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Pillow Sham

by | Artifact of the Month, Military and Homefront

Donated by Norman and Elsie Young

During World War II, souvenir pillow shams were popular gifts sent from soldiers to family and friends back home. This sham boasts a golden castle in the upper left hand corner, the symbol for the Army Corps of Engineers. In the upper right corner, the blue star on a red and white background is a symbol used by the Army Service Forces from March 9, 1942 through June 11, 1946. The large symbol in the center of the sham represents Fort Leonard Wood’s Engineer Replacement Training Center. The phrase “Victoria Ex Scientia” means “Victory from Knowledge.”

Norman Young (1913-1989) was born near the Madison County community of Wesley. He enlisted in the Army in 1943, trained at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, and served with the Army Corps of Engineers. Young’s overseas tour of duty took him to Italy.

PFC Norman Young was discharged from service on October 17, 1945. He returned home to Northwest Arkansas, married Elsie Cress, and worked as a custodian at the University of Arkansas.

Donated by Norman and Elsie Young

During World War II, souvenir pillow shams were popular gifts sent from soldiers to family and friends back home. This sham boasts a golden castle in the upper left hand corner, the symbol for the Army Corps of Engineers. In the upper right corner, the blue star on a red and white background is a symbol used by the Army Service Forces from March 9, 1942 through June 11, 1946. The large symbol in the center of the sham represents Fort Leonard Wood’s Engineer Replacement Training Center. The phrase “Victoria Ex Scientia” means “Victory from Knowledge.”

Norman Young (1913-1989) was born near the Madison County community of Wesley. He enlisted in the Army in 1943, trained at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, and served with the Army Corps of Engineers. Young’s overseas tour of duty took him to Italy.

PFC Norman Young was discharged from service on October 17, 1945. He returned home to Northwest Arkansas, married Elsie Cress, and worked as a custodian at the University of Arkansas.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Bustle

by | Artifact of the Month, Clothing and Accessories

Donated by Annabel Searcy

Bustles were used mainly in the mid-to-late nineteenth century to expand and support the back of a woman’s dress. This “Taylor’s Cushion No. 2” woven wire bustle dates from the early 1900s, fairly late in the lifespan of these padded undergarments. By the early 1910s, the bustle had been replaced by the long corset which shaped more of the body then just the back of the dress.

View Henry H. Taylor’s 1900 bustle patent.

Artifact of the Month Archive
Taylor;s No. 2 Bustle
Taylor;s No. 2 Bustle

Donated by Annabel Searcy

Bustles were used mainly in the mid-to-late nineteenth century to expand and support the back of a woman’s dress. This “Taylor’s Cushion No. 2” woven wire bustle dates from the early 1900s, fairly late in the lifespan of these padded undergarments. By the early 1910s, the bustle had been replaced by the long corset which shaped more of the body then just the back of the dress.

View Henry H. Taylor’s 1900 bustle patent.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Emerson “Patriot” Radio

by | Artifact of the Month, Technology

Donated by Ada Lee Shook

This radio belonged to the Carl Smith family of Fayetteville.

In 1940, with U. S. involvement in World War II on everyone’s mind, Emerson Radio and Phonograph Company and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes came out with the “Patriot” radio in red, white, and blue colors. The cabinet is made of catalin, a type of plastic similar to bakelite. Patriots retailed for $24.95.

Artifact of the Month Archive
Emerson "Patriot" Radio
Emerson "Patriot" Radio

Donated by Ada Lee Shook

This radio belonged to the Carl Smith family of Fayetteville.

In 1940, with U.S. involvement in World War II on everyone’s mind, Emerson Radio and Phonograph Company and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes came out with the “Patriot” radio in red, white, and blue colors. The cabinet is made of catalin, a type of plastic similar to bakelite. Patriots retailed for $24.95.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Pencil Box

by | Artifact of the Month, Education

This pencil box belonged to Claud McCuistion of Rogers, who died in November 1919 at the age of thirteen due to injuries sustained in a runaway wagon accident. He is buried in Fayetteville’s Mount Comfort Cemetery in Fayetteville.

The contents of the pencil box are as Claud left them.

Artifact of the Month Archive

This pencil box belonged to Claud McCuistion of Rogers, who died in November 1919 at the age of thirteen due to injuries sustained in a runaway wagon accident. He is buried in Fayetteville’s Mount Comfort Cemetery in Fayetteville.

The contents of the pencil box are as Claud left them.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Odd Fellows Ribbon

by | Artifact of the Month, Organizations

This ribbon was worn by the Past Grand (a position similar to past president) of Springdale’s Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) New Era Lodge #36. The ribbon is reversible, with a red and black side. The red side was worn when attending lodge functions such as state meetings. The black side, shown here, was worn to the funeral of a brother Odd Fellow.

The IOOF is a worldwide fraternal organization whose history in the United States goes back hundreds of years. The first IOOF lodge in America was founded in Baltimore in 1819. The mission of the IOOF is “to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”

Springdale’s New Era Lodge #36 donated their historic meeting hall and its contents to the Shiloh Museum in 2005. Constructed in 1871, the building was originally shared by the Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church, the Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the local Masonic Lodge. The Springdale lodge became owner of the building in 1935.

Artifact of the Month Archive

This ribbon was worn by the Past Grand (a position similar to past president) of Springdale’s Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) New Era Lodge #36. The ribbon is reversible, with a red and black side. The red side was worn when attending lodge functions such as state meetings. The black side, shown here, was worn to the funeral of a brother Odd Fellow.

The IOOF is a worldwide fraternal organization whose history in the United States goes back hundreds of years. The first IOOF lodge in America was founded in Baltimore in 1819. The mission of the IOOF is “to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”

Springdale’s New Era Lodge #36 donated their historic meeting hall and its contents to the Shiloh Museum in 2005. Constructed in 1871, the building was originally shared by the Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church, the Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the local Masonic Lodge. The Springdale lodge became owner of the building in 1935.

Artifact of the Month Archive

Halloween Accessories

by | Artifact of the Month, Holidays

Donated by Susan and Orville Hall Jr.

1930s Halloween tambourine and hatThis tin tambourine and crepe paper party hat date to the late 1930s or early 1940s. The tambourine was made by Kirchhof, a company in Newark, New Jersey, that specialized in small metal toys, noisemakers, seasonal ornaments, and other novelties. The hat is probably homemade.  The sides are held together with staples and the black bow on the top is secured by thin wire.

Orville Hall Jr. was born in 1935 in Fayetteville to Orville Sr., an agricultural and business economics professor at the University of Arkansas, and Janie Haigh Hall. Orville Jr. was an only child who lovingly cared for his toys, many of which he and his wife, Susan, have donated to the Shiloh Museum. He remembers wearing masks and hats at Halloween, and believes that the tambourine came from a Halloween party long, long ago.

 

Artifact of the Month Archive

Donated by Susan and Orville Hall Jr.

This tin tambourine and crepe paper party hat date to the late 1930s or early 1940s. The tambourine was made by Kirchhof, a company in Newark, New Jersey, that specialized in small metal toys, noisemakers, seasonal ornaments, and other novelties. The hat is probably homemade.  The sides are held together with staples and the black bow on the top is secured by thin wire.

Orville Hall Jr. was born in 1935 in Fayetteville to Orville Sr., an agricultural and business economics professor at the University of Arkansas, and Janie Haigh Hall. Orville Jr. was an only child who lovingly cared for his toys, many of which he and his wife, Susan, have donated to the Shiloh Museum. He remembers wearing masks and hats at Halloween, and believes that the tambourine came from a Halloween party long, long ago.

Artifact of the Month Archive