Halloween Costumes from the Archives

If you’re looking for some last minute costume inspiration this Halloween, the UCSF archives have you covered!

Students in the School of Nursing, 1951, illustrate the power of teamwork. If you want to dress up as a bunny rabbit, make sure you have a friend willing to wear the complementary carrot costume. It really brings the whole thing together.

UCSF School of Nursing students, 1951. From a scrapbook, AR 83-03, carton 1.

UCSF School of Nursing students, 1951. From scrapbook, AR 83-03, carton 1.

Or you can go with a timely pop culture reference like these two School of Dentistry students in 1987. Well, Maverick and Goose from Top Gun is more of a classic reference now, but you get the idea.

School of Dentistry students. From School of Dentistry yearbook, 1987, University Publications.

UCSF School of Dentistry students. From School of Dentistry yearbook, 1987, University Publications.

The UCSF Library staff, 1988, is full of ideas ranging from spooky to suave.

UCSF Library staff, 1988. Photograph collection, Library.

UCSF Library staff, 1988. Photograph collection, Library.

Finally, you can really just go for it, like these three characters visiting the Pediatrics Department in 1973. Not sure if Snoopy and his friends, Gorilla and Flower, are creepy or cute… let’s just say they are elaborate!

Characters visiting the UCSF Pediatrics Department, 1973. Photograph collection, Pediatrics Department.

Characters visiting the UCSF Pediatrics Department, 1973. Photograph collection, Pediatrics Department.

Hope you feel inspired, Happy Halloween!

Celebrating Food Day: Recipes from the Archives

We’re joining UCSF’s Food Day celebration, October 22-24, by sharing some recipes from our collections! Definitions of healthy eating and proper nutrition have changed dramatically over the years. These examples provide just a taste of the history of food science and our changing understandings of diet and wellness. Recipe contributions from Kelsi Evans, David Uhlich, and David Krah.

This page of recipes, including sweet potato pie and peach shortcake, comes from a diet supplement created in 1961 by Dr. Mary Olney and Larry Carbine at the Bearskin Meadow Camp for children with diabetes.

Bear Facts Supplement (Known as Fare for Cub and Bear), August 1961. Mary Olney papers, MSS 98-64, carton addition 3, folder 4.

Bear Facts Supplement (Known as Fare for Cub and BEAR), August 1961. Mary Olney papers, MSS 98-64, carton addition 3, folder 4.

In 1938, Olney founded the first wilderness camp in California for children with diabetes. The camp developed into Bearskin Meadow, a permanent campsite located near Kings Canyon National Park. Dr. Olney graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine in 1932. She completed her training in pediatrics at San Francisco General Hospital and was later appointed Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at UCSF. At the time of her death in 1993, Olney had served the UCSF community for over 50 years.

Dr. Mary Olney teaching a nutrition class for campers, circa 1965. Mary Olney papers, MSS 98-64, box 1, folder 6.

Dr. Mary Olney teaching a nutrition class for campers, circa 1965. Mary Olney papers, MSS 98-64, box 1, folder 6.

This page of recipes from Diet for the Sick: A Treatise on the Values of Foods, Their Application to Special Conditions of Health and Disease, and on the Best Methods of Their Preparation by Mary Newton (Foote) Henderson illustrates the vast differences in thought between what foods were considered healthy and nutritious–and even curative–in the 19th century in relation to how they are thought of today. Now frequently vilified and excluded from diets, gluten is the central ingredient in an entire section of recipes in the book, which was published in 1885. Gluten souffles anyone?

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Diet for the Sick, page 130-131.

Just in case you were hoping to get a good recipe for chicken fricassee or clabbered milk, the entire book is available digitally through UCSF’s online catalog.

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Diet for the Sick: A Treatise on the Values of Foods, Their Application to Special Conditions of Health and Disease, and on the Best Methods of Their Preparation by Mary Newton (Foote) Henderson, 1885.

The author of The Book of Star Ralstonism, Webster Edgerly, led a late 19th Century health and social well-being movement known as Ralstonism (Regime, Activity, Light, Strength, Temperation, Oxygen and Nature). Amongst many proscriptions contained in the book is the warning to “…not buy any food or any goods bearing the name ‘Ralston,’ contrary to our latest bulletins. We endorse everything that is pure, wholesome, honest and meritorious; but do not wish the word Ralston to be used in any connection apart from our Club, its literature and its educational interest.”

Edgerly began doing business with the Purina Food Company in 1900, and I’m sure many are familiar with Ralston-Purina products such as Chex breakfast cereal and a variety of pet foods. In the Book of Star Ralstonism, Edgerly includes this charming recommendation for sustenance for sedentary persons, which consists of two cups of roasted wheat coffee. If you “wish good blood”, go with a slice of toasted brown bread and butter along with your “coffee”. This recipe is similar to the Boston Brown Bread you can still buy in the can today.

