Interviewing Living History

 

During my Internship I worked on two projects. I updated the information on Modalities and filmed and edited the transcript for a TSA YouTube video series titled “Historian Presents: Did You Know.” These two projects made up most of my work during the internship.

               A modality is the word TSA uses for the types of transportation they administer, for example aviation, passenger and freight rail, and maritime ports. TSA made a poster for each modality with a summary of what it was and how TSA regulated it. My job was to update the statistics on the posters and reword any confusing explanations. Rewording the explanations was easy because they were already well written. The hardest and most time-consuming part was updating the statistics. Some were easy like the aviation modality, which had statistics from the TSA website that were updated recently. Other modalities were not as simple to update, the maritime and highway modalities were barely mentioned on the TSA website, so I had to check other government sites like the Department of Transportation (DOT) or private organizations that kept track of the statistics I needed. I am relatively certain I found the same websites that the original creator of the posters copied from because no other website bothered to write down things like how many buses or bridges there are in the U.S. For the number and length of highway tunnels I had to contact an archivist from the DOT because their website had numbers from more than five years ago. This went well, the archivist responded quickly and was polite, but it shows how scattered the information I needed was. I cited where I found my information so the next person who updates the modality at least has a starting point.

The other Project I worked on was the filming of interviews and editing their transcripts for the TSA YouTube video series: “Historian Presents: Did You Know.” I was able to be in two of the videos. My favorite is the video on the changes to the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) uniforms. TSOs are the people you see in airport security. I interviewed two former TSOs, one was the model for the current blue uniform when it was still being selected.  The interviews were around fifteen to twenty minutes each, but they were massively cut down for the seven-minute video that made it to You Tube. After filming the interviews, I was assigned to edit the raw transcripts into ones that could be posted on the TSA website. I had to remove any repeated sections and mistakes we made during filming. I also put in time stamps from the recording. This assignment was a lot more fun than updating the modalities but it was difficult to align the transcript with the audio recording because our mistakes and interruptions during filming could take up a minute of two of the recording but that would be transcribed as paragraphs or pages on the transcript. Eventually I got used to jumping between the transcript and the recording, so it became easier to edit by the second interview.

First Day in a New House

 

     (Edited Version of my first post that got lost) Hello everyone, my name is Frank Milihram and in this post, and others following, I wish to share with you my internship experience! As of Friday, September 8th, 2023, I officially started my Education Fellowship with the Heurich House Museum in Washington, D.C. The Heurich House is a Historic House built between 1891 and 1892 and belonged to D.C.’s largest and at one time oldest brewers, Christian Heurich. The structure is a beautifully preserved example of Victorian era architecture and contains one of the finest interiors in any DC House Museum. Christian himself lived in the house from its completion up until his death at 102 in 1945 and his family and staff lived in the house until 1956. Then from 1956-2003, The DC Historical Society used it as its headquarters and conducted tours out of it. In 2003, a non-profit was organized to purchase the house and turn it into the museum that exists today. In fact, descendants of the Heurich family still reside on its board. For those not familiar with the museum and its mission, “The Heurich House Museum honestly explores the American Experience through the legacy of German immigrant Christian Heurich and his Washington, DC brewery, and creates an equitable path to success for local small-scale businesses.” With this in mind, the museum seeks to emphasize public history and public service through a model that suggests “house museums should be dynamic and relevant to our modern communities.” Here is where my role comes in. The purpose of the Fellowship here at the Heurich House is for me and the other fellows to develop our own tour of the dwelling while also learning practical skills from a behind the scenes learning experience with the museum and its team. The team member who I will be most closely working with is Dr. Jenna Febrizio, Director of Education, and operations. As you will see, she has truly generated a program with adequate scaffolding to ensure an enriching experience for all of us. For the tour project portion to be accomplished I will conduct my own original research through the Museum’s Archive, develop a tour proposal based around initial findings, and create a professional grade tour guide. The latter is a document that would give someone else a basic understanding of the process that is my tour. At the present time, I intend on researching the various technologies in the house and how the occupants’ lives were impacted by them. From that point forward, the plan is to present my final plan in the form of two test tours, one to museum staff and one to a select public group. This is to assure feasibility and flow while also working out any bugs. When all goes well, and I get the thumbs up from Jenna, I will have the opportunity to conduct my tour on multiple occasions for the public when they come for a tour. For the other 50% of the program, I will get a chance to educate myself by talking with other museum team members about their roles, evaluate other exhibits on museum grounds, and witness the process of operations and programing in the museum world. While some students may shutter at the idea of another syllabus and class, Jenna has managed to organize this program in a way pulls on the best elements of a museum studies course and a hands-on experience. 

