Historic holiday menus created at the former Army post at Fort Oglethorpe from 1925-1940 are now available freely online in the Digital Library of Georgia

The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) has partnered with the 6th Cavalry Museum to digitize its collection of historic holiday menus created at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia from 1925-1940, thanks to a digitization grant awarded by the DLG. 

The collection is available at https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/scm_scthm.

Holiday menus combine economic, cultural, and social histories of holidays as well as food and cooking history. Some of these menus also include rosters of US military personnel, as well as guests and family members. In some cases, the menus include a “year in review” section, providing key insights that aren’t offered elsewhere in materials held by the 6th Cavalry Museum.

These materials have proved to be particularly helpful to genealogists who have made use of them as a source of historical information, thanks in part to rosters recorded inside of the menus.

Food historians will be able to consult these resources for a history of food or a study of ritualized meals, and menu highlights provide critical information about military life and help provide a better understanding of the loss, change, and growth that took place during the 1920s and 1930s. 

Camilla Canty, a family historian doing research on her family, notes:

“My father joined the 6th Cavalry for officer’s training in 1940 at Fort Oglethorpe and eventually attained the rank of Major by the end of World War Two. Fort Oglethorpe held special memories for my parents because they met there when my father was in training and my mother worked for Col. James Troutt in the Office of the Surgeon.”

Selected Images

1933 Troop A Thanksgiving Menu
Thanksgiving dinner menu for troop A of the 6th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. 
https://dlg.usg.edu/record/scm_scthm_1933-11-30-troop-a
1935 Troop B Christmas Menu, page 4
Christmas dinner menu for troop B of the 6th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. This page identifies members of the troop. 
https://dlg.usg.edu/record/scm_scthm_1935-12-25-troop-b

About the 6th Cavalry Museum

The 6th Cavalry Museum preserves the rich military history of the Fighting Sixth Cavalry, the former Army Post at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia (1902 – 1946), and the Third Women’s Army Corps Training Center. Located on the Post’s original parade ground, the area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, surrounded by officer’s homes and other Post buildings. The 6th Cavalry Museum was founded in 1981 by members of the 6th U.S. Cavalry Veterans Association and continues the mission of Sharing History for All. 

About the Digital Library of Georgia

Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance, and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources. DLG also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project. 

Visit the DLG at dlg.usg.edu. 

Twitter: @DigLibGA 

Facebook: facebook.com/DigitalLibraryofGeorgia/

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Historic Georgian African American newspapers dating from 1886-1926 are now available freely online, thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities

The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is pleased to announce that it has completed the digitization of two historically significant Georgia African American newspapers as part of a National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The digital images will be included in the Library of Congress’ newspaper site: Chronicling America http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ and the DLG’s own site: Georgia Historic Newspapers (GHN), http://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/

“NEH grants help strengthen and sustain American cultural life, in communities, at museums, libraries, and historic sites, and in classrooms,” said former NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. “As the nation prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary in 2026, NEH is proud to help lay the foundations for public engagement with America’s past by funding projects that safeguard cultural heritage and advance our understanding of the events, ideas, and people that have shaped our nation.”

The newspapers include:

Featured images:

Savannah Tribune of November 10, 1888, celebrates Republican Benjamin Harrison’s presidential victory: https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn84020323/1888-11-10/ed-1/seq-1/



Athens Republique of January 7, 1922, covers Athens’ 59th Anniversary of Emancipation celebration and looks back on Booker T. Washington’s legacy: https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/2012233098/1922-01-07/ed-1/seq-1/

The GHN website also includes several other African American newspaper titles published in Georgia ranging from 1867-2018 that were digitized as part of previous grant-funded projects. These titles can be browsed through at https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/types/#africanamerican

African American newspapers from across the country can be found in the Chronicling America website at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/?state=&ethnicity=African+American

About the National Endowment for the Humanities 

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at: www.neh.gov.

Twitter: @nehgov

Facebook: facebook.com/nehgov/ 

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