Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 110 pages
Genre: American History, Colonial
Publisher: Dave Tabler
Publication Date: Nov 1, 2023
Content Rating: G. Suitable for all audiences.
Want to know more about the historical depth of the Diamond State? Curious to learn the surprising background behind cypress shingles, Conestoga wagons, and Patty Cannon? Wondering about the origins of George Washington’s famous cherry tree story? Popular blogger and long-time Delawarean Dave Tabler relishes sharing his love of the past with hundreds of thousands of online readers. And now he’s here to celebrate the many fascinating details that make this small first state a real powerhouse.
Delaware from Railways to Freeways covers eye-opening information about the region and its residents from 1800 to 1907. Laying out a captivating journey through pictures and offering up little-known anecdotes, entertainingly educational stories, and a comprehensive deep dive, Tabler gives insightful commentary on inventions, contributors to society, and transformative technology. History lovers of all ages will immensely enjoy this trove of 19th-century lore.
In Delaware from Railways to Freeways, you’ll discover:
- The illustrator responsible for the modern-day version of Robin Hood
- Which innovative minds were behind Christmas Seals, RCA Victrola, and other cool contraptions
- How roads were built, the iron industry rose up, and breakwaters and ferries expanded
- Fun facts about the state fair, the founding of the A.M.E. Church, and a flying machine
- The Civil War & Reconstruction era, The Gilded Age & Beyond, and much, much more!
Delaware from Railways to Freeways is the perfect combination of coffee table book and reference resource and is the second volume in the Delaware History Overview series. If you like photography from the past, engrossing regional tales, and adaptive teaching tools, then you’ll adore Dave Tabler’s fresh retrospective.
What are the implications of digital technology and social
media on the preservation and interpretation of history?
The advent of computers and the internet has profoundly
reshaped how we interact with the past. While offering unparalleled access to
historical documents, these technologies have also fundamentally altered the practice
of history.
Never before have historians enjoyed such widespread access
to archives across the globe. The diligent digitization efforts of various
institutions have removed geographic impediments, allowing exploration from the
comfort of home. Despite this convenience, many invaluable resources remain
frustratingly out of reach, trapped behind expensive paywalls. For those on
tight budgets, such coveted online repositories remain inaccessible. This glaring
disparity hinders, just for one example, broke graduate students, threatening to
skew dominant historical narratives.
The lightning-fast processing power of artificial intelligence
has vast potential to accelerate the discovery of obscured patterns within
massive datasets, achieving insights that elude human cognition. However, an
over-eagerness to accept every AI pronouncement as historical fact, without
cross-checking, risks introducing AI-produced hallucinations
into the record. Furthermore, the algorithms generating these findings contain
embedded limitations and biases influencing the connections they highlight.
“Garbage in—garbage out.” Historians must therefore carefully verify any
AI-based conclusions, rather than blindly incorporating them into existing
historical models.
Long gone are the days when historians could rely
exclusively on tangible correspondence to shape historical arguments. Today’s
prevalence of digital communication channels necessitates incorporating
ephemeral emails, texts, and tweets into research. Attempting to access such
transient digital material poses multiple obstacles, including privacy,
encryption, and volume. Constructing linear narratives from these fragmented
packets stretches different historian muscles. While the sequencing challenges
are not entirely new, the fragile nature of
constantly updating digital formats risks losing today’s
digital artifacts to the sands of time. We see this kind of
tragedy unfolding already, for example, in the urgent attempt to preserve fragile
early motion picture films shot on cellulose nitrate stock that is crumbling
before our eyes. Conscientious efforts must ensure that accessible
backups preserve today’s digital breadcrumbs for curious
minds centuries hence.
The digital era’s influence on historical pursuits involves
navigating both promises and pitfalls. Historians must balance heightened
accessibility against an increasing number of paywalls, weigh AI’s revelations
against
potential distortions, and compile disparate digital pieces
into cogent wholes. As technology ceaselessly reinvents communication channels,
adaptable historiographic practices become critical for accurately conveying
the stories of generations past and present.
Ten year old Dave Tabler decided he was going to read the ‘R’ volume from the family’s World Book Encyclopedia set over summer vacation. He never made it from beginning to end. He did, however, become interested in Norman Rockwell, rare-earth elements, and Run for the Roses.
Tabler’s father encouraged him to try his hand at taking pictures with the family camera. With visions of Rockwell dancing in his head, Tabler press-ganged his younger brother into wearing a straw hat and sitting next to a stream barefoot with a homemade fishing pole in his hand. The resulting image was terrible.
Dave Tabler went on to earn degrees in art history and photojournalism despite being told he needed a ‘Plan B.'
Fresh out of college, Tabler contributed the photography for The Illustrated History of American Civil War Relics, which taught him how to work with museum curators, collectors, and white cotton gloves. He met a man in the Shenandoah Valley who played the musical saw, a Knoxville fellow who specialized in collecting barbed wire, and Tom Dickey, brother of the man who wrote ‘Deliverance.’
In 2006 Tabler circled back to these earlier encounters with Appalachian culture as an idea for a blog. AppalachianHistory.net today reaches 375,000 readers a year.
Dave Tabler moved to Delaware in 2010 and became smitten with its rich past. He no longer copies Norman Rockwell, but his experience working with curators and collectors came in handy when he got the urge to photograph a love letter to Delaware’s early heritage. This may be the start of something.
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