 Source: https://heurichhouse.org/pages/about

The main staircase

One of the living rooms

Some of the artwork

The dining room

The conservatory

A group photo of myself, Jenna, and the other Fellows

Heurich and the World of Tomorrow

 

Hello everyone, as we have quickly approached the halfway mark for the semester, I would like to update everyone on my work thus far. As hinted in my previous edition, I have decided to focus the topic of my tour for the Heurich House Museum on Technology. Specifically, I will be focusing on the technology that resides inside the house, how it was used, who installed it and the impact it had on the lives of all who dwelled there. Additionally, I plan to incorporate larger themes of the industrial revolution and its impact on American domestic life at the start of the 20th century. The house overall is certainly a marvel when considered from this lens, it was the first house in DC to incorporate fireproof design features, it contains “speaking tubes” that allowed folks to communicate between floors, and it had a burglar alarm system. These are just a few of the many examples I plan to discuss with my audience! Something I am particularly proud of is while attempting to find out more information about a particular company that install electrical appliances in the house, I stumbled across previously unknown photos of Christian Heurich’s Brewery. A book, celebrating the work of the Thomas W. Power Company in Washington D.C, features photos of the Breweries engine room. When I shared this with Jenna, she was very excited as the Museum does not have many interior photographs of the Brewery itself. For my research I have also been trying to find new stories to tell guests when they come to visit. These could include something about technology being used, something that helps visitors connect with the house, gives them a better insight into the period, or even just something for them to relax and have fun with. One story in particular involves Christian’s wife, Amelia Heurich. One day in 1914 Amelia went out to the mall to spend some time outdoors. While there, she witnessed the groundbreaking for the construction of the Lincoln Memorial. A pretty incredible thing to contemplate witnessing. Besides my topic and storytelling, I have also been considering different ways in which I could structure my tour in order to maximize audience engagement. One such idea I have been thinking of is including a scavenger hunt of some sorts on my tour. The challenge with this aspect of my tour will be working within the confines of preservation as I cannot have visitors running around in rooms for the risk of damage to the house. After speaking with Jenna on this particular thought, she thinks it’s a good idea and believes I should certainly try to think of some way to incorporate elements of a scavenger hunt. While researching and developing this tour is one of the main purposes of fellowship, we have also gotten to learn about professional skills and museum operations. In regard to professional skills, Jenna took some time sat down with me the other day to do some goal setting. For this we went over what I hoped to accomplish and learn during the rest of my fellowship. After some discussion I decided I wanted to learn what went into exhibit design by talking to our curator, how to conduct programing with a lack of resources, and how to use museum software such as past perfect. As for museum operations, in October I got the chance to meet with a guy named Dan, the museums preservationist. Dan took us around the whole house showing us some of the preservation work he has done, how things are maintained in the house, and answering some of our other questions about his role. The coolest part of our adventure with Dan was that he took us up to the roof of the house and showed us a hidden room! In fact it was so secret that some of the other museum staff have not even seen it.

Fellowship group photo

Checking out the roof

Our Preservationist showing us the Boiler Room

Speaking Tubes in the Kitchen

One of the new photos I found (Credit: Library of Congress)

Reflecting on my Time at the BMI

 

            I would consider my time at the Baltimore Museum of Industry as an archival intern as well spent.  This experience aided me as I choose which field I wish to enter after I graduate.  I have been interested in archives for a little over a year, after taking a course on museums last summer.  I spent the Fall 2022 semester and the Spring 2023 semester applying for as many internships in archives as I could find in the surrounding area.  I eventually landed a position with the Baltimore Museum of Industry under Maggi Marzolf. 

