Hello hello

Hi everyone! I'm a graduating senior completing degrees in anthropology and geography & environmental studies, with a minor in public history. As part of requirements for the public history minor I will be sharing some of my experiences as a a trails intern working for the National Park Service and Living Classrooms Foundation. I am excited to be part of this blog!

I'm late getting started in this blog, but for good reason, I swear. The internship I will be chronicling to some extent here was created through a partnership between the National Trails System and Friends of Fort McHenry (Living Classrooms Foundation). I work primarily out of Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine, which is currently base of the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. I am concurrently working weekends for the Baltimore National Heritage Area under the Every Kid in a Park program, primarily at Hampton National Historic Site.

To be able to work with park staff on website and social media material it was necessary for me to go through certain measures, be approved. This is mainly why my internship did not begin until early March and why I'm just posting this week.

I am currently completing training for this online-marketing part of the internship, and meanwhile, focusing on research and development. I have been reading mostly about the Chesapeake Campaign and the War of 1812, while scanning associated literature on different websites. An important part of my internship will be reaching out to partnering sites for updates on events, available information, and geocaching. Once I have completed necessary training I will be able to create my own posts promoting the Banner Trail and its sites, keep an eye out!

On busier days at work I spend a lot of time outside in the Star Fort (which is always fun). My favorite part of both of my jobs is informal interpretation of sites. I love talking to visitors and hopefully facilitating greater interest in public lands as well as American history and culture. Reading Freeman Tilden and discussing the development of Interpretation at NPS in Intro to Public History (HIST 300) has proved useful in these positions. In fact, in my first interview at the Fort (to volunteer) I was prompted to finish the sentence, "The chief aim of Interpretation is not instruction, but... (provocation)." I was so grateful for Dr. Meringolo's HIST 300 in that moment. Since then I have been working on becoming a better interpreter, and a large part of this is connecting to people of varying backgrounds. On an average day I meet people from all over this country and some from outside. It's fantastic.

I don't know how many of you know this, but this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System. It's because of this my position was created. We are super excited for National Trails Day on June 2nd! (Information about the 50th Anniversary may be found on trails50.org, and information about National Trails Day may be found on americanhiking.org.) In this internship I will be promoting the Banner Trail and helping to implement certain projects at the Fort. In the upcoming weeks I will post again, once I have gotten through training and started work online. My next post will be less jumbled, I promise. Until then, I hope all is well!


Gabby Alban

FREDRICK DOUGLASS: THE FELLS POINT YEARS

In my last blog I wrote about my journey returning to academia and touched on the internship I was about to undertake with the Fells Point Preservation Society. All during the winter break my anxiety was in overdrive as I truly did not know what to expect but eagerly looked forward to this experience. On January 5^th I received an email from the Board member who would act as my mentor but unfortunately we could not meet until January 26^th. That meeting went exceptionally well and I was tasked with writing a walking tour commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Douglass concentrating on his years in Fells Point. I am almost embarrassed to say I knew scant little of Mr. Douglass’ life other than he was a slave in Maryland, an abolitionist and champion of black civil rights. So a researching I did go.

I dove into my task and checked out over twelve books from the UMBC library either written about Douglass or written by Douglass himself. My research revealed a portrait of a man, who on one hand, the most photographed person of his time, but on the other, exceedingly private regarding his personal life. The Fells Point years appeared a mere footnote, at best, but nonetheless pivotal as they sparked the flame that would become his life’s mission. His words and speeches inspire us today with the same fervor that stirred a nation struggling with its identity on the cusp of civil war. To write a tour successfully I needed to dig deeper into Douglass’ childhood to grasp the importance of his time in Baltimore, why and who inspired him to become a man Lincoln admired declaring “there is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours.”[1]  

As any history major will relate, research is tedious, time-consuming, eye straining and at times exasperating, teetering between overwhelmed or underwhelmed depending on existing source material. I was experiencing the emotion of the latter, left pondering how in the heck I would stretch out these fragments of information surrounding Douglass’ time in Fells Point into a five stop hour long tour. I sought the assistance of UMBC Special Collections Department, Courtney Hobson, Coordinator, Dresher Center for the Humanities at UMBC, Enoch Pratt Free Library Maryland Department and Periodical Department along with Francis O’Neill, Reference Librarian with the Maryland Historical Society, and am eternally in their debt for the invaluable assistance, guidance and patience each provided. I determined the best approach should combine known facts with anecdotes of Douglass’ Fells Point years supplemented with historical knowledge of life in the area during that time. Having been on numerous walking tours myself I recognized the tour needed to connect on a personal level with the audience. I wanted to paint the picture of his Fells Point years, first, through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy, and then as they shaped him as a man destined to influence a nation.

