Jill
6/14/17 – SHRA Wins NCPH 2017 Excellence in Consulting Award
SHRA is pleased to announce that the National Council on Public History (NCPH) awarded its 2017 Excellence in Consulting Award to our firm for our research and consulting work in support of Idaho Power’s centenary commemoration. The NCPH grants this award to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of public history through consulting or contract… Read the Rest »
5/31/17 – Sourdough Story
At SHRA we spend a lot of our time interacting with archives. We locate archives online, we correspond with archivists, we review archival finding aids, and we travel to archives to conduct research. All of this archival work has to do with locating and capturing primary source materials: maps, ledgers, petitions, meeting minutes, newspapers, etc…. Read the Rest »
4/5/17 – Sacramento Dreaming
A recent research trip took the SHRA team to Sacramento, California. The project we were working on had us examining events during the very early days of California statehood, when San Francisco was by far the biggest and most influential city in the new state. As we sat at the State Library, looking out at… Read the Rest »
3/29/17 – The History of the Olympics…or the Olympics as History, Part III
The memories of last summer’s Rio Olympic Games are still fresh in the minds of sports aficionados, however, much of the fanfare and excitement that existed leading up to and during the event have faded from the public arena. As time progresses, the victories, defeats, and organizational challenges and successes of the Rio Games will… Read the Rest »
2/22/17 – “Let’s Go for a Drive”
During recent public history project research, I stumbled across an article and photographs by Otto M. Jones published in the Idaho Daily Statesman in 1919. The article described the “arduous task” of travelling “steep winding grades that are not inducive [sic] of much speed or tempered with any degree of safety or security.”[1] The accompanying… Read the Rest »
2/8/17 – National Parks, History, and Amalia Baldwin
This past August 2016, the National Park Service celebrated its 100th birthday. The speeches, parties, news stories, and commemorations across the country were a way for Americans to reflect on one of the most incredible ideas this country has had. Despite the challenges the national parks face now and will continue to face in the… Read the Rest »
2/1/17 – History Of…and At The Huntington
As a research historian with SHRA, I have been fortunate to travel to some fascinating places for work. A recent research trip took me to The Huntington Library in San Marino, California. Unlike other repositories that I have visited, The Huntington Library is a privately held, non-profit institution that boasts not only myriad collections and… Read the Rest »
1/4/17 -The Legacy of Minidoka and the Work of Dr. Robert Sims
Editor’s Note: Today’s post is courtesy of guest blogger Dr. Cheryl Oestreicher, Head, Special Collections, Boise State University. You can read Dr. Oestreicher’s previous guest blog for SHRA here. As an archivist, I have a social responsibility to collect records that document all aspects of history, particularly underrepresented people, events, and organizations. Archival records serve to… Read the Rest »
11/9/16 -The History of the Olympics…or the Olympics as History, Part II
Fanfare, Glory, Spectacle: The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games invite spectators to lose themselves in a state of suspended disbelief, even if for the briefest of moments. The combination of music, lights, and the palpable excitement at the most recent Rio Olympics filled the arena as the event commenced. This opening event and the… Read the Rest »
9/28/16 – The History of the Olympics…or the Olympics as History, Part I
With the impressive, theatrical, and culturally provocative closing ceremony of 2016 Rio Summer Olympics behind us, I thought it fitting to compose my thoughts on the history of this global event that brings the world a bit closer together for a few weeks every four years. Undoubtedly, the Olympics inspire feelings of patriotism for one’s… Read the Rest »