Exhibit pages and legacy exhibits
Featured exhibits:
Legacy online exhibits created by the WCSU Archives, its students, volunteers and staff… 2012-2025
The WestConn Archives' digital exhibits formerly served from https://archives.library.wcsu.edu/omeka/exhibits are now served from this site.
We have tried to capture all the functionality of these exhibit pages, however, some links will be broken; snapshots of all our exhibits are also viewable via the Wayback Machine which may sometimes provide a more accurate approximation of the exhibit's original functionality. Here is a snapshot from late 2024: https://web.archive.org/web/20241203012648/https://archives.library.wcsu.edu/omeka/exhibits
Legacy exhibits:
World War II in Life Magazine Advertisements
- The entry of the United States into WWII demanded the mobilization of virtually all of American society, and civilian support for the war effort was crucial to achieving victory. This exhibit demonstrates the role of corporate advertising toward that end using advertisements which appeared in LIFE Magazine *, perhaps the most popular magazine of the time. The exhibit also highlights some of the artists whose work formed a crucial part of the advertisements’ messages. * LIFE Magazine (ISSN 0024-3019) was published by Time Inc. The following are scans from the physical copies owned by Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) and are displayed here in compliance with fair use restrictions. WCSU claims no rights to the materials; reproduction of these items and other uses must be obtained from the rights holder and not WCSU.
WestConn's First African-American Students
- It would not be until the late 1960s that the composition of college and university student body populations began to numerically reflect the African-American populations around them in the U.S. In a 1969 photograph in the WCSU Archives, members of the then newly-formed Afro-American Club can be seen giving the Black Power fist salute for their yearbook photo, signaling an overt change in the culture at WestConn; however, earlier in the century, the educational possibilities were quite different for those Afro-American Club members’ parents and grandparents. The population of African-Americans was small in Danbury in the early 1900s; in 1895, there were only 14 registered births in the City of Danbury of persons listed as "black" under race. Furthermore, based on photographic evidence, a very small number of that small community entered Danbury High School in the early decades of the 20th century. Yet, standing in the back row of the 1906 senior class picture for the Danbury Normal…
Turning over a New Leaf: Identification of a Medieval Manuscript Leaf
- Manuscripts started to become popular in Europe beginning, roughly, in the 8th century AD. (An example of an 8th century Irish manuscript, courtesy of the Bodleian Library, is available below). Used mostly for religous purposesby the churchand its adherents, the most common types of manuscripts were bibles, books of hours, and other liturgical texts. Due to several factors, not all manuscripts survive intact into the present day; sometimes only a page survives, as is the case here at WestConn. But how much can we learn from a single page from a medieval manuscript? The short answer: more than I thought. The long answer: There are some basic methods that can be utilized for document identification in general. To investigate our specific leaf, we knew that there were some things the physical object could tell us, other things that we could infer or suppose, and other things we may never know for sure.
- While "Old Main" is WestConn's oldest and probably most iconic building, its interior and uses have changed considerably over the last century. For many years it was the college's only or main building (hence the name Old Main) and its original design answered the multiple needs that had to be met by a single facility. This exhibit aims to bring to light some aspects of this building now no longer visible to most visitors.
Plumbing the Depths: Candlewood Lake
- The creation and maintenance of the area’s large man-made lake.
Phrenologists, Pseudoscience & The Danbury Octagon House
- The city of Danbury’s quest to preserve a singular architectural landmark of the city’s mid-19th century history will be celebrated when Western Connecticut State University presents a special exhibit highlighting the 160-year-old Octagon House and Orson Squire Fowler, whose 1848 book inspired its construction.
- This is a book of children's music with original melodies written by students in the Danbury Normal School's class of 1925. Each piece of music, most of which are based on Mother Goose rhymes, is accompanied by an original woodcut illustration. Renderings of the melody lines were created by our special projects adjunct archivist, Ann Victor. For a better representation of this book, please consult: https://archives.library.wcsu.edu/omeka-s/s/digital/item-set/1737.