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Book of Star Ralstonism, page 168

The full text of the Book of Star Ralstonism is available online at Hathi Trust or through UCSF’s catalog.

Happy Food Day!

October is Archives Months

October is American Archives MonthThe UCSF Archives have a double celebration this month. October is not just an American Archives month, but also the California Archives month. This event “raises public awareness of the importance of archives and to honors the efforts of the professionals who protect and maintain historical documents.”
Please visit the UCSF Archives to:

  • Access Historical Materials in the Reading Room
    We collect and preserve rare and unique materials to support research and teaching in the history of health sciences, the development of UCSF, and biomedical discoveries. Make an appointment to view rare books, archives, manuscripts, photographs, and artifacts.
  • Develop Research Strategies
    Schedule a consultation to develop effective research strategies.  Discover print and online primary sources in the history of health sciences and UCSF history.
  • Get Help with Documenting Your Career/Preserving Your Department’s Records
    We review your personal papers & organization records (print & digital) and advise on how to preserve them. Consult us about donating your materials.
  • Locate materials and Access Digital Collections
    https://www.library.ucsf.edu/collections/archives
  • Connect with Us:
    Brought to Light blog
    Twitter: @ucsf_archives

Please meet the UCSF Archives & Special Collections team (in order of appearance):

  • David Krah, processing archivists (Tobacco Control Archives and Eric Berne collections)
  • Kelsi Evans, processing archivist (Radiologic Imaging Laboratory and Dr. J. Michael Bishop collections)
  • David Uhlich, UCSF assistant archivist
  • Polina Ilieva, UCSF archivist, Head of Archives & Special Collections

[iframe src=”https://archive.org/details/ucsf_archives_2015″ width=”640″ height=”480″ frameborder=”0″ webkitallowfullscreen=”true” mozallowfullscreen=”true” allowfullscreen]

Or watch the video on the Internet Archive.

Latino Heritage Month Spotlight: Louis Perfecto Oviedo

In celebration of Latina/Latino Heritage Month, we’re recognizing one of UCSF’s early graduates of Mexican descent, Louis Perfecto Oviedo.

Louis Perfecto Oviedo graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine (then called the Medical Department of the University of California) in 1891. According to census records, Oviedo was born in San Francisco, California in 1871. His mother and father were both from Mexico.

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Toland Medical Building, circa 1885. Oviedo would have attended courses in this building. UCSF Archives, Photograph collection

Oviedo attended St. Mary’s College in the Bay Area before completing his medical degree. He later worked at French Hospital in San Francisco and started his own private practice.

Oviedo and his wife, Alicia, participated in community and service organizations in the city. For instance, in 1896, they helped organize the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union’s Carnival of Nations, a fundraising event for the group’s building fund. Alicia and Louis manned the Mexican booth during the event.

nationsfete1896

The San Francisco Call, Wednesday, September 9, 1896

Oviedo died on May 30, 1898 in San Francisco. The young doctor was survived by his wife and son, Louis Jerome Oviedo. Records indicate that Alicia was pregnant at the time of Louis’s death; in July, 1898, she gave birth to another son, George Francis Oviedo.

The San Francisco Call, Tuesday, May 31, 1898.

The San Francisco Call, Tuesday, May 31, 1898.

Louis Jerome Oviedo and George Francis Oviedo both followed in their father’s footsteps. In 1923, Louis and George graduated from the UCSF School of Medicine!

UC Medical School (later UCSF) campus, 1921.

Parnassus campus, 1921. From UC Medical School course announcement, 1923-1924.

Please join us in the Library, Thursday, October 8, 2015, for the UCSF Latino Heritage Month Celebration, hosted by Diversity and Outreach and Alumni Relations. Learn more about the event and RSVP here.

October 1st Is #AskAnArchivist Day! We’ve Got Answers…

Today is the second annual #AskAnArchivist Day. The Society of American Archivists is organizing this day-long event to launch the celebration of the American Archives Month and help connect the public with diverse repositories in all states.

UCSF Library card catalog, 1970s

UCSF Library card catalog, 1970s

#AskAnArchivist is open to everyone—all you need is a Twitter account! To participate, just tweet a question and include the hashtag #AskAnArchivist in your tweet. Your question will be seen instantly by archivists around the country who are standing by to respond directly to you.
If your questions are specifically for the UCSF archives, be sure to tweet them to @ucsf_archives using the hashtag #AskAnArchivist on October 1st from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (PST).
Ask us:

  • How do archives change lives?
  • What is the oldest book in your collection?
  • How can I donate materials to an archive?
  • What is the name of the UCSF first female graduate?
  • Why are archives important?
  • What textbooks did students use in 1898?
  • How old is UCSF?

The archives team will be waiting for your submissions. Click here to tweet.