Shirley Wajda
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stwajda.bsky.social
Shirley Wajda
@stwajda.bsky.social
4.3K followers 1.1K following 4.5K posts
Historian, curator, knitter of the American experience, daughter & granddaughter of immigrants, waiting for Lefty & CLE World Series win. American material & visual culture, museum studies, craftivism, women's history, everyday life. Too many projects.
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stwajda.bsky.social
Cool! My mother was German-born; that side of the family belonged to various German clubs in Youngstown, OH. I wonder how many of these singing clubs' records are available. They definitely celebrated Oktoberfest.

Hunted for "Oktoberfest bier" for fun--yep, 1970, Löwenbräu. Newsday, 9/18/1970:
Ornate newspaper advertisement for Gold Street Steak and Lobster Palace, featuring a 1 1/2 lb. lobster ala carte for $4.95. Includes, at bottom "2nd annual Oktoberfest Bier featuring Lowenbrau, Thursday, Oct. 15th thru Oct. 24th, featuring German Specialties on our menu. German Entertainment--Song Fest--Beer Drinking." The restaurant was located at 573 E. Main Street, Bay Shore, NY--next to Gimbels.
November 15, 2025 at 4:24 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Gotta include Canterbury Shaker Village's Dwelling House Sisters' Attic!
Image of the California Closet of the 19th century: a large room, sunlight streaming through two windows at center back, showing on each wall integrated cabinets, built-in drawers, and closet doors.
November 12, 2025 at 1:57 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
This wonderful photograph reminds me of "Mr. and Mrs. I. N. Phelps Stokes" (1897), by painter John Singer Sargent, collection Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This painting, by John SInger Sargent, features a woman in what was considered a masculine outfit of dark short jacket, gray blouse with high collar and black bowtie, black belt, and white skirt. Her proper right arm holds a boater hat at her proper right hip; her proper left arm is bent with her hand on her hip She stands forthright in the foreground of this painting. Her husband, at the back left and in shadow, is dressed in white, his arms crossed in front of him.
November 9, 2025 at 7:38 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Text reads "EAT THE RICH FOR Breakfast".
November 9, 2025 at 2:19 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
Judgy census takers in 1880, I must say.
This is a screenshot of information about Charles H. Pierce from the 1880 United States Federal Census. The line entitled "Occupation" has an entry of "Loafer"! Here's the entry as it appears: Name: Charles H. Pierce Age: 49 Birth date: about 1831 Birthplace: New Hampshire Home in 1889: Gilmanton, Belknap, New Hampshire, USA Dwelling Number: 216 Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Self (Head) Marital Status: Married Spouse's Name: Druzilla Pierce Father's Birthplace: New Hampshire Mother's Birthplace: New Hampshire Occupation: Loafer Months Not Employed: 12
November 8, 2025 at 11:58 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
After voting today, pick your Blue Wave.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Japanese: 神奈川沖浪裏, Hepburn: Kanagawa-oki Nami Ura; lit. 'Under the Wave off Kanagawa')[a] is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai (1760–1849), created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history. The print depicts three boats moving through a storm-tossed sea, with a large, cresting wave forming a spiral in the centre over the boats and Mount Fuji in the background. Adulteration of The Great Wave off Kanagawa (Japanese: 神奈川沖浪裏, Hepburn: Kanagawa-oki Nami Ura; lit. 'Under the Wave off Kanagawa')[a] is a woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai (1760–1849), created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history. The print depicts three boats moving through a storm-tossed sea, with a large, cresting wave forming a spiral in the centre over the boats and Mount Fuji in the background. The wave's white foam crest now sports googly eye and below it, in the arc of dark blue water, are four chocolate chip cookies. Yes, it's the Cookie Monster!
November 5, 2025 at 1:25 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
Happy Halloween! Beware of hate-filled candy.
Image of a triangular piece of white, orange, and yellow candy corn with a plaintive face, stick arms and stick legs. Said piece of candy corn holds a sign on which appears "I HATE YOU TOO." Happy Halloween!
November 1, 2025 at 12:03 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
"A View of the President's House in the City of Washington After the Conflagration of the 21st August 1814." (Library of Congress) #WhiteHouseDesecration
From Library of Congress website: Print shows a view from northeast of the fire-damaged White House, a result of the War of 1812. On August 24, 1814, British general Robert Ross led his troops into Washington with strict orders to burn only public buildings. On August 25, a tornado blew through the city, bringing torrential rains that quelled both fires and British desire to pursue further action in Washington. From me: This color print depicts the White House on a low horizon line, with green field and young trees from lower edge up to the house. Blue sky with clouds that appear to emanate from the burned-out shell of the White House cover the top two-thirds of hte image.
October 20, 2025 at 10:01 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
"DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP": white letters against dark blue background.
October 18, 2025 at 2:01 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
But not selling these products, right?
Color image of variety of Fa body products, from soap and deodorant to body washes and body sprays.
October 9, 2025 at 1:59 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
Yes, there's drought, but Mother Nature still serves up beauty. Here's where I work.
Color photograph of the slim trunks of trees on the right and the left edges of the image, with green and yellow plants in the foreground and green-leafed trees beyond. At the center is a view through the trees to a body of water in which trees with orange and yellow leaves are reflected. Blue sky in the distance. Color photograph depicting a body of water in the middle distance, with two tree trunks framing the water in the foreground. The far shore is lined with trees of green, yellow, and red leaves. Blue sky in the background right. Even bare trees are beautiful against a clear azure sky. Color photographic image depicts brown and dry green grass in foreground and middle ground. Image taken from beyond two stone posts at lower left and right. Beyond the posts at the horizon line are trees of various heights, the tallest with green leaves and shorter ones with rust and orange leaves. Amid this, at center right rising from the horizon line are three bare trees bare of leaves, just thin trunks and branches, each looking like wisps of gray straw.
October 8, 2025 at 4:39 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
Visited the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival today, bought some yarn and a chicken bowl.
Handmade pottery bowl in speckled yellow clay with one edge formed in a small chicken face with eyes, beak, and wattle.
October 4, 2025 at 10:52 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
How certain people see themselves today.
Color photographic image of actor George C. Scott playing General George S. Patton. Scott stands and salutes behind red and white stripes of a U.S. flag. He wears WWII-era US Army military uniform with many medals on each breast pocket and gold-trimmed red and blue sashes on which more medals hang. In his proper left hand he carries gloves and a riding crop.
September 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
She took his stuff and went to the Shakers.
September 28, 2025 at 8:46 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
"Guardsball" is the major league version of Calvinball?

