Blog

By Samantha Ryder, WVRHC Graduate Assistant

When I first started working at the West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVRHC) in September 2023, I noticed a picture hanging on the wall next to the staff offices. As I worked longer and longer, my fascination with the picture grew. It depicts three people in what is said to be mining safety equipment. But it honestly has quite an eerie look.

The only information I knew going into this research was that it was taken in front of Mechanical Hall around 1912 – 1913. After looking at the WVRHC’s collections, I found that this picture was originally in the 1976 bicentennial collection. There are also additional versions of this image; one is a digitized version on WV OnView and the facsimile on the wall of the WVRHC.

The Bicentennial Collection includes various other original photographs of WVU buildings and students. The Bicentennial Collection is a smaller part of a larger collection, A&M 5188, that contains various other WVU themed original photographs throughout the history of the University. Visitors can look at turn of the century images of WVU students, classrooms, and other buildings around campus! Visitors can look at original images of the WVU horticulture building, science labs and stations, and pictures of WVU’s grounds from the 1890s.

When I looked closely at the picture, I found that ‘Draeger’ was printed on the equipment.  After doing some research, I found a German company and their website states they were founded in 1889 by Johann Henrich Dräger. In the early 20th century, the Draeger company went to the St. Louis World’s Fair to exhibit their new company. Furthermore, the company explained their early involvement in the creating and distributing of mining safety equipment and the prevalence of Draegermen, a term commonly used in North America. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Draegerman as “one of a crew trained for underground rescue work.” The Draeger company explained further how Draegermen reached a point of such great notoriety that they were featured in a Superman comic. There was also a movie called Draegerman Courage that was released in 1937 by Warner Brothers. A special edition of Theatre News describes the story of a group of Draegermen who are tasked with rescuing miners who are stuck in a collapsed mine.

The Draeger website explains how they opened the Drager Oxygen Apparatus Co. in New York but would move to Pittsburgh a few years after the turn of the century. This is likely where the equipment in the photo was acquired.

According to the Draeger website, the apparatus that the people on the left and right side of the picture are wearing is the Draeger model 1904/1909 Breathing Apparatus. This was a critical piece of machinery for the use of mine rescuing in the years after its release. The Draeger company conducted their own breathing experiments when designing the Drager Model 1904/1909 Breathing Apparatus. After much research, I was unable to conclusively identify what specific kind of mining equipment the middle person is wearing. “Draeger” is not written on that piece of equipment, so it is unclear if that is also a Draeger piece of mining safety apparatus.

The WVRHC has several other WV OnView images of both mining safety apparatus and general mining equipment. One of those images depicts a mine rescue crew standing in front of their van.

There is also another image that shows the van and associated equipment without the rescue miners in the image. Additional mining equipment can be viewed on the WVRHC’s website.

As I was conducting this research I began to think about the story behind the image. Who took this picture? Why did they take it? In my opinion, there are two likely options to this question. First, the people in the image decided to take a funny picture of themselves wearing this equipment, possibly taken by another friend. Either that, or it was taken by a member of the faculty after the students had a class about the use of this equipment. Either way, it’s a fascinating image with an even more fascinating history behind it.

By Samantha Ryder, WVRHC Graduate Assistant

If you want to conduct research at the West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVRHC), but aren’t sure how to use the microfilm, don’t worry. We can help you! The WVRHC has six microfilm units that are open to the public without any need to set up an appointment. Not only does the WVRHC have a vast collection of newspapers available to view on microfilm, but we also have other public records and some of our artifact and manuscripts collections to view. Most of those microfilm reels are available on large metal shelves behind the microfilm units. We can help you find anything you need. 

Some of the items in our collection are microfilms and the images below show what search results will look like when you find something in our collection that is either all microfilm or has both microfilm and paper originals.  

If you who want to use microfilm for the first time, you might be wondering what it is and why archives have  documents on microfilm. Microfilm are multiple documents photographed and placed onto reels. Not only can many more documents be stored in a smaller amount of space, but it also protects fragile artifacts from unnecessary touching and manipulation.  

The microfilm reader is a large machine located next to each of the computers. There is a camera overtop of the glass plate that reads the small pictures on the microfilm and projects them onto the computer. The computer has a program installed that allows the images to be viewed. There are two cylindrical white pieces of plastic that hold down the microfilm and rotate left and right depending on if you are moving the microfilm forward or backward. There is a glass plate that slightly lifts when you pull the metal handle of the microfilm forward. This helps keep the reel flat and in place. The microfilm reader operates by moving the microfilm from the original reel under the camera and onto another reel that is attached to the machine.  

After registering and signing in at the front desk, you can venture into the back of the WVRHC where the microfilms are stored. Login information will be available on a piece of paper next to the computer. When you login, the microfilm program should automatically pop up. The reel should be placed on the metal bar on the left side of the microfilm machine, and the microfilm should be gently pulled under the white cylindrical pieces and underneath the glass plate. Push the glass plate so it is fully underneath the camera. This glass plate can be moved around to see the entirety of your document.  

