WVU Facilities has planned a steam outage for the Downtown Library and other downtown buildings for Monday and Tuesday, December 18 and 19. Consequently, the Downtown Library will be closed to the public for part of that time. The Library will be open Monday, December 18, from 8 a.m. to noon. It will be closed Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday, December 19. The Library will resume normal intersession hours – 8 a.m.-5 p.m. – on Wednesday, December 20. Please check the Libraries’ website for updated operating hours.
The diaries of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, showed that Civil War soldiers found many ways to cope with the stresses of army life (see A&M 4538). While many soldiers filled their time through socially and morally acceptable activities like letter writing and reading, soldiers also found entertainment through other means. Although war was a serious business, alcohol, gambling, and humor were ways for these men to break the tension, suffering, and death around them.
Often soldiers were found drinking liquor in camp.[1] One reporter noticed that upon pay day, soldiers immediately exchanged a portion of their pay for liquor. He noted with disgust how many soldiers were seen in the streets, “lying in the gutters, or on the doorsteps, in a state of beastly intoxication.”[2] The number of intoxicated men had also led to some violence in the form of riots. As noted in the previous post, Captain Johnson also commented with disgust when he encountered hundreds of intoxicated Union soldiers in Alexandria, clobbering and beating one another. He frequently commented upon the presence of alcohol in camp, among the men and his fellow officers, and the measures he and others took to keep them in line.
In February 1862, Johnson recounted how the regimental commander, Charles A. DeVilliers, became so exasperated with soldiers’ drunkenness that he ordered the alcohol in a nearby warehouse to be poured out and emptied in the town’s streets. Desperate soldiers soon found the “large puddles” of liquor and scooped up the alcohol into their canteens. DeVilliers ordered Johnson to station two soldiers to “guard the puddles.” Only an hour later, soldiers brought two drunken men to Johnson’s attention. Johnson saw that the one intoxicated man was one of the very same soldiers “I had stationed to keep others from drinking.”[3] The temptation had apparently become too great for him to resist.
(Above): “Camp Punishments–Too Fond of Whisky–Scene in the Army of the Mississippi.” Harper’s Weekly, June 28, 1862. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/89706337/.
However, as demonstrated with the Harper’s Weekly print (above), soldiers found in a state of intoxication could be subject to punishment. In this print, a soldier wears a barrel with writing that reads, “Too fond of whisky, forged an order on the surgeon.” Soldiers desperate for alcohol would go to desperate measures–however, they had to be willing to face the consequences, including possible humiliation and punishment in front of their comrades.
Gambling and card-playing could accompany drinking, serving as outlets to relieve the stresses of war for some soldiers. Johnson noted in late January 1862, “The boys say they have a very good time generally playing cards drinking whiskey.”[4] Soldiers grumbled when they were without the comforts of alcohol and cards to help them with the ruggedness and boredom of camp life. Some enlisted men complained to Johnson when he reprimanded them for playing cards after the playing of Taps at night. They argued that “the officers do it [play cards] and why not let them do the same.” Johnson noted that as he listened to his men’s complaints, his fellow officers were “playing [cards] in our quarters” that same moment.[5] The men bristled at the unfair double standard.
Johnson looked down upon officers who spent too much time in immoral activities and were an unfit example for their men. Johnson frequently commented on officers he disliked and who were too fond of alcohol or were corrupt. For example, he described the regimental quartermaster as a man who “knows as much about his business now as he ever will know,” implying in his following sentence that the quartermaster knew very little. He criticized the quartermaster as a man who “Pays a great deal of attention to drinking whiskey & running after wimmen [women,] playing card & C.” instead of his soldierly duties.[6] Whether Johnson confronted his officers directly or confined his commentary to his diary remains unknown.