- This exhibit is currently physically on display in the Haas Library Atrium until May 2022. "By the mid-20th century, an increasing segment of the menu trade had evolved into a well-defined marketing tool. Designs were produced with the consumer in mind, and food items were strategically placed in a specific hierarchy to attract the attention of the customer and to sell. In the latter part of the 20th century, menu engineering became a science, especially when corporations took over a section of the food service industry. The appearance of fast food outlets and chain restaurants tempered the creative menu and at times eliminated it." Heimann, Jim, Steven. Heller, and John F. Mariani. Menu Design in America : A Visual and Culinary History of Graphic Styles and Design 1851-985. Köln: Taschen, 2011. The Archive and Special Collections Library at WestConn has a modest collection of menus and cookbooks that are highlighted in this exhibit. Our menus from all over the United States date…
HIS 298 - The Socialist Party of America in Connecticut's Past
- This exhibit reveals the significant social and political legacy of the Socialist Party in Connecticut during the half-century 1900-1950. The project challenges audiences to broaden their understanding of socialism in the state's past by revealing the mainstream victories of Socialist Party candidates Jasper McLevy, mayor of Bridgeport for nearly a quarter-century (1933-1953) and Frederic Cole Smedley. Local newspaper clippings and voting records tell the story of socialism's rise to significance in the state's political arena. The extreme language and passionate oration associated with the Socialist Party is explored through a look at active socialist-communist John Mihelic's unpublished political poetry. Mihelic was also an enthusiastic collector of socialist “propaganda,” saving numerous English-language publications ranging from the 1909 to 1924. The International Socialist Reviews offers a glimpse into the impassioned imagery used by the movement’s proponents...
Florence L. Anderson Scrapbook
- Florence Lovisa Anderson (known to her classmates as “Flop”) was born in 1910 to Emil and Jennie Anderson who had emigrated to Naugatuck, CT from Sweden in 1901. Florence would live most of her 92 years in Naugatuck. Upon graduation from Naugatuck High School, she enrolled in the Danbury Normal School in 1928 where she became the president of the Cooperative Government Association (the precursor to the Student Government Association). According to the meeting minutes she oversaw debates over student standards and conduct, designs for class rings, the number of days in the school year (DNS was only in session 180 days while the State mandated 183), and the theft of a valuable fountain pen. Anderson and her classmates (including Davida Blakeslee Foy) documented their adventures in scrapbooks that are both held by the WCSU Archives. Anderson inscribed Blakeslee Foy’s scrapbook with this short verse: When he puts his arms around you And he looks into your eye When he tells you that he…
- Danbury’s Federal Correctional Institution (F.C.I.) has been a fixture of this region for more than 80 years. Few remember that it at first was home to many political prisoners and conscientious objectors during and after World War Two. Most recall the high profile prisoners incarcerated there, including members of the Hollywood Ten (filmmakers and screenwriters alleged to have had ties to the Communist Party), Father Berrigan, Reverend Moon, Martha Stewart and Orange is the New Black. This exhibit will touch on some of the persons who resided at Danbury F.C.I but will focus on the placement of the prison in 1938 among the hills overlooking the newly created Candlewood Lake (created in 1929) and the economic exigency that made its construction a near necessity in Depression-Era Danbury. Additionally, we’ll show that the construction was not without its detractors. The prison has also had an off and on and semi-official relationship with WestConn over the years, which is explored with…
Danbury Redevelopment Appraisals
- The redevelopment of downtown area in the late 1950’s began as a direct result of the disastrous floods that struck the city in August and October 1955 and the subsequent efforts at flood control and revitalization. This exhibit concentrates on one specific focus of those redevelopment efforts, the appraisal of the residential and commercial properties in the proposed area of redevelopment. It also highlights the life and career of one of the two experts selected to perform those appraisals, Robert N. Noce, a long time Danbury resident and business, political and community leader.
