Here at the UWDC we have put together a list of the top 10 collections that we have gone live with this year. We have provided a short description of the top 7 and will expand on our top 3! We hope that you have enjoyed these collections and if you haven't checked them out, here's your chance!

10. Gay Peoples Union Collection

Gay Peoples Union (GPU) was the most important gay and lesbian rights organization in Milwaukee during the 1970s. The archival materials included in this phase of the project include annual reports, articles of incorporation and by-laws, fliers, newsletters, and the manifesto of the Gay Liberation Organization, a predecessor organization of GPU.

9. Historic Fort Atkinson

Lorine Faith Niedecker is considered a preeminent poet of the 20th century who wrote in the Objectivist tradition. This archive contains manuscript materials, notes, letters, text & audio interviews with people who knew Lorine, video productions about Lorine and numerous photographs.

8. Kenosha County History

The Louis M. Thiers Glass Negative Collection is comprised of over 1,000 glass plate photographic negatives. The stability of the glass plates has wonderfully preserved the images of people, homes, buildings, industries, domestic and recreational scenes, animals, landscapes, and events in Kenosha County, primarily from the late 1880s into the early 1910s.

7. Badger Yearbooks

The first yearbook of the University of Wisconsin was published in April 1884 and called the Trochos, which is a Greek word for badger. The second yearbook, also called Trochos, was not published until 1887. The first Badger was published in February 1888, and the Badger was published until 2003, with one hiatus in 1973-74. The Alumni Association helped publish volumes for those two years which basically only contain student photographs.

6. Images of Angkor Wat

This collection of 120 photos was taken by Margaret Parx Hays during her Christmas vacation to Siem Reap in 1954 while she was stationed in Manila as a Consul of the American State Department. These photos offer an opportunity to view Angkor at an unassuming moment in its existence.

5. William J. Meuer Photoart Collection

The William J. Meuer Photoart Collection is an outstanding visual history of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its surrounding community. Dating from 1888 to 1935, 25 large bound albums contain nearly 27,000 individual prints. Some are copies of photographs from other sources but the vast majority are originals taken by Mr. Meuer and, occasionally, other photographers.

4. Madison Athletic Department Collection

The University of Wisconsin - Madison Athletic Department Collection contains photos and archival materials that document a variety of sports, coaches and student athletes, and their experiences competing for the UW-Madison teams. They are filled with biographical and historical information that Badger fans will enjoy.

Watch for our top three soon!

Well it's that time of year again, Thanksgiving! Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie... YUM I'm hungry already! For this UWDCC blogger Thanksgiving has always been about traditions, so I thought I'd share some images and collections dealing with Thanksgiving traditions.

Our Wisconsin Traditions of Social Care collection contains this great photo and more showing the generosity of Wisconsin charities. This photo was taken at a dinner in Milwaukee held by Goodwill and the Wisconsin Telephone Pioneer Women in 1960. All 400 people seem to be enjoying themselves, what a great image!

Another great collection that touches close to home for me is the Kenosha County History collection. Back in Kenosha there is a Thanksgiving Day Race that has been going on as long as I can remember called the Turkey Day Run. This collection contains images of this run dating back to 1907! That is 100 years of tradition for my hometown!

These are just some of our great holiday images. Check out the rest of our collections and see what you can find.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Veterans Day! Here in the office we can't have a parade like this one in Kenosha, WI, instead I thought I would highlight some of our war related collections. Maybe you can find an image of a family member in or find some of your war buddies!

The World War II Veterans of Mount Horeb collection just went live last month. The digital collection is an effort to honor the sacrifices and achievements of Mount Horeb veterans and to ensure their place in local history. The collection brings together several types of materials: books, photographs, audio interviews, slides, and personal scrapbooks and memorabilia. The Mount Horeb Public Library began this project by personally interviewing willing WWII veterans. Each of these men and one woman has compelling stories to tell about serving their country during WWII. Many had the opportunity to take pictures of a 1940s war-ravaged Europe, which are also included in the collection.

I would also like to highlight the Wisconsin Goes to War: Our Civil War Experience Collection. This collection is made up of first person narrative accounts of Wisconsin soldiers and citizens. Through their letters, diaries, poems and other records, we learn about the state's contributions to the Union victory that cost the lives of over 12,000 of the state's men.

Another great war related collection is The Home Front: Manitowoc County in World War II. This digital collection of photographic images, oral histories, published sources and documents, artifacts, and other resources helps to document and explain the history of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin during the period from 1939 to 1947—both the more universally shared home front experiences and activities as they played out in this specific county, and those more unique activities which especially defined the area during the War.

The UWDCC hopes that you enjoy the collections that we have highlighted here and all of our interesting war collections. We even have one about the Civil War Band! Check it out!

Oh Halloween in Madison, what a fun and crazy time of the year. To celebrate here in the office we started looking through our collection of past badger yearbooks to see how UW Madison students used to celebrate.

I found this article from 1977 about the state street chaos that still lives on today! Check out those great costumes! I love the ghosts with a small hole for the mouth, just big enough for a straw to fit in! Click on the image for a closer look at these hilarious pictures or to read the article. Maybe it will help you come up with a costume idea for this weekend!

If you liked this picture, check out our twitter and facebook pages! This week we will be posting images from all of our collections that remind us of the Halloween season. Or check out the collections for yourself and see what you can find!