The Kansas Historical Society announced that 400,000 images of its collections are now uploaded to Kansas Memory. Image number 400,000 is a letter dated Aug. 30, 1918, from Miss Jennie B. Momyer to Helen McKenna Mulvane, state chairperson of the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense. The committee coordinated women’s activities and resources for national defense during World War I. The image may be viewed at kansasmemory.org/item/305559/page/29.
In the letter, Momyer, a former superintendent of Barton County schools, asks Mulvane for information about the civilian school for nurses. Several women in Barton County are too young to attend the recently established Army School of Nursing, Momyer writes, but they still want to pursue training to aid in the American war efforts.
The digitization of the Women’s Committee of the Council of National Defense collection was paid for through the Margot R. Swovelan Endowment Fund. Swovelan was employed at the Kansas Historical Society in the State Archives.
Kansas Memory is the Historical Society’s online digital archives and the largest online collection of primary sources documenting Kansas history. Visitors can explore photographs, letters, diaries, government records, maps, archeological artifacts, and other historic items. Teachers can find quick access to sources that help meet Kansas and U.S. history standards. Students can find materials for history and other social studies projects. Other features include RSS feeds of searches and “My Memory,” a book bag that allows users to personalize an area and collect and save images on the site.
The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency that operates the Kansas Museum of History, State Archives, Kansas State Capitol Visitor Center, and 16 state historic sites across Kansas.