Comments on: Tracking down the stories behind a trove of 1920s report cards from a NYC girls' vocational school

By: penguinchris

penguinchris — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:34:00 +0000

One nagging question… what percentage of these records was left behind, and presumably is now in a landfill somewhere? And to take it further… how many other neglected file cabinets like these are out there (and how many are in landfills)?

By: penguinchris

penguinchris — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Neat, as if the school records as presented didn’t already bring the story to life in an extremely evocative way! I went to U of R and am a big fan of the Eastman House (well, the film screenings at the Dryden Theater in particular).

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:45:00 +0000

I’ve done a lot of public records research. Public records 100 or more years ago existed to document what was going on. Hand written, full of extraneous details, with decent penmanship and plentiful facts. Todays public records exist to cover the ass of the administrators and convey no more than the mandated minimum of actual fact. This is true from the local fire department all the way up to the pentagon.

By: Guest

Guest — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Yeah, right? :/

By: Kodascope

Kodascope — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:31:00 +0000

At George Eastman House I helped to preserve a 28mm gauge film from 1911 entitled “Manhattan Trade School For Girls.” You can see a version with added narration and music here: http://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/manhattan-trade-school-for-girls-1911

By: Frank Diekman

Frank Diekman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:35:00 +0000

“Walks around as if she were dying – absolutely pepless” – FTW

By: Katey Corrigan

Katey Corrigan — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:51:00 +0000

This is great. I am presently working (as a volunteer) on an archive that is partially made up of documents relating to an alternative junior high school in New York that was called the Paul Hoffman Junior High School or PS 45. Other than what I find in these boxes, I haven’t been able to track down much info about the school. This might inspire me to try to track down former students and their descendants to fill in some of the blanks.

By: dculberson

dculberson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:47:00 +0000

Her father is a stevedore and she plays the ukelele. How much more awesome could you get?

By: pKp

pKp — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:02:00 +0000

Yup, seems the women in these cards are all dead (most of them would be in their 90s or 100s, so it isn’t very surprising). The article is truly fascinating, great find there and great researching.

By: Nater

Nater — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:45:00 +0000

If the subject is dead, it’s a historical document, not private information.

By: Ambiguity

Ambiguity — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:17:00 +0000

Very cool project, but I wonder if it’s actually legal, or if it runs afoul of the Federal Education Rights Privacy Act (FERPA). The release of educational records is quite regulated.

By: Little John

Little John — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:31:00 +0000

Such fancy-schmancy talk. Did your man-parent teach you that word?

By: misskansas

misskansas — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:17:00 +0000

Fantastic undertaking.

By: imorgan73

imorgan73 — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:37:00 +0000

“girl-children”…. there’s a word for that… let me think…. ah, “DAUGHTERS”