Do-Nut Try This At Home: Celebrate Donut Day with the National Dunking Association

It’s National Donut Day! While we hope you celebrate with a few tasty glazed treats, maybe refrain from celebrating with donut hole target practice. That’s right, the National Dunking Association celebrated the donut and its all-important hole at their October 1941 New York conference.  Still taken from Universal Newsreel Volume 14 Release 38 (Local ID: … Continue reading Do-Nut Try This At Home: Celebrate Donut Day with the National Dunking Association

The Federal Theatre Project Presents: “Voodoo Macbeth”

The Works Progress Administration or Work Projects Administration (WPA) was the largest New Deal agency. Created by the United States government in 1935, the agency provided jobs to unemployed workers during the Great Depression. During its tenure, the agency employed millions of job seekers to carry out public works projects such as constructing public buildings, … Continue reading The Federal Theatre Project Presents: “Voodoo Macbeth”

Happy National Library Week Part Two!

Still taken from 306.6536 We are continuing our celebration of National Library Week by highlighting films from our collection featuring stories about libraries. Check out Part One here and use this tool to help you find your local library. The films featured in this post were made for different reasons and audiences, but both highlight … Continue reading Happy National Library Week Part Two!

Monitor: An Ironclad, Underwater

"Combat Camera Trawl New/Wreck Survey," 370-MAR-238 The United States Navy's involvement with USS Monitor did not end when the armored vessel sank off North Carolina on December 31, 1862. Through multiple missions in the 1990s and 2000s, the Navy and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explored the wreck and recovered significant portions of the … Continue reading Monitor: An Ironclad, Underwater

Link Roundup: The Battle of Iwo Jima

This month marks the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. The American invasion, codenamed Operation Detachment, sought to capture Iwo Jima’s two airfields, South Field and Central Field. After five weeks of intense battle and considerable losses for both Japanese and American soldiers, the Americans secured the island. This provided the United States … Continue reading Link Roundup: The Battle of Iwo Jima

The Six Triple Eight Link Roundup

In 1945, the U.S. Government faced low morale and growing frustration over undelivered mail amongst those serving in Europe. It was decided the large backlog of undistributed mail would be dealt with by the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. The battalion, nicknamed the “Six-Triple Eight," was a multi-ethnic unit of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) comprised … Continue reading The Six Triple Eight Link Roundup

Spotlight: Go! Fight! Win! College Football in Universal Newsreel

For over a century, school traditions, pride, and rivalries have fostered a sense of community within college football, contributing to its popularity and making it one of America’s favorite sports. As the popularity of college football grew in America during the interwar period, newsreels started covering the sport as part of their regular news releases. … Continue reading Spotlight: Go! Fight! Win! College Football in Universal Newsreel

Girl Aces Hold Own Air Show: Universal Newsreel and the 1935 Women’s Championship Air Show

Still is taken from Universal Newsreel Volume 7, Release 406. “Thirty women pilots have groomed their ships for a wholesale assault today and tomorrow on man’s supremacy in the air.” This quote is taken from a newspaper clipping from the production file for Universal Newsreel volume 7, release 406. Since the early years of aviation, … Continue reading Girl Aces Hold Own Air Show: Universal Newsreel and the 1935 Women’s Championship Air Show

Stealth Subs and Devious Divers of WWII

The mini-subs, manned torpedoes, and other vessels depicted in the 1945 film German and Italian Sneak Craft (local identifier 80-MN-5132) did not make much of a difference in the course of World War II. In fact, the film features many failed experimental designs - and suggests that the operators of some of these vessels were … Continue reading Stealth Subs and Devious Divers of WWII

Spotlight: Apollo 11 Launch Footage-July 16, 1969

Today we spotlight the historic launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, with two items from the National Archives and Record Administration’s (NARA) motion picture holdings of Record Group 255, Records of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Series (NASA).  Washington Headquarters - Apollo 11 Pool Footage: Part 1 of 2 (National Archives Identifier: … Continue reading Spotlight: Apollo 11 Launch Footage-July 16, 1969