GLAM: Archives Satellite
The archives has chosen to look at the themes of GLAM--Chaos, Pattern and Order--through the lenses of Wyoming New Deal archaeology (order), WWII (chaos), and growing up as a family (pattern). Casper College interns, Scott Shipley and Sydney Smith, selected material via their work on helping the repository define the roles of Collections Manager Intern and Curator Intern through ongoing research and practice throughout their fall 2024 internships. Shipley (Museums Training Intern) and Smith (Collection Management Intern), assisted the repository in identifying and selecting both archival records and artefactual materials from the repository that can be interpreted through the themes of Chaos and Pattern. Traces of Chaos were found in the Byron H. Clapp reminiscences of WWII, in photographs taken by Shipley or items at the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum, and in Jean Ogilbee's U.S. Air Force service and participation in Bob Hope’s 1957 Christmas tour of the Pacific photo album. This focus offered a great transition to locating traces of "Pattern," which were found in the theme of growing up as a family via the Edness Mokler Family Photo Album and in the art, artifacts and travelogs of Marialyce Tobin. Anthony Hunter, from Casper and a University of Wyoming Anthropology Major, was interested in conducting a summer internship while home from Laramie in 2024. Hunter assisted the repository in processing and digitizing the Ted C. Sowers Papers as traces of Order.
In the aim of establishing a timeline, traces of Chaos were found in the selection of reminiscences of Byron H. Clapp who served in WWII as well as in a photo of emergency response crews at the Casper Army Airbase responding to a plane that had gone off the runway. A copy of this photographs as well as photographs of silk maps and trench art were loaned to the repository by the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum for the exhibit. Records of Neal Forsling and Jean Ogilbee were also included. Ogilbee served in a tour of the Pacific Theater during Bob Hope’s 1957 Christmas tour. As an artist and Air Force service member, the context of Ogilbee's presence in the exhibit encourages reflection on the themes of both order and pattern that must have been a part of her experience while on tour. Using information to conduct research on the role of the Curator, Shipley led the repository in identifying the importance of formalizing a role delineation statement for Curator Intern that uses the 5 Cs of Digital Curation as a framework for exploring theory and practice.
Smith identified the theme of Pattern in the 1913-1933 photo album of Edness Mokler's and the artifacts and travelogues of Marialyce Tobin's. Focusing on the collection management of these materials the repository hadn't yet processed from its backlog presented questions related to and an overall focus on the topic of ownership in the fields of museum, archives and antiquities. While researching and defining a role delineation for Collections Manager intern, Smith charted a new artefactual category for the repository using Tobin's artefacts and travelogues that no one previously could discover were held by the repository on their own. In addition, they were also expertly integrated into a complex exhibit environment. Combined with the work of Shipley, both interns assisted the repository with creating an exhibit-based registrar using its collection management system. This registrar is also now being used to keep track of ongoing collection management needs and as central place to document the life of a collection. All of this is done in the aim of expanding the invaluage work interns do for the repository while also encouraging meaningful collaboration between them.
GLAM: Traces of "Chaos"
Scott Shipley, ART 2970: Museum Training Intern
When World War II came to Casper, the impact was felt immediately. The building of the airbase and the influx of military personnel dramatically increased the population of Casper.
Additionally, many civilians worked at the air base, decreasing the workforce in Casper and causing the women of Casper to join the workforce. The air base also saw tragedy, with the loss of about 260 personnel due to airplane crashes among the men being trained to fly the B24 bomber.
The following goes to a link to a rough recording of an interview with Ken Slattery at the Casper Army Airbase in 1944. This interview was recorded before Slattery passed away in a training crash.
Hello, Hello, Hello · Goodstein Foundation Library Western History Center Digital Collections
All was not Chaos because out of it came an unforeseen order. Many men and women started relationships that lasted a lifetime and brought families into being. Many men trained at the air base came back to Casper to live their lives. Many women came into the workforce and went on to have meaningful careers. Some of the men who went to war became artists, photographers, and newspapermen who might not have found these fulfilling careers
GLAM: Traces of "Pattern"
Sydney Smith, ART 2023: Collection Management Intern
This exhibit can be categorized into three distinct areas: Chaos, Pattern, and Order
We will begin by exploring the aspects of patterns and the questions surrounding them. For instance, how are cultures interconnected across the globe? What patterns do we observe in our surroundings? Whether through familial relationships, religious symbolism, or artistic expression, an enduring sense of community is found within these patterns.
Within the pattern category, two notable collections are the Edness Mokler Family Photo Album and the Marialyce Tobin Artifacts and Travelogues. Both collections provide significant examples of patterns in human experience and cultural expression.
Edness Mokler Photo Album is a collection of photographs from Edness Mokler, mainly taken throughout her life living in Casper, Wyoming. The album contains youthful depictions of growing up around family and friends.
Marialyce Tobin Artifacts and Travelogues encompasses a diverse collection of physical items, including the notable Marialyce Tobin Ram. In addition to these artifacts, the collection features numerous albums documenting her travels across the globe, with highlights including her travels across the globe, with highlights including her album to her trip to Medjugorje, Italy, France, and Spain in 2001. This combination of objects and travel records provides a unique insight into Marialyce Tobin's experiences and adventures around the world.
22 photographs were taken and added to the digitial repository and an archival finding aid for the Marialyce Tobin was created this fall. There were a few more artefacts found disbursed in the backlog that will be added in to these records in the future.
Collection: Marialyce Tobin Collection | Western History Center
Connections
- The connection between the Western Central Wyoming Plate 54, Marialyce Tobin Artifacts, and Travelogs is the religious/ spiritual symbolism. In 2001, Tobin visited Medjugorje and took photos of religious symbolism, such as Mother Mary.
- Western Central Wyoming Plate 52 and Edness Mokler's Photo Album emit joy and comfort from everyday life. Edness Mokler's Photo Album is filled with familial/community-driven themes and light-hearted memories. One page shows a collage of photos of friends and family with word bubbles surrounding them.
- Western Central Wyoming Plate 50 and many of the Marialyce Tobin Travelogs show the aspects of everyday life and the observations we, as viewers, can see. We are taking a peek into the lives of those worldwide and across time.
GLAM: Traces of "Order"
Anthony Hunter, Summer Intern and University of Wyoming Anthropology Major
The Sowers Papers consist of photographs, reports, and descriptions of petroglyphs and pictographs created during the New Deal archaeology in Wyoming during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Ted C. Sowers oversaw these reports as Supervisor for the Archaeological Project of the Works Project Administration. Danny N. Walker, PhD, RPA, Wyoming State Archaeologists' Office, writes in a poster presented at the Society for American Archaeology's 76th Annual Meeting, "As with many other WPA projects, the survey closed with the advent of World War II, but provided a basis for future archaeological research" (2011). The Natrona County Public Library held these reports before they were transferred to the Casper College Library's Special Collections (Western History Center).
