Time Travel to the Bayou City, 1913

Reliving the Early 20th Century of Houston! An appreciative crowd of 41 adults experienced the burgeoning Bayou City of the 1910 and beyond during today's LIFE Workshop with guest speaker, Mike Vance! Issues such as mass transit, clean water, education, and city infrastructure were as popular then as they are today! More on Houston Arts and Media, Vance's non-profit history organization at http://www.houstonartsandmedia.org/. Pictured with Vance are Sharon Samson and Roxanne Beck. Thanks to all who attended this informative presentation.

Genealogy Virtual Vacation

Don’t have the funds to visit homeland of your ancestors? No problem. Library Director Mick Stafford revealed which websites and databases provide address information. Then learn how that information can unlock a virtual vacation using Google map technology and a few other websites.

Image: http://library.santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=1170

Lincoln, Lincoln, I’ve Been Thinkin’

Professor Thomas Kelly, Lone Star College professor and historian, provided thought-provoking insights into Abraham Lincoln, the president and the man. In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's first sentence tells it all: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Lincoln reminded our nation that the founding fathers really did mean that the United States of America is different and that our entire foundation is based on liberty and freedom for all.  In this succinct and pithy speech, Lincoln did not mention victory or the power of the Union army. He dedicated it to the brave men both living and dead who fought so their nation would survive.

Professor Kelly spoke of the Presidents who came before and after Lincoln. Lincoln was the product of many historical influences and changed his mind on occasion (such as freeing of the slaves). His assassination will forever influence history in how we perceive this great man. If he hadn’t died so suddenly and brutally, our perceptions of him might be quite different.

Visit the library’s exhibition, Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War, December 28, 2011 – February 17, 2012.

The Perfection of Deception: Magicians Who Have Changed World History



Harry Maurer’s amazing presentation Perfection of Deception: How Magicians Have Changed History was a terrific hit for our library and college. He is  such a polished performer with a mesmerizing voice and great comic timing. His passion for magic is palpable and your knowledge encyclopedic. Magic truly is a powerful force that can be used to change the course of history. I was especially enthralled with the story of the battle of Alamein. My eyes were opened and so were others in the audience. Some young children were hanging on Harry’s every word, students will write papers about this, and our LIFE regulars were soaking up all the knowledge. - Claire Gunnels, Assistant Library Director

Sponsored by Lone Star College-CyFair Windows on the World (WOW) and Lone Star College-CyFair Branch Friends of the Library.

http://diydilettante.wordpress.com
/2011/08/01/how-to-be-a-magician/

Lincoln and the Road to the Emancipation Proclamation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emancipation_proclamation.jpg

A record crowd greeted Dr. W. Caleb McDaniel, Assistant History Professor at Rice University, for his presentation on Abraham Lincoln this past Wednesday. Contrary to what schoolchildren across the country have been taught in history class, Dr. McDaniel revealed to the audience that President Lincoln had in fact been very reluctant to address the issue of emancipation of slaves during the Civil War. In an 1862 letter to Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, Lincoln asserted that preserving the Union at all costs was his only concern: “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.” Lincoln believed that abolishing slavery would only aggravate the southern border states, tipping the balance in favor of the Confederate rebellion. He also believed that the U.S. constitution did not afford him the right, as President, to declare freedom for all slaves. Further, Lincoln questioned the practicality of assimilating freed slaves into American society and compensating southern slave owners for their loss.

Ultimately, it took progressive acts of Congress and leadership from Lincoln’s own military officers to realize change. In July of 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, which declared that any slaves encountered by Union forces would be considered free. The Emancipation Proclamation, borrowing much of the same language from Congress, was signed by Lincoln on January 1, 1863. The Proclamation served to seal the fate of the Confederacy and ensure that slavery would not survive the war. In an ironic twist, Dr. McDaniel concluded his riveting presentation with a rare archival photograph depicting African American soldiers standing guard during Lincoln’s second presidential inauguration ceremony.

