Delaware Public Archives to host First Saturday Program

The Delaware Public Archives has announced that the First Saturday Program will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, featuring the “Come Rain or Shine: Weather at the Delaware Public Archives” presentation.

What: The presentation draws images from the records housed in the Delaware Public Archives and is a profound journey of the relationship between Delawareans and both the blessings and the challenges of its weather.  Beginning with significant and destructive weather events, such as the Blizzard of 1888 and the Hurricane of 1962, the presenter will turn to how Delaware’s climate, often sunny and coastal inviting, has historically attracted tourists, as displayed in the Archives’ collections of vintage postcards.

Delaware’s rapidly changing weather patterns could also be perilous, particularly for those working in the marshes. This presentation will also examine the predictive methods and warning systems developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Finally, the presentation will delve into how the weather shaped the daily lifestyles of the residents of the First State, showcasing deeply personal and insightful records, such as the farming journal from the Frazier collection and the Civil War-era diaries of Sgt. Townsend Downes, Spencer Hitch, and William Cloud Lodge.

The program is free to the public and will last approximately one hour.  No reservations are required.  For more information, contact Joseph Sullivan at (302) 744-5018 or e-mail Joseph.Sullivan@delaware.gov.

Who: Leah Greer, Information Resources Specialist/Archivist, Delaware Public Archives

When: Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.

Where: Delaware Public Archives, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard North, Dover, Delaware 19904

For more information about the Delaware Public Archives or to learn more about events and other items of interest at the Archives, visit our website at www.archives.delaware.gov.