In 1818 Frederick Douglass, born Frederick Bailey, grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in rural Talbot County, separated from his mother and raised by his maternal grandmother. Sadly, it was common practice for slave owners to separate families as a form of control and Douglass was no exception. His mother labored on a plantation twelve miles from Douglass and would often sneak out at night walking those twelve miles, risked the beating she knew would come, just to see him. He only saw his mother five times and for no more than an hour each visit. Douglass never knew the actual date of his birth and in my research I found a touching account of why Douglass chose February 14^th as his birthday. He recalled her calling him her “little Valentine”[2], a poignant and heartbreaking memory for a child. When he was eight he endured another separation that sent him to live with the Auld family in Fells Point, Baltimore. Sophia Auld, wife of his master Hugh, taught him the alphabet and was teaching him to read when her husband halted his education, fearing it would make him rebel against being a slave. He later recalled that Mrs. Auld was the first white person who ever treated him with kindness. After Auld forbade his learning, Douglass would bribe the white neighborhood boys to teach him to read and bought his first book from a shop at 28 Thames Street which runs along the waterfront. It was the waterfront where Douglass first encountered black men earning a living through the craft of ship caulking, which would later become his profession. Douglass later recalled that blacks, slave or free, had more opportunities in an urban setting then those blacks working on rural plantations. While in Fells Point Douglass found religion at the Strawberry Alley Methodist church and was mentored by a man known as ‘Uncle Lawson’, his spiritual father. He joined the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, which included black caulkers and black men and women looking to improve themselves by literary reading, open discussion and debated various topics, including freedom, liberty and religion.

The years Douglass spent in Fells Point provided the foundation which propelled and influenced his ideals, morals and principals, inspiring his lifelong passion to tirelessly advocate for the rights and freedom of all people of color. I was now ready to write Douglass’ story and life in Fells Point. 

Post by Catherine Sansone

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[1] Douglass, Frederick. The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: from 1817-1882. Christian Age Office 1882. Page 321.

[2] http://blogs.brown.edu/libnews/happy-birthday-frederick-douglass/. February 13, 2014 post.

The March for Our Lives

Hi everyone! 

My internship with the Maryland Democratic Party is in full swing. I have been given such amazing opportunities and have gotten to work on a wide range of projects. I’m super grateful, too, that many people have gone out of their way to take me under their wing.

My favorite “assignment” thus far has been accompanying our party chair, Kathleen Matthews, to the “March for Our Lives” event in DC. The Maryland Democrats teamed up with the Democratic National Committee in order to march and show solidarity with victims of gun violence, while also inspiring people downtown to register and pledge to vote this November. We spent the day marching, speaking with people, and working behind the scenes with various media outlets. I got to shadow Kathleen and also spend the day with Tom Perez, the Chairman of the National Democratic Party, and his team.

Believe it or not, my history studies prepared me for this day: more specifically, my experiences within public history courses. Public history is all about communicating the importance and significance of history and experience to various stakeholders. I was able to speak to various people about the issue of gun control, explaining it’s history in the United States and around the world and why it matters so much now. And even more importantly, public history gave me real experience working with groups of people who have different personalities and work styles. When in professional settings, I am no longer intimidated to adapt and work with a team: something I got to do at the March with the fellow Democrat employees. Instead, I am excited and up for the challenge.

I am still absolutely loving this internship and getting to know the ins and outs of the political world. I’m starting to get sad at the thought that the experience is more than halfway over: I plan to savor every day and project I have left. Wishing you all the best in the rest of your semesters! You’ve got this! 

Pictured above: A cute puppy wearing the "March, Protest, Call, Speak & Vote" T-Shirt members of the Democratic party wore during the March. 

My Return to the Classroom and Journey into Public History

Hello all!! My name is Catherine Till Sansone, I am a returning student to UMBC after a very long absence, majoring in History and minoring in Public History. This is the first time I’ve ever blogged so this will be quite the adventure, although my granddaughter assured me I’d be awesome!! I set off on my educational journey in 1970 as a slightly immature, naive seventeen-year-old. UMBC in ’70 was not the campus it is today but I was still unprepared for college, squandered the opportunity and was academically dismissed. Thankfully, I was readmitted in Spring 1984 but again it just wasn’t my time to complete this educational journey and life, well, she just went on rolling. Not completing college has always been a regret and in December of 2014, while on a bus trip from NYC, I decided I was returning to school and finally getting my degree.

            I thought I’d dip my toes in the community college pond before re-enrolling at UMBC. After such an extensive absence I had no clue what college was anymore, what courses might transfer or what I even needed to obtain my degree. Feeling overwhelmed but excited, nonetheless, I enrolled in Spring ’15 at AACC, full of realistic, and I’m quite certain unrealistic anxieties. But my single greatest fear was the simple act of walking back into a classroom and facing a room full of young adults. Thankfully, my apprehension waned and I realized that I loved it, every stress filled moment exhilarated and propelled my desire to finally achieve this lifelong goal and to graduate. In the fall of 2016 I finished everything I needed for AA in Art History and Museum Students and was ready to re-enter UMBC, third times a charm, so they say. Lord only knows what Dr. Meringolo thought as this sixty-plus year old ‘student’ walked into her office seeking advisement!! Her patience, wisdom and encouragement has been a reassuring blessing each time I peek my head into her office, which is often. I declared as a history major in ’70 and retained that status when readmitted but added public history as a minor which was not even an option back in the dark ages of my educational journey.

A requirement of the degree is completion in an internship program related to the field of public history. I am exceedingly fortunate to live in Fells Point, Baltimore, surrounded by history in every single building, on every single street in this twelve block geographic area. I naturally gravitated to the Preservation Society in Fells Point, not even sure if there was an internship program, and if there was a program, how would I be received. Unfortunately, the Preservation Society, like hundreds of other similar societies across the country, are struggling to stay afloat in these tough economic times, dwindling funds, donations and the ability to maintain a salaried staff are harsh realities. So it was not surprising that it took four attempts to locate the person responsible for student internships. Happily, on December 21^st, I was formally awarded an internship with the Preservation Society. Eager for the start of Spring semester, excited in anticipation of my adventures into this bold new world, I will share with you my journey in the upcoming blog. Until then……