nmjarrett

During my last week interning at the Historical Society of Western Virginia/O. Winston Museum, I spent a heavy amount of time continuing to accession items from the World War One gift as well as rearranging several rooms in the museum for aesthetic purposes as well as to make room for an upcoming exhibit on Botetourt County.

My experience at the O. Winston Link Museum has been a positive one and I have learned so much. I would say the most important lessons to draw from my time interning there is the management of the PastPerfect inventory system, conducting at home research for various projects, as well as having to manage certain aspects of exhibits and what will be displayed. It has given me much insight into what I potentially want in my career field and I am very happy to have had this experience.

For the past week, Ashley has had me rearrange and decide what frames to use on a wall exhibit in the museum, a process requiring acute and accurate measurements. I have also spent significant time continuing to accession a gift of World War One related items and have made great progress on the gift as a whole, accessioning almost the entire box.

With the progress I have made with the gift, I have also learned a great deal about two prominent families from the area: The Saunders and Flanders family. The gift contained a family tree as well as a detailed history of both families, mentioning their European origins as well as their migration to the United States. The gift contains multitudes of items related to the two families, including bank statements, checks, photographs of family members, as well as wedding invitations and other documents.

 

This past week I have spent considerable time working on accessioning a gift of World War One era items such as letters, photos, account books, along with many other types of items. I have continued to conduct research from home regarding interpretive labeling for potential future exhibits, a task I have had a lot of fun doing in fact.

I was given a spreadsheet list of rifles, all originating from around the general area, one of the rifles belongs to the collection of the Historical Society of Western Virginia in fact. I have been taking the time to provide aspects such as the name of the object, its year of origin, as well as the donor who provided the object as well. This has given me a unique opportunity to gain insight into objects pertaining to the local history of the Botetourt region.

I have been hard at work for the past few weeks conducting researching from home information related to the French & Indian War and how it impacted Botetourt County and the surrounding local area.

During the days I have been able to attend the internship in person, I have mostly been continuing accessioning items as well as helping Ashley move items to and from the museum’s storage unit. A highlight of the past few weeks was being able to oversee on altering an existing exhibit and making my own changes to it which was very nice. I learned today how to assign object numbers to tailored objects through sewing as well which was enjoyable.

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I have chosen to intern at the O. Winston Link Museum/Historical Society of Western Virginia with museum curator and internship supervisor Ashley Webb. As I live close by the school, I am able to go in person three days a week and the occasional weekend day. I also do research and planning from home as a way to get hours. I have conducted research on the Election Day Flood of 1985 for questions to be used in an interview with Tommy Firebaugh, a photographer known for his photos of the Flood.

 

I spend most of my time accessioning objects, photos, as well as maps by using a virtual archive software called PastPerfect. Some of the most interesting items and photos I’ve archived include contracts and agreements, old tools, as well as photos of old Downtown Roanoke and Hollins University. One of the most time consuming tasks I am working on at home for the museum is transcribing the interview between Tommy Firebaugh and Ashley Webb which involves sitting down and listening to the interview while actively typing everything said in the interview. This week I have been taking maps and accessioning them and I will soon begin preparing a Botetourt County exhibit and learn to label exhibits which means I will be writing the information typically seen under the exhibits.

It has been a very insightful experience volunteering at the museum thus far and it will almost certainly assist me in future career expertise.