Once you’re logged in and the microfilm is on the machine, the software may ask you to pick between simple, standard, and advanced mode. Which one you pick is completely up to you.  

Now you’re ready to look at your materials! 

You might need to adjust the various settings to make the newspaper or other material you are viewing, more legible. The rotate, flip, and mirror buttons can be used to manipulate the image in case it is backwards or mirrored. Under the browsing tab, the adjust light levels can make the document lighter or darker. If after adjusting everything the document is still fuzzy, the camera focus in and out buttons can be used. The digital zoom button can be used to bring the image closer or farther away to make the writing more legible.

 At the bottom of the screen, the gray left and right arrow buttons move the documents forward. The red arrows on either side of the gray buttons allow the viewer to move the documents forward quickly. These red buttons are useful when moving the microfilm back to the original reel, which is something you will need to do when you’re finished viewing your document.  

If you find something interesting and want to save an image of the document to review later, you will need to save it to a flash drive. But don’t worry! The front desk has flash drives you can use.  

All you need to do is click on the ‘Addition Tool’ under cropping and select the article or section you want to save. This means you will need to draw a box around the section you want to save.  

In the bottom left corner, click ‘Capture Cropped Area’ and it will save to the bar on the bottom of the screen.  

After that, just click on the ‘Save to USB’ button on the top left corner. It’s right next to the ‘Addition Tool’ button you already used. Now your document is saved. After, you can then transfer those images to your own device, email them to yourself, or ask for assistance with emailing them. If you used one of the WVRHC’s flash drives, you should return it to the front desk after you’re done. 

You can also use your own flash drive if you have one with you. 

When you are all done looking at the microfilm just click on the left, red arrow button that moves the microfilm paper to the left and hold that button until all the microfilm is back onto the original reel. Put the reel back in the box and place that box on the wood cart so we can restack the microfilm for you. Feel free to browse as many microfilms as you want!  

Good luck with all your research! 

by Cat Melillo, Archives Processing Assistant, West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC) 

In the 1980s, Moundsville, WV’s Hare Krishna community, New Vrindaban, was home to the state’s only elephant. 
 
You may have heard of New Vrindaban, the Palace of Gold, and the many controversies surrounding its original leader, Swami Bhaktipada. If you haven’t, let’s just say it involved arson, money laundering, a massive fraud scheme, two murder conspiracies, and a federal indictment. 

Palace of Gold, mid 1980s.  

 
Setting aside the grislier details, did you know that in its heyday, the hills of rural Moundsville were home to a two-ton elephant imported from India? That’s right, the first Asian elephant imported into the U.S. in more than 30 years was a four-year-old female named Malini in 1986. At the time, she was the only elephant in the state of West Virginia. 

Malini performing in a procession, undated. 

 
Elephants are considered an auspicious animal in Hindu culture. New Vrindaban leadership spent two years cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get her to Moundsville. To prepare for her arrival, the devotee who would serve as her primary caregiver took a five-week training course in advanced elephant care at the San Diego Zoo. The two quickly formed a bond, and Malini became beloved in the community and a huge draw for tourists. 
 
Malini performed tricks such as bowing, balancing on a stand, offering flower garlands in parades, and waving a yak-tail whisk used in religious ceremonies. While employed in religious processions and festivals, she was lavishly decorated with jewels, fabrics, and paint. The devotees even brought Malini to their protests outside the Marshall County Courthouse and the West Virginia Penitentiary. 

Malini balancing on a stand, undated. 
 
Visitors would travel from all over West Virginia and the surrounding states to catch a glimpse of the Palace of Gold and its elephant. In fact, Malini was so popular, a plan was made to import an additional 34 elephants for use in religious pageants, as well as other exotic animals including Bengali tigers. Plans were drawn for the elephants to be housed in an area under the Palace of Gold, although thanks in part to the commune’s growing legal troubles, this underground elephant bunker was never completed. 
 
At the height of its tourism success, Swami Bhaktipada dreamed of expanding New Vrindaban to a second location just outside the New Jersey capital city of Trenton. The new community would house upwards of 12,000 residents, and the only way in or out would be by elephant-towed canal boats. And who was to build this new City of God? Why, none other than developer tycoon, Donald Trump! For better or worse (probably better), this plan never came to fruition. 

New York Post headline, 1987. 

Although there are no longer elephants, you can still travel to Moundsville and visit the original Palace of Gold (under new leadership). Day trip anyone?!

 
 
Sources: 
 
Doktorski, Henry, Compiler. Records regarding Kirtanananda Bhaktipada Swami and the New Vrindaban Commune, A&M 4646. West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries. Morgantown, West Virginia. https://archives.lib.wvu.edu/repositories/2/resources/7046 
 
“Imported Elephant Represents Another West Virginia First.” The West Virginia Advocate [Capon Bridge, WV], 4 Aug. 1986, p. 32. 
 
MacDonald, Glenn and Norman, James. “Hare Trumpna!” New York Post, 14 Nov. 1987.