Collection Corner

The Ekalaka Eagle archive project

 

April 20, 2018

Ekalaka Eagle interior, 1928

Gwenith Schultz, museum receptionist and historian completed the first phase of the Eagle Archive project on Friday, April 6, 2018. The project began in 2005 with volunteers including Jeane Koefelda. Gwen continued the work in 2008 and has been the lead staff member on the project ever since. The workflow relied heavily on the ability of the museum to fund the project throughout the years and was completed with the assistance of grants including one from the Montana Community Foundation in 2016 and $2,000 from the Jerry Metcalf Foundation in 2017.

The museum purchased preservation grade archival sleeves and binders to protect the delicate sheets of newsprint while making them accessible to visiting public and researchers. The archive at the museum covers the years 1909-1949, including a copy of the first Ekalaka Eagle published on Friday, January 1, 1909 on linen for the purpose of "giving you a good, live, local paper." It contains 64 binders and approximately 13,500 pages of newsprint from the Ekalaka Eagle, Alzada Fair Play and Piniele Leader. The archive is a popular resource for visitors throughout the year, but particularly during the Days of '85 Fair and Rodeo, when family members return home and are curious about the lives of their relatives and ancestors.

Newsprint paper is often made of inexpensive materials like ground up wood that were boiled into fibers and turned into sheets. Lignin, a substance that holds the fibers together, contains acids which cause the newspaper to turn yellow and harden over time. To minimize acid contamination between newspaper pages, each page is placed within an acid-free sleeve, which eliminates risk of dust and moisture. The sleeves are then stored within a binder, also of archival grade, that keeps light from hitting the pages. Light is perhaps the largest culprit in causing acidic reactions in the paper which then makes the material brittle. The museum is an ideal environment to store this archive as the indoor climate is carefully monitored to stay cool and dry. The binders are stored on shelves that ensure a dark environment while the museum is open and lights are on.

Newspapers provide an important snapshot of everyday life and a key source of information on local topics including community events, politics, schools, jobs, taxes and crime. Throughout its history, the Eagle has relied on community submissions, which give readers insight into areas within Carter County and for distance subscribers, a connection to home. If you were to trace the history of Carter County through the Eagle, you would find sewing patterns for grain sack dresses, advice on gardening and planting, livestock sale reports, marriage announcements, obituaries, tips on how to identify dinosaur bones, and letters from congressmen during World War I, II, and Vietnam.

During her time on the project, Gwen had many favorite stories, but what stood out most to her was the resilience of the community through hardships including disease and drought. "I gained a great respect for our forefathers who chose to settle here and went through so much," said Gwenith Shultz. Indeed, this sentiment goes back to the 1909 edition, in which an article title "Hanging Together" tells readers: "If we hang together by showing confidence in each other and in the town, we will become strong and great ... If we hang together not by a hempen cord, but in accord and concord, we can make this town the greatest in eastern Montana."

The Carter County Museum is now open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. We have several new displays, including a spotlight on collections rehousing and ongoing progress in redesigning taxidermy displays in the Lee Castleberry Natural History room. There are many events planned for this summer, so stay tuned and join us at the museum!

 

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