My internal conflict has raged the whole year. Longer, really. Since the insurrection. Since the pandemic began.

As an editor in grad school would say, journalism aims to inform, educate, and entertain. But the cracks feel bigger than whole pieces of the world right now. So many bits need a discussion, an identification to start the repairs. Any effort less than serious journalism feels like a waste of my time and talents. Maybe that's my own problem?

So I started thinking about fun. And archives. And I browsed some of my favorite repositories for a cheerful, unexpected catalyst.

Enter two excellent hats.

Although the occasion remains unclear, friends Bess Wallace and Mary Paxton seem headed to some kind of convivial event. Both were about 15 years old. Wallace, with the feather and ruffle, would eventually live in the White House with her husband, Harry Truman. Paxton, wearing a campaign hat, graduated as the first woman with a degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

I knew none of that before I found the photo. I'm always thankful for what archives preserve, and for all the new readers, this mini adventure reinforces my core belief: archives are active.

Through documents and photos, personal archives can become public, to the benefit of anyone willing to search, or merely stumble. Even if you're only looking for a high-five. A few more lighthearted stories from unlikely archival objects: computer chips, heirloom seeds, toy cars, and entire buildings.

Entertainment is a legitimate gateway to information, to education, and—in rare but perfect delivery—to awe and wonder and joy. "Like the roistering wind / That laughs through stalwart pines."

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This newsletter was written on the traditional lands of the Piscataway and Nacotchtank.