Browsing by Author "Bolt, Carmen"
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- Dammed If You Don't: The Palmertown Tragedy of 1924 in Collective MemoryBolt, Carmen (Virginia Tech, 2016-06-24)On December 24, 1924, a wall of water and alkali muck engulfed Palmertown, a small community in Saltville, Virginia. Houses were swept away and by the time all of the bodies were pulled from the wreckage, the death toll had reached 19-an immense loss for the tight-knit community. A dam, owned by Mathieson Alkali Works, loomed approximately 100 feet above Palmertown, keeping at bay the chemical muck produced by the company plants. Despite the extent of the damage, the flood is largely absent from discourse and no historical marker exists to memorialize the tragedy. Furthermore, Palmertown and neighboring Henrytown were expunged in the mid-twentieth century when Olin Corporation rebuilt the dam overtop of the town sites. Stories of the event have been passed down for generations, immortalizing a specific story of the disaster in the memories of many local residents of Saltville, so why is it not memorialized? The cultural framework of Saltville determined how and why this disaster and others have been remembered or forgotten. In 1924, Saltville residents were accustomed to tragic events; to some extent these events were seen as part and parcel of life in a company town in Appalachia. Yet, nearly a century after the tragedy, the process of unearthing of difficult events can illuminate much of the community's collective history and restore the fragmented communal memory. The memorialization of the Palmertown Tragedy of 1924 establishes a framework for acknowledging an arduous past and identifying the roots of a town's resilience.
- Help on the Homefront, The Women of the USOBolt, Carmen (Virginia Tech Department of History, 2013-05-01)When General Eisenhower described the “cooperative, voluntary undertaking” on the home front, he was referring specifically to the role and actions of the United Service Organization(s) (USO) during World War II. Established in 1941, the USO –a voluntary organization made up of an original six independent agencies –provided aid, both on the home front and overseas. Eisenhower put special emphasis on “the people at home” because of the constant aid and support generated by women remaining on the home front.1 Over the course of the Second World War, women experienced a shift in their gender roles as they stepped forward to maintain the American “War Machine” while many men were overseas. Women provided the necessary labor in mechanical jobs and volunteer organizations, such as the USO... Women were never simply "given” the right to work, or vote, or stand side-by-side with men socially. It would be a long, hard-fought war, a war where they once more would have to break the norm, step out of the households, and confront their typical reality with the hope and determination to achieve something more for themselves. Organizations, such as the USO, provided a vital stepping-stone to propel women toward greater gender equality. By allowing women to labor alongside men within the workplace, the USO got women out of the household, out of the kitchens, and into a more equal society.
- New Town: Across the Color LineWinling, LaDale C.; Bolt, Carmen; Fralin, Scott (Virginia Tech, 2015-10-05)“Remembering New Town” is an exhibit project intended to describe and interpret one of Blacksburg’s African American neighborhoods. It will focus most heavily on the period 1900 to 1940. The exhibit is part of the VT Public History program’s ongoing engagement with local history and public audiences. In particular, VT PH makes efforts to excavate and bring to light the history of lost, forgotten, or marginalized groups and events. The New Town community was founded and grew along with VAMC/VPI through the better part of a century and eventually dissolved as Virginia Tech grew into the large university it is today. Virginia Tech led redevelopment of the area in the early 2000s and most of the traces of New Town are now lost to the history. The African American community was central to Montgomery County and Blacksburg history. Especially since New Town was so proximate to VT, this history will be of great interest to the VT community. Finally, this exhibit will emphasize the geography and spatial dynamics of New Town, which will lend itself to an engaging and experiential exhibit form. 2015/10/05 - 2015/11/20
- Virginia Tech Undergraduate Historical Review, vol 2, full issueLennon, Heather; Aiken, Erica; Cardwell, Grace; Bolt, Carmen; Bolton, Emily; Burton, Luke; Drews, Kelly (Virginia Tech Department of History, 2013-05-01)Full issue of volume 2