On September 1st, I began a new full-time position in the Muntz library UASC as the archives assistant. I am in the final stage of processing and describing the McClendon papers. Terra and I have some really exciting ideas for this collection once the finding aid is finalized.
In the meantime, I have a few research projects going in local history. The first is a survey of Smith County Prohibition crime and the second is a survey of post-Reconstruction lynchings in Smith County. Both are quite promising, with significant returns from a scan of historical newspapers.
More to come later. I'll try to update more than once this semester!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Forrays into publishing, and other adventures
With the semester well under way, and most of my midterms behind me, I have an opportunity to catch up.
Amazing things have been happening since the conference.
First and foremost, our local campus chapter of the Walter Prescott Webb Society (a Texas history group for university students, affiliated with TSHA) is experiencing some kind of renaissance. We have somehow managed to attract a plethora of talented and tenacious history students who really want to "do" things. Recent projects we have undertaken include a guest lecture series, volunteer commitments at local history events (a Civil War reenactment and a Pioneer Day), and the design/purchase of club tchotchke (pins, shirts, a banner). We have also discussed hosting student conferences and creating a chapter newsletter.
I am conducting an unofficial campaign to get myself elected "Second Vice-President", a bizarrely named position which includes membership management and community outreach. In addition to handing out calendars of community events each month and soliciting volunteers, I have designed a membership survey through Survey Monkey (AWESOME resource) which has proven exceptionally informative. Elections will be held later in the month.
The internship mentioned previously (at the Parrot Park and Old Mill Pond Museum in Lindale, Texas)is well under way. I have adopted the Blacksmith Shop as my area of interest. I was a blacksmith's apprentice in high school for Shadowhawk Blades out of Winnsboro, Texas. Because our work frequently involved archaic tools and techniques, I gained a life-long appreciation for the topic.
My intern duties at the Old Mill Pond Museum include cataloging, appraising, and describing tools and equipment which date back to the Great Depression (and the turn of the century). Finding the resources to appraise these tools has been a real adventure. I have made it my mission to leave a healthy catalog of sources for the interns who will follow me. We are the inaugural group, so I am compiling everything from scratch. The real danger with the internship is the temptation to spend my entire weekend on the site. It is an astounding collection of historic tools, machines, gadgets, and displays representing Lindale, Texas from 1890-1940.
Check out the museum's Youtube channel here, including live tours and working demonstrations.
The next event worth noting: Our new archivist has arrived. This is a major milestone in the growth of our department, and I am very excited about future projects. The finding aid I created last semester should be published to the website soon. I am still processing the Sarah McClendon papers (about eight archival boxes of material left to go). Once this drudgery is completed, I will create a finding aid for this collection as well. It is a tremendous opportunity for me, and I am learning constantly (even through the drudgery, I will admit).
Last but not least, I have taken on a rather ambitious project. I have volunteered to act as "interim" chair for the Chronicles publication committee of the Smith County Historical Society. The Chronicles have been dormant for over seven years, although the market for backordered issues remains rather robust. We anticipate that a revival of the Chronicles will attract new members and strengthen interest in the activities of the Historical Society.
That being said, my work is really cut out for me on this project. I have limited experience with publishing and editing (fortunately, we have no shortage of volunteer editors, as well as a volunteer to handle layout and design). The bulk of my duties, as I see them now, will consist of coordinating between authors and editors, reaching out to local groups, promoting the Chronicles, and possibly writing grants. At this point, our venture is purely exploratory. We will meet again in about two months; at that time, I hope to have a host of information prepared as well as a "plan of attack".
So. Enough said for tonight (or maybe too much!)
Amazing things have been happening since the conference.
First and foremost, our local campus chapter of the Walter Prescott Webb Society (a Texas history group for university students, affiliated with TSHA) is experiencing some kind of renaissance. We have somehow managed to attract a plethora of talented and tenacious history students who really want to "do" things. Recent projects we have undertaken include a guest lecture series, volunteer commitments at local history events (a Civil War reenactment and a Pioneer Day), and the design/purchase of club tchotchke (pins, shirts, a banner). We have also discussed hosting student conferences and creating a chapter newsletter.
I am conducting an unofficial campaign to get myself elected "Second Vice-President", a bizarrely named position which includes membership management and community outreach. In addition to handing out calendars of community events each month and soliciting volunteers, I have designed a membership survey through Survey Monkey (AWESOME resource) which has proven exceptionally informative. Elections will be held later in the month.
The internship mentioned previously (at the Parrot Park and Old Mill Pond Museum in Lindale, Texas)is well under way. I have adopted the Blacksmith Shop as my area of interest. I was a blacksmith's apprentice in high school for Shadowhawk Blades out of Winnsboro, Texas. Because our work frequently involved archaic tools and techniques, I gained a life-long appreciation for the topic.
