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I came close to transcribing all of the Paschal letters, which covered a young soldier’s life and death in the trenches of World War One. While I worked on them, I couldn’t help but think about how I would feel in Robert’s place a century ago. I am older now than Robert ever lived to be. What does this tell me about his life? What does this tell me about mine? These thoughts will stick with me for a long time.

I also came near to completing my documentation assignments with Oakwood Cemetery. Not only did I learn about the importance of meticulous research, but I learned some interesting facts about the important citizens from my hometown. I would be excited to contribute to Oakwood’s future historical projects should they require assistance.

The penultimate week of my internship with the Bassett Historical Center glimpsed another moment of reflection for me. This time, I took note of my improvement in speed and accuracy.

I made considerable progress at Oakwood Cemetery, for example. My first search for graves to document took 3 hours to find only 15 plots. Wednesday, I located 43 in half the time! Similarly, as I began compiling short biographies of the cemetery’s noteworthy inhabitants, I found diving through obituaries an easier task than expected. All in all, Oakwood Cemetery and the Bassett Historical Center are more than satisfied with my progress so far.

I am also pleased with the progress I have made transcribing World War One letters I have been working on. While I hope to finish this task by the end of my internship next week, I have made arrangements to continue as a volunteer with the Bassett Historical Center should I need the extra time to finish.

Due to the time crunch at the end of the internship, I have decided not to read Thomas S. Kidd’s biography of Patrick Henry, a book which I have long desired to finish. Henry lent his name to my county, where he and his family lived for a while on their plantation (Leatherwood) during the American Revolution. While it would be interesting to view another crucial piece of my hometown’s history, I simply cannot find the time to read this well-reviewed novel. I have hope to amend this in the near future.

My final week will consist of my last few documentations for Oakwood Cemetery and the planned final transcription of the World War One letters. I could not have asked for a better internship than right here at home with the Bassett Historical Center!

The fourth week of interning with the Bassett Historical Center (6/29-7/3) was one that left plenty of room for deep thought and introspection.

Finishing Beth Macy’s book Factory Man this week, I was both sympathetic and conflicted by its overarching narrative. I was appreciative of the clear historically-backed examination of the Bassett family in the first half and an in-depth deconstruction of ‘underdog’ J.D. Bassett III vs the ‘forces’ of globalization in the second half. It certainly entertained me! However, the closeness of the novel’s subjects and people (some of whom I know) make my objectivism harder to reach. Nevertheless, I felt Macy’s treatment of the Bassett family rivalries and domestic intrigue almost cartoonishly melodramatic at times. Overall, however, the book captivated me and gives a glimpse (if only that) into the damage wrought by free trade and globalization in the area I call home.

New perspectives and insights also entertained my work at Oakwood Cemetery. As the oldest cemetery in Martinsville, Oakwood is a place of great beauty and deep history, dating back to the founding days of Martinsville and Henry County. Getting to learn a thing or two about the people buried there has made the experience even more unique. My favorite individual to learn about was Sallie Booker, one of the first women ever elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in the mid-1920s. The Democratic political leader combined years of teaching experience with suffragist advocacy to become a significant figure in Richmond’s majority-male government. Although only serving two terms, Booker’s impact in the legislative chamber earned her the trust and friendship of future governors and U.S. senators before her untimely death in 1944. Stories like this are not uncommon in most cemeteries, but I am glad to have found this one at Oakwood.

Finally, Robert Paschal’s letters are (as usual) very deep and personally touching. While Robert writes in a somewhat confusing, train of thought, almost Jack Kerouac-style, it does NOT detract from the emotive symbology of his words. For Robert to write directly what he was thinking may be, in my opinion, a unique window into the life of this early 20th-century soldier.

I hope to continue working on the Paschal letters and at Oakwood Cemetery peacefully next week, and I may perhaps begin my own reading of a history book I have long neglected to finish reading. Either way, I have high expectations for my last two full weeks interning with the Bassett Historical Center!

Pictured: John D. Bassett High School, almost directly across the road from the Bassett Historical Center. While long closed, the former school (now engagement center) remains a testament of the Bassett family’s major influence upon local life in my hometown.

The job of a historian is not always a glamorous one, as some people seem to think. Working long hours under the hot sun archiving and researching various gravesites is proof of this. To be fair, however, sitting at a computer or research catalog for hours on end can be equally mind-numbing and boring. Nevertheless, the good historian (or someone hoping to become one) realizes the payoff to diligent research and sees the value of dedication in the benefits of knowledge they create. Working at Oakwood Cemetery for my third week has proved this beyond doubt.

I traveled to the quiet cemetery earlier than I expected Monday (6/22) to meet Lucy Davis and Kay Lewis, two dedicated board members of the cemetery. Leading me on a short guided tour of the grounds, they gave me the instructions I had been waiting to hear for more than a week. I was to find approximately 40 graves, in need of location and documentation. Upon finding them using sizable cemetery blueprints I was to photograph them and annotate various informational material to add to both the cemetery’s and the Bassett Historical Center’s archives (such as grave location upon a lot, possible epigraphs, etc.)

