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Pillow Sham

by | Artifact of the Month, Military and Homefront

Donated by Pam Redfern

During World War II, Private First Class (PFC) William C. “Bill” Lewis of Vale (Washington County) sent this souvenir pillow sham to Mrs. Ora Smith, a family friend and neighbor.

PFC Lewis trained at Camp Hood, Texas, and served with the 609th Tank Destroyer Battalion in the European theater. Camp Hood, now Fort Hood, was the training center for all tank destroyer forces. The 609th entered action on September 27th, 1944, at Moutiers, France, and remained in the theater through the end of the war. The logo in the center of the sham is the emblem for the United States tank destroyer forces.

Vale was located south of Fayetteville. Today the area is within the Fayetteville city limits, south of Baum Stadium near the intersection of Cato Springs Road and Razorback Road. The Vale post office was established August 27, 1901, and remained in operation until 1951. From 1887 until 1911, children in the Vale community attended a rural school named Dowell’s Chapel.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Beret

by | Artifact of the Month, Clothing and Accessories

Vera Key, 1920s. Bingham, photographer/Ada Lee Shook Collection (S-87-325-72)

Donated by Ada Lee Shook

Vera Key (1893-1987) was a civic leader in Rogers, Arkansas. Born at War Eagle (Benton County) and raised in Rogers, she served in the Army Nurses Corps in World War I and later worked as a nurse for noted author and humorist Tom Morgan of Rogers.

A descendant of two pioneer families of Benton County, the Blackburns and the Keys, Vera Key devoted her later years to historic preservation projects. She was active in the effort to establish Pea Ridge as a national military park and was the first chairperson of the commission that founded the Rogers Historical Museum.

Vera Key acquired many hats over the years, which would have been natural for a woman of her era involved in civic organizations. Several of her hats, including this one, came from the Lazarus Department Store in Cincinnati, Ohio. This circa 1945 simple olive green wool beret was made all the more distinctive with the addition of the cicada insect pin. A blue bead hat pin held the hat in place.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Iroquois Beadwork Frame

by | Artifact of the Month, Crafts, Household Goods

Gertie Copening at Hindsville (Madison County), 1940s. Jim Vaughan Collection (S-96-126-3)

Donated by Jim Vaughan

This decorative frame belong to Gertie Copening (1881-1962) of Hindsville (Madison County). The message on the postcard in the frame reads, “May Christmas peace keep winter from the heart.”

The frame is an example of Iroquois raised beadwork, a tradition originated by the Iroquois in western New York in the late 1700s. The beadwork became popular in the 1800s, when frames, pincushions, needle cases, and other items were sold as souvenirs and keepsakes at fairs, exhibitions, Wild West shows, and other venues. Contemporary artists continue this tradition of beadwork today.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Delco Battery Jar

by | Artifact of the Month, Household Goods, Technology

Donated by Truman Stamps

This Delco battery jar dates from the 1930s, before rural electrification came to the Ozarks. Many rural homes, farms, and small businesses produced their own electricity with a Delco-Light power system, which consisted of an engine powered by gasoline or kerosene, a generator, and a series of batteries. The batteries contained a corrosive mixture of acid and water and were stored in glass jars such as the one pictured here.

The Rural Electrification Administration was established in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was tasked with getting electricity to rural areas not served by public and private power companies. However, it was after World War II before many rural Arkansas Ozark families saw electricity brought to their homes and farms.

Artifact of the Month Archive

1888 Presidential Campaign Button

by | Artifact of the Month, Politics and Government

Donated by Dorothy Gill Leslie

Benjamin Harrison (left) and Levi Morton distributed badges like this during their 1888 campaign as the Republican nominees for president and vice president. They lost the popular vote by 90,000 but managed to beat President Grover Cleveland in the electoral college vote of 233 to 168.

This badge belonged to John Rees Gill He and his wife, Della Ahart Gill, lived for a time in the Madison County community of Pettigrew, where John Gill became the town’s first postmaster in 1898.

Artifact of the Month Archive