Illustration of a woman in a bonnet on a blue background with blue text above and below on a white background

The Sisters of the Swish was an organization that primarily supported the celebration of any given town's anniversary. Members traditionally dressed in the clothing from the time period from when the town was established. It was a social sorority that worked in conjunction with the Brothers of the Brush to coordinate celebration events. Mrs. J.W. Hooker was the leader of the Abilene, Texas Sisters of the Swish. Any woman in Abilene was able to join. Membership was free but members were all required to purchase membership buttons. 

Black and white photography of a cat with black text above and below on a silver background

USBE stands for the United States Book Exchange, which is a 60-year-old nonprofit organization that provides back issues of scholarly journals, periodicals, and popular magazines to libraries across the world. Their website launched in 1995, and in 1997, included information about their at mascot at the time, a grey cat named Greystoke. Unfortunately there is only one solid reference to Greystoke, and it is unclear when the cat stopped serving as mascot. 

Five characters from the movie on a blue background

Star Trek is a 2009 science fiction film that is the 11th film for the Star Trek film franchise, which originated in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The 2009 movie stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana, Leonard Nimoy, and Zoe Saldana, and focuses on the prevention of Earth's destruction after the planet Vulcan is destroyed.  

Photograph and illustrations of the characters of Star Trek on a black background with white text

The Star Trek Collector's Edition VHS series was released from 1986 to 1991. Consumers could purchase the videos two episodes at a time through a subscription service. There was also a Betamax version that was released of the same collection.

Color photography of Marilyn Monroe in a gold dress in front of a black background

The gold dress shown on this photograph was designed by William Travilla, who was a leading costume designer for 20th Century Fox in the 1950s. This dress was specifically designed for Marilyn Monroe’s role in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It was a pleated halter-dress made out a single piece of gold lame featuring an opening going down almost to the navel. Marilyn had to be sewn into it as the dress did not have any buttons or a zipper. She was only shown wearing it onscreen for several seconds but she convinced the head of 20th Century Fox to allow her to wear it again to the 1953 Photoplay Awards.

Black and white photograph of Marilyn Monroe

One of the most iconic sex symbols of the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe was a Hollywood actress and model who was commonly known for her dumb blonde roles in popular comedies such as "As Young as You Feel" and "Monkey Business." When she had solidified her presence on the silver screen, she decided to take a shot at production, which encouraged her to establish Marilyn Monroe Productions in 1954. "The Prince and the Showgirl" (1957) was one of the first pictures produced under her production company. Although Monroe was a well-known success in the public's eye, behind closed doors, she was battling a drug addiction due to depression; which she unfortunately succumbed to on August 5, 1962 when she was found unresponsive in her Los Angeles residence due to an overdose.

Illustration of three animal like creatures celebrating on an orange background with white text above and black text below

Caroline Feller Bauer (1935-2013) was a New York public librarian and children’s author with a passion for literacy and storytelling. “Celebrations,” published in 1985 by H.W. Wilson Company, is an interactive handbook for promoting reading through activities, including games and music. Sixteen celebrations were selected for the book, including Halloween and Grandparent’s Day.

Black and white illustration of the character Boris from Rocky and Bullwinkle on a purple background with pink text above

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show was an animated series that ran from 1959 to 1964 on both the NBC and ABC networks. It featured the adventures of two best friends, Rocky, a flying squirrel, and Bullwinkle, a moose. Although Boris Badenov was not the lead character in this series, he left his mark on the show by being the most popular villain who always sabotaged Rocky and Bullwinkle at every turn. Played by Paul Frees, he was a pint-size Russian with a short fuse whose persona was created in the memory of Akim Tamiroff, a Hollywood actor.   

Red text on a black background

2010: the Year We Made Contact is a 1984 science fiction film. It was the sequel to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Peter Hyams directed, wrote, and produced the film. Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, and Rob Scheider starred, among others. The film tells the story of how the Soviet Union and the United States team up for a joint mission to space to explore what happened to the spacecraft Discovery. Events that follow see the crews of both nations having to work together to defeat a giant alien and make it home alive.

Brown text on a yellow background

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