Special Collections – Keeping History Alive Through Family
Image: Graduating Class of 1926.
Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of our first class to graduate from Skidmore as an accredited 4 -year college. Debbie Laskey, a granddaughter of Jacqueline Green ’26 from this pioneering class, was connected with the library’s Special Collections department this fall in a quest to learn more about her grandmother. These contacts with family keep history alive on both sides of the reference desk and are cherished by our college archivists because history is never completed but is a constant process of learning and revision. Jac, as Debbie’s grandmother liked to be called, was born in 1905 to a prominent family in Liberty, a small town about 100 miles north of New York City. She was born in her family’s house, the first residence to have electricity in the town. Her father owned and operated Green’s Department Store in Middletown, NY. Her mother, Bertie Green, marched for women’s suffrage, which was granted just 2 years before Jac arrived at Skidmore in the fall of 1922. Records at Skidmore show that Jac began studying Home Economics but later changed to General Studies. In her 1926 yearbook, she wrote that she had “a deep interest in contemporary affairs.”
Upon graduation, Jac took a position with the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library and moved to New York City. Harlem was at its cultural zenith right at this moment, serving as a symbol of the African American struggle for equality and becoming a flourishing center of black culture, art and music. The library branch Jac went to work for was the cultural hub at the heart of Harlem. It had opened in May 1925, only one year before Jac arrived, as the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints. In 1926, when Jac worked there, the branch purchased the collections of Arturo Schomburg, a Puerto Rican-born bibliophile who spent decades collecting thousands of prints, manuscripts, rare books, and pamphlets that served as powerful testaments to the contributions people of African descent have made to civilization the world over. The branch would later be renamed the Schomburg Center, which today is a national landmark and internationally renowned research center, celebrating its 100th anniversary along with Jac’s & Skidmore College’s graduation centennial.
In 1927, she returned to Liberty and married Harry Ordin, a dentist, and they were happily married for 51 years. Jac and Harry were parents of two daughters, Nathalie and Gretchen, and also grandparents of four. During Jac’s lifetime (she died in 1978), she supported Liberty’s hospital with her time and money, Skidmore College, and other causes. Her daughters continued Bertie’s and Jac’s dedication to philanthropy, and Debbie Laskey, Bertie’s great-granddaughter and Jac’s granddaughter, continued their inspiring legacy through her involvement with the League of Women Voters, Special Olympics, and Reading Is Fundamental of Southern California. Bertie had a book in her collection entitled, “Greatest Century in the World’s History, the Nineteenth Century,” with a handwritten date on the inside cover of 1901. She gave the book to Jac, who gave it to Debbie, and it’s had a featured spot on her bookcase for nearly 50 years!
Image of the entire student body, faculty, and staff in Fall of 1923
New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture has an amazing history and wonderful collection to explore. Use the following resources to learn more about it.
- Welcome to the Schomburg Center - Learn about the Schomburg Center and its history.
- Schomburg Founder Arturo Alfonso Schomburg in Our Original Reading Room - The longest footage found on record of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg with librarian Catherine Latimer.
- NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project – 135th Street Branch - Learn how the 135th Street Branch (later named the Schomburg Center) connected with LGBTQ individuals in Harlem.
- Harlem’s Schomburg Center: Celebrating the History and Culture of the Black Experience
- NYPL Schomburg Library Guides - Explore the Schomburg’s vast collections with guides highlighting different individuals, topics, and materials.
- NYPL Digital Collections - Search the digitized collections of the New York Public Library including their research centers.
- Digital Schomburg - Explore the digital-born projects from the Schomburg Center.
Reading room of the Schomburg Collection at the 135th Street Branch Library with Lawrence Reddick, curator, seated at right. 1938–1945. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, NYPL Digital Collections, ID: 58613608