Wednesday’s program was part of the American Library Association’s traveling exhibit entitled “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” on display at LSC-CyFair until February 17. For more information on upcoming events from this series, please visit the library’s website: http://lonestar.edu/library/lincoln.htm.

View the Civil War in Four Minutes at http://multimedialearning.com/the-civil-war-in-four-minutes/

Create Your Family's Oral History

It was a dark and stormy night. The thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky. The rain pelted down in torrential sheets. Then, in the distance, a dark figure stumbled into view. It got closer and closer, and I felt a chill run down my spine. This creature promised nothing but trouble and misery. I turned to run away, but I slipped on the wet pavement and the thing pounced on me, and with a primal roar it sank its teeth into my neck and branded me as its own forever. And that's how I met your mother....

At least that is the story my father told me. How about you? Do you know your family's history? Do you have stories of long ago and far away? This week our LIFE class was joined by Professor Sandra Harvey, a professional oral historian who received her degree from Baylor University, and she gave us tips on how to collect your family's oral history.

1) Define the project. Know what you want to talk about so you can keep the interview on track. Some folks have a tendency to wander from topic to topic if you let them.

2) Do your research. Find as many documents as you can (family Bibles, letters, birth certificates, death certificates, newspaper announcements, etc.) to spur the interview.

3) Find interviewees. For family histories this should be easy. If you are doing an oral history for a community, put up fliers in churches, nursing homes, grocery stores - any public place that a person from the time period you want may see it. Hit the pavement - go door to door asking folks if they know of people who you could interview. Kids' memories of their parents' memories don't count - you can't corroborate what they say. You need first hand material.

4) Make an outline of the interview. Don't make a list of questions - that tends to discourage talk. Having a rough outline allows the interviewee to decide the course of the interview.

5) Don't let the interview become a monologue. You are giving the interview, so it is up to you to keep the interviewee on topic and keep track of the time.

6) Set a time and date for the interview that works for both of you. Allow two hours; one hour for the interview, and another hour to say hello, chit-chat and set up.

7) Make sure all your equipment works before you do the interview! Have a back-up recorder, extra batteries, a note pad and lots of pens.

8) Start off the interview by stating your name, the date, the time, the place and the name of the interviewee. If you are recording on a cassette tape, say "side 1". If the tape runs out, flip the tape over and say "side 2, a continuation of my interview with Bob Jones."

9) Some good prompts to get interviewees to talk are "tell me your name, where you were born, when were you born, tell me about your background..." Such basic information will get them comfortable speaking to you and the recorder.

10) Transcribe your interviews.

11) Convert your tapes to digital as soon as you can. Cassette tapes degrade after 10 years. Film degrades a little more slowly, but they don't last forever.

12) Get signed contracts with the interviewee allowing you to record and then publish the interview. If you want to donate the interview to a university or museum, make sure to get their consent to do that.

13) Get used to distractions during the interview. The sound of your own voice, animals, children, phones, doorbells - something will always interrupt you.

To hear examples of Professor Harvey's interviews and more, check out the Living Stories page on Baylor University's website, under the radio segments. And start working on your family's oral history today!
http://www.baylor.edu/livingstories/

From Fantasy Coffins to Funerals of the Famous

Greetings LIFEers! This week's class was a grave history in funeral and burial history. Our instructor was Lucy Gonzales, from the National Museum of Funeral History here in Houston. Our parking situation is crazy here at the college, due to the start of the semester and all the construction, so she was a little late, but fortunatly not late....get it? Late. Just a little funeral humor to get you going. Not funny? Hmm, usually knocks them dead at the funeral home....ba da bum. Anyone, anyone? Man, this crowd is a bunch of stiffs.......okay, I'll stop.

