The Museum Blog

Although historians can trace postcards to the mid-1800s, their popularity didn't surge until the invention of photograph cards in the early twentieth century.  These typically featured images of real people or places and were usually printed on film stock paper.  Initially mailed with both message and image on the front, the cards quickly evolved into the format familiar today-- picture on front, divided back for message and address. 

By 1907 the market for postcards had exploded, as they provided a quick, cheap and fun method for cross country communication.  Americans mailed millions of them between 1900 and 1920, and they swifty became a favorite collectible for hobbyists.  By focusing on a particular place-- in this case Wake Forest, NC-- it's possible to glean actual historical information from the backs of those cards.  Writers often jotted bits of local news and gossip, allowing today's collectors to develop a broader understanding of the viewpoints of past visitors or residents. 

These particular vintage postcards are shared by local collector Eric Rush, a Wake Forest property owner and historian.  You can find similar items on auction sites such as eBay.  Prices typically range from a couple of dollars to twenty or more-- based on condition, age and rarity.

And ours is not the only Wake Forest postcard collection available for online viewing.  The Carpenter Library at the Wake Forest School of Medicine has posted a series dedicated to the North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Bowman Gray School of Medicine.   And the North Carolina Collection at UNC Chapel Hill has devoted a section of its website to postcards from Wake County-- a number of them from Wake Forest. 

Happy viewing!

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Take a look at the top hat and umbrella once worn by Ed Stanfield (WFC '49), the second Demon Deacon mascot ever to take field and court at Wake Forest College.  The artifacts were kindly donated by his son, Vic Stanfield, of Clemmons, North Carolina. 

The Demon Deacon identity reaches back almost a century, beginning with a student reporter in 1922 who, riffing on existing references to the "Baptists" and "Old Gold and Black," created the character with the invention of the alliterative team name while writing about a basketball game.  But it took Jack Baldwin (WFC '43) to bring the mascot to life.  On a dare from his fraternity brothers, who helpfully supplied the original props, Baldwin was first to don the costume, making his debut in 1941.  (The idea was to let WFC's mascot appear a little more dignified than others, something resembling an old Baptist Deacon.) 

Baldwin's characterization was an unmitigated success, leading to a long, colorful history of student mascots tweaking the Demon Deacon's iconic appearance, spirit and antics.  In the 1950s, two successive Deacons learned to climb goal posts in football cleats.  Demon Deacon Bill Shepherd (WFC '60) raised the bar with baton twirling and a great basketball shot.

But back when Ed Stanfield proudly put on this hat and umbrella, high theatrics weren't necessary.  World War II had just ended.  Times were simpler, college sports smaller and the national stage of ACC athletics still several years away.  Stanfield's Demon Deacon would have needed only to embody the giddy self-confidence of the postwar years.  His job as mascot was to usher in a modern vision of what WFC could become.

And that's what he did... helping build the foundation of Wake Forest's winning tradition with all the comic courage an old Baptist Deacon could muster. 

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The best stories about our town's history come from the people who've lived here.  Preserving those memories is part of the museum's mission, and we are working to create a digital record filled with their voices.  Our video library already includes a wide variety of interviews, speeches and events, and we are always looking for new material.

Right now, the museum is pursuing a grant from the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.  The Schlesinger Library is affiliated with Harvard University, and supports oral history projects that focus on the activism, leadership and accomplishments of women.  If awarded this grant, we hope to focus on the civic contributions of women from the East End and Mill Village.

Luckily, we've already taken advantage of informal opportunities to create a few short videos.  Three are posted here. 

In the first video link, you'll find Ms. Joyce Davis kindly participating in an oral history interview with a third-grade student from Mrs. Hanson's class at Heritage Elementary School.  Click HERE for larger screen view on YouTube. 

The second video follows a group of women from Glen Royal Baptist Church sharing artifacts and memories that harken back to their childhoods in the Mill Village.  Look for stories from Sharon Harding Woodlief, Judy Lynam Wish, Donna Lynam, Joyce Davis and Charlotte Cooke.  Click HERE to view on YouTube.

The last piece mixes location video with an interview form Dr. Enoch Holloway, in which he describes the founding of Friendship Chapel Baptist Church in a location that is now an African-American cemetery.  This touches on issues of race and religion dating back to the days of slavery.  Click HERE to view on YouTube.

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