University in Springfield to archive political memorabilia

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The University of Illinois in Springfield is planning an event in which community members can share their political memorabilia with others while also keeping it in their possession.

The university's history department is hosting a "history harvest" event Saturday, the State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/2dWzwwH ) reported. Residents are asked to bring political memorabilia that can be scanned or photographed in order to share them on a website. Some video or audio recording can also be done.

Kenneth Owen, an assistant professor of history, said a team of students will talk to participants about the individual objects to gather information for the archive.

"We're really interested to see what we find out," Owen added. "There are a lot of interesting stories out there, and we're looking forward to hearing them."

He said the department is interested in seeing how people in Springfield and in central Illinois experience elections.

"It might be that you have some memento of meeting a candidate or going to a rally, or it might be that you were involved in a campaign and someone wrote a letter of thanks," Owen said. "Or it might be that there's a flier of a particular local campaign that was important to you or ... a family member ran for office."

Owen said the University of Nebraska-Lincoln developed the concept of the event.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com