My first real job out of college was with a division of the National Archives called the National Audiovisual Center. The director was a...

When I started this blog in 2021 it soon occurred to me that if I wasn’t careful, I could write an obituary every week. That wasn’t going...

Dr. Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Dr. Michael Kurtz, Adrienne Thomas Michael Kurtz Michael Joseph Kurtz was born on March 8, 1949, in Leesburg...

John Constance and Herb Angel, Deputy Archivist of the United States, August, 1971 I recently received a note from a young lady who...

(Movie Poster, National Treasure, Walt Disney Pictures) I couldn’t be prouder of my old ship, the National Archives. Events in recent weeks and months regarding former President Donald J. Trump have put the Archives in the bright light of national visibility. Not since Nicolas Cage brought us to the screen in National Treasure have we been displayed in such technicolor. From the battle over electoral votes to alleged illegal transfer of classified documents to the President’s

(Capitol Reflections, photo by John Constance) Congress is broken. Politics is a vicious blood sport. There is no such thing as a...

Among the first words I ever heard uttered by Congressman Tom Lantos of California were, “Mr. Constance, if you dare to take this action,...

Some figures in the world of entertainment only need one name, not two like mere mortals. Prince, Bono, Ringo, Madonna, Sting, and...

John Houseman, Frank Capra, Pare Lorenz I often associate my intersection with famous people as limited to my days as Director of Public...

If the idea is good, sometimes plans effortlessly fall into place. Such was the case one magical night in the rotunda of the National...

One Friday afternoon early in the tenure of Governor John Carlin as Archivist of the United States, I heard a voice in the outer office asking, “is anyone here?” The executive wing of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC was christened “Mahogany Row” many years ago and is a distinguished looking space with 14-ft ceilings, enormous oak doors, beautiful wainscoting, and intricate crown molding. Multiple offices line the left side of the dimly lit marble hallway and

There were two reasons that John Carlin, Archivist of the United States, and I were travelling to the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde...

Senator Charles (Mac) Mathias (R-MD) Governor Theodore R. McKeldin (R-MD) Ok folks, the topics today are political patronage and...

During my tenure at the National Archives, I got into the habit of attending St. John’s Lafayette Square each year on Good Friday. As an Episcopalian I enjoyed the familiar liturgy, the music was always excellent, and long-time rector Rev. John Carsten Harper, was a gifted preacher. A short walk from the White House, St. John’s had long ago been labelled the Church of the Presidents. Reverend Harper had preached to eight Chief Executives during his 30 years as the rector. Wh

I think the first time that I met Congressman John Lewis was at the opening of the Eyewitness exhibit at the National Archives in June...

Karl Christian Rove, or “Turd Blossom” as he was christened by George W. Bush, is probably the most well-known Republican political strategist of our time, but it was his expertise in direct mail marketing that put me in the same room with him for the first time in the late spring of 1993. My dear friend Mike Gillette had reached out to his acquaintance and fellow Texan for advice on building a base of public support for the National Archives. While we had a small core of ver

As I emerge from my writing hiatus, I am channeling my dad who was an early riser and read two newspapers before my mom had opened her...

It is xiào in Mandarin, haau in Cantonese, hiêu in Vietnamese, and Kō in Romanized Japanese. It traces its roots to ancestor worship back...

We lost another political giant this week. Robert Joseph “Bob” Dole. 98 years old. He was a son of Russell, Kansas, war hero, longtime...

As a long-time employee of the National Archives in Washington, DC, I had learned to never utter the words, “well, now I’ve seen it all”. The next day would surely dawn on a new, more unbelievable set of records that would defy logic and amaze the most veteran observer. Records are the footprints of humans, and we humans are rather unpredictable, to say the least. In March of 1999, I received a call in my downtown office from Sharon Fawcett, Deputy Assistant Archivist for Pre