The 1955 Great Plains Tornado Outbreak
On May 25-26, 1955 seven states were hit by at least 46 tornadoes. Two F5 tornadoes touched down in Blackwell, Oklahoma and Udall, Kansas.
Left: Tornado damage. Blackwell, Oklahoma, 05/25/1955
Right: Car wrapped around large tree by tornado. Udall, Kansas, 05/25/1955
Tap, Ball Tap, Hop, Shuffle, Tap!
National Tap Dance Day is celebrated every year on May 25th, which is the birthday of American Tap Dancer and actor, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
Poston, Arizona. A young evacuee of Japanese ancestry entertains her fellow evacuees with a demonstration of her tap dancing ability. This was one number in an outdoor musical show.
Francis Stewart, photographer. From the Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority
On May 24, 1830, Sarah Josepha Hale published the poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Young girl holding onto a sheep, ca. 1940
From the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Cheyenne River Agency
Women munition workers urge President to support suffrage bill. Six women war workers, representing thousands of others, were delegated to see President Wilson and urge him to support the motion for an immediate passage of the federal suffrage amendment. These women were employed at Bethlehem Steel Company’s plant at Newcastle, Pennsylvania. They supplemented their argument with the statement that the women are serving the government in war industries and feel the urgent need of federal enfranchisement. From left to right: Miss Mary Gonzon, Mrs. Florence B. Hilles, Miss Lulu Patterson, Mrs. Marie McKensie, Miss Aida Walling and Mrs. Catherine Boyle. 05/24/1918
World Turtle Day is celebrated every May 23 to help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world.
CHILDREN EXAMINE A BOX TURTLE AT STILLWATER, NEW YORK, NEAR ADIRONDACK FOREST PRESERVE, 07/1973
Anne LaBastille, photographer. From the EPA’s DOCUMERICA series
Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson in Japan, May 22, 1953
(Fourteen years after then-First Lady Roosevelt’s historic resignation letter in support of Anderson.)
On this day in 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. patented Fastening Pocket Openings which prevented the pockets from giving way at the corners — perfect for all those eager homesteaders.
Patent Drawing for J. W. Davis’ Fastening Pocket Openings, 05/20/1873
The Homestead Act - passed 150 years ago today:
Act of May 20, 1862 (Homestead Act), Public Law 37-64, 05/20/1862
Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and 5 years of continuous residence on that land.
Read more at Our Documents
Don’t miss our series of posts commemorating the Homestead Act’s 150th Anniversary - including this railroad advertisement which proclaims with little irony that the open land is former Indian Territory.
Also - if you’re in Nebraska, you can see the Homestead Act now on loan for display at the National Park Service’s Homestead National Monument.
(via todaysdocument)
In 1932, home economists championed this thrifty couple’s use of home canning to provide fruits and vegetables for the family throughout the year.
Negro Family Budget of Canned Fruits and Vegetables, Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Bryan Expert Canners in Their Community, 05/19/1928
Miss Josephine Baker, popular stage performer, sings the National Anthem as the finale to the show held in the Municipal Theater, Oran, Algeria, N. Africa. The band is directed by T/Sgt. Frank W. Weiss., 05/17/1943
Mobile Gas Chambers
This is one of a series of communications on the problems with “S-Wagons,” written by Dr. August Becker, who made an inspection trip through Eastern Europe to observe their operation. S-Wagons were special vehicles used as mobile gas chambers. The mobile gas chambers were hermetically sealed boxes mounted on truck chassis. Carbon monoxide from the truck’s exhaust was pumped into the chamber to kill victims.
Report from SS (Schutzstaffel) Lt. Dr. August Becker to SS Lt. Col. Walter Rauff, 05/16/1942
During World War II, Private First Class Desmond Doss was a conscientious objector who refused to carry or touch a weapon. He served as a medic and was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1945 for his heroic action assisting injured soldiers near Urasoe-Mura, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands.
Photograph of Private First Class Desmond T. Doss, 05/15/1945
WAAC Recruitment Brochure
On May 14, 1942, Congress approved the creation of a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) for women to serve in noncombatant military positions. This 1942 recruitment brochure encouraged women to join. Only the cover of the brochure is shown.
Sergeant Franklin Williams, home on leave from army duty, with his best girl Ellen Hardin, splitting a soda. They met at Douglas High School. Baltimore, Maryland, May 1942
Fabricated Crimes
After the Civil War, a form of slavery continued through a system of peonage, a form of involuntary servitude. Thousands of African Americans were arrested for fabricated crimes and forced to work off exorbitant fines. Pat Hill was a victim of this reenslavement––bound, beaten, and forced to work. The affidavit is his formal sworn statement of fact.
Affidavit of Pat Hill, 05/12/1903