Class of 1911, 20th Reunion Scrapbook
- The Danbury Normal School class of 1911 was very active after graduation. In 1932 the organizers of their 20th reunion sent out surveys to all graduates. These surveys asked graduates about their life after graduation, their families, and whether they had a good camera they'd be willing to bring to the reunion. Respondents were also encouraged to send back photos of their family. The responses were collected into this scrapbook.
Artifacts of the Women's Suffrage Movement
- 2019 marks the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment (ratified by the Congress in 1919 - by the states in 1920) which made it a woman's constitutional right to vote. This is a virtual look at materials that are currently on display in the atrium of the Haas Library until 2020. WestConn was founded (1903) as the debate over whether women should have the right to vote was reaching its zenith. In fact, WestConn was established to train teachers, at first all women, in order to fulfill the State's mandates for public education. Partly, it was women like the students at WestConn who were employed outside the home that exposed the hypocrisy of excluding half of the voting-age-population from full citizenship, while relying on that unrepresented half's labor to fuel the economy. The following exhibit is a sampling of some of the items in the WCSU Archives that illuminate this pivotal period from the 1890s until the early 1920s. Though women's struggle for the right to vote…
100 Years Since the First World War
- This exhibit features three cases of material from the archives’ collection. From political cartoons to memorials, the pieces included in this exhibit provide a fascinating glimpse into America during the First World War. Woodrow Wilson in August of 1914: “The effect of the war upon the United States will depend upon what American citizens say and do. Every man who really loves America will act and speak in the true spirit of neutrality, which is the spirit of impartiality and fairness and friendliness to all concerned. The spirit of the Nation in this critical matter will be determined largely by what individuals and society and those gathered in public meetings do and say, upon what newspapers and magazines contain, upon what ministers utter in their pulpits, and men proclaim as their opinions on the street… The people of the United States are drawn from many nations, and chiefly from the nations now at war. It is natural and inevitable that there should be the…
- The planning of this exhibition began in the fall of 2021 when Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) agreed to temporarily house a collection of ~450 lantern slides created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1933 and 1942. These slides were previously in the possession of the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). A CCSU Graduate student had been scanning these pre-pandemic in preparation for their transfer to the State Archive. Karen Keeler ('22) and I scanned what was left and used this digitization project as the basis of my Janick Fellowship research project. Through this exhibition, in addition to the scanning, we wanted to identify the purpose of these lantern slides, demonstrate the need for digital preservation, and show how these slides relate to Connecticut during the Great Depression. Though few know it, the impact of the C.C.C. work in this State is still evident today in many of our State Parks and…
- This is the Western Connecticut State University Vietnam Oral History Exhibit. The project was started in the Fall Semester of 2016 as a part of a History 494 Senior Honors research seminar. The exhibit is a compilation of oral histories provided by Vietnam War veterans. These interviews capture the personal experiences of men and women who served during the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The digital exhibit is an ongoing project which will be continued by Western students who conduct oral history interviews of Vietnam Veterans.
Nō Masks; From the Truman Warner Anthropological Collection
- In the 8th century, a Chinese performance art called Nong (能 skill/craft) made its way to Japan. Nong often consisted of acrobats, jesters, and jugglers, and could rightly be described as a form of circus. In Japan, this art was dubbed Sarugaku (猿楽monkey music) and eventually absorbed a number of other traditional Japanese crafts, which were already popular with the peasants and nobles alike. In the Muromachi period (1336-1573), Sarugaku became divided into two separate art forms, the one being Nō(能 skill/talent), and the other being Kyōgen (狂言 wild words). While Nō is characterized by an emotional gravity,Kyōgen is distinctly comedic in nature. In the late 1300s, the actor, playwright, and musician Kan'ami, along with his son Zeami, are credited with having formalized Nō theater. They set down the stylistic, theoretical, and practical guidelines of the art; guidelines which have gone almost untouched for 700 years.