German Group Visits the National Archives

On October 3, 42 journalists, historians, genealogists, and local officials from Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, visited the National Archives enroute to Iowa, where many Germans settled after 1848. Dr. Trudy Peterson, Assistant Archivist for the Office of the National Archives, greeted the group; Dr. Wayne Cook, Office of Public Programs' Education Branch, discussed genealogical holdings in Iowa-related records. Scharlott Blevins, President of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and Joachim Reppmann, from Germany, arranged the cultural

exchange.

Conference on Democracies to be Held at the Ford Library

The Committee for a Community of Democracies-USA will hold an All-Democracies Conference at the Gerald R. Ford Library on December 5-8, 1988. The conference will be co-hosted by former Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter.

The conference is the result of an initial meeting in 1985 of the International Committee for a Community of Democracies and a subsequent call to establish an intergovernmental association or forum of democracies. Participants from about 50 practicing democracies are invited to the gathering. The participants will consider ways to foster democratic values and practices, protect human rights and promote social justice, and strengthen

solidarity and cooperation among democratic governments and pro

democracy private organizations and individuals. Invitees include parliamentarians, academics, public policy activists, labor leaders, and other influential government officials.

For more information write: Richard Holzhausen, Gerald Ford Library, 1000 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2114.

Pacific Northwest Region is co

The National Archives sponsoring "Pacific Northwest History '89," an annual conference of the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild, March 3 and 4. The first day's session will be in Olympia, the state capital, hosted by the Washington State Archives and the Washington State

Library.

The March 4 meeting, in Seattle, will feature sessions on "Frontier Justice," "Pacific Rim People and Washington State," and "Washington State's Ethnic Heritages."

For further

information write: Jane Sanders, 3242 15th Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98144; or call (206) 323-8952.

The region is planning a new series of Centennial Family History Workshops for novice genealogists, on January 4 and January 11, 1989, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at 6125 Sandpoint Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. The workshops will be taught by Velma Rice, prominent member of the Seattle Genealogical Society and a volunteer at the National Archives Pacific Northwest Region.

For further information or reservations, please call (206)

526-6507 or -6347 between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Monday through Enrollment will be limited to 24 students per session,

Friday.

first come first served.

Upcoming Events at the Carter Library

The Jimmy Carter Library is displaying a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Official Images," November 5 December 4, which highlights 80 photographs from the Depression years by photographers including Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Ben Shaw, and Russell Lee. Images of farmers, children, young men and women working in Federal programs, older Americans, and striking workers encompass both rural and urban settings. This exhibition not only presents a substantial body of documentary photography, but also raises important questions about the use of "official" photographs to promote government agency goals of economic and social recovery.

Opening December 23, an exhibition at the Carter Library will feature works by Fred Shane, a contemporary of Thomas Hart Benton, who was a prominent regional artist from Kansas City trained in the tradition of the Ashcan School. The exhibition will display his works from 1924 to 1969 that illustrate his MidWest heritage and origins. The exhibition will remain open

through February 22, 1989.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 1979 Camp David Accords the Carter Library will feature works by ten prominent Israeli artists. The works were presented to President Jimmy Carter by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on the occasion of the signing of the Camp David Accords. Each of the ten artists contributed two prints, one relating to war and one relating to peace. The prints are stylized, modernistic renderings and are representative of some of the brightest and most promising artists in Israel. The exhibition, which opens on February 23, 1989, will remain open through April 6, 1989.

The library is also sponsoring its second annual free film series. These films focus on the era of the Great Depression and include titles produced during or about that period. From such classics as "Grapes of Wrath," to more recent films such as "Paper Moon," to a full-length documentary on the 1930's, the intent of the series is to show how Hollywood viewed the Depression.

For a complete listing of titles, times, and dates, call (404) 331-3942.

Photo Essay Opens at the Johnson Library

On September 24, the Lyndon B. Johnson Library opened a new exhibition entitled "Lady Bird Johnson: A Photo Essay." This exhibition honoring Claudia Taylor Johnson includes snapshots dating from 1912 of an infant in the arms of nursemaid Alice Tittle who said Claudia Johnson was "as pretty as a Lady Bird."

Family photographs from grammar school and college days and pictures of Lady Bird and Lyndon as newlyweds in Washington in 1934 are also included in the exhibition.

Congressional, Senate,

Vice Presidential and Presidential days are chronicled and culminate in the image of the First Lady, shovel in hand, planting a tree in the District of Columbia. Also included are photographs of activities at the LBJ Library, Texas Highway Beautification, and the dedication of the National Wildflower

Research Center.

One special object included in the exhibition is the gold medal struck in Lady Bird Johnson's honor by an act of Congress and presented by President Ronald Reagan at the White House on April 28, 1988. The exhibition continues through February 19, 1989.

Celebration of the Bicentennary of the Federal Judiciary Act

The regional archives are planning a number of activities to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the judiciary in 1989. A poster exhibition using photographs and facsimiles of documents from the National Achives' holdings, and oral interprative text will be offered to the courts, schools, libraries, and Federal buildings.