Image of the Week

Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Digital Program Specialist.

U.S.S. Rogers Blood ca. 1946

Pictured above is an image from a folder titled “U.S.S. Rogers Blood.”

The U.S.S. Rogers Blood was a destroyer escort commissioned in 1945, sponsored by the Blood family. It was reclassified a fast transport in 1945 under the command of Commander John W. Higgins, Jr. The ship’s namesake was First Lieutenant Rogers Blood of Manchester, New Hampshire.

Blood was described as an active member of student life at Manchester Central High School, with involvement in various leadership roles and athletics. He enrolled at Dartmouth in 1940 and enlisted in the Marine Corp Reserve in 1942. He accepted a commission as Second Lieutenant in 1943 and was promoted to first Lieutenant in 1944.

Blood was killed in action on Engebi Island in 1944, leading his platoon in a charge against a fortified enemy position. He received the Silver Star posthumously for his courage in battle.

The U.S.S. Rogers Blood was decommissioned in 1946 and berthed in Green Cove Springs, Florida. It was sold and disposed of in 1961.

See more World War II images in the Dartmouth photographic files.

 

On This Day

Our series highlighting a digital collection or item relevant to this day in history, by Monica Erives, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

September 21, 1938 hurricane damage on East Wheelock Street. In the background, Thornton Hall, Dartmouth Hall, and Fayerweather Hall are in view.

On this day in 1938, the Great New England Hurricane made landfall on Long Island. This hurricane, also known as the Long Island Express, was one of the most destructive storms of its kind to hit New England. Few were prepared for the storm due to its high speed and erratic movement. Approximately 600 people were killed and vast swaths of forest were damaged by extreme winds.

Hurricane damage on Main Street in front of College Hall (Collis).

These images show only some of the hurricane damage done to the Dartmouth College campus in 1938. View more photos of the 1938 New England Hurricane by visiting the Dartmouth Photographic Files, a diverse collection of approximately 80,000 photographs related to the Dartmouth College area, dating back to the 1850s.

Sources:

Wikipedia – 1938 New England Hurricane

The 1938 Hurricane along New England’s Coast

Image of the Week

Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Digital Program Specialist.

This image of the week comes from a folder titled “Watering Trough.” The Hanover trough once sat on the Green across from the Balch Mansion. The Balch Mansion was destroyed in a fire in 1900, after which time the college bought the property and built College Hall (now the Collis Center) upon it. College Hall can be seen in the background of the above image.

The trough had two tiers, one for horses and one for dogs. However, it wasn’t just used for hydration. It was also an important part of a Dartmouth tradition. A dunking in the trough was the punishment for unknowing freshmen who had the misfortune of coming in contact with the senior fence.

The trough was removed from the Green in 1961. It has been re-purposed as a planter that now sits in front of Webster Cottage.

See more photos of the Hanover watering trough in the Dartmouth Photographic files.

Sources

dartgo.org/earlydartmouth_frankbarrett

http://www.dartreview.com/the-terrible-trough/

http://alumni.dartmouth.edu/content/and-we-were-there-seniors-and-alumni-talk-dartmouth-tradition-alumni-appreciation-week

dartgo.org/balch_mansion

On This Day

Our series highlighting a digital collection or item relevant to this day in history, by Monica Erives, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

On this day in 1995, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital (MHMH) was demolished. The Hospital was built in 1893 by Hiram Hitchcock in honor of his late wife, Mary Maynard Hitchcock. It was located to the north of Dartmouth’s campus and emptied just a few years prior to its demolition for relocation to Lebanon, NH. On demolition day, many gathered to hear Dr. James Varnum, President of MHMH, deliver some parting words. An article from the Dartmouth Medicine Magazine (2010) recounts his speech:

“The buildings had been essential, he said, but it was the people inside those buildings who made the hospital such a warm environment. When he returned to the Hanover location just after the move to Lebanon, he found that without those people, the buildings no longer felt so welcoming. ‘The life and spirit had moved to our new facility,’ he said. ‘It was time to move on.'”

Today, if you’re strolling by Maynard parking lot, you can spot a plaque indicating the original site of the hospital on the southeast wall of the Geisel Admissions building.

These images come to us from The Dartmouth College Photo Files, a diverse collection of approximately 80,000 photographs related to Dartmouth College, Hanover, and the surrounding area. Dating back to the 1850s, this collection is the perfect place to explore nearly all aspects of past Dartmouth College Life.  View more MHMH Demolition images in the Photo Files Collection or take a look at the Image of the Week series for more blasts from the past.

Image of the Week

Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Digital Program Specialist.

Canoeing with makeshift sail on Lake Champlain

This image of the week comes from a folder entitled “Canoeing Includes Canoe Club members pictures.”
A note on the back of the photo reads “Canoeing on Lake Champlain with makeshift sail”.

Lake Champlain is named for French explorer Samuel de Champlain, considered “The Father of New France” for his founding of New France and Quebec City. Champlain made the first accurate map of Canada’s east coast and assisted in the establishment of settlements in that region.

Lake Champlain is situated between New York, Vermont, and Quebec. This position made it an important landmark in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. The American victory in the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814 earned it leverage in the dealings leading to the Treaty of Ghent and prevented British control of the Great Lakes and the New England states.