Just as long as there's no cheating....
Color panel of hand-drawn "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip. The little boy Calvin is dressed in a bandit's mask and carrying a badminton racket. To the right is Hobbes, his toy/live tiger, also dressed in a bandit's mask and riding a stick pony and carrying a croquet mallet. They chase a volleyball amid a field of badminton birds and croquet wickets.
September 28, 2025 at 2:16 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
But what about Freedonia?
Poster advertising the Marx Brothers' film, Duck Soup, in which a nation called "Freedonia" matters. Poster image shows all four Marx Brothers in various military costumes and riding a missile. "The Four Marx Brothers" appears at upper left corner. "'Duck Soup'" appears at lower right corner.
September 21, 2025 at 1:19 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
September 19, 2025 at 3:44 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
The Shakers of Canterbury, NH, did their own testing with measles in 1851. The test failed. They vaccinated.

EIGHTEEN FIFTY-ONE.
April 11, 1851. Some of our children are taken to the neighbors who have children sick with the measles, to see if the Shaker children would take the disease. For several years the children in our family have not been allowed to eat any swine’s flesh, or lard, and as no case of measles had occurred during some two years the subject began to attract attention. The measles and swine to be very closely conjoined, hence this experiment. Not one of the company ever showed any signs of the disease and some thought that the exclusion of swine would also exclude forevermore the measles from the family. Several cases, however, have occurred since that date which changed the minds on that subject.
September 18, 2025 at 10:32 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Today's "delightful" research find--1873 history of Wales, MA.

"Delight [Andrews Abbott]--Daughter of Robert and Delight Andrews. ... She had the good or ill fortune to give birth to a daughter anterior to her marriage. These ruptures of female virtue sometimes occurred in days of yore."
Screenshot of handwritten text with the heading"Abbott Families" under which we read about Delight Andrews Abbot (quoted in post).
September 15, 2025 at 10:35 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Good night!
September 15, 2025 at 3:14 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
All pumpkin. No spice.
Image of a two-story white clapboard house with a porch extending the width of the building. On the porch, in front of the porch, and along the walkway extending to the sidewalk are loys of pumpkins and gourds, artfully arranged in groups.
September 13, 2025 at 10:04 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Guess we need to call in these guys.
Color photographic image from the 1987 film "The Untouchables": Four actors (from left to right Andy Garcia, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, and Charles Martin Smith) in 1930s costumes and carrying rifles stand in a Chicago street.
September 9, 2025 at 1:41 AM
stwajda.bsky.social
Riffing on A. Lincoln's 1860 Lincoln victory poster. Mamdani's killin' it. (On Etsy.)
Rectangular image imitating 19th-century broadside. The words "Let the People Rejoice! " appears at top. Beneath it is an image of an eagle, wings spread, carrying a streaming banner in its beak. Printed on the banner: "CAPITAL SHALL NOT OWN US!" Beneath this image is the following text: MAMDANI ELECTED! THE PEOPLE TRUE TO LIBERTY. NEW YORK REDEEMED! SHE VOTES FOR MAMDANI. She chooses Progressive Mayor. SHE REPUDIATES CUOMO. THE GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD!! GOD BLESS NEW YORK! Mamdani carries all boroughs except Staten Island. AN AVALANCHE OF FREEMEN. SHOUT BOYS SHOUT, VICTORY IS OURS, FREEDOM IS TRIUMPHANT.
September 5, 2025 at 8:23 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Plugging the Canterbury Shakers' Dwelling House Sisters' Attic since I curate it. So. Many. Built-ins. Here.

No drawers in any building here go to the ceiling.
September 4, 2025 at 9:43 PM
stwajda.bsky.social
Ginger peach jam, baby!!!
Color photographic image of glass jars full of jam, all aligned on a kitchen towel.
August 20, 2025 at 11:01 PM