Week Six: "Picture This"
Hello, reader! This week brings a shorter update. I explored more of the Digital Commons backend system and added a few more artifacts to William Gladden Jr.’s exhibit space. Recently, I rescanned artifacts from William Gladden Jr.’s donated collection after noticing some rogue JPEGs among my original TIFF files; always double-check your scanner settings between sessions! After receiving new files for this intrinsic part of my digital exhibit, I uploaded two new artifacts and completed the relevant metadata fields. These two artifacts include a photograph of Michael Gladden Jr. inside M. Gladden Staple and Fancy Groceries and a 1928 photograph of visitors to a baptism at St. Paul A.M.E. Church in Apopka. While these artifacts may seem unrelated to William Gladden Jr.’s lifetime, I decided to include them in his collection because they belonged to him personally and were primary sources he directly studied in his career as a columnist, author, and community historian. Though William is no longer with us, I think it is incredibly useful to show researchers which artifacts he had access to—especially those that were not exclusively Gladden-related but were remnants of Black Apopka history that would not have otherwise survived the test of time.
After going back and forth with Sarah Norris, we were able to add another collection space for William Gladden Sr. He was accidentally left out of the initial structure request! Though his collection will be slightly smaller, William Sr. left behind some incredible artifacts from his family life and work as a cobbler, business owner, and bus driver for OCPS. As overlooked as Michael Gladden Jr. was after his death, William Gladden Sr. was not nearly as recognized by the broader Apopka community. Before opening Gladden’s Shoe Hospital in 1927, William Gladden Jr. worked out of the back of Michael Gladden Jr.’s store to build his savings for a physical storefront. I am delighted to say that I have an artifact that once decorated the walls of his store: a poster depicting Black heavyweight champion Joe Louis, which William Sr. acquired in 1935. In addition to this poster, I have an original receipt and envelope for a Singer sewing machine that William Sr. purchased in 1926, one year before he would open his store. Back to William Jr.’s collection, a fascinating array of candid photographs depicts William Sr. at work, in the middle of practicing the lost art of shoe repair and construction. There has been an admin error with William Sr.’s collection space, so I have not been able to upload anything to it just yet. Until the technical difficulties can be resolved, I will be scanning additional files over the weekend in order to upload them to the Gladden Archive and the digital exhibit when access is restored.
In addition to these changes, I have also requested the addition of an “About” page and an “Acknowledgements” page, which Dr. French kindly suggested during our meeting. I think it will truly round out the digital exhibit and show the humanity behind this publication, including that of the people who have continuously supported my efforts. I can’t wait to work more on the exhibit, reader! More to come next week!
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