(Above): “At an encampment at Petersburg, Virginia, soldiers of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry play cards in front of their tents during the Civil War.” Anchor: A North Carolina History Online Resource. https://www.ncpedia.org/media/civil-war-soldiers-playing
Soldiers also found clever and humorous ways to get what they wanted. In July 1862, Johnson had paid a local citizen for “huckel berries” and some coffee. However, once the man set down “several jugs of milk” and left them temporarily, Johnson took the milk for his own use and “in the inter time filled his jugs with water.” Upon his return, “he tried to sell his milk but of course the boys did not want to purchase” since they knew better.[7] Less than a month later, a Union soldier of Johnson’s regiment “dressed in a Butternut suit,” and accompanied by his comrades acting as “guards,” entered the home of a Confederate family, pretending that he was a Confederate prisoner. According to Johnson, “after hearing his tale the old woman & daughter just flew around to acomade [accommodate]” him and handed him “a good supply [of] some whiskey & wine.” The men were quite glad “that the delusion worked well.”[8]
Soldiers could be very daring in their pranks and put themselves in danger. In August 1863, one soldier thought it might be funny to provoke the Confederate soldiers on picket duty across the river. The Union soldier “was attending to a call of nature” and then “exhibited his posterior[,] asking them if they had ever saw a Yankee Gun Boat and if not to satisfy their curiosity by looking at his ass.” In response to this insult, the Confederates “immediately fired on him,” but he escaped safely, as “he laughingly got out of their range.”[9]
George Johnson’s diaries show that soldiers turned to different means to alleviate their burdens and enjoy themselves in spite of the danger. They could be clever and daring, intoxicated and unruly, and many other things. Johnson’s diary entries show the daily experiences of soldiers who often lived on the wild side.
For further information about George Johnson’s diaries, see A&M 4538.
[2] Quoted in R. Gregory Lande, Psychological Consequences of the Civil War (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc, 2017), 101. EBSCOhost Ebook.
[3] George W. Johnson, Feb 4, 1862, diary entry, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, West Virginia
and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
[4] Johnson, January 31, 1862, diary entry, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
[5] Johnson, June 30, 1862, diary entry, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
[6] Johnson, July 1, 1862, diary entry, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
[7] Johnson, July 21, 1862, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
[8] Johnson, August 13, 1862, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
[9] Johnson, August 23, 1863, A&M 4538, Civil War Diary Transcriptions and
Related Material of Captain George W. Johnson, 11th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
(Above) Arthur J. “Pete” Ballard, “Iris,” 2004, Oil on board. Arthur J. Ballard, Costume Artist and Curator, Papers, A&M 3869, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
West Virginian Arthur J. “Pete” Ballard (1931-2017) liked to paint with vivid colors, especially when it came to his many paintings of various flowers. His “Iris” painting shows his inclination towards bright colors, especially in his use of different shades of green. The white of the iris makes a sharp contrast to the vibrant green. The white petals, tinged in blue, indigo, and purple, draw the viewer into the life-like painting.
At a 2000 art exhibition, Pete Ballard remarked, “Occasionally, I’ve had my green backgrounds questioned,” as many of his paintings of flowers contain green settings. He found that other background colors never quite fit as well as he liked the color green. As he mulled over whether to use another color, he looked outside and saw green in everything alive, as “the hills were green, so were the trees; the grass was green, so were all the leaves. God used it. Why try to improve.”[1] Green was the color of life and energy, so Ballard decided to keep using green in his paintings, especially when it came to his paintings of flowers.
Pete Ballard used green to show the vibrant colors of nature and liked to paint the beauty and colorfulness of nature through his many flower paintings. As the weather (slowly) warms, one looks forward to the re-appearance of green and flowers as spring comes around the corner.
[1] Pete Ballard, “Memories and Mementos: A Collection of Paintings and Commentaries,” 2000, Box 2, “2000 Exhibition of My Paintings at Gertrude Smith House-Mt. Airy, NC.” Arthur J. Ballard, Costume Artist and Curator, Papers, A&M 3869, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
The Downtown Campus Library will host an opening reception for the West Virginia UniversityLibraries’ newest exhibit, “Looking at Morgantown,” on April 20 from 4-6 p.m. in Room 1020.
“Looking at Morgantown” showcases 24 photographs specific to Monongalia County and the people, places and events that represent the area by 18 regional professional and amateur photographers. The WVU Art in the Libraries Committee selected the images from more than 350 submissions.
