in the children's fiction collection.