So, burial history. Fascintating subject. Did you know back in the 1800s and 1900s that many funerals were held in the home? The funeral director would come to your house, clear out your living room and bring all the necessary furniture to display the body. A family member sat with the body day and night until the burial. Families were required to wear mourning colors (usually black, although white is also a traditional color worn to funerals) for 2 years after the death of a loved one. After 2 years they could wear a little beige color around the cuffs and collar. They could return to regular clothes after 4 years. Imagine that, 4 years of wearing mostly black. While very slimming, it seems like it would become depressing, especially with higher mortality rates in those days. Some folks could wear black for decades. Queen Victoria, so distraught over her husband Prince Albert's death, wore black for the rest of her life (40 years), although she disliked black funerals, so for her funeral London was decorated in purple and white.

Now the ancient Egyptians embalmbed their dead, and we still do today, but we use modern(ish) techniques. Embalming is mostly a Christian/western practice today. Traditional Jewish law and Islamic law forbids embalming and encourages burial within 24 hours of the death, if possible, and Hinduism discourages embalming. As we learn more about the toxicity of formaldehyde (probable carcinogin), more and more people are choosing not to be embalmed. The embalming process is really for the living, to better present the deceased to loved ones, who can more easily grieve for the deceased if they appear more life like. The last decade has seen the rise of green funerals; deceased not being embalmed, and being burried in biodegradable caskets under trees instead of tombstones.

For more information on the history of funerals, including presidential and papal memorabilia, visit the National Museum of Funeral History, off I-45 between Airtex and Richie. http://www.nmfh.org/

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

National Funeral Museum

View more presentations from LSC-CyFair Library, LIFE Workshops.

Cypress Once Had a Rodeo and a Hot Artesian Well

Greeting LIFErs! This week we were joined by Jane Ledbetter and Karen McGilvery from the Cypress Historical Society to give us the history of the Cypress area and a virtual walk-through of Cypress Top Historical Park.

We believe Cypress got its name from the numerous Cypress tress that lined the banks of the bayous at the time, although none remain today. Cypress looked very different in the 1700-1800s: there were few trees as the area was mostly prairie. Cypress remained mostly unincorporated farmland until mid 1840s when the first stage coach lines and Post Office developed. When Texas became the 28th state in 1845, Cypress began to grow due to a large influx of mostly German immigrants, who gave their family names to streets which still exist today.

In 1856 a railroad was built from Houston to Cypress, and the first locomotive was affectionately named "Ebenezer". But the area never really grew, as yellow fever, diphtheria, and other illnesses took a toll on the population until 1897 when Ed Juergen helped develop the community. He built the "Tin Hall" (a dance hall and gun & rifle club) and also the Juergen store, both of which survive today. In 1910, while drilling for oil they instead discovered hot water, and town had 2 hot pools and 1 cold pool which attracted folks from all over the Houston area. The Cypress rodeo began in 1944, mostly for goat roping, but it grew into a full-fledged rodeo quickly.

Please look through the slide show below to learn more about our town's history, and check out the Cypress Historical Society and Cypress Top Historical Park when you have the chance. It is also time to register for the next year of the Academy of Lifelong Learning. See the links below.

Cypress Historical Society: http://www.cypresshistoricalsociety.com/Home.html
Cypress Top Historical Park: http://www.co.harris.tx.us/Pct3/parks/cypresstophistoric.aspx
Academy of Lifelong Learning: http://www.lonestar.edu/cyfair-all.htm

G:\Cy Fair College Library\Life\Jane Cypress Slide Show

View more presentations from LSC-CyFair Library, LIFE Workshops.

Visions of Texas

Bobby O’Brien, LSC-CyFair Professor of History, revealed how Hollywood represents the Lone Star State on the big screen. Celebrating San Jacinto Day.

Grandma, what did you do in the war?

Dr. Sandra Harvey, LSC-CyFair Professor of History, discusses women breaking boundaries, and credits the LIFE program for spurring her on in her doctoral thesis on the subject. Part of Women’s History Month.

Lee and Grant

Professor Alex Smith explored the differences between two great military men of the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant, and the impact they had on our nation. Part of African American Heritage Month.