New Rockford Transcript - Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

It is shocking to see people overdressed during the sweltering summer heat. But have you ever seen a group of young people go to the beach in full-length dresses? Of course not! But if you were...

The artifact featured this week is a metal cocoa tin dating back to the 1920s. Monarch cocoa was one of the many products produced and marketed by Reid, Murdoch & Co of Chicago, Ill., established...

Last fall I wrote about dogs and the role they played in the families of early settlers in Eddy County. After recently writing about friendships, I was reminded that canines (and felines) can offer...

For as long as I can remember, I've heard songs and jokes about the cookie jar. Yet somehow, I have never lived in a home that had a cookie jar. I guess my cookies resided in plastic packages (as...

It is all too easy to look back in history and create images of superhumans who were far stronger and wiser than people of today. We often talk of the hardships they endured; bitter cold, disease and...

This week's featured artifact is a photograph of Edgar and Joyce Mattson driving in the New Rockford Parade on July 4, 1957. Edgar and Joyce, the original owners of the 1903 Orient Buckboard, made...

Regular readers of Archival Anecdotes will likely have noticed that the Eddy County Museum has a healthy collection of fashion accessories. Folks from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were undou...

The art of hairwork is far more intricate than you might imagine. The Eddy County Museum holds two unique specimens of this craft. Both were created as a symbol of love and devotion from a wife to...

The boots featured this week are the only set of army boots in the Eddy County Museum's collection, and are among a limited number of artifacts from World War I. With a little research, I learned...

The time has come. The Eddy County Museum will soon be opening for the season. Every Sunday afternoon from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the public will be welcomed to...

Sometimes working through the archives at the Eddy County Museum is a bit like putting together a puzzle. Just as it is with puzzles, sometimes an answer seems to pop out. This week in particular,...

The arrival of the pasque flower (pulsatilla vulgari) is one of the most telling signs that spring has arrived on the prairie. But why stop there? Signs are all around us! Just look at the new growth...

We humans need a break from time to time. The constant barrage of information and emotion can be difficult. In the 21st century, we often equate a leisurely break with a dose of Netflix. A century...

Hat pins were once a commonly used tool that was both beautiful in design and strategic in function. The pins usually measured eight inches in length or more, and fulfilled one purpose­- to secure a...

Pictured at right is a light and sheer blouse with intricate lace work. It is one of several similar blouses housed at the Eddy County Museum. Known as the shirtwaist, or sometimes simply a "waist,"...

It never fails. Every time I step into one of the buildings at the Eddy County Museum, I notice something for the very first time. Not long ago, I stopped into the Dodd's schoolhouse, like I often...

If popular culture has taught us anything about the early days of the teenage dating scene, it is that girls were often using an excuse similar to, "I'm busy that night. I'll be washing my hair." To b...

Some might argue that the most important invention in human history was soap. Indeed, soaps made for fewer infections and greatly improved personal hygiene. Soap also had great potential when it came...

In one of my earliest memories I was sharing a page of my writing with my mother. It was nothing more than a piece of newsprint with a smattering of l's and o's, but she told me to keep it up. Little...

Sometimes I wonder what percentage of the American population has had the privilege of pressing down a typewriter key. For the past 30 years, the public has been accustomed primarily to computers and...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the lack of smiles in photographs from the earliest parts of the 20th century. It turns out the smiles that we expect in photos didn't come into fashion until the late...

The 1920s are known as being a revolutionary time of growth and modernization, but to be honest I never really understand why. (This is when I note that I am trained as an anthropologist, not a...

The Eddy County Museum has an impressive collection of hats. In fact more than two dozen different hat styles are represented in the archives. For those of us who live in the 21st century, it can be...

By now, it must be apparent to readers that the Eddy County Museum has a hearty collection of artifacts dating to the early 1900s. This era - fondly known as Eddy County's Early Years - marked a time...