Christmas in April: American National Red Cross Christmas Seals

By Jason Clingerman Starting in 1907, the American National Red Cross (ANRC) began selling Christmas Seals in an effort to raise money to combat tuberculosis. The seals resembled postage stamps, and could be collected or used on holiday correspondence. 1914 Christmas Seal The first year of sales, 1907, only generated $3,000 towards tuberculosis. However, successive … Continue reading Christmas in April: American National Red Cross Christmas Seals

Little Poland en la Hacienda

By Robin Waldman This post was originally published on 4/22/2011. Text Message Blog Editors updated this post on 04/27/2023. Polish refugees perform an Easter pageant in the Mexican sunshine. From 1943 to 1946, Colonia Santa Rosa in Guanajuato, Mexico was the site of a US-government sponsored home for Polish refugees. About 240 miles northwest of Mexico … Continue reading Little Poland en la Hacienda

The Navy Deck Logs: Personal Connection

Today's post is written by student technician Robert Finch. While working on the Navy Deck Logs (RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel) project I called my uncle and asked him which ships his father-in-law, “Mr. W.”, served on during World War II. “Mr. W.” was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 … Continue reading The Navy Deck Logs: Personal Connection

Foreign Service Friday! The Official-Informal Letter

Today’s post is written by archivist David Langbart, who works primarily with diplomatic records. Researchers who use Department of State records may be interested to know a bit more about the types of documents used by Foreign Service Posts to communicate with the Department of State.  This is the fifth, and final, in a series … Continue reading Foreign Service Friday! The Official-Informal Letter

Civil Records at Archives I

By T. Juliette Arai "What records do you have here?" is a common question we are asked everyday at Archives I (AI) in Washington, DC.  This post -- Part 3 of a 3-part series -- provides a brief description of the civilian agency records one can find in DC.  Part 1, Army [records at AI], and … Continue reading Civil Records at Archives I

Foreign Service Friday! The Operations Memorandum

Today’s post is written by archivist David Langbart, who works primarily with diplomatic records. Researchers who use Department of State records may be interested to know a bit more about the types of documents used by Foreign Service Posts to communicate with the Department of State. This is the fourth in a series of postings … Continue reading Foreign Service Friday! The Operations Memorandum