Browse Items (8023 total)

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  Materials related to the 1819 Alabama constitution.

  Produced as part of the Alabama sesquicentennial celebration, the packet includes a flier for Constitution Hall, a copy of the signatures from the 1819 constitution, a brief historical sketch, a list of the delegates to the constitutional convention, and the lyrics to the state song.
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  Report from the Alabama sesquicentennial celebration held in Huntsville, Alabama.

  This report was written by Frederic F. Mellen of Jackson, Mississippi. Mellen was a descendant of Arthur F. Hopkins, a Lawrence County delegate to the 1819 constitutional convention. Mellen recounts his experience at the sesquicentennial events on August 2, 1969, including the birthday luncheon and the ceremony commemorating the signing of the 1819 constitution. He notes that "it is pleasing to see and realize how Huntsville has grown, and that now it is a vast educational and scientific research and development center."
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  Reproduction of a two dollar note issued by the Huntsville Hotel Company in Huntsville, Alabama.

  The note was reproduced by Henderson National Bank in Huntsville as part of Alabama's sesquicentennial celebration in 1969. The reverse of the bill shows the sesquicentennial logo and an ad for the Huntsville Coin Show.
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  Program from the Alabama sesquicentennial statehood stamp first day of issue ceremony.

  The program includes remarks from Huntsville Mayor Joe Davis, Rep. Bob Jones of the 8th Congressional District, Sen. John Sparkman, and other dignitaries from Huntsville and around Alabama.
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  World War I diary of Don Betsinger.

  Betsinger served in the U.S. Army during World War I. Born on March 5, 1900, he was from Chicago, Illinois and enlisted as a private in the 12th Field Artillery in 1917. He embarked for France from Hoboken, New Jersey in early January 1918. The diary appears to include letters to his family and is missing many pages. The entries include opinions about the war, observations of fellow soldiers, and experiences in combat, including discussion of heavy shelling and mustard gas during the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918. Many of the descriptions are graphic in nature. Betsinger survived the war and later moved to Monte Vista, Colorado, where he operated the Triangle Tourist Camp in the 1940s. His wife, Elda Aden Betsinger, was a public school teacher. He died in San Diego, California in January 1980.
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  News clippings announcing new citizenship for a group of German teenagers living in Huntsville, Alabama.

  The members of the group were all children of German engineers who were brought to the United States under Operation Paperclip. The clippings include photos of the group with their new immigration registration cards.
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  Ballou Ballyhoo, vol. 9, issue 2, May 24, 1947.

  This newsletter was produced by the crew of the USAT General C.C. Ballou and includes information about services onboard, ship terminology, and news bulletins. The family of William A. Mrazek, an engineer who was already in the United States at Fort Bliss, Texas, immigrated from Germany to the United States on the Ballou. The newsletter was produced in both English and German.
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  German national identity card issued to Berta Mrazek.

  This German identity card, or Personalausweis, was issued to Berta Mrazek at Nestomitz, Germany (now Neštěmice, Czech Republic) in 1941. The card includes a photograph of Mrazek and her daughter Ursula.
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  Engineers at Peenemünde, Germany.

  From left to right, the photograph shows Oscar Holderer, Mayerhöfer, Gerhard W. Kraus, Nimz, William A. Mrazek, and Kurt Patt.
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  Group of engineers, probably at Peenemünde, Germany.

  From left to right, the photograph shows William A. Mrazek, Arthur Kröger, unidentified, Gerhard W. Kraus, and Kurt Patt.