Internship at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum #1

   Hello, everyone, my name is Chase Louden, and I am a senior majoring in Anthropology and History. I am currently employed at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Oella Maryland. The Museum is constructed on the original land that Benjamin Banneker owned from 1737 until his death in 1806. In 1978, a local historian named John McGrain came across documents that allowed for the tracing of the original Bannaker land. The prompted archeological digs on the site of the former Banneker homestead. From 1983 to 1987, there was an archeological investigation that was done, which unearth Banneker’s cabin, and his family cabin as well. This discovery propelled the creation of “The Friends of Benjamin Banneker”  an organization that had the goal of protecting the legacy and land which once belonged to Benjamin Banneker.  In 1985, Baltimore county created the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park. 

My position here is as a historian, although I also do a lot of work as a docent as well. The museum was closed in January due to an HVAC replacement, and then it closed again from March to June. In my time here, I have learned much about Benjamin Banneker, life in the 18th century, and also about ecology and local wildlife. The park has over 100 types of trees, including an orchard that has cherry, apple, pear, and paw-paw trees. 

One of the first major projects I worked on while I was here was the building of a waddle fence. A waddle fence is a style of fencing that is made by weaving thin branches, between stakes to create a lattice. The fence took a few weeks to construct as my coworkers and I went through the process of removing the wood from the old fence, replacing the stakes in a better position, cutting down spicebush, and small trees, to weave in between the posts. Below is a picture of the waddle fence after its completion.

The Museum also features an authentic 18th-century cabin. The cabin itself has two floors, which would be common in a family-sized house, and the whole family would sleep upstairs. When Banneker was an adult, he probably would have lived in a smaller sized home, as he wouldn’t have needed the extra space. Below are pictures of the inside and outside of the cabin.

The Museum has about 142 acres of property and 4.5 miles of trails. One of the museum’s trails, the trolley trail, connects to the trolley trail, which is a paved path that connects, to Historic Ellicott City. I think that the museum has some of the nicest trails in the local area.

One of the most interesting places at the museum is the Bannaky-Treuth house. In 1799, Benjamin Banneker sold 72 acres of his land to the Ellicott’s. In 1850, George Ellicott sold 6 acres of land to the Hynes family.  The three-story farmhouse was built in 1851, by Joshua and Rebecca Hynes. The property has changed hands and has expanded several times since then. In 1985, Baltimore county acquired the property, and the house can be completely restored and now functions as a public property. Below is a picture of the historic house.

  

West Baltimore Education Fellowship at the Maryland Center for History and Culture #2

    Co-leading the Booker T. Washington Oral History Project with me was Alexander Lothstein, the Museum Learning Manager at the Maryland Center for History and Culture. We began working with Booker T. Washington middle school students from January through March of 2020 on this oral history. This student-centered project hoped to paint a picture of what it is like to grow up in the Upton and Druid Heights areas of Baltimore today. 

    From November to December, I engaged in thorough research of oral history projects within the collections at MCHC. I helped to develop finding aids for the Baltimore African-American history collections housed at MCHC. I also began to create lesson plans, activities, and powerpoint presentations that would be used in the classroom with the students as part of this project. Finally, I drafted questions for the interviews. The students came for a field trip in January, during which we talked with them about the history of civil rights in Baltimore. In February and March, we visited Booker T. Washington Middle School several times to speak with teachers and social workers about the project. During this time, we also went into the classroom to discuss West Baltimore history specifically with the students. This provided them with background knowledge about their neighborhood as well as an understanding of the crucial activism that took place there. 

    Before going to teach at the school, I worried that students would lose interest in the topic of civil rights in West Baltimore. To my surprise, students were fully engaged and contributed meaningful opinions to the discussion. Though some students were initially hesitant to talk to us, they eventually opened up and grew more comfortable speaking about their experiences. Furthermore, they opened up to us, discussing the daily struggles they face in their community. For example, one student described her apprehension to visit certain neighborhoods of Baltimore, even though she was born and raised in the city. She noted that she did not feel welcome in downtown Baltimore. Another student shared her dismay with the funding at Booker T. Washington Middle School. She believed that her school did not receive repairs or maintenance like other schools in Baltimore. This led her to feel that the government cared more about the youth in some areas of Baltimore than others. 

    Listening to these perspectives from young students was enlightening, and it caused my co-worker and I to consider what patrons of the MCHC would gain from hearing these stories. We concluded that this project would be illuminating to patrons of the museum, not simply because it underlined the challenges West Baltimore students face, but also because it would highlight the positive experiences they have in their neighborhood. Even more, it would shed light on the lives of members of the community who seldom have their voices heard in institutions, transforming the MCHC into a more inclusive space that welcomes varied perspectives. Serving as a project of reflection of Baltimore's rich history, the Booker T. Washington Oral History Project emphasizes instances of both change and stagnation that have influenced its citizens. 

