Ohio Archives Month – Olympic Memories

The Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy and Outreach Committee is recognizing and celebrating archives month through a series of blog posts throughout October 2024.

Even if we haven’t been to the Olympics, most of us still have memories associated with them. We asked our Advocacy and Outreach Committee members about their favorite Olympic memories. Here’s what they said:

“More than any other year, I paid attention to the 1996 Olympics. It was so exciting because they were right in the USA! I also was younger and didn’t have a whole lot of other things going on to pull my attention in other directions. 

One thing I remember is that I looked forward to reading the newspaper daily, mainly for the hilarious Olympics related columns from Dave Barry, which ran regularly in the Akron Beacon Journal. I remembered that I would read them aloud to my family, laughing hysterically.

I was obsessed with the women’s gymnastics team and tried to stay caught up with everything there and remember screaming my head off when Kerri Strugg nailed that one-legged landing. I lived for the SNL skits with her and Chris Kattan as Kippy Strugg. I was also a pretty big fan of the Russian men’s team because they had Alexei Nemov and my girlfriends and I were BIG fans. 

I also remember watching with horror when learning of the bombing at the Olympic Park and following all the details of that. That was really the first time I remember following live news updates that we’re so used to having today.”

– Natalie Fritz

“1984, LA Olympics. I was obsessed with the Olympics. I had an Olympic beach towel, my grandparents had a pool. I was sure I was going to be an Olympic swimmer.”

-Jim McKinnon

“I’ve always loved the Olympics. I watch every sport I can, even if I haven’t heard of it. I especially watched religiously during the 2020 Games in Tokyo. It was a positive distraction from so much hardship going on in the world.”

-Sarah Aisenbrey

“Decades before Michael Phelps broke records accumulating gold medals, Mark Spitz set the record of seven gold medals swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The joy I felt as a young swimmer at his athletic achievement was overshadowed by the horror of the death of 11 Israeli Olympic athletes who had been taken hostage by the Palestinian militant organization Black September. The Olympics of 1972 have left me with an indelible memory of triumph and tragedy.”

-Connie Conner

“My favorite memory around the Olympics took place in 1996 a few months before the Games.  My riding instructor and 4H advisor was given tickets to the last Olympic trials that were going to be held at a farm near Canton, Georgia. Her instructor was a coach for the newly formed Eventing team for Brazil. Eventing is a sport where the horse and rider combo compete in three events. The events are dressage, cross country, and show jumping and it is considered to be one of the more extreme equestrian sports. A few days before the event, I along with some other members of our 4H Club packed into a F-350 super cab and drove to Canton, Georgia.  Since we had a connection to a coach, we were able to get to see behind the scenes and I was able to have many of the competitors such as Karen and David O’Connor and Phillip Dutton sign a poster which I still have today. At the end of the event, we were invited to a party where the Brazilian riders taught my friends and I the ‘Macarena.’ Sadly for the Brazilian team they went on to finish second to last but the American won silver.” 

-Collette McDonough

“My favorite memory is from the 2024 Olympics and Quincy Hall, Men 400 Meters in Track.  Hal is not a household name in Men’s Track Carl Lewis or Usain Bolt. Quincy Hall was in fourth place in the last 100 meters of the race and he came back in dramatic fashion to win gold.”

-Jacky Johnson

Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Council Meeting Minutes from Aug 23, 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from August 23, 2024, can now be found on the Council Meeting Minutes page.

Interested in SOA over time? Also on that page are minutes dating back to 1997. In addition to documenting actions from the leadership meeting, minutes include reports from the treasurer as well as from committees and task forces.

Questions about minutes? Contact SOA Secretary Shelby Beatty.

Last Updated on October 9, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Paris Olympic Games – 1924/2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy and Outreach Committee is recognizing and celebrating archives month through a series of blog posts throughout October 2024.

by Jim McKinnon, co-chair Advocacy and Outreach.

The theme for this year’s archive’s month poster is O-H-I-Olympics, most of you, if not all, should have received your posters by now so the theme is not a surprise. The Summer Olympics this past summer were held in Paris where athletes from around the world competed for a gold, silver or bronze medal. 2024 wasn’t the only time that Paris was the host city for a summer games. In 1900 Paris hosted, but also in 1924, 100 years ago. How did the games 100 years ago compare to the games of this year? Were there similarities or glaring differences? Continue reading

Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by Emily Gainer

American Archives Month 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists Advocacy and Outreach Committee is recognizing and celebrating archives month through a series of blog posts throughout October 2024.

by Christine Liebson, MLIS, CA, member of SOA Advocacy & Outreach Committee.

Since 1979, Archives Month has been a time to reflect on the importance and value of archives and archivists. Although SOA has been celebrating Archives Month/Week since 1993, October was officially designated American Archives Month by the Society of American Archivists in 1999.  Continue reading

Last Updated on October 15, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Recordings & Speaker Slides from 2024 Annual Meeting Available

The 2024 Society of Ohio Archivists Annual Meeting was held on Thursday (virtual only) and Friday (hybrid), May 16-17 with the theme of Archives for All: Enhancing Accessibility and Inclusivity.