The exhibit is in conjunction with “Looking at Appalachia: Selected Images from 2014-2016” currently on display at the DCL. “Looking at Appalachia” is an ongoing crowdsourced photography project created by West Virginia-based photographer Roger May as a response to media coverage and perceptions of Appalachia and the President Johnson’s War on Poverty.
The Downtown Campus Library will host two Wikipedia edit-a-thons in April. Both event are open to the public. Preregistration is not required, but people should bring a laptop.
The first is an Art + Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on April 13 from noon to 3 p.m. in room 104. The Art + Feminism edit-a-thon will focus on female artists in the collection of the WVU Museum. Participants will have the opportunity to write about and edit Wikipedia pages of female artists, painters, designers and dancers. Kelly Doyle, WVU Libraries’ Wikipedian in Residence for Gender Equity, will be available help individuals edit and create an account. For more information contact Sally Deskins, Libraries exhibits coordinator, at sbdeskins@mail.wvu.edu.
On April 19, from noon to 3 p.m., in Room 1036, students in the Women’s and Gender Studies capstone class are organizing a Women Innovators, Designers and Entrepreneurs Wikipedia Edit-a-thon. It will be held in conjunction with WVU’s Demo Day and Black Women’s History Month. For information on this event contact Kasi Jackson, associate professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, at kasi.jackson@mail.wvu.edu.
West Virginia UniversityLibraries will present Talking Publicly with Maggie Anderson, a reading and discussion, on April 4 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Downtown Campus Library’s Milano Reading Room. This free event, part of a celebration of National Poetry Month, is open to the public.
Anderson is a West Virginia-based poet and author of five books of poems, most recently “Dear All” (2017).
Following Anderson’s reading and talk, Dr. Judith Stitzel, WVU Professor Emerita of English and founding director of the WVU Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, will moderate a discussion on the role of poetry in contemporary society.
The speaker is Sarah LeMire, the First-Year Experience librarian at Texas A&M University and the co-author of Serving Those Who Served: Librarian’s Guide to Working with Veteran and Military Families. Before becoming a librarian, LeMire served in the U.S. Army as an Arabic linguist including a deployment to Iraq in 2005-2006.
A project exploring stereotypes and mass incarcerations will bring journalist Sylvia Ryerson to campus November 15 for multiple class visits and a public presentation in the Downtown Campus Library’s Milano Reading Room at 6 p.m.
Sylvia Ryerson
Ryerson’s presentation, “Public Airwaves through Prison Walls: Restoring Connection in the Era of Mass Incarceration,” will complement the visual perspective of The Divide, WVU Multimedia Producer and photojournalist Raymond Thompson’s exhibit of photographs on display in the Downtown Campus Library Atrium. Ryerson partnered with Thompson to document a 2015 trip by Virginian families as they drove together in a van from urban centers to rural Appalachian prisons to visit incarcerated loved-ones.
Raymond Thompson
“ ‘Restoring Connections’ showcases how art, journalism, and activism intersect to highlight topics of academic interest that have a direct impact on society; exactly the programming we are aiming to host in the libraries,” said Karen Diaz, interim dean of WVU Libraries. “Raymond’s photographs have been surrounding library users for months, bringing an awareness of the families impacted by incarceration. This program will fill out those photos with the stories of those affected and give us all a new perspective on the impacts of mass incarceration in our country. These sorts of conversations are essential to helping us shape the thoughtful democratic society we wish to create for ourselves.”
Events kick off Monday, Oct. 30, at noon with a presentation by Jaime Banks, professor of Communication Studies, and Ph.D. student Joe Wasserman, titled “Real Representations and Liminal Lessons: Considerations for Games in Learning” in Room 104.
Monday through Saturday, Oct. 30-Nov. 4 – Take a break from work or study to play arcade games provided by local Star Port Arcade and Pub in Room 1036.
Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. in Room 104 – A panel of WVU instructors (Banks; Mark Benincosa, School of Music; Dr. Bob Britten, Reed College of Media; and Dr. Brian Ballentine, Professional Writing and Editing) will discuss how they use games and gamification in their teaching and research. Librarian Jing Qiu will facilitate. Following the panel, instructors are invited to participate in a noon workshop on gamifying lesson plans featuring lunch provided by Lotsa Motsa.
