History Meets Creativity in ‘Scraps of Life: History in Scrapbooks and Diaries,’ a New University Libraries Exhibition
By Marketing and Communications | 10-07-2025
Explore first-hand accounts of life preserved for the benefit of future generations at “Scraps of Life: History in Scrapbooks and Diaries,” an exhibition at Cushing Memorial Library & Archives from Nov. 14, 2025, to March 20, 2026.
See history through the eyes of scrapbook and memory book collectors and discover their thoughts through an eclectic mix of preserved original documents, hand-written journal entries, photos and sketches from around the world.
“These personal records offer a unique look into history, providing details and perspectives that often can’t be found anywhere else,” said Jaime Janda, the exhibition’s guest curator.
Scraps of Life visitors can view past memories, events and experiences in a whole new way. History meets creativity in the exhibition — on display in the mass media and in personal notes.
“In the United States, in the early 1800s, you had what was called a commonplace book,” Janda said. “And that’s kind of what scrapbooks were born out of, because they would have recipes in there, poems they would write, but then they started pasting in stuff from newspapers, even over their former writings.”
The materials on display come directly from Cushing’s vast stores of scrapbooks and diaries. You can see an account of the New London, Texas, natural gas leak explosion at a school that stands as the third-deadliest disaster in state history.
Further from home, diaries from a Japanese man share the harrowing experience of living in Japan during and after World War II. Visitors will also see articles documenting Texas’ transformation when the electric grid was laid in the state, viewing scrapbook entries documenting changes to the electric grid dating back to 1912.
The threads that tie the exhibition together are the personal perspectives that were bound in memory — a powerful juxtaposition to the momentary “here today, gone tomorrow” digital world that visitors return to after seeing the exhibition.
Cushing Memorial Library & Archives is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Written by: Ivy Mestrovic | Media Contact: Matthew Kennedy, matthew.kennedy@tamu.edu
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