Recordings for 9 session presentations, including the keynote speaker Dr. Lydia Tang, are now available on the SOA YouTube channel.

See the Annual Meeting page for more details and links to the speaker slides.

Questions? Please contact Sara Mouch or Michelle Sweetser, Co-Chairs, Society of Ohio Archivists Educational Programming Committee.

Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Ohio Archivist Fall 2024 Issue Available

The fall 2024 issue of Ohio Archivist, SOA’s biannual publication, is now available to download as a PDF! An image of the first page of the Ohio Archivist newsletter.

In this issue you will find information about the Fall SOA/OLHA Annual Meeting; a recap of the Spring/Summer Annual Conference; a new Feature article; and Climate Control, DEI, and Digital Discussions articles; and more!

Contents:
– Looking Back, Looking Forward: Annual Meeting 2024 Recap
– President’s Message
– Ohio History Day, Scholarship, & Merit Awards
– Feature:  Feeling Our Feelings by Sarah Aisenbrey
– OLHA/SOA Fall Meeting information
– Climate Control: Linear Growth in Archives by Eira Tansey
– DEIA: The State of Research by Michelle Ganz
– Digital Discussions: The Edward B. Taylor Collection by Karen D. Brame and Rachel Bussert
– News & Notes
– Editor’s Note

See all past Ohio Archivist issues on the publication’s page.

Questions? Contact Ohio Archivist Editor-in-Chief Jessica Heys.

Last Updated on September 19, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Council Meeting Minutes from June 20, 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists most recent leadership meeting minutes from June 20, 2024, can now be found on the Council Meeting Minutes page.

Interested in SOA over time? Also on that page are minutes dating back to 1997. In addition to documenting actions from the leadership meeting, minutes include reports from the treasurer as well as from committees and task forces.

Questions about minutes? Contact SOA Secretary Shelby Beatty.

Last Updated on August 30, 2024 by Emily Gainer

You’re Invited to Takeover the SOA Instagram

The Marketing and Communications Committee invites you to takeover the SOA Instagram account!  An Instagram takeover is when someone takes over the posting on an Instagram account for a limited time to share content and interact with the account’s audience.

Read over the guidelines below and then sign up for a week that works for you.  These takeovers are intended to promote and share archives throughout the state! Continue reading

Last Updated on August 23, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Fall Meeting with OLHA: Registration Open

OLHA/SOA Fall Meeting, October 4-5, 2024

The Society of Ohio Archivists is partnering with the Ohio Local History Alliance for the fall meeting, Truth and Consequences.  Join us on October 4-5, 2024, at Quest Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio.The front cover of the fall meeting brochure. A photograph of a young boy with an American flag crouches in front of a crowd, as part of the mile-long demonstration called "The March and Vote for Jobs and Freedom," which took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 27, 1963.

Registration is now open through September 23!  Sessions and speakers will discuss how the theme of Truth and Consequences relates to the work of our member organizations in collecting, sharing, and commemorating Ohio’s local history.

The SOA track will take place on Friday, October 4 and will feature the following sessions:

  • 9-9:50am: Find Digital Ohio: Advocating and Promoting Your Digital Collections, Jenni Salamon, Ohio History Connection; Cari Hillman & Adam Wanter, MidPointe Library System
  • 10:10-11am: Crucial Conversations: Preserving Undertold Stories, Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (JEDAI) committee
  • 11:20am-12:10pm: Designing and Sustaining an Institutional Archives, Brianna Treleven & Rachel Sykes, Shaker Historical Society
  • 12:30-1:45pm: Lunch & Keynote Address, Ulysses Grant Dietz
  • 2-4pm: Intersectional DEI Mini-Workshop, Michelle Ganz, Dominican Sisters of Peace

View full details on the conference brochure.  Attendees are welcome to attend any of the Local History Alliance sessions, luncheons, and other special events on both Friday and Saturday.

Questions? Contact the Educational Programming Committee Cochairs Sara Mouch and Michelle Sweetser.

Last Updated on August 16, 2024 by Emily Gainer

Celebrating the Ohio State Fair History

by Collette N. McDonough, CA. Collette is a member of the SOA Advocacy and Outreach Committee.

As a young person, the summers meant many things to the city pool, mowing the grass, but the peak of summer fun was the fair. I was a 4-H kid, and the county and state fairs were a big deal for me. I participated in the animal science program, specifically the equine division. I loved going to the Washington County Fair each year and to the Ohio State Fair when I qualified. So, I’m happy to contribute this blog post about the Ohio State Fair that features materials from the Ohio History Connection.

Most Ohioans would assume that our state fair has always been held in Columbus, but the fair bounced around the state well into the 1880s, taking place in Cincinnati, Dayton, Newark, Toledo, Zanesville, Cleveland, Mansfield, Sandusky, and Springfield before its permanent and current home in Columbus was finished in 1886. The first Ohio State Fair was held in 1850, just outside of Cincinnati. Continue reading

Last Updated on August 23, 2024 by Emily Gainer