UNK Archives
banner
unkarchives.bsky.social
UNK Archives
@unkarchives.bsky.social
Official account for the University of Nebraska at Kearney Archives and Special Collections. All things #archives, especially #HistEd
Pinned
Welcome, new followers! We're the University of Nebraska at Kearney Archives & Special Collections. Besides institutional history, we focus on
- central and western #Nebraska
- history of education #HistEd

We also have lots from Nebraskans abroad as well as Great Plains #HistSciMed

#archives
If you're in Nebraska and looking for a fun activity this coming Sunday, February 1, join us at Kearney's World Theatre at 6pm. We're showing Race, followed by a discussion on some of its key themes. #archives #Events #Nebraska
January 28, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Reposted by UNK Archives
Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.
January 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM
We hear that a lot of our American followers got just a little bit of winter weather. Here's a 1910s shot of the Administration Building, sporting about as much snow as we currently have. #Archives #Snow
January 26, 2026 at 2:56 PM
138 years ago today, the Blizzard of 1888, also called the Schoolhouse Blizzard, hit #Nebraska. A fast-moving storm dropped temps from abt 30F to -40F, with high winds and powdery snow. It stranded many. Teacher Minnie Freeman's story was turned into song:
openspaces.unk.edu/spec-coll/10/ #archives
Song of the Great Blizzard : "Thirteen were saved" : or, Nebraska's fearless maid
Song based on the story of Miss Minnie Freeman, a teacher who saved 13 children during the Schoolhouse Blizzard of 1888. From the introduction: Miss Minnie Freeman, the plucky little school teacher at...
openspaces.unk.edu
January 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Bells are ringing. We're not sure whether the bells are supposed to be Christmas bells or wedding bells - this page is from the Arthur White/Irma Higgins album, and Arthur drew a loooooot of kissing pictures, so we're leaning towards wedding but same difference. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Bells
December 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
On the Great Plains, festive clothes need to be warm. We love these pics of people in their fancy, warm best. They're from a primarily-1920s photo album from a Nebraska teacher who worked in Wyoming and western Nebraska. #FestiveClothes #ArchiveAdventCalendar #fashion #archives
December 12, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Despite the U.S.'s looming entry into World War II, on campus, Christmas 1941 was filled with various activities. They held a Nativity play, parties, dances, and more. If this newspaper article looks a little different, you're right! It was printed with blue ink. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Nativity
December 9, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Cookies are a perpetual favorite #FestiveFood. When we had home ec, the students hosted a Christmas Tea, complete with booklets of international cookie recipes. These are a few of the entries from the 1955 tea. If you make any of these, let us know how they turn out! #ArchiveAdventCalendar
December 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
One of our favorite items in Archives is a scrapbook with drawings Arthur White, working in British Columbia, sent to Irma Higgins here in Kearney in the 1930s. This drawing shows the imagined couple doing various activities, including ice skating. #WinterSports #ArchiveAdventCalendar #drawing #art
December 7, 2025 at 8:23 PM
One of the many symbols of the season is a tree. We love these various versions of Christmas trees, from the printed card to the handmade renditions. All are included in scrapbooks kept by unkearney.bsky.social Greek organizations and donated to Archives. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Tree #ChristmasTree
December 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Are YOU sick of hearing the same Christmas songs over and over? I have a solution for you: Christmas songs composed by UNK Music students in the 1920s. Are they good? Um. Well... If you record them, feel free to tag us - we'd love to hear your rendition. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #ChristmasCarol #music
December 4, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by UNK Archives
The first mention of #HIV/AIDS in RCP minutes is 6 years after the first AIDS-related death in Britain. The RCPs silence helped the state take advantage of the epidemic to spread fear, introduce queerphobic policies, and cut services such as healthcare

#ExploreArchives #EYASilence
December 2, 2025 at 12:34 PM
One of our favorite sources of festive light is candles. Bernice Halbert's poem, "Candles for Christmas", contains some lovely illustrations of candles, along with the text of the poem. Plus, it's on festive green paper!
openspaces.unk.edu/spec-coll/41/
#ArchiveAdventCalendar #FestiveLights #poetry
December 2, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by UNK Archives
“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”

Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
December 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
What was on the Thanksgiving menu 100 years ago? For Cyrus Black, it was Canada goose and mallard ducks. Cyrus writes, "if it doesn't wreck me, you will hear from me again some time." Spoiler: he survives and corresponds regularly w the recipient.
#Archives #NebraskaOrnithologistsUnion
#Thanksgiving
November 25, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by UNK Archives
Just a little humor for your Thursday!

#southwestcollection #archives #history #specialcollections
November 20, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by UNK Archives
Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson was born on this day in 1850. His best-known works include Treasure Island (1883) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), both of which introduced themes and tropes that persist in popular culture today.
November 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Shut your mouth and save your life, book title or something you were thinking in That One Meeting? As the Medical Heritage Library demonstrates, definitely book title, though we're going to have to go with, why not both?

#HistMed
archive.org/details/shut...
Shut your mouth and save your life : Catlin, George, 1796-1872 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
110 p. : 21 cm
archive.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Even creatures of darkness need to do their banking (undated, from "Old Photos" binder). #archives #Halloween #ArchivesCreepy
October 31, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Can't trust those Canadians; they say they see unicorns, with horns like ammonites.

...love you, northern neighbours!

From Travels in the Interior Parts of America : Communicating Discoveries Made in Exploring the Missouri, Red River, and Washita (1807)
#HistSci #Archives #Ammonites
October 28, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by UNK Archives
Hey Archivists - do you have patrons interested in Western US politics and public service? We’re accepting applications for non-Nevadans to win a $5000 award to come do research in our collections!! Applications close in TWO WEEKS. Please share widely! #AskAnArchivist #PoliticalScience
October 16, 2025 at 10:10 PM
While we (pretend to) love all our collections equally, we'd love to see someone dig into the Harding family collection: archives.nebraska.edu/repositories... The letters between Callie and her friends are particularly fun. #archives #AskAnArchivist
Which collections do you wish researchers utilized more?
October 17, 2025 at 8:44 PM
We're having a "what is time?" kind of month. Soooo although Ask an Archivist Day is done, ask us All The Questions (whenever you'd like; that's what we're here for).
#AskAnArchivist #archives
October 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Watch out for sharks, at least if you're the Pittsburg State Gorillas in 1975! This was one of many entries in the @unkearney.bsky.social Homecoming lawn decorating competition. That year's theme: Cartoon Carnival.
#UNKHomecoming2025 #archives #Snoopy
October 7, 2025 at 2:37 PM