March 2

Witness To The Lives of Others

Family members are our biggest heroes. (Ramey, age 10 at Capitol)

“Nobody cares”, some say but, I care and my Aunt and Dad are why…

Aunt Urbanna and my Dad are credited for the passion to keep up with history. Many who knew them feel the same. They spent so much time in their lives, photographing and writing it all down.  All of my young life my aunt had camera in hand and took photos from the time we visited South Carolina, (our parent’s home), until we left. Often she would develop and send the photos to Jacksonville.  We all loved it!  It made us feel important, special and she was a witness to our lives. From that, our Dad would have us write on the back of the photographs so we later would know the occasion. Being a witness to the lives of others all fits together with everyone participating.

For items too big for a small box

Because of the love of history, my own archives, have photos of the founders of the internet, Rosa Parks,  Jesse Jackson, several Presidents, and a dozen or more astronauts. There are famous people representing high-profiled cases like Cyril Wecht, Johnnie Cochran, and Jacksonville’s own, Judge Oliff. Also pictured is Mikhail Gorbechav, the Queen of England, the Prince, Princess and even Charlotte and the king-to-be, George. Oh, and there’s the King and Queen of Spain while in St. Augustine too. Jacksonville’s great First Baptist Church, has allowed for photos of famous pastors such as John MacArthur, John Philips, Adrian Rogers, Billy Graham, Franklin, his son and more. All being a witness to God’s greatness.

Boxes of labeled photos

History matters and Jacksonville, Florida has had the run of it. In recent months, I have wondered what in the world will happen to those pics going forward, so I’ve tried to organize them,  categorize them and put them in ABC order but it’s just not as simple as that. Certainly not if you have at the very minimum of many thousands of photographs. For example, there are 88,000 photos in my 2 terabyte Apple phone right now. (Really). (And I have photos of Apple’s co-founder, Steve Wozniak too.)

Filing system to get photos filed

Now, it must be said. I’m really a “wanna-be photographer.  I am not professional by any stretch.  I consider myself a historian, so some of my photos are simple basic shots and simple images of very famous people.

Being a witness to the lives of others is important. While I’ve taken pics of the famous, I keep up with my own family, the real heroes in my life and click away every chance I get. Also, it is important to write on the backs to document those events. Anyone finding those photos will know who those famous family members are one day.

What about you? Whose lives are you viewing on a day-to-day basis and are you saving their images for future family members and historians alike?  Tip of the day.  Put names, dates and places on the back of all photos. History fades with time so as you witness, document as well. 

See you tomorrow,

Nan

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March 18

The Karpeles Manuscript Library in Jacksonville

It has closed.  After 30 years in Jacksonville, the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum clicked the lock and will no longer service the Jacksonville area.  Karpeles manuscript library was begun by David Karpeles’.  He had a love for old documents and began a collection which ended up being placed in about a dozen libraries in the United States. 

Karpeles closing week. Grandson and I visited to find a metal detector scanning premises.

Jacksonville’s library was housed in the old 1921 building built by Marsh and Saxelbye once was used for First Church of Christ in Springfield. David Karpeles died in January of 2022. The Jacksonville location closed in January of 2023 as will others around the country while Karpeles’ daughter, Cheryl Alleman, and her brother, Mark Karpeles downsize and reorganize. It has been reported they will go from 15 manuscript libraries to 10 over time.

Manuscripts laying on the stage the week of closing.

For thirty years, Jacksonvillians and guests could visit and find rare and authentic documents such as the first printing of the Ten Commandments from the Gutenberg Bible (c 1455), the famous E=MC2 formula by Einstein, the original manuscript of Roget’s Thesaurus, the sheet music of the Wedding March, Abraham Lincoln’s signature of 1861, the Apollo Translunar trajectory plotting America’s space flight and more. Through the years manuscripts were transferred from one library to another rotating the authentic pieces so many could view them in glass cases.

East Coast founding c 1500’s
10 Commandments first printed by Gutenburg Press
Taxation without Representation document

The library opened in Jacksonville in 1992 and closed its doors here in January of 2023.  I am told there is a small library nearby that can be visited.  It is being touted as “the smallest walk-in-museum in the United States” and is located in the Nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine.

Mini Museum in St. Augustine, Florida-Opened 2023

You should check it out. I’m going to….

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Location:

St Augustine location for Karpeles Mini Museum-

St George’s Row- Unit L

106 St. George St.

St Augustine, Fl 32084

9:am-10:00 pm daily

FREE

Old location of the Jacksonville Karpeles-101 West 1st Street ( formerly 1116 North Laura Street)

August 20

Down in Wonderful Jacksonville

The Jacksonville Historical Society is in search of any information about a song that was sung on a PBS program “Your Town and Mine” in the 1960s.  According to Cynthia Lynn Conner, 3rd graders at the Chapell School sung the song at school. 

FB Screen shot

It is believed to have some connection to Jacksonville University.  Elizabeth Barrs Howard noted in Facebook comments that Margaret Vason Forester might know something as the host of the program.  Her maiden name at that time was Margaret Bloom. The HS indicates that she donated this score sheet to the Historical Society.

‘Anyone out there know anything of this song about “Wonderful Jacksonville” sheet of music or the program?  We would love to shed a little sunshine in the “land of sunshine”.

See you tomorrow,