Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in May, is an American holiday that dates back to the late 1800s. The tradition began when communities started holding events to honor soldiers who had died in the Civil War. They would decorate graves and say prayers for the dead. The holiday continued to evolve, becoming Decoration Day in 1862. During World War I, the day began including soldiers lost in all wars, not only the Civil War. It was observed annually on May 30, until Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968. The Act, which went into effect in 1971, officially made the last Monday in May Memorial Day.
Pictured above:
1) From the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society, Memorial Day May 30, 1877.
2) From the Germantown Historical Society, Memorial Day Parade May, 1929.
3) From the Sippican Historical Society, Memorial Day Ceremony, May 30, 1956.
4) From the Swan’s Island Historical Society, Memorial Day Parade 1983.
PastPerfect-Online.com
History.com
The third Friday of May is National Bike to Work Day. In honor of this day, started by the League of American Bicyclists in 1956, this week’s What Is It relates to historic bicycles. Bicycles date all the way back to the early 19th century. Can you guess what decade the bicycle pictured above is from? The photo comes from the PastPerfect-Online collection of the Oshkosh Public Museum is Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Post your guess and check back next week for the answer!
On May 10, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was completed at a ceremony in Promontory, Utah. The photo above is of the crowd that gathered at the Golden Spike ceremony 143 years ago. This photo can be found in the PastPerfect-Online collection of the Center for Sacramento History.
For more on the Transcontinental Railroad, visit pastperfect-online.com.
The answer to last week’s What Is It: William H. Taft
Name That President! In the spirit of this year’s upcoming presidential election, this is a new kind of “What Is It.” Shown above is a campaign button found in the PastPerfect-Online collection of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Can you guess which presidential candidate is pictured on the button? Post your guesses and check back for the answer!
Today in 1972 the Polaroid Corporation announced the SX-70. This collapsible SLR camera dispensed self-developing photographs and was the fastest Polaroid instant film camera at the time. The camera was popular, although expensive, in the 1970s and was used by photographers such as Ansel Adams and Andy Warhol*. The camera above is from the PastPerfect-Online collection of the Oshawa Public Museum & Archives. For more, search their collection.
*(wikipedia)
On this day 151 years ago, the Civil War officially began. Tensions had been rising between the North and South over the issue of slavery and began to boil over after Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election. By the time the Lincoln administration took office, seven states had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. “Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter” (Wikipedia).
Pictured above are four Civil War officers posed around a cannon in Virginia. The photo comes from the PastPerfect-Online collection of Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. For more on the Civil War, visit PastPerfect-Online.com and search for “Civil War.”
“Good to the last drop!” This year marks the 120th anniversary of the introduction of Maxwell House Coffee! Pictured above is a coffee can found in the PastPerfect-Online collection of the Hoboken Historical Museum in Hoboken, NJ. Can you guess what decade this can is from?
Happy birthday Oreos! Did you know that a shop in Hoboken, NJ was the earliest-recorded purchaser of the chocolate cookies, back in 1912? Pictured above is a magazine ad for Oreos from 1952 found in the PastPerfect-Online collection of the Hoboken Historical Museum.
The answer to Thursday’s What Is It is a set of wooden curlers from the Jewish Museum of Maryland’s PastPerfect-Online collection. Check back later this week for another post!
Do you have an item in your collection that you think would be good for a What Is It challenge? Or is there an item you’d like help trying to identify? Submit your items under the Submit tab to the right or email support@museumsoftware.com.
Ready for another What Is It? This week’s item comes from the PastPerfect-Online collection of the Jewish Museum of Maryland. If you think you know what it is, post your guess in the comments section below and check back next week for the answer.
