From the Kansas State Historical Society website:
"A decade before the end of segregation, a kind woman and a little girl broke through racial barriers in Topeka. This handmade African American doll symbolizes a bond between whites and blacks in the Mudtown neighborhood during the 1940s."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"Millions of years of space rocks, fossils, artifacts and specimens are housed in New York's world famous natural history complex on the Upper West Side. But few know the whole story about the museum itself.
Residents of New York tried a few times to establish a legitimate natural history venue in the city, including an aborted plan for a Central Park dinosaur pavilion. With the American Museum of Natural History, the city had a premier institution that sent expeditions to the four corners of the earth.
Tune in to hear the stories of some of the museum's most treasured artifacts and the origins of its collection. And find out the tragic tale of Minik the Eskimo, a boy subject by museum directors to bizarre and cruel lie."
From the Kansas State Historical Society website:
"Panama hats symbolized power in the first half of the 20th century. This expensive headwear marked the presence of a well-traveled man. Today's episode considers a Panama hat worn by President Harry Truman."
In this podcast from the Kansas Museum of History, the curators examine a classic folly in the world of exercise equipment: the belt vibrator. The podcast also includes an overview of the history of the creation of the machine and a brief discussion of its usefulness as a weight-loss device.
In this podcast by the Kansas Museum of History, the curators examine a satchel that once belonged to Census Taker John Bissell. The podcast also discusses the procedure for census recording in the early 20th century and how it has evolved into our modern mail-in census form.
From the Kansas State Historical Society website:
"Baseball has long been known as America's pastime, but like many of our country's institutions, it has a history of racial segregation. Today we consider a program from a 1950s game between two Negro Leagues teams."
From the Kansas Museum of History website:
"Some art has strong historical value. These paintings by Croatian American artist Marijana Grisnik depict memories of an old Kansas City neighborhood known as Strawberry Hill."
From the Kansas Museum of History website:
"Lots of museums have dolls in their collections, but how many have a peasant doll holding a hoe and smoking a cigar? Get the scoop on this unusual figure, clad in a dress made from a sugar sack."
From the Bowery Boys website:
"During the construction of a downtown federal administration building, an extraordinary find was discovered—the remnants of a burial ground used by African slaves during the 18th Century.
In the earliest days of New Amsterdam, the first Africans were brought against their will to help build the new Dutch port, slaves for a city that would be built upon their backs. Later, forced to repress the cultural expressions of their forefathers, the early black population of British New York did preserve their heritage in the form of burial rites, in a small 'Negro Burial Ground' to the south of Collect Pond (and just a couple short blocks to today's City Hall).
How did this small plot of land—:and its astounding contents—become preserved in the middle of the most bustling area of the most bustling city in the world? And why is it considered one of the most spectacular archaelogical finds in New York City history?"
From the Bowery Boys website:
"Before there were subways, New York City transported travelers up and down the length of Manhattan by elevated railroad, an almost unreal spectacle to consider today. Steam engines sat high above several avenues in the city, offering passengers not just a faster trek to the northern reaches of Manhattan, but a totally new way to see the city in the 19th century.
Welcome to our second podcast in our series Bowery Boys On The Go, a look at the history of New York City transportation. Before we get to those famous 'El' trains, we explore the earliest travel options in the city—the omnibuses and horse-drawn railcars, the early steam successes of the New York and Harlem Railroad and Hudson River Railroads, and something affectionately nicknamed the one-legged railroad.
What were some of the more peculiar ideas for improving travel? And why was the idea of a subway immediately shot down by the city? Let's just say Boss Tweed and Jay Gould are involved.
ALSO: What were the different motivations driving transportation progress in the city of Brooklyn? Well, it has something to do with the beach."