My intern duties at the Old Mill Pond Museum include cataloging, appraising, and describing tools and equipment which date back to the Great Depression (and the turn of the century). Finding the resources to appraise these tools has been a real adventure. I have made it my mission to leave a healthy catalog of sources for the interns who will follow me. We are the inaugural group, so I am compiling everything from scratch. The real danger with the internship is the temptation to spend my entire weekend on the site. It is an astounding collection of historic tools, machines, gadgets, and displays representing Lindale, Texas from 1890-1940.
Check out the museum's Youtube channel here, including live tours and working demonstrations.
The next event worth noting: Our new archivist has arrived. This is a major milestone in the growth of our department, and I am very excited about future projects. The finding aid I created last semester should be published to the website soon. I am still processing the Sarah McClendon papers (about eight archival boxes of material left to go). Once this drudgery is completed, I will create a finding aid for this collection as well. It is a tremendous opportunity for me, and I am learning constantly (even through the drudgery, I will admit).
Last but not least, I have taken on a rather ambitious project. I have volunteered to act as "interim" chair for the Chronicles publication committee of the Smith County Historical Society. The Chronicles have been dormant for over seven years, although the market for backordered issues remains rather robust. We anticipate that a revival of the Chronicles will attract new members and strengthen interest in the activities of the Historical Society.
That being said, my work is really cut out for me on this project. I have limited experience with publishing and editing (fortunately, we have no shortage of volunteer editors, as well as a volunteer to handle layout and design). The bulk of my duties, as I see them now, will consist of coordinating between authors and editors, reaching out to local groups, promoting the Chronicles, and possibly writing grants. At this point, our venture is purely exploratory. We will meet again in about two months; at that time, I hope to have a host of information prepared as well as a "plan of attack".
So. Enough said for tonight (or maybe too much!)
Friday, January 21, 2011
Lessons from the conference
Overall, the STEM conference ("Bridging Research and Practices) was a great experience. I definitely underestimated how exhausted I would be this morning. I left campus Wednesday afternoon right after my last class and drove to Austin, presented Thursday at 1:30 (90 minute workshop), and left Austin Thursday night at 5. I lost about twenty minutes on some back country roads after I missed a turn, but I managed to arrive in Tyler about 10:30.
Here, in the foggy aftermath, is what I have learned.
1. If you can upgrade from the economy rental to the compact, do it. I didn't. I know now how much I appreciate my truck's cruise control.
2. Always, always, always opt for the GPS rental... at least if you are me. I have a horrible sense of direction. If I had not had my GPS, I would probably still be driving around in some tiny farm town outside of Buffalo.
3. Hotel desserts are never as yummy as they look.
4. When in doubt, take a nap. They are awesome.
5. One word: Audiobooks. If I had planned better, I would have stopped at the public library before I left town and picked up Keith Richard's biography (narrated by Johnny Depp). As it happened, I ended up buying David Sedaris' "Squirrel seeks Chipmunk" for the drive home.
6. Plan your presentation, practice like crazy, and take all evaluations with a grain of salt. One person said I did a great job answering questions, another said I did poorly; one person said I went too fast and covered too much, one person said I didn't cover enough, and another said I went "just the right pace" (this person also wrote that I "made [her] feel comfortable to make mistakes". Yay!)
Working with K-12 educators was a surreal experience. I was glad to have the opportunity to see what kind of strategies real teachers employed in the classroom, and to discuss some of the unique concerns which inevitably pop up when you are working with kids. It was definitely a departure from my normal milieu.
On that note, I'm headed back to the grind...
Here, in the foggy aftermath, is what I have learned.
1. If you can upgrade from the economy rental to the compact, do it. I didn't. I know now how much I appreciate my truck's cruise control.
2. Always, always, always opt for the GPS rental... at least if you are me. I have a horrible sense of direction. If I had not had my GPS, I would probably still be driving around in some tiny farm town outside of Buffalo.
3. Hotel desserts are never as yummy as they look.
4. When in doubt, take a nap. They are awesome.
5. One word: Audiobooks. If I had planned better, I would have stopped at the public library before I left town and picked up Keith Richard's biography (narrated by Johnny Depp). As it happened, I ended up buying David Sedaris' "Squirrel seeks Chipmunk" for the drive home.
6. Plan your presentation, practice like crazy, and take all evaluations with a grain of salt. One person said I did a great job answering questions, another said I did poorly; one person said I went too fast and covered too much, one person said I didn't cover enough, and another said I went "just the right pace" (this person also wrote that I "made [her] feel comfortable to make mistakes". Yay!)
Working with K-12 educators was a surreal experience. I was glad to have the opportunity to see what kind of strategies real teachers employed in the classroom, and to discuss some of the unique concerns which inevitably pop up when you are working with kids. It was definitely a departure from my normal milieu.
On that note, I'm headed back to the grind...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
STEM conference presentation
On Thursday, January 20th I will be leading a Prezi workshop at the 4th annual Texas STEM conference, "Bridging Research and Practices". This Prezi will be part of my demonstration to social science educators. Enjoy!
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