I learned quickly the determination needed to begin work on this project. Despite being located on a hill, Oakwood does not have much of a breeze to balance the heat of the sun. Information wrongly listed or suggested in graveyard documents led me several times to wrong sections of the cemetery for hours looking at incorrect tombs or headstones. Transcription errors, air pollution leading to granite and marble decay, missing markers, erroneous deeds… many graves suffered from one or more of these setbacks. Nevertheless, I managed to finish 20 graves before Friday, halfway through my beginning documentation run. Next week (beginning 6/29) I will be finishing up the 20 remaining graves and beginning several more.

Interestingly, several of the prominent businessmen mentioned in my current reading, Factory Man, are buried at Oakwood. In my surveying, I found the family plot of J.D. Bassett, Jr., the first heir of his father’s massive Bassett Furniture Company. His grave was as immaculate and ornate as the life he lived if Beth Macy’s book is to be believed. Below are a few pictures of his gravesite.

In another cemetery on the opposite end of Henry County, I stopped by one day to see the grave of Margaret Paschal. Margaret was the loving wife of Robert Paschal, the sender of the World War One letters I am currently transcribing for the Bassett Historical Center. The affectionate epitaph on her headstone echoes the undying sentiment those around Margaret (such as Robert, as shown in his letters) had for her. Stopping by for a few minutes encouraged me to press forward and continue the important transcribing process that has been going well so far.

I hope next week to finish Factory Man, continue the steady transcription of letters, and explore more of Oakwood Cemetery’s historic grounds. Here’s to another fantastic week of interning with the Bassett Historical Center!

Pictured: A very confused me at Oakwood Cemetery, orienting my blueprints and looking for a nearby plot.

Pictured: J.D. Bassett, Jr.’s headstone and the beautiful Bassett family plot. Note the family name centered within the frieze.

Pictured: The grave of Margaret Paschal, who remarried following the death of her first husband, Robert Paschal. “To know her,” says the epitaph, “was to love her.”

On Monday of last week, I hit the ground running as I began my six-week half-virtual, half-in person internship with the local Bassett Historical Center.

Interning with the Center comes with several unique advantages to someone wanting to become a public historian. As a group loosely connected to the vast Blue Ridge Public Library system, the Center offers an array of various research and investigative databases for historians to utilize. One famous user of the Center’s vast archival catalog, journalist Beth Macy, should be well-known to Roanoke College students. Having presented a lecture on campus last year concerning her new book Dopesick, Macy primarily researched and wrote her earlier book Factory Man using genealogical information retrieved with the help of Bassett’s friendly and dedicated core staff.

Another advantage of interning with the Bassett Historical Center is the opportunity to go in-depth with projects started by or limited to volunteer participation. The Center recruits many volunteers to help donate, recruit, or sometimes research items placed into its collections. I volunteered some last summer, occasionally getting the opportunity to assist with building an exhibit. Becoming an intern allows me the opportunity to join the core staff of the Center to watch how exhibits, databases, and archive preservation techniques are actually carried out beyond just the final display.

My first week showed me the first glimpse of my new internship’s advantages. My first assignment was to (minding social distancing rules) retrieve from the Center a laptop and copied versions of 45 personal letters between a World War One soldier and his wife between 1917 and 1918. While I am familiar with the exhibit these letters came from, I was informed that the transcribing of these letters for the first time would be of great benefit to the Center and the community as a whole. That has been my primary assignment, and I have been able to transcribe 11 as of the time this blog has been published.

My second assignment has come at the insistence of my internship advisor, Center director Fran Snead, as well as my close family. I am to read Factory Man, Macy’s book concerning the history, life, and times of the Bassett family, whose heirs control the powerful Bassett Furniture Factory once dominant in the town. As both a resource thoroughly enjoyed by town residents (my family included) and the Center’s staff, the book certainly gives a glimpse behind the intricate details used to inform this writer’s narrative and historical grounding. I have read around 180 pages as of the time this blog has been published.

My third assignment, set to begin next week, will involve my assistance at the oldest cemetery in town. Oakwood Cemetary, located in the heart of Bassett’s neighboring town Martinsville, has requested assistance from the Center to help document historically significant graves on its grounds. Acting as an intern on behalf of the Center, I will be meeting with local contact Lucy Davis to learn the specifics of this job on Tuesday of next week, June 23rd.

Overall, my internship looks to give a promising peek into the unique and often intricate world of the historian’s tradecraft. To assist in and sometimes facilitate the exhibit building process will be unlike any hands-on experience I have ever had. I have little doubt, however, that my internship will culminate in my better understanding of the job of a historian.

Pictured: Some of the copies of the letters that I will be transcribing.

Pictured: Still life of my ‘work station’, AKA my dining room table.