See more canoeing images in the Dartmouth photographic files.

Sources

Hurlbut, H. Higgins. (1885). Samuel de Champlain: a brief sketch of the eminent navigator and discoverer. Chicago: Fergus printing company.

Hickey, Donald R. (2012) [1988]. “Ch. 11: The Treaty of Ghent” (PDF). The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (Bicentennial ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. pp. 281–98. ISBN 9780252093739 – via Project MUSE.

 

 

On This Day

Our series highlighting a digital collection or item relevant to this day in history, by Monica Erives, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

Eclipse Edition Road Information for the 1932 total solar eclipse

On this day in 1932, a total solar eclipse cast a shadow over a large portion of New Hampshire situated in its path of totality. This eclipse edition map, created by the New Hampshire State Highway Department, shows the center and limits of totality within NH, along with road and construction information for the exciting solar eclipse day. Sadly, Hanover was not within the lines of totality, but I’m sure it was still quite a sight to see! Not to mention it was a much shorter drive to view totality than last week’s solar event.

This map comes to us from The Granite State in Maps, 1756-2003 Collection, where there are over 600 unique NH maps – snapshots in time of the granite state.

View more solar eclipse items in the Dartmouth Digital Collections.

On This Day

Our series highlighting a digital collection or item relevant to this day in history, by Monica Erives, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

A biography of Oliver Hazard Perry. Includes a reprint of his famous victory note.

It is not given to many men to win deathless fame before they are thirty. But Fate decreed that a youthful commander in the United States navy should be one of those favored mortals.

On this day in 1785, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, best known for his War of 1812 victory on Lake Erie, was born. Perry’s decisive victory, which he achieved with limited forces and a lack of resources, is remembered to this day and is where the famed military expression, “We have met the enemy and they are ours,” originates. Not long after his victory on the Erie, Perry succumbed to yellow fever and died on his thirty-fourth birthday, August 23rd, in 1819. Over the years, many have written about Perry, his naval upbringing, and the victories that gained him fame. The article pictured above, from the Canaan Reporter, commemorates Perry over a hundred years later in 1935.

This digital item comes from the Correspondence of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry Collection, where you can find correspondence between naval officers, friends, family, and peers of Commodore Perry. The collection is conveniently indexed by subject and biographical period for those looking to explore particular aspects of his memorable life.

Image of the Week

Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Digital Program Specialist.

Dartmouth alums preparing to board in White River Junction ca. 1900

This image of the week comes from a folder titled “White River Junction, Vermont.” The image features a number of Dartmouth alums boarding a train in White River Junction.

White River Junction began as a stop for boat traffic used by natives and settlers. The railroad came to White River in 1848 when the “Winooski” traveled to Bethel, Vermont. The railroad in White River continued to expand and at one point featured 14 tracks, making it the largest railroad center north of Boston. The railroads brought many diverse businesses to White River including bread, produce, paper, and chocolates.

Info comes primarily from the Hartford, VT Document Center. Additional information from the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce, hartford-vt.org, and hartfordhistory.org.

See more images of White River Junction in the Dartmouth Library photographic files.

On This Day

Our series highlighting a digital collection or item relevant to this day in history, by Monica Erives, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

On this day in 1771, Eleazar Wheelock, founder of Dartmouth College, wrote a “strongly worded rebuttal” in response to a letter from Samson Occom, a member of the Mohegan Tribe, Wheelock’s former student, and an instrumental fundraiser for the college. In his letter, Occom communicated his dismay in learning there were few to no Indians at the college:

Your having So many white Scholars and So few or no Indian Scholars, gives me great discouragement – I verily thought once that your institution was Intended Purely for the poor Indians with this thought I cheerfully ventured my Body and Soul, left my Country my poor Young Family all my Friends and Relations, to Sail over the boisterous Seas to England, to help forward your School, Hoping, that it may be a lasting benefit to my poor tawny Brethren.

Image of Wheelock's August 15th Letter to Occom

Wheelock’s Aug 15th Letter to Occom

Wheelock responded:

You discover very great Ignorance of my plan, my object, my reasons, my motives, my views and prospects, and as great a degree of uncharitableness as of ignorance. You show no degree of brotherly and Christian Sympathy towards me in my long and weary travail, notwith standing your nation have been invariably my chief object…

It was this year, 1771, when Occom and Wheelock’s close relationship came to an end. To read the entirety of these letters, visit The Occom Circle — a scholarly digital edition of handwritten documents by and about Samson Occom (1723-1792) with both diplomatic and modernized transcriptions for ease of reading.

Occom’s letter to Wheelock |  Wheelock’s letter to Occom

Image of the Week

Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Digital Program Specialist.

Zoology Class ca 1940

This week’s photo comes from a folder titled “Zoology Department.”

Students of the natural sciences at Dartmouth didn’t always study under a single department. They once studied at the Chandler School, which did not become an incorporated department until 1892. The Chandler Department then divided into the departments of Zoology, Botany, and Geology, and in 1960 the Zoology and Botany departments combined to form the Department of Biological Sciences. Read more about the history of the department in the Biology Collection Development Policy Guidelines. See more Zoology department photos in the Dartmouth Library photographic files.