    Though the students at this middle school were young, they were vocal and perceptive about what was going on in the world around them. Talking to them during these classroom sessions only reinforced why it was necessary for their stories to be heard. Working with the bright students at Booker T. Washington was both a positive and enlightening experience. We were supposed to begin officially collecting their stories in recorded interviews in March 2020, but we had to postpone this after schools closed due to COVID-19. 

Booker T. Washington Middle School
Photo Courtesy of Alexander Lothstein

West Baltimore Education Fellowship at the Maryland Center for History and Culture #1

    Hello, everyone! My name is Bria Warren and I am a Master's student and full-time Teaching Assistant in the history department at UMBC. I am focusing my thesis research on lynching rhetoric in Maryland newspapers, both regionally and generationally. Last semester, I received an amazing opportunity to work at the Maryland Center for History and Culture (formerly known as the Maryland Historical Society). I was awarded the West Baltimore Education Fellowship after interviewing and discussing the unique project extensively with David Armenti, the Director of Education for the museum. As the West Baltimore Education Fellow, I worked with the Education Department for the center's museum to build a special oral history project.

Background:

    On April 25, 2015, hundreds of people gathered from Pratt Street to Pennsylvania Avenue. Baltimore's streets filled with people from all walks of life who came together to protest the murder of Freddie Gray. Police brutality was not a new issue, but the lack of information surrounding Freddie Gray's mysterious death and the national debate concerning systematic oppression created the perfect storm for resistance erupting in Baltimore. Freddie Gray's memory lives on in the minds of many today. His story left a lasting impact, especially on the citizens of West Baltimore - where Gray was born and raised. Through educational programming and partnerships with the University of Maryland's School of Social Work's Promise Heights Network, the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC) began an effort to expand educational outreach to students in West Baltimore. 

Project:

    The project I worked on, titled the Booker T Washington Oral History Project focused on preserving the stories of West Baltimore middle school students. To commemorate the five year anniversary of the 2015 Baltimore Uprising, the MCHC hoped to work with students in West Baltimore to discuss the lives of the youth in Freddie Gray's community. This project included field trips, workshops, in-class lessons, and recorded interviews with the students. Research workshops and field trips focused on the history of their school and alumni, the history of the West Baltimore neighborhood - including its past and current activism - and the importance of the 2015 Uprising in history. 

    Initially, we set out to collect the student's stories, focusing on their experiences in West Baltimore. After working with Booker T. Washington students, however, it became clear to us that these students were not only interested in the history of their neighborhood, but that they had many opinions of their own to contribute to the ongoing conversation surrounding the Uprising and the historical record. In fact, they had many memories of the 2015 Uprising themselves. With this in mind, our goal was to diversify the MCHC collections and exhibit more voices - especially youth voices within the community. As a graduate fellow, I was expected to engage in meaningful research and to aid my superiors in creating a framework for the oral history project. I would help to build the finding aids for Baltimore African-American history within the MCHC collections. I would also help to create the lesson plans, activities, foundation, and overall project for the Booker T Washington Oral History Project. 

Photo courtesy of Facebook.  

Internship at the Archives of the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church #2

    When I volunteered to work in the archives of the Holy Trinity Particular Ukrainian Catholic Church, I never expected that I would be preserving vinyl records. I didn't even know the church had a vinyl record collection until, one day, I found a box and two paper bags together containing over a hundred vinyl records. A family friend told me that a parishioner had donated their large collection of Ukrainian folk and contemporary music on vinyl records to the church many years ago. These vinyl records, however, were stored for years under a stairwell, where damp conditions provided a wonderful habitat for mold. By the time I discovered them, many of the record covers were absolutely covered in that mold, and required immediate attention.
    While I had never worked with vinyl records before, vinyl records before, I dove into the task at hand undaunted. I set up a special table in my garage and assembled a large stash of Lysol® disinfectant cleaning wipes. I bought the necessary equipment to clean and preserve these vinyl records, including a special brush to clean any spores from the vinyl records themselves, archival-quality plastic inner and outer record sleeves to guard against moisture, and a portable record player which would allow me to create digital copies of the songs.

Photo of the cleaning station in my garage, along with my feline supervisor Tosia.

   I developed a routine for cleaning these records. First, I would remove the vinyl record from its paper cover, discard any irreparable inner paper sleeves, and put the record aside. Next, I would wipe down the cover, dry it with a paper towel, scan it with Office Lens, and place it into a plastic outer sleeve. Following that, I would carefully wipe any dirt or detritus from the vinyl record, dry it with a paper towel, and place it into a plastic inner sleeve. Then, I would take the vinyl record inside the house, gently clean it with the special record brush, and appraise the physical condition of the record. If there were no serious scratches or dents, I would then place it onto my portable record player, and let my computer make a digital copy of the songs. By the time I completed my internship at the Holy Trinity PUC Church, I had successfully preserved 43 different vinyl records.. 
    I found the experience of caring for these vinyl records particularly rewarding. Not only did I learn a lot about the vinyl medium, I also had the chance to listen to interesting and unique interpretations of the Ukrainian folk songs I grew up with. It also proved a good activity to do on days when I could not drive to the archives due to adverse weather conditions.