Week Five: Picture Perfect

William Gladden Jr. is pictured hard at work inside his Gladden's Shoe Hospital, c. 1976.

Hello, reader! This week, the Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive received a very special digital donation. Last week on Friday, Ms. Boykin brought in five original Polaroid photographs revolving around the life of William Gladden Sr in the 1970s. The items were generously donated by Mr. Terrance, who was William “Perrine Slim” Gladden Jr.’s medical aide and friend. Mr. Terrance still lives in the house built for William Gladden Jr. and still retains a treasure trove of surviving Gladden artifacts.

William Gladden Jr.'s original Ford Model T, taken on February 20th, 1976.

The Polaroids capture numerous intimate glimpses into William’s life. The rarest of these snapshots into time include William Gladden Jr. sitting at his workshop inside Gladden’s Shoe Hospital, the cobbler business he opened all the way back in the mid-1920s. You can even spot the very Singer brand sewing machine that he purchased in 1926 in these photographs! The other two objects depict alternate angles of William’s original 1920s Ford Model T, taken on February 20th, 1976.

William Gladden Sr. and Mr. Harry Williams, c. 1976.

The last photograph preserves a moment of friendship between William Gladden Sr. and another prominent member of Apopka’s Black community, Mr. Harry Williams. Mr. Williams was a veteran of World War II, serving as a Technician Fifth Grade (Tec 5) in the United States Army. Later in his life, he found stable work as a custodian at Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School. Upon inquiring about Mr. Williams, he was described by Ms. Boykin as another self-made businessman, much like Michael Gladden Jr. Following the acquisition of Mr. Williams' image, I felt compelled to update his rather bare Find A Grave page to put a face to his name. 

The Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive flyer, designed by the intern himself.

After updating the archive with these exciting finds, I set my sights on designing a flyer to link to the Michael Gladden Jr. Digital Archive that I could hand out and share digitally. With RICHES’ approval, the flyer will be displayed at the upcoming Georgetown History Harvest on February 28th, 2026, and, of course, at the Museum of the Apopkans. Unsurprisingly, choosing which objects to visually represent Michael Gladden Jr. on the flyer was extremely difficult! In the end, I selected a photograph of Michael and Marie, a solo shot of Michael Gladden Jr., and a picture of the founding of the Washington Shores Federal Savings and Loan Association, complemented by the collection’s safekeeping receipts.

I also took it upon myself to design six RICHES button mockups ahead of the busy History Harvest season! During our first-ever meeting back in September, Dr. Lester requested that I design a pin for the RICHES team after sharing my graphic design experience. During our weekly meeting on Tuesday, I presented my ideas to the team and was pleased to hear that the flyer was approved for use at Georgetown. As for the buttons, the team is reviewing the designs to see what best fits the RICHES brand. I can’t wait to find out at our next team meeting! 

The candidates for a final RICHES button design!

My last update for this week includes collaborating with Harrison Smith, the Collections Manager at the Museum of Military History in Kissimmee, to attempt to locate the missing photograph of Marie Stapler Gladden at Hopper Academy. Since Ms. Boykin is unable to locate the original in her community photograph collection, I figured that the Orange County Regional History Center would be a strong lead because a copy of this image is on display in their African American History Exhibit. Since Harrison is connected with the History Center’s Collections department, I figured that they could provide me with the donor and provenance of this mysterious object. Hopefully, I will have an answer for you next week, reader! See you then!