Thursday, Nov. 2, from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., in Room 2036 – Cartridges Galore Video Games will provide an on-site open gaming station for users to play with for free.
Friday, Nov. 3, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m., in Room 2036 – The WVU Student Game Developers Club will have an open showcase of games they designed.
Saturday, Nov. 4, from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. – Family Day offers a casual community game extravaganza that includes lessons for beginners for all kinds of games, giveaways, competitive tournaments, open play, live WVU Jeopardy and an appearance by real Jeopardy star and Morgantown resident Leigh Limerick. College of Creative Arts Professor Jeffrey Moser’s game design class will display Breakout Storytelling. Four Horsemen Comics and Games and Star Port Arcade is giving out free prizes. Visitors can learn and play Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, board games and more.
Attendees are encouraged to use social media and tag #wvulibraries or #wvugamesweek to celebrate the fun.
International Games Week has been celebrated in 53 countries and territories on all 7 continents. Hundreds of libraries across the country will join WVU in celebrating the popularity and educational, recreational and social value of games. For more information, contact Sally Deskins, Libraries Exhibits and Programs Coordinator, sbdeskins@mail.wvu.edu or Beth Toren, Interdisciplinary, Cultural and Film Studies Librarian/Games Week coordinator, beth.toren@mail.wvu.edu.
The Libraries are testing a new electronic resource this fall. The Vanderbilt Television Archives – available on a trial basis through December 25th – provides a searchable index of television news broadcasts back to 1968. Researchers can use this resource identify television news programs and segments that document important world events.
Video from CNN is available online through the Archives web site. All other broadcasts (ABC, CBS, etc.) can be borrowed – either in customized compilation of video clips or entire broadcasts. Lending is direct to individuals, who must pay the associated fees for the service.
RefWorks, available from the WVU Libraries web site, will help you format bibliographies, store and organize research, and share references with colleagues or classmates. RefWorks is free to all WVU faculty, students, and staff. Begin by clicking on the RefWorks button at: www.libraries.wvu.edu/.
RefWorks is the leading citation management software on the Internet. It is used by hundreds of thousands of researchers to organize their references and to prepare bibliographies and in-text citations when submitting articles to academic publications. It is accessible – 24/7 – from any computer with Internet access.
When you use RefWorks, you will find preparing the bibliography for the next paper or article you write to be fast and easy. And, if you are collaborating with colleagues at other institutions or with classmates, RefWorks makes it simple to share your references.
Easy-to-follow tutorials and a quick start guide are available on the RefWorks home page. If you need more help, you can always Ask A Librarian— by phone, email, or IM chat.
Another Tale of Two Cities
Un autre conte de deux villes
a documentary by Michelle Gales
The transformation of two neighborhoods, the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris
and Spitalfields-Whitechapel in London
Now & Then Productions
Screening Thursday September 7 at 5:30 PM
Downtown Campus Library
Room 104
Followed by Discussion with the Director
Another Tale of Two Cities invites you to be the detective, looking for clues in the images, the signs of change. And to be something of an archaeologist, too. These streets have a story to tell. And they are full of History: the French Revolutions of 1789, 1830, 1848 and the Paris Commune, John Wikes, French Huguenots and Jewish refugees. London Docklands, the Labour Movement and the famous East End solidarity. In fact, Another Tale of Two Cities, does not follow a traditional storyline, but an itinerary: three passages between these two cities.
Your next trip to the library might be a little quicker. New self-checkout stations at the Downtown Campus and Evansdale libraries allow users to avoid long lines when checking out materials.
This new option, 3M’s SelfCheck, is similar to using a self-checkout at the grocery store. Simply touch the screen and animated instructions guide you through the process.
“It’s a nice alternative for those days when the lines are two or three people deep and you just need to check out a book,” said Mary Strife, Evansdale Library Director and circulation policy committee chair. “This is a fast way to get it done and go.”
Watch gangster, blaxploitation, western, and slasher films in the library.
