This semester I am interning with the O. Winston Link Museum/ Historical Society of Western Virginia with Curator Ashley Webb. Although I started off the semester on campus being able to go to my internship in person, I made the decision to continue the rest of the semester at home in Richmond. Because of this decision, my internship has become hybrid. I go into the Museum about two long weekends a month and spend the rest of the time doing research and planning a redesign of one of the already existing exhibits in the museum. This past weekend I was able to physically go into the museum.
During my internship, I mostly participate on accessioning new objects received via donations and gifts, cataloging objects that have not made it into PastPerfect, and working on exhibits whether it be planning, labeling, or designing. This past weekend (Friday, Saturday, Monday) I spent cataloging a Virginia College yearbook from 1927 and accessioning a gift concerning the Deyerle Family. The Virginia College yearbook, “The Ole Virginny” was interesting to look through. It was fascinating to see the different styles women wore, whether it be their dress or hair, and how they interacted with one another at the school. As some may not know, Virginia College was an all women’s college located in Southern Roanoke, but due to the depression it closed its doors for good in 1929. This yearbook exemplified the many traditions the college had, their students, and the lifestyles of those students. Although the yearbook was dip in the past, the Deyerle family accession sparked my interest the most. The Deyerles were one of the first families to settle in the Roanoke Valley in the late 18th century, early 19th century. The name “Deyerle” became particularly well known through Benjamin Deyerle, who built houses throughout the Roanoke Valley in his Greek revival styles. One of his well known homes sits right on the Roanoke College campus, the Monterey House. Benjamin Deyerle also built six other well known homes in the Roanoke Valley, which include Lone Oaks (his family home), Mount Airy, Montvale, Belle Air, Pleasant Grove, and White Corners. The Deyerle family is tremendous in size and often have family reunions in Roanoke where a house tour is included.
So far with this internship I have been able to dive deeper into archival and collections work, gaining a breadth of experience with handling, marking, cataloging, and accessioning objects into a database. This helps me realize the greater work that goes on behind the scenes of a museum, especially one the size of the O. Winston Link Museum/Historical Society of Western Virginia with a staff of just two people. With that, one gains a newfound appreciation for the work put into the exhibits and into the museum as a hold.
