THE SECRET HELD BY A PIN

 

By Adeladius Makwega – President’s Office, Department of Archives and Records Management, Dodoma

 

Sometimes history is not hidden in great books or in the graves of famous people. Sometimes history is hidden in a single worn piece of paper, handwritten words, and even a small pin holding two sheets together.

 

That is exactly what happened on 23 September 2026, when I visited one of the libraries in the storage facility of the President’s Office, Department of Archives and Records Management, Dodoma.

 

There, I met Ms. Neema Milinga, a librarian, whose desk had three files relating to records from the Tabora Regional Commissioner’s Office, Education Department.

 

Ms. Neema told me:

 

“A researcher has come to read these three files. He is conducting his research.”

 

With her kind permission, I had the opportunity to examine the files.

 

As I began going through them, I did not know that I was about to encounter something that would make history seem as though it had left its own mark on a piece of paper.

 

Among the records was a handwritten letter from Rufita Primary School, Tabora.

 

The letter was dated 1972, and its contents concerned something that may appear ordinary today, but at the time formed part of preparations for a national celebration.

 

The school was seeking assistance to teach its students traditional dances in preparation for the Union Republic of Tanzania celebrations.

The letter also specified the training period. The lessons were scheduled to take place from 20 November to 5 December 1972, between approximately 03:00 p.m. and 04:30 p.m

At that point, I began to wonder:

Who were those students? Which traditional dances were they taught? And on the day of the celebration, before whom did they perform?

 

Those questions could themselves become the subject of another historical investigation.

The letter was written by Ms. Martha Lina, the Headteacher of Rufita Primary School, Tabora.

 

But what surprised me most was not only the name or the contents of the letter.

It was the fact that the letter still had a pin holding two sheets of paper together.

 

At first glance, it may seem like a very small and insignificant object. Someone could easily overlook it.

 

But think about it for a moment.

The letter was written in 1972.

Today is 2026.

 

That means the papers have survived for more than 54 years, and the pin is still visible as part of the document.

While we cannot establish with certainty who placed the pin or exactly when it was attached, we can say that the pin has remained with the letter throughout its preservation history.

 

And that is where this small pin becomes more than an ordinary office object.

It becomes part of the story of the document itself.

 

“The pin holding these papers together may look like something insignificant. Yet, more than half a century later, it remains with the letter, offering a glimpse into how the document was once handled, secured and preserved.”

This discovery reminds us of something important about records and archives.

When we open an old file, we should not look only at the words.

We should also look at the pins, paper clips, stamps, envelopes, postage stamps, folds in the paper, handwritten notes in the margins, and even the smallest marks left on the document.

 

According to Mr. Athanas Kolokota, Director of National Archival Services at the President’s Office, Department of Archives and Records Management, such details can also be part of the history of a document.

 

This small pin, for example, makes us wonder about the journey of this letter: from Rufita Primary School in 1972, into a file, and eventually into an archival storage facility where a researcher can encounter it more than 50 years later.

 

Ms. Neema Milinga also shared these words with me:

“The paper carries the words. The handwriting carries the memory. And the pin remains as a mark of its journey.”

 

Perhaps that is the power of old records: sometimes the smallest detail is what makes you stop, look again, and begin asking questions about history.

All of this inspired Mwanakwetu to prepare this article and, through it, send greetings to Rufita Primary School in Tabora Region.

 

Mwanakwetu, are you there? Remember:

“THE SECRET HELD BY A PIN.”

Wishing you a wonderful day.

makwadeladius@gmail.com

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