I used the skills that I have learned in the classroom of analyzing, reading, and attention to detail during my internship experience.  I also acquired many new skills specific to archives, such as accessioning, deaccessioning, and other archival procedures.  This was the most interesting and important part of the internship for me.  I had no previous experience working in archives, so I wanted to take this opportunity to see if it is a career I would like to further pursue.  I really liked the range of tasks that I was able to complete each day.  As someone who does not like to sit and do one thing for too long, I enjoyed the fact that every few hours I could leave one project and work on another one.  This did not mean I abandoned the project, just that I would split my time up among a few each day.  I also liked the diversity of tasks.  There were times when I would be very physically active, moving boxes of materials, or pallets full of boxes and there were other tasks where I would be sitting at a computer digitizing finding aids.  Finally, my favorite part of this internship was the interesting historical material I had the chance to look through.  A time that I will always remember was when I was undertaking an inventory of a flat file, where I came across an old newspaper from 1776.  I was so excited that I had to sit down and read the whole front page. 

This experience showed me that I can do a job I love, while still being close to history.  I am now considering Graduate Programs in Information and Library Science to further my knowledge of archives and continue to pursue this field as a career.  I would highly recommend the Baltimore Museum of Industry as a destination for any prospective intern looking to work in public history.  Everyone there was extremely kind and welcoming to me and I learned a lot from everyone.    

“Collections & Archives- The Baltimore Museum of Industry.” The Baltimore Museum of Industry, https://www.thebmi.org/collections/.  Accessed 13 Aug. 2023.

Weeding Through the Archives

 

During my internship with the Baltimore Museum of Industry, one of my favorite, and most challenging projects that I aided in was weeding through a vast collection consisting of materials from the Canton Railroad Company, Anne Arundel Corporation, Manning Company, Balmar, Baltimore Copper Paint (Oliver Reed Company), David A. Jacobs, USF&G, and Oak loom.  These materials were donated to the museum in the 1990s and early 2000s, with many boxes never being looked through or processed.  Much of the material came from the Canton Railroad Company, with the Baltimore Museum of Industry housing an estimated 700 boxes of material. 

            The issue with these collections was the way they were stored.  The collections were stored on pallets, inside banker boxes.  They were stacked up to five boxes high and three across, with approximately forty-five boxes on each pallet.  These boxes were stored so high that many began to collapse in on each other.  Another issue with the collections was that some had mold or water damage, making them dangerous to handle.  Finally, the collections had material that fell outside the collections policy of the Baltimore Museum of Industry.  The material included pay stubs, check stubs, personally identifiable information such as Social Security Numbers, receipts, invoices, timecards, and cashed checks.  

At the beginning of the summer, the Baltimore Museum of Industry received a grant to install shelving for the collections.  My job was to aid the archivist to weed through the collections and deaccession materials to make room for the shelving.  My tasks included placing the boxes of materials that remained on new pallets and disposing of the boxes and the materials inside of them that were deaccessioned.  Throughout this process, I tried to focus on what was being deaccessioned and how my supervisor made these decisions.  This taught me much about the difference between record management and archives.  Records management keeps track of a company's finances, while an archive should strive to tell a complete story of a company.  Material that fit record management normally fell out of the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s collection policy; therefore, our approach to making deaccessioning decisions was to determine if the material met the current collections policy of the museum.  Most of the material I listed above such as the pay stubs, check stubs, and other financial material fell out of the Baltimore Museum of Industry’s collection policy and was deaccessioned.  This was an intriguing project because it dealt with an aspect of archives that is broadly ignored, or sometimes frowned upon, which is deaccessioning.  Although it sometimes felt wrong to discard a company's records, it also taught me that an archivist needs to be mindful of the space that they have in their collections, the time it takes to process a collection, and to consider the collection policy very carefully.  One thing I learned from this project is that an archive is only as good as its collection policy. 

Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Summer 2023

 

Hi everyone,

This is Emmy coming back for another blog post regarding this past summer’s internship with the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. Before going into the summer season, here is a bit of context about Babe Ruth. Ruth played on, the then, Minor League Baltimore Orioles for his first year as a “pro.” After this, the Orioles were in need of money. Babe being the youngest, along with most potential, was traded to the Boston Red Soxs for five years. While he did well, the team already had a stellar line up, so they didn’t see him as a foundational member. Thus the Curse of the Bambino, and the Red Soxs went through a major “baseball drought” from 1918-2004. Even though it’s a superstition, it’s always a fun debate. And finally, Babe stayed with the New York Yankees for 14 years, until retirement. And, fun fact, he played every position, 22 year career, except manager. With all this said, when the Oriole’s release their upcoming schedule, we plan for major crowds from the Red Soxs and Yankees. Immediately, we label these homestands in our calendars. Whenever these homestands come, we make sure to get more than enough staff to help with the flow of guests. What wasn’t scheduled was the fact that the Orioles would quickly go from the joke of MLB to “The Underdogs.” Crowds started coming to the museum with every homestand, no matter the team. It was quite incredible to see the amount of people who would travel, even from cross country, “just to see the O’s.” Two of these memorable homestands were the second Yankees games along with the Mets. The Yankees already played the O’s in the first week of April. Crowds were as expected, but, again, I cannot emphasize enough, how quickly the O’s brought in crowds. By their second homestand in July, we knew those tickets and fands were coming. So much so, we already knew, well in advance the entire homestand was sold out. We were completely blown away with the amount of fans. Within a three day homestand, the museum brought in over 1,800 guests, representing 38/50 U.S states also including representation from: Japan, Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It should be strongly stressed, we have never had this many guests, even before Covid-19. While overwhelming at points, it was completely and utterly heartwarming to have so many baseball fans. At the same time, on the first week of August was the final New York Mets homestand. Just like the Yankees, it was completely sold out. Yet, this was new from our understanding. The New York Mets, typically, did not sell out because their team is, almost never, in high standings. This was new information to us. With the first day of the homestand, it became quickly as to why they sold out. From what guests told us, someone was able to coordinate around 1000 people to take a roundtrip to Baltimore to watch the game. Not just this, they all got matching t-shirts with this ticket package. What’s even funnier, is what the shirt said, “The 7 Line Army Invades the Beast.” Along with this tagline was an owl taking over the stadium and winning? (I’m not quite sure the pictures fans posted aren’t super clear.) It was quite entertaining talking with Mets fans as they were discussing how, “Yeah, we thought we would have a better season, that’s why we chose the design…but ya know ya gotta believe.” So, in the midst of all of O’s orange, black, and white, was a sea of Mets blue. Oriole fans are one level, but every other fan is a totally different experience to interact with. I truly encourage you all to come to the museum during the peak of summer with a homestand. It’s incredible with the amount of stories you get to exchange!

Thoughts on President Street Station

 Thoughts on President Street Station by Thomas Pate

The words I would use to describe this internship are valuable, informative, and self
developing. The reasons for this are that I have networked and gained substantial information on
how to operate and staff a museum. Normally, I was alone at the station, and I would have to
fulfill a variety of roles and coordinate events. Giving tours, stocking the gift shop, and cleaning
were the main duties, but I also had to help get in contact with various individuals both inside
and outside of the museum.
Networking involved coordinating with a contractor to fix the lights. In early July, most
of the lights in the museum had burned out, and I worked with Robert to get a contractor to
install new ones. Unfortunately, when they showed up, it required the whole fixture to be
replaced, and I had to inform Robert of this event. Nevertheless, I learned networking and
communication skills in coordinating the replacement of the lights. I also helped find prospective
students to help code for a museum computer.This will prove invaluable in future museum tasks
that I may take on.
Other tasks that aided in my self-development as a historian were simply improving
relations with the public in educating them on the history of the station. It cannot be overstated
how fun and satisfying the experience of teaching someone something they did not know, like
how the station was a major route of escaped slaves, or the extensive Civil war history that
involved the building. It astonished me to see how many different sorts of individuals entered the
station, only for them to leave with a better understanding of history.
Working at President Street Station, although it came with its challenges, was an
enlightening, fun and informative experience that helped set me up for future careers in the
museum field. I was able to coordinate projects, help network students and workers into aiding
the museum, and teach people the history of the site. I look forward to potentially volunteering
there again in the future, as I did enjoy it.