The WVU Libraries are offering a new online course this fall called ULIB493: Film and Media Literacy. ULIB is a new designation for library courses. This is a fun and easy three credit course that students in many majors will enjoy. For example, students in Journalism, Communications, History, Theater, Art, English, Education, Liberal Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies, Sociology, and anyone who likes movies will increase their knowledge of film and film criticism by participating in this class. This course is taught online and students will watch films online and on Reserve in the Media Services Department of the Downtown Library, so they can do the work for the course at any time during the week.
Students will learn about media literacy and become informed film consumers in this course. They will learn film vocabulary and criticism, and how to use two online databases to find comprehensive film information. Students will study four film genres, Gangster films, Blaxploitation films, Westerns, and Slasher films. The final project is a film review of a movie they select from their genre of choice. To learn more about the course, visit the web page at: https://lib.wvu.edu/instruction/classes/ulib300/.
By WILLIAM JARRETT
For the Wheeling Sunday News-Register
MORGANTOWN — As the years pass, the condition of memorable pictures in the West Virginia Regional History Collection has declined.
That’s why Regional History Collection Curator and Director John Cuthbert and his staff decided to make the historic pictures available online through a digital photograph database called West Virginia History OnView. The Regional History Collection is located in West Virginia University’s Wise Library.
Main Street in Wheeling, West Virginia is underwater because of the huge flood of 1936.
Photo provided by the West Virginia Regional History Collection
The database will consist of the collection of West Virginia and regional historic photographs dating from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century. The photographs vary from scenes of the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers to events such as the great Wheeling flood of 1936.
Although most students rarely venture away from the first floor computer terminals in the Downtown Library Complex, Wise Library, the university’s original library before adding on, is actually home to a rather impressive selection of books. In addition to the characteristic selection of literature and scholastic texts, the collection is also attractive for those interested in old and rare books from all over the world.
Located on the sixth floor, the Rare Books Room contains a plethora of valuable texts that have either been donated to the library from outside sources or relocated from the main collection.
Construction on Eliza’s, a coffee shop planned for the fourth floor of the Downtown Campus Library, is scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 31, at midnight. The project is expected to be completed by mid-February.
A construction crew will be working from midnight-9 a.m. Oct. 31 through Thanksgiving break. During this time, half-walls will be installed to separate the coffee area from the rest of the fourth floor.
Students will be able to study on the fourth floor. However, they may experience some noise from construction.
The West Virginia and Regional History Collection is now open for research during four additional hours each week. The collection is now open Tuesday evenings from 5pm – 9pm.
They offer full service during this period, including reference and access to restricted materials such as manuscripts, recordings, microfilm, etc.
The new hours are:
Mon-Sat 10am – 5pm
Tues 5pm – 9pm
The West Virginia and Regional History Collection is located on the sixth floor of the Charles C. Wise, Jr. Library, accessible through the Downtown Campus Library. It contains the largest collection of West Virginia materials in existence.
Sip on this. WVU students and employees will soon be able to enjoy a latte at the library.
Plans are in place to construct a coffee shop, complete with Starbucks products and food items, in the bay window area on the fourth floor of the Downtown Campus Library.
Construction on Eliza’s is set to begin Nov. 1 and should be completed by mid-February, Student Body President D.J. Casto announced during the Oct. 12 student Board of Governors meeting.
The coffee shop is named after Eliza J. Skinner, the first professionally trained librarian at WVU. She served as library director from 1897 until 1902, when she accepted a position with the Library of Congress.
Casto said the area will be large enough to seat 45 people, feature café-style tables and chairs and blend into the library’s existing decor.
Daily Athnaeum October 13, 2005
By Jessica Soccorsi
Staff Writer
For students who like to spend a few extra hours studying, the Den will no longer be the only source for up-all-night coffee. Soon they will be able to grab a latte at the Downtown Library Complex.
Recently, plans were finalized on the construction of a new coffee shop, which will be added into the fourth floor bay window area.
Due to open in mid-February, the coffee shop, which will be known as Eliza’s, will serve Starbucks products and an assortment of different food items.
